THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO: LEGACY

Here’s a rundown of the Thunderbirds are Go season finale episode Legacy by Rob Hoegee.

HERE BE SPOILERS:

It's not my intention  to give the game away, and I don’t want to spoil anyone’s enjoyment of the story, so I’ll quite understand if you’d rather watch the episode first, and pop back later.

The story opens in the Tracy Island lounge with all the brothers including John sitting around waiting for Kayo’s long overdue announcement on her dubious lineage. But, in true saved by the bell tradition she’s stopped in her tracks. 

There’s a sudden spate of disasters across the globe, which means every Thunderbird craft needs to launch including Thunderbird 4 from its separate island tank and Kayo's, Thunderbird Shadow. Even John leaves for Thunderbird 5 in the Space Elevator.

Arriving at her rescue zone it soon becomes clear to Kayo that things are not what they seem, and alerts Lady Penelope to initiate the Tracy Island WASP protocol which means Wide Area Safety Protocol. A plot device if ever I heard one, but a nice nod to Stingray fans.

The other Tracy boys soon cotton on to the deception but by then it’s too late. The worst situation has happened. Uncle Hood has taken over Tracy Island!

It’s worst to come for Kayo, who is pretty much pulling all the strings (pardon the nostalgic pun) in the efforts to save the day. The Hood outs her as his niece, much to the surprise of the Tracy boys, and forces her to hand over the ‘keys’ to Tracy Island.  As a nod to the past, The Hood uses the name Agent 79, a former alias from the classic series episode The Martian Invasion to identify him to the Tracy Island computer. 

Legacy is a cracking episode. Every member we know who belongs to International Rescue gets a look in - even Sherbet the Pug!  There are a few more nostalgia points to be spotted; the neighbouring island of Mateo gets a mention. There’s action coupled with some good characterisation. Kayo is still a big head, and the Tracy Brothers are courageous and dim. But they are a family that any regular viewer should care about.

This début season has gone from a simple kids show to something the whole family could engage with.  Like disregarding the strings in the original puppet series, these new characters have taken over, so most older viewers, initially wary of the dreaded CGI  should be more settled.  While it can never replace the classic series in my heart, I just treat it as a separate entity with nods to the past but an eye on the future.

By the way, there’s even more revelations in this episode, as Grandma admits to Brains that she’s a terrible cook, but he’s got to keep it secret – Will this form the story arc for next season?  The Hood knows but he’s not telling!