'Thunderbirds Are Go!' failed to set the box office alight in 1966 ( strange considering it was generally entertaining and afforded British fans the chance to see their favourite characters in colour ). But United Artists was convinced that there was a hit movie franchise in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 'Supermarionation' television series, and gave the go-ahead for another colourful escapist fantasy. By this time, the show had ended, 'Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons' was in production ( with 'Joe 90' cleaning his spectacles in readiness for the 1968/69 season ). 'Thunderbird 6' is a rather different kettle of fish to its predecessor. The cod-disaster movie/sci-fi tone has been replaced by a much lighter approach, with a greater emphasis placed on 'Lady Penelope' and 'Parker'. Unlike 'T.A.G.' - which took ages to involve the Tracy family in the action - this has them on screen almost from the start. It opens with 'Brains' pitching a 'new' idea to a major aircraft corporation - an airship. The Board laughs at him, but decide to build it anyway. The result is 'Skyship One', and it takes off with Lady Penelope, Parker, and Alan Tracy aboard. Unbeknowest to them, the crew has been murdered and replaced by impostors, headed by the mysterious 'Black Phantom' ( the Hood under an alias ) who has bugged the ship, and is secretly taping Lady Penelope's every word in order to construct a fake message to lure International Rescue into a trap. Back on Tracy Island, Brains is going frantic trying to find a design for the proposed addition to the 'Thunderbird' fleet - 'Thunderbird 6'...This feels more like an episode of the series than its predecessor. No bad thing, of course. The regular characters get more to do, and there are some pleasing sequences where Lady Penelope enjoys her round-the-world trip, taking in such sights as the Pyramids of Egypt. Keith Wilson ( who sadly passed on last year ) produces some stunning sets - the games room with playing cards adorning the walls and huge chess pieces is like something out of 'The Avengers', while the gravity compensation room ( the setting for the climactic shoot-out ) is worthy of a James Bond film. The scene with the passenger-laden Tiger Moth flying over the countryside is breathtaking to watch even now. Unlike the first film - which got a big premiere in London - it sat on a shelf for several months, before creeping quietly into a cinema one Monday afternoon, where it was virtually ignored. The movies turned up on television eventually, and for a long time were the only 'Thunderbirds' available. Anderson made one more feature - the live action sci-fi drama 'Doppleganger' ( also known as 'Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun' ) starring Roy Thinnes and Ian Hendry. It fared little better. Jonathan Frakes' 2004 live-action feature 'Thunderbirds' might have stood a chance had it not committed the inexcusable error of snubbing Anderson.The final scene where 'Thunderbird 6' is revealed comes as no real surprise, but provides a nice sense of closure to the Tracy family's adventures. And has a positive message we would all do well to heed - that despite the myriad uses of modern technology, sometimes the old ways are the best. F.A.B.!

The second Thunderbirds movie.The only way to watch this movie is with the commentary! Sylvia Anderson gives Gerry Anderson fans so many trivia bits about the puppet shows and live action shows of later years. But more importantly, she gives the thumbs up about a visit she made to Australia some time in the 1980s or 1990s.We get these showbiz types appearing around the world and I often suspect that they are just here for the money. End of story. Wrong. In the DVD Sylvia explains how she enjoyed Sydney and Perth and meeting the fans. She explains that she went on TV and radio in Oz (where was I? I missed it?) and she even remembers that Thunderbirds was in constant re-run in Oz at 6am. And she mentions Oz voice artists.As for the movie itself...just okay.

Thunderbirds had made a major impact in British TV, leading to the 1966 theatrical release Thunderbirds Are Go, but disappointing box office returns and lack of interest from major US networks (the show was syndicated in the US instead of picked up by one of the three big broadcasters) caused cancellation of the series. Despite this, one more theatrical film was prepared, and the resulting film has proven to be a highlight of the Thunderbirds epic despite once again suffering from disappointing box office returns.Thunderbird Six is a vast improvement over Thunderbirds Are Go thanks to a more coherent plot and more plausible action scenes; also adding to the film's quality was the decision to tone down the action scenes in favor of more character interplay.Most of the cast returned for this final go at the Thunderbirds epic; notably missing aside from David Holliday (replaced by Jeremy Wilken after the first season of the show wrapped up) was Ray Barrett; added to the voice cast was Geoffrey Keen, later to win fame as HM's Defence Minister Sir Frederick Grey in the James Bond series."Brains" Hackenbacker (David Graham) has been brought to New World Aircraft, his identity hidden, to make a proposal for a new machine of flight to the company's board of directors. Brains' proposal is to go back to the future - to the era of the passenger dirigible. Brains' idea is laughed out of the company, but they turn around and build it anyway - Sky Ship One. NWA has invited members of International Rescue for an exclusive round-the-world maiden voyage before the ship enters full commerical service, but Brains is put in charge of creating a Thunderbird Six for Jeff Tracy - an assignment that begins to stress his relationship with the Tracy family.Much of the film makes use of a reallife Tiger biplane in flight, the Tiger being a special retro project created by Alan and TinTin. With very heavy security, the four IR members invited to the flight of Sky Ship One - Lady Penelope, Parker, Alan, and TinTin - are escorted to NWA's flight base and board the ship.But unknown to the members of IR as well as to NWA, the crew of the fully-automated jet-powered dirigible have been assassinated and replaced by a band of killers led by a man named Foster, working for a kingpin known as Black Phantom - in reality The Hood wearing a bad hairpiece. The film then follows the voyage of Sky Ship One as the killers work to position a perfect trap for their passengers as well as International Rescue itself. Along the way Penny, Parker, Alan, and TinTin overfly and visit numerous locations visited by IR in previous rescues - the Atlantic Ocean, New York City, the Grand Canyon, Africa, the pyramids of Egypt, and the Swiss Alps. Here we for once get to see the members of IR able to relax and enjoy each other's company, unaware of any danger to their safety - or are they?The visits to varied international locales add nicely to the film's atmosphere and allow the buildup not only of suspence but also allow appreciation of the interplay between the characters; this makes the inevitable action scenes and rescue mission all the more gripping and suspenseful as disaster strikes and Scott and Virgil Tracy launch into action.Without question this is a zenith in the International rescue epic and ends its initial run on a high note.

Like the "Thunderbirds" TV series and the film "Thunderbirds Are Go", this movie covers the adventures of the Tracy family of super-secret rescue agents. But although the effects are as good, this time plot defects injure the story.The characters pretty much ignore their "secret" status when they openly sign on as passengers for an experimental antigravity ship, which turns into a Titanic-style disaster when a crew of saboteurs take over. They did cute things with the "Supermarionation" marionets (like skiing scenes). But the plot holes finally drag down the film.Even Anderson's generally-excellent special effects suffer; in place of elaborately staged scenes with a model, the film's rescue craft (a biplane) is often shot as a radio-controlled model plane shot in reality, buzzing a real castle instead of Lady Penelope's soundstage set. It's not convincing. Republic's movie serials were able to mix real-world buildings with props well; Century 21 Productions didn't do it here.