Day Of Disaster

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For a detailed overview of this episode, click here.

When the Martian Space Probe falls off Allington Bridge, Brains has to guide International Rescue to save the day.
Original UK broadcast date: November 4th, 1965

Contents
1) Synopsis
2) Notes
3) Errors


Synopsis

A bad storm hits Allington Bridge, so the bridge controller isn't happy when Clayton says they'll have to do a check on it. The check goes ahead the next morning, and whilst Clayton advises more tests are needed, the controller refuses. He's already under a lot of pressure to reopen the bridge, as it's part of the path a rocket transporter is taking to get to the launch site. The rocket is going to go to Mars, and due to that planet's present position, the launch site is going to be in England. The rocket heads towards the bridge, and inside it are two technicians, Frank and Bill. Meanwhile, Brains is at Penelope's home, having been invited to watch the rocket launch by its creator, Professor Wingrove.

The controller believes the bridge can take the weight, but Clayton isn't sure it can take it as one solid mass. The rocket starts to move across the bridge, but the controller begins to worry as he didn't realize how slowly it would travel. The bridge starts to buckle and then collapses, causing the rocket transporter to fall into the water. The rocket falls away from the transporter, and hits the ocean floor in an upright position. Lots of wreckage from the bridge covers up the rocket. The crash causes the rocket's automatic countdown to activate, and the technicians realize they're going to be blown to pieces.

Having seen the collapse on TV, Penelope, Brains and Parker head towards the bridge in FAB 1. They get stopped at a police roadblock, which has been setup due to the mass gathering of people who have come to watch the rescue attempt the bridge controller is organizing. The controller contacts Frank and Bill, telling them that they've got some cranes to pull the wreckage away. They suggest International Rescue are contacted just in case, but the controller refuses. Meanwhile, Parker uses FAB 1's cannon to blow up some abandoned buildings, which causes the crowds to move away from the bridge.

Brains enters the bridge's control room, and gets into an argument with the controller. Believing his crane strategy won't work, he instead quietly contacts International Rescue. The bridge staff see him talking into his watch, and think he's crazy. But Brains contacts John in Thunderbird 5, and John relays the details to Jeff and the others at Tracy Island, including revealing that there's seven hours until the rocket will launch. Thunderbirds 1 and 2 blast off, with Thunderbird 2 carrying Thunderbird 4 in its pod.

The cranes start to try and move the wreckage away, but one of them breaks down trying to pull a heavy object, and sinks. With no time to set things up again things are looking grim, but then International Rescue arrives. Thunderbird 2 drops its pod into the water, and Thunderbird 4 heads down to where the rocket is. Brains tells Gordon to get the nosecone clear, so Gordon starts cutting up any debris around it with Thunderbird 4's laser beam.

Thunderbird 2 then starts grabbing and removing the wreckage, dumping it in a nearby field. But they realize they aren't going to do it fast enough. Brains tells Gordon to fire two of Thunderbird 4's missiles, so Gordon does so. These explode around the wreckage, removing more of it and getting the rocket's nosecone clear. Gordon then rams Thunderbird 4 into the nosecone, causing it to break way from the rest of the rocket. The nosecone floats up, and Thunderbird 2 carries it away.

Seconds later the countdown ends and the rocket blasts off, but it soon explodes. With the technicians saved, Brains dances with joy, and the controller and Clayton think he can't be saved. They have him sent to Doctor Korda, a psychiatrist. Korda wants to know how long Brains has had this desire to talk to watches, and asks him not to be afraid -he wants to help him.

However Penelope then shows up, and tells Korda this is a hopeless case -ten of Europe's best doctors are trying to help Brains already. As she and Brains leave, Korda witnesses Penelope talking to her powder compact. In reality she's using it to contact Scott, but Korda begins to think maybe he himself needs to see a psychiatrist. Everyone heads back to Penelope's home, where they are contacted by Jeff. Scott goes to answer it by talking into a teapot radio, prompting Brains to ask him what he's doing -if he's going to talk to a teapot, there's a guy he ought to see...

Notes

-The music played when the rocket is being driven around the city is called "March of the Oysters" and was originally from an episode of Stingray.

-Nobody seems to care about the police cars and MSP rocket transport vehicle which also crash into the water, which presumably had people in them. Although the MSP rocket transport vehicle is seen floating in the water when the rocket breaks loose from it.

-Bizarrely, parts of the bridge explode for no reason when it begins to break. Although, there seems to be an unspoken rule in Thunderbirds were everything has some kind of explosive in it!

Errors

-The elevator stops not quite at the top where the control room is, but when the shot changes, it appears to be at the very top.
-From the dialogue spoken, the countdown timer on the rocket seems to be around 12 hours. But it never changes from day to night at any point during the episode.