Alias
Mr. Hackenbacker
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For a detailed overview of this episode, click here.
The new Skythrust plane is hijacked, but can Brains' new device save the day?
Original UK broadcast date: October 16th, 1966
Contents
1) Synopsis
2) Notes
3) Errors
Synopsis
Brains, under the alias of Hiram Hackenbacker, visits London Airport to watch the revealing of the new Skythrust, a plane he helped design. The plane has a successful test flight, with plans being for it to be put into commercial use soon. At Tracy Island, Scott reads a report about Skythrust, which mentions that the first flight will be taking off from Paris. Tin-Tin mentions an article she's reading, which has Penelope on the front cover -Penelope might participate in a charity fashion show presented by Francois Lemaire in Paris.
Penelope visits Lemaire, who has accepted his offer to model his new fashion line. He wants to tell her about the secret of his new designs, but before he can, Penelope finds that the room has been bugged in a few ways. She finds transmitters hidden in flowers and sugar cubes, along with a special pen which can transmit what the person using it has written. Lemaire is a bit overwhelmed by this, and asks for his two other models, Madeline and Deirdre, to bring some tea in and be ready to model the new clothes. Penelope finds out that the two women know about Lemaire's secret, which is called Penelon -something he named after her. Penelon is a new fabric which can be folded up into incredibly small sizes, allowing people to store entire wardrobe's worth of clothes into small boxes. But it is clear that someone else wants to get it, so Penelope suggests that Lemaire's fashion show is moved to a new location.
Penelope has coffee with Skythrust pilot Captain Ashton. After finding another transmitter in their teapot, Ashton decides to go ahead and have the show on the Skythrust. Lemaire, Madeline and Deirdre board the Skythrust, and Parker drops Penelope off in FAB 1. They are joined by several members of the press, as Skythrust takes off. Lemaire makes the preparations for the show, which is now going to be held whilst the Skythrust is in flight.
The show begins and goes down well with the audience, as Lemaire shows off several new outfits and dresses. Once the show ends, Madeline reveals that she is working with the bad guys, and pulls a gun out on Ashton and the co-pilot. She, along with fellow collaborator Mason, wants the Skythrust to be flown to the Sahara, where two men, Ross and Collins, are waiting. She and Mason want the Penelon, whilst the other two want the new aircraft. Penelope manages to send out an emergency signal, which Jeff and the others at Tracy Island receive. They manage to get a fix on Skythrust's location, so Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are dispatched.
Brains and Tin-Tin, who are in London waiting for the Skythrust to arrive, are also informed about what's happened. Brains contacts Virgil and tells him to have a non-explosive missile fired at the Skythrust's undercart. Virgil moves Thunderbird 2 in closer to Skythrust and Alan fires the missile, which hits the undercart and damages it. The Skythrust pilots realize that with the undercart damaged, they can't get the wheels down, which means landing in the Sahara is now impossible. Ashton suggests they land at London Airport instead, as at least they'll be better equipped to deal with this situation there. Mason reluctantly agrees to this, despite Madeline's protests.
The Skythrust lands on a runway and slides across it, but as it does, a portion of the aircraft flies of separately, and is detonated. This was the part of the plane Brains has designed -an ejectable fuel pod. The plane eventually skids to a stop, with nobody inside it getting injured. Madeline and Mason are cowering in a corner, so Penelope quickly pulls a gun out on them and says they can be dealt with by the police.
In the Sahara, Ross and Collins are still waiting for the Skythrust. They see an aircraft heading towards them, but they don't realize it's Thunderbird 2. Jeff, having been informed by Interpol about the hijacker's rendezvous point, has let Virgil and Alan take care of things. Alan fires a missile which destroys their truck, and the two are sent flying into the sand. Back at Tracy Island, Jeff tells everyone well done and says that wraps the whole thing up.
At London Airport, Norman says that Skythrust has has introduced a new era of air safety. Brains suggest they all get something to eat, and Penelope says they've still got a bottle of champagne. As everyone heads off from the control tower, Brains asks Tin-Tin if he could escort her to the restaurant. Tin-Tin says she'd be delighted for Mr. Hackenbacker to do that, but he tells her she can call him Hiram.
-Footage of the fire trucks and ambulances moving out was taken from Trapped in the Sky. A single shot showing the runway during the Skythrust landing was also taken from that episode.
-Captain Ashton is voiced by Paul Maxwell. Paul previously voiced Steve Zodiac, the main character of Fireball XL5 and would go on to voice Paul Travers in Thunderbirds Are Go.
-One of the outfits shown at the fashion show is called "Alligator Attack" which is most likely a reference to the episode of a similar name. Both episodes were written by Alan Pattillo.
-Scott and Thunderbird 1 just seem to vanish after Madeline tells Scott to back off.
-The use of footage from Trapped in the Sky leads to some issues with the fire trucks seen early on -the ones seen heading towards Skythrust later look completely different when they actually get to it.
-When Penelope writes on the paper, she writes capital letters. But when the paper is seen later on, it's all in lowercase.
-Due to the use of stock footage, the rocket painting completely changes when Virgil heads off to Thunderbird 2. At first, it's the new black rocket from the second season, but then it goes back to the yellow rocket from the first season.
