Lord Parker's
'Oliday
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For a detailed overview of this episode, click here.
Penelope and Parker must find a way to save the town of Monte Bianco.
Original UK broadcast date: October 23rd, 1966
Contents
1) Synopsis
2) Notes
3) Errors
Synopsis
A solar station has been constructed on a mountain, which overlooks the town of Monte Bianco. Professor Lundgren and his assistant Mitchell plan to use the sun's energy to generate electricity for the town, with its first use to be tonight. Penelope and Parker head to the town for a vacation, but they notice that when they approach it FAB 1's radio doesn't work very well. By the time they get to the hotel it has started to rain, but hotel manager Faccini welcomes them inside and says there will be a fancy dress party tonight.
Later on, the guests gather in the main hall, where Faccini tells everyone about the solar station. The solar station activates the reflector dish, which provides power to the town. However the storm then gets a lot worse, as Lundgren realizes the dish is attracting the lightning like a magnet. The tower and dish get struck several times by lightning bolts, which result in the tower collapsing and falling down part of the mountain. Lundgren goes up to take a look just as it falls, resulting in him getting injured. The reflector dish happens to land at an angle where it's pointing directly at the town.
The dish reflects the light from the Moon, but Penelope quickly realizes that when the sun rises tomorrow morning, it'll burn the entire town to a crisp! She takes FAB 1 and manages to contact International Rescue from the sea, then returns back to the hotel. She tells Parker he must keep all the guests here, as they could need every pair of hands to fight a fire. She then goes to the solar station and finds out more details to what could happen. Mitchell believes the sun won't do any real damage until 6:30 am, but as it's already 5:13, they have less than an hour until sunrise. She and Mitchell then take the Professor to a hospital. Parker decides to disguise himself, becoming "Lord" Parker. He instructs Faccini and staff member Bruno to assemble all the guests for a game of bingo. Since everyone thinks he's an English Lord, the guests decide to play.
Thunderbirds 1 and 2 arrive at the mountain. Brains is winched down by Thunderbird 2 to check the status of the dish. He has a high tensile cable lowered down, which has a large magnet on it which gets attached to the dish. Thunderbird 2 attempts to pull the dish out of the way, but is unable to move it. Brains realizes that the rotation gear is jammed, so he has a laser unit sent down so he can cut through it. Virgil says the hotel's roof is starting to smoke, which gives Brains an idea. He tells Scott to use the new device installed on Thunderbird 1. Scott does so, creating a smokescreen that blocks out the sun. Brains then cuts through the jammed gear.
Thunderbird 2 is then able to move the dish, making it point upwards. But Alan then says Brains has fallen down the mountain! They watch as he tumbles down, and then the movement of the dish causes a landslide which results in Brains getting buried under rocks. The reflector dish then slips and also falls down the mountain. Everyone fears the worst, but Brains reports in to says he's ok -he found his suit to awkward to move in, so he took it off!
Virgil reports in to Tracy Island, letting Jeff know they're on their way home. Penelope returns to the hotel and asks Parker for an explanation about this "Lord" stuff. He says that he thought the guests would be more inclined to take orders from an English Lord. Penelope suggests they try the beach and tells him to go and change, as the sun is shining. Parker says he'd anticipated her again, if she'd pardon the liberty. As he gets up, he shouts "bingo" and reveals he's already ready to go.
-When Faccini asks for music, a single shot of Cass playing the piano is shown. This is footage taken from The Cham-Cham.
-The cup on Penelope and Parker's table gets turned around between shots.
-Due to the use of stock footage, Thunderbird 2's steering wheel changes -when Virgil boards Thunderbird 2, it's red, but the color later changes to white.
