Good morning. Rubbed that sleep out of those poor, tired eyes yet? How was the early rise for you this fine Saturday AM?
We certainly hope it was worth it for you, now that Thunderbirds Are Go has been (unwisely) moved to the adult-unfriendly hour of 8am. Shame on you, ITV! We need our lay-ins and our Thunderbirds fix!
Still, regardless of what time you got up to watch – whether on ITV, CITV, or on trusty ‘ol ITV Player (which we’re pretty sure is still operated by strings) – be safe in the knowledge that Thunderbirds is both back and brilliant.
With all the introductions from last week’s premiere now done with, Thunderbirds Are Go can finally settle into a regular stride this week. Boasting a script from Shaun the Sheep scribe Ian Carney, there’s a real feeling of the balance being redressed in this week’s proceedings – smaller cast, straightforward yet exciting plot, and above all, shifting focus onto characters that were under-served in the show’s opening two-parter.
The plot this week is certainly solid – a heat-seeking satellite mine locks on to Thunderbird 3, forcing Alan to try and out fly it before it explodes. It’s the type of story that could have been made in 1965, but lends itself better to the more free-wheeling modern animation Thunderbirds now employs. Watching Thunderbird 3 swoop between various spaceships whilst being pursued by a heat-seeking nuke is exhilarating and breathtaking in equal measure, and the mine itself is actually designed and shot in such a way that it genuinely feels a wee bit like a monster! Just look at it’s cold, dead camera/eye! Chilling!
The decision to make this episode Penelope and Parker centric is certainly another step in the right direction for the show. Whilst they appeared last week, said-appearance felt more like an obligated cameo as opposed to anything substantial. Here, both have an important role to play, resulting in some cool sequences showing Parker infiltrating a top secret underground facility.
It also means we get much more from David Graham and Rosamund Pike, two brilliant voice actors who clearly sound as though they’re having a blast with the material. We’re not quite sold on Sherbert the Pug, but maybe he’ll have a bigger role to play in future episodes. The world waits on tenterhooks…
‘Space Race’ is also a great showcase for Alan. The little we saw of the character in ‘Ring of Fire’ gave some cause for concern, as it appeared that the character was going to be portrayed very much like he was in the dismal 2004 Thunderbirds movie (i.e whiny and one-note).
Thankfully, ‘Space Race’ allows the character to be brave and cool, whilst also keeping him the tolerable side of goofy. The young headstrong rookie angle is nothing new, but it certainly works as a solid starting point for developing the character. Here’s hoping for more like this one, not just for Alan, but for the rest of the main cast as well (especially Grandma Tracey! Her story needs telling, damn it!).
We may now only be three episodes in, but if the show can keep up this level of excitement and coolness, then those early rises may not be so horrible. Thunderbirds Are Go – most definitely a show worth waking up for!
Aired at 8am on Saturday 11 April 2015 on CITV.
> Buy the complete Thunderbirds collection on Blu-ray on Amazon.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Let us know below…