The Uninvited (Thunderbirds)
"The Uninvited" | |
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Thunderbirds episode | |
Episode no. | Series 1 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Desmond Saunders |
Written by | Alan Fennell |
Cinematography by | Julien Lugrin |
Editing by | Peter Elliott |
Production code | 5[1] |
Original air date | 2 December 1965 |
Guest character voices | |
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"The Uninvited" is an episode of
Set in the 2060s, the series follows the exploits of International Rescue, an organisation that uses technologically-advanced rescue vehicles to save human life. The main characters are ex-astronaut
In 1992, a comic strip adaptation of "The Uninvited" was published in
Plot
Wilson and Lindsey resume their journey, but frustration gets the better of Wilson. Driving too fast, he causes the coupling between the truck and the trailer to snap. The trailer rolls down a slope and explodes, destroying nearly all of the men's food, water and fuel and damaging their radio. They use the truck's remaining fuel to travel to a waterhole 40 miles away but arrive to find it bone-dry. As a last, desperate resort, the men use the failing radio to send out a distress call to International Rescue.
In the desert, Lindsey spots a mysterious object on the horizon – the lost pyramid of Khamandides. Using the last of their fuel, the men drive up to the pyramid. As Lindsey deciphers
Scott arrives at the pyramid and follows Wilson and Lindsey through the one-way door. Lindsey, traumatised by his recent experiences, accuses Scott of trying to steal his new-found riches and pulls a gun on him. A shootout between Lindsey and Scott ensues. Scott loses his gun but is saved by the arrival of two armed men, who blast Lindsey's gun out of his hand, knocking him out. The strangers transport Scott, Wilson and the unconscious Lindsey to the pyramid's control room in a monorail car. This journey takes them over a refinery where men in gas masks are using a highly toxic and explosive gas to refuel fighters identical to those that shot down Scott.
Jeff is concerned by Scott's lack of contact and dispatches Virgil and
Regular voice cast
- Ray Barrett as John Tracy
- Peter Dyneley as Jeff Tracy
- Christine Finn as Tin-Tin Kyrano
- David Graham as Gordon Tracy and Brains
- David Holliday as Virgil Tracy
- Shane Rimmer as Scott Tracy
- Matt Zimmerman as Alan Tracy
Production
"The Uninvited" was the fifth episode of Thunderbirds to be produced. Its working title was "Desert of Danger".
Although the pyramid dwellers are never named on screen, the script identified them as the "Zombites".
Actor Matt Zimmerman, who voiced Lindsey, fondly remembered the dialogue recording for this episode: "I had to yell and scream, 'Hahaha! You won't take me alive, Tracy!' We had a lot of fun doing that one."[6] The episode marks the first appearance of Grandma Tracy in the series.[7]
Broadcast and reception
First broadcast on 2 December 1965, "The Uninvited" was transmitted as the tenth episode of Thunderbirds for both the series' original run on Associated Television and the majority of 1960s repeat runs. A number of scenes were omitted from the two-part version that was shown in some UK regions.[5]
Critical response
Series co-creator Sylvia Anderson described "The Uninvited" as "good fun but a little too adventurous for our puppet cast", though she praised the episode's special effects.[8]
Tom Fox of Starburst magazine gives "The Uninvited" a rating of five out of five, calling it a "quality episode". He praises the setting as well as the Zombites, whom he describes as "hilarious" and "hardly your average bunch of pyramid-dwelling undead".[9]
Writing for
Marcus Hearn, author of Thunderbirds: The Vault, has mixed views on the episode. He describes the final battle with the Zombites as being "staged in the explosive style of the 1960s
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
- ^ a b c Bentley 2005, p. 68.
- ^ Galbraith IV, Stuart (28 June 2004). "The Best of Thunderbirds - The Favorite Episodes". DVD Talk. El Segundo, California: Internet Brands. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ OCLC 226121852.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84653-212-2.
- ^ Bentley 2005, p. 19.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-753-55635-1.
- ISBN 978-1-85685-011-7.
- ISSN 0958-7128.
Works cited
- Bentley, Chris (2005) [2000]. The Complete Book of Thunderbirds (2nd ed.). London, UK: ISBN 978-1-84442-454-2.
External links
- "The Uninvited" at IMDb