Thunderbirds are Go: Review: Series 1 Episode 24: Touch and Go

Kayo exceeds her brief much to Scott’s displeasure…

At long long last we get to see Thunderbird Shadow in action (complete with a launch sequence that requires some extra bars to be added to the score to allow for the ship’s departure from Tracy Island), although the episode is based around the dichotomy at the heart of its creation – what’s the point in having a stealth ship if you’re not using it to go proactive and prevent situations from occurring.

It’s interesting – one of the criticisms of the early episodes was that the Tracys were being preventative rather than reactive, but now that the series has reverted to its roots, and most instalments feature a rescue following a catastrophe, Thunderbird Shadow and the pursuit of the Hood do appear to be slightly out of place. Hopefully this is something that’s going to be addressed – it’s good to see some character development, and maybe the Tracys will learn the link between Kayo and her uncle…

As far as the episode goes, there’s a lot of good material in here and some unusual shots of the ships (even if some of the scale issues do appear to be back once more). We’ll draw a veil over the actions of the pilot who had to be rescued – there are certain rules of aviation that shouldn’t be broken which she did! – but it led to some highly dramatic scenes (although where were the jet boots that Scott’s worn on other occasions?)

Verdict: Some interesting developments that bode well for the second series. 7/10

Paul Simpson