Thunderbird 6 (4 Stars)

This is a curious film for me as a Thunderbirds fan. It was released in 1968, less than two years after "Thunderbirds Are Go", but I never heard about it. How did I possibly miss it, even in the pre-Internet age? I didn't find out that the film existed for more than 40 years, and today is my first chance to watch it. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Richard Lee and I were no longer friends. We were close in primary school, but he lost interest in me in grammar school, even though our alphabetically ordered desks were close together. I know the reason, but in retrospect I still don't understand it. In grammar school Richard was interested in the science subjects, whereas I gravitated to foreign languages. He was only friends with boys who shared similar interests. Strange, but that's what happens sometimes.

The film shows the Thunderbirds member Brains attempting to design a new craft for International Rescue. But the title is misleading. It's only a subplot that's briefly shown at the beginning and the end of the film. The main story is about a skyship that Brains has designed for a civilian aviation company, the New World Aircraft Corporation. Somehow it looks very retro, like an early 20th Century German Zeppelin. The main difference is that it isn't powered by hot air, but by an ant-gravity engine.

Brains is invited to travel on the maiden voyage. He's accompanied by Lady Penelope, Parker and Alan Tracy. As always, the Hood is waiting to attack. He kills the skyship's crew and replaces them with his own men.

There are several features that set "Thunderbird 6" apart from the previous film.

1) Stylistically, it has the feeling of a standalone film, not just an extended television episode.

2) The puppet strings are never visible. In the previous film they were sometimes visible, and in the TV series they're almost always visible.

3) Lady Penelope plays the leading role.

The third change is significant. In an interview in 2010 Sylvia says that she pushed for this change. Due to strong women being shown in new TV series like "The Avengers", she thought that audiences were ready for a strong female character. Maybe they were, but the box office said otherwise. "Thunderbird 6" was a big flop. Maybe this was just because it wasn't properly advertised. More young boys like me would have gone to see the film if they'd known about it. "Thunderbirds Are Go" was visible everywhere, including special packets of Kellogg's Smacks, which I ate regularly. The second film wasn't pushed to the same extent.

Here's the beautiful Lady Penelope between her colleagues. Or are they her admirers? In the first film there's a scene where Virgil asks her on a date, but she gently turns him down. In this film she spends a lot of time with Alan, but it's all professional, without a hint of romance.

In case you're still wondering what Thunderbird 6 is, we get an answer at the end of the film. Watch the film yourself if you're curious.