Thunderbird 6

Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British science fiction puppet film based on Thunderbirds, a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Written by the Andersons and directed by David Lane, it is the sequel to Thunderbirds Are Go (1966). The main setting is Skyship One – a futuristic airship conceived by Brains, creator of the Thunderbird machines. Alan Tracy, Tin-Tin Kyrano, Lady Penelope and Parker represent International Rescue as the guests of honour on the airship's maiden flight, unaware that the Hood is once again plotting to steal the secrets of International Rescue's technology. Agents of the Hood murder Skyship One's crew and assume their identities to lure the organisation into a trap. Brains' efforts to design a sixth Thunderbird are accelerated when Skyship One is damaged and only Alan's restored Tiger Moth biplane can save everyone on board. The film was shot between May and December 1967. Production company Century 21 redesigned the puppets to compromise between the caricatures that it used before and the realistically proportioned characters that it introduced in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Some of the footage of the Tiger Moth in flight was filmed on location using a full-sized plane, but a legal dispute with the Ministry of Transport over alleged dangerous flying forced the crew to film the remaining shots with miniature models. Guest characters were voiced by John Carson and Geoffrey Keen, while Keith Alexander and Gary Files replaced Ray Barrett as the voices of John Tracy and the Hood. Thunderbird 6 was released in July 1968 to a poor box office response that ruled out the production of further sequels. Critical response was mixed: commentators praised the special effects but were polarised by the story.