Thunderbirds just won’t be Thunderbirds if it’s in the 20-minute format. 50 minutes or nothing!
Those words, uttered by a foolish, untrusting and faithless writer who shall remain nameless for the sake of his own safety and wellbeing, couldn’t be further from the truth, if this week’s instalment of Thunderbirds Are Go is anything to go by. ‘Crosscut’ proves once again that the Thunderbirds format can easily fit plenty of action and adventure into one 20-minute episode.
Shifting the focus onto Scott, this week sees the International Rescue gang investigating a mysterious and potentially dangerous radiation spike in Africa, leading Scott to a supposedly abandoned Uranium Mine where he encounters a woman who is hijacking leftover uranium for nefarious ends. As with last week’s episode, it’s nice to see the show giving each character a go in the spotlight, and Scott certainly proves a more then capable leading character here, much like he always was in the classic series.
The plot zips along at a fair lick, packed with incident and action from beginning to end. As with last week’s ‘Space Race’, it’s certainly clear that the show’s main strength lies in when it takes the classic format and applies it to situations and scenarios that the 1960’s show could never have realistically achieved.
Watching Scott battle an out of control robot is something we’d never have seen the puppet equivalent do, so it’s a thrill to see such action unfold here. The same goes for Scott and Marion’s perilous climb in the climax; a breath-taking scene if ever there was one.
If there’s any criticism to aim at such a great episode, it’s probably the last-minute addition of the Hood. Sure, it is just a small cameo at the end, but it does feel unnecessary and tacked-on. Having him give out a silly angry scream just seems a bit much, especially for a villain who always seemed so stoic in the original. It’s as if Thunderbirds has suddenly become a Saturday morning cartoon… oh, wait!
Nitpicking aside, it’s another great episode of what is fast becoming one of the best shows on television, full-stop. Seeing the newly designed Mole is sure to send many fans’ hearts a-flutter, the humour is ever present and laugh-out-loud funny (Grandma’s cooking jokes are certainly a win with yours truly), and the visual/model effects are as top notch as ever.
Breezy, well-paced and an exciting rush from beginning to end, Thunderbirds are Go certainly doesn’t need 50 minutes to tell a great story; a fact ‘Crosscut’ certainly makes clear!
Aired on Saturday 18 April 2015 on CITV.
> Order Volume 1 on DVD on Amazon.
> Buy the complete Thunderbirds collection on Blu-ray on Amazon.
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