Thunderbirds Martian Invasion review

Here's what you need to know; when a film production is sabotaged by the Hood, trapping the stars in a mountain, International Rescue answers the call. Little do they know that they've flown right into a trap, as the Hood waits with a camera to steal their secrets.

 

This episode is a very interesting one, I'll immediately start with one of the most interesting elements, the film production, it's just your average 60's sci fi film, but I have a bit of a soft spot for such old sci fi films, 50's films like War of the worlds, Earth vs the Flying Saucers, and of course the Toho productions of the 50's and 60's, and the Jerry Anderson Supermarionation productions, oh wait. I could go on for a while, point is I like old sci fi, and I like this episode for that. It's not a terribly huge element though, overshadowed by the rescue and the Hood's evil scheme. The rescue is a rather procedural one, having a lot in common with a lot of previous rescues like Pit of Peril and Terror in New York City, with people trapped underground and water flooding in. But like Pit of Peril, this rescue uses really cool machinery, a new rubble clearing machine that in addition to actually looking like it might be useful in real rescues, is just a sweet machine, up there with the recovery vehicles and the Elevator Cars, easily. that sums up the first half of this episode. Where I start loving this episode in the second half, with Scott and Virgil on the Hood's tail in a really fun chase sequence. While not the most eventful chase in the history of Thunderbirds, it's awesome to see the Thunderbirds actively going after the Hood, and the 2 engaging in a game of cat and mouse that takes many foolish and funny forms, including a tunnel misdirection, a foot chase through a forest, and a stupidly funny aerial chase with a stolen plane. I will say that the chase ends a bit abruptly though, and the fate of the McGuffin is left strangely uncertain, as is the fate of the Hood and his mysterious client General X. But all in all this is a very enjoyable episode of Thunderbirds, I like the rescue, the Martian Invasion film scenes, and the really cool chase with the Hood. the ending is a bit sudden, but other than that, I really like this episode, and very highly recommend it.