With the movie reincarnation of International Rescue storming towards us with the beauty of Brains and the grace of Thunderbird 2, plenty have mentioned that a central innovation of the film – on top of better effects, a bit of character development and, for some reason, human beings – is the somewhat intrusive appearance of a plot. No longer will a mere collapsing bridge or teetering cable car tower threaten the utopian order, perhaps with a nod to the villainous Mr Hood. Now there’s motivation, conflict and denouement. Its sacrilege.
But Thunderbirds was never the worst for papery thin absurdity. That prize must go to stable mate Joe 90, which once devoted the first third of an episode to the hero’s search for a pair of swimming trunks. In some shops.
Now there’s a challenge for Jonathan Frakes. Go for it.