"Chain Of Command" is the 23rd episode of Thunderbirds Are Go!, and was broadcast on January 2nd, 2016.
Plot[]
During a joint operation between International Rescue and the Global Defence Force, a series of mishaps nearly ends in disaster. In the wake of the botched mission, Colonel Martin Janus takes over the GDF, imposing a strict set of restrictions on International Rescue. As Lady Penelope and Parker attempt to reason with the colonel, they begin to realize that he is not quite what he seems.
Cast[]
Colonel Janus
- Rasmus Hardiker as Scott and Alan
- David Menkin as Virgil and Gordon
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster as John
- Kayvan Novak as Brains and Colonel Martin Janus
- Rosamund Pike as Lady Penelope
- David Graham as Parker
- Angel Coulby as Kayo
- Sandra Dickinson as Grandma
- Andres Williams as The Hood and GDF Duty Officer
- Adjoa Andoh as Colonel Casey
- Teresa Gallagher as GDF Lieutenant
Quotes[]
Scott: "Thunderbird 2, how quickly can we stabilize this bridge?"
Virgil: "Faster than you can say 'Thunderbirds are go'."
Scott: "Okay, you get the bridge, Virgil, but be careful of that downdraft. I'm on the driver. Thunderbirds are go."
Virgil: "Alright, maybe I was exaggerating a little."
Parker: "Little control freak, wants to get his teeth into everything."
Alan: "Parker's right! We can't let Janus do this to us."
Parker: (with Sherbet bothering him) "I wasn't talking about the Colonel."
Scott: "If saving lives makes us outlaws, so be it."
International Rescue Equipment Used[]
Non-International Rescue Equipment Used[]
- Global Defence Force Quadjet
- Global Defence Force Cutting Equipment
Gallery[]
GDF vehicle trapped on a fallen bridge
Man trapped inside the GDF vehicle
TB1 & 2 arrive on the scene
Alan in one of the pods with stabilising foam
Gordon in a secondary pod
Scott jets down to try to rescue the trapped man
Cable from the bridge snaps
Cable makes contact with Scott's jetpack shorting it out
Scott grabs the cab door to prevent falling down into the ravine
GDF vehicle falls along with a section of the bridge
Alan & Gordon deploy the foam to try and stabilise the bridge
TB2 holding up the bridge while Alan & Gordon try to reinforce it
The bridge still collapses.
A GDF plane lands near TB1 at the disaster site
Colonel Martin Janus arrives
Colonel Janus tells Scott that International Rescue are now under GDF control
Scott voices his grief about the situation to Lady Penelope
"Come along Sherbet."
"You too Parker."
John picks up a distress call from a cargo ship taking on water
"Don't forget to get permission."
John gets informed that they have been denied permission to perform the rescue
"Scott, you need to turn around. We really have been grounded."
Scott is not too impressed with that information.
"What is this Janus guy trying to prove?"
FAB 1 arriving outside the GDf headquarters
Penelope has talks with Janus
Parker mentions one of the military service medals Janus has on his jacket
Parker discovers Janus is a liar
Parker tells Lady Penelope that Janus is a fraud and not who he says he is
John informs this brothers of a really dangerous situation unfolding
The Tracy's all board TB2
TB2 arrives at the scene
There are some builders trapped high above on the construction site
John informs them they have company
The GDF surround TB2
TB2 grounded back at the GDF base
Janus demands that they leave TB2 and hand it over to the GDF
"Don't let Janus in, stall him while I track down Lady P. Maybe her connections can help."
"If she doesn't torpedo us for rocking the exact boat she told us not to."
The GDF are doing nothing to help the construction workers
Janus is taken into GDF custody
TB2 flies off to go help the trapped workers
Gordon & Alan assemble the pods
Gordon uses the stabilisation foam to fortify the structure
Scott rescues the workers from above
The workers are safe
Who Janus was really working for
Trivia[]
- This episode borrows some plot elements from The Impostors, albeit with International Rescue being regulated to an extreme level rather than being forced to shut down due to an external frame.
- The aforementioned bridge rescue scene adapts some elements from Day of Disaster, with the premise of a collapsing bridge and imperilled government personnel, and End Of The Road, where a truck is precariously balancing on a ledge. It also borrows some plot elements from City of Fire, with a city located in a building in peril.
- Scott flies in Thunderbird 2 with Virgil and Gordon for the first time as the co-pilot in this episode. Alan also flies in Thunderbird 2 for the second time as a passenger in this episode.
- Interestingly, Gordon still uses his same animation when boarding Thunderbird 2 despite two extra characters in the same shot.
- Near the end of the episode, Virgil is shown playing the piano much like his original counterpart.
Virgil playing the piano
- When Colonel Casey asks the Janus Imposter who he really works for she asks him "Who's pulling your strings?" to which he replies "I'm nobody's puppet". This is of course a reference to the original puppet series.
- Janus' attempt to make International Rescue ask the GDF for permission to be involved in rescue operations seems somewhat similar to the events of the 2016 Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Captain America: Civil War and the government's attempts to get the Avengers to sign the Sokovian Accords and regulate their involvement in situations.
Goofs[]
- Kayo mentions that she will give Brains a lift in Thunderbird Shadow, however, so far, Thunderbird Shadow is only seen to have one seat.
- The Mole is incorrectly shown as keeping its caterpillar tracks after it has started digging.
Foreign titles[]
- Dutch: De hoogste in rang (The Senior)
- French: Chaîne de commandement
- Spanish: Cadena de Mando
- Japanese: インターナショナル・レスキュー出動禁止！ (International Rescue Mobilisation Prohibited!)
- Arabic: تسلسل القيادة