Designated Driver

Designated DriverSeason 1, Episode 22
Air date	26th December, 2015 (ITV) 27th December, 2015 (AUS) 12th June, 2016 (NL)
Written by	David Baddiel
Directed by	David Scott
Episode Guide
previous	Comet Chasers
next	Chain Of Command

"Designated Driver" is the 22nd episode of Thunderbirds Are Go!, and was broadcast on 26th December, 2015.

Plot

Parker gives Alan driving lessons at the Creighton-Ward Manor in FAB 0 while Lady Penelope has tea with her great aunt Sylvia. Progress is slow until a pair of bumbling intruders attempt to kidnap the ladies. FAB 1 is the only vehicle that can reach them in time. Parker is injured and cannot drive so Alan has to conquer his fear and rescue them.

Cast

• Rasmus Hardiker as Scott and Alan
• Rosamund Pike as Lady Penelope
• David Graham as Parker
• Sylvia Anderson as Great Aunt Sylvia
• Bob Golding as Bill
• Simon Greenall as Terry

Quotes

Alan: "Driving lessons, are you serious?"
Parker: "Oh, yes, Mr. Alan sir. I've taught all the Tracy brothers to drive, and your father and all his brothers before them, and his father and all his... oh no, wait a minute, I'm not quite that old."
Alan: "Great, Parker." (chuckles) "Hey, do you teach, parking?"

Lady Penelope: "Very good, Parker. Beautiful deportment. But, if you're going to be playing me, you might as well go the whole dog, you know, for authenticity sake."
Parker: "Yes, m'lady."

Alan: "Let's get back and help Lady Penelope, as fast as possible."
Parker: "Yes, sir, I would, only I think I just broke my arm, or rather, you just broke my arm, Mr. Alan sir."

Terry: "Bill, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Bill: I hope not Terry, as you are stupider than a bag of rocks."

Lady Penelope: "Bill, do you actually know how to drive?"
Bill: "Of course I don't know how to drive. It's 2060, nobody drives anymore, m'lady."

International Rescue Equipment Used

• Thunderbird 1
• FAB 1
• FAB 0

Non-International Rescue Equipment Used

• Targeted Electromagnetic Actuator

Gallery

"Alan, get up! We need you now!"

"Get suited up and meet me in Thunderbird 1. We have a situation."

Creighton-Ward Manor

"This is our situation? Lady Penelope's house?"

"'ello Alan, the time has come for you to learn to drive!"

TB1 takes off leaving Alan behind

"Driving lessons? Are you serious?"

"Great Parker... Hey, do you teach 'parking'?"

"By the way Parker, Lady Sylvia is coming for tea this afternoon"

"What was good enough for your brothers is good enough for you mister Alan sir, and I happen to like antiques!"

"You know if you're going to be playing me you may as well go the whole dog, you know... for authenticity sake"

Lady Sylvia arrives

Lady Penelope is setting up for afternoon tea

"Yes yes all good, now let's talk tea, shall we?"

Yes, yes, alright, I suppose we could have a cup before we get down to business."

A rock comes flying through the window and hits the coffee table

Penelope presses a hidden alarm

The shelving rotates around taking Aunt Sylvia with it

They flip FAB 0 over using the wheel propellers

Parker has an injured arm

The cooks attempt to make a get away in FAB 1 and realise they don't know how to drive

The thieves and Alan driving around the front of the manor, both cars stop starting as neither can drive

The thieves discover how o make FAB 1 fly by accident

Alan initiates FAB 0's flight controls

The thieves end up stuck on the roof in FAB 1

Great Aunt Sylvia manages to make it across from FAB 1 to FAB 0

Penelope activates T.E.A

"That was certainly unexpected"

"Well not just FAB 1 I hope, Parker"

"It's T.E.A. - Targeted Electromagnetic Actuator. It creates a force field around itself to a radius of 500 metres"

Scott arrives to take Alan home

"In fact, I think Mr Alan might demonstrate by dropping Lady Sylvia at the station"

"Not that car"

"You mean I get to drive FAB 1?"

"Wow, even I didn't get to drive FAB 1"

"I can sure go for some tea, Lady Penelope"

"Alan, my train - it does leave in five minutes. So if you wouldn't mind?"

Trivia

• This episode is more of a follow up to Comet Chasers.
• The beginning of this episode is quite similar to that of Slingshot.
• This episode was confirmed on February 26, 2015, alongside the first 'official' released images of Lady Penelope, Parker, Sherbet, Brains and FAB 1.
• Introduced here, Penelope's Great Aunt Sylvia is both named after and voiced by Sylvia Anderson, co-creator of the original Thunderbirds and the original voice of Lady Penelope.
• Various close-up shots of hands are filmed using real hands, a rather classic technique.
• This episode takes certain plot elements from Brink of Disaster.
• Alan both flies with Scott in Thunderbird 1 and drives FAB 1 with Parker for the first time.
• The teapot is based on the communicator used by the original Lady Penelope.
• Great Aunt Sylvia's dress is of a simular design to the one that Lady Penelope wore at the art exhibition in The Duchess Assignment.
• While Alan can fly Thunderbird 3 and the various pods, he still doesn't know how to drive a car. While it can be argued that it doesn't make sense, both driving a car and flying aircraft/spaceships are two very different things, which is why once FAB 0 is in flight he has more idea on how to control the car while it's airborne than on the ground.

Goofs

• When the thieves are in FAB 1 and they start to speed up while spinning round, the thieves are leaning to the right. However, with the cars turning clockwise, they should be leaning to the left.
• Bill said, "It's 2060. Nobody drives any more, m'lady." However, in Unplugged, there was a major traffic congestion, which means that there are still a number of people who drives in 2060, making his statement hyperbole. Furthermore, both Parker and several other characters are shown driving at various points throughout the show's run.

Foreign titles

• Dutch: Wie is de Bob?
• French: Conducteur désigné
• Spanish: Conductor Designado
• Japanese: シルビア大おば様とティーを ("Tea with Great Aunt Sylvia")
• Arabic: آلان ينقذ الموقف ("Alan saves the situation")