"Hyperspeed" is the 25th episode of Thunderbirds Are Go! season 2. It was broadcast on the 9th of December, 2017.
Plot[]
When the first run of an inventor's newly-constructed Hypercar begins to malfunction, Scott must try to find a way to slow down the fast-moving ride.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Scott Tracy - Rasmus Hardiker
- Virgil Tracy, Gordon Tracy - David Menkin
- Brains - Kayvan Novak
- Grandma Tracy - Sandra Dickinson
Guest Cast[]
- Tycho Reeves - David Tennant
- Keiko Murakami - Emily Atkins
- Toshi Murakami - Togo Igawa
- Gertie Bunson - Lorelei King
- Technician - Laura Reed
Quotes[]
Scott: "Any luck figuring out what's gone wrong, Brains? Brains?"
Tycho: "I think your friend may be a tad, starstruck."
Brains: "I'm your n-number 1 fan."
Scott: "Well, Brains, if you ever want to meet Tycho in person, we better figure out how to stop his car."
Gertie: "We've been told to evacuate the platform as Thunderbird 1 lands, but we're not gonna miss a chance to bring you this thrilling live shot of- whoa!" (gets blown away by Thunderbird 1's engines) "Let's move back a bit, shall we?"
Tycho: "I bet you didn't know you'd be getting a demonstration of our collision protection system, eh?"
Toshi: "I feel like a balloon animal."
Gordon: "Um, are we sure this is a good idea?" (Thunderbird 4 gets launched backwards) "Bad idea, bad idea!"
Virgil: "Let's hope you guys make a slower, gentler exit."
Gordon: "Hey, I'm nothing if not gentle. Brace for impact!"
Gertie: “Scott Tracy, any chance we could get a quick interview?” (Scott starts Thunderbird 1’s engines) “You know what, never mind. Another time... maybe.”
International Rescue Equipment used[]
- Thunderbird 1
- Thunderbird 2 (Module 4)
- Thunderbird 4
- Mini-MAX
Non International Rescue Equipment Used[]
- Hypercar
Gallery[]
"You'd never know we were going more than 7 times the speed of sound!"
The Hypercar
"I think we missed our stop..."
"We're still speeding up..."
"If anybody can catch up to you, it's us."
"Closing in on the Hypertube now."
"Matching speed with the Hypercar."
"Any luck iguring out what's gone wrong, Brains?"
"I think your friend may be a tad, starstruck."
"Hitting the atmosphere at Mach 8 would be like slamming into a brick wall."
"I've got Tycho's tools..."
"Are you certain this is a good idea, Scott?"
"Got a better one? Tycho needs tools, I'm gonna get them to him."
"Meet Mini-MAX."
"Brains, you always surprise me."
"Ready to launch."
"Pushing this thing as fast as possible. Let's hope it's fast enough."
"I feel like a balloon animal!"
"Hi there! I believe you requested this?"
"Thanks!"
"So nice to finally meet you, virtually, at least."
"Sorry to interrupt, but, imminent doom?"
"Right..."
"Looks like a fun place to hang out..."
"I don't think that's gonna be hard to remember, Brains."
"I didn't enter us. Grandpa did. He loves to go fast."
"So I probably want to replace these one at a time then, huh?"
"Yes, and very carefully."
"Three down, one to go."
"Installing the last plug..."
"It's no use. Go back inside, Scott."
"Tycho, I'm afraid I found the problem."
"My calculations were perfect..."
"Even geniuses make mistakes."
"There's no way for us to stop..."
"There's gotta be a way to fix this..."
"Let's not say our goodbyes just yet. We will figure out how to stop this car."
"You may be a genius, but there's nothing smarter than hard work."
"I'm in position."
"Lowering Thunderbird 4."
"Are we sure this is a good idea?"
"Bad idea, bad idea!"
"I have visual on the cars."
"They're loading into Thunderbird 4."
"Afterburners on!"
"Did you guys have a plan for how to land this thing?"
Thunderbird 2 catches Thunderbird 4
"Can we do that again?"
"No, thanks. Not just yet."
"My deepest thanks to International Rescue for saving our lives."
"And for the thrill of a lifetime!"
"It's not intelligence that makes a great inventor, it's persistence."
Trivia[]
- This episode borrows plot elements from Brink of Disaster. Also, this episode is somewhat similar to Runaway.
- This is the first time Scott is seen aboard Thunderbird 4.
- Thunderbird 4's turbines are modified to act as afterburners, much similar to its classic counterpart.
- This is the second time that Thunderbird 4 has been used in an unconventional manner, after the events of Heavy Metal.
- This is the second time that Thunderbird 2 has lowered its module and opened the flap in flight in order to catch a craft falling from through the sky (the first occurrence of this was catching FAB 1 in Clean Sweep).
- Scott refuses to give an interview to a journalist (in quite a humorous manner). Of course, in the classic series, International Rescue was not to be filmed under any circumstances.
- This is the first episode since Ring of Fire Part 2 to use a different closing theme instead of the 'closing titles' march.
- The Tycho Reeves character is a parody of Elon Musk and his Hyperloop concept.
- This is the first time a non-English line (Japanese) was used in the episodes.
- Tycho says that the Hypercar is travelling at seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7) and later Brains says that the speed is Mach 8. Scientifically, these statements are meaningless since the medium through which the Hypercar is travelling is a vacuum and the speed of sound in which would be zero. Contrary to popular belief, the speed of sound varies depending on the medium through which the sound is projected, amongst other variables.
- In practice, this refers to its velocity relative to the ground, which Thunderbird 1 would have reached in order to match speed during the initial intercept; Mach 8 being in excess of 6000mph.
- Some sceneries in the episode are reused from the previous episodes (Attack of the Reptiles, Tunnels of Time, Legacy).
- Both Igawa And Tennant have appeared on Doctor Who.
- This episode marks the introduction of Mini-Max.
Goofs[]
- The environment within the tube is stated to be a vacuum, however there's no apparent airlock mechanism in the cars. During the climax as the passengers maneuver to Thunderbird 4, they simply climb out of the car. While they're wearing helmets, it's unclear how Scott got from Car #2 into Car #1 in the first place without evacuating all the air from both.
- When the Hypercars - and Thunderbird 4 immediately thereafter - are shown leaving the hyperloop tunnel, a plasma sheath similar to atmospheric entry forms in front of them due to Thunderbird 2 cutting open the tunnel and breaking the vacuum. However, re-entry speed is defined as Mach 25 and above, while all present craft were going no faster than Mach 8, and would logically be going even slower by the time they left the tunnel. Even if we could handwave it by claiming that the oncoming air would increase the relative speed above Mach 8, the combined heat and pressure would also vaporize all present craft long before they reached the end of the tunnel.
- When Gordon tries to catch up to the Hypercar, he shoots a harpoon. However, in every scene after this, the harpoon is missing. Gordon has not detached the harpoon in those scenes either, as he says after rescuing everyone, 'Harpoon detached'.
