Pit of Peril

Pit of Peril
Season 1, Episode 2

Air date

7th October 1965

Written by

Alan Fennell

Directed by

Desmond Saunders

Episode Guide

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Trapped in the Sky	The Perils of Penelope

"Two brave men have been badly injured in that pit. I don't know if I should risk another life."
— General Peters

"Pit of Peril" is the second episode of Thunderbirds season 1. It first aired on 7th October 1965.

An accident causes an enormous, and unwieldy, US Army prototype vehicle to topple into a burning landfill, helpless to extricate itself. Only International Rescue is capable of transporting the equipment required to rescue the crew trapped inside, before they die of heat exposure.

Plot[]

During the field-testing of a revolutionary new Army transport vehicle, the Sidewinder, it literally runs into trouble - abruptly disappearing beneath the ground, along with its crew. International Rescue is called; and with men's lives at stake, a highly ingenious - and dangerous - operation, devised on-site by Brains, must be executed perfectly...

Storyline[]

Main article: Pit of Peril/Storyline

Transcript[]

Main article: Pit of Peril/Transcript

Cast[]

Regular Characters[]

Guest Characters[]

International Rescue Equipment Used[]

Non-International Rescue Equipment Used[]

Locations[]

Trivia[]

Pit of Peril follows the series' opening episode - Trapped in the Sky - in the order of both production and TV broadcast.
While City of Fire was the next episode to be produced, The Perils of Penelope was the next to be actually broadcast. From that point on, the actual order of broadcast departed from the production order until episode 25, The Cham-Cham.
Pit of Peril is the only episode where none of the series' female characters appear - and the only one in the series not to feature Christine Finn.
The mighty Mole makes its first appearance in this episode. It's also seen in action in the episodes City of Fire and The Duchess Assignment, as well as in cameos in Cry Wolf and Vault Of Death (where, although needed, it cannot in fact be used!).
The Mole also appears in the series' closing credits; the only recurring TB2 Pod vehicle to do so.
The Recovery Vehicles make their only appearance, in this episode.
In the Australian 30-minute 'cliffhanger' version, part 1 ends with a shot of Thunderbird 1 switching to horizontal flight.
This is the first episode to have an on-screen title.
First episode to feature voice actor Matt Zimmerman.
Although seen in the opening credits, this is the first of out three episodes not feature Alan Tracy.

Goofs[]

Once Frank has started talking for the first time in the episode, he has taken his hat off. Once the Sidewinder has started moving again, his hat has reappeared back on his head. The moment it tips on its side his hat is off once again.

In some shots as the Sidewinder makes its way across the desert, a massive crease can be seen in the sky.
Although the Sidewinder fell on its back, the crew is always seen standing the right way up in the control room.

When the atomic reactor goes down twenty points in the Sidewinder, Frank has only one eye brow.

As the Mole leaves the pod, the top of it scrapes along the edge of the pod door.

When the Mole comes back up to the surface with Scott and Virgil, dust and sand can be seen coming up from the ground. This is due to the fact it is reversed from earlier footage.

As the Recovery Vehicles haul the Sidewinder out of the pit, they switch numbers between shots.

Thunderbird 1 sets a small dead tree alight with its vertical jet when taking off at the end of the episode.

Alternate Versions[]

Thunderbirds (FOX Kids Series)[]

Main article: Pit of Peril (Fox Kids Series)

During 1994, FOX Kids in the USA decided to re-air Thunderbirds, albeit in a re-edited and re-voiced 20 minute version, suitable for the then-contemporary audience. Pit of Peril was the second of 13 episodes to undergo this treatment, in a fairly faithful adaptation of the original.

Thunderbirds: The Comic[]

Main article: Pit of Peril (comic)

In 1992, several episodes of Thunderbirds were adapted into comic form for Fleetway's Thunderbirds The Comic series. Pit of Peril was the first story to undergo this treatment. Likely written by Alan Fennell, the story's original author and the magazine's editor, and illustrated by Steve Kyte, the 12 page adaptation began in issue #4 and was spread over two issues, emulating the presentation of the 1960's TV Century 21 stories.

Photo Story[]

A regular feature in the first year or so of Redan's Thunderbirds magazine were photo stories - summaries of episodes using frames from it, and assembled like a comic story across 8 pages. Told from Virgil's point of view, the Pit of Peril photo story was published in issue 11 and would remain fairly accurate to the original episode, cutting out most of the first half of the episode and opening with General Peters calling International Rescue for help.

Redan Mission Report[]

After Redan had published photo-stories of all 32 classic TV episodes, they began re-adapting episodes, but this time as mission-reports filed by the characters who took part in that episode's adventure. Appearing in issue 34, the Pit of Peril mission report features recounts by Scott, Brains, Virgil and Jeff, with the following ten multiple-choice questions posed to readers (correct answers denoted in bold):

What is the name of the machine in danger? (Sidestepper, Sidewinder, Sidekicker)
How do its cooling and air purifying systems work? (Atomic reactor, gas, electricity)
In which country did the rescue take place? (England, Africa, America - although neither Africa nor America are actual countries)
Which Thunderbird 2 pod was used in the rescue? (Pod 4, Pod 5, Pod 6)
Which special vehicles were stored in this pod (Recovery Vehicles, Firefly, The Mole)
How deep was the pit in the rescue? (100 feet, 200 feet, 300 feet)
How many rescue attempts did the army make before calling International Rescue? (2, 3, 4)
Who is in charge of technical support (Scott Tracy, Virgil Tracy, Brains)
Which Tracy brother controls Thunderbird 5? (John, Alan, Gordon)
This rescue took place in the... (Snow, jungle, desert)

Foreign Titles[]

German: Im Krater gefangen (DVD)
French: L'éboulement (VHS, DVD)
Italian: Sidewinder S.O.S.
Spanish: El Abismo del Peligro; El agujero peligroso (DVD)
Dutch: Kuil vol gevaar (TV 1966); Instortingsgevaar (TV 1991); Valkuil van gevaar (VHS, DVD)
Portuguese: Cratera do Perigo
Japanese: ジェット“モグラ号”の活躍

Gallery[]

Main article: Pit of Peril/Gallery