Trapped in the Sky

"Trapped in the Sky"

Thunderbirds episode

A blue, futuristic airliner rests on top of three orange support vehicles (one underneath the fuselage and two underneath the wings) as it speeds out of control along a runway against a grassy backdrop, the sky bright with clouds.

The Elevator Cars struggle to bring Fireflash to a halt as it speeds down Runway 29. Runway shots incorporated a looping canvas set to simulate movement of tarmac, grass verges and clouds. A technical error – whereby a line guiding the port-side Elevator Car model snapped – was kept in the finished episode.

Episode no.

Season 01
Episode 01

Directed by

Alan Pattillo

Written by

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson

Cinematography by

Paddy Seale

Editing by

David Lane
Len Walter

Production code

Original air date

30 September 1965

Guest appearance(s)

Voices of:
Sylvia Anderson as
Air Terrainean Flight Attendant
Ray Barrett as
Fireflash Co-Pilot Frank
Assistant Controller
Assistant Operator Harris
TX-204 Target 1 Pilot
Peter Dyneley as
Commander Norman
Interceptor 1 Pilot
Christine Finn as
London Airport Tannoy
David Graham as
Captain Hanson
Lieutenant Bob Meddings
Fireflash Passenger
Doctor
Airport Police officer
Crash Tenders Chief
Shane Rimmer as
TX-204 Target 1 Co-Pilot

Episode chronology

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"Pit of Peril"

List of Thunderbirds episodes

"Trapped in the Sky" is the first episode of Thunderbirds, a British 1960s Supermarionation television series. Written by co-creators Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, it was first broadcast on ATV Midlands on 30 September 1965. The plot revolves around criminal mastermind the Hood, who sabotages the nuclear-powered airliner Fireflash prior to her maiden flight. Unable to land for fear of detonating a motion-sensitive bomb, and threatened by radiation leaking from Fireflash's overworked atomic reactor, the crew and passengers' only hope of survival is the newly formed International Rescue Organisation.

While drafting the episode, the Andersons found inspiration in Gerry's experiences as a conscript in the RAF during the 1940s, when he witnessed the fatal crash of a Mosquito fighter and the controlled landing of a damaged Spitfire. Filmed mostly in late 1964, "Trapped in the Sky" features pioneering work from series special effects director Derek Meddings, who used a looping "rolling road" mechanism to simplify the shooting of the Fireflash rescue.

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Wikipedia