"The Cham-Cham" is the 25th episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF). The penultimate episode of Thunderbirds Series One, it was written and directed by Alan Pattillo and first broadcast on 24 March 1966 on ATV Midlands.
Set in the 2060s, Thunderbirds follows the exploits of International Rescue, an organisation that uses technologically advanced rescue vehicles to save human life. The main characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, founder of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the organisation's main vehicles: the Thunderbird machines. "The Cham-Cham" opens with a United States Air Force plane being shot down during a radio broadcast of the instrumental "Dangerous Game" by popular musical group the Cass Carnaby Five. International Rescue suspect sabotage, and Lady Penelope, Tin-Tin and Parker travel to the Swiss Alps to investigate the band's current tour venue, the mountain resort Paradise Peaks. There, they discover that the RTL2 attacks are being co-ordinated with the aid of an advanced computer called a "Cham-Cham".
Filmed in late 1965, "The Cham-Cham" has a show business theme and was written in the style of classic Hollywood musicals. It features several innovations in APF's use of marionette puppets. One scene features the Penelope character performing a slow dance, which was a challenge to film due to the difficulty in moving Supermarionation puppets convincingly. "The Cham-Cham" is also the first episode of any Supermarionation series to show characters skiing. "Dangerous Game", the focus of the episode's soundtrack, was devised as a Latin rhythm by series composer Barry Gray. Singer Ken Barrie recorded a lyrical version but this is not heard in the finished episode.
"The Cham-Cham" has been well received by commentators, drawing particular praise for its production design and soundtrack. Sylvia Anderson considered the plot "far-fetched" but valued the episode for its "charm" and Swiss Alps setting. An audio adaptation of the episode, narrated by David Graham as Parker, was released in March 1967 as the Century 21 mini-LP Lady Penelope.
Plot
USAF planes flying missile shipments out of Matthews Field air base have been shot down by enemy fighters shortly after take-off. On Tracy Island, Alan (voiced by Matt Zimmerman) notes that each attack has occurred while popular band the Cass Carnaby Five have been performing their hit instrumental "Dangerous Game" on live radio. He and Brains (voiced by David Graham) examine a recording of the latest broadcast to determine whether the music contains a hidden code that is being used to co-ordinate the attacks.
Meanwhile, Jeff (voiced by Peter Dyneley) assigns Lady Penelope, Tin-Tin and Parker (voiced by Sylvia Anderson, Christine Finn and David Graham) to investigate Paradise Peaks, a mountain-top hotel in the Swiss Alps that is currently playing host to Cass Carnaby and his group. The agents go undercover, with Penelope posing as a singer called "Wanda Lamour" and Parker securing a job as a waiter. They learn that Carnaby's manager, the mysterious Mr Olsen, often alters the arrangement of "Dangerous Game" before each new broadcast and that he is expecting to receive a message the following day.
In the morning, Penelope and Tin-tin ski down the mountain to Olsen's chalet and film him operating a strange machine that is decoding musical sounds into text stating the time of the next missile shipment. They deduce that he is issuing orders for the next attack and start back to Paradise Peaks to alert Jeff. Realising that he has been observed, Olsen telephones his associate Banino, a waiter at the hotel, with orders to kill Penelope and Tin-Tin. Banino goes outside with a sniper rifle and prepares to shoot the women before they reach the hotel. However, he is thwarted by Parker, who overheard the phone conversation and grabs the rifle, upsetting Banino's aim. In their struggle, the men lose their balance and tumble down the mountain together, forming a giant snowball in the process. Banino is knocked out but Parker emerges unscathed.