"Trapped in the Sky" is the first episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. Written by the Andersons, it was first broadcast on ATV Midlands on 30 September 1965.
Set in the 2060s, the series 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 fleet: the Thunderbird machines. In "Trapped in the Sky", master criminal the Hood plants a bomb on board the new atomic-powered airliner Fireflash before it departs on its maiden flight. Unable to land for fear of setting off the bomb, the crew and passengers' only hope of survival lies with International Rescue.
While planning the episode, the Andersons drew inspiration from Gerry's memories of his National Service in the RAF, during which he witnessed the fatal crash of a Mosquito aircraft and the emergency landing of a damaged Spitfire. To save studio space, special effects director Derek Meddings filmed the rescue of Fireflash on a static set using a system of looping canvasses instead of a miniature runway.
"Trapped in the Sky" was originally filmed as a 25-minute pilot in late 1964. Lew Grade, the Andersons' financial backer, was so impressed by the production that he ordered APF to re-write and extend every Thunderbirds episode from 25 to 50 minutes so that the series would fill a one-hour TV timeslot. Well received on its first broadcast, "Trapped in the Sky" is widely regarded as one of the best episodes of Thunderbirds. It was adapted into an audio play in 1966 and had its first UK-wide showing in 1991 on BBC 2. It was later re-made as "Fireflash", the fifth episode of the remake series Thunderbirds Are Go.
Plot
The Hood (voiced by Ray Barrett), a criminal mastermind based in an ancient temple in Malaysia, is telepathically linked to his half-brother Kyrano (voiced by David Graham), the manservant to the Tracy family on Tracy Island. Using this connection to extract information from Kyrano, the Hood learns that International Rescue – an organisation formed by Jeff Tracy (voiced by Peter Dyneley) and his five sons – is now operational. The psychological trauma of the Hood's coercion causes Kyrano to faint in front of Jeff.
Determined to acquire the secrets of International Rescue's Thunderbird machines, the Hood plots to engineer a rescue situation that will give him the perfect opportunity to spy on the organisation. Travelling to London International Airport, he plants a bomb within the landing gear hydraulics of Fireflash, a new atomic-powered hypersonic airliner departing for its maiden flight to Tokyo. Its passengers include Kyrano's daughter Tin-Tin (voiced by Christine Finn). After Fireflash takes off, the Hood anonymously calls air traffic control to reveal his sabotage, warning Commander Norman that the bomb will detonate on landing.
ATC alerts Fireflashs Captain Hanson, who tells Norman that the shield around the airliner's nuclear reactor requires regular servicing and that if Fireflash does not land within three hours everyone on board will die of radiation exposure. ATC commandeers a military plane that docks with Fireflash in the air, allowing Lieutenant Bob Meddings to gain access through a service hatch and attempt to remove the bomb. The operation ends disastrously when Meddings loses his grip and falls out of the plane, deploying his parachute just moments before hitting the ground.
John Tracy (voiced by Ray Barrett), who has been monitoring radio transmissions from space station Thunderbird 5, reports the unfolding events to his father on Tracy Island. Jeff dispatches Scott and Virgil (voiced by Shane Rimmer and David Holliday) to London in Thunderbirds 1 and 2. Landing at the airport, Scott assures Norman of International Rescue's good faith but orders that no photographs be taken of the Thunderbird machines. Airport police move in to guard Thunderbird 1, but the Hood, disguised as one of the officers, breaks in and photographs the cockpit. Scott is alerted by the on-board camera detector and the Hood flees in one of the police cars, chased up the M1 motorway by police.