Lord Parker's 'Oliday
As with earlier episodes, the series again focuses on the exciting New Frontier verve of the early/mid-1960s and projects this 100 years into the future by exploring new methods of acquiring energy, in this case, solar.
Though the rigid class structure of English society was slowly but surely changing during the '60s, it is very evident in this episode. Lady Penelope visibly bristles with the notion of Parker getting above himself by elevating himself to the title of "Lord."
Tin-Tin is seen wearing an International Rescue uniform during her first mission in "Sunprobe," but unlike the male agents, her outfit has no sash.
Along the same lines of class structure, it is always evident that while Parker may know his place as compared to Lady Penelope, he always sees others in servile roles as being beneath him and treats them rather shabbily.
Again, we see a case of "science gone too far," yet the only person to note this with a real sense of dread is Bruno, whose mantra, "It will be a great disaster" holds true, of course.
The sashes the Tracy boys wear were made of leather and painted their unique colors.
Jeff Tracy was modeled on Canadian actor Lorne Greene, famous for his portrayal of patriarch Ben Cartwright on TV's "Bonanza."
On the window of Thunderbird 5's communications room, the name "International Rescue" reads correctly only from inside; from outside, it would be seen as backward.
As with their hair color, the Tracy boys are a mix of their father and mother's appearances: Alan, John and Scott's eyes are blue; Virgil and Gordon have brown eyes.
A difference in the waistlines of the male leads is what accounts for the varying appearance in height among them. Thus, Scott and John are taller than Virgil, Alan and Gordon.
Gordon and Alan's bodies are built to look more dense than their older brothers; their legs are thicker and their waistlines lower. This is otherwise known as...baby fat!
In the episode "Vault Of Death," Ray Barrett interpreted the Lovegrove character by voicing him as a likeness of Sir John Gielgud.
Brains continually hints that he'd like to be in Monte Bianco for the experiment, but Jeff, true to form, ignores him, just as he treats him in "Thunderbird 6" when he refuses to allow him to see the launch of his airship design.
Built rather more thin and slight compared to his brothers, the lithe and graceful John Tracy is gifted with a sense of poise inherited from his late mother, Lucy.
Often seen in the series, the London Heliport was made of sections from a set from Marineville as seen in the series "Stingray."
Each of the Tracy boys wears matching uniforms with distinctive sash colors: blue (Scott), yellow (Virgil), lilac (John), orange (Gordon) and white (Alan).
Cass Carnaby ("The Cham Cham") is seen playing in the piano lounge in the dining room of the hotel, but apparently he's gone solo as his band are nowhere in sight!
Alan's feelings about Brains as a member of the team seem to come full-circle from his unkind comment "I just don't dig him" back in "Sunprobe" to a real sense of respect shown toward him here.
Penny gets a rare chance to use the hydrofoils on FAB 1 in this episode; she was fresh from having used them in "Thunderbirds Are Go."
Showing a growing sense of respect for the efforts of his son, Jeff gives Virgil the lead role on this rescue, even though he states several times that he has misgivings about the mission.
Brains was only ever seen in an International Rescue uniform once, during the film "Thunderbird 6." His IR sash color is brown.
Brains' unerring judgment and wisdom in all matters of technology have made him an indispensable member of International Rescue. Unfortunately, that importance to the organization tends to cost him a lot of his freedom.
There are publicity photos of Jeff Tracy wearing an International Rescue uniform in support of a charity drive, but he never did this during the series. The sash he's seen wearing in the photos belongs to Brains.
Though he realizes that his function is critical to the team, John Tracy still feels less a true part of things because of his isolation in Thunderbird 5. To his frustration, even Brains has been on more rescue missions than he has. We are told that John has participated in around 12 missions (counting the Ocean Pioneer II rescue), yet that's the only one seen on screen.