"Blazing Danger" is the second story in Fire and Fury, the second full-cast audio release from Anderson Entertainment's Thunderbirds series. It was adapted by Nicholas Briggs from the comic of the same name, originally published in TV Century 21's Thunderbirds series.
Synopsis[]
Lady Penelope and her faithful butler Parker make their latest visit to Tracy Island, and are keen to experience a rescue mission. Reluctantly, Jeff Tracy agrees to them taking a test flight in Thunderbird 2. But fiery events in Canada overtake them, and International Rescue's British agents find themselves flung into a full-blown danger zone, packed with peril and treachery.
Plot[]
In Canada, two people, Samantha (Sam) Lincoln and Jack Farrel are on a fishing holiday by a river. However, when Sam goes off to collect some refreshments from their car, Jack is unaware what Sam has planned behind his back: Sam Lincoln plans to take control of Canada Engineering Incorporated, and with Jack Farrel clearly the senior partner of their business, she wants to murder him. So, secretly, Sam contacts someone called Boise to bring the helijet to her, whilst she sets off the incendiary charges which are already in place around the forest. Boise's part of the deal with the murderous scheme is $20,000.
Meanwhile, using her private jet, Lady Penelope and Parker make a return visit to Tracy Island, where Jeff, Scott, Virgil, Alan and Brains greet her. Penelope is keen to go on a rescue mission to get firsthand experience that she regards as being vital experience for her as International Rescue's London Agent. Jeff is a little reluctant to put Penelope in any situation that might be too risky, so Virgil suggests that he take Penelope and Parker for a test flight in Thunderbird 2. Alan then set offs in Thunderbird 3 to go to Thunderbird 5 and take over space monitor duty from John, who has been picking up some worrying transmissions from Canada. Shortly afterwards, Virgil, Penelope and Parker are joined by Gordon in Thunderbird 2, with Pod 4 selected, and they take-off for the test flight. As Thunderbird 3 docks with Thunderbird 5, John contacts Jeff, having picked up the transmission between Sam Lincoln and Boise. Jeff realises that trouble is indeed brewing in Canada, but since their organisation is for rescue missions, and not police work, he instructs John to warn the Canadian Authorities, whilst also keeping an eye on the situation.
After making the transmission, Sam sets off the charges, which immediately sets the entire forest into raging inferno. At the river, Jack Farrel notices the blaze rushing through the forest, but when he tries to escape, he is shocked when Sam hold him at gunpoint, revealing her murderous scheme to him.
Despite their best efforts, the fire department are forced back by the immense heat, meaning that they can't rescue the two people trapped by the river. The fire chief decides to call on International Rescue for help, and as soon as John receives the updated information, Jeff orders Scott to launch Thunderbird 1. Thunderbird 2 is also contacted and instructed to head to the scene of the fire, since there are some standard fire-fighting vehicles already in Pod 4 along with Thunderbird 4.
Back by the river, the helijet arrives to pick up Sam, but before it can land, the immense heat from the blazing forest ignite the aircraft's fuel tanks, causing it to explode. As Farrel's car also explodes, leaving them both without a means of escape, Farrel knocks the gun out of Lincoln's hand, and takes hold of it; but he doesn't intend to kill Sam, instead intending to see her stand trial for attempted murder.
Meanwhile, Scott arrives aboard Thunderbird 1, and the fire chief explains that the two people are trapped between the forest fire and the raging river. To make matters difficult, there's a cliff on the other side of the river. So, when Thunderbird 2 arrives and positions itself above the river, it carefully lowers Pod 4 onto the raging torrent, and then, Thunderbird 4 is launched. Gordon manoeuvres Thunderbird 4 into position to collect Farrel and Lincoln, but as soon as they are onboard, the strong current and raging rapids force Thunderbird 4 downriver, and over the waterfall. Luckily, Thunderbird 4 is undamaged, and its three occupants, whilst a bit bruised, have also survived.
Scott, aboard Thunderbird 1, contacts Virgil to collect Thunderbird 4 whilst he checks out the fire situation. Thunderbird 4 is winched back aboard Pod 4, where Penelope and Parker have been preparing the fire-fighting vehicles for action. However, Sam Lincoln manages to retrieve her gun from Farrel, and she takes Parker as a hostage, escaping in the master fire fighter vehicle that remotely controls the three other fire-fighting vehicles on board. As Thunderbird 1 pursues Fire-Fighter 1, the other fire-fighting vehicles are switched to manual control, and Virgil, Gordon, Penelope and Farrel operate them to put the forest fire out.
Sam forces Parker at gunpoint to drive through the forest, but Scott aboard Thunderbird 1 is gaining on them, and he fires a missile that causes the path ahead of Fire Fighter 1 to be blocked, preventing Lincoln's escape. Coming out with Parker, she instructs Thunderbird 1 to land, intending to take Scott as a hostage instead of Parker, and use Thunderbird 1 to escape. However, while Sam is distracted by the sight of Thunderbird 1 landing, Penelope manages to sneak up on Lincoln and shoot the gun out of her hand. Sam is then handed over to the authorities, and later on at Tracy Island, the International Rescue team celebrate their victory.
Cast[]
- Jon Culshaw - Jeff Tracy, Parker, Boise
- Justin T. Lee - Scott Tracy, John Tracy
- Wayne Forester - Virgil Tracy, Brains, Jack Farrel
- Joe Jameson - Alan Tracy, Gordon Tracy
- Genevieve Gaunt - Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, Sam Lincoln
IR Equipment Used[]
- Thunderbird 1
- Thunderbird 2
- Thunderbird 3
- Thunderbird 4
- Thunderbird 5
- Firefighting vehicles
Trivia[]
- Penelope and Parker take part in the rescue operation, whereas in the original version, they remained on Tracy Island.
- Whereas the comic strip featured Lady Penelope and Parker's first visit to Tracy Island, the audio version retcons it as a return visit. This is presumably to avoid continuity contradictions regarding Introducing Thunderbirds, a story which depicts a separate account of Lady Penelope's first visit to Tracy Island.
- Alan refers to Lady Penelope bringing FAB 1 on previous visits to Tracy Island, such as Introducing Thunderbirds and Brains is Dead.
- Parker is a newly-qualified pilot, having only recently passed his flying test.
- John picks up the message from the Canadian forest before Alan arrives aboard Thunderbird 3, and Alan remains aboard Thunderbird 5 with John throughout the rescue; whereas in the original comic-strip, John picks up the message aboard Thunderbird 5 after Alan leaves aboard Thunderbird 3.
- As in the original comic-strip, Thunderbird 2 (Pod 4) carries the fire-fighting vehicles as well as Thunderbird 4.
- Unlike the original comic-strip, there's a scene where Samantha Lincoln reveals how she met Boise.
- Samantha Lincoln takes Parker hostage aboard Firefighter 1 (the leading fire-fighting vehicle), whereas in the original comic-strip, Sam took Virgil hostage down to the pod, and forced him to open it so he could make his escape alone in the Master Fire Fighter vehicle.