- "I don't like it, Scobie. That gold's too heavy."
— Straker
"Give or Take a Million" is the sixth and final episode of Thunderbirds season 2. It is also the last televised episode of Thunderbirds produced, being followed only by the film Thunderbird 6 in two years time. The story was first broadcast on 25th December 1966 in the UK, despite premiering on Japanese television some month earlier.
Notably, the episode featured no rescue, instead retelling the story of Nicky's arrival on Tracy Island and the robbery of Second National Bank.
Plot[]
When two bank robbers trip an alarm, they try to hide but are transported along with a consignment of hundreds of gifts to a children's hospital. The crooks are captured and one lucky child gets the Christmas of a lifetime at Tracy Island.
Storyline[]
- Main article: Give or Take a Million/Storyline
Transcript[]
- Main article: Give or Take a Million/Transcript
Cast[]
Regular Characters[]
.png "Jef (Give or take a Million).png (147 KB)")
.png "Scott (Give or take a Million).png (141 KB)")
.png "Lady Penelope (Give or Take).png (136 KB)")
.png "Virgil (Give or take a Million).png (129 KB)")
.png "Alan (Give or take a Million).png (122 KB)")
.png "Brains (Give or take a Million).png (130 KB)")
.png "Tin-Tin (Give or take a Million).png (127 KB)")
.png "Gordon (Give or take a Million).png (128 KB)")
.png "John (Give or take a Million).png (136 KB)")
.png "Kyrano (Give or take a Million).png (136 KB)")
.png "Grandma (Give or take a Million).png (146 KB)")
Guest Characters[]
Nicky
(Sylvia Anderson)
(Sylvia Anderson)
Scobie
(Ray Barrett)
(Ray Barrett)
Straker
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
Doctor Pringle
(Jeremy Wilkin)
(Jeremy Wilkin)
Nurse Nimmo
(Sylvia Anderson)
(Sylvia Anderson)
Saunders
(Jeremy Wilkin)
(Jeremy Wilkin)
Harman
(Ray Barrett)
(Ray Barrett)
Toy Packer Tanner
(Charles Tingwell)
(Charles Tingwell)
.png "Santa (1).png (158 KB)")
Santa 1
(Jeremy Wilkin)
(Jeremy Wilkin)
Santa 2 (Leo)
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
.png "TV Reporter (GOTAM).png (144 KB)")
TV Reporter
(Jeremy Wilkin)
(Jeremy Wilkin)
.png "Newsreader (gotam).png (57 KB)")
Newsreader
(Jeremy Wilkin)
(Jeremy Wilkin)
Cameo Roles[]
Launch Supervisor
Christmas Rocket
Christmas Rocket
Crowd Scenes[]
Guests at Tracy Island
Carol of the 'Birds
International Rescue Equipment Used[]
Non-International Rescue Equipment Used[]
Locations[]
Credits[]
- Produced by: Reg Hill
- Directed by: Desmond Saunders
- Associate producer: John Read
- Characters created by: Sylvia Anderson
- Lighting cameraman: Julien Lugrin
- Special effects lighting cameraman: Michael Wilson
- Camera operators: Noel Rowland, Gary Coxall
- Supervising art director: Bob Bell
- Supervising special effects director: Derek Meddings
- Teleplay by: Alan Pattillo
- Script supervision: Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
- Music composed and directed by: Barry Gray
- Puppetry supervision: Christine Glanville, Mary Turner
- Puppet operators: Judith Shutt, Wanda Webb
- Sculpting supervision: John F. Brown
- Wardrobe: Elizabeth Coleman
- Character voices: Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, Peter Dyneley, Christine Finn, David Graham, Shane Rimmer, Jeremy Wilkin, Matt Zimmerman
- Special effects director: Jimmy Elliott
- Art director: Grenville Nott
- Designer: Keith Wilson
- Supervising editor: Len Walter
- Editor: Harry MacDonald
- Supervising sound editor: John Peverill
- Sound editor: Peter Pennell
- Dialogue editor: Roy Lafbery
- Property master: Arthur Cripps
- Sound: Ken Scrivener
- Executive producer: Gerry Anderson
Trivia[]
- It's also the only time Lady Penelope makes an appearance but Parker doesn't (if we disregard the flashback scenes from Day of Disaster in Security Hazard.)
- This episode is told mostly in flashback (not unlike Move And You're Dead); as Jeff (Santa) describes to Nicky how his special Christmas visit to Tracy Island came to be.
- When broadcast in the half hour "cliffhanger" format, the first part concluded as Scobie and Straker begin to drill into the centre of the section of wall they've cut out.
- Give or Take a Million first aired in Japan on November 27th, 1966, nearly a month before its British debut.
- Third and final episode to feature guest voice actor Charles Tingwell. Tingwell would later voice Doctor Tony Grant in the film Thunderbirds Are Go.
- Despite the sizeable cast of characters, Matt Zimmerman's voice is heard only once in the entire episode, when Alan utters the stock phrase "F.A.B."
- The Thunderbird toys seen in front of Jeff and Nicky in the opening scene were made by J. Rosenthal (Toys) Ltd, which were commercially available at the time of this episode's initial broadcast.
- This episode features reused incidental music from previous AP Films series Supercar.
- This episode has more shots of human hands than any other.
Goofs[]
- In arguably the best known continuity goof for the entire series, Tin-Tin tears off a page from a nearby calendar, revealing date as 2026. Not only does this contradict the established setting of 2065 (though to be fair, nobody ever specifies a year on the series itself beyond a few prop newspapers), but various calendars in the episode note that Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, whereas December 25th 2026 is to be a Friday.
- With all that being said, December 25th 2067 will be a Sunday.
- Being a former head chef of the Paris Hilton, Kyrano should know that using a nuclear powered cooker would make all the food radioactive.
- When Brains gives everyone permission to open their eyes again, a decoration can be seen falling off the Christmas tree behind Nicky.
Foreign Titles[]
- French: Joyeux noël
- German: Der Weihnachts-Coup
- Spanish: Millón más millón menos
- Italian: Natale a sorpresa
- Dutch: Geef of neem een miljoen (TV); Een miljoen meer of minder (VHS, DVD)
- Portuguese: Dar ou Tomar 1 Milhão
- Japanese: すばらしいクリスマスプレゼント