"Runaway" is the seventh episode of Thunderbirds Are Go!. It was first broadcast on Saturday May 9th 2015.
Plot[]
In Japan, a high speed Maglev train is going on a test run. Thunderbird 5 picks up the incident and finds out that the train is about to run into the back end of another one full of passengers.
On Tracy Island, John tells Scott about the incident. As Scott asks about how they can stop the train, Brains passes by, suggesting that he should reconfigure the power distribution in the train’s conductor nodes. Alan asks if he can come but Scott refuses. Alan tells Grandma that it is an emergency but she tells him that his lessons are also urgent. She offers Alan a plate of cookies which he finds disgusting.
In Thunderbird 1’s hangar, Scott tells Brains that he should stop the train physically. As they both blast off in Thunderbird 1, Brains starts to get sick. John contacts Scott that he has trouble accessing the train’s computer and Alan thinks that it was the work of The Hood.
As Thunderbird 1 hovers over the train, Brains ziplines down its grappling cable, screaming all the way. After several failed attempts, he and Scott land on top of the train and drop down inside. Brains takes out the three conductor nodes but it does not work. After John tells Scott that there is a switching point dead ahead, he operates Thunderbird 1 by remote control in an attempt to slow down the train. As Thunderbird 1 gains more thrust, its cable snaps. As the train closes in on the passenger train, John activates the points, switching the test train to a clear track. He tells Scott and Brains that the track leads to the station terminal at Unabara City and explains that the virus in the train’s computer is alive and thinking for itself. Brains says that he can stop the train another way. Scott climbs out onto the side of the train and rearranges a power box. After Brains tells him that he needs to rewire the mainframe by hand, the driver shows him the power cutoff and warns him that if he presses it, the train will stop so quickly they'll get squished in what they refer to as the 'brick-wall' effect.
Alan tells John that he finished his lesson on game theory and that the virus wants to play a game with John. As Brains rearranges the train’s power couplings, John distracts the virus and tells Scott that it was an Artificial Intelligence with game architecture. Scott tells Brains that he needs to hook everything back up the way it was. As the train charges past the signal post and towards the station, Brains rearranges the wiring and the train stops just in time. As Brains, Scott and the train driver disembark, a panicking businessman runs up and says that he is late for an alligator wrestling match.
On Thunderbird 5, John examines the A.I and realizes something is not right. Back on Tracy Island, Alan thinks he should have come and Scott tells him he never figured out the game theory. John tells them that he captured a piece of the A.I’s data and explains that it evolved from game code he created. Grandma enters with a plate of food and explains that she cooked it with the help of Brains’ robot, MAX. Scott and Alan ask Grandma what they should eat first and she says that they shall start with her disgusting cookies which they nervously try.
Cast[]
Regular Cast[]
- John Tracy: Thomas Brodie-Sangster
- Scott Tracy & Alan Tracy: Rasmus Hardiker
- Grandma Tracy: Sandra Dickinson
- Brains: Kayvan Novak
Guest Cast[]
- Train Driver: Kayvan Novak
Crew[]
- Note: the following section is large. As such, it is hidden by default.
- Voice director: Dave Peacock
- Original dialogue record: Simon Capes, Soho Squares Studios
- Miniatures: WETA Workshop
- Design & miniature FX supervisor: Richard Taylor
- Lead model maker: Steven Saunders
- Workshop supervisor: Rob Gillies
- Production co-ordinator: Holly Beals
- Model makers: Sofia Pedersen, Mona Peters, David Duke, Joaquin Loyzaga, Laura Marie King, Abigail Smith, Masayuki Ohashi, Pietro Marson, Sourisak Chanpaseuth, Kim McAuslan
- Director of photography: Simon Godsiff
- 1st assistant director: Robin Wilson
- Production manager: Sadie Wilson
- Gaffer: Simon Oliver
- 1st assistant camera: Charles Edwards
- Key grip: Jan Kleinheins
- On set model technicians: Rob Chesney, Ben Fairless
- Lighting equipment: Portsmouth Lighting, NZFX SFX Equipment
- Catering: Deborah Logan
- Art director: Theo Baynton
- Designer, Thunderbird Shadow: Shoji Kawamori
- Lead concept artist: Christian Pearce
- Concept artists: Aaron Beck, Gus Hunter, Rebekah Tisch
- Head of design: Richard Athorne
- Design studio co-ordinators: Tasha Guillot, Catherine Mitchell
- Asset supervisor: Sven Trotter
- CG modellers: Ben Hutchinson, Tom Robinson, Ben Picking, Che Thorpe
- 3D story supervisor: Tim Gaul
- Lead 3D story artists: Martin Haughey, Andrew McCully
- Matchmove: James Donald, Luke Swasbrook
- 3D story: Shinji Dawson, Eduardo Gutierrez, Nagaraju Kasama, Kai Ma, Aksh Malik, Yohann Misst, Ben van de Laar, Robin Wilson-Davey
CGCG
- Head of production: Sareana Sun
- Production executives: Ivan C, Alen Fang, Andy Tsao
- Production team: Sean Li, Lara Lin, Jing Zhang, Yo-Cheng Wang, Heyifang, Tan Tao, Xu Ding, Shiwei Yang, Aimee Zhang, Zhenhua Yao, Xuren Chen, Shamy Lai, Wei Lin
End CGCG
- Editor: Anthony Cox
- Assistant editors: Louise Pattinson, Adam Reynolds
- 3D artist: Rhys Clapcott
- Software engineer: Mike King
- Animation supervisor: Chad Moffitt
- CG supervisor: Andrew Harris, Park Road Post Production
- Data wranglers: Joyce Kamille Cristal, Wattana Moeung, Clare Brody
- Casting: Peacock Sound
- VFX line producer: Malcolm Angell
- Production co-ordinator: Sophie Gregory
- Production assistants: Brittany Connell, Jordan Harding
- Production secretary: Christine Healy
- Production runner: Nate Hinde
- Script co-ordinator: Patrick Rieger
- Post production co-ordinator: Dee Collier
- Legal and business affairs: Sally Perry, Sarah Cull
- Production accountants: Emily Stafford, Karen Kong
- Special advisor, International Rescue: David Tremont
- Branding and title design: ITV Creative
- Compositing: Milk VFX
- Online editor: Simon Brook
- Colourist: Paul Staples
- Picture post production: Encore London
- Sound effects editor: Darren Banks
- Foley engineer: Keith Partridge
- Mix technician: Kiran Marshall
- Audio post production: Jules Zabbar
- Music composed by: Ben Foster, Nick Foster
- Original theme: Barry Gray
- Sound designer & re-recording mixer: Nigel Heath
- Audio post-production: Hackenbacker
- Producers: Sharon Lark, Stuart McAra
- Line & consulting animation producer: Teresa Reed
- CITV commissioning editor: Jamila Metran
- Executive producers: Estelle Hughes, Giles Ridge, Andrew Smith, Richard Taylor
- Based on the original series by: Gerry & Sylvia Anderson
Quotes[]
- John: (looking down at the earth below his feet) "Feels like the right distance to me"
- Scott: "Doesn't anyone drive anymore?"
John: "No. Mass transit's cheaper, and with magnetic levitation..."
Scott: "Sorry, forgot to use my 'trying to make a joke' voice."
- Scott: "This will be just like going down a slide in the playground. Remember how much fun that used to be?"
Brains: "Always gave me a rash." - Brains: (Hanging from a zipline as a mountain approaches) "Tell MAX I love him!"
Equipment Used[]
Non-International Rescue Equipment Used[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- At the train station in Japan, an Aquaphibian from Stingray can be seen in an ad for soft drink.
Goofs[]
- Scott mentioned that there was no room for MAX in Thunderbird 1. However, MAX boarded Thunderbird 1 with Scott and Brains in Volcano!.
- No-one is credited for voicing the panicking businessman, who missed the alligator wresting match.
Foreign titles[]
- Dutch: Op hol geslagen
- French: Train d'enfer (Breakneck)
- Spanish: Huida (Flight)
- Japanese: 高速トレイン大暴走 (Massive Runaway of a High-speed train)
- Arabic: الإندفاع السريع