Undercover

UndercoverSeason 1, Episode 25
Air date	16 January, 2016 (ITV) 17 January, 2016 (AUS) 3 July, 2016 (NL)
Written by	Benjamin Townsend
Directed by	Tim Gaul
Episode Guide
previous	Touch And Go
next	Legacy

"I have made my reputation by keeping secrets - and that includes your uncle, Ms. Kyrano."
— Banino

"Undercover" is the 25th episode of Thunderbirds Are Go!, and was broadcast on Saturday, January 16th, 2016.

Plot

At a hangar in an airport, a black arms dealer called Banino meets with Parker and Lady Penelope who were impersonating a man called Mr Mendocia and his assistant. The operation is watched by Kayo, Colonel Casey and the GDF from their control centre and an aerial transporter above the hangar. Inside the hangar, Parker shows Banino a collection of gold lidium before the dealer shows him a Repulsor Magnet Array, a powerful supermagnet stolen from Houseman Industries. At the GDF control centre, Ned Tedford arrives with a plate of food but accidentally puts it on a button, causing the soldiers inside the GDF flyer to drop into the hangar. Banino uses the magnet to attack the troops and escapes with Parker, the repulsor and the lidum in the flyer.

Kayo pursues the flyer in Thunderbird Shadow but Banino uses the flyer’s missiles to ward her off. Despite Kayo’s objections, Scott who was watching the operation from Tracy Island heads to the scene in Thunderbird 1. On the flyer, Banino smashes the controls with the repulsor’s case before bailing out in a hang glider with Kayo in pursuit. In FAB 1, Lady Penelope contacts Parker to land the plane at a nearby factory but the weight of the plane causes the roof to collapse. While the workers evacuate, Penelope breaks into the plane to save Parker while Scott rescues the lone worker remaining in the factory.

Meanwhile, Kayo encounters Banino and demands the repulsor and the lidium but it turns out the repulsor was missing due to Parker snatching it while hugging Banino on the plane earlier. Banino shows a photo of her and the Hood before fleeing. Back at the Factory, Parker saves Penelope by using the repulsor to stop the plane from crashing on top of them before breaking out. Kayo tells Scott and the others about Baninos escape before saying she will tell her secrets to the rest of the Tracys back home.

Cast

• Rasmus Hardiker as Scott Tracy
• Rosamund Pike as Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
• David Graham as Parker
• Angel Coulby as Kayo
• Adjoa Andoh as Colonel Casey
• Kayvan Novak as Ned Tedford and GDF Squad Leader
• Massimo Marinoni as Banino

Quotes

Scott: "International Rescue isn't usually in the bad guy business. But once Parker heard there was a role in it for him, I couldn't stop him. Let's just call this an experiment and experiments always make me nervous."

Scott: "Thunderbirds are rescue vehicles. They're not meant for aerial dog fights."
Kayo: "Well, sometimes rescuing people requires a little dog fighting."

Parker: "I always say, hugs are the answer to all of life's problems."
Lady Penelope: "Old habits die hard."
Parker: "Yes, m'lady."

International Rescue Equipment Used

• Thunderbird 1
• Thunderbird Shadow
• FAB 1

Non-International Rescue Equipment Used

• GDF Flyer
• GDF Glider used by Banino

Gallery

"I am at the meeting place. Your Mr Mendocia is not"

"He's here"

"My friend! Did you bring the merchandise?"

"Did you bring the payment?"
"But of course!"

"He bought it. We're in."

"Copy that, Lady Penelope"

"Kayo, I can't take all this waiting around"

"Covert ops is my job and I can do it a lot better without having to ask the GDF for permission"

Kayo swipes down the length of her helmet to bring up holo data on the surface

Kayo is keeping an eye on Parker and Lady Penelope

Parker's suitcase is full of bars of gold-pressed Lidium

"No!"

"This box contains the latest discovery, stolen from the labs of Houseman Industries. A repulsor magnet ray, rated at 6 - 7 teslas"

"It's the real deal all right, guv"

Ned Tedford has a new position at the GDF as a refreshment technician

"It's perfect! Quiet, safe and not an asteroid or sea trench in sight!"

Ned places a cake down on the button that tells the GDF personal to move into the building by mistake

Kayo jumps on her bike and drives into the building

"Kayo!"

"I should never have agreed to this!"

Kayo drives into the factory

Banino uses the magnet to lift and the throw the motorbike to the side

Banino then hijacks the GDF flyer using the magnet to bring it down under his control

Banino takes the suitcase full of Lidium while it's still attached to Parker's arm

Banino escapes with the GDF flyer, the magnet, the Lidium and Parker

Kayo is chasing down the stolen GDF flyer

The motorbike docks with TBS

"What's going on down there?"

"The target has escaped with the repulsor, and the Lidium, and our undercover operatives"

"OK, Capture Squad. I'm sending reinforcements"

"That's my driver up there, Commander! And a good driver is frightfully hard to replace!"

Parker gets tosses into the co-pilot's seat

Banino tears a metal bar from the door of the flyer

The magnet bends the bar around Parker, pinning him to the seat

Kayo flies up along side the flyer

"Face it, she's faster and more h'agile than you"

"But this is a military vehicle, and that means military hardware. Ah! Perfetto!"

Missiles are launched at TBS

Kayo doges the missiles

"Time to take the money - and run!"

"That's my tea-pouring arm!"

Parker gives Banino a hug as his arm is ok

Banino destroys the controls of the Flyer

Banino then bails out of the Flyer, making his escape with the magnet

"And, Parker?"
"Yes, M'lady?"
"Do be careful"

"I know our mission is rescue only, but if I don't stop him now, we'll all be cleaning up his mess tomorrow"

The GDF Flyer is now heading towards a nearby factory

Parker tries to reach the controls to land the Flyer

The Flyer lands down on the roof of the factory

The factory roof begins to collapse under the weight of the Flyer

"This is Thunderbird 1. I'm 30 seconds out. What's the situation on the ground?"

The Flyer crashes through the ceiling

Scott checks the rescue harness before dropping himself down in through the roof cavity of the factory

Lady Penelope is trying to locate Parker amongst the rubble

Lady Penelope locates Parker still inside the Flyer

Penelope climbs up to the cock-pit to rescue Parker

Scott jets down to rescue the trapped worker

"Ohh! My, my, Parker, you have got yourself in a mess!"

"I have escaped with the gold-pressed Lidium and the device, that's quite the deal, no?"

"We haven't finished negotiating yet"

Banino tries to use the magnet of Kayo, before realising that he no longer has it

The Flyer starts to slip further through the roof of the factory

Parker saves both Lady Penelope and himself by using the magnet

"I always say, hugs are the answer to all of life's problems."
"Old habits die hard"

"I have made my reputation by keeping secrets"

"And that includes your uncle, Ms Kyrano"

"And we got the repulsor back, which makes it a win for the GDF, too, right Colonel?"

"How about a lovely cup of tea to celebrate?"

"Scott, as soon as everyone's together there's something I need to tell you all, something I should have said long ago"

FAB1's colour goes back from black to pink

Trivia

• A Fireflash airliner makes a short cameo at the start of the episode.
• Houseman Industries is a reference to End Of The Road.
• This episode returns to the subplot of Touch And Go, with Kayo and Scott debating International Rescue's role as law enforcement.
• Ned Tedford and his plant Gladys return in this episode.
  • The notion of Ned being sent to the GDF North Pole base when he thinks he will be "safe" there is a foreshadow of him being in danger again in Up from the Depths Part 2.
  • Ned later worked in the North Pole GDF Seed Vault in Growing Pains.
• Kyrano is mentioned in this episode for the first time in the series.
• The first episode we see that FAB 1 can go 'undercover' by changing colour to black. This can also be seen in City Under the Sea.
• The plate number of FAB 1 'undercover' (A21384), is a reference to Commander Strakers Car from Gerry Andersons series 'UFO'.
• This episode is directed by newcomer Tim Gaul.
• Kayo decides to finally tell the truth about her and her Uncle.
• This is the first episode to just feature one Tracy.
• This is the first time to see Parker in an outfit other than his black one.

Goofs

• When Kayo's bike docks with Thunderbird Shadow the rear of the cockpit does not slide back and lock into place like in previous episodes when this is shown.
• The close up of Kayo's hologram while talking to Scott as she is being fired at by missiles has the background in reverse, yet Kayo's Hologram is still coming from its proper location.

Foreign Titles

• Dutch: Geheime operatie (Covert Operation)
• French: Sous couverture
• Spanish: Encubierto