Icarus

IcarusSeason 3, Episode 20
Air date	January 11, 2020 (UK)
Written by	Benjamin Townsend
Directed by	Karl Essex
Episode Guide
previous	Upside Down
next	Break Out

"Icarus" is the twentieth episode of Thunderbirds Are Go! season 3. It was broadcast on January 11, 2020, in the United Kingdom.

Plot

While the members of International Rescue attend a prestigious global airshow, a test pilot unveils an ultra-fast superjet.

Cast

Regular Cast

• Scott Tracy, Alan Tracy - Rasmus Hardiker
• Virgil Tracy, Gordon Tracy - David Menkin
• Kayo - Angel Coulby
• Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward - Rosamund Pike

Guest Cast

• Professor Kwark - Gemma Chan
• Announcer - Cel Spellman (not seen on screen, voice only)
• Tom - Leo Ridge

Quotes

Scott: "Smile, guys. The world is watching."

Lady Penelope: "But Tom's favorite is..." (Tom whispers his response to her) "Thunderbird 4."
Alan: "Thunderbird 4? Why?"
Lady Penelope: "Because it's the only one you can play with in a bath."
(Alan and Kayo laugh)
Alan: "Oh, yeah."
Gordon: "Can't argue with that."

Alan: "Oh, I thought we were the main event!"
Gordon: "Selfless heroism, little bro. Selfless heroism."

Lady Penelope: "Never fear, International Rescue always has plenty of ideas."
Kayo: "So, anyone got any ideas?"

Alan: "Surf's up, astro-board style!"

Alan: "So, which one do you like now?"
Tom: "I like Thunderbird... Shadow."
Alan: "Thunderbird Shadow? Thunderbird... Shadow, are you kidding? It isn't even here!"
Gordon: (chuckles) "Come on, Tom, I'll buy you a hotdog."
Alan: (sighs) "Fans... who needs 'em?"

International Rescue Equipment Used

• Thunderbird 1
• Thunderbird 2
• Thunderbird 3
• Thunderbird 4
• Thunderbird 5 (unseen)
• Thunderbird Shadow (Cloaking Mode)

Non-International Rescue Equipment Used

• Icarus

Trivia

• A preview of this episode was shown on social media on September 30, 2019.
• It is revealed that Jeff Tracy held (until the events of this episode) the record for the fastest air-speed. Presumably, this was with the TV-21.
• This episode borrows elements from the following episodes: Give or Take a Million as a young boy wins a prize to see International Rescue; Cry Wolf as the young boy, just like Bob and Tony Williams, has extensive knowledge of International Rescue's craft (and their pilots) before he even met them; and The Duchess Assignment as it features an airshow.
• The location of the airshow venue pays homage to Cloudbase in the Century 21 production Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
• In this episode, Alan and Gordon's full names are revealed as Alan Bartlett Tracy and Gordon Cooper Tracy.
  • This is probably a direct consequence of both Jeff and Gerry Anderson naming the Tracy brothers after five of the Mercury Seven astronauts.
• Thunderbird 1's top speed is Mach 19.
  • That being said, Brains had stated that Thunderbird 1 has a top speed of 15,000 miles per hour, which is closer to Mach 20 than Mach 19.
• A reference to the previous episode and Signals Part 2 is made when Gordon realizes that Thunderbird 2 can go underwater.
• Unusually, Virgil launches Thunderbird 2 by using the rear thrusters to build speed and the undercarriage to roll across a runway; he then lifts off upon reaching a suitable rotational velocity (like a traditional freight plane or passenger airliner). Usually, when launching from anywhere other than Tracy Island, Thunderbird 2 uses VTOL thrusters. This is the first occurrence of this launch procedure (across any media).
• Thunderbird 3, for the first time, is seen launching from Earth but not from Tracy Island.
  • Additionally, this is the first time that Thunderbird 3 is seen landed on Earth.
• The "3" decals on Tom's model of Thunderbird 3 are sideways, which reflect the livery of the original Thunderbird 3. Additionally, Tom's model of Thunderbird 3 matches Aidan Williams' model.
• Kayo pilots Thunderbird 3 for the first time in this episode.
• Scott considers the airshow "a waste of time" as he wants to rescue Jeff Tracy, but Gordon reminds him that Brains needs to finish the T-Drive engines first. This foreshadows the upcoming deep-space mission for International Rescue.
  • Gordon says that the search for Jeff cannot progress until Brains has got the T-drive engine working, which could mean that International Rescue's Zero-X craft has already been built at this point, and is in the testing stage.=
• This is the second episode to feature Thunderbird Shadow in its cloaking mode; the first time was in Earthbreaker.
• The viewers in the stands are all people previously rescued by international rescue. Eg. The girl and grandfather from Lightspeed.

Gallery

Title Card

"International Rescue, status report, call it in. Thunderbird 1 is ready."

"Thunderbird 2, standing by."

"Good to go."

"Hold everything!"

"Smile, guys. The world is watching."

"Come on, Virg!"

"We have fans?"

"You're going to get a chance to meet one of them right now."

"He knew which one I was!"

"It's in stealth mode."

"Did you even bring Thunderbird S?"

"I thought we were the main event."

The Icarus

"What's up with this announcer?"

"Last minute replacement."

"That was Dad's record she just broke."

"And no one would be more excited to see it broken than him."

"Kwark can't bail out at that speed, it's far too dangerous!"

"He can stick with me."

"It's your lucky day. You're about to see a Thunderbird in action."

"Anyone got any ideas?"

"Activating water cannon."

"Come on, fluid dynamics..."

"We're up."

"We managed to give the fans quite a show."

"Is Thunderbird 4 still your favorite?"

"Thunderbird Shadow?"

"It isn't even here!"