Lady Penelope Investigates (series)

Not to be confused with the compilation LP from Century 21 Records.

Introductory card as seen in issue 24 of Lady Penelope (reconstruction)

Lady Penelope Investigates was a regular feature in both the TV Century 21 and Lady Penelope magazines. A prose feature ranging up to a page in length, the series saw Lady Penelope (and occasionally Parker) investigate various real world celebrities and fellow fictional characters, usually resulting in a short interview with the featured person as well as some factual information about them.

The series ran almost-weekly from 1965 to 1966 for a total of twenty-one months, consisting of a year in TV21 and the remaining nine months in Lady Penelope. It was ultimately replaced in the latter by Star Query, part of the letters page in which Penelope, in her own words, "invite[d] a well-known person to help" her answer one of the readers' letters each week. Though it roughly matched the format of the earlier and shorter instalments of Lady Penelope Investigates, Penelope was not depicted as actually meeting with any of the featured celebrities nor did she ever appear outside of the occasional reference to the feature in her introduction to the letters page as a whole, essentially depriving it of elements relevant to the wider Thunderbirds franchise.

Overview

TV Century 21

At the beginning, Lady Penelope Investigates lived in the less-than-half-page of space below the second page of the Lady Penelope comic strip. As a result of its short length, Lady Penelope usually set out to answer a specific question asked by a reader about that week's subject instead of affording them a broader overview of their lives. After the conclusion of the first Lady Penelope comic Mr. Steelman, the strip was promoted to a full two pages, meaning Lady Penelope Investigates moved to the Contact 21 page while retaining a similar length, though it moved once again when it was relocated to the same page as Cosmic Capers beginning with issue 21. With the exception of issue 28, wherein Lady Penelope was given almost an entire page to interview the cast of Dr. Who and the Daleks as part of that issue's special focus on the film, the series remained on the Cosmic Capers page until issue 44, at which point the series was forced elsewhere due to several successive longer instalments which advertised the characters and strips coming to TV Century 21 from issue 52. Only one further non-crossover would be featured in TV21, namely John Wayne, which was featured on the same page as The World We Share. Lady Penelope Investigates was axed from TV21 in the aforementioned issue 52 changes, moving along with its parent comic strip to the newly-created Lady Penelope magazine. Ultimately, the series was absent in just two issues of TV21's first year, 47 and 49.

Several instalments from its run in TV21 challenged the format of the series. The first of these was from issue 10, which was focused on Danger Man, the title character from the television series of the same name. By looking up the "Secret Agent Dossier of Danger Man (alias Patrick McGoohan)", Lady Penelope learns some information about his early life but fails to answer reader Paul Labrum's question of what he is like in real life. She and Parker travel to Elstree Studios just in time to see his car speed out of the gate. Although Parker makes a valiant attempt to stay with him, the secret agent gives them both the slip. The instalment ends with Lady Penelope never having spoken to the person she was investigating and promising to Paul that she would catch up with him one day. Patrick McGoohan was also the focus of issue 10 of Lady Penelope although on that occasion the pretence of his Danger Man character being real in the Thunderbirds universe was entirely dropped.

Issue 20 was also especially notable, constituting a genuine piece of fiction more than anything else before it. In an unusual twist it saw Lady Penelope investigate Parker who, continuing on from the previous week's largely unrelated feature on Jack Parnell, had won the jackpot on Beat the Clock and was "living it up" in the south of France. Parker invited Lady Penelope to dinner but she was instead met by "the rogue of all rogues", Gig Young. Believing that "the Rogues" had involved Parker in some scheme, she resolved to get Parker away from it. The instalment ended with Penelope vowing to tell the readers about her plan next week, marking the first ever cliffhanger for the series and its first ever multi-parter. In the next part, Penelope met with another of the Rogues, David Niven, while posing as Parker's cousin but Operation P.R. (Parker Rescue) would not be enacted until issue 22, consequently forming a trilogy. In the final part, it was revealed that Penelope had arranged with Niven for a blindfolded Parker to crack her own safe in Creighton-Ward Manor to get him back. This was a success and Penelope ended up introducing the Rogues to some of her wealthiest friends, so all was forgiven. Strangely, although Young, Niven and Charles Boyer are portrayed as if they were their characters from The Rogues, their respective character names from the series are never mentioned, making the trilogy's status as a crossover somewhat debateable.

Immediately following the conclusion of the Rogues trilogy, another format-breaking instalment was published. Issue 23, at least at first, did not pair Penelope with anyone as she left even Parker behind for a holiday in Miami. While later sunbathing on the beach, she heard a scream and saw a girl struggling in the sea. A man then leapt up from the sand, jumped into the sea, carried her safely to the shore, and proceeded to perform artificial respiration on her and save her life. Penelope recognised the man as the Fugitive when he started pleading for no photographs to be taken of his heroics and observed that now he was the one who needed saving, thus beginning a four-part crossover story with The Fugitive. In a tale which resembled an episode of the aforementioned show more than Lady Penelope Investigates, Penelope helps Richard Kimble (The Fugitive) to escape the press in the second part by pretending to be his husband while, in the final two parts, Lieutenant Gerard closes in on them but is outwitted when they escape in FAB 1 (which Parker had brought to their hotel room from London in the nick of time).

Though not anything special in format or structure, issue 27's instalment was notable for featuring David Graham. The voice of Parker in Thunderbirds, the piece contained a nod to this fact by having Graham suggest that Parker "could play the part of a butler or something in a stately home" upon being introduced to him. While Graham's roles in the previous AP Films productions Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray were explicitly referenced, his parts in the then-yet-to-air Thunderbirds (Brains, Gordon and a myriad of guest characters in addition to Parker) were not listed aside from the aforementioned subtle allusion.

In issue 44, Lady Penelope Investigates began to promote the impending changes to the magazine with the first part of a two-part investigation of International Rescue, as requested Harry O. O'Donnell of Malay. Penelope and Parker immediately set off for Tracy Island upon receipt of Harry's letter but on their approach a missile was fired at them, which Parker promptly exploded with the laser gun fitted to their aircraft. It ended with the two touching down and meeting Jeff Tracy, who apologised for the "fault" in the radar missile control and invited them to meet his sons. The beginning of issue 45's instalment recapped that Jeff had been unwilling to tell Penelope about the Thunderbird machines themselves, leading her to try and find out for herself. She met Parker in the lounge of Tracy Villa at one fifteen at night and dressed in her black burglar's suit. Looking around, Penelope noticed the five portraits of Jeff's five sons on the wall. She pointed out to Parker they had only met four and speculated as to the whereabouts of the fifth. At that moment, the eyes of John Tracy's portrait lit up, filling the room with a bleeping noise. This resulted in Jeff catching Penelope and Parker snooping though he requested that she save her explanation until after the crisis had been dealt with. Jeff then hurried to his desk and received the call from Thunderbird 5, revealing the missing Tracy brother and beginning a rescue operation. After Alan and Brains returned, Jeff stated to Penelope and Parker "We allowed you to visit us, Penny, so that you could see how International Rescue worked, in view of this and because of your unusual ability as an undercover agent, we would like you to become the London agent of International Rescue". The story ended with Penelope telling Harry O'Donnell, which she strongly suspected of being an alias for the Hood, that she couldn't tell him the secrets of Thunderbirds because she was one of them now. Although this briefly constituted the sole account of how Lady Penelope joined the rescue organisation, it would be contradicted just five weeks later by the Lady Penelope comic strip The Vanishing Ray.

As the series' time in TV21 drew to a close, it continued to advertise the changes coming in issue 52. Issue 46 focused on the Munster family from The Munsters while issue 50 saw Penelope investigate Control Agent K 13 from Get Smart. The latter explicitly referenced the changes, with Twenty One sending a message to Penelope which stated "Information needed for new series in TV 21 issue 52". The final instalment of the series in the magazine also referenced the following week's changes to the line-up but, instead of featuring a subject from one of the new TV21 strips, it crossed over with The Man from U.N.C.L.E. which was one of the strips set to join Penelope in her magazine. In fact, it told the in-universe story of how the strip ended up there, beginning with the words "Beverly Hillbillies, Perils of Parker, Marina... oh, dear, there's still nothing to go on pages 4 and 5, Parker". Eventually, Parker suggested looking through the files they had and found the one on David McCallum. Upon examining it, Penelope got U.N.C.L.E.'s number one agent Mr Waverly on the videophone resulting in an agreement being forged for U.N.C.L.E. to appear on the unfilled pages.

Lady Penelope

Upon its move to Lady Penelope, Lady Penelope Investigates was immediately promoted to a full page of space, some of which was taken up by much larger photographs of each instalment's focus than had been possible in TV21. This format remained unchanged until issues 16 and 17 which saw a quarter and a half of the page respectively filled by advertisements for the upcoming Lady Penelope Summer Extra. The next three issues also featured the same kind of intrusions onto the series' page, with the winners of the "Hidden Microphone" competition, an advert for Bassett's Jelly Babies, and the winners of the "Name the Yacht" competition occupying space in issues 18, 19, and 20 respectively, before the series regained its entire page for issues 21 and 22. However, this did not last and the amount of space each instalment was given would ultimately vary on an issue-to-issue basis until the series' end in issue 35. Only three more issues, namely 26, 28, and 32, afforded a full page to the series, though 29 and 33 were each given the majority of a page. The remainder of the instalments were roughly a half-page in length, with the other half used for several different things, most commonly to promote an assortment of purchasable products (Thunderbirds-related and otherwise) and to list competition winners. The series missed just one week from its thirty-five issue run in Lady Penelope, that being in issue 30.

The Lady Penelope stint was notable for seeing the returns of several celebrities who had previously featured in the series during the TV21 run. Morecambe and Wise became the first to receive this treatment in issue 9, with the likes of Patrick McGoohan, Roger Moore, Jimmy Savile, and Gene Pitney later following suit. In issue 25, Richard Kimble became the first fictional character to return, with a one-part crossover with The Fugitive, further securing Kimble the record for most guest appearances in the series at a total of five. In a way comparable to his TV21 four-parter, Lady Penelope's encounter with the Fugitive was again unplanned. She and Parker met him at an American petrol station while driving in FAB 1, with Kimble dragging Parker from the driver's seat and leaving him behind after he correctly noticed he was wearing a false nose. Kimble then appealed for Penelope's help, explaining that Lieutenant Gerard was hot on his trail, which she gave. The Fugitive now safely on his way, Penelope returned to the petrol station to find Parker detained by Gerard, who the police officer mistakenly believed was Kimble wearing a "ridiculous" false nose. Herman Munster of The Munsters was the second and last returnee of this type. Though his issue 27 appearance was specifically focused on him rather than the Munster family in general (as had been the case in TV21), it still saw brief cameos from Lily and Eddie, Herman's wife and son respectively.

The first of the slightly more unusual instalments in Lady Penelope came in issue 16 when the investigation of the week was on the Loch Ness Monster, with the story portraying the creature as real. It saw Penelope and Parker enlist the services of "professional monster adviser" Jameison MaClean who, for a small fee, demonstrated that the only way to get Nessie to surface was to attach a photograph of Herman Munster onto a fishing line and dangle it overboard. Although Penelope heard a far-off rumbling sound, she never managed to actually witness the monster for herself because she was too busy tending to Parker, who had fainted. To a lesser extent, the following issue was also notable, because it featured glove puppets Ollie and Fred (originally from Five O'Clock Club) as crossover elements.

The focus of the series on Jill Gibbs in issue 31 was notable for featuring a rare acknowledgement of the in-universe Lady Penelope when it noted her work as a model for FAB fashion. The following issue contained the final crossover for the series with a non-TV21 or Lady Penelope programme. It saw Penelope and Parker meet for tea with Adam Adamant of Adam Adamant Lives!. At one point, Adamant accidently incapacitated Parker after he startled him with a cheerful greeting. He later explained that he had been interred in a block of ice in 1902 by the Face and not rediscovered until workmen on a building site found him, implicitly transposing these events to TV21's contemporary time of the 2060s, not the 1960s as in Adam Adamant Lives! itself.

The final two regular instalments of the series, published in issues 34 and 35, were both noteworthy for acting as advertisements for upcoming Thunderbirds media. The first dealt with the Lady Penelope Annual and saw Parker buy several copies to send to his friends in prison. Though Parker attempted to convince Penelope this kindness was due to Her Ladyship's starring role in the publication, she was able to suss it was because Parker himself was in it. Additionally, this story was notable for being the only appearance of Lil in the series and for maintaining continuity with the Perils of Parker comic strip by mentioning Pilfering Pete from the strip's eighth story. The final story mirrored the concluding instalments of the Lady Penelope Investigates run in TV21 by focusing upon the main characters of an incoming series, in this case the Monkees, who joined the magazine from the next week onwards. As well as promoting the changes coming to Lady Penelope, it also promoted the UK broadcast of The Monkees television show, mentioning more than once the planned transmission date of January 1967.

Annuals and Extras

A one-page instalment of Lady Penelope Investigates focused on AP Films, the production company behind Thunderbirds, was featured in the 1965 TV Century 21 Summer Extra. In a feature which barely left the fourth wall in tact, AP Films were introduced as the makers of the puppet series Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray, the only three supermarionation shows with TV21 comic strips at the time. It began with Lady Penelope telephoning AP Films and requesting an interview and a conducted tour, which was refused. Upon reporting this to Contact 21 she was given approval to consider investigating the company a top priority mission, leading to her assuming a disguise as a sculptor. Penelope was then interviewed by Sylvia Anderson and given a one month trial working in the puppet workshop sculpting faces, the former thankful for her "brief spell" at an Art School after learning this. Penelope observed several real members of the Thunderbirds crew during her employment, including Derek Meddings, Bob Bell, Alan Pattillo, David Lane, David Elliott, Desmond Saunders, Keith Wilson, Christine Glanville, Mary Turner, Wanda Webb, Judith Shutt, Betty Coleman, Zena Relph and Arthur Cripps, with tea lady Iris Richens even getting a mention due to the "gallons" of the stuff Penelope drank during her stay as well as Parker getting recruited to help with the tea making. She said she "only caught fleeting glances" of Gerry Anderson, who was constantly smoking a large cigar and conducting top-level meetings, while Reg Hill and John Read were "forever busy" in the day-to-day running of the company. Among the specific details Penelope discovered were the fact puppets were only 20″-22″ high with specially designed plastic eyes, real hair wigs and electronic mouths, as well as the fact over eighty people were working at a studio which had started with around eight just seven years prior. Penelope then concluded her report, citing a lack of space in addition to Puppet Workshop supervisor John Brown giving her some stern looks, but ended by saying that the new series Thunderbirds was "absolutely FAB" before revealing the top secret information that she and Parker had been asked to appear in it. The piece was accompanied by five photographs depicting different aspects of production behind-the-scenes, supposedly taken by Penelope herself using a miniature camera concealed in a medallion necklace.

Additionally, interviews with Adrienne Posta and with the Walker Brothers were featured in the 1967 Lady Penelope Annual. However, although they matched the format, they were not marked as instalments of the series and the first-person narrator of the pieces was never identified.

Instalments

TV Century 21

1. Roger Moore (I)
2. Honor Blackman
3. Graydon Gould
4. Amos Burke's car
5. James Garner
6. Charlie Drake
7. R. P. Beaumont
8. Sean Connery
9. Patrick Macnee
10. Danger Man (alias Patrick McGoohan) (I)
11. Lorne Greene
12. Dan Blocker
13. Mike Landon
14. Tommy Cooper
15. Richard Chamberlain
16. The Clampetts
17. Elizabeth Montgomery
18. Mick Jagger
19. Jack Parnell
20. Parker and Gig Young (Part 1)
21. David Niven (Part 2)
22. The Rogues (Part 3)
23. The Fugitive (alias David Janssen) (Part 1) (I)
24. Richard Kimble (alias David Janssen) (Part 2) (I)
25. Richard Kimble and Lieutenant Gerard (Part 3) (I)
26. Richard Kimble and Lieutenant Gerard (Part 4) (I)
27. David Graham
28. The stars of Dr. Who and the Daleks (Roberta Tovey, Roy Castle, and Jennie Linden)
29. Gene Pitney (I)
30. Cliff Richard
31. Jimmy Savile (I)
32. Napoleon Solo of U.N.C.L.E. (Part 1)
33. Napoleon Solo (alias Robert Vaughn) (Part 2)
34. Michael Caine
35. Matt Busby
36. Spike Milligan
37. Lee Marvin
38. Morecambe and Wise (I)
39. Dudley Moore
40. Commander Cousteau
41. Sonny and Cher
42. Diana Rigg
43. Harry H. Corbett
44. Thunderbirds (Part 1)
45. Thunderbirds (Part 2)
46. The Munsters (I)
47. John Wayne
48. Control Agent K 13
49. Ilya Kuryakin of U.N.C.L.E. (alias David McCallum)

Lady Penelope

1. Jimmy Tarbuck
2. The Ryan Brothers (Barry and Paul)
3. The Kinks
4. Benny Hill
5. The Go Jo's
6. Ann Wilson
7. Frankie Howerd
8. Lalla Ward
9. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise (II)
10. Patrick McGoohan (II)
11. Anita Clarke
12. Cathy McGowan
13. Roger Moore (II)
14. Gerry Marsden
15. Jimmy Savile (II)
16. The Loch Ness Monster
17. Ollie and Fred
18. Monica Rose
19. Ken Dodd
20. Jane Asher
21. The Who
22. Barry Fantoni
23. Pamela Franklin
24. Gene Pitney (II)
25. Richard Kimble (alias David Janssen, alias the Fugitive) (II)
26. Donovan
27. Herman Munster (II)
28. Maureen Stephenson
29. Rolf Harris
30. Jill Gibbs
31. Adam Adamant
32. Georgie Fame
33. The Lady Penelope Annual
34. The Monkees