| "Danger at Ocean Deep" | |||
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| Thunderbirds episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Series 1 Episode 22 | ||
| Directed by | Desmond Saunders | ||
| Written by | Donald Robertson | ||
| Cinematography by | Julien Lugrin | ||
| Editing by | Harry MacDonald | ||
| Production code | 22[1] | ||
| Original air date | 3 February 1966 (1966-02-03) | ||
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"Danger at Ocean Deep" is an episode ofThunderbirds, a BritishSupermarionation television series created byGerry andSylvia Anderson and filmed by their production companyAP Films forITC Entertainment. Written byDonald Robertson and directed byDesmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on 3 February 1966 onATV Midlands as the 19th episode of Series One. In the official running order, it is the 22nd episode.[1]
Set in the 2060s,Thunderbirds follows the missions of International Rescue, a secret organisation which uses technologically-advanced rescue vehicles to save human life. The lead characters are ex-astronautJeff Tracy, founder of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the organisation's primary vehicles: theThunderbird machines. In "Danger at Ocean Deep", International Rescue must save the crew of atanker when it sails into a patch of sea harbouring a fungus that reacts explosively with the vessel's cargo of liquid fuel.
The episode had its first UK‑wide network broadcast on 7 February 1992 onBBC2.[2]
While crossing the Mediterranean Sea, the Britishnuclear-powered tankerOcean Pioneer I enters what appears to be afogbank, then explodes. Both its skeleton crew of three, and shipment of liquid alsterene fuel, are lost.
Six months later,Ocean Pioneer II islaunched on its maiden voyage through the Mediterranean. The vessel ischristened byLady Penelope, who is attending the ceremony at International Rescue's request to rule out the possibility of sabotage campaign against theOcean Pioneer fleet. After Penelope contactsTracy Island to report that all is well, International Rescue receives an emergency call fromHawaii, where a hurricane is making landfall and threatening a hospital onOahu. The rescue operation involvingThunderbirds 1 and2 is complicated by unexplainedradio interference, making it impossible forScott,Virgil andGordon to contact base viaThunderbird 5.Alan is soon to blast off inThunderbird 3 to relieveJohn aboard the space station. Wanting the transmission recordings for analysis,Jeff orders Alan to leave early and takeBrains with him. Brains retrieves the tapes and returns to base with John onThunderbird 3.
Examining the tapes, Brains finds the cause of the trouble: proximity of liquid fuel to themarine fungus OD60, causing radio interference then an explosion. Although OD60 is native to theGulf Stream, the source of the interference is traced to the Mediterranean, indicating that a fuel-fungus interaction is occurring there.Tin-Tin remembers that OD60 is an ingredient of adog food made by Britishpet food manufacturer Allpets, for which Penelope judged apoodle show. Assigned to investigate Allpets, Penelope learns that the company has dumped masses of OD60 in the Mediterranean to cut shipping times and costs.
International Rescue realise that with its payload of alsterene, the secondOcean Pioneer is heading for the same fate as the first. The radio interference is blocking communication with the ship, soThunderbirds 1 and2 are launched to intercept it.Ocean Pioneer'sreactor goes critical, forcing the crew to lowerradiation shields around the bridge – just as the ship reaches the OD60 mist. An explosion cuts off the air supply to the bridge and the crew fall unconscious.
Finding the ship adrift, Scott landsThunderbird 1 on the deck. He is joined by John, who is winched down to the ship fromThunderbird 2, and the pair useplasma torches to cut through the bridge shields. They revive the crew, who are lifted aboardThunderbird 2. International Rescue evacuate the area seconds before the ship blows up.
In the closing scene, John expresses regret that International Rescue was unable to prevent the destruction of the costly tanker. Jeff points out that their mission is to save human life, not property.
The puppet playing Lord Worden, the character presiding over theOcean Pioneer II launch, previously appeared as Sir Jeremy Hodge in "The Perils of Penelope". Theincidental music was mostlystock music originally composed forStingray, including the episode "Sea of Oil".[3]
"Danger at Ocean Deep" is the only episode ofThunderbirds in whichJohn Tracy actually joins his brothers on a rescue operation, instead of relaying communications fromThunderbird 5. However, in one scene, John claims to have attended "about a dozen" rescues.[3][4]
Rating the episode four out of five,Starburst magazine's Tom Fox calls Brains' explanation of the radio interference "as amusing as it is improbable", adding that "it gets even better" when it is revealed that a dog food company has been dumping a fungus in the Mediterranean Sea.[5] Marcus Hearn acknowledges the "futuristic verisimilitude" of alsterene and OD60, also noting the humour introduced by the connection to dog food. He argues that by using these and other fictional substances as plot devices,Thunderbirds showed itself to be "surprisingly creative when it came to scientific accuracy", considering that the series was "seemingly aimed at theLook and Learn generation". Hearn also praises the guest voice acting ofPeter Dyneley andJohn Tate.[6]
For screenwriterPeter Briggs, "Danger at Ocean Deep" is one of threeThunderbirds episodes (the others being "Attack of the Alligators!" and "Path of Destruction") whose main theme may be characterised as "weird science".[7] Michael Coldwell writes that it is one of several to imply criticism of increasedautomation, noting that the destroyedOcean Pioneers are self-running except for their three-man bridge crews. Coldwell also states that the opening sequence's "creepily atmospheric"scale model effects and "sinister" incidental music, combined with character dialogue, create an air of "dreadful inevitability" asOcean Pioneer I sails into the fog.[4]
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