10 Times Thunderbirds Was Way Too Dark For Kids TV
9. When Virgil Lands Thunderbird 2 Even Though He's Unconscious
Unlucky ol’ Virgil. On his way back from a rescue in which he is nearly burnt to a crisp by an oil well fire, he strays into a military testing site causing the Captain of a new warship to get a bit jittery and fire missiles at him.
They soon realise that they’re shooting at one of the grand craft of International Rescue but not before they take out one of the ‘jolly green giant’s’ engines and she’s left careening back toward Tracy Island with a half-conscious Virgil at the wheel.
It's less that Thunderbird 2 takes a hit from a missile - something which remains fairly standard fare in kids TV - and more the emotional anguish of his family and friends as they watch for signs of the ship on the horizon; unable to make contact with the craft and fully expecting him to die.
You get to watch his father and three brothers (John's on the space station, the poor guy) try to come to terms with what feels like the inevitability of Virgil’s death. Just when you think he couldn't possibly survive, he manages to land, coming to a screeching halt just inches from the hangar.