10 Times Thunderbirds Was Way Too Dark For Kids TV

Thunderbirds isn’t all about saving people. Sometimes they have to be “dealt with” and that’s where eldest brother Scott Tracy comes in. Although it only happens a couple of episodes, the way in which these deaths are presented is pretty weird.

In one episode Scott shoots an assailant in the chest, sending him splaying across his control panel. In another episode - albeit one where the eventual victims try to bump off his brother and grandmother - Scott strafes a stolen racing car with machine gun fire where it eventually runs off the road and off a cliff (although the two men were struggling for control of the car, Scott doesn’t seem too bothered that they meet an explosive end).

Showing Scott as a character who is willing to kill is a departure for the series where very few people ever seem to die. There's something to be said for the age of the show where killing wasn't seen as the no-no for kids TV that it might be today but it's still incredibly jarring and more than a bit unsettling that a character so concerned with the preservation of life might also be willing to end it on a whim.