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TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Thursday, January 20, 1966

Written by

Alan Fennell

Publisher

City Magazines

Runtime

48 minutes

Synopsis

The Man from MI.5 was the seventeenth episode of the first series of Thunderbirds. It was of special note to the Doctor Who universe because of the licensed appearance by the Daleks in the form of a report from the Solturian News Agency, which made it the first ever televised crossover between Doctor Who and another franchise.

Within the context of the ongoing storyline in TV Century 21, The Man From MI.5 was also significant for revealing that other security organisations in addition to the Universal Secret Service, such as the British Secret Service, were keeping updates of the Daleks' progression in space conquest in preparation for their impending invasion of Earth.

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3 reviews

As far as episodes of Thunderbirds goes, this is a fun one. I watched plenty of this as a child, and Thunderbird 2 is still my favourite. I don't remember the puppetry being as unnerving, though. Also the accents, goodness me! Nobody really sounds like that anymore. And I still adore Lady Penelope - I wanted a pink car as a child because of her!

However, as a piece of Doctor Who media... why am I watching this for a glimpse of a Dalek? I think I have better things to do with my life.


sircarolyn

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I absolutely loved the Thunderbirds series as a kid in primary school. Despite being extremely 1960s - an air hostess asks plane passengers to extinguish their cigarettes before landing - and made using puppets, it had a real sense of excitement about it. I had very little memory of this episode - only what happens at the start, and the attempts to get closer to the communicator at the end - but as it turns out there isn't really anything else to this episode, which is probably why. It's certainly not the one I would choose to introduce anyone to the show, as it almost completely lacks that excitement. On the positive side, the music is nice.

I had no idea the daleks were glimpsed here. I had seen the first half of The Curse of Fatal Death when it was broadcast, and at least some of Genesis of the Daleks (I have a vivid memory of being frightened by Davros, and later bought a figurine of him when we went to the Longleat exhibition a bit before the series came back on TV), so it wasn't my first introduction to them. Not that you could call it an introduction; it's a real blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance, in the sense that I missed it when I rewatched the episode, missed it again when I rewound, and missed it again when I tried for a final time. But I trust the picture the TARDIS wiki has. It's a shame there wasn't more made of it, as an appearance of the daleks would have really been a great outing for International Rescue (or perhaps Captain Scarlet?)


weebiloobil

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I actually enjoyed this story a lot which is very unlike me with thunderbirds


Rock_Angel

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Quotes

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PARKER: Home, m'lady?

LADY PENELOPE: Home, Parker. By the way, Parker, how did you fare at the Casino?

PARKER: Oh, er... I lost, m'lady.

LADY PENELOPE: Oh, dear. How much?

PARKER: Well, it's a bit difficult.

LADY PENELOPE: Now, come on, Parker, you can tell me.

PARKER: Well, it wasn't so much 'how much', it was 'what' I lost.

LADY PENELOPE: You know, Parker, you're being very mysterious. What did you lose?

PARKER: Well, you see, I got a bit carried away, I thought I had a system.

LADY PENELOPE: Parker! What did you lose?

PARKER: Well, er... your yacht, m'lady.

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