One of the more timeless elements of Thunderbirds is International Rescue’s London agent Lady Penelope, one of the few female regulars on Thunderbirds. Voiced by co-creator Sylvia Anderson, her character now retains a greater sense of reverence due to Sylvia’s unfortunate passing on the 15th of March.
Now being hailed as “The First Lady of Sci-Fi”, Sylvia’s contributions to those classic Supermarionation shows, such as Stingray, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, and of course Thunderbirds, ranged from the creation of the characters to writing each series’ pilot scripts with her then-husband Gerry.
In the male-dominated world of the 1960s, Sylvia rightly earned her title of “First Lady…”, and her death resulted in many not only paying her respects, but recognising that her achievements in the television industry went far further than being remembered as a voice artist. Nevertheless, it’s her most famous character that she’s most associated with, so let’s look at six of Lady Penelope’s greatest moments in Thunderbirds.
6. “Don’t move, Mr. Lucas.” (“Path of Destruction”)
One of the few episodes that fully utilizes Penelope’s role as a spy, “Path of Destruction” showed her darker side, forcing Jim Lucas, inventor of the forest-munching monster the Crablogger, to spell out the shut-down code for its reactor before the runaway machine can cause havoc in its path. It may be questionable why Penelope would feel the need to threaten Lucas at gunpoint, but it’s still entertaining to see her malevolent streak shine through.
5. That Dangerous Game (“The Cham-Cham”)
International Rescue’s rocket-powered explosions take a back-seat for this James Bond-esque spy adventure, in which Lady Penelope is sent to the Paradise Peaks hotel in the Alps to investigate the connection between several air transporters being shot down and a seemingly cryptic song played by the hotel’s in-house band. Whilst “The Cham-Cham” doesn’t quite have any individual moments as strong as those listed below for Penelope, the whole episode makes good use of her character, and remains one of Thunderbirds‘ more diverse episodes in its scope.
It’s also nice to see Penelope teaming up with Tin-Tin, Thunderbirds other female regular, to crack the case. The duo excel in tricking the various suspects in revealing key information, highlighted by Penelope’s smoky rendition of “Dangerous Game”.
4. “Down the hatch” (“The Perils of Penelope”)
Another Lady Penelope-focused adventure takes a different direction from the snowy, high-class escapades of “The Cham-Cham”. “The Perils of Penelope” send our heroine into antique death-traps, Murder on the Orient Express-styled midnight train mysteries and underground prisons.
“The Perils of Penelope” is stuffed with ingenious little moments of solid adventure, but it’s her poisoned drink, shot to pieces by Parker before it can touch her lips, that sets her off on what is arguably her darkest adventure.
3. Convincing Jeff to Stay (“Atlantic Inferno”)
An episode best remembered for the character development between Jeff and Scott, a pivotal moment in that development comes from Lady Penelope herself. “Atlantic Inferno” sees Jeff take a well-earned vacation on Penelope’s Australian farm, leaving Scott in charge of International Rescue. Both Scott and Jeff end up making rash decisions, Scott involving when to send I.R. into an emergency, and Jeff’s reluctance to leave I.R. in the hands of another.
In Jeff’s ensuing panic over Scott’s judgement when he dispatches I.R. into a situation he thinks doesn’t require their help, Penelope calms Jeff’s nerves, reminding him to have faith in the judgement of his own children. For such a family as the Tracy’s, with their lack of female influence, Penelope’s gentle, balanced reassuring of Jeff comes as a welcome outside source in this male-dominated world.
2. “Are you going to tie me up?” (“The Man from MI.5”)
An effortless example of why Penelope was such a hit with viewers, her duping of a murderous spy in order to discover his plans is as much an alluring affair for us as it is for the spy. Seductive without sexuality, “The Man from MI.5” is a brilliant showcase for Penelope the spy, a character full of elegance, charm and deadly danger.
It’s true that she still requires a male to come to her rescue once the spy has left her to her apparent doom, but Penelope’s cool manner throughout is a wondrous juxtaposition to the regular rounds of explosions and rocket launches caused by all the men in Thunderbirds.
1. Blowing up The Hood (“Trapped in the Sky”)
Fans may argue till the end of time whether or not Thunderbirds‘ opening episode gave fans too much too soon, and whether or not Lady Penelope and Parker may have been better introduced in a more Penelope-centric episode, but the finale of “Trapped in the Sky” gave fans their first on-screen glimpse of International Rescue’s most suave and sophisticated agent.
Up until “Trapped in the Sky”‘s riveting climax of I.R. helping the bomb-ridden Fireflash to land, Thunderbirds‘ debut episode had shown audiences that it was a hard-nosed, straight-faced, mecha-heavy sci-fi blitzkrieg of action and adventure, all in a world belonging only to men. Lady Penelope’s introduction gave Thunderbirds an extra layer of depth, opening up it’s world whilst giving boys and girl viewers heroes to idolize. Perhaps then it’s just as well that Penny and Parker made their debut as early as possible.
What was your favourite Lady Penelope moment in Thunderbirds? Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments section below or send us a Tweet!