The Uninvited (Thunderbirds)

"The Uninvited" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British 1960s Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Fennell and directed by Desmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on ATV Midlands on 2 December 1965 as the tenth episode of Series One. It is the fifth episode in the official running order.^[2]

Set in the 2060s, the series follows the exploits of International Rescue, an organisation that uses technologically-advanced rescue vehicles to save human life. The main characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, founder of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the organisation's main vehicles: the Thunderbird machines. "The Uninvited" begins with Thunderbird 1 being attacked by a group of unidentified fighters and crashing in the Sahara. Its pilot, Scott Tracy, is rescued by two archaeologists, who later need International Rescue's help when they become entombed in the Pyramid of Khamandides – home of the hostile tribe that shot down Scott.

In 1992, a comic strip adaptation of "The Uninvited" was published in Fleetway's Thunderbirds: The Comic and the comics album Thunderbirds: Shock Wave.^[2] Also that year, the episode was novelised by Dave Morris for Young Corgi Books. In 2004, "The Uninvited" was included on the A&E DVD The Best of Thunderbirds – The Favorite Episodes.^[3]