Attack of the Alligators!
Encyclopedia
"Attack of the Alligators!" is the 23rd episode of the British Supermarionation
television series Thunderbirds
. One of the last episodes of the first season, it was first broadcast on ATV Midlands on 10 March 1966, was written by Alan Pattillo and directed by David Lane
. In this episode, alligator
s grow to a huge size
when their habitat is contaminated by an enlarging chemical. The creatures proceed to threaten innocent people trapped inside a house, stirring International Rescue into action.
"Attack of the Alligators!" is often viewed as the most memorable episode of Thunderbirds for its incorporation of footage featuring actual crocodile
s. This episode marks the first occasion when live animals appeared in a Supermarionation production. However, the episode proved to be a technical challenge to complete, and a representative of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(RSPCA) supervised the recording to ensure no abuse of the creatures.
called "Theramine" which, if fed to animals, causes them to exceed their original size
. Enlargement of animal stock around the world would offer a simple solution to famine
and present other financial advantages. Blackmer's boatman, Culp, has been eavesdropping on the meeting. When a storm forces Blackmer to stay at Orchard's house for the night, Culp resolves to abscond with the theramine and become rich. He waits until the other occupants are asleep and steals the keys to Orchard's laboratory from the housekeeper, Mrs Files. While filling a vial with a quantity of theramine, Culp accidentally knocks the rest of the supply into a sink and the chemical drains into the Ambro River.
When Blackmer and Culp leave Orchard the next morning, their boat is ravaged by an alligator
, now enlarged
due to the contamination. Orchard's assistant, Hector McGill, manages to rescue Blackmer, but Culp is apparently killed and the house is quickly surrounded by three giant
alligators, which proceed to attack the building with Orchard, McGill, Blackmer and Mrs Files trapped inside. On the advice of Mrs Files, McGill contacts International Rescue and John
relays the incredible details to Tracy Island
. Jeff
orders the launches of Thunderbirds 1 and 2. Arriving at the scene, Scott
wards the reptiles off with his hoverjet missiles and enters Orchard's house through the laboratory window. Eventually the alligators cause so much damage that the laboratory caves in, forcing the Scott and the others to escape to the lounge. The group is confronted by none other than Culp, who has survived the alligator attack and holds them all at gunpoint.
Virgil
arrives in Thunderbird 2 and repels the alligators away from the house with the vertical jets. Alan
and Gordon
man tranquilliser gun
s and subdue two of the creatures. When the third returns to the house, Alan leaves Thunderbird 2 on a hoverjet to lure the alligator off. Although Alan fails to notice a tree in his path and falls from his hoverjet, Gordon saves his brother by neutralising the last alligator. Culp threatens to pour the whole theramine vial into the Ambro River if he is not granted passage upstream. Launching Thunderbird 4, Gordon discovers a fourth, even larger alligator which attacks the boat and devours Culp. Virgil kills the final beast with a missile fired from Thunderbird 2. Despite fears that the vial has been smashed, Gordon retrieves it intact. Back on Tracy Island, Jeff announces that Orchard and Blackmer are putting international restrictions
on theramine. Tin-Tin
has been away from the island on a shopping trip and tells Alan that she has purchased a present for his upcoming birthday—which is revealed to be a pygmy
alligator.
' 1904 novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
, in which animal resizing
is a significant theme, and the 1927 horror film
The Cat and the Canary
and its 1939 remake
, which concern stalker figures and a "haunted house
" premise. Although script editor
Alan Pattillo had wanted to direct as well as write the episode, the director role passed to David Lane
. The episode underwent filming between October and November 1965, overrunning its month-long shooting schedule and forcing the production personnel to work well into the night on more than one occasion to finish the recording. A shot of a stormy sky, seen at the start of the episode, later formed the opening to the titles of the ITC
television series The Prisoner
.
Although co-creator and producer Gerry Anderson
originally intended to shoot with real alligator
s, AP Films
ultimately requisitioned juvenile crocodile
s from a private zoo to appear as the giant alligators on the scale model sets. The crocodiles measured three feet (0.9 m) in length with the exception of one five-foot (1.5 m) specimen, which proved to be too aggressive to be removed from its container. Production members kept the on-set water tanks heated at an appropriate temperature and used electric shock
s to produce movement from the crocodiles. The frequent appearance of the animals in both puppet and scale model shots resulted in a closer-than-usual collaboration between the puppet and special effects departments.
Objecting on the grounds of animal welfare
, director of visual effects
Brian Johnson
, along with others, refused to participate in the production. While camera operator Alan Perry has no memory of ill treatment of the crocodiles, series supervising director Desmond Saunders
recalls that more than one died of pneumonia
after being left in an unheated water tank overnight. David Elliott
, although occupied with directing another Thunderbirds
episode at the time, remembers an incident in which one crocodile dislocated a limb after receiving an unexpected jolt from the electric shocker. Of the production, Saunders states, "It was scandalous. It was one of the great episodes. Nevertheless there was a price to be paid for it."
Disagreements on the subject of alleged mistreatment led to notification of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(RSPCA). Initial tests with electric shocking had been unproductive, necessitating an increase in voltage to coax movement out of the crocodiles, as Anderson recalls: "[special effects director] Derek Meddings
explained that his team were laying the crocodiles down and they weren't doing anything. They were just lying there. The RSPCA man said, well, they would, because of the warmth of the lamps
. So Derek said, 'We've been giving them a touch with an electrode
just to make them move.' The guy asked what voltage they were using and Derek said it was about 20 volts, and the guy said, 'Oh, they've got terribly thick skins, you know. If you want them to move, you'll have to pump it up to 60.'"
Filming with the crocodiles often proved to be hazardous. During a publicity shoot for "Attack of the Alligators!", one attacked the Lady Penelope puppet while it was positioned for a shot with two of the creatures and devoured one of the legs. While filming a scene in which one of the alligators pursues a boat, Meddings guided the animal forward on a harness when it was found that it had slipped loose and was swimming free inside the tank, forcing Meddings to jump quickly to safety. Puppeteer Christine Glanville
has stated that the shoot must have been an unpleasant experience for the episode's "guest stars", once commenting, "The crocodiles must have had an awful time of it, lying in the studio tank, which was filled with all sorts of dirty paint water, oil and soapy water to make it look swampy."
. Co-creator Sylvia Anderson
cites it as her favourite episode, while critic Stephen La Rivière notes its plot as one of the most unusual in the series. Lew Grade
, chief of ITC Entertainment
, which distributed Thunderbirds, expressed his delight with the filming when he visited the AP Films
Studios during a recording session.
Since "Attack of the Alligators!" and a later episode, "The Cham-Cham
", exceeded their budgets, the writing staff re-scripted the final instalment of Series One of Thunderbirds into a clip show
, "Security Hazard". This episode makes extensive use of flashback
footage to earlier episodes, which reduced costs.
Thunderbirds scriptwriter Dennis Spooner
adapted the premise of "Attack of the Alligators!" for an episode of the The New Avengers in 1976. The episode "Gnaws" features a giant rat, grown to a monstrous size from the contamination of a water source due to a lethal chemical, which proceeds to attack humans.
; others occurred in Tisbury
and Hither Green
). It was decided to delay the transmission of the episodes "The Perils of Penelope" and "Brink of Disaster" (both of which feature disaster situations involving trains) until the end of the broadcast schedule. "Attack of the Alligators" substituted for "Brink of Disaster", making it the 11th episode to be repeated on BBC Two.
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
television series Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
. One of the last episodes of the first season, it was first broadcast on ATV Midlands on 10 March 1966, was written by Alan Pattillo and directed by David Lane
David Lane (director)
David Lane is a British television and film director, best known for his association with series produced by Gerry Anderson's AP Films.Lane directed several episodes of the Thunderbirds television series, including "Attack of the Alligators!", as well as the two cinema films Thunderbirds are GO and...
. In this episode, alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s grow to a huge size
Resizing (fiction)
Resizing , is a theme in fiction, in particular in fairy tales, fantasy, and science fiction.- Early instances in fiction :...
when their habitat is contaminated by an enlarging chemical. The creatures proceed to threaten innocent people trapped inside a house, stirring International Rescue into action.
"Attack of the Alligators!" is often viewed as the most memorable episode of Thunderbirds for its incorporation of footage featuring actual crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s. This episode marks the first occasion when live animals appeared in a Supermarionation production. However, the episode proved to be a technical challenge to complete, and a representative of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a charity in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. In 2009 the RSPCA investigated 141,280 cruelty complaints and collected and rescued 135,293 animals...
(RSPCA) supervised the recording to ensure no abuse of the creatures.
Plot
A businessman called Blackmer visits the reclusive Dr Orchard, a scientist who lives in a remote house on the Ambro River in South America. From the local plant sidonicus americanus, Orchard has developed a food additiveFood additive
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines...
called "Theramine" which, if fed to animals, causes them to exceed their original size
Growth hormone
Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...
. Enlargement of animal stock around the world would offer a simple solution to famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
and present other financial advantages. Blackmer's boatman, Culp, has been eavesdropping on the meeting. When a storm forces Blackmer to stay at Orchard's house for the night, Culp resolves to abscond with the theramine and become rich. He waits until the other occupants are asleep and steals the keys to Orchard's laboratory from the housekeeper, Mrs Files. While filling a vial with a quantity of theramine, Culp accidentally knocks the rest of the supply into a sink and the chemical drains into the Ambro River.
When Blackmer and Culp leave Orchard the next morning, their boat is ravaged by an alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
, now enlarged
Resizing (fiction)
Resizing , is a theme in fiction, in particular in fairy tales, fantasy, and science fiction.- Early instances in fiction :...
due to the contamination. Orchard's assistant, Hector McGill, manages to rescue Blackmer, but Culp is apparently killed and the house is quickly surrounded by three giant
Gigantism
Gigantism, also known as giantism , is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average...
alligators, which proceed to attack the building with Orchard, McGill, Blackmer and Mrs Files trapped inside. On the advice of Mrs Files, McGill contacts International Rescue and John
John Tracy (Thunderbirds)
John Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6...
relays the incredible details to Tracy Island
Tracy Island
Tracy Island is the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 1960s television series Thunderbirds. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue organisation is heavily camouflaged.Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar...
. Jeff
Jeff Tracy
Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley. The character also appeared in the live...
orders the launches of Thunderbirds 1 and 2. Arriving at the scene, Scott
Scott Tracy
Scott Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
wards the reptiles off with his hoverjet missiles and enters Orchard's house through the laboratory window. Eventually the alligators cause so much damage that the laboratory caves in, forcing the Scott and the others to escape to the lounge. The group is confronted by none other than Culp, who has survived the alligator attack and holds them all at gunpoint.
Virgil
Virgil Tracy
Virgil Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
arrives in Thunderbird 2 and repels the alligators away from the house with the vertical jets. Alan
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
and Gordon
Gordon Tracy
Gordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
man tranquilliser gun
Tranquilliser gun
A tranquilliser gun , capture gun, or dart gun, is a non-lethal gun used for capture via a special chemical. Tranquilliser guns shoot darts filled with tranquilliser that, when injected, temporarily sedate an animal or human, so that it may be handled safely...
s and subdue two of the creatures. When the third returns to the house, Alan leaves Thunderbird 2 on a hoverjet to lure the alligator off. Although Alan fails to notice a tree in his path and falls from his hoverjet, Gordon saves his brother by neutralising the last alligator. Culp threatens to pour the whole theramine vial into the Ambro River if he is not granted passage upstream. Launching Thunderbird 4, Gordon discovers a fourth, even larger alligator which attacks the boat and devours Culp. Virgil kills the final beast with a missile fired from Thunderbird 2. Despite fears that the vial has been smashed, Gordon retrieves it intact. Back on Tracy Island, Jeff announces that Orchard and Blackmer are putting international restrictions
International security
International security consists of the measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements such as treaties and conventions. International and national security...
on theramine. Tin-Tin
Tin-Tin Kyrano
Tin-Tin Kyrano is a character in the mid-1960s British television show Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its original movie adaptations, Tin-Tin, like the other characters, is portrayed using a marionette, and Christine Finn provided her voice....
has been away from the island on a shopping trip and tells Alan that she has purchased a present for his upcoming birthday—which is revealed to be a pygmy
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
alligator.
Production
Inspiration for this episode came from H. G. WellsH. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
' 1904 novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth is a novel written by H. G. Wells. Published in 1904, it is one of his lesser known scientific romances, aside from the various B-movie adaptations .-Plot summary:...
, in which animal resizing
Resizing (fiction)
Resizing , is a theme in fiction, in particular in fairy tales, fantasy, and science fiction.- Early instances in fiction :...
is a significant theme, and the 1927 horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
The Cat and the Canary
The Cat and the Canary (1927 film)
The Cat and the Canary is an American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name. Directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and Creighton Hale as...
and its 1939 remake
The Cat and the Canary (1939 film)
The Cat and the Canary starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard is a 1939 comedy horror film remake of the 1927 film The Cat and the Canary, which was based on the 1922 play of the same name by John Willard...
, which concern stalker figures and a "haunted house
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
" premise. Although script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
Alan Pattillo had wanted to direct as well as write the episode, the director role passed to David Lane
David Lane (director)
David Lane is a British television and film director, best known for his association with series produced by Gerry Anderson's AP Films.Lane directed several episodes of the Thunderbirds television series, including "Attack of the Alligators!", as well as the two cinema films Thunderbirds are GO and...
. The episode underwent filming between October and November 1965, overrunning its month-long shooting schedule and forcing the production personnel to work well into the night on more than one occasion to finish the recording. A shot of a stormy sky, seen at the start of the episode, later formed the opening to the titles of the ITC
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
television series The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
.
Although co-creator and producer Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
originally intended to shoot with real alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, AP Films
AP Films
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s...
ultimately requisitioned juvenile crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s from a private zoo to appear as the giant alligators on the scale model sets. The crocodiles measured three feet (0.9 m) in length with the exception of one five-foot (1.5 m) specimen, which proved to be too aggressive to be removed from its container. Production members kept the on-set water tanks heated at an appropriate temperature and used electric shock
Electric shock
Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....
s to produce movement from the crocodiles. The frequent appearance of the animals in both puppet and scale model shots resulted in a closer-than-usual collaboration between the puppet and special effects departments.
Objecting on the grounds of animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
, director of visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (special effects)
-Biography:Johnson's work on Space: 1999 set the tone for the Star Wars films to follow. George Lucas visited Johnson during the series production because he was so impressed with his work. Lucas asked Johnson to supervise the special effects for the first film but his prior commitment to Year 2 of...
, along with others, refused to participate in the production. While camera operator Alan Perry has no memory of ill treatment of the crocodiles, series supervising director Desmond Saunders
Desmond Saunders
Desmond Saunders is a British television director and film editor.He has a long association with producer Gerry Anderson, having served as a director for the series Supercar , Stingray , Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons , Joe 90 and Terrahawks...
recalls that more than one died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
after being left in an unheated water tank overnight. David Elliott
David Elliott (director)
David Elliott is a British television director and film editor, who worked on various series produced by Gerry Anderson.-External links:...
, although occupied with directing another Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
episode at the time, remembers an incident in which one crocodile dislocated a limb after receiving an unexpected jolt from the electric shocker. Of the production, Saunders states, "It was scandalous. It was one of the great episodes. Nevertheless there was a price to be paid for it."
Disagreements on the subject of alleged mistreatment led to notification of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a charity in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. In 2009 the RSPCA investigated 141,280 cruelty complaints and collected and rescued 135,293 animals...
(RSPCA). Initial tests with electric shocking had been unproductive, necessitating an increase in voltage to coax movement out of the crocodiles, as Anderson recalls: "[special effects director] Derek Meddings
Derek Meddings
Derek Meddings was a British television and cinema special effects expert, initially noted for his work on the "Supermarionation" television puppet series produced by Gerry Anderson, and later for the 1970s James Bond films and the Superman film series.-Early years:Both Meddings' parents had...
explained that his team were laying the crocodiles down and they weren't doing anything. They were just lying there. The RSPCA man said, well, they would, because of the warmth of the lamps
Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different...
. So Derek said, 'We've been giving them a touch with an electrode
Electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit...
just to make them move.' The guy asked what voltage they were using and Derek said it was about 20 volts, and the guy said, 'Oh, they've got terribly thick skins, you know. If you want them to move, you'll have to pump it up to 60.'"
Filming with the crocodiles often proved to be hazardous. During a publicity shoot for "Attack of the Alligators!", one attacked the Lady Penelope puppet while it was positioned for a shot with two of the creatures and devoured one of the legs. While filming a scene in which one of the alligators pursues a boat, Meddings guided the animal forward on a harness when it was found that it had slipped loose and was swimming free inside the tank, forcing Meddings to jump quickly to safety. Puppeteer Christine Glanville
Christine Glanville
Christine Glanville was a British professional puppeteer and spent most of her working life on television programs produced by Gerry Anderson....
has stated that the shoot must have been an unpleasant experience for the episode's "guest stars", once commenting, "The crocodiles must have had an awful time of it, lying in the studio tank, which was filled with all sorts of dirty paint water, oil and soapy water to make it look swampy."
Reception
"Attack of the Alligators!" remains a popular episode of ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
. Co-creator Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
cites it as her favourite episode, while critic Stephen La Rivière notes its plot as one of the most unusual in the series. Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
, chief of ITC Entertainment
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
, which distributed Thunderbirds, expressed his delight with the filming when he visited the AP Films
AP Films
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s...
Studios during a recording session.
Since "Attack of the Alligators!" and a later episode, "The Cham-Cham
The Cham-Cham
"The Cham-Cham" is the 25th episode of the 1960s Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. One of the final instalments of Series One, it first aired in the United Kingdom on ATV Midlands on 24 March 1966...
", exceeded their budgets, the writing staff re-scripted the final instalment of Series One of Thunderbirds into a clip show
Clip show
A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
, "Security Hazard". This episode makes extensive use of flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
footage to earlier episodes, which reduced costs.
Thunderbirds scriptwriter Dennis Spooner
Dennis Spooner
Dennis Spooner was an English television screenwriter and story editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s...
adapted the premise of "Attack of the Alligators!" for an episode of the The New Avengers in 1976. The episode "Gnaws" features a giant rat, grown to a monstrous size from the contamination of a water source due to a lethal chemical, which proceeds to attack humans.
Broadcast
"Attack of the Alligators!" achieved ratings of 4.78 million viewers for its 1992 BBC2 broadcast. The BBC subsequently re-screened Thunderbirds episodes in 2001, a year known for several major rail accidents in the United Kingdom (most notably the Selby rail crashSelby rail crash
The Great Heck rail crash, widely known as the Selby rail crash, was a high-speed train accident that occurred at Great Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, England on the morning of 28 February 2001...
; others occurred in Tisbury
Tisbury
-Places:*Tisbury, Wiltshire, a town in England**Tisbury railway station*Tisbury, Massachusetts, United States, on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Named after Tisbury, Wiltshire....
and Hither Green
Hither Green
Hither Green is a district in south east London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated 6.6 miles south east of Charing Cross, and on the Prime Meridian....
). It was decided to delay the transmission of the episodes "The Perils of Penelope" and "Brink of Disaster" (both of which feature disaster situations involving trains) until the end of the broadcast schedule. "Attack of the Alligators" substituted for "Brink of Disaster", making it the 11th episode to be repeated on BBC Two.