Path of Destruction (Thunderbirds)
| "Path of Destruction" | |
|---|---|
| Thunderbirds episode | |
The episode features the Crablogger: a giant, clawed, tree-sawing and -pulping machine. Praised by commentators, the atomic-powered Crablogger has generated discussion about the episode's depiction of nuclear technology, and drawn comparisons to heavy goods vehicles and their toll on developing road networks. | |
| Episode no. | Series 2 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | David Elliott |
| Written by | Donald Robertson |
| Cinematography by | Julien Lugrin |
| Editing by | Harry MacDonald |
| Production code | 28 |
| Original air date | 9 October 1966 |
| Guest character voices | |
| |
"Path of Destruction" is the 28th episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. Written by Donald Robertson and directed by David Elliott, it was first broadcast on 9 October 1966 on ATV London and Anglia Television as the second episode of Series Two. It had its first UK-wide network broadcast on 24 April 1992 on BBC2.
Set in the 2060s, Thunderbirds follows the missions of International Rescue, a secret organisation that uses technologically advanced rescue vehicles to save human life. The lead characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, founder of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the organisation's primary fleet of vehicles: the Thunderbird machines. In "Path of Destruction", a giant tree-felling machine called the Crablogger veers off course after its crew pass out from food poisoning. Lady Penelope tracks down the Crablogger's designer to obtain the emergency shutdown sequence while the Tracys and Brains race to stop the machine before it destroys a dam.