Back in 1964, a British guy named Gerry Anderson created an action TV show featuring marionettes. The show was called "Thunderbirds" and it boasted the technology of "SuperMarionation". Many people loved the show and it became a cult classic. When I was a kid, I should have been fascinated with the show's machinery and such. I was so into spaceships and heroism(i.e., saving the world like superheroes do) that this show should have easily clicked. There was something that stopped me from truly enjoying the show and I can point to the one problem: SuperMarionation. I had already been spoiled by "decent" anime from Japan and the exotic space travel in Star Wars. The poor marionette control and obvious strings on flying vehicles forced me to change the channel every time it was on. While I was not impressed, many people were.
During the Hollywood creative slump of the late 20th and early 21st Century, old TV shows were snatched up and turned into films left and right. Movies like Wild, Wild, West, The Beverly Hillbillies and Lost in Space competed with the comic book-inspired movies of the New Millenium. If these other TV shows can be translated successfully, then why not Thunderbirds? Thus we have this gem from director Jonathan Frakes(Cmdr. Riker on "Star Trek: TNG"[TV]) about the heroes of International Rescue.

International Rescue was founded by Jeff Tracy(Bill Paxton, Weird Science, Aliens), a billionaire former astronaut. He and his sons go out in their specially designed vehicles called "Thunderbirds" to save the world from danger�except for one. Alan(Brady Corbet, Thirteen) is stuck in school while his older brothers go off to save the world. He wants to be part of the team, but he has to finish school first. Butting heads with his father, he's a bit brash. The only people who understand him are his friends Fermat(Soren Fulton, Van Wilder)--son of the Thunderbirds' mechanic Brains(Anthony Edwards, Revenge of the Nerds, "ER"[TV])--and Tintin(Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Thirteen), the groundskeeper's daughter. The younger Tracy wants to help in times of crisis, and is always denied the chance.
"Be careful what you wish for dear boy, you just may get it." Such would be a line delivered by the Hood(Ben Kingsley, Schindler's LIst, Species, Bugsy), an evil mastermind with psychic powers bent on making fools of Jeff Tracy while getting rich doing so. With the help of his henchmen Mullion(Dhobi Oparei, Moulin Rouge) and Transom(Rose Keegan, First Knight), he disables spacestation Thunderbird-5. When the other Tracy men arrive on the station on Thunderbird-3(the red rocket), The Hood and company then disable the station even further from inside Tracy Island, the Thunderbirds' secret HQ located in the South Pacific. Now that the Thunderbirds are kaput, The Hood makes moves to frame the heroes of International Rescue for crimes across the globe. He takes off in Thunderbird-2(the big green aircraft) and plans to rob the Bank of London. Despite the fact that the Hood is a decent supervillain with a real reason to go after the Tracy family, he falls prey to a typical villain failing: he didn't take the children seriously.
With underestimation on their side--and a little help from British secrent agent Lady Penelope(Sophia Myles, Underworld) and her manservant Parker(Ron Cook, Topsy-Turvy, 24 Hour Party People, The Merchant of Venice)--Alan and his friends take off in Thunderbird-1(the blue rocket) to do what he was destined to do: save the world.

The redesigned FAB-1, Lady Penelope's pink, transforming six-wheeled car. Pimp My Ride has nothing on this.

The show "Thunderbirds" and its "SuperMarionation" holds a lot of appeal for people, whether they are held in awe or cringing in disapproval. The style of the show has been revisited several times over the years, resulting in an MTV show("Super Action Team"[TV]), a skit on "Saturday Night Live"("The GO-Lords") and the recent comedy of Team America: World Police. These productions would not have been as funny as they are if it wasn't for the simple fact that (a)SuperMarionation is so bad that it's laughable and (b)the Cold War world which "Thunderbirds" and other Gerry Anderson puppet productions("Captain Scarlet", "Terrahawks") thrived in is long gone, making such seriousness the target of camp. While the show may have been unintentionally funny, the movie adaptation was not for a myriad of reasons. Chief among those reasons was the treatment given to one character: the henchman Mullion.
Yes, Mullion's a villain. Yes, he's a big dumb block of muscle. And yes, he is black. It may sound as if I'm going to defend his villainous deeds; far from it. They'll get no safe haven from me. Instead, I'd like to focus on how the writers treated Mullion. We all understand the Hood is evil and not above using his psychic powers on his own men, as he does to Mullion twice in the film. It is also understood that when Mullion leers at people, he makes them feel uncomfortable. Also understood is Transom's purpose in the Hood's plan. What I do not understand is why Mullion was made to leer at white women in a sexual manner, only to look like some sort of fool when confronting children. Surely the Hood is not a charitable man and the muscle provided by Mullion could easily be substituted with the Hood's telekinetic powers, so what exactly does a maleficent Mandingo bring to the table? For all the villainy present, Mullion is the true villain in the live action Thunderbirds movie script.
Allow me to illucidate: Transom is seen as misguided in the use of her gift. She treasures scientific minds, hence her unrequited jonesing for Thunderbird technician Brains(no, she's not a zombie). Unfortunately, she's an unattractive woman in a world that judges by beauty that stops her from getting what she truly wants: acceptance. The Hood is painted as a tortured villain, angry that he was left behind in favor of others. The emotional pain from such an event is what drives him to act out. In comparison to Mullion, Transom and the Hood are victims, for the henchman has no such character flaws. While this means that Mullion is in complete control of his destiny, it also makes him culpable for his actions. But why Mullion? Why not the focal villain of the film, the Hood? If it's a matter of giving the villain character dimensions, then why was Transom given a soft side when she's a villain?
The serious answer would be that the writers of the live-action Thunderbirds movie have a problem with black people. The silly answer is that Commander Riker is still sore that Deanna Troi left him for Worf. I say to both answers: Let it go, man, let it go!

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