{{About|the ''Thunderbirds'' episode||Cham Cham (disambiguation){{!}}Cham Cham}} {{Use British English|date=October 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox television episode | series = Thunderbirds | series_no = 1 | episode = 25 | image = TheChamCham.jpg | alt = Two women skiing down a snowy slope. | caption = Tin-Tin (left) and Lady Penelope (right) skiing at Paradise Peaks. Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn consider this sequence to be one of several "unforgettable images" in the episode. | airdate = {{Start date|1966|03|24|df=yes}} | production = 25 | director = Alan Pattillo | writer = Alan Pattillo | photographer = Julien Lugrin | editor = Harry Ledger | guests_title = Guest character voices | guests = *Ray Barrett as Cass Carnaby, Matthews Field Commander & Radio Maxwell DJ *Christine Finn as Telephone Operator *David Graham as Olsen, Captain Savidge & Hitchins *John Tate ''(uncredited)'' as Maxie, Scheiler & Enemy Colonel *Matt Zimmerman as Banino, Macklin & Enemy Lieutenant | prev = Attack of the Alligators! | next = Security Hazard | episode_list = List of Thunderbirds episodes }} "'''The Cham-Cham'''" is the 25th episode of ''Thunderbirds'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF). The penultimate episode of ''Thunderbirds'' Series One, it was written and directed by Alan Pattillo and first broadcast on 24 March 1966 on ATV Midlands.
Set in the 2060s, ''Thunderbirds'' 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. In "The Cham-Cham", USAF transport aircraft are being shot down during radio broadcasts by popular band the Cass Carnaby Five. International Rescue suspects sabotage, and Lady Penelope, Tin-Tin and Parker go to the Swiss Alps to investigate the band's latest tour venue, Paradise Peaks mountain resort. There, they discover that the aircraft attacks are being co-ordinated with the aid of an advanced computer called a "Cham-Cham".
Filmed in late 1965, "The Cham-Cham" has a show business theme and was written in the style of classic Hollywood musicals.<ref name="Bentley, 30"/> It features several innovations in APF's use of marionette puppets. One scene features the Penelope character performing a slow dance, which was a challenge to film due to the difficulty in moving Supermarionation puppets convincingly.<ref name="Bentley, 31"/><ref name="La Rivière, 128"/> "The Cham-Cham" is also the first episode of any Supermarionation series to show characters skiing.<ref name="Bentley, 30"/> "Dangerous Game", the focus of the episode's soundtrack, was devised as a Latin rhythm by series composer Barry Gray. Singer Ken Barrie recorded a lyrical version but this is not heard in the finished episode.<ref name="Gray"/>
"The Cham-Cham" has been well received by commentators, drawing particular praise for its production design and soundtrack. Sylvia Anderson considered the plot "far-fetched" but valued the episode for its "charm" and Swiss Alps setting.<ref name="Anderson"/> An audio adaptation of the episode, narrated by David Graham as Parker, was released in March 1967 as the Century 21 mini-LP ''Lady Penelope''.<ref name="Bentley, 88"/>
==Plot== Three United States Air Force RTL2 transporters, each carrying a shipment of missiles, have been shot down by enemy fighters shortly after their respective take-off from Matthews Field base. On Tracy Island, Alan notes that each attack occurred while popular band the Cass Carnaby Five were performing their hit instrumental "Dangerous Game" on live radio. He and Brains examine a recording of the latest broadcast to determine whether the music contains a hidden code being used to coordinate the attacks.
Meanwhile, Jeff assigns Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin to investigate Paradise Peaks, a mountaintop hotel in the Swiss Alps that is currently playing host to Cass Carnaby and his group. The agents go undercover, with Penelope posing as a singer called "Wanda Lamour" and Parker securing a job as a waiter. They learn that Carnaby's manager, the mysterious Mr Olsen, often alters the arrangement of "Dangerous Game" before each new broadcast and that he is expecting to receive a message the following day.<ref name="Bentley, 88">Bentley 2005, p. 88.</ref>
Penelope and Tin-tin ski down the mountain to Olsen's chalet and film him operating a strange machine that is decoding musical sounds into text stating the time of the next missile shipment.<ref name="Bentley, 88"/> They deduce that he is issuing orders for the next attack and start back to Paradise Peaks to alert Jeff. Realising that he has been observed, Olsen telephones his associate Banino, a waiter at the hotel, with orders to kill Penelope and Tin-Tin. Banino goes outside with a sniper rifle and prepares to shoot the women before they reach the hotel. However, he is thwarted by Parker, who overheard the phone conversation and grabs the rifle, upsetting Banino's aim. In their struggle, the men lose their balance and tumble down the mountain together, forming a giant snowball in the process. Banino is knocked out but Parker emerges unscathed.
On Tracy Island, Brains identifies Olsen's machine as a Cham-Cham, an ultrasonically-sensitive computer that Olsen is using to send coded radio transmissions. Jeff relays this information to Washington, D.C., but the gruff Matthews Field commander, believing it to be a hoax, refuses to postpone the next shipment. The Cass Carnaby Five begin performing Olsen's latest arrangement of "Dangerous Game". The shipment seems doomed until Penelope, in the guise of Wanda Lamour, appears on stage and sings a lyrical version, devised by Brains, containing a new set of coded instructions. Decoding the broadcast, the personnel at the enemy air base unwittingly direct their fighters to overfly Matthews Field. Arriving in ''Thunderbird 1'', Scott alerts the commander and fighters are launched to shoot down the hostiles.
Fearing Olsen's retribution, Jeff dispatches Virgil and Alan to Paradise Peaks in ''Thunderbird 2'' to bring Penelope, Tin-Tin and Parker home. As the trio leave the hotel in a cable car, Olsen cuts the lines behind them, despite Cass's attempts to stop them, causing the car to speed out of control down the mountain. ''Thunderbird 2''{{'}}s magnetic grabs cannot get a purchase on the car, so Virgil and Alan release a set of guide cables. Climbing onto the roof, Parker hooks the cables with the handle of Penelope's umbrella and attaches them to the car. Virgil and Alan fire ''Thunderbird 2''{{'}}s retro-rockets, bringing the car to a halt; Parker slips from the roof but uses the umbrella to float safely to the ground. That night, at Paradise Peaks, Cass treats Virgil and Penelope to a private piano recital of "Dangerous Game", while Tin-Tin and Alan share a quiet moment on the balcony.
==Regular voice cast== {{Cast listing| *Sylvia Anderson as Lady Penelope *Ray Barrett as John Tracy *Peter Dyneley as Jeff Tracy *Christine Finn as Tin-Tin Kyrano and Grandma Tracy *David Graham as Brains and Parker *David Holliday as Virgil Tracy *Shane Rimmer as Scott Tracy *Matt Zimmerman as Alan Tracy }}
==Production== Filmed in November and December 1965,<ref name="La Rivière, 128">La Rivière 2009, p. 128.</ref> "The Cham-Cham" was the second-to-last episode of ''Thunderbirds'' Series One to be produced. Scriptwriter Alan Pattillo created its show business plot and the exotic setting of Paradise Peaks in an attempt to emulate classic Hollywood musicals.<ref name="Bentley, 30">Bentley 2005, p. 30.</ref> Penelope's alias, Wanda Lamour, was named after the actress and singer Dorothy Lamour and Wanda Webb, one of APF's puppet operators.<ref name="Bentley, 30"/><ref name="McGown">{{Cite book |last1 = McGown |first1 = Alistair |title = Thunderbirds – A Complete Guide to the Classic Series |editor1-last = Hearn |editor1-first = Marcus |publisher = Panini UK |location = Tunbridge Wells, UK |date = September 2015 |isbn = 978-1-84653-212-2 |page = 86 }}</ref>
APF had always found it difficult to make its puppets walk convincingly, so rarely showed this action openly on-screen. Instead, the puppet operators created an illusion of walking by holding the puppets' legs (which were kept out of shot) and moving the puppets up and down using a "bobbing" action.<ref name="La Rivière, 128"/> For the scene in "The Cham-Cham" where Penelope glides across the Paradise Peaks ballroom while singing "Dangerous Game", Webb worked the puppet from the stage while fellow operator Christine Glanville controlled its wired top portion from an overhead gantry.<ref name="Bentley, 31">Bentley 2005, p. 31.</ref>
Gerry Anderson believed that Penelope and Tin-Tin's trip to Olsen's lodge looked suitably realistic, despite APF never having shown puppets skiing prior to this episode.<ref name="Bentley, 30"/> Anderson himself conceived the "ski thrusters" used by the characters to ascend the mountain during their journey back to Paradise Peaks, in part to remove the need for the puppets to walk.<ref name="Bentley, 30"/><ref>Hearn 2015, p. 75.</ref> Praising Bob Bell's production design, Anderson commented that the episode "gave [APF's] art and design departments a chance to show what they could really do, and they didn't let us down."<ref name="Bentley, 30"/>
Composer Barry Gray devised "Dangerous Game" as a Latin rhythm.<ref name="Allmusic">{{Cite web |url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/thunderbirds-original-tv-soundtrack-mw0000593528 |title = ''Thunderbirds: Volume 1'' |last = Phares |first = Heather |publisher = AllMusic |location = San Francisco, California |access-date = 13 March 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131122015125/http://www.allmusic.com/album/thunderbirds-original-tv-soundtrack-mw0000593528 |archive-date = 22 November 2013 |url-status = live }}</ref> Originally all performances by the Cass Carnaby Five were to have been a lyrical version sung by Ken Barrie, but for the finished episode this was replaced with a variety of instrumental versions.<ref name="Gray">{{Cite web |author = Titterton, Ralph; Ford, Cathy; Bentley, Chris; Gray, Barry |title = Barry Gray Biography |url = http://www.lampmusic.co.uk/downloads/barry_gray_biog.pdf |work = lampmusic.co.uk |access-date = 3 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081008155846/http://www.lampmusic.co.uk/downloads/barry_gray_biog.pdf |archive-date = 8 October 2008 |url-status = dead }}</ref> Sylvia Anderson based her singing voice on that of Marlene Dietrich.<ref name="Anderson">{{Cite web |last = Anderson |first = Sylvia |author-link = Sylvia Anderson |title = ''Thunderbirds'' – Episode Guide |url = http://www.sylviaanderson.org.uk/html/episode_guide.html |work = sylviaanderson.org.uk |access-date = 3 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080503080402/http://www.sylviaanderson.org.uk/html/episode_guide.html |archive-date = 3 May 2008 |url-status = dead }}</ref> The shots of Penelope and Tin-Tin skiing to Olsen's chalet are accompanied by an incidental track called "Happy Flying" that was originally composed for the ''Supercar'' episode "Amazonian Adventure".<ref>{{Cite web |title = ''Thunderbirds'' Episode Guide (Series One) |url = http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/tbirdseg5.html |website = fanderson.org.uk |location = Bradford, UK |access-date = 3 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716234053/http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/tbirdseg5.html |archive-date = 16 July 2011 |url-status = live }}</ref>
As with "Attack of the Alligators!", which had been filmed immediately prior, the technical complexity of "The Cham-Cham" caused production to finish behind schedule and considerably over-budget.<ref name="Bentley, 30"/><ref name="Bentley, 31"/><ref name="La Rivière, 128"/> To make up for the lost time and extra costs, the scriptwriters turned the final episode of Series One into a clip show. That episode, "Security Hazard", made extensive use of flashbacks to earlier instalments to reduce the amount of new footage that needed to be filmed.<ref name="Bentley, 31"/><ref name="Archer and Hearn">{{Cite book |last1 = Archer |first1 = Simon |author1-link = Simon Archer (author) |last2 = Hearn |first2 = Marcus |title = What Made ''Thunderbirds'' Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson |year = 2002 |publisher = BBC Books |location = London, UK |isbn = 978-0-563-53481-5 |page = 128 }}</ref>
==Reception== {{Quote box|quote=We tried to do things in that picture that we hadn't done before, such as Penelope dancing a slow foxtrot. It was an experimental production, but was great fun to do.|salign=right|source=— Alan Pattillo (2000)<ref name="Bentley, 30"/>|width=22%|align=right}}
Sylvia Anderson considered "The Cham-Cham" one of the series' best episodes and a rival to "Attack of the Alligators!" in terms of quality. On her website, she commented: "Even though the plot is far-fetched, it has charm and, because of the lovely Swiss mountain setting, has credibility."<ref name="Anderson"/>
Gerry Anderson biographers Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn describe "The Cham-Cham" as "perhaps the most lavish-looking episode of the series", calling the scenes of Penelope and Tin-Tin skiing and Penelope singing "unforgettable images".<ref name="Archer and Hearn"/> Hearn, in his book ''Thunderbirds: The Vault'', calls the episode one of ''Thunderbirds''{{'}} "most entertaining" due to its focus on Penelope and Parker as well as its use of "one of the most exotic locations in the series".<ref name="Hearn167">Hearn 2015, p. 167.</ref> Tom Fox of ''Starburst'' magazine rates the episode 4 out of 5, describing the plot as "tenuous" but believing this to be redeemed by the production design and the scenes of the cable car rescue. Like Archer and Hearn, he is entertained by Parker's umbrella descent.<ref name="Archer and Hearn"/><ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine = Starburst Special |issue = 65 |author = Fox, Tom |date = August 2004 |publisher = Visual Imagination |location = London, UK |issn = 0955-114X |oclc = 79615651 |title = TV View |page = 53 }}</ref>
Ian Fryer considers the premise to be inspired by the first episode of ''The Sentimental Agent'', "All That Jazz" (1963), in which a band are found to be sending information to spies. He praises the "confidence" of "The Cham-Cham", calling it a "triumph" for art director Bob Bell and writing that although the story has "occasional moments of silliness", "everything about the production works perfectly." He believes that the episode is proof of Supermarionation's ability to "present glamour convincingly on-screen" and represents the "absolute pinnacle of what [the Andersons] achieved with puppetry".<ref>{{Cite book |title = The Worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson: The Story Behind International Rescue |last1 = Fryer |first1 = Ian |year = 2016 |publisher = Fonthill Media |isbn = 978-1-78155-504-0 |pages = 107–109 }}</ref> According to commentator Alistair McGown, the story was influenced by ''Road to...'' comedy films and the spy series ''The Avengers''. He writes that while the plot "may be flimsy in places", the overall episode is a "gorgeous confection" with the skiing and dancing sequences paying "impressive attention to detail". Both McGown and Hearn call the skiing scenes "charming".<ref name="Hearn167"/><ref name="McGown"/>
Stephen La Rivière praises the episode's technical standards, remarking that the skiing and dancing sequences "[fly] in the face of what puppets can and can't do."<ref name="La Rivière, 128"/> He sums up "The Cham-Cham" as a "glorious example of ''Thunderbirds'' at its best, combining all the elements that made the show so popular: the characters, the adventure, the rescues and, of course, the humour."<ref>La Rivière 2009, p. 127.</ref> He further argues that the humour has intergenerational appeal, stating that Parker's double entendres are counterbalanced by overt slapstick moments such as the character's "Mary Poppins"-style descent using Penelope's umbrella.<ref name="La Rivière, 128"/> Richard Farrell considers the episode to be "largely played for laughs", noting Parker tumbling down the piste in a giant snowball. He praises the "impressive attention to detail" when Penelope dances with Olsen and the scene of Penelope and Tin-Tin skiing to Olsen's chalet.<ref name="FarrellMcGown">{{Cite book |title = Thunderbirds – A Complete Guide to the Classic Series |first1 = Richard |last1 = Farrell |first2 = Alistair |last2 = McGown |editor1-last = Hearn |editor1-first = Marcus |publisher = Panini UK |date = September 2015 |isbn = 978-1-84653-212-2 |pages = 86 }}</ref> Marcus Hearn praises the significant roles given to Penelope and Tin-Tin as well as the various sets, including the skiing scene, calling it the "most inventive use yet" of Derek Meddings' roller-road technique.<ref>Hearn 2015, p. 167.</ref>
In a review of the CD release of the ''Thunderbirds'' soundtrack, Morag Reavley of BBC Online describes Sylvia Anderson's singing as "slinky, sexy and slightly off-key, like a hung-over Zsa Zsa Gabor".<ref>{{Cite web |last = Reavley |first = Morag |title = ''Thunderbirds'' Original Soundtrack Review |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/6hw6 |publisher = BBC |access-date = 3 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110212184659/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/6hw6 |archive-date = 12 February 2011 |url-status = live }}</ref> Heather Phares of AllMusic considers "Dangerous Game" to be a highlight of the release, commenting that while the instrumental version "[reflects] the Sixties' ongoing fascination with exotica and Latin pop", its lyrical counterpart "could be a kissing cousin to seductive spy themes like 'Goldfinger'."<ref name="Allmusic"/> McGown calls Anderson's conscious imitation of Marlene Dietrich her "campest moment" voicing Penelope.<ref name="McGown"/>
Media historian Nicholas J. Cull interprets "The Cham-Cham" as a piece of Cold War-inspired fiction, noting the "Central/Eastern European accents" of the enemy airbase personnel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 = Cull |first1 = Nicholas J. |author-link = Nicholas J. Cull |date = August 2006 |title = Was Captain Black Really Red? The TV Science Fiction of Gerry Anderson in Its Cold War Context |journal = Media History |volume = 12 |issue = 2 |page = 200 |publisher = Routledge |issn = 1368-8804 |oclc = 364457089 |doi = 10.1080/13688800600808005 |s2cid = 142878042 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Works cited=== *{{Cite book |last1 = Bentley |first1 = Chris |title = The Complete Book of Thunderbirds |publisher = Carlton Books |location = London, UK |edition = 2nd |year = 2005 |orig-year = 2000 |isbn = 978-1-84442-454-2 }} *{{Cite book |last1 = Hearn |first1 = Marcus |title = Thunderbirds: The Vault |publisher = Virgin Books |location = London, UK |year = 2015 |isbn = 978-0-753-55635-1 }} *{{Cite book |last1 = La Rivière |first1 = Stephen |author1-link = Stephen La Rivière |title = Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future |year = 2009 |publisher = Hermes Press |location = Neshannock, Pennsylvania |isbn = 978-1-932563-23-8 }}
==External links== *{{IMDb episode|0830479}} *[https://thunderbirdsonline.co.uk/episodes/cham.html "The Cham-Cham"] at thunderbirdsonline.co.uk *[https://www.tracyislandchronicles.com/tb3/episodes/25TCC.html "The Cham-Cham"] at TracyIslandChronicles.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cham-Cham, The}} Category:1966 British television episodes Category:Fiction about cryptography Category:Fictional computers Category:Television episodes set in hotels Category:Television episodes set in Switzerland Category:Thunderbirds (TV series) episodes Category:United States Air Force in fiction