“Impact” is the first episode of Thunderbirds are Go by writer Len Uhley, who’s been scripting American adventure cartoons for almost thirty years, darn near everything from the superhero shows to Ben 10. It brings back that dimwit profit-obsessed quack Langstrom Fischler from back in season one, along with Capt. Ridley O’Bannon from earlier in this batch. Ridley and John Tracy seem to be spending a lot of time together playing zero-gravity handball in Thunderbird 5. Does this show inspire fanfiction? If it does, I guarantee some people on Tumblr are writing about this cute outer space couple.
Our son and I really enjoyed this one as well. It’s full of nail-biting moments as Thunderbird 3 tries to destroy a comet that’s headed straight for the Global One space station, and Ridley using her recently-acquired zero-g skills to get away from debris as she has to do vital work on the outside of her station, while John risks everything to try towing it out of the way. It may not be the most scientifically plausible story, but it’s incredibly fun.
Fire Breathing Dimetrodon Time 
Impact is my favorite episode of all the seasons of “Thunderbirds Are Go” that I’ve seen so far. It’s a great story, with a global threat, a lot of humor due to the hapless Langstrom Fischler (Rhys Darby of “Flight of the Conchords” fame) and some nice tense moments. Ridley seems like a really good companion for John, and I hope to see more of them together in future episodes. Sadly, we never get to see a lot of Thunderbird 3, which is a shame, as I think it’s always been the most underrated and under-used Thunderbird.