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"The Duchess Assignment" is the 21st episode of the 1960s Supermarionation television series ''Thunderbirds''. Written by Martin Crump and directed by David Elliott, it first aired in the United Kingdom on ATV Midlands on 17 February 1966. ==Plot== Deborah, the Duchess of Royston, is in severe financial difficulty and is spotted gambling by an acquaintance, Lady Penelope (voiced by Sylvia Anderson), at a French casino. The roulette table has been rigged, and the corrupt croupiers make off with the Duchess' money and tiara. Parker (David Graham) engages in a gunfight with the casino owner, who makes a getaway in a car driven by one of the croupiers. Penelope and Parker give chase in FAB 1, but the criminals successfully evade them. Having been forced to put Royston Castle up for sale, the Duchess now has only one valuable possession remaining: the "Portrait of a Gazelle", a painting by Braquasso. Penelope informs Jeff Tracy (Peter Dyneley), who has flown to England for the London Air Display, of the Duchess's problems. Keen to help, Jeff contacts his friend Wilbur Dandridge III, director of Gazelle Automations in New York City, with assurances of a prime candidate for the company's anticipated new logo. Although the Duchess is unwilling to sell the painting, she agrees to rent it to Dandridge for a six-month term for the same amount, and travels to the United States onboard ''Fireflash'' to supervise the hand-over personally. Before the Duchess's arrival at New York Central Airport, Dandridge's chauffeur, Hendricks, is knocked unconscious by two criminals, Chandler and Brophy, who eavesdropped on Penelope and the Duchess in France and plan to acquire the Duchess's fee by kidnap and false representation. Posing as Hendricks, Chandler drives the unsuspecting Duchess to Dandridge's "country house" (a remote, derelict building), binding her to a chair in the basement. Before departing, he switches on a leaking gas supply. Brophy arrives at Gazelle Automations with the painting, introducing himself as the Duchess's representative. He is unaware that Penelope has been tracking the Duchess's movements from England via a homing device concealed inside a St Christopher brooch, and that Dandridge is expecting an impostor. When Dandridge holds him at gunpoint, Brophy surrenders, but in so doing throws the painting into the air, where it is grazed by Dandridge's bullet. Penelope contacts Tracy Island to warn International Rescue that the Duchess is in danger. Dispatching Scott (Shane Rimmer) and Virgil (David Holliday) in ''Thunderbirds 1'' and ''2'', Jeff instructs John (Ray Barrett) on ''Thunderbird 5'' to monitor the Duchess's signal. As Scott and Virgil arrive at the danger zone, the gas in the basement ignites, and the Duchess passes out in the heat. Virgil transfers to the Mole and burrows underground; having penetrated the fire-consumed basement, he retrieves the Duchess. Activating the DOMO, Scott uses the Pod Vehicle's powerful supports to hold up a collapsing wall; eventually, it falls and crushes the basement during Virgil and the Duchess's ascent. Finding that the Duchess's signal has disappeared, Scott and the rest of the Tracy family worry that all is lost, but the Mole quickly re-surfaces, with neither Virgil nor the Duchess seriously injured. The Duchess recovers at a hospital in England. Dandridge arrives with news that the "Portrait of a Gazelle" is irreparably damaged, but to the amazement of her visitors, the Duchess unscrews the handle of her umbrella to reveal the original painting rolled-up inside – the canvas that travelled to New York was a copy. Parker enters, announcing that reporters are offering substantial sums for the rights to the Duchess's life story. The Duchess, soon to become solvent again, wishes to go to a special place at the earliest opportunity: the casino. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Duchess Assignment」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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