As Virgil and Grandma Tracy are arriving in London for tea with Lady Penelope, all the electronics in the city suddenly die. Virgil manages to land Thunderbird Two without anyone getting hurt, and then attempts to rescue a construction worker who's been trapped at the top of a crane by the power failure. It turns out he can't do it without technology. Meanwhile, Lady Penelope and Parker have discovered the source of the problem: a group called the Luddites has taken out all power in the city in an attempt to return to the "better ways of the past". Virgil and Grandma Tracy discover the generator that's causing the EMF that's shut down the city in The London Underground. The Hood reveals that he's been supporting the Luddites to steal the Universal Grid Codex, which would let him shut down the entire world in the same way; Grandma Tracy lures the Luddites away while Virgil shuts down the generator, and the Hood escapes with the Codex. Power restored, Virgil retrieves the construction worker, but the Hood escapes with the Codex... until Parker reveals that when the Hood turned off the lights to escape, he switched it for his flashlight.
Tropes:
- Big "NO!": At the end, when the Hood realizes he's ended up with Parker's flashlight instead of the Codex.
- Crippling Overspecialization: International Rescue - society as a whole, really - just can't function without their modern technology. Which causes massive problems when the power gets knocked out to the entire city of London.
- Evil Luddite: The villains literally call themselves the Luddites.
- MacGuffin: The Universal Grid Codex.
- Monumental Damage: While Virgil manages to land Thunderbird Two without injury to any people, Nelson's Column does not come out so well.
- Mugged for Disguise: Parker gets Luddite disguises for himself and Lady Penelope this way.
- The Needs of the Many: Virgil has to choose between rescuing one person in dire peril, or stopping the Hood from getting away with the Universal Grid Codex, which he could use to threaten the world. Virgil opts for the rescue, but Parker was able to interfere with the Hood's theft to thwart him.
- New Technology Is Evil: Played with a bit. On the one hand, the Luddites are definitely wrong. On the other hand, society's complete inability to function without their tech is portrayed as a failing.
- No-Paper Future: Parker says he hasn't seen real actual paper (such as the Luddites use) since he was in school.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: It turns out Lady Penelope can actually call the Prime Minister directly for favors; she demonstrates this when they need to get into the Codex Vault at the end of the episode.
