Ritter
Ritter was a member of Carl's gang, which plotted to steal the plans to a nuclear device with the potential to endanger the entire world in 1965.
After Carl successfully stole the plans, murdering MI5 agent Captain Blacker and blowing up his yacht in the process, Ritter and the Third Man both hid in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean while the authorities were on high alert. They sometimes played cards. Ritter asked his associate how they were going to get past the patrol boats that were combing the area but was assured Carl would figure out a way.
Carl soon arrived to check in and brought a French newspaper claiming that fashion model Gayle Williams, in actuality Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward of International Rescue, was planning to track the gang down. When Carl translated the article for his colleagues, Ritter dismissed the threat, believing the woman was not in their league. However, Carl explained that the situation was much more serious than Ritter gave it credit for as the report told exactly how many shots were fired and with what kind of gun.
Carl successfully kidnapped Lady Penelope from FAB 2 and brought her to a boathouse. The plan was then to explode the boathouse which would cause the patrol boats to investigate allowing the gang to escape in their submarine unseen. With ten minutes to go, Ritter confidently reiterated the plan, stating "Whomps! Up goes Gayle Williams and all!". With three minutes to go, Gordon Tracy in Thunderbird 4 began to drill into the submarine and with just seconds left he was able to achieve penetration and release a tranquilliser. Upon seeing this, Carl desperately called for them to get their oxygen masks but all three collapsed before the bomb could be detonated. (TV: The Man from MI.5)
Other sources dated the activities of International Rescue to the 1990s, (PROSE: The Dying Days) the 2060s, (PROSE: Titan Declares War! et al.) and the 2080s. (PROSE: Captain Scarlet in Death Crash! et al.)
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
The puppet which "played" Ritter was also seen in several other episodes of Thunderbirds. It had more speaking roles as the crook with a machine gun in Brink of Disaster where he was again voiced by Ray Barrett and as Sanchos in Path of Destruction where he was voiced by David Graham. The puppet appeared in a silent capacity as a prisoner in Vault of Death and as a stallkeeper in the film Thunderbird 6.
