HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Winged Assassin" is the second episode of ''
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor I ...
'', a British
Supermarionation Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and " animation")La Rivière 2009, p. 67. is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet T ...
television series created by
Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice presi ...
and
Sylvia Anderson Sylvia Beatrice Anderson (; 25 March 1927 – 15 March 2016) was an English television and film producer, writer, voice actress and costume designer, best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson, her husband between 1960 and 1981. In a ...
and filmed by their production company
Century 21 Productions AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...
. Written by
Tony Barwick Anthony Clive "Tony" Barwick (10 July 1934 – 18 August 1993)https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10182/biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?itemId=447240&action=showRecord was a British television scriptwriter who worked ex ...
and directed by David Lane, it was first broadcast on 6 October 1967 on
ATV Midlands Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and t ...
. Set in 2068, the series depicts a "
war of nerves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
" between Earth and the
Mysteron The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials and the antagonists in the 1960s British Supermarionation science-fiction television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68) and its 2005 computer-animated remake, ''Ge ...
s: a hostile race of
Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...
s with the ability to create functioning copies of destroyed people or objects and use these reconstructions to carry out specific acts of aggression against humanity. Earth is defended by a military organisation called Spectrum, whose top agent, Captain Scarlet, was murdered by the Mysterons and replaced with a reconstruction that later broke free of their control. The Scarlet double has powers of self-repair that enable him to recover from injuries that would be fatal to any other person, effectively making him "indestructible" as well as Spectrum's foremost asset in its fight against the Mysterons. In a direct continuation from pilot episode “The Mysterons”, "Winged Assassin" sees Scarlet establish his indestructibility while Spectrum attempts to prevent the Mysterons from assassinating the Director General of the United Asian Republic. In 1980, "Winged Assassin" was re-edited to form a segment of the ''Captain Scarlet'' compilation film '' Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons'', produced by the New York office of
ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...
. During the BBC's 2001-2002 re-run of the series, the episode was postponed from its intended transmission date due to perceived similarities between the story and the
attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...
. "Winged Assassin" has been positively received by commentators and is frequently cited as one of the best episodes of the series.


Plot

Transmitting to Earth, the
Mysteron The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials and the antagonists in the 1960s British Supermarionation science-fiction television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68) and its 2005 computer-animated remake, ''Ge ...
s (voiced by
Donald Gray Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series '' Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the M ...
) warn Spectrum that they intend to kill Xian Yoh, the Director General of the United Asian Republic, who is currently in London on a
state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...
. An assassination attempt in the Director General's hotel room is thwarted by Captain Grey (voiced by
Paul Maxwell Paul Maxwell (born Maxim Popovich; November 12, 1921December 19, 1991) was a Canadian actor who worked mostly in British cinema and television, in which he was usually cast as American characters. In terms of audience, his most notable role w ...
). Maximum security is imposed at London International Airport, from which the Director General is due to leave the country. At the request of
Colonel White Colonel White is a character in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' and its 2005 CGI remake, ''Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet''. In both series, he is the commander-in-chief of Spectrum ...
(voiced by Donald Gray), the resurrected Mysteron double of Captain Scarlet (voiced by Francis Matthews) – whom Dr Fawn (voiced by
Charles Tingwell Charles William Tingwell Member of the Order of Australia, AM (3 January 1923 – 15 May 2009), known professionally as Bud Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian film, television, theatre and radio actor. One of the veterans of ...
) has determined to be free of Mysteron control and effectively "indestructible" after the Mysterons' failure to assassinate the World President – returns to duty to help lead the operation. Accompanied by the Angel fighter squadron, Scarlet and
Captain Blue Captain Blue (born Adam Svenson) is a character in the British Supermarionation television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68) and its computer-animated remake, ''Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet'' (2005). He is a senior of ...
(voiced by
Ed Bishop George Victor Bishop (11 June 1932 – 8 June 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or sometimes Edward Bishop, was an American actor. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in ''UFO'', Captain Blue in ''Captain Scarlet and the Myste ...
) depart
Cloudbase Spectrum Cloudbase, often shortened to Cloudbase, is the fictional skyborne headquarters of the international security organisation Spectrum from Gerry Anderson's science-fiction television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68). ...
in a Spectrum Passenger Jet and fly to London. Meanwhile, the Mysterons use their powers to create a massive systems failure on board an airliner, Flight DT-19, causing it to crash into the ocean and explode. A Mysteron reconstruction of the plane, devoid of crew and passengers, continues on the original flight path from New York to London. As a double of the Director General is driven in to London Airport in a decoy
motorcade A motorcade, or autocade, is a procession of vehicles. Etymology The term ''motorcade'' was coined by Lyle Abbot (in 1912 or 1913 when he was automobile editor of the ''Arizona Republican''), and is formed after ''cavalcade'', playing off of ...
, the real Xian Yoh arrives in Spectrum's "Yellow Fox" – a secure transport disguised as an aircraft fuel tanker – and discreetly boards his private jet. As DT-19 lands, Scarlet, watching the operation from the
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
with Blue, experiences a sudden nausea that he interprets as a warning that the Director General is in danger. At that moment, DT-19 breaks away from the
terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...
and rushes towards the jet. Ordering the jet to take off immediately, Scarlet and Blue intercept DT-19 in their
Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle The Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (or SPV) is a fictional pursuit and attack vehicle from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's science-fiction television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967). Specifications The metallic-blue, tank-like SPV serves ...
. The plane is unhindered by the Angels' airstrikes, and when the captains target its
undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...
with the SPV's rockets, the launch mechanism jams. Shouting down Blue's objections, Scarlet ejects him and rams DT-19's wheels, destroying them and bringing the plane to a crashing halt. He is fatally injured when the SPV collides with a radar bunker. Meanwhile, the jet takes off but hits one of DT-19's wings and crashes into a field, killing the Director General and everyone else on board. As Scarlet's body is taken away in an ambulance, the airport chief assumes that he is dead, to which Blue replies: "Maybe he didn't die ... in vain."


Production

In
Tony Barwick Anthony Clive "Tony" Barwick (10 July 1934 – 18 August 1993)https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10182/biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?itemId=447240&action=showRecord was a British television scriptwriter who worked ex ...
's script, the DT-19 co-pilot is called Johnson. Dialogue in the episode indicates that it is set on 10 July, the same day as the events of "
Treble Cross "Treble Cross" is the 24th episode of ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company Century 21 Productions. Written by Tony Barwick and dire ...
" and the closing scene of " Flight to Atlantica". Barwick was fond of inserting references to 10 July as that was his birthday. The
scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...
of the entrance to London International Airport was designed by
special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
assistant
Mike Trim Mike Trim (born 26 August 1945) is an artist famous for illustrating the cover of ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', which depicts a Martian tripod striking down the heroic ''Thunder Child''. A book of his illustrations en ...
. "Winged Assassin" is the first episode of ''Captain Scarlet'' to feature contributions from uncredited voice actor Neil McCallum, who also voiced guest characters in the episodes "
Big Ben Strikes Again "Big Ben Strikes Again" is the third episode of ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Brian Burgess, it was first broadca ...
", " Codename Europa" and "
Expo 2068 "Expo 2068" is the 28th episode of ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions. Written by Shane Rimmer and ...
". The episode also marks the first appearance of the series' secondary title sequence, in which the Mysterons transmit their latest threat to Spectrum while the green Mysteron "eyes" (or "rings") slide menacingly over members of the regular puppet cast. These shots were recorded during the filming of "Winged Assassin". The episode's
incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
– a suite running to 4 minutes and 38 seconds – was recorded by series composer
Barry Gray Barry Gray (born John Livesey Eccles; 18 July 1908 – 26 April 1984) was a British musician and composer best known for his collaborations with television and film producer Gerry Anderson. Life and career Born into a musical family in Blackburn ...
in a four-hour studio session on 3 April 1967. During his examination by Dr Fawn, the ex-Mysteron Scarlet has a flashback to his murder by the aliens in the previous episode. This sequence omits the blue
monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...
effect that was used to indicate the aliens' presence in that episode.


Broadcast and reception

When the series began a re-run on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
in September 2001, "Winged Assassin" was originally due to be broadcast on 17 September as the second episode, matching the order of production. However, it was postponed due to similarities between the story (featuring a plane hi-jacked by the Mysterons) and the terrorist attacks of earlier that month. Around this time, the ''Captain Scarlet'' pages on the website of the series' distributor,
Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
, were briefly taken offline. The episode was ultimately broadcast on 10 December 2001. The
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
certifies the episode U, noting that it contains "some action and mild horror".


Critical response

"Winged Assassin" is considered one of the best episodes of ''Captain Scarlet'' by Anthony Clark of ''sci-fi-online.com'' and a series highlight by Mike Fillis of ''
Cult Times Visual Imagination Ltd. was a British company that produced genre magazines. It was founded in 1985 by Stephen Payne and originally only published the science-fiction magazine ''Fantasy Image''. After Payne bought the magazine '' Starburst'' fr ...
'' and '' Ultimate DVD'' magazines. Fillis praises effects director
Derek Meddings Derek Meddings (15 January 1931 – 10 September 1995) was a British film and television special effects designer. He was initially noted for his work on the " Supermarionation" TV puppet series produced by Gerry Anderson, and later for the ...
for working "miniature magic" with the DT-19 scale model. Rick Sanchez of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
regards the scene in which Scarlet forcibly ejects Blue from the SPV as an example of superior writing. Writer Ian Fryer regards "Winged Assassin" as ''Captain Scarlet''s "key episode", stating that no instalment "expresses the horror of the series concept better". He praises the "deadpan" presentation of the original DT-19's destruction as well as the "genuinely thrilling" climax, which he regards as the best of any ''Captain Scarlet'' episode. He argues that the Mysteron victory " stablishesthis invisible enemy as a truly formidable opponent" while noting that the episode as a whole "treads a fine line between adult themes and suitability for the young audience". Andrew Thomas of ''
Dreamwatch ''Dreamwatch'' was a British magazine covering science fiction and fantasy films, books and television programmes. Published monthly by Gary Leigh (July 1983 to January 2001) and then Titan Magazines (2001 to 2007), it was a leading genre entert ...
'' magazine comments that the shots of the reconstructed DT-19 "sat menacingly" on the London Airport runway, "with the controls moving on their own and row upon row of empty seats ... is a chilling one, and sets the pattern for the series." Chris Bentley, author of ''Captain Scarlet: The Vault'', calls the conclusion "startling", commenting that the Mysteron win greatly increases the tension in later episodes. He contrasts this with episodes of earlier Anderson productions, which "always ended happily, with missions accomplished and lives saved." Writer Fred McNamara considers the story "lacklustre and frustrating" as well as "somewhat pedestrian" compared to the first episode and "
Big Ben Strikes Again "Big Ben Strikes Again" is the third episode of ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Brian Burgess, it was first broadca ...
", noting that "Winged Assassin" is the second episode in a row to feature a world leader at risk of assassination. He also describes the subplot involving Captain Grey as "dull" and unimaginatively written, and expresses disappointment that Spectrum's examination of Scarlet's new ex-Mysteron nature is confined to a few scenes at the start of the episode: "It's as if the writers suddenly remember there's the rest of the episode to crack on with ..it's exasperating how the questions seem to have been given an answer that's just within our reach, only to be snatched away in an instant." However, he praises the "gripping" ending, believing that the Mysterons' success in eliminating the Director General lends a "darkly vibrant flavour" to the episode as well as a sense of "alarming immediacy" to the threat the aliens pose: "... at just two episodes in, we're presented with the Mysterons' first victory against Spectrum."


References


Works cited

* * *


External links

*
"Winged Assassin"
at TheVervoid.com {{Captain Scarlet 1967 British television episodes Airports in fiction Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episodes Television episodes about assassinations Television episodes set in London Works set on airplanes