Codename Europa

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“Codename Europa”
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 27
Written by	David Lee
Directed by	Alan Perry
Production no.	27
Original airdate	April 9, 1968
Episode chronology
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"The Launching"	"Inferno"
List of Captain Scarlet episodes

"Codename Europa" is the 27th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Its original UK air date was April 9, 1968 on ATV Midlands. It was written by David Lee and directed by Alan Perry.

1 Synopsis
2 Plot
3 Cast
- 3.1 Regular voice cast
- 3.2 Guest voice cast
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Mysterons threaten to destroy the Triumvirate of Europe, Earth's three most powerful statesmen after the World President. The members are dispatched to separate maximum security facilities, but will a reconstructed electronics professor be prevented from assassinating them?

[edit] Plot

Professor G.A. Carney, an award-winning electronics expert, is at his country bungalow. Pouring himself a drink, he steps out onto his garden terrace, but Captain Black is waiting in the night and guns him down with a rifle. The Mysteron rings trail over the dead body and Carney's reconstruction appears alongside.

Transmitting to Earth, the Mysterons threaten to destroy the Triumvirate of Europe, the three most powerful men on Earth after the World President. On Cloudbase, Colonel White announces that Plan XB to protect Conrad Olafson, J.L. Henderson and Joseph Meccini – codenamed "Europa" – is operational. The members of the triumvirate will be kept at three separate places of maximum security to counter the Mysterons.

The next morning, the duplicated Carney phones Dolmer University to inform his colleague, Johnson, that he is taking a vacation for "special research". Activating a screen showing a photograph of the triumvirate, he zooms in on President Conrad Olafson.

At Vandon Maximum Security Base, Captain Ochre discusses safety measures with the president, who is living in a suite 40 feet below ground. Meanwhile, equipped with a number of electronic devices, Carney drives to the eastern boundary of the complex and hooks up a loudspeaker system. As the Mysteron agent drives to the western side of the base, recorded machine-gun sound effects ring out of the woods and the guards at Vandon Base assume that they are under attack. During the confusion, personnel are transferred to the eastern perimeter. Carney attaches loose wires to the electric fence to carry the current as he severs the cables.

The gunfire eventually stops but is replaced by the rumble of tanks. The Angels, on aerial patrol, bomb the woods and seem to neutralise the attackers. However, Carney, now within the base perimeter, throws an explosive charge into an air vent. Moments later, the entire complex explodes.

Olafson survived the explosion because the vent was actually a false inlet which went no deeper than ground level. Although the building on the surface was demolished, the president was safe in his underground room. On Cloudbase, Colonel White reasons that the Mysterons must now believe that Olafson is dead, and assures the president of his safety. However, White is disturbed by the aliens' deceptive tactics and warns that the Mysteron agent responsible is one of the most dangerous that Spectrum has faced.

At the bungalow, Carney re-examines the photograph and scribbles "123 OHM" into a notepad. Later, a report reaches Cloudbase detailing how the professor's body has been discovered but that a second Carney has also been seen. The Colonel is certain that the electronics expert is the Mysteron agent and Captains Scarlet and Blue are ordered to search his residence.

At the scene, the officers find the notepad and the "123 OHM" reminder. Blue is puzzled by the "unusual resistance", but Scarlet deduces that it is Carney's assassination schedule: Olafson was attacked first, so President Henderson is the second target.

Extra security is implemented around the Maximum Security Centre housing the president. Driving to the centre, Carney smashes through Captain Magenta's roadblock and Scarlet and Blue pursue the enemy in an SPV. Carney blanks out the other vehicle's TV monitor with a device, causing Blue to lose control and crash. However, the officers are barely injured and arrive at the security facility by nightfall.

Carney flies a remote-controlled toy aeroplane over the complex, jamming all radio signals in the area. He then lifts up an inspection cover and destroys the centre's power circuits with an explosive device. As the bewildered guards struggle to turn the lights back on, the Mysteron agent moves through the shadows, wearing night vision goggles to see as he walks to Henderson's room. Scarlet and Blue order the president to lie flat on the floor behind his desk as they train their guns on the door. Carney opens the suite, but stumbles over a piece of tripwire stretched across the entrance and Scarlet and Blue shoot him down. Blue marvels at the irony of an electronics expert being fooled by such a simple technique.