Manhunt (Captain Scarlet episode)
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| “Manhunt” | |
|---|---|
| Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 4 |
| Written by | Tony Barwick |
| Directed by | Alan Perry |
| Production no. | 5 |
| Original airdate | 20 October 1967 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Big Ben Strikes Again" | "Avalanche" |
| List of Captain Scarlet episodes | |
"Manhunt" is the 4th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was the 5th episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was 20 October 1967 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Alan Perry.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Captain Black breaks into an atomic centre but his infiltration backfires. Forced to escape through a radioactive area, he unwittingly becomes detectable to long-range Geiger counters and Spectrum organise a massive ground search for his capture. But as the noose tightens, the Mysteron agent kidnaps Symphony Angel and holds her hostage in the plant where it all began…
[edit] Plot
On Cloudbase, Captains Scarlet and Blue present a report to Colonel White on their investigation of alleged Mysteron activity in Sydney, Australia. White is concerned to read that Scarlet was injured but the Captain assures him that he has been treated by Dr Fawn. The Colonel acknowledges that it was a false alarm and thanks his officers for their courage and devotion to Spectrum's cause. However, White is certain that the Mysterons will continue their war of nerves.
Meanwhile, Harris, a night guard at the Culver Atomic Centre, is nearing the end of his shift. While checking a fourth-floor corridor he hears creaking from a laboratory. Unaware that Captain Black is hiding behind the door, he enters the room and is instantly struck down from behind. Harris manages to press the alarm button on his bandolier before passing out. In the security control room, the coordinator, Richards, cannot get a radio response from Harris and orders an immediate lockdown of the facility. As the centre is sealed, fellow guards tend to Harris and chase after his attacker, but Black makes a getaway through a radioactive area.
Transmitting to Earth, the Mysterons vow to continue their retaliation against humankind. On Cloudbase, Colonel White displays a concealed security photograph taken in the Culver Atomic Centre and reveals that the man in the frame has been positively identified as Captain Black. Captain Blue is surprised that he is still alive but White is sure that Black has been working for the Mysterons since his return from Mars. The Colonel adds that Black tried unsuccessfully to break the security at the Atomic Centre and exposed himself to a short-life isotope in his escape. Furthermore, although the radiation will not harm him physically, he will be detectable on long-range Geiger counters for the next 48 hours. White announces that the manhunt for Captain Black is on.
Spectrum trucks circle the area around the Atomic Centre and begin to scan with built-in Geiger dishes. Meanwhile, Scarlet and Blue drive in a Spectrum Saloon to requisition an SPV. On Cloudbase, the Angels are launched and Lieutenant Green asks White if he may join the hunt. However, the Colonel reminds him that central control must be fully-manned in case Black is caught. Nevertheless, Green longs to meet him face-to-face.
Meanwhile, Black enters a filling station within the search area. He approaches a mechanic servicing the interior of an open-top car. Activating a control, Black looks on as the vehicle’s platform rises and his hapless victim is killed when the car is crushed against the ceiling. The Mysteron rings pan over the body.
Later, Scarlet and Blue arrive at the station to pick up their SPV but find it deserted. They are eventually met by the mechanic's reconstruction, who says that he was expecting their visit. The man tells them that the vehicle is hidden in a false oil storage tank but soon turns a gun on the Spectrum officers. Already suspicious of why the workman did not ask for identification, Scarlet shoots him dead. Reporting to Cloudbase, the Captain tells Colonel White that the tank is empty and that Black has probably taken the SPV.
In Tracking Vehicle 3, the Geiger Operator picks up a bearing on the target's position and Captain Grey relays the coordinates to Cloudbase. The data is matched by Vehicle 8 and Colonel White orders for Symphony Angel to investigate the grid reference. Symphony achieves visual contact with Black's SPV as it races down a highway. Lieutenant Green informs Captain Ochre that Black will soon pass his security checkpoint and the Captain signals for a Spectrum Saloon to block the road. However, Black is warned of the obstruction by the Mysteron voice and ordered to return to the Culver Atomic Centre.
Following Black's route, Scarlet and Blue discover that he has veered off the road. However, investigating on foot, they deduce from the SPV's tracks that he turned back. Blue is puzzled to come across a medallion that he gave to Symphony as a birthday present. To their horror, the Captains see an abandoned Angel jet in the distance. White believes that Black is holding Symphony but will not allow the outcome of the operation to be determined by one individual.
With 24 hours to go before Black's radiation wears off, Vehicle 3's instrumentation goes haywire when it tracks the Mysteron agent to the Culver Atomic Centre. The Spectrum forces converge on the complex by nightfall and Captain Ochre tells Cloudbase that the gates have been crashed and that Black is definitely inside. White is sure that he returned to the centre to blend in with the free radiation.
While the Captains wait quietly in the control room for Black to come out of hiding, Scarlet refuses to let Blue search for Symphony. In the Centre’s radioactive area, an armed Black seals the Angel in a transparent chamber and subjects her to lethal radiation. However, before Symphony is killed, he deactivates the power out of compassion and reveals that he will give her one chance to escape.
Later, the SPV crashes through the gates once more and Vehicle 3 confirms that Black is the driver. Scarlet and Blue pursue in their Spectrum Saloon but their quarry swerves off the path as it approaches a roadblock and hits a tree. Scarlet orders Black to step out with his hands up but there is no response. Venturing into the SPV, the Spectrum officers find Symphony at the wheel.
In Cloudbase control, Colonel White accepts that Spectrum was tricked and calmly reminds Symphony that initiative should never clash with discipline. Scarlet infers that Black subjected her to radiation to make it seem that he was driving the SPV. Blue adds that he went through a cleansing unit before he left the Centre to prevent further tracking from Spectrum.
White dismisses the group, but Green is curious why Symphony made no attempt to stop her vehicle. Urging the Lieutenant not to disclose her secret, the Angel confesses that she had never driven one before.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Regular Voice Cast
- Captain Scarlet — Francis Matthews
- Captain Blue — Ed Bishop
- Colonel White — Donald Gray
- Lieutenant Green — Cy Grant
- Captain Ochre — Jeremy Wilkin
- Captain Grey — Paul Maxwell
- Symphony Angel — Janna Hill
- Captain Black — Donald Gray
- Voice of the Mysterons — Donald Gray
[edit] Guest Voice Cast
- Harris — Charles Tingwell
- Richards — Gary Files
- Geiger Operator — David Healy
- Garage Mechanic — Gary Files
- Security Chief — Martin King
- Guard — Paul Maxwell
- Guard Voice 1 — Jeremy Wilkin
- Guard Voice 2 — David Healy
[edit] Notes
- Captain Black's release of Symphony in "Manhunt" marks one of the few occasions in the series in which his moral values overcome the Mysteron influence over his body.
- Spectrum make a second attempt to apprehend Black in the episode "Treble Cross", which features a flashback from "Manhunt".
