Shadow of Fear

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“Shadow of Fear”
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 18
Written by Tony Barwick
Directed by Robert Lynn
Production no. 12
Original airdate February 2, 1968
Episode chronology
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"Crater 101" "Dangerous Rendezvous"
List of Captain Scarlet episodes

"Shadow of Fear" is the 18th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was the 12th episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was February 2, 1968 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Robert Lynn.

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[edit] Synopsis

Astronomers at a powerful Himalayan observatory are in the final stages of an operation to obtain unprecedented close-up shots of Mars. A survey probe lands on one of the planet’s moons, but will the photographs ever reach Earth while a Mysteron agent carries out his plans of sabotage?

[edit] Plot

At the K14 Observatory in the Himalayas, Captains Scarlet and Blue watch as the three resident astronomers, Carter, Breck and Angelini, coordinate a space probe nearing Mars. The craft is due to beam photographs of the planet back to Earth, but it explodes two seconds before commencement. The radio signals reach the observatory after a four-minute interval but it is quickly discovered that the probe has been destroyed. Scarlet informs Cloudbase that the first phase of "Operation Sword" is complete.

Transmitting to Earth, the Mysterons announce that they have destroyed the eye that dares to look upon their planet and that Spectrum will never learn their secret. On Cloudbase, Colonel White reports the destruction of the probe. He reminds personnel that this was expected and that Operation Sword is underway. Because K14 Observatory is beyond the range of the Angel craft, White orders Lieutenant Green to move Cloudbase itself using the carrier’s horizontal jets.

Later, a second probe is approaching Mars. Blue is confident of its success because the observatory is tracking it through infrared emissions rather than detectable radio signals. The probe shields itself behind the Martian moon Phobos and does not explode as it touches down on the satellite. At the observatory, Carter announces the successful landing and that the probe will have a free ride around Mars as Phobos orbits the planet. It will take a photograph every seven seconds and the images will be beamed back to Earth at 3am, after Phobos has completed one orbit.

That night, Scarlet is on watch when he is disturbed by Breck, who is unable to sleep. Viewing Mars through a telescope, Breck says that the probe landed in the "shadow of fear", explaining that phobos means fear in Greek. Blue arrives at midnight to relieve Scarlet and closes the door to the balcony, leaving Breck on his own. Through the telescope, Mars begins to pulsate with light and Breck is overwhelmed. He falls to the floor dead and the Mysteron rings pan over his body, creating a Mysteron reconstruction. Blue enters the room and sees Breck alone, but the duplicate says that he is fine.

Towards 3am, it is discovered that Breck has gone missing and Scarlet suspects that he has been taken over the Mysterons. He is unaware that the Mysteron agent has attached an explosive device to the observatory’s rotation gear. Colonel White dispatches a Spectrum helicopter to scour the mountains around K14 and Scarlet and Blue venture outside with a Mysteron Detector. Meanwhile, Carter and Angelini prepare their equipment to receive the Martian photographs.

While Melody Angel pilots the helicopter, Captain Grey spots Breck in the rocks above the observatory. Scarlet and Blue confront the Mysteron agent, but Breck reveals that he has sabotaged K14’s rotation gear. Scarlet shoots Breck, but is unable to warn Carter and Angelini before they turn the aerial to obtain the best possible reception for the photographs. The charge explodes and the antenna crashes down on the observatory, causing total destruction. While the probe remains intact on Phobos, Scarlet informs Colonel White that K14 has been completely destroyed and that Carter and Angelini must have been killed.

In Cloudbase control, White tells Lieutenant Green that Phobos was the attendant of Mars in Greek mythology. However, although humankind is now living in the shadow of fear, Operation Sword will continue.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Regular voice cast

[edit] Guest voice cast

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

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