| Cloudbase | |
|---|---|
| Cloudbase as depicted in the television show |
Cloudbase is the fictional skyborne headquarters of international security organisation Spectrum, from Gerry Anderson's science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967).
Contents |
Resembling a large aircraft carrier, complete with flight deck, Cloudbase hovers continuously at a height of 40,000 feet and can be moved above any point on Earth as needed. Its altitude theoretically renders it invulnerable to attack, but the Mysterons are always looking for ways to penetrate its defences. Because of its altitude, the entire structure is pressurised; pilots entering or leaving aircraft on the flight deck do so inside airtight capsules.
Rooms onboard Cloudbase include:
Cloudbase's primary defence is its squadron of three Angel Interceptor fighter aircraft, flown by five female pilots (who have faster reflexes than men). One fighter is manned around the clock, while the others are on permanent standby.
Other aircraft housed on Cloudbase include Spectrum Jets and Magnacopters, which are launched from a separate part of the flight deck.
In reality, Cloudbase was a six-foot model designed by Derek Meddings and filmed by his special effects unit, in front of a painted sky backdrop. Too heavy to be supported by wires, the model was held in the air by metal supports, which were concealed behind it. Larger sections of the flight deck were built for scenes showing aircraft taking off and landing.
In the CGI series Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (2005), Cloudbase is replaced by Skybase. The updated headquarters resembles the original Cloudbase both in appearance and function. Robotic deckhands are stationed on Skybase's flight deck to assist in the take-off and landing of aircraft. Skybase is protected by a fleet of Falcon Interceptors and, in addition to the previously-featured facilities, is now also equipped with squash courts.
Guyanese actor Cy Grant, who voiced Green and saw the series as having positive multicultural value,[1][2] has also noted the allegorical nature of Captain Scarlet.[1] Christian symbolism is heavily implied, with Colonel White as God, Captain Black as the Devil, Captain Scarlet as Christ, Cloudbase as Heaven, and characters codenamed "the Angels",[1][2] but Grant also mentions the idea of Lieutenant Green as an African trickster hero.[1] On dualism, he suggests that, "the 'darkness' of the Mysterons is most easily seen as the psychological rift—the struggle of 'good' and 'evil' — of the Western world as personified by Colonel White and his team. Dark and light are but aspects of each other. Incidentally, green is the colour of nature that can heal that rift."[2]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||