| "Lunarville 7" | |||
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| Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode | |||
| Episode no. | Episode 12 | ||
| Directed by | Robert Lynn | ||
| Written by | Tony Barwick | ||
| Cinematography by | Julien Lugrin | ||
| Editing by | Bob Dearberg | ||
| Production code | 16 | ||
| Original air date | 15 December 1967 | ||
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| List of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episodes | |||
"Lunarville 7" is the 12th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first broadcast in the UK on 15 December 1967 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Robert Lynn, and forms the introduction to a story arc which is resumed in the later episode, "Crater 101".
In this episode, Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Green are dispatched to a lunar base to investigate reports of an unauthorised complex being built on the far side of the Moon. Footage from "Lunarville 7" was re-edited and included in Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars, a compilation film.
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In a transmission from lunar colony Lunarville 7, the Lunar Controller declares that the Moon is neutral in the war between Earth and Mars. Meanwhile, intelligence shows that an unauthorised facility is being built in the Humboldt Sea on the far side of the Moon. Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Green are sent to Lunarville 7 ostensibly to hand over the World President's written response to the Controller's controversial statement. However, the officers must also secretly investigate Lunarville 7 and the Humboldt Sea.
On arrival, Scarlet, Blue and Green are met by the Controller, his assistant, Orson, and Lunarville 7's AI Control Computer, the Speech Intelligence Decoder ("SID"), which identifies humans via recognition discs. After the men hand over the World President's letter, Orson agrees to take them on a trip of the lunar surface in a Moonmobile, a vehicle reliant on the Moon's low gravity to jump and glide over the ground. However, Orson refuses to travel to the Humboldt Sea, and the men become even more suspicious of their hosts when they discover that their accommodation at Lunarville 7 has been fitted with concealed listening devices.
In the early hours of the morning, Scarlet is unable to request a Moonmobile from SID, which the Controller has programmed to accept only his commands. The Controller has also declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of all personnel from Lunarville 7. Scarlet switches recognition discs with the sleeping controller to allow himself, Blue and Green access to a Moonmobile. Arriving in the Humboldt Sea, the officers discover that a Mysteron complex is under construction in an unnamed crater marked "101" on the map.
Returning to Lunarville 7, the officers confront the Controller and Orson, who are Mysteron agents. As Scarlet is wearing the only authorised recognition disc, SID obeys his order to prepare a shuttle for departure. The insane Controller opens fire on SID with a gun after it rejects his commands, causing an explosion which kills him and Orson. Scarlet, Blue and Green blast off in the shuttle before further explosions obliterate Lunarville 7.
In his speech at the start of "Lunarville 7", the Lunar Controller states that the Moon is home to about 4,000 humans. In Tony Barwick's script for this episode, the character was then to discuss the self-sufficiency of Earth's lunar bases in greater detail,[2] stating, for example, "We were all born on Earth, but I see a future where men will be born, spend their lives and die on the Moon."[2] This dialogue, however, was edited out of the final cut of the episode.[2] The appearance of the Moonmobiles which feature in this episode and "Crater 101", its sequel, influenced the design of the SHADO Moonmobiles which feature in the later Gerry Anderson series, UFO.[3] Incidental music for this episode extensively features the notes of an Ondes Martenot,[4] operated by composer Barry Gray himself,[4] for sequences set in and around Lunarville 7. The music was recorded in the same studio session as tracks for another episode, "The Launching".[4] The session was held on 23 July 1967[4] and was attended by a group of four musicians.[4]
Critics Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett sum up "Lunarville 7" as a good episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.[1] The British Board of Film Classification describes the episode as containing one "mild"[5] instance of violence in spite of its "U" rating.[5]
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