| "Mission X-41" | |||
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| Joe 90 episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 27 |
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| Directed by | Ken Turner | ||
| Written by | Pat Dunlop | ||
| Production code | 24 | ||
| Original air date | March 30, 1969 | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of Joe 90 episodes | |||
"Mission X-41" is the 27th episode of the Supermarionation television series Joe 90. It was the 24th episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was March 30, 1969 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Pat Dunlop and directed by Ken Turner.
Contents |
The Eastern Alliance has procured the ultimate in biological weapons: X-41, a genetically-engineered virus capable of destroying the molecular structure of virtually any matter. General Kwan is determined to use X-41 to strike terror into the rest of the world, but is unaware that WIN Agent 84 has been spying on a demonstration organised by the virus' creator, Dr Chang. At WIN Headquarters in London, Shane Weston and Sam Loover view Agent 84's photographs of a test building's disintegration by X-41 and realise that the West faces annihilation. Professor Baxter, a virologist, has been enlisted to re-produce Chang's antibody, but collapses at his laboratory and is rushed unconscious to hospital.
With Baxter unable to complete his work, the only solution is for Joe to infiltrate Kwan's base, deep inside Eastern Alliance territory, and steal the antibody formula. Agent 84 will assist in the operation. Visiting Baxter in hospital, Loover records his brain impulses with an antenna fitted to his briefcase and relays them to the McClaine cottage in Dorset. The knowledge and experience of both Baxter and a WIN agent are then transferred to Joe via the BIG RAT. Later, the boy is flown out to the Far East in a World Air Force jet and ejected in an adapted canister, landing near the base. Joe's arrival is detected on radar and he is soon captured by Kwan's forces, but not before making radio contact with Agent 84 and informing him that this is what he intended.
The troops bring Joe before the General, who cannot believe that he is being presented with a nine-year-old boy and orders them to find the real intruder. Unable to take the boy seriously, Kwan is all too happy to give details of an advanced model of fighter aircraft parked on a nearby airstrip: with its increased range, it would be able to fly as far as Britain without refuelling. Joe is later confined to a room, but breaks out by burning through the lock and finds his way to Chang's laboratory, where he photographs documents presenting the chemical structure of the antibody. By this time, the troops have established that Joe's canister could not have accommodated an adult agent, and the boy's disappearance leads to a general alarm.
However, Agent 84 has planned a diversion. Having cut through the perimeter fence, at Joe's command, he throws a grenade towards a fuel tank. Just as the soldiers are about to search the laboratory, they are distracted by the explosion, which clears an escape route for Joe all the way to the airstrip. Agent 84 departs for a rendezvous with WIN pick-up forces. Meanwhile, coordinating fire-fighting appliances from his office, Kwan is speechless to see Joe taking off in one of the fighters, bound for home.
Thanks to the intelligence collected by Joe, the West is able to start mass-production of the X-41 antibody within days. Baxter, who was adversely affected by long-term exposure to the virus, is injected with a diluted form of the antibody and quickly recovers. An ailing Professor McClaine wonders if Baxter can return the favour by finding a cure for the common cold.
In speaking order: