Codename Europa

"Codename Europa" is the 27th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 9 April 1968 (1968-04-09) on ATV Midlands, was written by David Lee and directed by Alan Perry. In this episode, the Mysterons threaten all three members of the Triumvirate of Europe, the most powerful politicians on Earth after the World President.

Plot

The Mysterons threaten to destroy the Triumvirate of Europe, whose three members are the most powerful politicians on Earth after the World President. Captain Black murders an electronics professor, Carney, at his rural home and the Mysterons resurrect the expert to realise their plan. Spectrum has moved each member of the Triumvirate to a separate location to counter the Mysteron threat. The Carney reconstruction travels to Vandon Maximum Security Base, which contains President Conrad Olafson, and activates a loudspeaker system to blare out recorded sound effects of machine guns and tanks to distract the guards, who are led to conclude that Vandon Base is under attack. While the Angels bomb the surrounding woodland, the reconstruction infiltrates the compound and slips an explosive device into a vent which it mistakenly believes leads to Olafson's underground suite. The vent is in fact an imitation which goes no further than ground level. Although the explosion obliterates the complex above him, Olafson survives along with Captain Ochre. Soon, the original Carney's body is discovered, although a second Carney has only recently been sighted. Colonel White dispatches Captains Scarlet and Blue to search Carney's residence, where the officers discover a note left by the reconstruction: "123 OHM".

Scarlet realises that the note sets out the Mysteron agent's assassination schedule: Olafson was attacked first, meaning that the second target is President John L. Henderson, while President Joseph Meccini will be last. Carney evades all Spectrum efforts to apprehend him as he drives to the Maximum Security Centre containing Henderson, smashing through Captain Magenta's roadblock and using a device to blank out the monitor in Scarlet and Blue's Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle. At the security centre, the officers find themselves cut off from all external contact when Carney flies an adapted remote-controlled miniature plane over the complex, jamming radio signals in the area. The Mysteron agent then removes an inspection cover and uses a grenade to destroy the electrical circuits, causing a power failure and avoiding guards with the aid of night-vision goggles. However, on entering Henderson's suite, the reconstruction fails to notice a tripwire, stumbles and is shot down by Scarlet. For all Carney's electronics expertise, his duplicate was ultimately defeated by a simple security measure.

Production

David Lee's script reveals that the human Carney was the designer of all Spectrum's electronic security systems at its maximum security bases,^[1][2] which explains how his reconstruction is constantly able to outwit Spectrum in this episode. Scenes that were scripted but not filmed include the Carney reconstruction disposing of his template's body with the aid of a remote-controlled lawn mower.^[1][2]

The music played as Professor Carney slips the explosive device; the incidental music is an edited version of the music played in the Thunderbirds episode 'Vault of Death'

References

External links

• "Codename Europa" at TV.com
• "Codename Europa" at Fanderson.org.uk
• "Codename Europa" at CliveBanks.co.uk
• "Codename Europa" at TheVervoid.com