Flight to Atlantica

"Flight to Atlantica" is the 30th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 30 April 1968 (1968-04-30) on ATV Midlands, was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Leo Eaton.

In this episode, when the Mysterons threaten to destroy the World Navy Complex at Atlantica, Captains Blue and Ochre take over an operation to bomb a wreck. Meanwhile, on Cloudbase, personnel inexplicably take leave of their senses.

Plot

On 7 July, Cloudbase personnel are celebrating the first anniversary of the Spectrum Organisation, but their unauthorised champagne party is quickly dispersed by an indignant Colonel White. The Mysterons issue a threat to eliminate Atlantica, a World Navy base situated on the ocean floor, even though Atlantica is formidably defended by surface-to-air missile bunkers and patrol submarines. In light of the Mysteron threat, Spectrum is assuming control of an operation to bomb and disperse a wreck which currents are pushing towards Atlantica. Captains Blue and Ochre are permitted to take off from Maxwell Field in a V17 Air Force bomber in spite of uncharacteristically absent-minded conduct during their briefing. However, the officers have been so unattentive that Captain Black has been able to switch their flight papers with alternative instructions before their eyes.

Meanwhile, Cloudbase personnel fall into a similar dream-like state until only Captain Scarlet and Colonel White remain in control of their actions. They realise that all those who have been affected were those who were drinking at the anniversary celebration — White did not attend and Blue accidentally smashed Scarlet's glass. An analysis of the champagne confirms that it's been tainted with a very small quantity of a compound used in pest control, which induces amnesia and irresponsibility — the Mysterons used their influence to drug the alcohol with it, leaving everybody high as a result.

Complying with their new orders, the vacant Blue and Ochre cross into the restricted airspace over Atlantica and bomb the Defence System Control Tower, creating havoc with the missiles. Alerted by Commander Williams at Maxwell Field, Scarlet and White intercept the V17 in a Spectrum Jet and cripple it with an air-to-air missile before Blue and Ochre drop a second bomb onto Atlantica itself. Blue and Ochre ultimately come to their senses and eject just before the V17 plunges into the sea and explodes on the ocean floor. Although the Mysterons have had a partial success, there is reason for celebration on Cloudbase on 10 July, since this marks the true first anniversary of the Spectrum Organisation: although its charter was drawn up on 7 July the previous year, the World President signed the document three days later. To celebrate, White orders some real champagne for everybody, and - to Scarlet's happiness - the bottles have been personalized with the Spectrum logo and "Captain Scarlet" on the labels.

Production

This episode is one of two (the other being "Attack on Cloudbase") to include all the regular puppet cast, although some characters do not have speaking parts.

Reception

An article published in Thunderbirds-related fanzine NTBS News Flash interprets a number of connections to the Thunderbirds episode "The Cham-Cham".^[2] Such connections include Captain Blue and Ochre's selection of "Dangerous Game" as in-flight music, the tune that "the RLT-2 crew were listening to just after take off."^[2] Blue takes off from "[exactly] the same airfield as the RTL-2" and is also flying the same type of aircraft.^[2] Consequently, it is suggested that both Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet "are set in the same timeframe?"^[2] Other examples can be seen in "The Mysterons", which features the Martian Exploration Vehicle that appeared in the 1966 Thunderbirds film, Thunderbirds Are Go.^[3]

References

External links

• "Flight to Atlantica" at TV.com
• "Flight to Atlantica" at Fanderson.org.uk
• "Flight to Atlantica" at TheVervoid.com