Noose of Ice

"Noose of Ice"
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no. Episode 24
Directed by Ken Turner
Written by Tony Barwick
Cinematography by Julien Lugrin
Editing by Bob Dearberg
Production code 26
Original air date 12 March 1968 (1968-03-12)
Guest actors

Voices of:
Gary Files as
Neilson
Martin King as
Hotspot Controller
Hotspot Guard
David Healy as
General Rebus
Jeremy Wilkin as
Rhodes

"Noose of Ice" is the 24th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 12 March 1968 on ATV Midlands, was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Ken Turner. In this episode, the Mysterons target a facility mining vital metal for a new Earth Space Fleet.

Plot

A new Earth Space Fleet is under construction to take the "war of nerves" directly to the Mysterons on Mars. To reduce transit time, each vessel will need to withstand higher stresses, so the rare and strong metal Tritonium is being used as hull fortification. Usually a laboratory element, the Space Administration has started to mine a natural supply of Tritonium on the ocean floor at the North Pole. When the Mysterons threaten to sabotage the Space Fleet, Colonel White sends Captains Scarlet and Blue from Cloudbase to be briefed by the Space Administration commander-in-chief, General Rebus, in New York. The officers then travel to Hotspot Tower mine in the Arctic and are introduced to the controller, Rhodes.

The seawater around the mine is prevented from freezing and crushing Hotspot Tower by electrical heating elements powered from Eskimo Booster Station. However, a maintenance engineer, Neilson, is a Mysteron reconstruction whose human template died in a recent blizzard and was buried in the snow. At Eskimo Booster Station, the reconstruction sabotages the power to the heating elements on the telepathic orders of Captain Black. The freezing seawater forms a "noose of ice" which closes in on Hotspot Tower.

With the lifts inoperative, Scarlet risks decompression sickness to float to the surface in a diving suit. He just manages to cross over the ice in a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle before the bridge is crushed, but is confronted by the Neilson reconstruction at Eskimo. As the double shoots Scarlet, the officer throws a loose high-voltage cable which hits the metal stairwell on which the double is standing, causing horrific electrocution. Wounded, Scarlet reconnects the uncoupled cables and raises the voltage to the heating elements, ultimately saving Hotspot Tower. However, the Mysterons have had a partial success: damage to the mine means that it will be out of operation for at least six months.

Production

The incidental music that accompanies the scene of Neilson's death in the snowstorm was originally composed for Stingray. More incidental music from the earlier series can be heard during the sequences of the temperature dropping around Hotspot Tower.[1][2] The Space Administration Headquarters building originally appeared as SHEF Headquarters in "Point 783".[1] For realism, the Hotspot Tower model was constructed at 1/12 scale.[3]

The character of Neilson is portrayed by the puppet that originally appeared as Captain Brown in "The Mysterons".[2] "Noose of Ice" marks the third occasion in which the character played by the puppet is killed and resurrected as a Mysteron agent: it also stars as the villains Major Reeves in "Renegade Rocket" and Professor Carney in "Codename Europa".[1][2] Appearances that are solely human roles occur in "Fire at Rig 15" (as Charlie Hansen), "Flight 104" (as Dr Conrad) and "Special Assignment" (as the Arizona bartender).[1] General Rebus is first seen as the Base Concord Commander in "Renegade Rocket", as a non-speaking background extra in "Seek and Destroy" (specifically during the scene set at the Café de la Paix), and as a patron of the Dice Club in "Special Assignment".[1][2] The Hotspot Tower guard is featured in the role of Jason Smith in "Fire at Rig 15"; meanwhile, the puppet that portrays Rhodes appears in the regular role of Sam Loover in the later Supermarionation series Joe 90.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bentley, Chris (2003). The Complete Gerry Anderson: the Authorised Episode Guide. London: Reynolds and Hearn. p. 116. ISBN 9781903111970.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bentley, 81.
  3. ↑ Bentley, 38.
Bibliography
  • Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London: Carlton Books. pp. 38, 81. ISBN 1-84222-405-0. 

External links

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