Attack of the Tiger
Encyclopedia
"Attack of the Tiger" is the 25th episode of the Supermarionation
television series Joe 90
. It was the 21st episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was 16 March 1969 on ATV Midlands
. It was written
by Tony Barwick
and directed
by Peter Anderson.
agreement, the Eastern
Alliance has built a secret rocket
base from which it will launch a nuclear device
to hold the world to ransom
. Using the brain pattern of a top pilot
, Joe must destroy the complex with a heavily-armed fighter-bomber
.
, WIN Agent 26 examines a cliff-face through binoculars
. Suddenly, the wall is mechanically lowered to reveal a rocket
base which has secretly been constructed behind it. Agent 26 spots a nuclear device
on one of the launch pad
s, but is forced to flee when the area is lit up by security searchlight
s. In his panic he leaves his binoculars and moments later alarms ring throughout the complex when an enemy officer sees the equipment on his monitor.
26 is pursued through nearby marshland by a group of soldiers. He falls into one of the quagmires and becomes stuck, but his adversaries fail to notice him. Speaking into his pen recorder, the agent, codenamed "FEZ", informs WIN that work on the enemy installation is complete and that "Operation Tiger" will commence in ten days. Later, 26 arrives at a border checkpoint
, but is shot by a sniper
before he can disclose any crucial information to officials. However, one of the staff retrieves 26's recorder from the inside of the dead man's jacket.
At WIN Headquarters London, Sam Loover and Shane Weston play back Agent 26's recorded message to Professor McClaine and Joe. Shane says that the communication confirms their worst fears: the Eastern
Alliance has built a secret rocket base in violation of a disarmament
agreement, and the nuclear device, the "Tiger", will be launched into orbit in ten days' time to hold the world to ransom
. The installation must be destroyed for the sake of world peace
.
Sam visits a World Air Force base and views the VG 104, the world's most heavily-armed fighter-bomber
, in flight. He gives a general a list of modifications to be made to one of the aircraft for the assault on the rocket base. However, when the officer asks for detailed information on the mission to help him select the appropriate pilot, Sam insists that WIN already has one prepared.
Meanwhile, Mac and Joe, in Mac's flying car
, wait outside the house of "Fearless" Foley, a top VG 104 pilot
. Chasing the airman after he leaves his driveway, the father and son overtake his car and block the road. Foley is furious, but Mac offers to pay for any damage and the pilot allows Joe to record his brain pattern, despite being unsure of the pair's mental stability.
Mac and Joe return to WIN Headquarters, only to be notified by Sam that the VG 104 will not be ready until 24 hours before the nuclear device is scheduled for blastoff. To make matters worse, the entire area has been fortified with ground-to-air missile
batteries and armoured vehicles
– making this assignment one of Joe's most hazardous to date.
The brain patterns of "Fearless" Foley and an expert on the Eastern Alliance defence systems are transferred to Joe on the BIG RAT. Mac and Joe then travel to the Air Force base for a final briefing on the assault. The general initially cannot believe that Joe has the necessary skills to fly a plane, but when the boy dons his special glasses
and displays a deep awareness of military techniques, the officer reluctantly comes to accept Joe's abilities.
Under the codename "Tiger", Joe takes off from the base in the VG 104. After he is refuelled in mid-air by a jet tanker, the boy continues towards the Eastern Alliance base. Flying at low altitude to avoid radar
detection, Joe reaches the base at dusk and evades the intense anti-aircraft fire
from the opposition's mounted guns. The nuclear device is on its pad ready to lift off, but Joe hits the weapon in one shot and the explosion starts a chain reaction
, utterly destroying the rocket base. Triumphant, Joe radios Mac and Sam to say that he will be back in England in time for breakfast.
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
television series Joe 90
Joe 90
Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
. It was the 21st episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was 16 March 1969 on ATV Midlands
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
. It was written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
by Tony Barwick
Tony Barwick
Tony Barwick was a British television scriptwriter who worked extensively on series created and produced by Gerry Anderson....
and directed
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
by Peter Anderson.
Synopsis
In violation of a disarmamentDisarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
agreement, the Eastern
Eastern world
__FORCETOC__The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures or social structures and philosophical systems of Eastern Asia or geographically the Eastern Culture...
Alliance has built a secret rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
base from which it will launch a nuclear device
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
to hold the world to ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
. Using the brain pattern of a top pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, Joe must destroy the complex with a heavily-armed fighter-bomber
Ground attack aircraft
Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft with primary role of attacking targets on the ground with greater precision than bombers and prepared to face stronger low-level air defense...
.
Plot
At night in the Far EastFar East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, WIN Agent 26 examines a cliff-face through binoculars
Binoculars
Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...
. Suddenly, the wall is mechanically lowered to reveal a rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
base which has secretly been constructed behind it. Agent 26 spots a nuclear device
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
on one of the launch pad
Launch pad
A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecraft lift off. A spaceport can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch....
s, but is forced to flee when the area is lit up by security searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s. In his panic he leaves his binoculars and moments later alarms ring throughout the complex when an enemy officer sees the equipment on his monitor.
26 is pursued through nearby marshland by a group of soldiers. He falls into one of the quagmires and becomes stuck, but his adversaries fail to notice him. Speaking into his pen recorder, the agent, codenamed "FEZ", informs WIN that work on the enemy installation is complete and that "Operation Tiger" will commence in ten days. Later, 26 arrives at a border checkpoint
Border checkpoint
A border checkpoint is a place, generally between two countries, where travellers and/or goods are inspected. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders often have a limited number of checkpoints where they can be crossed without legal...
, but is shot by a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
before he can disclose any crucial information to officials. However, one of the staff retrieves 26's recorder from the inside of the dead man's jacket.
At WIN Headquarters London, Sam Loover and Shane Weston play back Agent 26's recorded message to Professor McClaine and Joe. Shane says that the communication confirms their worst fears: the Eastern
Eastern world
__FORCETOC__The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures or social structures and philosophical systems of Eastern Asia or geographically the Eastern Culture...
Alliance has built a secret rocket base in violation of a disarmament
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
agreement, and the nuclear device, the "Tiger", will be launched into orbit in ten days' time to hold the world to ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
. The installation must be destroyed for the sake of world peace
World peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
.
Sam visits a World Air Force base and views the VG 104, the world's most heavily-armed fighter-bomber
Ground attack aircraft
Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft with primary role of attacking targets on the ground with greater precision than bombers and prepared to face stronger low-level air defense...
, in flight. He gives a general a list of modifications to be made to one of the aircraft for the assault on the rocket base. However, when the officer asks for detailed information on the mission to help him select the appropriate pilot, Sam insists that WIN already has one prepared.
Meanwhile, Mac and Joe, in Mac's flying car
Flying car
A flying car or roadable aircraft is an aircraft that can also travel along roads. All the working examples have required some manual or automated process of conversion between the two modes of operation....
, wait outside the house of "Fearless" Foley, a top VG 104 pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
. Chasing the airman after he leaves his driveway, the father and son overtake his car and block the road. Foley is furious, but Mac offers to pay for any damage and the pilot allows Joe to record his brain pattern, despite being unsure of the pair's mental stability.
Mac and Joe return to WIN Headquarters, only to be notified by Sam that the VG 104 will not be ready until 24 hours before the nuclear device is scheduled for blastoff. To make matters worse, the entire area has been fortified with ground-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
batteries and armoured vehicles
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....
– making this assignment one of Joe's most hazardous to date.
The brain patterns of "Fearless" Foley and an expert on the Eastern Alliance defence systems are transferred to Joe on the BIG RAT. Mac and Joe then travel to the Air Force base for a final briefing on the assault. The general initially cannot believe that Joe has the necessary skills to fly a plane, but when the boy dons his special glasses
Glasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
and displays a deep awareness of military techniques, the officer reluctantly comes to accept Joe's abilities.
Under the codename "Tiger", Joe takes off from the base in the VG 104. After he is refuelled in mid-air by a jet tanker, the boy continues towards the Eastern Alliance base. Flying at low altitude to avoid radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
detection, Joe reaches the base at dusk and evades the intense anti-aircraft fire
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
from the opposition's mounted guns. The nuclear device is on its pad ready to lift off, but Joe hits the weapon in one shot and the explosion starts a chain reaction
Chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
, utterly destroying the rocket base. Triumphant, Joe radios Mac and Sam to say that he will be back in England in time for breakfast.
Regular voice cast
- Joe McClaine — Len JonesLen JonesLen Jones was a British actor and voice actor of the 1960s and 70s.In his youth, Jones featured in television series such as Z-Cars , Adam Adamant Lives! , Dixon of Dock Green , Softly, Softly and The Adventures of Black Beauty...
- Professor Ian "Mac" McClaine — Rupert DaviesRupert DaviesRupert Davies was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon....
- Sam Loover — Keith AlexanderKeith Alexander (actor)Keith Alexander is a British actor and voice actor.Alexander's television credits include Softly, Softly , The New Avengers , Minder and The Day of the Triffids...
- Shane Weston — David HealyDavid Healy (actor)David Healy was an American-born actor who starred in many British and American television shows. His credits include voices for the Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, as well as parts in UFO, The Troubleshooters, Randall and Hopkirk , Space...
Guest voice cast
In speaking order:- Agent 26 ("FEZ") — Gary FilesGary FilesGary Files was born in Melbourne, Australia and is an Australian-Canadian actor, writer and director who has resided in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He has lived in Australia since 1976.-Early life:...
- Officer — Jeremy WilkinJeremy WilkinJeremy Wilkin is a British actor, possibly best known for his contributions to the television productions of Gerry Anderson....
- Soldier 1—Gary Files
- Soldier 2—Jeremy Wilkin
- Border Lieutenant—Jeremy Wilkin
- Border Private—Gary Files
- General—Jeremy Wilkin
- "Fearless" Foley—Gary Files
- World Air Force Base Control (voice) — Gary Files
- Jet Tanker (voice) — Jeremy Wilkin