Flight to Atlantica
Encyclopedia
"Flight to Atlantica" is the 30th episode of the Supermarionation
television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
. It was first broadcast in the UK on on ATV Midlands, was written by Tony Barwick
and directed by Leo Eaton.
In this episode, when the Mysteron
s 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.
personnel are celebrating the first anniversary
of the Spectrum Organisation, but their unauthorised champagne party is quickly dispersed by an indignant Colonel White
. The Mysteron
s 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 submarine
s. 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 induces amnesia
and irresponsibility — the Mysterons used their influence to drug
the alcohol.
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.
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.
episode The Cham-Cham
. Such connections are the fact they are listening to "Dangerous Game" music, which “the RLT-2 crew were listening to just after take off.” Captain Blue takes off from "[exactly] the same airfield as the RTL-2" and the fact that he is flying the same aircraft used in The Cham-Cham. They use these similarities as evidence that both series "are set in the same timeframe?" Other examples can be seen in the episode The Mysterons
, which features the Martian Exploration Vehicle
, which had featured in the 1966 Thunderbirds
film, Thunderbirds Are Go
.
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 Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
. It was first broadcast in the UK on on ATV Midlands, was written 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 by Leo Eaton.
In this episode, when the Mysteron
Mysteron
The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep...
s threaten to destroy the World Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
Complex at Atlantica, Captains Blue
Captain Blue (Captain Scarlet)
Captain Blue is a character in the 1967 Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is a senior officer of the Spectrum organisation and a close friend of Captain Scarlet....
and Ochre take over an operation to bomb a wreck. Meanwhile, on Cloudbase
Cloudbase
Cloudbase is the fictional skyborne headquarters of international security organisation Spectrum, from Gerry Anderson's science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .-Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons:...
, personnel inexplicably take leave of their senses.
Plot
On 7 July, CloudbaseCloudbase
Cloudbase is the fictional skyborne headquarters of international security organisation Spectrum, from Gerry Anderson's science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .-Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons:...
personnel are celebrating the first anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
of the Spectrum Organisation, but their unauthorised champagne party is quickly dispersed by an indignant Colonel White
Colonel White
Colonel White is a character in the 1960s Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is the commander-in-Chief of Spectrum, the security organisation dedicated to defending Earth against the Mysterons from Mars...
. The Mysteron
Mysteron
The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep...
s issue a threat to eliminate Atlantica, a World Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
base situated on the ocean floor, even though Atlantica is formidably defended by surface-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...
bunkers and patrol submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s. In light of the Mysteron threat, Spectrum is assuming control of an operation to bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
and disperse a wreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
which currents are pushing towards Atlantica. Captains Blue
Captain Blue (Captain Scarlet)
Captain Blue is a character in the 1967 Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is a senior officer of the Spectrum organisation and a close friend of Captain Scarlet....
and Ochre are permitted to take off
Takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...
from Maxwell Field in a V17 Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
in spite of uncharacteristically absent-minded conduct during their briefing. However, the officers have been so unattentive that Captain Black
Captain Black (Captain Scarlet)
Captain Black is the fictional nemesis of Captain Scarlet and recurring Mysteron agent in the 1960s British supermarionation science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its CGI remake Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet...
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
Captain Scarlet (character)
Captain Scarlet is the fictional main character in Gerry Anderson's British Supermarionation science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its CGI remake Gerry Anderson's New 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 induces amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
and irresponsibility — the Mysterons used their influence to drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
the alcohol.
Complying with their new orders, the vacant Blue and Ochre cross into the restricted airspace
Airspace
Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere....
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
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
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
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
was drawn up on 7 July the previous year, the World President
World government in science fiction
In both science fiction and utopian/dystopian fiction, authors have made frequent use of the age-old idea of a global state and, accordingly, of world government.- Overview :...
signed the document three days later.
This episode is one of two (the other being "Attack on Cloudbase
Attack on Cloudbase
"Attack on Cloudbase" is the 31st episode of the 1960s Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. The penultimate instalment of the series, it first aired in the United Kingdom on ATV Midlands on 7 May 1968...
") to include all the regular puppet cast, although some characters do not have speaking parts.
Reception
In an article published in Thunderbirds-related fanzine NTBS News Flash they makes several connections to the ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
episode The Cham-Cham
The Cham-Cham
"The Cham-Cham" is the 25th episode of the 1960s Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. One of the final instalments of Series One, it first aired in the United Kingdom on ATV Midlands on 24 March 1966...
. Such connections are the fact they are listening to "Dangerous Game" music, which “the RLT-2 crew were listening to just after take off.” Captain Blue takes off from "[exactly] the same airfield as the RTL-2" and the fact that he is flying the same aircraft used in The Cham-Cham. They use these similarities as evidence that both series "are set in the same timeframe?" Other examples can be seen in the episode The Mysterons
The Mysterons (Captain Scarlet episode)
"The Mysterons" is the first episode of the 1960s Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first officially broadcast in the UK on ATV Midlands on , although it had been granted an unscheduled test transmission for the London area on...
, which features the Martian Exploration Vehicle
Zero-X
The Zero-X is a fictitious Earth spacecraft that appeared in two of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation productions...
, which had featured in the 1966 Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
film, Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
.
External links
- "Flight to Atlantica" at Fanderson.org.ukFandersonFanderson is the official appreciation society for the works of Gerry Anderson. It is a not-for-profit organisation endorsed by Anderson Entertainment Ltd, Gerry Anderson Productions plc and ITC Entertainment Group Ltd...
- "Flight to Atlantica" at CliveBanks.co.uk
- "Flight to Atlantica" at TheVervoid.com