Shadow of Fear
| "Shadow of Fear" | |||
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| Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode | |||
| Episode no. | Episode 18 | ||
| Directed by | Robert Lynn | ||
| Written by | Tony Barwick | ||
| Cinematography by | Julien Lugrin | ||
| Editing by | John Beaton | ||
| Production code | 12 | ||
| Original air date | 2 February 1968 | ||
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| List of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episodes | |||
"Shadow of Fear" is the 18th episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first broadcast in the UK on 2 February 1968 on ATV Midlands, was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Robert Lynn.
In this episode, a Spectrum operation to survey the planet Mars with a space probe is threatened when one of the scientists attached to the project is taken over by the Mysterons. The episode prominently features the Martian moon Phobos. Footage from "Shadow of Fear" was re-edited and used in Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars, a Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons compilation film.
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[edit] Plot
To learn more about the Mysterons and Mars, Spectrum has set up "Operation Sword". The objective is to place a space probe in orbit around Mars to take detailed images of the surface. Although the Mysterons destroy one probe, the Mini-Sat 5 lands on the Martian moon Phobos to carry out its surveillance. After Phobos has completed one orbit of Mars, the captured images will be transmitted to Earth for reception at K14 Observatory in the Himalayas at 3 a.m. local time. Since K14 is beyond the range of the Spectrum Angels, Cloudbase is moved into Himalayan airspace on its horizontal jets. Captains Scarlet and Blue have been assigned to K14 to oversee astronomers Carter, Breck and Angelini. To the astronomers, the Mini-Sat 5 was able to land on Phobos with the aid of the "shadow of fear": "phobos", the name of an attendant of Mars in Greek mythology, means "fear" in Greek, and the probe avoided detection by the Mysterons by approaching the moon from behind.
That night, a few hours before the transmission, Breck is looking at Mars through a telescope when the planet begins to flash brightly. Overcome by the dazzling light, he is killed and duplicated by the Mysterons. Knowing that K14's aerial will have to be retuned before reception, his reconstruction fixes an explosive device to the rotation gear, set to detonate when the machinery traps it, and then hides in the rocks above K14. With the help of Melody Angel and Captain Grey in a Spectrum helicopter, Scarlet and Blue find and confront the reconstruction minutes before 3 a.m. Firing on the officers, the duplicate is killed by Scarlet, but not before revealing its sabotage. However, before Scarlet and Blue can warn Carter and Angelini, the men turn the aerial and the device detonates. The damage tears the aerial down onto the observatory, obliterating all of K14. However, although Carter and Angelini are dead, and Earth has missed the reception for the images, Colonel White states that Operation Sword will continue.
[edit] Music
Incidental music for "Shadow of Fear" was recorded on 22 July 1967[1] by an orchestra of 15 musicians[1] under the supervision of Barry Gray. Running to four hours,[1] the same session included recording for the episode "Fire at Rig 15".[1] The score for "Shadow of Fear" is praised by Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett in their guide to Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons,[2] in which they write that the space sequences involving the Mini-Sat 5 and its landing on Phobos are made suitably "eerie"[2] by the electronic music. Parts of this score can be heard in the later Gerry Anderson production, "UFO".[2]
[edit] Reception
Passing the episode "U",[3] the British Board of Film Classification describes "Shadow of Fear" as containing "infrequent, very mild" violence.[3]. This is the last episode recorded to feature Charles Tingwell and Paul Maxwell as members of the regular voice cast. After this episode the characters of Dr Fawn (Tingwell) and Captain Grey (Maxwell) made non-speaking appearances. Tingwell's voice is included in the later broadcast "Dangerous Rendezvous" (as Lieutenant Dean in flashback), "Traitor" (as Helicopter A42 pilot in flashback) and "The Inquisition" (as Macey in flashback). Maxwell's voice features again in "The Inquisition" ( 1st police officer in flashback).
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d de Klerk, Theo (25 December 2003). "Complete studio-recording list of Barry Gray". tvcentury21.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. http://www.tvcentury21.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67:complete-studio-recording-list-of-barry-gray&catid=116:barry-gray&Itemid=182. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
- ^ a b c Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme (1993). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. London: Boxtree. p. 63. ISBN 1-85283-403-X.
- ^ a b ""Shadow of Fear" rated "U" by the BBFC". bbfc.co.uk. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/1C777B20B547D0FC80256AC6002890DA?OpenDocument. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
[edit] External links
- "Shadow of Fear" at TV.com
- "Shadow of Fear" at Fanderson.org.uk
- "Shadow of Fear" at CliveBanks.co.uk
- "Shadow of Fear" at TheVervoid.com
- "Shadow of Fear" at the Gerry Anderson Wiki
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