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Expo 2068

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"Expo 2068"
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no.Episode 28
Directed byLeo Eaton
Written byShane Rimmer
Editing byHarry MacDonald
Production codeSCA 29[1]
Original air date26 March 1968 (1968-03-26)
Guest character voices
Transporter Driver
Lumberjack
Security Captain
Helicopter Operator
Raynor[2]
Dr Sommers
Episode chronology
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"Place of Angels" 		Next →
"The Launching"
List of episodes

"Expo 2068" is the 28th episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company Century 21 Productions. Written by Shane Rimmer and directed by Leo Eaton, it was first broadcast on 26 March 1968 on ATV Midlands.

In this episode, the Mysterons steal a nuclear reactor as part of a plot to devastate the Atlantic Seaboard of North America.

Plot

In Quebec, Canada,[1] a nuclear reactor is being shipped to the Manicougan Power Complex by transporter truck. Captain Black (voiced by Donald Gray) switches a road sign to divert the driver onto an unfinished bridge, sending the transporter crashing into a canyon. The Mysterons (voiced by Donald Gray) reconstruct the driver, the transporter and the reactor as part of a plan to damage Earth's prestige by devastating the Atlantic Seaboard of North America.

Elsewhere, a fleet of remote-controlled Seneca helicopters is ferrying construction materials to the future site of the Expo 2068 world's fair. Infiltrating the Seneca control tower, Black holds the helicopter operator at gunpoint, forcing him to divert one of the helicopters to a forest clearing. There, the transporter driver loads the reactor into the helicopter's wooden holding crate. While transferring the reactor he is discovered by a passing lumberjack, whom he shoots and leaves for dead.

While chasing the transporter in a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, Captains Scarlet and Blue (voiced by Francis Matthews and Ed Bishop) come across the wounded lumberjack and have him taken to hospital. They discover that the reactor's thermal safety valve has been removed and that without it, the reactor will overheat and explode. They resume their pursuit and the transporter driver, desperate to evade Spectrum, is killed when he crashes his vehicle. With the reactor nowhere to be found, Scarlet and Blue remember that the lumberjack kept muttering the word "Seneca", and speed to the Expo 2068 site.

At the site, Black instructs the operator to position the helicopter directly over the Expo tower. When Scarlet and Blue arrive, Black orders the operator crash the helicopter, but the operator refuses. Black shoots him, also hitting the controls and disrupting the helicopter's flight pattern. Wearing a jet pack, Scarlet flies up to the helicopter with a saw and cuts his way into the holding crate, where he finds that the reactor has reached critical temperature. He is crushed by the reactor but succeeds in stabilising it by disconnecting the external circuits; however, he is killed shortly after when the helicopter crashes into a building and explodes. In the final scene, Blue flies Scarlet's body back to Cloudbase.

Production

"Expo 2068" was filmed between October and November 1967 on Century 21 Studios' Stage 4. It was the last episode of Captain Scarlet to be shot on that stage; the next production to go before the Stage 4 unit was "The Most Special Agent", the first episode of Joe 90.[1]

The script included several scenes that were shortened or removed to prevent the episode from over-running.[1] One of the deleted scenes shows Scarlet and Blue obtaining their SPV (which is stated to be number 442) from a village shop whose owner is shown dressed in nightclothes and a baseball cap.[2][3] Two expository scenes – one explaining the purpose of the nuclear reactor, the other the history of the Manicougan Power Complex – were also removed, and some of Blue's dialogue in the final scene was cut.[1]

The script also clarified the Mysterons' objectives, with Colonel White (voiced by Donald Gray) realising that they intend to carry out their threat to lower Earth's prestige by crashing the reactor into Expo 2068, causing a nuclear explosion.[1][2] This line of dialogue was cut, with the result that in the finished episode the target is implied to be the Manicougan Power Complex.[1][2][3] According to the script, Expo 2068 is "equivalent to our World's Fair but on an enormous scale".[1]

The transporter model and the reactor prop both previously appeared in "Big Ben Strikes Again".[4]

The incidental music for "Expo 2068" was the last to be produced for the series. It was recorded during a four-hour studio session held on 3 December 1967, where it was performed by an ensemble of 14 instrumentalists. Music for "Attack on Cloudbase" had been recorded earlier in the session.[1][5] The Captain Scarlet music CD release includes a track from "Expo 2068" titled "The Reactor".[6][7][8]

Reception

Shane M. Dallmann of Video Watchdog magazine calls "Expo 2068" a "standout episode – and not just from a dramatic standpoint". Though unimpressed with the miniature model of the Seneca helicopter's crate, he comments that the scene of Scarlet sawing his way inside "reveals an amazing level of concentration, skill and dexterity behind the camera."[9]

Andrew Pixley and Julie Rogers of Starburst magazine consider the scene of Scarlet being crushed by the reactor to be one of the series' more violent moments.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bentley, Chris (2017). Hearn, Marcus (ed.). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault. Cambridge, UK: Signum Books. pp. 182–183. ISBN 978-0-995519-12-1.
  2. ^ a b c d Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
  3. ^ a b Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London, UK: Carlton Books. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-842224-05-2.
  4. ^ Brown, Stephen; Jones, Mike (2017). Jones, Mike (ed.). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: Close-Up. Fanderson. p. 65.
  5. ^ de Klerk, Theo (25 December 2003). "Complete Studio-Recording List of Barry Gray". tvcentury21.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  6. ^ de Klerk, Theo (26 October 2017). "Barry Gray Discography" (PDF). barrygray.co.uk. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  7. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Captain Scarlet [Original TV Soundtrack] Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  8. ^ Marsh, Peter (17 November 2003). "Barry Gray: Captain Scarlet Original Soundtrack Review". BBC Online. BBC. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  9. ^ Dallmann, Shane M. (June 2003). Lucas, Tim (ed.). "DVD Spotlight: Captain Scarlet". Video Watchdog. No. 96. Cincinnati, Ohio: Tim and Donna Lucas. p. 41. ISSN 1070-9991. OCLC 646838004.
  10. ^ Pixley, Andrew; Rogers, Julie (December 2001). Gillatt, Gary (ed.). "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: By Numbers". Starburst. No. 280. London, UK: Visual Imagination (published November 2001). p. 48. ISSN 0955-114X. OCLC 79615651.
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