Lunarville 7

"Lunarville 7"
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no. Episode 12
Directed by Robert Lynn
Written by Tony Barwick
Cinematography by Julien Lugrin
Editing by Bob Dearberg
Production code SCA 15[1]
Original air date 15 December 1967
Guest appearance(s)

Voices of:
Gary Files as
Shuttle Pilot
David Healy as
Lunar Controller
Martin King as
Orson
SID (uncredited)
Jeremy Wilkin as
Launch Controller

"Lunarville 7" is the 12th episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a 1960s British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company Century 21 Productions. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Robert Lynn, it was first broadcast on 15 December 1967 on ATV Midlands. It launches a story arc that continues in "Crater 101".

In this episode, Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Green investigate a lunar colony after the Lunar Controller unexpectedly declares the Moon to be neutral in Earth's war with Mars.

Plot

Transmitting to Earth from Lunarville 7, the Lunar Controller declares the Moon a neutral power in humanity's war with the Mysterons. Colonel White (voiced by Donald Gray) dispatches Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Green (voiced by Francis Matthews, Ed Bishop and Cy Grant) to Lunarville 7 to present the World President's written response to this surprise announcement. Scarlet, Blue and Green are also ordered to investigate the Humboldt Sea on the Moon's far side, where orbital surveillance indicates that a new, unauthorised lunar colony is being built.

On arrival at Lunarville 7, the officers are met by the Controller and his assistant, Orson. They are also introduced to the colony's main computer, an artificial intelligence called "Speech Intelligence Decoder" (SID) that identifies humans through recognition discs. After they hand over the President's letter, Orson agrees to take them on an excursion in a Moonmobile, a vehicle that uses the Moon's low gravity to jump and glide over its surface. However, when they ask to go to the Humboldt Sea, Orson sharply refuses and takes the Moonmobile back to Lunarville 7. Retiring for the night, their suspicions are further raised when they discover that their accommodation has been bugged.

Rising in the early hours of the morning, Scarlet attempts to request a Moonmobile from SID but finds that the Controller has re-programmed the computer to accept only his commands. Scarlet also learns that the Controller has declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of Lunarville 7. Scarlet switches recognition discs with the sleeping Controller to trick SID into giving him, Blue and Green a Moonmobile. Travelling to the Humboldt Sea, the officers discover a Mysteron outpost under construction in a crater numbered "101".

Returning to Lunarville 7, Scarlet, Blue and Green confront the Controller and Orson, who appear to be Mysteron reconstructions. Scarlet, still wearing the Controller's recognition disc, instructs SID to prepare an Earth-bound shuttle for immediate departure. When SID rejects the Controller's order to seal the colony, the Controller produces a handgun and repeatedly shoots SID, causing an explosion that kills him and Orson. Scarlet, Blue and Green blast off in the shuttle before further explosions destroy the whole colony.

Production

"Lunarville 7" was filmed on Century 21 Studios' Stage 4.[2]

In his speech at the start of the episode, the Lunar Controller remarks that the Moon is home to approximately 4,000 humans. In Tony Barwick's original script, the character was then to have discussed the self-reliance of the lunar colonies in greater detail, stating, for example: "We were all born on Earth, but I see a future where men will be born, spend their lives and die on the Moon." These lines were cut from the finished episode.[3]

The Moon shuttle interior was a re-dress of the MEV cockpit that previously appeared in Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and the series' first episode, while the Lunarville 7 control room console was adapted from a prop that was originally built for the Thunderbirds episode "Ricochet".[4] The design of the Moonmobiles influenced that of the SHADO Moonmobiles from UFO.[5]

The synthesised voice of SID was provided by regular supporting voice actor Martin King, who spoke his lines into a vocoder supplied by Standard Telecommunication Laboratories of Harlow. The episode's end titles credit STL for "electronic collaboration".[4]

This episode's incidental music was recorded on 23 July 1967 with an ensemble of four instrumentalists. It features an Ondes Martenot played by series composer Barry Gray himself. Music for "The Launching" was recorded on the same day.[6]

"Lunarville 7" was the first episode of Captain Scarlet to be produced featuring the lyrical version of the series' end titles music performed by pop group The Spectrum.[7] This was recorded on 26 July 1967.[8]

Reception

Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett praise "Lunarville 7" as a good episode of Captain Scarlet.[9] The British Board of Film Classification certifies the episode U, noting that it contains one "mild" instance of violence.[10]

1981 re-edit

Footage from "Lunarville 7" was incorporated into the 1981 Captain Scarlet compilation film Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars.

References

  1. ↑ Bentley 2017, p. 110.
  2. ↑ Bentley 2017, p. 187.
  3. ↑ Bentley 2001, p. 73.
  4. 1 2 Bentley 2017, p. 111.
  5. ↑ Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: the Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
  6. ↑ de Klerk, Theo (25 December 2003). "Complete Studio-Recording List of Barry Gray". tvcentury21.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  7. ↑ Bentley 2001, p. 71.
  8. ↑ Bentley 2017, p. 102.
  9. ↑ Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme (1993). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. London, UK: Boxtree. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-85283-403-6.
  10. ↑ "'Lunarville 7' Rated U by the BBFC". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
Bibliography
  • Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London, UK: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84222-405-2.
  • Bentley, Chris (2017). Hearn, Marcus, ed. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault. Cambridge, UK: Signum Books. ISBN 978-0-995519-12-1.
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