Model Spy

"Model Spy" is the 14th 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 Bill Hedley and directed by Ken Turner, it was first broadcast on 29 December 1967 on ATV Midlands.

In this episode, after the Mysterons threaten to assassinate a French intelligence agent posing as a fashion designer, Captains Scarlet and Blue and Destiny and Symphony Angels go undercover to protect the target.

Plot

The Mysterons warn Spectrum that they intend to assassinate André Verdain, a French fashion designer who is secretly Controller of the European Area Intelligence Service. Colonel White (voiced by Donald Gray) suspects that the Mysterons will make their move during a fashion show that Verdain is due to host in Monte Carlo, and assigns Captains Scarlet and Blue (voiced by Francis Matthews and Ed Bishop) and Destiny and Symphony Angels (voiced by Liz Morgan and Janna Hill) to protect him. The Spectrum personnel go undercover, with Scarlet posing as a public relations officer, Blue as a photographer, and Destiny and Symphony as models attached to the House of Verdain.

Scarlet, Blue, Destiny and Symphony fly directly to Monte Carlo to avoid the fog-bound Paris airports. However, they are not the only agents working undercover: Helga and Gabrielle, two of Verdain's models, have been killed in a monotrain derailment and reconstructed in the service of the Mysterons. When the Spectrum personnel join Verdain, Helga and Gabrielle for a trip in Verdain's luxury yacht, Gabrielle starts a fire in the ship's engine room. All onboard jump to safety just seconds before the ship is destroyed in an explosion.

Despite the assassination attempt, Verdain refuses to cancel his press reception at a nearby hotel. An agent resembling Captain Black (voiced by Donald Gray) has recently been sighted in Europe, and Verdain is certain that he will make an appearance at the event. During a pre-reception cocktail party, Gabrielle inadvertently reveals herself to be a Mysteron agent when she tells Scarlet that she and Helga flew to Monte Carlo from Paris, despite the adverse weather conditions shutting down the capital's airports. Before Scarlet can respond, Black, who is positioned outside the hotel by an open window, shoots Verdain with a tranquilliser gun. Helga switches off the lights and in the resulting confusion helps Black to abduct the unconscious Verdain and escape in a car.

The Spectrum personnel are able to track the car thanks to a homing drug that Scarlet slipped into Verdain's drink, and chase Black and Helga by convertible, Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle and helicopter. Caught between the Spectrum forces and a police roadblock, Black and Helga push Verdain out of the car and come to a halt. As Verdain regains consciousness, the car, with Black and Helga inside, vanishes without a trace. Back at the hotel, Verdain expresses his gratitude to his protectors and presents Destiny and Symphony with special gowns courtesy of the House of Verdain.

Production

The monotrain was designed by special effects assistant Mike Trim. Although the filming of the Thunderbirds episode "Brink of Disaster" had seen Century 21 successfully experiment with a miniature suspended monorail system, the effects crew had found the train model difficult to shoot effectively. For "Model Spy", Trim devised a solution whereby the rolling stock ran on a standard OO gauge model railway track, which posed no challenges for the crew.^[1]

The model set representing Monte Carlo Bay, complete with a matte painting by Trim, was first seen in the Thunderbirds episode "The Man From MI.5".^[2][3] It would later appear in the Joe 90 episode "The Race".

The incidental music for "Model Spy" was recorded on 27 August 1967 in a four-hour session held at series composer Barry Gray's private studio, where it was performed by an ensemble of 16 instrumentalists.^[4] Music for "The Trap" was recorded on the same day.^[4] Two pieces from "Model Spy", titled "Models on a Train" and "Cocktail Music", are included on the CD release of the Captain Scarlet soundtrack.^[5]

Reception

James Stansfield of the website Den of Geek ranks "Model Spy" eighth in a list of the "Top 10" Captain Scarlet episodes, praising this instalment for its "high-class spy thriller feel" and for going "a bit James Bond.^[6] As well as the French Riviera setting and "impressive" monotrain accident, he praises the episode's originality in aspects such as the Mysterons' use of models as ]intermediaries and the Spectrum agents' use of their real names while undercover.^[6] Chris Bentley questions why Destiny and Symphony Angels continue to be addressed by their codenames when Captains Scarlet and Blue go by their real names of Paul Metcalfe and Adam Svenson.^[2]

Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett suggest that the theme of undercover espionage, combined with the Monte Carlo setting, produces an "unusual" and "Man from U.N.C.L.E.–type" episode, arguing that this represents a "break from the routine" of interplanetary war.^[7] As well as the puppet costume design, they praise the technical aspects of the car chase sequences, commenting that they feature "convincing antics from a couple of string-less puppets towards the end."^[7][8]

Bruce Eder of AllMusic is complimentary of the episode's soundtrack, describing Barry Gray's "Cocktail Music" as "one of the best pieces of instrumental pop music of its genre and era".^[9]

References

Bibliography

• Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme (1993). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. London, UK: Boxtree. ISBN 978-1-85283-403-6.
• Taylor, Anthony; Trim, Mike (2006). The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim. Neshannock, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. ISBN 978-1-932563-82-5.

External links

• "Model Spy" on IMDb
• "Model Spy" at TV.com
• "Model Spy" at TheVervoid.com