Shadow of Fear

"Shadow of Fear"
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
Guest appearance(s)

Voices of:
Paul Maxwell as
Dr Breck
Charles Tingwell as
Dr Carter
Jeremy Wilkin as
Dr Angelini

"Shadow of Fear" is the 18th 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 2 February 1968 on ATV Midlands.

In this episode, a Spectrum operation to survey Mars with a space probe is threatened when an astronomer is killed and reconstructed by the Mysterons. "Shadow of Fear" was later re-edited for inclusion in the Captain Scarlet compilation film Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars (1981).

Plot

To learn more about the Mysterons, Spectrum have devised "Operation Sword", whose objective is to capture detailed images of the surface of Mars by landing a spy probe on its moon Phobos. The first probe is detected and destroyed by the Mysterons but the second – Mini-Sat 5 – touches down safely and begins its orbital reconnaissance. When Phobos has completed one orbit of Mars, the images will be transmitted to Earth, where they will be picked up at K14 Observatory in the Himalayas.

Captains Scarlet and Blue (voiced by Francis Matthews and Ed Bishop) have been dispatched to K14 to observe astronomers Carter, Angelini and Breck. As the astronomers see it, the second probe was able to reach Phobos undetected by travelling in the "shadow of fear": "Phobos" – the name of a companion of Mars in Greek mythology – means "fear", and the probe avoided detection by approaching the moon from behind.

A few hours before transmission, Breck is viewing Mars through a telescope when the planet begins to flash brightly. Overcome by the dazzling light, he is killed and replaced by a Mysteron reconstruction. Knowing that K14's antenna will need to be rotated to receive the images from the probe, the reconstructed Breck plants a bomb in the rotation gear, setting it to explode when the gear is turned, and then hides in the rocks above the observatory.

Assisted by Melody Angel and Captain Grey (voiced by Sylvia Anderson and Paul Maxwell) in a Spectrum helicopter, Scarlet and Blue track down Breck. Revealing his act of sabotage, the reconstruction draws a gun and fires at the officers but is shot dead by Scarlet. However, before Scarlet and Blue can warn K14, Carter and Angelini rotate the antenna and the bomb explodes, causing the antenna to collapse and crush the observatory.

With Carter and Angelini dead and K14 destroyed, Earth misses the probe's transmission. However, Colonel White (voiced by Donald Gray) insists that this is not the end of Operation Sword.

Production

This episode's incidental music was recorded during a four-hour studio session held on 22 July 1967, when it was performed by an ensemble of 15 instrumentalists conducted by series composer Barry Gray. The music for "Fire at Rig 15" was recorded during the same session.[1]

This was the last episode of Captain Scarlet to be produced with Charles Tingwell and Paul Maxwell on the voice cast. Tingwell left the series to appear in a touring stage production and Maxwell to play Steve Tanner in Coronation Street.[2] After "Shadow of Fear", the regular characters of Dr Fawn and Captain Grey, voiced by Tingwell and Maxwell, continue to appear in the series but only in non-speaking roles. Both Tingwell and Maxwell can be heard voicing supporting characters in the flashback to "Big Ben Strikes Again" in the series finale, "The Inquisition" (Tingwell's voice is also featured in flashbacks to the first episode in "Dangerous Rendezvous" and "Traitor").

Reception

Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett praise the score, arguing that the episode's use of electronic music makes the space sequences featuring Mini-Sat 5 suitably "eerie". Musical elements from "Shadow of Fear" were re-used in the Andersons' first live-action series, UFO.[3]

The British Board of Film Classification rates the episode U, noting that it contains "infrequent, very mild" violence.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ de Klerk, Theo (25 December 2003). "Complete Studio-Recording List of Barry Gray". tvcentury21.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  2. ↑ Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London, UK: Carlton Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-84222-405-2.
  3. ↑ Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme (1993). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. London, UK: Boxtree. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-852834-03-6.
  4. ↑ "'Shadow of Fear' rated 'U' by the BBFC". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
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