Titan Goes Pop
| "Titan Goes Pop" | |
|---|---|
| Stingray episode | |
| Episode no. | Episode 10 |
| Directed by | Alan Pattillo |
| Written by | Dennis Spooner[1] |
| Production code | 29 |
| Original air date | 6 December 1964 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Voices of: | |
"Titan Goes Pop" is the 29th episode of Stingray, a British 1960s Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Written by Dennis Spooner[1] and directed by Alan Pattillo, it was first broadcast as the tenth episode of the series on 6 December 1964 on ATV London.
In this episode, Agent X-2-Zero kidnaps a pop star who is visiting Marineville and brings him before Titan as a hostage.
Plot
Commander Shore (voiced by Ray Barrett) receives a special message ordering him to report to World Security Patrol Headquarters. There, he is informed that Duke Dexter, a famous pop singer, is due to perform at the WASP's forthcoming recruiting show at Marineville. The WSP commanders emphasise that Dexter's planned appearance must remain secret; however, before long it is leaked to the press and hundreds of young fans flock to Marineville.
Meanwhile, on the island of Lemoy, Surface Agent X-2-0 (voiced by Robert Easton) has been monitoring the situation. He contacts Titan (voiced by Ray Barrett), telling him that he believes Dexter to be a very important person. Titan orders X-2-0 to bring Dexter to Titanica. Disguising himself as one of Dexter's fans and travelling to Marineville, X-2-0 approaches Sandy Gibson, the star's manager, and introduces himself as undercover agent "X" of "Special Security".
Struggling to think of a way to smuggle Dexter into Marineville, Gibson visits Shore. Captain Troy Tempest (voiced by Don Mason) arrives and this gives the Commander an idea: he orders Troy to dress as Dexter and distract the fans, who chase Troy while the real Dexter arrives unnoticed. However, Gibson feels that it would be better if Dexter were to stay in a place where he will not be bothered.
X-2-0, still posing as "X", volunteers to look after Dexter. He takes the star to Lemoy, where he gives him a meal that he has drugged. Once Dexter is unconscious, X-2-0 takes him to Titanica on board his underwater craft.
When attempts to telephone Dexter on Lemoy are unsuccessful, Troy, Phones (voiced by Robert Easton) and Gibson set out to island in Stingray. There, they find that Dexter and "X" have disappeared. They detect a vessel on long-range scanners and give chase. However, one of Stingray's stabilisers breaks loose and the submarine is disabled.
At Titanica, Titan questions Dexter. He asks the singer whether it is true that people go crazy when they see him, which Dexter admits. This confirms Titan's belief that Dexter is causing the land people to destroy each other and that he has found an ally in the star.
Titan and X-2-0 drug Dexter again and take him back to Lemoy, where he is left alone. When Dexter is found he claims to have been abducted by undersea beings, but Shore is convinced it was all a publicity stunt.
In the closing scene, Dexter performs his latest hit, "I've Got Something to Shout About", at the recruiting show with the Stingray crew in attendance. Meanwhile, Titan and X-2-0 gleefully observe from Titanica. Titan confidently predicts that if the craze surrounding Dexter continues the land people will soon be conquered.
Production
Although the closing credits attribute the script to Alan Fennell, "Titan Goes Pop" was actually written by Dennis Spooner.[1]
Several major scenes were cut, including one in which the WSP commanders discuss sending the letter that Commander Shore receives at the start of the episode. The deleted scenes also include a montage showing how the news media learns of Duke Dexter's visit to Marineville. In addition to the shot of the front page of the Marineville Observer newspaper, the episode would have featured shots of a telephone switchboard with numerous hands switching the leads as well as radio mast or telephone wires sending out signals.[1]
Dexter's singing voice is provided by Gary Miller,[2] who also performed series' end titles song, "Aqua Marina". Dexter's song "I've Got Something to Shout About" can also be heard in the episode "Set Sail for Adventure", which was filmed immediately after "Titan Goes Pop".[3]
Reception
Phelim O'Neill of The Guardian describes the episode as "hilarious".[4]
Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn, authors of What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson, consider "Titan Goes Pop" to be one of the "highlights" of Stingray.[5] Ian Fryer, author of The Worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson: The Story Behind International Rescue, believes it to be the series' "key episode" as well as its "funniest" instalment, describing it as a "fascinating and wildly entertaining spoof of the phenomenon of the pop superstar". He writes that Dexter's presence in Marineville is a "source of some great jokes" and that the exchanges between Titan and Surface Agent X-2-0 feature "some of the best dialogue in the entire series". Fryer also comments on the episode's closing scene, arguing that Titan and X-2-0's uncomprehending reactions to Dexter's performance "[echo] some of the fears of the more apocalyptic commentators of the '50s and '60s at the effects of popular culture on society." He compares Dexter's physical appearance to that of Elvis Presley and the character's vocal style to that of Buddy Holly or Adam Faith.[2]
Vincent Law writes that "Titan Goes Pop" parodies teen culture.[6] Paul O'Brien draws parallels between the episode and how "Beatlemania was in its hysterical early days", adding that Dexter's appearances "brilliantly mimic Elvis Presley's effect on late '50s audiences." He notes that by this stage in the series "the characters were well established with the viewers" and that consequently Spooner "was able to have some fun sending them up." O'Brien argues that Commander Shore and Titan "[represent] the older generation's incomprehension" of contemporary pop culture. He also praises the production and the use of scale models: "Several other episodes are let down by close-ups of smaller versions which should only have been used for medium or long shots, so it's nice to see the big version in all its glory." He does, however, describe the scene of Troy running as a "total failure" and that it "looks like the puppet is being stretched on a rack."[7]
In an otherwise positive review of Stingray's soundtrack, Anthony Clark of sci-fi-online.com criticises "I've Got Something to Shout About", calling it a "truly dreadful song and best skipped".[8]
Home media
The episode was included in the 2015 limited-edition Filmed in Supermarionation Blu-ray box set.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Fryer, Ian (2011). "Script To Screen". FAB. No. 69.
- 1 2 Fryer, Ian (2016). The Worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson: The Story Behind International Rescue. Fonthill Media. pp. 88–90. ISBN 978-1-78155-504-0.
- ↑ Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
- 1 2 O'Neill, Phelim (12 March 2015). "Supermarionation Box Set Review – The Biggest, Best, Most Spectacular Puppet Shows of All". The Guardian. London, UK: Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ↑ Archer, Simon; Hearn, Marcus (2002). What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson. London, UK: BBC Books. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-563-53481-5.
- ↑ Law, Vincent (Autumn 2009). Farrell, Richard; Law, Vincent, eds. "Bizarre Love Triangle". Andersonic. No. 8. p. 7.
- ↑ O'Brien, Paul (Spring 2009). Law, Vincent, ed. "Something to Shout About". Andersonic. No. 7. pp. 34–35.
- ↑ Clark, Anthony (2009). "Stingray: Original Television Soundtrack – Soundtrack Review". sci-fi-online.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2018.