Flight to Atlantica

"Flight to Atlantica" is the 20th 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 Tony Barwick and directed by Leo Eaton, it was first broadcast on 24 March 1968 on ATV London.[1]

"Flight to Atlantica"
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no.Episode 20
Directed byLeo Eaton
Written byTony Barwick
Cinematography byTed Catford
Editing byHarry MacDonald
Production codeSCA 28[1]
Original air date24 March 1968
Guest character voices

In this episode, the Mysterons drug champagne that is being consumed at a party on Cloudbase, causing Spectrum personnel to take leave of their senses.

Plot

On 7 July, Captain Scarlet (voiced by Francis Matthews) hosts an unauthorised party to mark the first anniversary of Spectrum's founding with Cloudbase's personnel, where they drink non-alcoholic champagne. A furious Colonel White (voiced by Donald Gray) prematurely ends the party and reprimands the personnel for their lack of discipline.

Shortly after, the Mysterons (voiced by Donald Gray) vow to destroy Atlantica, an undersea World Navy base. In view of this threat, Spectrum take over an operation to bomb and disperse a wreck that is drifting towards Atlantica. Captains Blue and Ochre (voiced by Ed Bishop and Jeremy Wilkin) are selected for the mission and briefed at Maxwell Field, where they behave with uncharacteristic flippancy and absent-mindedness. Before taking off in a V17 bomber, they encounter a man whom they fail to recognise as Captain Black, who switches their flight plan.

On Cloudbase, all personnel except White and Scarlet fall into a trance-like state. White and Scarlet realise that the champagne is to blame and that they are both unaffected because neither of them drank any – White was absent from the party, and Blue accidentally knocked Scarlet's glass out of his hand. The Mysterons used their powers to spike the champagne with a compound used in pest control, which chemical analysis indicates causes amnesia and childish recklessness.

Failing to question their new flight plan, the stupefied Blue and Ochre cross into the restricted airspace over Atlantica and bomb the base's defence system control tower. Alerted by Maxwell Field, White and Scarlet intercept the V17 in a Spectrum Passenger Jet and cripple it with an air-to-air missile before Blue and Ochre bomb the base itself. Blue finally comes to his senses and ejects himself and Ochre moments before the V17 crashes into the ocean.

Despite the Mysterons' partial success, the Cloudbase personnel have good cause for celebration on 10 July, for this is Spectrum's true anniversary: although its charter was drawn up on 7 July, the organisation was not officially created until the World President signed the document three days later. For this occasion, White organises a party with several bottles of real champagne – which, to Scarlet's delight, have his codename emblazoned on the label.

Production

The V17 scale model was a re-use of the RTL Transporter that appears in the Thunderbirds episode "The Cham-Cham". While flying the V17, Blue and Ochre listen to a radio broadcast of "Dangerous Game", an instrumental composed for that episode.[2]

This episode is one of two (the other being "Attack on Cloudbase") to feature all of the regular characters, although not all have speaking parts.[2]

"Flight to Atlantica" is one of several Captain Scarlet episodes written by Tony Barwick to include a mention of 10 July.[2] Barwick liked to insert references to this date as it was his birthday.[3]

Reception

Geoff Willmetts of the website Sfcrowsnest regards "Flight to Atlantica" as ("story-wise") one of the best episodes of the series, arguing that it "would work in any medium". He adds that it marks "one of the rare times when the Spectrum captains are less than formal, with elements of arrogance and slaphappy showing how well disciplined they normally are."[4]

Shane M. Dallmann of Video Watchdog magazine describes the episode as "amusing" and adds that it contains "plenty of character-breaking moments". He expresses surprise that Scarlet is "treated as a hero" in the final scene given that it was he who arranged the unauthorised champagne party (an "unbelievably bone-headed blunder" on his part) and is therefore indirectly responsible for the near-total destruction of Atlantica.[5]

References
  1. Bentley, Chris (2017). Hearn, Marcus (ed.). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault. Cambridge, UK: Signum Books. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-995519-12-1.
  2. Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. pp. 133–134. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
  3. 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. 47. ISSN 0955-114X. OCLC 79615651.
  4. Willmetts, Geoff (9 October 2018). "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Complete Series (Blu-Ray Series Review)". Sfcrowsnest. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. Dallmann, Shane M. (June 2003). Lucas, Tim (ed.). "DVD Spotlight: Captain Scarlet". Video Watchdog. No. 96. Cincinnati, Ohio: Tim and Donna Lucas. pp. 36–43. ISSN 1070-9991. OCLC 646838004.
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