Troy Tempest thunders down the snowy Alps at 80 mph. At the bottom of the mountain, his beloved super-submarine, Stingray, has inadvertantly caused a major disaster in the middle of an icy lake. The collision with a tourist yacht full of executives from the Swiss flooring industry had come as a result of Phones enjoying a particularly indulgent liquid lunch. Marina had put out a distress call over the radio through a combination of frantic tapping and holding the microphone out the window to pick up the cries of drowning middle managers clutching the latest in luxury vinyl plank technology which wasn’t as waterproof as they had claimed. Troy was approaching the scene fast, navigating the difficult slalom using all his rusty but surprisingly useful WASP winter sports training. But there was one challenge left for Captain Tempest – the unthinkable 200 metre jump from a 30 degree ramp which would launch him clear of the mountain, over the water, and towards his stricken crew… hang on a minute…
Category Archives: Reviews
Stingray – 31. Tune of Danger
A jazz band and a forest fire… I think it’s fair to say those are not your typical ingredients for a Stingray story. Yet, here we are. There’s a real sense that, at this point in the series’ production, anything is possible. The writers have such a strong grasp on the characters, and the directors and producers are running such a well-oiled machine that no challenge seems beyond the AP Films team. Why not have some fun and push the boat (or submarine) out? We had our pop parody a couple of weeks back with Titan Goes Pop, it’s time to counter that with some jazz. Of course a show about a super submarine needs TWO musical episodes! And, as commented upon in last week’s review, while the flames were hotting up on Tune of Danger’s shooting stage, David Elliott was next door chucking water around to create the epic storm scenes of Set Sail For Adventure. This is going to sound unbearably corny, but never has it been more true to say… anything can happen in the next half hour. There, I’ve said it. If I say it again I give you my full permission to ram a sting missile up my ocean door.
Stingray – 30. Set Sail For Adventure
“I’ve just been looking at the accounts,” Gerry announced with a sullen look on his face. A mood of gloom and apprehension struck the writers room. “Bob Bell spent far too much money on that galleon set for The Ghost Ship a few months back.” Alan Fennell avoided eye contact with Mr Anderson, feeling ever so slightly guilty for writing such an extravagant set into his script for only a single installment. “So, who has ideas for a cheap script for the next episode to make up the difference?”
Stingray – 29. Titan Goes Pop
We begin with a mystery! An original script for Titan Goes Pop is known to survive and it credits Dennis Spooner as the episode’s author, contradicting the on-screen credit which suggests Alan Fennell was the writer. It’s not unheard of for the on-screen credits on Anderson shows to be inaccurate, but I suppose it’s also plausible that Spooner’s name was printed on the script in error. My gut feeling is that this is a Dennis Spooner tale, as it’s laced with his trademark satire and humour. But this mistake in the on-screen credits begs the question – were there other Stingray scripts erroneously credited to the wrong writer? Come to that, I’m almost certain that there were scripts for which the primary authorship is unclear – I can sense the hands of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson in their capacity as script supervisors getting stuck in to some episodes more than others. Of course, this is all speculation because there aren’t many Stingray scripts that are known to still exist… unless someone awfully naughty out there has all that documentation stacked in the back of their wardrobe along with the mythical three hour director’s cut of Trapped In the Sky… you didn’t hear that from me…
Stingray – 28. In Search of the Tajmanon
I wouldn’t call myself a particularly scholarly author. I’m more suited to sniggering when a puppet goes cross-eyed or pointing out when a prop gets reused for the eight-billionth time. But, this week, in addition to my usual nonsense, I am going to put some modest effort into contextualising the decolonisation of Africa and its impacts on popular culture in the 1960s, because I think In Search of the Tajmanon provides some fascinating insights on the subject. I’m not an expert, but it goes without saying that the world was watching when 17 African nations gained their independence from European power in the year 1960, with many others following suit across the decade. The news in the mid-20th Century would have been chock full of Africa’s progress towards liberation from imperialist power. So, it’s not surpsing that western media reacted in a couple of different ways. They might have romanticised or gently glossed over imperialism (1951’s The African Queen, for example), or go the other way and start to celebrate African culture and heritage which was coming to prominence for the first time. It’s also worth noting that the epic British war film, Zulu, premiered in January 1964, depicting the Battle of Rorke’s Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in 1879. Around the same time, in early 1964, In Search of the Tajmanon was set to go before the cameras at the AP Films studio in Slough.
Stingray – 27. Deep Heat
Location, location, location – that’s the golden rule of real estate isn’t it? So who the heck thought it was a good idea to build a city underneath a volcano? Deep Heat is a real back-to-basics kind of Stingray episode. It’s got subterranean aliens. It’s got an unusual location. It’s got Troy, Phones, and Marina facing grave danger while Commander Shore and Atlanta sit at home and worry about them. Everything you might expect from a classic Stingray episode. So without any delay, lets get comfortable, tune in and bring on that lava!
Stingray – 26. Invisible Enemy
For a series often praised for its warmth and humour, Stingray also does spooky and unsettling very well. Stories like The Ghost Ship and The Ghost of the Sea aren’t afraid to ditch the cosy and colourful family atmosphere for a short while and take on a more mysterious and eerie feeling. Invisible Enemy cranks that all up to eleven and isn’t afraid to alienate the audience with an entirely new type of threat. The villain this week isn’t another shiny-faced green bloke from under the sea – but an ordinary man badly in need of a shave and a new watch. Yet he proves to be quite a match for the gang at Marineville…
Stingray – 25. An Echo of Danger
Let’s talk about Phones. He’s been right at the heart of the action with the heroic Captain Troy Tempest on so many occasions. Dependable and good-humoured, Phones could be seen by many as the series’ second lead. But outside of a few amusing moments, and some broad character traits which could apply to most of the regular characters, we actually know very little about Phones. We don’t even know his real name. “It’s George Lee Sheridan,” I hear you cry! But no such name is ever mentioned on screen, only in spin-off material. Over the course of the series, characters in need of richer development have received spotlight episodes – Marina had Plant of Doom to establish her home at Pacifica; The Ghost of the Sea and Marineville Traitor offered an insight into Commander Shore’s career and some more personal moments; Loch Ness Monster gave Atlanta the opportunity to step out of the control room and voyage to her ancestral homeland, plus she’s had ample opportunity in several episodes to wear her heart on her sleeve and show her devotion to friends and family. Phones has yet to receive the same treatment. There are moments in episodes like Treasure Down Below or Loch Ness Monster which offer a glimpse of his personality – he’s shown to be somewhat naive and a bit of a dreamer. For the most part though, his role is to go along with Troy’s latest dangerous plan, and save his friends when they get themselves into trouble. So, does An Echo of Danger finally give Phones the spotlight episode he deserves, and shed any light on Stingray’s trusty hydrophone operator?
Stingray – 24. Star of the East
I can’t skirt around the fact that I’ve been looking forward to writing about this particular episode since the start of this series of reviews. Star of the East is an episode I remember fondly from my childhood, and have continued to enjoy again and again up until the present day. It is a firm favourite of mine, and there is a very simple reason for that. I think El Hudat is one of the greatest guest characters that Supermarionation has ever brought to the screen. He is a force of nature, driving the plot of not just this episode, but an unprecedented follow-up episode in Eastern Eclipse. El Hudat, egotistical maniac that he is, makes this episode all about him. It’s almost difficult to talk about any other aspect of Star of the East because the character just dominates so much, coming into Marineville and turning the lives of our heroes upside down by doing what he does best – looking after number one.
Stingray – 23. The Master Plan
For the past few weeks, we’ve seen episodes of Stingray which have stretched and explored the format of the show in a variety of new ways. From wild dream sequences, to serious character pieces, to world-changing disasters, it’s been an opportunity to look at the show and its heroes in a different light. Staying fresh and experimenting with new types of story to tell can be vital to keeping a television series popular. But, it’s just as important to remember a show’s core values and the foundation upon which all the characters and familiar scenarios have been built – rewarding long-time viewers with a development in the ideas established during the early days of the series. The Master Plan takes us right back to the thing which kicked off the many adventures of Stingray, and the WASPs’ battle with the villainous undersea aliens – it’s about Titan and gaining revenge on the team which dared to challenge his reputation as ruler of the ocean. A classic battle of good versus evil, Troy versus Titan, and Marina’s position in the centre of it all. This episode is Stingray getting back to its roots and raising the stakes surrounding the conflict which has hooked loyal viewers from the beginning…
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