Special Assignment

Infobox Television episode
Title = Special Assignment
Series = Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Season = 1
Episode = 10
Airdate = December 1, 1967
Production = 20
Writer = Tony Barwick
Director = Robert Lynn
Episode list = List of "Captain Scarlet" episodes
Prev = Spectrum Strikes Back
Next = The Heart of New York

"Special Assignment" is the tenth episode of the Supermarionation television series "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons". It was the 20th episode to be produced. It was first broadcast in the UK on December 1, 1967 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Robert Lynn.

ynopsis

Captain Scarlet appears to betray Spectrum after the Mysterons threaten to destroy North America.

Plot

Shortly after the Mysterons threaten to destroy the whole of North America, Captain Scarlet is dismissed from Spectrum for gambling while on duty. Broke, and owing a large sum of money to a casino, he moves into a hotel in Arizona. Soon he is approached by Steele and Kramer, the two men who have been killed and reconstructed by the Mysterons to carry out their threat, and agrees to provide them with an SPV for "private use" if they rid him of his debt. Steele and Kramer will use the vehicle to penetrate Nuclear City in Nevada. Following this, they will detonate a nuclear device, creating a chain reaction powerful enough to obliterate the entire North American continent.

Captain Blue, suspicious of Scarlet's uncharacteristic gambling and the manner of his dismissal, has been tracing his friend to find out the truth behind events. When Blue arrives at the desert ranch house where the details of the Mysteron plan are being revealed, Scarlet shoots him to reassure the Mysteron agents that he is on their side. Blue, however, is hit only with a sedative dart, and after regaining consciousness is informed by Colonel White that Scarlet has been operating undercover to infiltrate the Mysteron plot. Blue learns that Nuclear City is being targeted via a map left at the ranch.

The Spectrum Angels are launched from Cloudbase as Scarlet and the Mysteron agents speed towards Nuclear City in an SPV that they have stolen. Driving, Scarlet emits smoke from the vehicle to signal the Angels to attack it. Realising the captain's betrayal, Steele shoots Scarlet, but the officer ejects from the SPV before it is hit and destroyed. Steele and Kramer are killed and the Mysteron threat is thwarted.

Cast

Regular voice cast

*Captain Scarlet — Francis Matthews
*Captain Blue — Ed Bishop
*Colonel White — Donald Gray
*Lieutenant Green — Cy Grant
*Captain Ochre — Jeremy Wilkin
*Melody Angel — Sylvia Anderson
*Captain Black / Mysteron voice — Donald Gray

Guest voice cast

In speaking order:

*Filling Station Attendant Mason — Shane Rimmer
*Steele — Martin King
*Kramer — Gary Files
*Casino Croupier — Gary Files
*Bartender — Jeremy Wilkin
*Nuclear City Security Chief — Gary Files
*Garage Attendant — Martin King

Goofs

*The fate of Mason, a reconstructed filling station attendant, is left unspecified.
*As Captain Blue arrives at the ranch house, he is shown to be driving an ordinary car in the long-distance shot but this changes to a Spectrum Saloon in the close-up shot.

Notes

*"Special Assignment" marks one of the few occasions in the series in which Colonel White is shown to be away from Cloudbase. The only other cases are his undercover departure in "White as Snow", attending the conference in "Spectrum Strikes Back" and piloting a Spectrum Jet with Captain Scarlet in "Flight to Atlantica".

External links

* [http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/scarleteg2.html#Episode%20Twenty Fanderson.org.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide: "Special Assignment"]
* [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Capt%20Scarlet%20Timeline.htm# Clivebanks.co.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide]