Winged Assassin
Winged Assassin is the second episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet. Its original UK air date was 6 October 1967 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Tony Barwick and directed by David Lane.
Synopsis
A revived Captain Scarlet is told that he has retained the Mysteron power of retro-metabolism. Now indestructible, can he foil the Mysterons’ attempt to assassinate the Director General of the United Asian Republic?
Plot
Template:Spoiler At night, an assassin descends from the roof of a hotel to a balcony below. Armed with a rifle, he opens the window to the room and takes aim at the sleeping figure in bed, but is suddenly shot dead. Lowering his gun, Spectrum’s Captain Grey switches on the light, causing the target to sit up in bed and reveal a strange crest on his nightshirt. Meanwhile, the Mysterons warn Spectrum that they will assassinate the Director General of the United Asian Republic.
On Cloudbase, Colonel White announces that the Mysterons have already failed in their first attempt to kill the Director General, and that the elected leader of 200 million people must be protected when he takes off from London International Airport later that day. Preparing to leave for England, Captain Blue is doubtful that Captain Scarlet will be joining the mission.
Meanwhile, Scarlet, having been restored inside the body of his Mysteron duplicate after it was killed in an assassination attempt on the World President, is being examined by Dr Fawn in the Sickbay. Scarlet cannot recall details from the period in which his body was under Mysteron control. Fawn concludes that the Spectrum officer has retained the power of retro-metabolism and, though still able to suffer injury, can now return to life in the event of death. Realising that Scarlet is now indestructible, Colonel White requests that he return to duty and Scarlet departs Cloudbase with Captain Blue onboard a Spectrum Jet. After ordering the launch of all three Angel aircraft, White is certain that the Mysterons will find a way to disrupt the tight security at London Airport.
At a New York airport, flight DT19, bound for London, takes off. As Captain Black watches from the ground, the pilots settle the passenger jet into a safe cruise.
Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue land 30 miles from London Airport and requisition an SPV to travel the remainder of the route by road. Meanwhile, a decoy motorcade drives to the airport while Captain Grey and the Director General secretly follow in Spectrum’s Yellow Fox.
Seventy minutes from London, the engines onboard flight DT19 successively and inexplicably fail. As the plane begins to nose-dive into the ocean, the pilots discover that the radio is dead and that they cannot issue a Mayday. Furthermore, all the systems have been rendered inoperative and the emergency procedure cannot be initiated. While the pilots, powerless to save the flight, anxiously observe from the cockpit, the plane plunges into the water and explodes. An identical aircraft flies over the wreckage, tracked by the Mysteron rings.
Having arrived at London Airport Control Tower, Scarlet and Blue look on as the false motorcade passes the airport boundary. As the reconstructed flight DT19 makes its final approach towards the runway, Scarlet begins to feel nauseous but is quickly well again. Meanwhile, Yellow Fox pulls up alongside a private jet and Captain Grey watches as the Director General boards.
All is progressing smoothly until an official in London Control reports that flight DT19 is not unloading passengers at the terminal building. The Airport Chief lowers a telescope to scan the cabin, only to find to his horror that the airliner is completely devoid of passengers and crew. As the jet, under the Mysteron influence, violently moves away towards the premier’s runway, Blue orders the private jet to take off immediately and sets off in pursuit of DT19 with Scarlet in their SPV. Scarlet commands the Angel craft to attack the airliner, but the SPV’s cannon is jammed and he cannot destroy the plane’s undercarriage. Deciding to ram the wheels, Scarlet activates Blue’s ejector seat. After much effort, Scarlet manages to demolish an entire leg of tyres before the SPV smashes into a radar bunker. DT19 grinds to a halt, but the private jet has not gained enough altitude and clips one of the wings, crashing in a nearby field. Scarlet, meanwhile, is fatally injured.
As an ambulance drives away from the bunker carrying Scarlet’s body, Captain Blue corrects the Airport Chief, who thinks that, with the demise of the Director General, Scarlet has died in vain.
Cast
Regular Voice Cast
- Captain Scarlet — Francis Matthews
- Captain Blue — Ed Bishop
- Colonel White — Donald Gray
- Lieutenant Green — Cy Grant
- Captain Ochre — Jeremy Wilkin
- Captain Grey — Paul Maxwell
- Dr Fawn — Charles Tingwell
- Destiny Angel — Liz Morgan
- Rhapsody Angel — Liz Morgan
- Melody Angel — Sylvia Anderson
- Voice of the Mysterons — Donald Gray
Guest Voice Cast
- Director General — Jeremy Wilkin
- Captain Brown — Charles Tingwell
- DT19 Pilot — Paul Maxwell
- DT19 Co-Pilot — Martin King
- Airport Chief — Martin King
- Airport Operator — Charles Tingwell
- Agent 042 — Charles Tingwell
- Intercontinental Airlines Tannoy — Janna Hill