Traitor (Captain Scarlet)

"Traitor"
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no. Episode 29
Directed by Alan Perry
Written by Tony Barwick
Cinematography by Ted Catford
Editing by Bob Dearberg
Production code 24
Original air date 23 April 1968
Guest appearance(s)

Voices of:
Jeremy Wilkin as
Cadet Joe Johnson
Gary Files as
Cadet Phil Machin
David Healy as
Major Stone
Charles Tingwell as
Helicopter A42 Pilot (flashback)

Episode chronology

"Traitor" is the 29th episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a British 1960s Supermarionation television series co-created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Alan Perry, it was first broadcast on 23 April 1968 on ATV Midlands.

In this episode, following a series of Spectrum hovercraft crashes in the Australian Outback, the Mysterons claim that there is a traitor within the organisation.

Plot

Transmitting to Earth, the Mysterons declare that there is a traitor within the Spectrum Organisation. Following a series of unexplained Spectrum Hovercraft crashes in the Australian desert, Colonel White (Donald Gray) dispatches Captains Scarlet (Francis Matthews) and Blue (Ed Bishop) to Koala Base where, he believes, the vehicles are being sabotaged by a double agent.

Scarlet and Blue travel to the Outback ostensibly to deliver lectures to the cadet hovercraft pilots. One, Phil Machin, is suspected by his patrol partner, Joe Johnson, and the base commander, Major Stone, to be the traitor; Machin, however, publicly calls Scarlet's loyalty into question after Blue relates how the officer was under Mysteron control during the kidnap of the World President. A fire in Scarlet and Blue's quarters, seemingly started deliberately, appears to leave Machin's guilt in little doubt.

The next day, while Scarlet and Blue accompany Johnson and Machin in another hovercraft, the vehicle again goes out of control. Machin openly accuses Scarlet and threatens him with a gun, but is disarmed when a sudden bump throws the weapon from his hand. All four men – including Scarlet, who successfully removes the hovercraft's control unit – jump to safety before the vehicle crashes into a rock face and explodes.

Analysis of the unit reveals the cause of the accidents, as well as Spectrum's "traitor", to be none other than a faulty valve in the hovercraft hydraulics. Spectrum's metallurgists are baffled by the component, whose molecular structure appears to have been altered – presumably by the Mysterons.

Production

A five-minute flashback sequence to the first episode, "The Mysterons", serves as a plot device to add credibility to Machin's suspicions surrounding Captain Scarlet[1] while reminding viewers of the origins of Scarlet's indestructibility.[2][3] From a production standpoint, the sequence provides filler material to pad out the episode, which was initially running under the standard length of 25 minutes.[1]

Tony Barwick, who had previously written a flashback to the pilot into "Dangerous Rendezvous", noted in his script for "Traitor" that the series finale – the clip show episode "The Inquisition" – was to be made up of segments from other instalments.[2] The episodes selected to feature were "Big Ben Strikes Again", "Crater 101" and "The Trap".

Barwick's original script also contained more detailed explanations of the mysteries in the episode's plot: it is made clear that the Mysterons' only involvement in the events portrayed has been to stir up unrest within Spectrum by hinting at the presence of a (non-existent) double agent, that the valve recovered by Scarlet malfunctioned due to the extreme temperatures in the Australian Outback, and that the fire in Scarlet and Blue's room was accidental.[1]

Designer Mike Trim based his concept for the Spectrum Hovercraft (which appears in this episode alone) on his earlier visualisation of the Spectrum Passenger Jet, incorporating a similar forward-swept tail fin.[4] The shooting model was equipped with rubber tyres (concealed by the hovercraft's rim) and a Jetex motor (which produced a dust trail to make the vehicle's locomotion appear more realistic).[4]

Broadcast

In the ATV Midlands broadcasting region, "Traitor" was originally due to air on 12 January 1968 as the 16th episode of Captain Scarlet.[2] The episode did indeed go to air on this date but was interrupted mid way through by a break in transmission. Ultimately, it aired as the 29th episode, three months later than planned, by which time it had already been broadcast in the London, Granada and Anglia regions.[1][2]

Reception

James Stansfield of the website Den of Geek ranks "Traitor" the fifth best instalment of Captain Scarlet, summing it up as a "nice whodunit episode" and stating that it "does keep you guessing as to who the titular traitor will be".[5] He comments that although the insertion of a flashback to the pilot is "a little unwelcome", the fact that it is narrated by Blue "gives it a nice touch".[5]

Critics Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett praise the design of the Spectrum Hovercraft, describing it as "an impressive addition to the Spectrum fleet" (even if its exact function within the organisation is not explained).[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London: Carlton Books. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-84222-405-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London: Reynolds & Hearn. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
  3. 1 2 Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme (1993). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. London: Boxtree. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-852834-03-6.
  4. 1 2 Taylor, Anthony; Trim, Mike (2006). The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim. Neshannock, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-932563-82-5.
  5. 1 2 Stansfield, James (6 September 2012). "Top 10 Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons Episodes". Den of Geek. London: Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
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