"Flight to Atlantica" is the 30th instalment of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 30 April 1968 on ATV Midlands, was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Leo Eaton.
In this instalment, when the Mysterons threaten to destroy the World Navy Complex at Atlantica, Captains Blue and Ochre take over an operation to bomb a wreck. Meanwhile, on Cloudbase, personnel inexplicably take leave of their senses, due to some drugged champagne implanted by the Mysterons themselves.
Plot[]
It is 7th July, the day that the Spectrum Organisations charter was drawn up, thus making it the first anniversary of Spectrums founding. Behind Colonel White's back, Captain Scarlet organises a little celebration with the rest of the Cloudbase staff. The group share a toast to their organisation, with the help of some champagne sent by an unidentified well-wisher. Sadly, just as the champagne party is getting started, the unauthorised gathering is discovered by Colonel White. Furious that his staff would violate Spectrums regulations, he reminds them all that "Drinking on duty is a most serious offence!" Captain Scarlet's reassurances that the champagne is completely non-alcoholic and passed its security screening are ignored and everyone is ordered back to their posts.
Unfortunately it is already too late. Whilst Captain Scarlet was opening the bottles, the Mysteron rings passed over the champagne bottles, meaning that the inhabitants of Mars have done something to the drinks, which the Spectrum officers have now ingested. Shortly after Colonel White shuts down the party, the Voice of the Mysterons announces their latest scheme. The martians intend to destroy Atlantica; a World Navy base situated on the ocean floor.
Colonel White assembles his agents for a debriefing. As Captain Scarlet explains, Atlantica is a restricted area, with a formidably defensive system. The complex is surrounded by a ring of surface-to-air missile bunkers, controlled via a single defensive tower. Meanwhile, regular submarine patrols ensure that no enemy can approach from the water. In light of the Mysteron threat however, Colonel White isn't going to take any chances. He orders Symphony Angel to carry out an immediate air reconnaissance. Meanwhile, Captain's Blue and Ochre seem a little too eager to get going, so much so that they almost leave without the map reference. Despite the concern from sent to Maxwell Air Field. Heavy currents are carrying an old shipwreck towards Atlantica, which the Air-Force were due to destroy. Spectrum have assumed control of the operation, with the Air-Force providing them with a V17 Air Force Bomber, with Captain Blue flying as pilot and Captain Ochre the navigator.
However, things start to go wrong as soon as the people leave Cloudbase. Shortly after take off, Symphony pushes her plane into a steep dive and refuses to respond to Lieutenant Greens attempts to contact her. She only pulls out of the dive at the last second, whereupon she responds as normal. Meanwhile, upon reaching Maxwell Air-Field Captains Blue and Ochre act uncharacteristically absent-minded. They seem a little to eager to get going, so much so that they cut the briefing short and almost walk out without their map reference. Despite their surprising misconduct and the concerns of the Commander Wilson, the two men are cleared for launch.
However, the Commander and his Sergeants fears are well founded. On the way out, Captains Blue and Ochre encounter Captain Black, who sabotages their assignment. Pushing a door into Captain Ochre, the Mysteron agent knocks the file from Captain Ochre's hand. Bending over the document, Captain Black swaps the map for another one before handing the file back to Ochre. Despite the pretty obvious switch taking place right in front of them and the fact that Spectrums most wanted man literally standing in front of them, Blue and Ochre do not bat so much as an eyelid. Instead, they thank their former colleague and get on their way. Not long afterwards, the bomber takes off.
Not long afterwards, everything starts to go wrong. Symphony Angel veers her plane hundreds of miles off course. Instead of patrolling the area, the Angel Leader starts weaving her plane, wildly through the air like a stunt pilot and refuses to answer any attempts to contact her. Colonel White dispatches the remaining Angels, but within minutes they too are unresponsive. Instead of trying to reason with or rescue their leader, Angels Two and Three join Symphony on her stunt flight and refuse to answer any incoming radio-calls. Just like that Spectrum has lost its air support.
Meanwhile on the V17, Captain's Blue and Ochre in defiance of military standard have switched their radio over to the music channel, meaning that nobody can contact them. After reading the instructions Captain Black gave him, Captain Ochre informs Captain Blue that the instructions tell them to drop their bombs first onto the Atlantica Base Defence System Tower, then Atlantica Base itself. Surprisingly, even though it should be pretty obvious that these instructions counteract Spectrums intentions to protect the complex, Captain Blue instead says orders are orders. If that is what the instructions say then that is what they will do!
Back on Cloudbase, Colonel White summons Captain Scarlet to him. He reports the status of the Angels, but when he asks for further details the two men, Lieutenant Green refuses to answer him. Instead the man lays casually back in his chair and refuses to answer his Commanders questions. An inspection of Cloudbase soon reveals that the rest of the staff have likewise entered into a dream-like trance, making them either sloth around lazily or simply fall asleep. Only Captain Scarlet and Colonel White remain in control of themselves. The Colonel is initially confused by all of this, but Scarlet quickly realises that something has happened to leave the others with no control over their actions. The two men ponder how this could have happened?
Realising that all those affected attended the celebration, the Colonel wonders if there was something in the champagne. He is initially skeptical since Scarlet was also in attendance and remains unaffected. However, Scarlet informs him he didn't actually drink any of the beverage because Captain Blue accidentally caused him to drop his glass, meaning that he and the Colonel were the only two people that didn't actually drink any. With the facts lining up and his suspicion aroused, Colonel White tells Scarlet to have the champagne inspected more thoroughly this time. Taking one of the bottles to the sick bay, Scarlet runs an analysis, since Dr. Fawn is asleep atop the sickbays bed. When the results come through, their worst fears are confirmed. The drink has been tainted with a man-made compound used in pest control, which if ingested, induces amnesia and irresponsibility. The Mysterons used their influence to lace the champagne with this drug, leaving Cloudbase's usually efficient staff everybody high as a result.
With the mystery now solved, Colonel White tells Scarlet to check the reference books for further details, before heading back to the control room. Not long afterwards, the Colonel receives news that the Angels have all landed and whilst inebriated, are at least all safe. However, there is now a further worrying development. The Maxwell operatives report that Captains Blue and Ochre have turned their plane far off course and are heading straight towards Atlantica base. Knowing what will happen if they don't act, Colonel White takes control of the situation. Leaving their intoxicated but harmless comrades on the relative safety of Cloudbase, they board a Spectrum jet, with Colonel White as pilot and Captain Scarlet as co-pilot and navigator. Taking off, they set off in pursuit of their inebriated comrades at maximum speed.
Back on the V17, the two drugged up Captains are closing in on their first target. Despite their drunken state, the nature of the V17 controls systems means that they don't actually have to manually target the Control Tower. Captain Ochre simply enters the instructions, whilst Captain Blue keeps the plane steady. As both the Maxwell Field staff and Captain Scarlet try to contact them, Captain Blue simply switches the radio to another music channel. Then giddy with anticipation, the pair manage to successfully destroy the defense tower. This causes Atlantica's defensive ring of missiles to go haywire. Although the base itself is in no danger, it allows the two vacant Captains to cross safely into the restricted airspace. Not realising what they have just done, Captain Blue asks like an excited child if they can destroy something else. After reassuring his comrade that that's what their instructions say, Captain Ochre passes out as a result of the champagnes effects, leaving Captain Blue in sole control of the vehicle and the "operation." After failing to rouse Ochre, Captain Blue starts programming the next attack.
Moments later, Colonel White and Captain Scarlet, alerted to the most recent development by Commander Williams at Maxwell Field, catch up to the bomber. Knowing that they only have minutes before the bomber reaches its target, Captain Scarlet once again tries to contact his inebriated colleagues, Colonel White meanwhile anxiously assesses the gravity of the situation. He notes that Atlantica Base is essentially a powder keg, filled to bursting point with combustible materials (fuels tanks, missiles and torpedoes). If Captain Blue successfully drops his bomb onto any part of the base, the chain reaction will destroy the whole complex. Not realising that he is playing right into the Mysterons hands, the intoxicated Captain Blue finishes arming the targeting computers and (with the music still blaring loudly) tries to rouse Ochre so they can witness the big bang together.
After weighing up his options, Colonel White realises that he has no choice and orders Captain Scarlet to fire upon the V17. Scarlet is understandably horrified. Not wanting to risk killing his friends, Scarlet disobeys his orders and once again tries to desperately make contact with his colleague. As the seconds tick by however, Captain Blue (who cannot even hear Scarlet due to the radio) maintains his course. With Colonel White shouting in his ear to fire upon the V17, Scarlet in turn shouts down the radio for Blue to listen to him. Unfortunately for Scarlet, his drunk friend continues to watch the countdown excitedly, completely oblivious to what he is doing.
With less than half-a-minute to go, Scarlet eventually realises that he has no choice. Accepting that there is no of getting through to either Blue or Ochre, he deactivates his transmitter and acknowledges the Colonel's order. Moments later an air-to-air missile launches from the jet. It scores a direct hit upon the V17's engine, knocking the much larger plane off course and killing its radio. Atlantica is safe, but Scarlet and the Colonel now face another problem.
As the V17 nose dives towards the ocean, in the cockpit, Captain Blue is more concerned about the destruction of the radio than the condition of his plane or personal safety. From the safety of the Spectrum Jet, the anxious Colonel and Captain plead for their colleagues to eject, but as the plane skims the surface of the ocean, it looks as though Captains Blue and Ochre are destined to meet an untimely end. Fortunately, the stricken craft manages to regain enough altitude to avert imminent disaster. Moments later, Captain Blue finally manages to regain enough control of himself to pull on the ejection lever. He and Ochre are flung to safety, seconds before the V17 takes its final plunge into the ocean. Due to the nature of its cargo, the second the plane hits the ocean floor, it explodes. A huge column of water is thrown up in the air as a result of the subsequent explosion, but it could have been a much bigger one!
Three days later, the effects of the Mysteron champagne have worn off and the Cloudbase staff are back to their usual selves. Colonel White assembles his team in the Conference Room. There he declares that the latest engagement in the War of Nerves has resulted in a partial victory for both sides. Although Spectrum technically won the battle, since they were able to prevent the destruction of Atlantica, the Mysterons nevertheless succeeded in crippling its defensive systems, which will take time to restore/repair. Colonel White also states that this latest encounter has reinforced the necessity and importance of Spectrums regulations, a fact that Captain Scarlet, the organiser of the original champagne party, acknowledges.
However, the Colonel didn't simply call his colleagues in to call out Scarlet's poor organisation skills. He has arranged a little surprise for his subordinates. It turns out that Captain Scarlet, whom the Colonel describes as impetuous, had gotten his facts wrong and celebrated too early. Although Spectrum's charter was drawn up on 7th July the previous year, the World President didn't actually SIGN the document until three days later. This means that 10th July is actually the first anniversary of the Spectrum Organisation.
Captain Scarlet apologises for his mistakes, but the Colonel doesn't want to dwell on their mistakes. Colonel White has arranged his own little party, bringing in additional Spectrum staff to cover his teams positions, so that he and his colleagues can have a real celebration. He has also ordered some real champagne. To Captain Scarlet's delight, the bottles have been personalized with the Spectrum roundel logo and are labelled "Captain Scarlet".
Production[]
This episode is one of two (the other being "Attack on Cloudbase") to include all the regular puppet cast, although some characters do not have speaking parts.
Reception[]
An article published in Thunderbirds-related fanzine NTBS News Flash interprets a number of connections to the Thunderbirds episode "The Cham-Cham". Such connections include Captain Blue and Ochre's selection of "Dangerous Game" as in-flight music, the tune that "the RLT-2 crew were listening to just after take off." Blue takes off from "[exactly] the same airfield as the RTL-2" and is also flying the same type of aircraft. Consequently, it is suggested that both Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet "are set in the same timeframe?" Other examples can be seen in "The Mysterons", which features the Martian Exploration Vehicle that appeared in the 1966 Thunderbirds film, Thunderbirds Are Go.
Quotes[]
- Captain Ochre - "We have a green light! Yippeee!"
- Colonel White - "Drinking on duty is a most serious offence!"
- Captain Blue - "What a bang! Can we do that again?"
- (later) - "I think it's time to get out of here."
