Lunarville 7

"Lunarville 7" is the 15th episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company Century 21 Productions. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Robert Lynn, it was first broadcast on 15 December 1967 on ATV Midlands.

"Lunarville 7"
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no.Episode 15
Directed byRobert Lynn
Written byTony Barwick
Cinematography byJulien Lugrin
Editing byBob Dearberg
Production codeSCA 15[1]
Original air date15 December 1967 (1967-12-15)
Guest character voices
Shuttle Pilot
Lunar Controller
Orson
SID
Shuttle Launch Controller

Set in 2068, the series depicts a "war of nerves" between Earth and the Mysterons: a hostile race of Martians with the power to create functioning copies of destroyed people or objects and use the reconstructions to carry out specific acts of aggression against humanity. Earth is defended by a military organisation called Spectrum, whose top agent, Captain Scarlet, was murdered by the Mysterons and replaced with a reconstruction that later broke free of their control. Scarlet's double has a self-repairing ability that enables him to recover from injuries that would be fatal to any other person, making Spectrum's best asset in its fight against the Mysterons.

The first part of a story arc that concludes in "Dangerous Rendezvous", "Lunarville 7" sees Scarlet, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Green investigate a lunar colony after its controller unexpectedly declares the Moon a neutral body in Earth's conflict with Mars. In 1981, the episode was re-edited to form a segment of the American-made Captain Scarlet compilation film Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars.

Plot

Broadcasting to Earth from Lunarville 7, the Lunar Controller declares the Moon a neutral power in humanity's war with the Mysterons (voiced by Donald Gray). Colonel White (voiced by Donald Gray) sends Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Green (voiced by Francis Matthews, Ed Bishop and Cy Grant) to the colony to present the World President's written response to this surprise announcement. Scarlet, Blue and Green are also ordered to investigate the Humboldt Sea on the Moon's far side, where orbital surveillance indicates that a new, unauthorised colony is being built.

On arrival at Lunarville 7, the officers are met by the Controller and his assistant, Orson. They are also introduced to the colony's main computer, an artificial intelligence called "Speech Intelligence Decoder" (SID) that identifies humans through recognition discs. After the officers hand over the President's letter, Orson agrees to take them on a trip in a Moonmobile, a vehicle that uses the Moon's low gravity to jump and glide over the lunar surface. However, when Scarlet suggests visiting the Humboldt Sea, Orson abruptly refuses and returns them to Lunarville 7. While retiring for the night, the officers find that their accommodation has been bugged.

Rising early, Scarlet attempts to request a Moonmobile from SID but discovers that the Controller has re-programmed the computer to accept only his commands. Scarlet also learns that the Controller has declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of Lunarville 7. Scarlet switches recognition discs with the sleeping Controller to trick SID into giving him, Blue and Green a Moonmobile. Travelling to the Humboldt Sea, the officers discover a Mysteron installation under construction in a crater numbered "101".

Returning to Lunarville 7, Scarlet, Blue and Green confront the Controller and Orson, who appear to be Mysteron reconstructions. Scarlet, still wearing the Controller's disc, instructs SID to prepare an Earth-bound shuttle for immediate departure. When SID rejects the Controller's order to lock down the colony, the Controller produces a handgun and repeatedly shoots SID, causing an explosion that obliterates the control room. Scarlet, Blue and Green blast off in the shuttle before further explosions destroy the whole colony.

Production

The episode was filmed on Century 21 Studios' Stage 4.[2] In his speech at the beginning of the episode, the Lunar Controller states that the Moon is home to approximately 4,000 people. In Barwick's original script, the character was then to have discussed the Moon's self-reliance in greater detail, declaring, for example: "We were all born on Earth, but I see a future where men will be born, spend their lives and die on the Moon." However, these lines were cut from the finished episode.[3] The electronic voice of SID was provided by supporting voice actor Martin King, who spoke his lines into a vocoder supplied by Standard Telecommunication Laboratories of Harlow. The episode's closing titles credit STL for "electronic collaboration".[1]

The miniature model of Lunarville 7 was built partly out of colanders and mixing bowls.[4] Some elements of the puppet set design were recycled from Century 21's previous series, Thunderbirds: the Moonmobile cockpit incorporated sections of the interior of Thunderbird 4 and the Lunar Controller's desk was a modified form of the Glenn Field controller's desk from the film Thunderbirds Are Go (1966).[5] The Moon shuttle cockpit was a red-dress of the Martian Exploration Vehicle interior first seen in Thunderbirds Are Go and again in "The Mysterons".[1] The Lunarville Moonmobiles influenced the look of the SHADO Moonmobiles in Century 21's live-action series UFO.[5][6]

The incidental music was performed by a four-member ensemble.[7] It is largely electronic and was produced with an electric guitar and accordion, a vibraphone and an Ondes Martenot,[8] the last of which was played by series composer Barry Gray himself.[7] It was recorded on 23 July 1967 in the same studio session as the music for "The Launching".[7][9] "Lunarville 7" was the first episode of Captain Scarlet to be produced featuring the lyrical version of the series' ending theme music (performed by The Spectrum), which was recorded on 26 July 1967.[9][10]

Reception

Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett regard "Lunarville 7" as a good episode of Captain Scarlet.[11] Writer Fred McNamara praises the episode, calling it an "enjoyably solid, moody affair". Though he believes the mystery to be undermined by some of the dialogue – White's announcement of a new installation in the Humboldt Sea, followed by the Controller and Orson secretly plotting against their Spectrum visitors, making it obvious that the Mysterons have infiltrated the Moon long before it is confirmed on screen – McNamara sums up "Lunarville 7" as a "comfortably confident package whose slower pace allows time for its individual elements to shine". He particularly commends voice actor David Healy's performance as the Controller, the substantial role of supporting character Lieutenant Green, and the design of the Mysterons' lunar outpost, describing it as a "spellbinding bit of visual pulp".[12]

Discussing the incidental music, Mark Brend writes that the episode features "one of [Barry Gray's] most fully realised predominantly electronic compositions". He praises the music's "evocation of the cold, desolate expanses of the Moon", calling it "impressive".[8] Andrew Pixley and Julie Rogers of Starburst magazine view the "rather nasty karate blow" that Blue lands on Orson during the Spectrum officers' escape from the Moon as one of the series' more violent moments.[13] The British Board of Film Classification certifies the episode U, noting that it contains one "mild" instance of violence.[14]

In a discussion of the presentation of Moon politics in science fiction, writer Stephen Baxter points to this episode – in which the Lunar Controller repeatedly asserts the Moon's independence and neutrality – as an example of how "even juvenile portrayals of lunar colonies can hint at political complications."[15] Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping, authors of The Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide, cite "Lunarville 7" and its follow-up, "Crater 101", as influences on the 1969 Doctor Who serial The Seeds of Death.[16]

References
  1. Bentley 2017, pp. 110–111.
  2. Bentley 2017, p. 187.
  3. Bentley 2001, p. 73.
  4. Shubrook, Alan (2007). Century 21 FX: Unseen Untold. Shubrook Bros Publications. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-9556101-0-3.
  5. Brown, Stephen; Jones, Mike (2017). Jones, Mike (ed.). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: Close-Up. Fanderson. p. 39.
  6. Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: the Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
  7. de Klerk, Theo (25 December 2003). "Complete Studio-Recording List of Barry Gray". tvcentury21.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  8. Brend, Mark (2012). The Sound of Tomorrow: How Electronic Music Was Smuggled into the Mainstream. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 185–186. ISBN 978-1-6235-6153-6.
  9. Bentley 2017, p. 102.
  10. Bentley 2001, p. 71.
  11. Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme (1993). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. London, UK: Boxtree. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-85283-403-6.
  12. McNamara, Fred (2020). Simpson, Paul (ed.). Spectrum is Indestructible: An Unofficial Captain Scarlet Celebration. Chinbeard Books. pp. 59–63. ISBN 978-1-913256-05-0.
  13. Pixley, Andrew; Rogers, Julie (December 2001). Gillatt, Gary (ed.). "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: By Numbers". Starburst. No. 280. London, UK: Visual Imagination (published November 2001). p. 48. ISSN 0955-114X. OCLC 79615651.
  14. "'Lunarville 7' rated U by the BBFC". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  15. Baxter, Stephen (2015). "The Birth of a New Republic: Depictions of the Governance of a Free Moon in Science Fiction". In Cockell, Charles S. (ed.). Human Governance Beyond Earth: Implications for Freedom. Space and Society. Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland. p. 75. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-18063-2. ISBN 978-3-319-18062-5. ISSN 2199-3882.
  16. Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (2013) [1995]. The Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide. London, UK: Hachette UK. ISBN 978-0-575-13318-1.

Works cited

  • Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London, UK: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84222-405-2.
  • Bentley, Chris (2017). Hearn, Marcus (ed.). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault. Cambridge, UK: Signum Books. ISBN 978-0-995519-12-1.
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