Avalanche (Captain Scarlet episode)
Encyclopedia
"Avalanche" is the fifth episode of the Supermarionation
television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
. It was first broadcast in the UK on on ATV Midlands. It was written by Shane Rimmer
and directed by Brian Burgess. In this episode, the Mysteron
s kill and reconstruct a maintenance engineer
to cripple the Frost Line Outer Space Defence System.
complexes stretching 3,000 miles across Northern Canada
, dedicated to protecting Earth
against extraterrestrial threats. When the Mysteron
s announce their intention to destroy major Frost Line bases, Eddie, a maintenance engineer
, is killed by the Mysteron influence, which causes his truck to crash, and reconstructed in their service. The Mysteron agent evades security at both Red Deer and Cariboo Bases and plants devices inside their ventilation
systems, rendering the air unbreathable and killing 250 personnel at Red Deer and 70 at Cariboo. On Cloudbase
, Colonel White
orders Captain Scarlet
and Lieutenant Green
to investigate Red Deer and uncover the method of attack. General Ward, the bad-tempered Frost Line commander, states that missiles will be launched at Mars
if further bases are knocked out: White fears the Mysteron response. At Red Deer, Scarlet and Green discover that the personnel have suffocated not due to the introduction of toxic gas, but the removal of all the oxygen
in Red Deer's artificial atmosphere
.
Requisitioning a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle
from a local hunter, Scarlet and Green rush to the next base, Big Bear, only to discover that Eddie has already passed through and is now heading towards the Frost Line Command Centre. Knocking out a sentry who bars the Spectrum officers' entry, Green extracts Eddie's depletion device from the ventilation system before it can affect the air. Meanwhile, Scarlet pursues Eddie in the SPV. The truck is carrying a load of liquid oxygen
, some of which Eddie empties onto Scarlet's path to force his enemy off the road. Realising that Eddie will deliberately crash his vehicle into the Command Centre to ignite the combustible substance, causing a massive explosion, Scarlet shoots bullets into a snow-lined slope on one side of Eddie. This causes an "avalanche
" which throws Eddie's truck over a sheer ridge
on the other side. Crashing down the rock face, Eddie is killed when the vehicle explodes and the Command Centre is saved.
was initially contacted by Sylvia Anderson
, by telephone, to write a script for Captain Scarlet. Rimmer agreed and received a second call from script editor Tony Barwick
the following morning. Barwick told him "[that] a biker will drop the storyline over to you in about an hour. Take today and tomorrow and see how you'd go about filling it in."
Rimmer's script for "Avalanche" opens with a detailed description of the Frost Line Command Centre, which is made up of a number of domed structures: "Deep snow surrounds the plexiglass domes ... From the large central dome acting as a hub, avenues run off in eight directions. At the end of each spoke at varying distances from the centre are smaller domes. Each dome is airtight and serviced by an artificial atmosphere
from an air-conditioning dome."
An orchestra of 15 musicians recorded incidental music
for "Avalanche" under the direction of Barry Gray
on in a four-hour studio session. In the same session, music for another episode, "Spectrum Strikes Back
", was recorded. The principal tracks for "Avalanche" are titled "Mountain Pass" (which can be heard as the human Eddie drives his truck through the snow) and "Deadly Mist and Mountain Chase" (which accompanies Scarlet
's pursuit of the reconstructed Eddie towards the episode's conclusion).
leaves Cloudbase
to perform a major part in an operation, a fact that is praised by critics Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett. Chris Bentley, in The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide, suggests that not all of Rimmer's opening description survived to the final cut of the episode with complete success.
Writing for FAB magazine in 1993, Ian Fryer states that the number of deaths "must surely be a record for an Anderson series", since 321 people are said to have died in the episode. He notes that the British Board of Film Classification
(BBFC) "bears a 'U' certificate
on its DVD release." Fryer also praises Rimmer for cleverly introducing "a second layer of military as a repository for misgivings about the armed services."
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
. It was first broadcast in the UK on on ATV Midlands. It was written by Shane Rimmer
Shane Rimmer
Shane Rimmer is a Canadian actor and voice actor, probably best known as the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds.He has mostly performed in supporting roles, frequently in films and television series filmed in the United Kingdom, having relocated to England in the late 1950s, initially performing...
and directed by Brian Burgess. In this episode, the Mysteron
Mysteron
The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep...
s kill and reconstruct a maintenance engineer
Maintenance, Repair and Operations
Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...
to cripple the Frost Line Outer Space Defence System.
Plot
The Frost Line Outer Space Defence System is a network of missileMissile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
complexes stretching 3,000 miles across Northern Canada
Northern Canada
Northern Canada, colloquially the North, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut...
, dedicated to protecting Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
against extraterrestrial threats. When the Mysteron
Mysteron
The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep...
s announce their intention to destroy major Frost Line bases, Eddie, a maintenance engineer
Maintenance, Repair and Operations
Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...
, is killed by the Mysteron influence, which causes his truck to crash, and reconstructed in their service. The Mysteron agent evades security at both Red Deer and Cariboo Bases and plants devices inside their ventilation
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
systems, rendering the air unbreathable and killing 250 personnel at Red Deer and 70 at Cariboo. On Cloudbase
Cloudbase
Cloudbase is the fictional skyborne headquarters of international security organisation Spectrum, from Gerry Anderson's science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .-Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons:...
, Colonel White
Colonel White
Colonel White is a character in the 1960s Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is the commander-in-Chief of Spectrum, the security organisation dedicated to defending Earth against the Mysterons from Mars...
orders Captain Scarlet
Captain Scarlet (character)
Captain Scarlet is the fictional main character in Gerry Anderson's British Supermarionation science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its CGI remake Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet....
and Lieutenant Green
Lieutenant Green
Lieutenant Green is the assistant of Colonel White in the Supermarionation television series series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is of Trinidadian origin, and as well as being the only non-white male on Cloudbase, he is the only officer to hold the rank of lieutenant...
to investigate Red Deer and uncover the method of attack. General Ward, the bad-tempered Frost Line commander, states that missiles will be launched at Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
if further bases are knocked out: White fears the Mysteron response. At Red Deer, Scarlet and Green discover that the personnel have suffocated not due to the introduction of toxic gas, but the removal of all the oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
in Red Deer's artificial atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
.
Requisitioning a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle
Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle
The Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle is a fictional pursuit and attack vehicle from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .-Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons:...
from a local hunter, Scarlet and Green rush to the next base, Big Bear, only to discover that Eddie has already passed through and is now heading towards the Frost Line Command Centre. Knocking out a sentry who bars the Spectrum officers' entry, Green extracts Eddie's depletion device from the ventilation system before it can affect the air. Meanwhile, Scarlet pursues Eddie in the SPV. The truck is carrying a load of liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
, some of which Eddie empties onto Scarlet's path to force his enemy off the road. Realising that Eddie will deliberately crash his vehicle into the Command Centre to ignite the combustible substance, causing a massive explosion, Scarlet shoots bullets into a snow-lined slope on one side of Eddie. This causes an "avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
" which throws Eddie's truck over a sheer ridge
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
on the other side. Crashing down the rock face, Eddie is killed when the vehicle explodes and the Command Centre is saved.
Production
Shane RimmerShane Rimmer
Shane Rimmer is a Canadian actor and voice actor, probably best known as the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds.He has mostly performed in supporting roles, frequently in films and television series filmed in the United Kingdom, having relocated to England in the late 1950s, initially performing...
was initially contacted by Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
, by telephone, to write a script for Captain Scarlet. Rimmer agreed and received a second call from script editor Tony Barwick
Tony Barwick
Tony Barwick was a British television scriptwriter who worked extensively on series created and produced by Gerry Anderson....
the following morning. Barwick told him "[that] a biker will drop the storyline over to you in about an hour. Take today and tomorrow and see how you'd go about filling it in."
Rimmer's script for "Avalanche" opens with a detailed description of the Frost Line Command Centre, which is made up of a number of domed structures: "Deep snow surrounds the plexiglass domes ... From the large central dome acting as a hub, avenues run off in eight directions. At the end of each spoke at varying distances from the centre are smaller domes. Each dome is airtight and serviced by an artificial atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
from an air-conditioning dome."
An orchestra of 15 musicians recorded incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
for "Avalanche" under the direction of Barry Gray
Barry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
on in a four-hour studio session. In the same session, music for another episode, "Spectrum Strikes Back
Spectrum Strikes Back
"Spectrum Strikes Back" is the ninth episode of the Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It was first broadcast in the UK on on ATV Midlands, was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Ken Turner....
", was recorded. The principal tracks for "Avalanche" are titled "Mountain Pass" (which can be heard as the human Eddie drives his truck through the snow) and "Deadly Mist and Mountain Chase" (which accompanies Scarlet
Captain Scarlet (character)
Captain Scarlet is the fictional main character in Gerry Anderson's British Supermarionation science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its CGI remake Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet....
's pursuit of the reconstructed Eddie towards the episode's conclusion).
Reception
"Avalanche" represents one of a limited number of occasions in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons when Lieutenant GreenLieutenant Green
Lieutenant Green is the assistant of Colonel White in the Supermarionation television series series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is of Trinidadian origin, and as well as being the only non-white male on Cloudbase, he is the only officer to hold the rank of lieutenant...
leaves Cloudbase
Cloudbase
Cloudbase is the fictional skyborne headquarters of international security organisation Spectrum, from Gerry Anderson's science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .-Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons:...
to perform a major part in an operation, a fact that is praised by critics Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett. Chris Bentley, in The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide, suggests that not all of Rimmer's opening description survived to the final cut of the episode with complete success.
Writing for FAB magazine in 1993, Ian Fryer states that the number of deaths "must surely be a record for an Anderson series", since 321 people are said to have died in the episode. He notes that the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
(BBFC) "bears a 'U' certificate
History of British film certificates
-Overview:The UK's film ratings are decided by the British Board of Film Classification and have been since 1912. Previously, there were no agreed rating standards, and local councils imposed their own - often differing - conditions or restrictions...
on its DVD release." Fryer also praises Rimmer for cleverly introducing "a second layer of military as a repository for misgivings about the armed services."
External links
- "Avalanche" at Fanderson.org.ukFandersonFanderson is the official appreciation society for the works of Gerry Anderson. It is a not-for-profit organisation endorsed by Anderson Entertainment Ltd, Gerry Anderson Productions plc and ITC Entertainment Group Ltd...
- "Avalanche" at CliveBanks.co.uk
- "Avalanche" at TheVervoid.com