Viva Cordova
Encyclopedia
"Viva Cordova" is the 26th episode
of the Supermarionation
television series Joe 90
. It was the 30th and final episode to be produced. Its original UK
air date was March 23, 1969 on ATV Midlands
. It was written
by Tony Barwick
and directed
by Peter Anderson.
-elected president comes to power in Latin America
. Knowing that his corruption will be exposed, the country's former dictator
plots his rival's assassination. When the new leader will not accept a bodyguard
of any kind, it is up to Joe to protect the president and ensure a fair future for the state.
n country, the results of the first free election
in years are being announced. General Valdes, who has ruled as a dictator
for the past decade, suffers a defeat at the hands of the democratic
candidate, Juan Cordova. The new president addresses the people from the balcony of the government building, promising to expose the corruption of Valdes's regime. However, one of the general's followers, Garincia, has placed plastic explosive
underneath the platform and Cordova is just able to spring back inside as the brickwork detonates beneath him. Cordova's wife, Dorina, suspects that Valdes set the trap.
Departing for their country house, the Cordovas argue over security arrangements. Dorina urges Juan to take a bodyguard
for his protection, but the president is determined to be a man of the people and rejects the idea, believing that his status as a democratically-elected leader will shield him. Valdes will receive a fair trial
for his crimes, even though he denied the right of impartiality to others. Dorina, however, is still worried and contacts the World Intelligence Network.
At WIN Headquarters London
, Shane Weston informs Joe, Mac and Sam that they have been assigned to guard Cordova before he starts his investigation into Valdes. Joe will pose as Dorina Cordova's English cousin to protect the president without his knowledge; he is given the brain pattern of a top WIN agent
and flies to the country with Mac and Sam. Dorina is initially sceptical that the boy could be an operative, but when Joe demonstrates his shooting skills on a champagne bottle and some glasses and proceeds to break a wooden board with a karate
chop, she is convinced that her husband will be safe.
The Cordovas are to spend the next few days at a hotel in the mountains. While Juan sleeps, Joe and Dorina discuss the safety of the resort while a supposedly deaf, mute
and loyal chauffeur, who is actually Garincia, drives the presidential car. Joe sees a flash in the rocks which he suspects is a signal; Mac and Sam, following in a helijet, confirm that some trucks have formed a barrier ahead and discover that another vehicle is in pursuit behind them. Realising that they are about to be ambushed, Joe orders Garincia to stop the car. The driver, however, swears longevity for General Valdes and throws himself out of the door. Joe manages to bring the car under control before it crashes, while Mac and Sam fly close to the ground and whip up dust in front of the tailing truck, causing the occupants to swerve off the road. Joe, meanwhile, takes a wide detour around the other vehicles while the president remains unstirred.
Dorina takes over at the wheel, and on arrival at the alpine hotel, Joe tells Juan that Garincia was unwell and was therefore dropped off en route. That evening, in the hotel bar, Joe notices the waiter slip a drug into the president's drink. The boy signals to Dorina, who interrupts Juan before he takes a sip and complains of a headache. The president escorts his wife to her room while the waiter makes a telephone call to Valdes, who impatiently commands his underling to eliminate Cordova as quickly as possible. Towards dawn, the waiter enters Juan's room with a knife. However, Joe has placed alarms in the accommodation and throws his gun
at the agent's head, knocking him out. Joe then binds and gags the mole before locking him in the president's wardrobe.
Later, Cordova is fishing
on the lake near the hotel. With the president due to start his inquest the next day, Valdes, increasingly irritated, instructs two frogmen
to attach an explosive device
to Cordova's line. Joe has said that he will go for a walk in the mountains with Dorina, but uses the opportunity to keep watch on the president. However, Joe is uneasy without knowing the situation underwater and dons his diving gear
to check security. Joe stumbles across the rival agents as they try to fix the explosive and lets go of his propulsion vehicle
, which slams into one of the men and knocks him out. His associate chases the boy with a knife, but Joe rams the criminal in the stomach and drags the assassins to the surface, where Mac, Sam and Dorina are waiting.
In the hotel bar, Cordova is surprised by Mac's arrival and asks Joe how his day went. As the boy replies that there was a little excitement, a handcuffed
Valdes is driven away in a police car.
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
of the Supermarionation
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 Joe 90
Joe 90
Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
. It was the 30th and final episode to be produced. Its original UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
air date was March 23, 1969 on ATV Midlands
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
. It was written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
by Tony Barwick
Tony Barwick
Tony Barwick was a British television scriptwriter who worked extensively on series created and produced by Gerry Anderson....
and directed
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
by Peter Anderson.
Synopsis
A democraticallyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
-elected president comes to power in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Knowing that his corruption will be exposed, the country's former dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
plots his rival's assassination. When the new leader will not accept a bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
of any kind, it is up to Joe to protect the president and ensure a fair future for the state.
Plot
In a Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n country, the results of the first free election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
in years are being announced. General Valdes, who has ruled as a dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
for the past decade, suffers a defeat at the hands of the democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
candidate, Juan Cordova. The new president addresses the people from the balcony of the government building, promising to expose the corruption of Valdes's regime. However, one of the general's followers, Garincia, has placed plastic explosive
Plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
underneath the platform and Cordova is just able to spring back inside as the brickwork detonates beneath him. Cordova's wife, Dorina, suspects that Valdes set the trap.
Departing for their country house, the Cordovas argue over security arrangements. Dorina urges Juan to take a bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
for his protection, but the president is determined to be a man of the people and rejects the idea, believing that his status as a democratically-elected leader will shield him. Valdes will receive a fair trial
Right to a fair trial
The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. A trial in these countries that is deemed unfair will typically be restarted, or its verdict voided....
for his crimes, even though he denied the right of impartiality to others. Dorina, however, is still worried and contacts the World Intelligence Network.
At WIN Headquarters London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Shane Weston informs Joe, Mac and Sam that they have been assigned to guard Cordova before he starts his investigation into Valdes. Joe will pose as Dorina Cordova's English cousin to protect the president without his knowledge; he is given the brain pattern of a top WIN agent
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and flies to the country with Mac and Sam. Dorina is initially sceptical that the boy could be an operative, but when Joe demonstrates his shooting skills on a champagne bottle and some glasses and proceeds to break a wooden board with a karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
chop, she is convinced that her husband will be safe.
The Cordovas are to spend the next few days at a hotel in the mountains. While Juan sleeps, Joe and Dorina discuss the safety of the resort while a supposedly deaf, mute
Muteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...
and loyal chauffeur, who is actually Garincia, drives the presidential car. Joe sees a flash in the rocks which he suspects is a signal; Mac and Sam, following in a helijet, confirm that some trucks have formed a barrier ahead and discover that another vehicle is in pursuit behind them. Realising that they are about to be ambushed, Joe orders Garincia to stop the car. The driver, however, swears longevity for General Valdes and throws himself out of the door. Joe manages to bring the car under control before it crashes, while Mac and Sam fly close to the ground and whip up dust in front of the tailing truck, causing the occupants to swerve off the road. Joe, meanwhile, takes a wide detour around the other vehicles while the president remains unstirred.
Dorina takes over at the wheel, and on arrival at the alpine hotel, Joe tells Juan that Garincia was unwell and was therefore dropped off en route. That evening, in the hotel bar, Joe notices the waiter slip a drug into the president's drink. The boy signals to Dorina, who interrupts Juan before he takes a sip and complains of a headache. The president escorts his wife to her room while the waiter makes a telephone call to Valdes, who impatiently commands his underling to eliminate Cordova as quickly as possible. Towards dawn, the waiter enters Juan's room with a knife. However, Joe has placed alarms in the accommodation and throws his gun
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
at the agent's head, knocking him out. Joe then binds and gags the mole before locking him in the president's wardrobe.
Later, Cordova is fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
on the lake near the hotel. With the president due to start his inquest the next day, Valdes, increasingly irritated, instructs two frogmen
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....
to attach an explosive device
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
to Cordova's line. Joe has said that he will go for a walk in the mountains with Dorina, but uses the opportunity to keep watch on the president. However, Joe is uneasy without knowing the situation underwater and dons his diving gear
Diving equipment
Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers for the purpose of facilitating diving activities. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other puprposes which is found to be suitable for diving use....
to check security. Joe stumbles across the rival agents as they try to fix the explosive and lets go of his propulsion vehicle
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...
, which slams into one of the men and knocks him out. His associate chases the boy with a knife, but Joe rams the criminal in the stomach and drags the assassins to the surface, where Mac, Sam and Dorina are waiting.
In the hotel bar, Cordova is surprised by Mac's arrival and asks Joe how his day went. As the boy replies that there was a little excitement, a handcuffed
Handcuffs
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist...
Valdes is driven away in a police car.
Regular voice cast
- Joe McClaine — Len JonesLen JonesLen Jones was a British actor and voice actor of the 1960s and 70s.In his youth, Jones featured in television series such as Z-Cars , Adam Adamant Lives! , Dixon of Dock Green , Softly, Softly and The Adventures of Black Beauty...
- Professor Ian "Mac" McClaine — Rupert DaviesRupert DaviesRupert Davies was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon....
- Sam Loover — Keith AlexanderKeith Alexander (actor)Keith Alexander is a British actor and voice actor.Alexander's television credits include Softly, Softly , The New Avengers , Minder and The Day of the Triffids...
- Shane Weston — David HealyDavid Healy (actor)David Healy was an American-born actor who starred in many British and American television shows. His credits include voices for the Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, as well as parts in UFO, The Troubleshooters, Randall and Hopkirk , Space...
Guest voice cast
In speaking order:- Speaker (voice) — David Healy
- Operator — Keith Alexander
- General Valdes — Jeremy WilkinJeremy WilkinJeremy Wilkin is a British actor, possibly best known for his contributions to the television productions of Gerry Anderson....
- Dorina Cordova — Liz MorganElizabeth Morgan (actor)Elizabeth Morgan is a British actress, primarily in supporting roles, in films, television, and onstage. She was often credited as "Liz Morgan".-External links:...
- President Juan Cordova — Gary FilesGary FilesGary Files was born in Melbourne, Australia and is an Australian-Canadian actor, writer and director who has resided in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He has lived in Australia since 1976.-Early life:...
- Garincia — David Healy
- Waiter — Keith Alexander
- Frogman — Keith Alexander