Point 783

"Point 783" is the fifth 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 Peter Curran and David Williams and directed by Robert Lynn, it was first broadcast on 22 December 1967 on ATV Midlands.

"Point 783"
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode
Episode no.Episode 5
Directed byRobert Lynn
Written byPeter Curran
David Williams
Cinematography byJulien Lugrin
Editing byBob Dearberg
Production codeSCA 5[1]
Original air date22 December 1967
Guest character voices
Major Brooks
General Cope
MCA Tanker Driver's Mate
Merchant
Supreme Commander
  • Charles Tingwell as
Captain Hassel
Pete (MCA Tanker Driver)
Colonel Storm
1st Security Machine

In this episode, the Mysterons take control of an experimental superweapon in an attempt to kill the Supreme Commander of Earth Forces.

Plot

The episode begins with a demonstration of the most advanced military robot ever built: the Unitron, a virtually indestructible super-tank. It can be controlled by a human operator or programmed to attack a designated target until it is destroyed.

In a transmission to Earth, the Mysterons (voiced by Donald Gray) warn Spectrum that they intend to assassinate the Supreme Commander of Earth Forces. Spectrum commander-in-chief Colonel White (voiced by Donald Gray) assigns Captains Scarlet and Blue (voiced by Francis Matthews and Ed Bishop) to protect the Commander. Meanwhile, two Earth Forces officers, Colonel Storm and Major Brooks, are killed in a road accident and reconstructed by the Mysterons to carry out the threat. At the Supreme Headquarters Earth Forces (SHEF) building in New York, the Commander, joined by the Spectrum captains and the reconstructed Brooks, chairs a press conference unveiling the Unitron. The Mysterons make an attempt on the Commander's life by turning Brooks into a living bomb. However, they are thwarted when Scarlet, who has a "sixth sense" for Mysteron activity, activates emergency barriers that shield the Commander, Blue and himself from the explosion.

Later, Blue takes the Commander to Point 783, a military blockhouse on the Unitron's test range in the Sahara, to view the weapon in action. Also in attendance is the reconstructed Storm. At first the demonstration proceeds according to plan, with the Unitron efficiently destroying its pre-ordained targets. However, when the Commander steps outside, it turns its fire on Point 783 itself. Repeated aerial bombardments by the Spectrum Angel squadron fail to stop the Unitron.

Scarlet requisitions a hidden Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle from a desert bazaar and proceeds to Point 783 to extract the Commander, who is left in Storm's charge while Blue and the other personnel remain in the blockhouse. Scarlet, Storm and the Commander speed away in the SPV just as the Unitron closes in on Point 783. However, moments before the blockhouse is destroyed, the Unitron abandons its assault and heads off in pursuit of the SPV. At this point it is revealed that Storm has re-programmed the Unitron – and that its target is not Point 783, but Storm himself. In the SPV, Storm repeatedly shoots Scarlet, but despite his fatal wounds the captain is still able to eject both himself and the Commander. The SPV, with Storm inside, is pursued by the Unitron until both vehicles are destroyed when they plunge over a cliff.

The Commander is rescued by Spectrum while Scarlet is taken away to recover from his injuries. At the end of the episode, Blue assures the Point 783 personnel that Scarlet will return to fight the Mysterons again.

Production

"Point 783" is the first episode of Captain Scarlet that was directed by Robert Lynn, who had previously directed a number of feature films. Before making "Point 783" he had never worked with puppets. Filming on this episode took place in February 1967.[2] The Unitron was designed by Century 21 special effects director Derek Meddings.[3]

As originally scripted, the episode was to begin with the deaths of the original Colonel Storm and Major Brooks. However, when the first cut of the episode was found to be too short, an additional scene, which introduces the Unitron, was filmed in order to extend the running time. This scene's special effects shots were a re-use of footage that had already been filmed for the Unitron demonstration that takes place later in the episode.[4]

The episode's incidental music was recorded on 30 April 1967 in a four-hour studio session attended by 14 instrumentalists.[5] It includes a piece titled "The SHEF March",[6] which accompanies the scenes of the Supreme Commander arriving at SHEF Headquarters. The march is re-used in several later Supermarionation productions, including the Joe 90 episode "Business Holiday".

Reception

James Stansfield of the entertainment website Den of Geek ranks "Point 783" the ninth-best episode of Captain Scarlet, praising the "unique threat" posed by the Unitron and the reconstructed Storm as well as a "good dummy threat" in the form of the reconstructed Brooks.[7] Andrew Pixley and Julie Rogers of Starburst magazine regard the explosion of the Brooks reconstruction as one of the series' most violent moments.[8]

In a review for the publication Andersonic, Vincent Law interprets the plot as a negative commentary on advancements in automation and mechanisation.[9] He compares the episode to "Recall to Service", an episode of The Secret Service about a malfunctioning superweapon called the AquaTank, as well as to the Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer", which sees a rogue computer take control of the USS Enterprise.[9] Law comments that "Point 783" is "quite a bloodthirsty instalment", in part due to the violent nature of the deaths of the original Storm and Brooks (while driving their car through a tunnel, they collide head-on with a methane tanker).[9] He notes that the explosion of the reconstructed Brooks reinforces the "very alien" nature of the Mysterons, comparing their agents' ability to self-destruct to the behaviour of Kamikaze pilots of the Second World War.[9] Law regards some elements of the Mysterons' plan as confusing, point out that the methane tanker plays only a brief role: "... it appears that they've reconstructed the tanker driver whom they use to kill the two officers in a crash, both of whom are then recreated to do the assassinating. Just a tad long-winded."[9] He argues that the highlights of the episode are the special effects: the Angels' attack on the Unitron is "what Century 21 is, in a nutshell - fast editing, great music, big explosions and unrelenting action."[9] He sums up "Point 783" as "a snapshot of what Captain Scarlet is all about" as well as "visually and technically impressive, loud and exciting, yet perhaps just a tad flawed at script level".[9]

Chris Bentley, author of The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide, describes "Recall to Service" as a remake of "Point 783".[10]

Footnotes
  1. Bentley 2017, p. 38.
  2. Bentley 2017, p. 37.
  3. Bentley 2017, p. 90.
  4. Bentley 2017, p. 39.
  5. de Klerk, Theo (25 December 2003). "Complete Studio-Recording List of Barry Gray". tvcentury21.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  6. Marsh, Peter (17 November 2003). "Barry Gray: Captain Scarlet Original Soundtrack Review". BBC Online. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  7. Stansfield, James (6 September 2012). "Top 10 Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons Episodes". Den of Geek. London, UK: Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  8. 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.
  9. Law, Vincent. "Desert Storm: "Point 783"". Andersonic. Archived from the original on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  10. Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.

Works cited
  • 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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