SUPERCAR

Supercar, the marvel of the age! Pilotted by Mike Mecury and designed by brainiac Professor Popkiss, this phenomenal machine can fly and travel underwater, operating from its base in the Arizona desert. Popkiss`s assistant, Dr Beaker, orphan Jimmy Gibson and his pet monkey Mitch made up the rest of the Supercar team. Its not all sweetness and light, however; there are evildoers who want to steal Supercar`s secrets - chief among these villains is Mike Mercury`s recurring nemesis, Masterpsy.

Supercar was one of the earliest Gerry Anderson productions, and the first to use the now-famous "Supermarionaton" slogan, laying the groundwork for later successes such as Thunderbirds and Stingray.

Episode Guide

Supercar - Length = 29 feet            Top Speed = 3000 mph                Purpose: Milti-environment travel

Pilot: Mike Mercury                        Designer = Profesor Popkiss

Episode 7 - Keep it Cool - Doctor Beaker is transporting a volatile experimental fuel across the desert in Bill Gibson`s truck; if it becomes hotter than 0c, it will explode. With a kind of inevitability, Mike Mercury`s perennial nemesis Masterspy waylays the truck and steals the fuel. Of course, he gets his comeuppance; Beaker and Bill stall him until sun-up, whereupon the fuel explodes - creating a handy smoke signal that Mike can use to track them down in Supercar.

It`s not hat this is an especially bad episode, its just that its not terribly inventive. For starters, the use of an experimental fuel as a plot MacGuffin had already appeared in an earlier episode, "What Goes Up". The sequence with Bill and Beaker stranded in the desert is a virtual reprise of the sequence with Mick and Beaker in "False Alarm". Masterspy crosp up again, and yet again, his arms are pretty ill-defined; he wants the fuel for .... what exactly ?. And having trussed up Bill and beaker, he then decides to stand around and gloat a lot. Okay, he`s not the only villain to have come a cropper because of this, but the annoying thing is, he realises that Beaker and Bill are trying to stall him - and starts gloating about that as well!!

Moreover, there`s no sense of tension in the situation - once we know the fuel explodes at 0c, its just a question of counting the minutes until it does so, taking Masterspy and Zairn with it. Yes, these aren`t meant to be action thrillers, but compare this situation with the chase sequences from "Grounded" - the plot of "Keep it Cool" is signposted in the opening five minutes, while "Grounded" keeps the level of tension up by not allowing an obviously defined path from Plot Point A to plot Point B.

Episode 6 - Grounded - Supercar`s in England t have a new remote-control device fitted at a respected electronics firm. However, a disgruntled employee of the firm decides to teach his bosses a lesson by stealing vital circuit boards from the device, forcing Mike to give chase. There`s one complication, however - the thief has sabotaged Supercarr so that it can`t fly - so Mike has to give chase by road. The race is on!

This is a great episode, inventive and entertaining from the very outset, with the opening scenes demonstrating a wonderfully cinematic feel thanks to some clever direction and cinematography. The characters are great too; Harper the disgruntled employee, and Judd the safe-cracker ( a clear precursor of Thunderbirds "Parker") form a great double-act. better yet, unlike the regular villain, Masterspy (and later Anderson villains like the Hood), Harper actually has a clear motivation for his actions - bitterness at being passed over for promotion.

The lengthier-than-usual "preflight check" sequence is especially entertaining, it reinforces the impression that Supercar is a real vehicle, unlike the more fantastic craft of later Anderson shows. Indeed, despite the fact that the puppets are more primitive than those of the later series, the present-day-England setting lends this episode a greater air of realism than, say, Stingray or Thunderbirds.

Little character moments also create a realistic feel, for example Judd`s chain-smoking - mind you, it also helps that they`ve got rid of Mitch the monkey for most of the episodes.

The episode culminates in a tense (well, tense by the standards of 50s kids TV) chase sequence, where Mike pilots Supercar down the Birmingham motorway at 150mph, speeding past the drivers of regular cars and trucks - obviously dating this to before the birth of Gatso speed cameras.