The Dark Island

DVD, The Champions (The Dark Island)

If I didn't already know this episode was the first to be filmed there are a couple of factors that would suggest it was at least early in the production queue. There's a bit of overacting at times from the main cast, not something, you might think, that would be abnormal in a Sixties spy-fi series, but generally they went more for understatement in their performances than wildly emotional. They are, after all, supposed to be trained, professional, and most importantly, British. Well, except for Craig, but he slots into the team very well and often has a serious air about him. Not to say he never cracks a joke, he can go between moods quite easily, only in this episode he's rather more jovial and playful than we're used to, perhaps as a consequence of being off alone with Sharron for a lot of the time. Because, once again and as is expected, the gang are split, with some (or all, this time), being captured by the enemy and having to escape. The difference is that it was somewhat planned that way as the US and other organisations have drawn a blank when it comes to this dark island (which looks tiny from the one piece of stock footage we see of it), even having sent in their own agents (Withers the only survivor of the team we see infiltrating the place, pre-credits), and: "The fact that Nemesis has been consulted proves that everything that could be tried, has been tried," as Tremayne puts it, more than holding his own in front of an Admiral and his trio of cocky agents to show who's boss in his office!

Richard goes in by parachute while Craig and Sharron take the 'easier' route, playing tourists who've crashed their yacht. This is where Craig seems overly jokey and flippant. It isn't until the end that Sharron's emotions get the better of her and she's almost shouting during the crisis, or relieved in the extreme when it's averted. To an extent you can forgive such liberties, as it's not everyday that World War III is ignited to the point where missiles have been launched during radar interference and unless Craig can locate the Destruct button it's essentially curtains for America and Russia. I should make an aside here and admit I didn't perceive the entirety of the Chinese plan: I understood they were to use the world's two superpowers to wipe each other out and then China can take the initiative in whatever's left of the world, but how did they manage to block the US' radar? That was the key part of the scheme that escaped me, and the most important, because obviously if the US knew the missiles weren't coming from their Cold War enemy they wouldn't immediately strike back, but would investigate. Kai Min's statement that, "The future belongs to China, therefore all things are of interest," could just as easily be something spoken today, which adds some fascination to this fifty-year-old episode.

If the characters, aside from Richard (who's just as sure and reassuring, with a touch of humour), are a little melodramatic compared to other episodes, the second factor that suggests how early this story was produced in the series' run is the sheer litany of powers and abilities our champions get to show off. Some episodes they hardly touch the surface, but in this one we see just about every kind, so perhaps this was also one of the earliest written if they were going all out to demonstrate so much of what could be done. Some are borderline, perhaps just skilful (such as Craig's well thrown spear right in the heart of Perango before he could kill Sharron), natural instinct (such as Richard leaping out of the way of a soldier's thrown spear), or reasonable force that any normal agent could do (Richard swinging from the beam of the prison hut to kick the door out; Sharron rushing another soldier and chopping him through a balcony). Others are less certain, such as the various fights we see - clearly, Richard needing an entire squad of soldiers to take him down in the radar room after he's hefted one up and thrown him across a room, or knocked others out, was a result of superhuman strength in action, but what about when he beats up the guard who attacks him with a machete, or when Craig takes out another.

There are some giant leaps for both men, each knocking down a soldier at different times, but was the long fall Richard took from where his parachute got caught in the trees, an exceptional use of power? We know they can take longer falls and not sustain damage (as seen in one of the post-credits sequences where Richard escapes a burning building by jumping to the ground from several floors up), but this was the relatively soft jungle floor and he does roll to cushion the drop. What would have been more impressive was if he'd used his hypnosis (as we see him do to the machete man, telling him to forget he was even there, as previously seen in 'To Trap A Rat'), to charm the snake, or his hand moved so swiftly as to catch the striking reptile in midair. But there's no shortage of examples of superpowers so it would be wrong to complain. Once again they're proved to be susceptible to pain and violence when Richard receives a rifle butt to the face from Perango, Max Kellor's Bond-villain-like henchman and Sharron senses the extreme shot of pain so that it shocks her. They can't just rush around beating up all the soldiers because they'd be overwhelmed, and they can't dodge bullets, no matter how many senses they have.

What they can do is take a moment to achieve things other people can't: Richard breaks the chains manacling both he and Withers in the prison hut. He also makes an impossible leap over the high electric fence to the amazement of Withers and the other prisoners. It's rare that they do something so obviously ridiculous to normal human eyes in front of an ally, but as Richard said earlier, he's "led a pure life." Quick-thinking is also a valuable asset, as when Craig and Sharron are under suspicion and put in front of the reviving Richard to see if he recognises them. Craig is able to warn Richard they aren't alone in the room, disguised by a cough, which proves they can't actually speak telepathically, they do need to vocalise what they're saying, whether they're right in front of each other, a few hundred metres away (as Richard communicated to them when they were in Kellor's house), or further. Their hearing is excellent, Craig and Sharron alerted to the approach of Perango and his men when they first arrive on the island (having swum ashore with no difficulty, which could be thanks to their superior strength). As with the destruct switch, we also see Richard 'led' to the missile silo hidden in the jungle foliage, perhaps by the faint whirring noise of equipment. And there's also the traditional mental power Richard uses to recall photographically what the map in the radar room showed: the US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. How they got that information we don't know!

Lastly, or it should be firstly, as it's the earliest example of their powers in the episode, the post-credits sequence features Craig and Richard playing golf - to the bemusement of a fellow golfer the former scores a hole in one from teeing off, and Richard's shot from the tee hits the flag. It's okay, but it's another scene that has absolutely no bearing on the episode. At least it features two of them, and it's always fun when they're trying to one-up the other, plus shows their hand/eye coordination to be able to judge such a distance. It's surprisingly violent (not the golf, the fighting), as we see Craig spear Perango and shoot Kellor, while Richard shoots a soldier dead and appears to do the same to a scientist in a white coat! Granted, the stakes are about as high as it gets, with the countdown to WWIII in effect, but you just don't expect the champions to be running around gunning people down! That could be another indication that the series was still being worked out when this episode was written and shot. Not to say they don't kill (they aren't Batman or Ethan Hunt), but it's unexpected.

At least the credits are pretty much complete, as, aside from the pilot of the fighter plane that gets taken out when flying over the island, (and the other two agents on Withers' team), there aren't many speaking roles that go uncredited. There are a lot of background characters, soldiers, guards, scientists, prisoners and members of the aircraft carrier's control centre, but even the Radar Operator is credited there! The actor who played Max Kellor gets the rare distinction of having his name on the same slide as the main cast. There are a few sets that reappear (or make their debut, technically), with the arched corridor used for military installations becoming a familiar sight, however it's painted. The submarine conning tower gets what I believe was its first outing, though barely seen, it would be used a number of times. Kellor's house could be the same set as Banner B. Banner's in 'Happening' (or vice versa), but I'm not sure - they may have used parts of it, but the inside was much more compact here. One thing that can be said for sure is that the production value had a lot of work put in to make it good quality: there's good integration between full foliage sets, what I assume was a night location shoot when the other two agents try to escape in a dinghy and you can see real water, wind rustling the fronds, and a real, if small, beach. Plus the stock footage is used very well, not overdone (such as the inside of the missile silo seen on screens), that adds depth and scale to proceedings. Even back projection: when Craig and Sharron are 'caught,' rather than show the set behind them we see real jungle footage, so perhaps that was a shot added later after the set was struck (dismantled).

Other little noteworthy bits were Withers' use of a miniature camera strapped to his wrist to photograph the underground missile. There aren't really any other gadgets used, but then the champions don't need them with all the powers they clock up! I also noticed the rope thrown over the electrified fence to Richard was hanging on it, so surely that would conduct current? Either way, the first guy to climb up the rope, which is seen to be tied to a tree above the fence, actually touches the wire with his foot, so he should have been shocked! I wasn't shocked by the episode, it was neither a tour-de-force, nor a dull one. Towards the end it really does get tense as the thought of a falsely instigated nuclear war not only counts down, but actually launches. More than anything it's a good showcase for their powers, but the genuine horror of World War III should have been played up, and thanks to the location being an island it is a fairly stationary story which ends abruptly once Craig's detonated the missiles and Sharron's told Richard the good news. I remember when I first saw it I thought it was a good one, but in subsequent viewings it's really just an excuse to show what the champions are capable of: excuse after excuse! Not a bad thing, but the villains were an interesting bunch and could have been played up, especially the position of Kellor, selling out to the Chinese - there's some atmosphere when Kai Min breaks up a genial dinner with his statements and it could have done with further exploration.

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