The Gilded Cage

DVD, The Champions (The Gilded Cage)

One of the episodes that has stayed in my mind as a rather dull instalment, and now I understand the problems with it. Partly it's the same old story of one of our champions being held captive and the other(s) searching for them using their powers to track them down while the captive uses their powers to stay alive/thwart the villains/ discover the evil plan. This time it's all up to Craig, as Sharron's apparently too busy sunning herself on a veranda to give him much help. I suppose part of it is that Richard isn't in that much danger, or at least he's walked deliberately into it and is always confident in what he's doing, but even so, you'd think Sharron would have come back from her leave, if that's what she was on, to assist Craig. The other issue with the episode is that it starts so terrifically and holds a mystery and atmosphere around Richard's position and the faceless enemy holding him there, but then as quickly blows it and loses most of that mystery, leaving behind only bare questions to be answered which never really get a satisfactory wrapping up: who were the two factions that we see (made up of Arthur G. Symons and his two lackeys, Brandon and Orley, and Samantha working for Lovegrove and Haswell), just monied individuals or rogue criminals, or representing some criminal underworld network? The formula that Richard is tasked with cracking turns out to be a joke (a substitute fuel that will actually be more expensive to produce than existing sources), and where did it come from in the first place?

The worst culprit comes in setting up the villain as this Blofeld type with spying monitor at his fingertips - at first we only see a hand with a large silver ring and a cigarette holder in front of his screen, then when he does first bodily appear it's shrouded in mystery, literally, as he steps into the gas-filled computer room, his face obscured by a gas mask. But then the spell is broken when Richard awakes to be confronted by some toff with little character to him except for his hard insistence that he'll kill Samantha Killen, the girl who seems to be working for him, unless Richard does what he asks. It seems she's as much a prisoner as Richard in that though she can come and go as she pleases, Symons has something on her. Ultimately we learn that she's actually double-crossing him, working for some other organisation and it is quite fun when Symons threatens Richard with Samantha's death, then her associates show up to threaten Symons, and finally Craig shows up to get them all in the bag. But it is a relatively slow episode with Richard trying to decipher both the code and Samantha's place in all this, which is why he bizarrely tries to send Craig on a wild goose chase to give himself more time before his colleague comes in to save the day. It doesn't show much faith in Craig, does it! You'd think Richard would know his friend well enough by now to believe in his ability to tread carefully.

Craig gets to play a bumbling Clark Kent character, pretending to be a central heating salesman (funny to think some houses in London didn't have central heating in the Sixties - I like it when we get occasional insights into this period of our history), complete with trench coat, large glasses and a self-effacing, nervous disposition. You'd think Samantha would be suspicious of someone showing up, and the same for the grinning subordinate of Symons (I don't know which was Brandon and which Orley), whose smile is unnerving and reminded me of some assassin from 'The Avengers' or other spy dramas - the kind to relish his killing in a disturbing way, while his associate was more of a basic heavy. We see both significantly less and more of Sharron this episode (there's a riddle for you), so perhaps she was off filming scenes for another episode. I never like it when they effectively write one of the trio out of a story because the strength of the series is in using them all together, but more often than not they have to be separated to create jeopardy.

One great side of the episode was how much more we see of Nemesis: there's a night watchman sat in front of a bank of lights and controls who dashes off when Tremayne presses a buzzer. We get confirmation of what I'd suspected from the last couple of episodes: Tremayne does indeed sleep in an adjoining room to his office, and we see him in bed while Symons' men sneak into the office. And we see a third door which I don't think we have before, on the left as you face the desk, which seems to lead to a corridor. It makes the room a bit confusing geographically because the building we always see externally is rectangular, yet there's a window on the same wall as the main entrance to Tremayne's office, so how does that work? There are now three doors we know of: the main entrance that requires Tremayne to manually activate from his desk; the door to the right of that, which must lead to his bedroom; and this third door to the right of that which is another entry point, though apparently not restricted by the system used for the main door. We also get to see behind the huge map to the right - previously we'd seen a row of chairs on the left, but on this end there are filing cabinets containing records on Nemesis agents standing next to a bookcase. I must say, I found all these reveals to be fascinating as you don't really get a three hundred and sixty degree view of the most important room in their world, so it's a case of piecing together details from various episodes.

Security appears to be quite lax for such an important organisation if some criminals can make their way in, photograph some files, and get away! When Tremayne was informing Craig of the event I wasn't sure if he meant Richard's file had been left on his desk by himself, but he must have been talking about afterwards. In which case, if the thieves broke in to get the file so they could find the information on him, why photograph it - they were disturbed so why not simply take the file? Their original plan must have been to copy it and get out without anyone knowing they'd been, not realising the filing cabinet was alarmed and Tremayne was right next door. I had the impression Richard had a name for code-breaking, otherwise why would they have chosen his file? Or was it a random file they picked and realised he was the best chance at cracking the code? Cracking the code to Richard's character takes a few steps further thanks to this episode: we rarely see much of their lives, but here we find out that he has an apartment in Geneva, at the most fifteen minutes from Nemesis (Craig says he'll be there in that time). He's also revealed to be a man of fine tastes, both ancient and modern: in his swish apartment he has a lot of art, including bas-reliefs on the walls, enjoys classical music (which becomes a minor plot point), and fine liquor, but also has contemporary furniture such as his multi-sided open shelving and a ceiling lamp that can be raised or lowered as desired. It's good to see so much background to a character as in those days they didn't put much stock in exploring personal lives.

Richard's enjoyment of 'The Four Seasons Suite' by some composer called Gressini (which I assume was invented), performed by 'The London Octet,' is what he plays as awaits his kidnappers, and does so again within his gilded cage as Symons also has a copy. This helps Craig realise Richard is likely to be in the building even though he sent a message via pigeon that suggests he's been taken to Liverpool and then by boat to Dublin, but as pigeons aren't going to fly that far Craig works out he must be in London - it's a sort of cheeky message in a way, warning Craig to tread lightly and not come crashing in and spoil the party, though I don't know why he couldn't have left a more specific message. I suppose they have to play it carefully because Tremayne doesn't know they have ways of being in contact beyond mere mortals, though it does seem that they can only transfer pictures or sensations long distances and have to be in hearing distance (though further than normal people), to communicate verbally. This telepathic connection does introduce some rather personal questions in the episode - previously we've seen pain transferred between the champions, but this time Richard kisses Samantha and Craig appears to feel the sensation, judging by his bemused expression. Hopefully this isn't something that occurs every time or it could become a rather awkward talking point among the three and would suggest they've had to give up truly personal lives as a sacrifice for these abilities!

The episode is littered with minor examples of powers, mostly from Craig as he's doing the legwork while Richard's mostly stuck in a room. Tremayne could have done with his own powers of night vision, increased strength and an instinct to dodge since he's injured again (after the assassination attempt on him in 'The Fanatics'), slugged on the head when he interrupts the thieves in his office. The first actual use of powers comes in the post-credits tag scene where, suitably, it's Richard travelling by train on his own (in keeping with the episode's style, since he spends most of it away from his colleagues), even if it's not directly connected to the story: he fills in The Times Crossword Puzzle in the time it takes for the owner of the newspaper to leave their carriage and return, much to his chagrin - I'm sure there must be a serious rule of etiquette amongst those that partake of such challenges that you never fill in somebody else's crossword! Richard overstepped the bounds there, and what's more, found it highly amusing - that doesn't seem to be using his powers for law, order and justice! He does better when he allows himself to be whacked by one of Symons' men, disguised as carpet removals firm Chaudronnier (et Cie.). He's with it enough to know who of the pair hit him, even though it was behind him, as he pays the fellow back in kind later on, and isn't knocked unconscious as he's able to fall to the floor without spilling a drop from his (no doubt expensive), liquor, depositing it safe from harm under a small table for later - he's fine with a hard knock to the noggin, yet winces in pain when he's injected with a needle. Have we discovered his Achilles heel?

Craig senses the attack, but arrives too late, so the only contribution Sharron makes is to help him visualise the van he saw that must have taken Richard - he can see photographically, though it's not clear whether he actually sees it that perfectly or it's for the audience's benefit. As I mentioned, he senses Richard and Samantha's kiss, and is soon honed in on Symons' house, speaking to Richard when he's nearby, though Richard hears and ignores it to give himself more time to work out what's going on. Craig's hearing recognises 'The Four Seasons Suite,' and when he continues following Miss Killen he gains entry into her place by poking the garage door lock in with one finger! He's clumsy enough to knock a stove over, but quick thinking saves the day as he pulls a nail out of the wall so they can attribute the sound to a tyre falling down. Sometimes you can only speculate that it's a power because it may be the nail wasn't that secure in the wall anyway, though it did look like he had to use some strength of grip to rip it out. The same can be said when Richard flicks a bottle cap off with his thumb: it could be an ordinary thing, but as easily could be a display of force that ordinary people couldn't do, and sometimes that's the beauty of it. It doesn't always have to be grand gestures and impressive shows of force, because they'd be able to do little things better, too. Though it's still satisfying to see Richard knock the guy who clobbered him earlier, all the way through an open door, like a bowling pin sent flying.

The main use of special power is Richard's brain magically unravelling the code - Symons gives him twelve hours to accomplish the task (it should have been called 'Twelve Hours'!), and he does it in five, then remembers every detail, not needing to keep it in written form for Symons, or anyone else, to see. It's not among the most spectacular examples, but it's different, akin to Craig hurriedly working out the correct coordinates for a safe location to redirect the missile in 'The Search' - in both cases they succeed without computers, Craig because he needed to be faster than a computer, and Richard, when Symons expresses surprise that he didn't use the prepared computer room to help him, admits that he wouldn't have known how to use it! It's fascinating to see the place of computers in the lives of people a few decades ago, and then compare it to how integral they've become in such a short space of human history. Scary, in a way. It's another example of a question that would be interesting to pose if 'The Champions' was a series made today: seeing how they'd deal with computers as they are now, and how they'd match up, as I suspect that would be the main opposition force they'd be facing, all the villains would be doing things over the internet or running programs.

Once again we find ourselves in the environs of London, the favourite place of crooks and villains in the series. Apart from that and Tremayne's office it's all new, though I suspect the corridor the night watchman ran through (dressed in suitably Swiss attire), was one of the usuals redressed. It looks good, with Craig exploring the London streets here and there, but though I found it less dull than I feared (impressed by the opening, and enjoying the beginning of the mystery), it was too messy a story with too many unanswered questions, not answered because they weren't really important. At least the smaller guest cast is easier to follow: Samantha and her two associates, Symons and his two, and the Manager of Chaudronnier (et Cie.), whose van was stolen and Craig follows up as a line of enquiry. The poor guard didn't get a credit (nor the old man on the train), although I think he marks the first we see of a member of Nemesis (no matter how small in the organisation's pay), other than the four main cast, but he never spoke. Richard's cage was gilded not just with Samantha, but with various statues and objet d'art, including a goodly sized one of what I like to imagine was Mr. Tumnus the faun from 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,' though it was just as likely to be Pan. Richard must have felt quite at home among this lavishly adorned room as it was quite in keeping with his own taste. One thing about his record player I noticed is the previous record was still playing when he put another one in without removing the first, so perhaps it had the ability to store more than one at a time on the turntable? And here marks the halfway point of the series…

**

New Star Trek TV Series' - Picard & Lower Decks

New Star Trek TV Series' - Picard & Lower Decks

With the latest announcement of another new Trek series being produced it's an exciting time. They aren't yet at the output of Trek's heyday in the Nineties when there were fifty-two episodes a year and a feature film every other year, and there's still a long way to go to reach that if the current trend for fifteen or less episodes a season continues as it looks likely to. But still, 'DSC' is gearing up for its second season, the Jean-Luc Picard series, complete with Sir Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role has been confirmed as a planned multiple-season run, and now an animated comedy cartoon, 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' joins the production line.

My first thought is that we don't need an animated series, due to my aversion to non-canon material. My last thought is the same. While it seems in some quarters that 'Star Trek: The Animated Series,' the Seventies Filmation cartoon, is thought to be canon, I still hold to the consensus opinion that, as Gene Roddenberry was unhappy with it and considered it not to be canon, and as the producers since that time have taken the same view, the only true canon of Trek is what is shown in live action film and TV shows. People can argue about the rightness and wrongness of that position, find comments from people back in the day that support 'TAS,' and cite examples of references to it in such things as 'Enterprise,' even expound on how much they love certain episodes, but for me it doesn't change its non-canon status - if we based canon on our preferences then we'd all have different canon and that's not how it works. Canon is the 'true' history, the continuity commonly established for the overarching universe of Trek, and its sense of internal consistency is one of the biggest draws of the franchise and something that appears to be under threat of erosion from the Kelvin Timeline to the 'updated aesthetics' of 'Discovery.'

First, there is canon within 'TAS' by the very fact that those things were referenced elsewhere in live-action Trek, and I'm fine with them making ever more become canon, but it doesn't mean that everything is canon within 'TAS' because of that. Not until it's specifically addressed in live-action. It's all to do with the reality and integrity of the universe, otherwise anything goes… which brings me to 'Lower Decks.' The idea of a series focusing on the lesser crew rather than the Bridge officers has been speculated upon ever since the great Season 7 'TNG' episode of the same name. Whether it could actually work in that structure is debatable, but many would like to see them try, and was something at first suspected for 'DSC' when it was announced the main star wouldn't be the Captain. I still haven't seen 'DSC' yet (waiting on the DVDs), but I get the impression it didn't follow that path. So the idea is sound, but I'm not keen on a Trek comedy series. I wasn't keen on another animation, either, as early as its first announcement, but I would have at least been somewhat interested in a serious animation, perhaps with the voice cast of 'DS9' (rather like the beautifully detailed style that has been shown in the images released for the new documentary on that series, 'What We Left Behind'), or 'Voyager,' though as far back as the Nineties Armin Shimerman wanted to do an animated Ferengi series which never happened.

I'm relieved that the Picard show isn't going to be the animated project as I was fearing that slightly, but an ugly style in the character designs I've seen, and the description of the previous form of the main man behind it puts me right off. If it's also an 'adult' comedy I'll not have the least bit of interest. If it's a family cartoon, which seems to be suggested by the comments about it broadening the Trek to "fans of all ages" as Alex Kurtzman (the current Rick Berman), said, then I can at least get on board with the idea of trying to catch the young early so they grow up into other Treks, much like 'Star Wars' has done with its animated content, but I doubt it would appeal. The difficulty with Trek has always been that at heart it's a thoughtful, mentally stimulating and narratively satisfying exploration. This approach may have been softened vastly from 'Enterprise' on, but it's why those old series' are still popular and still bringing in large audiences on streaming sites, as Netflix revealed a while back. I'm not saying a modern animation can't do what those live action series' did, but everything points to it being the opposite of what people like me want in their Trek.

The argument for bringing in younger generations is of course valid, but I would argue that Trek itself was generally a family affair: I first got into Trek watching 'The Original Series' with my Father in the early Nineties when it was shown on BBC2, and from there slowly discovered the other shows, growing up as Trek seemed to grow with me, and revisiting it as my brain became sharper and better able to discern deeper things than fistfights and weird aliens. 'DS9' was always the best thing for that as I watched and re-watched it over the years on video and latterly, DVD, discovering new things all the time. Since then, beginning with 'Enterprise' there seemed to be a process of dumbing down as the creative forces behind it became largely spent, with a brief flare of creativity towards the end of that series that heralded the last burst of life before burnout of the franchise ready for a new shoot to grow in its place, but one that continued the tradition of simplification in an attempt to bypass the vast canon, rules and established facts and style so as to appeal to a wider audience.

My point is that I found Trek appealing, and that's why I wanted to keep watching it and have never grown tired of it, despite there being over seven hundred episodes and now thirteen films. I didn't need animation to break me in gently, but with 'DSC' they've made the decision to be 'mature,' which is really just another word for being lazy, loosening up on the baser instincts of human nature towards a harder-edged, more visceral experience rather than mental stimulation and satisfaction. If they had kept that series family friendly (and again, I admit to not having seen it, but I know about a lot of the content), they wouldn't need something else to appeal to younger generations, and, as Trek became to me, it could be a progression of itself that the viewer follows. When I was young I preferred the action and ship battles, but as I grew older I took onboard the character and depth of the universe until the action became secondary to that. That's why 'talky' episodes such as 'Duet' from 'DS9,' or 'Tapestry' from 'TNG' remain as compelling as ever - they don't rely on special effects or violence (not to say there isn't any, but it's not integral), such things are in their proper place: to serve the story. Trek at best is a series of good stage plays, sometimes strung out in arcs over many episodes (Dukat's fascinating fall and rise and fall in the viewer's estimation, is spectacular).

With all this talk of deep canon, character and story, I'm not saying a comedic, half-hour cartoon can't do those things, I'm just saying if I want to see more Trek I want to see the Trek I want to see. It's not for everyone, don't try and make it so, but if you do, at least try to advance Trek in some way. If this had been a heavily CGI series that was setting a new trend and new standards for animation then it would be worthwhile, but the trouble with Trek in this century has been that rather than do its own thing it tries to ape other things (such as the Kelvin films following the trend of 'Casino Royale' for Bond and 'Batman Begins' for Batman, of re-envisioning long-lived series'). 'TNG' and its spinoffs were so special because they were unique, they dared to be different and in essence created a whole new sub-genre that led to numerous sci-fi series', from the 'Stargates' to 'Farscape' and many others besides. The films haven't touched people like me, not because we don't like action, but because they aren't true to Trek and seem bland in comparison to the powerful drama and characterisations of what came before. Lightning was caught in a bottle on several occasions in Trek's history, but that doesn't mean that labelling the bottle 'Star Trek' will guarantee a lightning strike every time thereafter.

All this is a long-winded way of getting around to saying that I wonder at the people behind Trek. I'm excited by the possibilities of so much potentially being made in the next few years, but this is tempered by the track record so far. The more that is thrown at the wall, the more chance that at least something will stick (I'm banking on the glorious return to the 24th Century with the Picard series), but 'Star Wars' has been a warning to the faithful: more doesn't necessarily mean good. I haven't loved any of the 'Star Wars' I've seen this century, so much that it's tainted my view of the older films. And 'The Hobbit' so poisoned my view of Middle-Earth that I haven't watched 'The Lord of The Rings' films for many a year, despite them being among my favourites. What Trek really needs is someone like Manny Coto, who both had a strong creative vision for Trek, and one that suited its legacy. Somewhere between the strict, rigorous and disciplined Rick Berman style, and the loose, casual one displayed by those of current Trek, the films and so on. I can't yet really judge Alex Kurtzman (except for his part in the first two Kelvin films), especially as the first season of 'DSC' was designed from the blueprints left behind by Bryan Fuller, a man that on paper would have seemed to be the perfect hand to guide Trek to a new era of success, but in actual fact much of what was changed and created discontent among long-time viewers was down to his mandates. It sounds as if 'DSC' will gradually hew closer to Trek as we know it (such as Klingons having hair again when so much was made about them being bald). I only hope the pendulum effect swings much closer to what I want to see.

Trek is in a good position at the moment, the Prime Universe, if not thriving, ready to burst out when so many said we'd never be going back to that 'tired' old universe. My advice is make what you want to make that you think will bring people in, but don't make Trek what it isn't, in order for people to like it, because eventually it'll turn around, as it has done for some, and become what the people that liked it don't like. And then it needs to change to something to get more people in, and so the cycle continues! Concentrate on its strengths and be careful what you make canon.

Anticipation Rating:

Lower Decks: *
Picard series: ****


The other series' that have yet to be officially confirmed are a Starfleet Academy young adult series (I imagine a 'Smallville' kind of thing), and a miniseries about Khan's reign in exile on Ceti Alpha V, ostensibly with Nicholas Meyer behind it, the man who directed Khan's comeback, 'Star Trek II.' If Meyer is truly involved then there's a chance it could be something worthwhile, though he was paraded as a name behind 'DSC' in its early days and I hear he seemed to vanish from all contribution when the series was released, his involvement still largely undisclosed. I can't imagine it being a good story, just playing off the Khan name, which didn't help 'Star Trek Into Darkness,' it could be argued, but who knows? I'm too old to appreciate Young Adult fare, although if the first two seasons of 'Smallville' were the template it could be good. But I doubt it.

Anticipation Rating:

Khan: **
Starfleet Academy: *


Unrelated to any of this, except very loosely, is seeing pictures of Armin Shimerman back in the Quark makeup after almost twenty years in coverage of a recent convention. It made me warm and happy to see - makeup doesn't age, so (apart from the teeth which didn't look quite right), he was identical to the Quark we knew. And now I really want to see Quark come back in either the Picard series or something else! Genuinely, the character was my favourite of all in Trek, Shimerman's performance an incredible achievement that doesn't get much recognition. Forget Kirk, Spock, Picard, Data, Janeway or Seven of Nine. Quark was always the best!

The Search

DVD, The Champions (The Search)

I understand the needs of production, I really do, so I can see why they made two straight submarine episodes back to back. What I don't understand is why they would show them in that order, too! It's like they were turning the series into 'Stingray,' and while they had a bulbous-eyed villain, he wasn't silver and they didn't have the 'Marina' song at the end, so they should have tried to keep variety week to week (though in actual fact it was 'The Silent Enemy' that was the first to be shot, this immediately after, and 'Twelve Hours' came later, according to the Special Edition DVD booklet). We're relying on Nazi villains again, and they're far from the nuance of 'The Survivors.' I think it's fair to say only the Captain, Conrad Schultz, and his Lieutenant, Haller, were real Nazis, as the young crew were quite jovial and upbeat in their scenes, never having that mad Nazi glint, so I think it safe to assume they were just along for the money. Then again, it sounded like this was a crew that actually fought in World War II, which was how they could be experienced submariners, so I'm not sure what to think - one of them is thoughtful enough to take the captive Craig a ham sandwich and hot drink, and it was only the Captain that seemed drunk on the prospect of revenging the 'wrongs' of Germany's defeat. They looked too young to have served as a sub crew over twenty years previous. Schultz was almost a comical figure, from the moment he boards the sub and takes off his diving goggles, he flops around looking very smug and self-satisfied, like a penguin who's just had a large fish. Consequently, it was hard to take him seriously as a threat, whereas at least Haller looked dangerous and managed to shoot Craig, so maybe he should have been played up?

If the tired villains are the first sign this isn't going to be as good as the last submarine episode, the way our champions act is another: it begins with Richard's unprofessional lateness and lighthearted attitude when he turns up at Tremayne's office. He does become serious when the threat of a sub containing four atomic missiles proves to be genuine, but that's not the only instance of levity in the face of an extremely serious threat. I'm not saying they should go around po-faced all the time, and it's good to have some humour to lighten things up a bit from time to time, but it came across as misplaced, and I can't help thinking that if Geneva, the home of Nemesis, had been the target rather than London, they might have been a lot more concerned than they appeared: the use of powers is part of it, as Sharron tells Craig to come in before he's knocked at the door of the Die Krone guest house they're staying in, and they both have a laugh. She does bring up an interesting point about them not knowing how right or wrong their senses can be, since they're investigating based on a hunch of Craig's, then wonders if, "Maybe super humans make super mistakes." These are areas ripe for exploration, though it would be tough to answer them without unravelling the series, much in the same way as 'Highlander' generally kept the central questions of its premise shrouded in mystery - once certainty comes in on some things it can destroy the element of wonder.

So far we have: reused Nazi villains, the champions not taking things too seriously, and of course, the biggest thing being another submarine episode (HMS Dependable, if the cap of the sailor who gets shot on the conning tower is anything to go by). Another week, another Scottish naval base (this time NATO's). The submarine set is fine, and I quite enjoyed all the blinky lights and whirring machinery, but it really is too much to have episodes there back to back. In fairness there was a lot of external shooting, such as when Craig and Sharron track Haller through the (day for) night, and the little fishing village, though the lighting looked a bit too flat to be real, was well constructed. The guest house bar had all the atmosphere and natural chatter, complete with ruddy-faced old men in sea caps, to make it real, and though the corridor set was used once again, this time it was changed completely with wood panelling that made it quite aesthetically pleasing. That's not to say there weren't faults in the scenery: when Schultz is on the conning tower you can just make out a horizontal line in the blue sky background, and the same in the painted backdrop from Sharron's guest house window, though I must commend the production for the wind and spray effects they use, most notable when Dr. Mueller, Richard and Sharron climb aboard the sub. With reused sets also comes some reused stock footage and reused model shots of the sub underwater, and while there was some good new stock of the sub going through polar ice, or fighters taking off from an aircraft carrier, there was rather too much reliance on it.

When the champions are split up, or when they're in it less, it tends to have a negative effect, and you sometimes feel the story is bending to suit the stock footage they have available (much like in modern films, where CGI action sequences are sometimes thought of and the story has to jump through hoops to get in and out of these moments). There wasn't really anything spectacular in the powers shown, either, which didn't help. I want to see a new power, or one that we've seen before used in a new way. It's tough when we're almost halfway through the series, but they have pulled off a number of cool instances so far. But this one begins with a typically (for the episode), downbeat post-credits scene, with Sharron in a library (when they were filled with books!), and she reads the entirety of 'War and Peace' in the time it takes for the librarian to deal with another customer. She hands it over and says she enjoyed it, and the librarian, nonplussed, says she couldn't possibly have read it in that time, and she responds cheesily: "Couldn't I?" Though these tag scenes were likely filmed separate from specific episodes, since they rarely have any bearing, this sets the flippant tone all too well for the episode. We've seen them read really fast before, and it is somewhat humorous to see the surprise of the librarian and the superior bearing of Sharron, but at the same time it wasn't one of the best introductions.

Craig's power is to have a hunch about where the sub might be heading; Sharron senses him approach the guest house door and bids him come in; the pair of them listen in on the conversation between Haller and the innkeeper across a crowded bar room, which was one of the better examples; as was the use of a noisy box of matches to track Haller through the woods when they don't have any bugs with them - that was probably the best trick of the episode, but even there I felt like the sound of Haller's footsteps through the crunchy fauna was as loud, if not louder, than some matches jiggling in his pocket, so they could have followed that just as easily. Clearly they couldn't hear his footsteps as they lose track once he's dropped the matches, but in that case the audio needed to reflect that and they should have kept Haller's progress silent except for the matchbox. Craig jumps fast when he's shot, but not fast enough, unlike Richard in the previous Nazi episode, where he was able to leap a vast distance to avoid a bullet. I wasn't sure if Craig sensed it first or whether he was reacting to the sound of the gun, in which case it shows that, as Sharron said, their senses can be at fault. In the same way, it seems Sharron, usually the most sensitive to the others' pain, doesn't know about Craig being shot in the arm, while Richard is the one to get the mental projection of it. Perhaps she did sense it, but didn't know what had happened any more than he did, or perhaps Craig sensed that Richard was needed over there when he was all the way back in London, and so automatically reached out for him?

I keep thinking that if the series had come back for a second year of new episodes, they should have begun to hone and understand the limits and textures of their powers. Perhaps one of them could have become more proficient at certain things than the others (like Sharron's keen empathy), in relation to their personal character. It could have added some strong development to the premise. Another instance of super ability is when Craig is able to burst the rope bonds holding his wrists, though it's said he couldn't push through the storeroom door in just his own strength (the three of them manage a concerted effort later), again demonstrating limits. He's able to take out the unfortunate submariner that brings him refreshments, but again, can't break through another door in the sub. Captive again (that trope which happens almost every episode!), he senses Richard and Sharron when they come aboard under the guise of being Dr. Mueller's cohorts (after Richard has once again surprised someone when he enters a room, throwing Allbrecht over his shoulder and across the room, just like in 'To Trap A Rat' and 'The Fanatics,' fast becoming his signature move, like Sharron's chop, then pushing him through a window to his death). Less powers, and more teamwork is Sharron kicking the gun out of one of the baddies' hands, allowing Richard to head-butt him.

Lastly, Craig does some high-speed mathematics to work out coordinates to be able to send the launched missile away from London to a safe detonation point. It's a good moment as he impresses Mueller, the cowardly man in the know (I suspected when he got into the car so calmly, while his secretary, Suzanne Taylor, struggled, that he was in on it and wasn't being kidnapped as it seemed), who really only wanted the five million in gold ransom so he could be… more independent? It wasn't the greatest motivation, although the twists of him being the brains behind it rather than a victim, and the treachery of the Nazis, helped the story become a little more than it was, and it's always good to see some cowardly villain broken down, then try to mend his ways at the last. But the ending was really a return to 'The Dark Island' where that was more exciting in the desperate bid to find the self-destruct button. Good that Craig can work out the figures quicker than a computer, but as I said, use of powers could have been better, or perhaps it was just the story itself that disappointed. Tremayne's special power is pulling another all-nighter, sitting at his desk in dressing gown. Maybe he never goes home? His other superpower is to constantly forget about the strange ways his agents succeed: he does mention at Craig's hunch how ready the man is these days to back his intuitions, but nothing more is said on the matter, and at the end the joke is between the champions when they say he won't believe how they did it this time, and then that Tremayne wouldn't believe the truth either, which I took to be a reference to them getting their powers.

As ever, the credits throw up some interesting points: this time, at least, the majority of those you'd expect to be credited, were. There's only the submarine crew that don't get any, although some did have lines. Obviously the old naval men in Tremayne's office didn't get a credit as they remained silent the whole time, perhaps so they didn't have to be paid as much, since Tremayne talks to them or around them, rather than with them, and it is a little odd that these two men of naval authority just stand there dumb the whole time, and again quite cheesy when Richard looks in shock at each of them and they gaze back impassively! The only other potential credits would be for the presenter of the TV interview with Mueller and the camera crew, but that was a very brief scene. All the main characters are included, not that there were many, and I saw that Joseph Furst who played Mueller, had already been in 'The Beginning' as Chislenkan, the Russian General in Tremayne's office, joining the honoured ranks of those that appeared in more than one episode and/or played more than one role. I was sure that Allbrecht called Suzanne Christina when he first talks to her at the studio, when all other times she's called Suzanne, but checking the subtitles he actually says "Miss Taylor," so that solves that little mystery! I did notice the clock in the sub never changes from 8:50 - you'd hope a nuclear vessel would have better timekeeping! And we got to see the reverse side of Tremayne's map again when he and Craig watch black and white footage of submarines.

Perhaps if they'd spaced out the submarine episodes with more variety it wouldn't have been such a loss. Similarly, if the champions seemed to be more integral to the mission it would have helped, except Tremayne even admits that Nemesis was called in in the general panic and all their information will be secondhand, as if they aren't really that important (the only evidence of other authorities on the hunt for the sub is American fighters searching). Nemesis need to be the number one organisation to call in, not one of many, as this demeans their importance, reflecting badly on the champions. Often things do turn into a small conclusion, like an assassin trying to shoot Tremayne at a party or that kind of local danger which Craig, Richard and Sharron can avert, which is the nature of the stories, but if it were more realistic they wouldn't necessarily be able to tie up a story so neatly and by dealing direct with specific enemies. That's the way it is, and within that format they can sometimes present good tales, only this one wasn't really one of them and could have been improved, even if the brightness and film quality looked very good.

**

Twelve Hours

DVD, The Champions (Twelve Hours)

The premise is sound, and far from it feeling like being stuck in a sub for twelve hours, it bobs along nicely, and as the first of several submarine episodes it has the element of novelty. The cramped confines aren't confining, but neither is enough pressure built up to make for barely contained explosive drama. The surly skeleton crew of shipyard engineers (which you'd have thought would be Scottish, but aren't), from Loch Tranith, look a bit miffed at their predicament and Richard's jump to taking charge when the Captain's killed, but it's really only bad apple Raven, senior engineer, who causes trouble or plots to kill the champions' charge, President Drobnic, whom they're charged with escorting on his diplomatic tour. I thought Raven had some kind of redemption by the end, but he was always difficult and never helpful. The other man, Hayley, was even worse, taking the initiative for his survival into his own hands and using the escape hatch even though the depth means he'll be dead from the dreaded bends, too deep for divers to reach, or for those trapped to use the hatch safely. And Jackson, a young man who loses the dealing of the cards, getting the black ace which means he'll have to be the one to kill Drobnic, whose recovery is holding up the essential pumping of water out of the hull. The balance between Drobnic's emergency surgery by Sharron's hand, and the need to pump which will mean the sub lists and shudders, putting delicate Drobnic in danger, is well handled, but it could have been a better use of rising tension all the same.

One thing is sure, and that's the confidence and single-mindedness of Sharron and Richard - they know their duties, and even though those they deal with are older and more experienced in this environment (or in the case of Madame Drobnic, used to being in a position of power), they keep calm and hold their own in the face of opposition, always knowing what to do and doing it to the best of their ability. While the trope of one or more of the main characters being kidnapped doesn't hold true, they're still essentially trapped thanks to the devious plan of one Martin Vedel whose plan is to kill off Drobnic by setting some piece of naval equipment to explode when the sub is underwater during Drobnic's tour of the loch. Why he wanted a tour of some loch, I don't know, but I suppose it was more to see what a British naval submarine could do. And why the navy didn't check the stolen stores to make sure nothing was amiss, I don't know either. Times were simpler? Granted, the theft was a short-lived event, with the police catching up with Joe and his mate soon after the report of the incident, but you'd think sensitive equipment would have been carefully checked over. It's also difficult to see how Vedel and his men could have hijacked exactly the right stores van that was going to send equipment to the HMS Weatherby at the right time for Drobnic to be aboard. We learn at the end of the episode that it was someone in Drobnic's own party who organised the assassination attempt, and they could have had an insider in Loch Tranith Naval Base, I suppose…

I do wish Richard and Sharron had had to do more than push Raven against a wall or retort sternly to keep control, but things couldn't go too far as they were experienced engineers - I can imagine Raven (played by Mike Pratt, most famous for being Randall in 'Randall & Hopkirk Deceased'), being a little more fleshed out and sly when he was merely blunt and grumpy. The issue of command hierarchy was also something that could have been addressed more, except that Richard brooks no argument on the subject. It was extreme for the engineers to agree that someone had to kill the recovering Drobnic so the pumps could be started, but they were all in fear of their lives, not wanting to be entombed at the bottom of the loch, and frightened people in desperation, and looking for self-preservation can do some terrible things. Fortunately for Drobnic, upon whom much depended in East/West relations, he had the protection of the champions of law, order and justice at his side! What was a simple escort mission, personal security for the President and his wife, turns into unscheduled surgery by the hand of Sharron, who Richard claims is a qualified doctor, though she says surgery isn't her branch of medicine. Of course she goes through with it anyway as the only chance her patient has of survival.

They really should have shown her studying up on surgery techniques, reading every book in the sickbay at super-fast speeds - that was a missed opportunity to show her powers of being a quick learner and able to read faster than any normal woman. Maybe that would have made things too secure and we needed the outcome to be uncertain? Their powers are on display for all to see. The wiry little Madame Drobnic wrenches her arm away from Raven, though it's questionable how hard he was trying, and it's not clear whether it was Sharron's physical strength that pulled the woman's arm out like a child's for the sleeping drug jab, or force of will as she stares intently, that compelled the older woman. The only other ability she gets to show off is a greater than average endurance of hardship: she and Richard are both visibly able to breathe normally when the others are finding it difficult (so much so that Raven even accuses Richard of using some of the emergency supply keeping Drobnic alive). Their abilities aren't limited to wacky powers, but the peak of physical performance, and that was a great way of showing they can still function when even great lunks like Raven are collapsing into unconsciousness. The men still get the greater part of the powers: Richard's quick reactions save the ungrateful senior engineer, Raven, from a pipe that was about to fall; when Raven tries to sever Drobnic's drip in a fit of pique, he gets an arm chop and himself shoved up a wall; and at that same wall when Richard's held at gunpoint by the nervous Jackson, he knows exactly when the lad is about to strike him, whips round, catches the blow and pushes him out. And that was after hearing the guy surreptitiously enter from another room down the corridor.

Craig is just as useful to the mission even though he's not part of it - he's supposed to be setting up the American leg of the tour, but returns to Tremayne's office because of a feeling his friends are in trouble. It's no wonder Tremayne was becoming more and more suspicious of his agents as Craig can't even explain it, and that's not the only time in the episode it occurs, either: he photographically recalls a file on Vedel after getting the name from Joe, making Tremayne incredulous again that he could remember such a thing off the top of his head like that. And at the base, when all seems lost because communication has been cut off with the sub and Richard hadn't been told he needed to turn the pressure compensation valve as the sub rose, he sends a mental picture of it, saving their lives. Except, as Admiral Cox said, there was no way to let them know this vital piece of information. I expect he left that part out of his report to Tremayne and Richard could have made up some story about seeing it in a film or something, but it's all forgotten in the relief that the sub surfaces safely. And the biggest contribution he makes is to talk to Richard through the scrambler and yet somehow make his voice understandable so Richard knows to turn off the scrambler switch. I don't know why he didn't send a picture of the switch, as that would seem easier, but it's good to have different ways of succeeding.

On the whole I thought it was a little better than I'd expected, but then I may have been thinking of other submarine episodes they did, since it was overused. Although this was the first episode to show the submarine set, it wasn't the first to feature some part of it - 'The Dark Island' used the conning tower briefly. The view behind the tower, as well as from the naval building, was obviously a painting, but they did use good stock footage of the sub leaving the dock or descending and ascending. The model used underwater was okay, if clearly a model, but I like that they used every aspect of the filmmaking of the time to tell stories. I imagine the model of HMS Weatherby on the Admiral's desk was the same used for those sequences. They also use the docks location which they'd done a few times by this point, and the staircase room was well disguised as a hotel lobby (previously seen in that guise in 'The Ghost Plane' as the ski lodge reception), where the post-credits sequences takes place - fittingly it's Craig alone since he's not in the episode as much: this time he catches a load of parcels a woman flings at him, carries them up several flights of stairs, and still gets to the right floor just after the woman's exited the lift and stupidly tries looking for him among the throng of people coming out! It's not the greatest display of prowess, more frivolous than anything, but it shows Craig a gentleman and gives him some added time in the episode.

Most of his scenes are with Tremayne, who pops up to look worried a few times. Interestingly, we learn he must have sleeping quarters just off his office (perhaps that door we've seen to the right of the entrance), as he comes to the phone in his office attired in a dressing gown as if he was spending the night there. It shows he cares about his agents if he's staying there twenty-four hours a day to hear news or coordinate. One little bungle was most amusing, though wouldn't be obvious unless you were paying close attention: he has his back to the door while he's on the phone early in the episode, presses the button to let Craig in, pulls his arm back, then the door closes automatically and he remembers he has to press the button to close it so you see his arm stretch out to press it, even though the door's already shutting of its own accord! Technically you never see him press the button either time as it's just off the edge of the screen, but you can see from the gesture that's what he's doing. The only other questionable thing I could think of was why there would be a submarine in a loch? Isn't a loch a closed body of water, the Scottish word for lake? If so, why would there be a naval base on a loch, unless it was used for training exercises. And why would you have shipyards there (the crew are made up of shipyard engineers)? Did the sub get built there or was it somehow transported in modular parts and reconstructed?

Once again the credits throw up some questions about whose character is worthy of inclusion. Most of the main speaking roles do get credited, with some strange inclusions or exceptions: Trimmer, the good guy pilot whom Richard relies upon a lot for backup, and has a fair bit to do, doesn't get in. Nor does Hayley, the errant engineer that escaped through the decompression chamber, and he was very vocal. Lieutenant-Commander Street, the Captain of the good HMS Weatherby, is killed in the explosion and so isn't in it much, but he does get a credit, as does 'Naval Captain' which I assume is the guy who speaks to the champions on the conning tower at the end, but could also have been in the room with the Admiral in those scenes. Even the 'Telegraphist' is credited, which must be the radio operator who tries to be in contact with the sub from Cox' office, but Joe, the hired thug, and Vedel, the glasses-wearing foreign villain who hired him, are both excluded! So it's bizarre and uneven. I don't know why they didn't just squeeze in a third page of credits and have all the speaking roles in there. At least there's a nice, if talky, ending, with Richard relieved that his and Sharron's part in escorting the Drobnics is over, until Craig breaks the news that Madame Drobnic has requested them for the American leg, too!

**

The Fanatics

DVD, The Champions (The Fanatics)

Fanatics, terrorists, suicide bombers, intelligence leaks… It's an episode that is just as relevant for today's audience as it was back then, perhaps more so now. The series never had a recurring villain organisation as Bond did with SPECTRE, or 'Mission: Impossible' with The Syndicate, but if it had, then it would probably have been something like the villainous group in this one. Like most such things you only have to look at the top to see how wrong it is: while those under Croft may be there because of misguided notions of morality (Carson, the man Richard impersonates in order to infiltrate Croft's gang, claims: "No country has a moral right to exclusive knowledge on weapons of mass destruction," explaining why he gave away state secrets to the enemy), but Croft himself is the usual dictator, drunk on the fumes of power and greedy for more, his operation designed to become the power behind whatever throne invests in his assassination-to-order scheme, thereby expanding his control - he's not truly driven by ideology, but power lust. We get a sense of the scale thanks to the stock footage used for a motorcade at the beginning (another good use of this device, seen on a TV screen, just as they showed the inside of the missile silo in 'The Dark Island,' something they couldn't have built for themselves without great expense), and the grenade attack on an official, not to mention use of a helicopter (similar to the events of 'Happening,' another episode in which Richard works alone after infiltrating a gang - clearly a format that works, as of the three he's more of a Bondian character, a lone wolf agent, where Craig and Sharron bounce off each other).

The scale is achieved to some degree, but for all the accomplishments in production value they pull off with this one, it can't help but seem small when it boils down to Richard confronting the leader and his band in the usual house set, complete with the staircase (the room which our champions are forever creeping through and which you always expect a massive fight to erupt within, though that was relegated to the radio room this time - the police station or office Craig and Sharron visit also looks like the records room where he searched for clippings on plane technology in 'The Ghost Plane'), and Croft showing how small-minded he is by boasting his grand plans and being beaten so easily: when he's lying whimpering on the floor after Richard flipped him over his desk, he looks pitiful and there's a sense of childishness, brattishness about him that shows up his suave, confident attitude as a sham when push comes to flip. His grand schemes are talked about, and one almost comes off when Tremayne is targeted (I didn't remember what happened, but it was easy to guess that it was going to be the Nemesis boss since few others would generate as much drama unless they went ridiculous and it was the Prime Minister!), but more often it's talk, we don't get the full impression of the organisation's scope, even down to Croft going on the mission to 'free' 'Carson' (Richard), from his prison transport, when he could have left it to his men. Perhaps he likes to be in on the action, maybe he prefers to do a job himself to see it done right, but he can't always be there in the thick of it if the number of assassinations and attacks are to be believed.

Croft is a villain worth exploration, as his little asides with Richard demonstrate. This is some of the best stuff in the episode, and if the production side might not quite have pushed it over the border into one of the better episodes category on its own, this is what solidifies its position. Infiltration becomes incarceration, the torture of Richard by electrocution, with the lone lightbulb hanging over him like the Sword of Damocles, as a kind of sadistic lie test, was the start, though it's more for seeing Richard's genuinely in extreme pain than a mental tennis match - that comes when Richard's freed himself, warned Nemesis using the villains' own radio setup, and then beats up Croft and Anderson, gains the upper hand and holds the gun on the great and glorious leader. Croft makes to talk him down from further violence and Richard plays along to win the trust of the enemy in some kind of reverse psychology: now you have to prove yourself to me. As soon as he's handed over the gun to Croft, the man takes great pleasure in telling him viciously he's going to kill him, pulls the trigger and nothing happens. He laughs it off, pretending he knew there were no bullets left, then Richard turns the tables saying he knew it, too, by the weight of the weapon - he wouldn't have given it back to him otherwise! It's a brilliant exchange that shows how Richard's abilities put him a step ahead in a simple way. The other scene is with the safe when we learn there are only thirty seconds between the first and second dials being correctly set before explosives are set off. It shows how distrustful Croft is, as well as how daring Richard can be when he takes on the challenge, warning Sharron away for her own safety.

On balance, I think the episode was more fun when the three main characters were together. It's become an instant cliche that one of their number must be kidnapped at some point, and though Richard 'uncaptures' himself by getting into Croft's trust (as far as it goes), he's still kidnapped, effectively, drugged and tied down, so it's the usual thing. This time, Craig and Sharron are almost superfluous, they don't really do a lot except feel his pain. They were supposed to keep track of him, but they can't follow a helicopter, an unexpected development. One thing I found interesting about their scenes together was how they share their abilities. You'd think that if one of the three was injured and in great pain all three would feel it, but in most of the episodes we only see one of them get that sense. Usually it's Sharron, as a more naturally empathetic person, but this time it's Craig that feels the electric shocks coursing through Richard - Sharron even asks if it happened again so there's no question that she wasn't getting the signal this time. A similar thing happens when she focuses on the sound of the motorbike exhausts so they can follow the prisoner transfer before Richard's retrieved by the villains - Craig appears to concentrate on the driving, relying on her to provide the directions, like some kind of supernatural Sixties satnav. I wonder if these events are an indication of their relative lack of experience and skill with their powers. We haven't seen any great improvement in skill or learning, but then the episodes were made out of sequence, and in fact there wasn't designed to be a sequence, other than 'The Beginning' setting everything up. The revelation of their unfolding powers and gradually increasing understanding could have made the series more satisfying, but it wasn't in the nature of TV at the time.

One area we don't usually see is in the consequences of their actions, here very potently dealt with through the overly emotional (for a military officer), Colonel Banks. He'd already lost one man to an escape attempt made for Carson, and now, thanks to Nemesis' plan, he's lost three more, with two others badly injured. No wonder he's fuming. He seems a rather highly strung person anyway, showing his contempt for Carson, as Richard points out. He doesn't like working with an outside organisation such as Nemesis, and he doesn't hide it. But it is shocking that so many are killed just to put Richard in the position he needs to be. We can presume they didn't know he wasn't a criminal and may well have been going about their duty as normal. But Craig and Sharron aren't without compassion, they just know that time is of the essence and Richard's infiltration is integral to bringing down such a deadly, uncompromising organisation. The guards who were killed have been sacrificed for the greater good, but that doesn't make it all fine and dandy as can be seen in Sharron's shocked eyes. But they're agents of Nemesis and their mission must continue to the end. It adds a touch of reality to proceedings, reminding us that the 'redshirts' of any series are people, often sacrificed for the sake of victory (admittedly, they're often sacrificed for the sake of drama, but in this case the escort being routed made the villains look powerful, an essential component in the audience taking them seriously). The Colonel should have known that losses are necessary in the line of duty, it was only his anger that asked them how they could justify what happened.

If the ambush and helicopter escape sets the scene for an episode on a larger visual scale, and the interactions between Richard and Croft, or the three main characters, adds a seasoning of goodness, the ending supports everything that went before by having Tremayne be the next target, and not only that, but at a party in The Houses of Parliament itself! Something else that assists in the episode's quality is the reliance on external filming. Aside from another back-projection bungle (the car journey where Croft and Krasner transport Richard to the mansion is shot from high in the vehicle, looking down to the rear windscreen, so we should be seeing the road, but the film is shot as if the car is coming level towards the camera!), the use of natural environments only enhances the story, even with a little day-for-night shooting. To crown it all, we get the champions outside Westminster and Big Ben, a delight that they didn't skimp on. The room where the party at which Tremayne is shot in is a little poky, but I can imagine there are such rooms in Parliament and it only adds to the tension that there are these cramped quarters with tight pillars all around and thronged people from which the unknown assassin could strike at any moment. It's hard to believe that the woman could have smuggled a gun in there in her purse, but perhaps security was less stringent in those days.

It also scores for being a good use of Tremayne, so often kept in his office, barking down the phone or looking concerned. For once he gets to enjoy himself and get one up on his super-powered agents, surprising them by heeding their warnings and putting on the bulletproof vest which saves his life. I like to think that he carries it with him in his luggage because you never know when someone's going to take a potshot at the head of Nemesis. It brings up an interesting point: he must be a known leader of the organisation, while his agents' identities are kept secret because they have to sneak into groups of villainy. Not that they had the internet in those days, and the enemy would have to do some research, they couldn't just pull it up on their laptop at a moment's notice. But it suggests to me that Tremayne is a public figure and makes him and Nemesis more real. As does his conversation with some important person at the party where he reminds him that Nemesis is an international organisation - it's easy to forget when they're in London at The Houses of Parliament, and when so much of the filming looks English, and when three of the four main cast are English, that they aren't a British organisation!

In terms of powers used, there's a fair few, with Richard, understandably, the main source, though the post-credits scene this time features Craig alone of the champions, in a rare moment of romance - he's at a barbecue of some girlfriend who drops her bracelet into the burning coals and he reaches in and picks it out. It's not the best example, as she could just as simply have picked it out with the tongs she was using to turn over the meat, and it's not like he has to rummage around in hot coals to get it, either! So it isn't quite the same as when he tracked down another girl's (I assume, it would be good if it was the same actress), watch in a field by listening to the tick in 'Reply Box No. 666.' The only real interest is from a tiny insight into Craig's personal life, but as it's not connected to anything and is only a brief glimpse, it's an unremarkable beginning, especially after the shocking suicide bombing pre-credits, when a man runs for his Arab target with a grenade, continuing through gunshot wounds in a fanatical attack. It shows the difference starkly between the kind of men that would work for Croft, and Croft himself. You don't get the idea he cares about anything other than personal power, but somehow he's spun a web that has ensnared those looking to embrace an ideal, however twisted.

Craig and Sharron's use is more to reactionary abilities: Sharron's tracking of the exhaust noise; Craig telling Richard they can't follow and he's on his own; the impression that they're kicking Richard's brains out as Craig doesn't know exactly what they're doing, just that Richard's in extreme pain. He does kick open the front door when they arrive at Croft's place, which is in contrast to Richard, who doesn't smash the door to the cellar in when escaping, though that was probably more an attempt to stay quiet rather than alert any of Croft's men. He does a karate punch to break through to the handle and open it from that side instead. Prior to that he has a premonition of the ambush, shows his strength by breaking out of the strap holding him to the electrocution table, and is soon throwing Croft across the room (like he did to a henchman in 'To Trap A Rat'), and shoving a chair into Anderson (which made me think of a similar scene in 'Smallville' when Clark pushes a sofa under someone falling). He also hears the approach of his fellow agents' car and uses it to keep the reign of confusion over who the real Carson is when that worthy appears (he didn't need the help of the organisation after all, able to break out on his own when they'd already made two unsuccessful attempts!). Richard also shocks himself purposefully by removing a lightbulb and sticking his hand in to blow a fuse and put the house in darkness while he creeps up on Croft - he'd already experienced plenty of electrocution so what was one more jolt? Finally, his ability to crack the explosive-timed safe is a show of courage and perception, necessary to bring down the whole organisation as Croft was stupid enough to keep all records in that one place.

Gerald Harper is another to be afforded the distinction of having his credit on the same page as the main cast. I believe he was famous for another Sixties series, playing Adam Adamant. Carson's identity is further confused by being credited as 'Roger' Carson rather than Richard, a change I can imagine took place at some point during the development of the script so as to give Richard the line about it really being his first name, you know, which was fun. The only two characters I wasn't sure of that were credited were Collings and Faber. One of them must have been the grenade bomber at the start, another could have been another of Croft's henchman that brings in the real Carson. Equally, there's some important fellow Tremayne speaks to at the party, so he could have been credited. Thanks to the party and the motorcade there are many extras seen, but the only character of note not to be credited is the female assassin who shoots Tremayne, though she doesn't get a line. The exchange between Craig, who says he'll take care of her, and Richard saying to Sharron he bets he does, seemed to be an attempt to finish off the episode in lighthearted fashion, though it was a bit odd - Richard seems to be joking about some kind of romantic thing (she does look quite like the girlfriend from the post-credits barbecue scene), so it ends on a duff note, but as a whole it impresses enough to cross the border into a keeper rather than a skipper.

***

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.

**

The Ghost Plane

DVD, The Champions (The Ghost Plane)

Not one of the episodes I've ever thought highly of, despite the presence of Andrew Keir whom I always like seeing in things (like the second 'Dr. Who' film, 'Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD'). It's almost more of a 'Thunderbirds' or 'Captain Scarlet' episode, complete with model shots of the mysterious Mach 5 plane, and a slide show of this menace of the skies. Except our champions of law and order don't have high-tech vehicles, instead relying on hanging around in warehouses and that sort of thing. The most exotic mode of transport they use (in an episode in which they must have got through a ton of mileage, zipping about all over the world), is a bobsled in a brief sequence which looked as if it had come right out of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service,' followed by a sleigh ride in which you can see they're travelling at an angle to the back-projection! There are also tails in cars and, I presume, trips in planes, considering how fast they get round the various countries they visit. I can see it was supposed to have the impression of an international hunt for clues, but it comes across as unfocused. The rationale of the villain, Dr. John Newman of Cambridge University, is that his work was turned down by the Western authorities so he gleefully sold them to the East in order that his 'genius' not be lost. If he really cared so much about one project, and it turned out to be as successful as it did in the Chinese trial, would he really cast his own side (in what we must remember was the Cold War), to the wolves in exchange for money and prestige with his people's enemies?

China getting a leg up in the technological revolution is a chilling thought even today, so back in the Sixties, the idea they could have instant air superiority with those potential two hundred and fifty planes only waiting upon the essential components before they became the terror of the skies, must have been even more of a big deal. Little is said of Newman's traitorous actions, it's just accepted he's a villain. More psychology would have been appreciated in the same way that the Iron Man in 'The Iron Man' was approached. This episode, in keeping with radically different styles week to week, which I like, is a very different prospect. It has the jet-setting where the previous episode took place in the grounds of one house, the three main characters are all used equally, but often separately, and we're back to one of them being captured. Sharron's the one this time, and I don't know why she didn't just fight back when being held by Newman. Once he was holding her and no longer pointing a gun I don't see why she couldn't have hefted him over the shoulders in some kind of Judo move, except the plot demanded she be locked in the refrigeration room, just as Craig and Richard had been put into cold storage in 'Operation Deep-Freeze.' This time the makeup effects were much better with frost all over her and the objects inside. I wasn't clear on why she was reaching so desperately for one of the plastic bottles, whether she planned to mix some chemicals of some kind and create a heat source that way, or if she was too dazed to think straight and was grasping at anything in reach.

It's back to a simpler, more stereotypical style of episode, filled with stock footage (which in fairness, apart from the faux pas with the sleigh ride, all looked suitable, as if it had actually been shot for the episode, where sometimes it's obvious the various different elements are from entirely separate things), military locations (the aircraft carrier and ship internal scenes looked detailed enough to be real locations rather than studio sets, so it certainly leaves me wondering in that regard), and our own stock sets - the staircase room is used for the lobby of the ski hotel, and we get the usual corridor, too, where the espionage drama first promises to hold twists and turns, before that angle is quickly killed off (literally, when Newman's henchman murders the spy who is Richard and Sharron's contact). I'd have liked to have had more intrigue around the ski lodge rather than speeding off to Cambridge, or Germany, or Albania, but they don't stay long in any place, yet it's still without a sense of building tension, where chasing down the clues before it's too late should have made it exciting. There's even some question, fittingly, over the identity of Krilov, as they call him, the contact. Their memories flash up an image of his file and we see his name is Anton Nicholaevitch, which Sharron's recall for faces is jogged by seeing him in person at the window. His alias is Kleber, so where did they get Krilov from?

Confusion reigns even more thanks to the credits featuring a 'Crolic,' when no one by that name was in the episode that I could make out. Perhaps the name changed in the script and they didn't notice the mistake in the credits? Mind you, I wasn't sure who Coates was, though I'd assume he was Newman's henchman, though I don't think he was named in dialogue. As usual, that leaves a few speaking roles uncredited: the leader of the Albanian soldiers (unless he was Crolic, but then why wasn't Krilov credited, he was more important to the story?), Director F. Murer of Spiegel Hoffman Import-Export (according to the signage on his office door), whom Sharron visits, is another, and the air coordinator of the aircraft carrier and his superior, both from the pre-credits sequence are more. Unless one was 'Admiral,' but I assumed that was the ruddy-faced guy in charge of the ship from where Craig and Richard swim to the shore to set charges on the equipment containing the vital plane components. It's all thoroughly confusing and I don't see why they couldn't have stretched to a couple of pages of credits for the guest actors when needed.

In keeping with the rest of the episode being less satisfactory than usual, the post-credits explanation of the champions' powers is completely divorced from the story and only features one of the team. Not in keeping with the rest of the episode, it's a really good one, with Craig out for a walk and spotting a delivery van with the handbrake left off, rolling down a hill towards a group of children kicking a ball around in the road! Clever use of speeded up footage makes him appear to run faster than any normal man as he races to get inside and hit the brake just in time, made even better by the comparative slowness of the delivery driver who also makes a sprint and is vastly outpaced, which makes Craig look even faster. Certainly one of the better openings, a shame it couldn't have been added to a better episode, but it is a throwback to how the early episodes chose to do it, where the sequence had no connection to the larger episode, and I prefer when it does, even if only in a small way, like a continuation of the scene is what starts off the episode.

Tremayne gets in a dig at the end about how he has the worst job of all of them: waiting. He also shows some shrewd suspicions about the mental recall of his agents a couple of times, although he never goes any further with it, just seems to accept the paper-thin explanations. First it's Craig getting hot under the collar at Hardwick, the official liaising with Nemesis, saying he should have remembered the proposal from Dr. Newman as relevant to the case, which he found through going over old newspaper reports. Tremayne calms things by saying: "Remember, we can't all have a memory or perception the equal of yours," but it seemed more like grunt work for Craig, scanning through newspaper archives. I suppose he had narrowed it down to the right sort of time, so he must have had excellent recall to do that, which suggests that (assuming this was before the series), the powers enhance the memory that was already there, not just for new memories created since they were endowed with their abilities. Craig explains it as something that just got in head, you know how it is, to Tremayne's narrowed eyes. If only they could have played up the suspicions as an ongoing thing, like the reporter in 'The Incredible Hulk' who gets closer to Banner each week. It would make sense because as he said, he does a lot of waiting, which means time for thought and speculation. He's also highly suspicious of Sharron's ability to remember a specific file on a guy when they have a rundown on over twenty-thousand people from all nations on their files, just from seeing his face, and she doesn't have any better explanation!

There seemed to be a slight mistake in something Richard said about this Krilov when they're talking about him. He says 'we' came across him on the Zoniss case, '64-'65, but he can't be talking about he and Sharron as they hadn't worked together before 'The Beginning,' but if he's talking about 'we' as in Nemesis the organisation, why would Sharron recognise the face or file? She could have memorised every file on record, I suppose, but it sounded like a slip-up in their history to me. One thing that was a positive was we actually see the entire map in Tremayne's office make a complete one-eighty degree turn - it was fascinating to me to see a glimpse of what lies behind as it turns: there's a row of seats all lined up against the wall, presumably all the way along, perhaps in case of a large briefing. After all, the reverse side is a large screen for slides and films, so I could imagine the whole building's workers going up to that office for important presentations and needing seats.

One other thing that lessens the episode is the lack of their powers being used. The main one is Richard sensing Sharron's distress as she freezes at 'The Refridgeration & General Export Company' at Roxham (yes, the sign had a 'd' in refrigeration), then he sends a telepathic picture to Craig of the phone number at the Anton Research place he's visiting where a technician or scientist called Bridges has been testing the component Krilov threw through their window at the ski lodge and determines it is advanced cooling technology. I suppose he couldn't really speak to Craig when Bridges was standing next to him - he already asks if he's alright after Richard sags from Sharron's anguish, but did he have the power to speak if no one was around to hear him? Either way it's an effective message, although usually it's Sharron that senses one of the others' pain so I thought she had greater empathy from being female, but this shows that's not the case unless she can also broadcast empathy more powerfully, as well. It would be interesting to see if either Craig or Richard could experience such a thing from the other if one of them was in a tight spot, as that would confirm it or not.

When you first meet Newman's fiance, Vanessa Bailey, at his rooms in Cambridge, you assume she's the leak since we'd already seen her with the henchman at the ski lodge, and you can imagine some young thing getting the secrets out of this older man then ditching him, but in actual fact Dr. Newman is the mastermind. It might have been more dramatic if they'd kept that quiet for a bit longer and continued with the impression of Vanessa as the main villain, then revealed Newman at a key moment rather than letting us see a sly look in his eyes after Craig left. I did wonder what Richard was going to do in the Albanian warehouse when she makes as if to explore down his end. His gun is drawn and ready, but would he have shot her or just knocked her out with the butt? That seems more in character for him, not least as the gunshot would have given the game away, anyway. And I wonder if that jetty or little wooden pier that Craig leaps off of into the water was the same location as the lake where he jumped in during 'The Invisible Man'? This time they use actual night shooting instead of day for night as they tend more towards (such as 'The Iron Man'), which makes a difference in making things seem more realistic.

Indeed, in general the quality of the production wasn't the issue, the stock footage was fitting and not scrappy, the locations were varied and there was plenty of outdoor filming. The cast were all important to the story and the guest cast were fine, it's just that, like the components to this fantastic new plane being hidden in functional, familiar, everyday items, the nuggets and gems this episode held were disguised within drabness. It never was exciting or gripping, more of a thought experiment, a contemporary exploration of what an Eastern superpower might do if they only had the upper hand in technology. It also seemed far from over as a potential threat: if the Chinese had one prototype then surely they could reverse engineer the individual components and manufacture them themselves instead of having to rely on the shipments coming from Newman? Granted, I'm putting today's capability of countries over what they were capable of fifty years ago, so perhaps it would have been unfeasible, but even then, couldn't they have put all their efforts into finding a new supplier now they knew what was required? It seems to me that it would be an ongoing threat that the Chinese would be putting all their efforts into this project once they'd tasted success with one plane. And the Western powers would surely be looking again at Newman's research to ensure they developed their own. But of course we're not privy to governments and what goes on at the top, how advances are accepted or discarded, and it's onto the next mission for our champions, such major technology advancements doesn't trouble their sleep, I'm sure.

**