Winged Assassin
"Winged Assassin" is the second episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company Century 21 Productions. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by David Lane, it was first broadcast on 6 October 1967 on ATV Midlands. The plot of the episode see Captain Scarlet establish his indestructibility as Spectrum attempts to prevent the Mysterons from assassinating the Director General of the United Asian Republic.
The episode has been positively received by commentators, and is frequently cited as one of the best episodes of the series. In 1980, it was re-edited to form a segment of the Captain Scarlet compilation film Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons. When BBC Two began repeating the series in September 2001, "Winged Assassin" was postponed from its intended transmission date due to perceived similarities between its plot and the September 11 attacks.
Plot
In a transmission to Earth, the Mysterons warn Spectrum that they intend to assassinate Xian Yoh, the Director General of the United Asian Republic, who is currently in London on a state visit. An attempt to kill the target in his hotel room is foiled by Captain Grey.Maximum security is imposed at London International Airport, where the Director General is due to leave the country. At the request of Colonel White, the resurrected Mysteron double of Captain Scarlet – who has been declared by Cloudbase's medical officer Dr Fawn to be no longer under Mysteron control and effectively "indestructible" – returns to duty to help lead the operation. Scarlet and Captain Blue fly to London accompanied by the Angel fighter squadron.
Meanwhile, the Mysterons use their powers to trigger a systems failure on board an airliner, Flight Delta Tango 19, causing it to crash into the Atlantic Ocean and explode. A reconstruction of the plane, devoid of crew and passengers, continues on the original flight path from New York to London.
As a double of the Director General is driven to London Airport in a decoy motorcade, the real Xian Yoh arrives in Spectrum's "Yellow Fox" – a secure transport disguised as an aircraft fuel tanker – and discreetly boards his private jet. As DT19 lands a short distance away, Scarlet, watching from the control tower with Blue, experiences a sudden nausea, warning him that the Director General is in danger. At that moment, DT19 breaks away from the terminal and rushes towards the Director General's jet.
Ordering the jet to take off immediately, Scarlet and Blue set off in their Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle to intercept DT19. The airliner is unhindered by the Angels' aerial bombardment, so Scarlet and Blue prepare to fire on its undercarriage with the SPV's rocket launcher. However, the launch mechanism malfunctions. Taking matters into his own hands, Scarlet ejects Blue and rams into DT19's wheels, dislodging them and bringing the airliner to a halt. Breaking away from the aircraft, he is fatally injured when the SPV crashes into a radar bunker. The jet takes off but collides with one of DT19's wings and crashes into a field, killing the Director General and everyone else on board. As Scarlet's body is taken away in an ambulance, the airport chief assumes that he is dead, to which Blue replies: "Maybe he didn't die... in vain."
Production
"Winged Assassin" marks the first appearance of the series' secondary title sequence, in which the Mysterons transmit their threat to Spectrum while the green Mysteron "eyes" slide menacingly over the regular puppet cast. These shots were recorded during the filming of this episode. "Winged Assassin" is also the first episode of Captain Scarlet to feature uncredited voice actor Neil McCallum, who also voiced guest characters in "Big Ben Strikes Again", "Codename Europa" and "Expo 2068".Tony Barwick's script gives the DT19 co-pilot's name as "Johnson". According to character dialogue, the events of this episode take place on 10 July, the same day as the events of "Treble Cross" and the closing scene of "Flight to Atlantica". Barwick was fond of inserting references to 10 July as that was his birthday.
The scale model of the entrance to London International Airport was designed by special effects assistant Mike Trim. The episode's incidental music – a suite running to 4 minutes and 38 seconds – was recorded by series composer Barry Gray in a four-hour studio session held on 3 April 1967.
A flashback to the murders of Captains Scarlet and Brown in "The Mysterons" omits the blue monochrome effect that was originally used to indicate the Mysterons' presence.
Broadcast
When BBC Two began a digitally-remastered re-run of Captain Scarlet in September 2001, "Winged Assassin" was originally due to be broadcast on 17 September as the second episode. However, it was postponed due to perceived similarities between the storyline and the recent September 11 attacks. This coincided with distributor Carlton briefly taking down the Captain Scarlet pages on its website. The episode was eventually broadcast on 10 December 2001.Reception
"Winged Assassin" is regarded as one of the best episodes of Captain Scarlet by Anthony Clark of sci-fi-online.com and as a series highlight by Mike Fillis of Cult Times and Ultimate DVD magazines. Fillis praises special effects director Derek Meddings for producing "miniature magic" with the DT19 scale model.Ian Fryer, author of The Worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, considers "Winged Assassin" to be the series' "key episode", writing that "no episode... expresses the horror of the series concept better". He praises both the "deadpan" depiction of the DT19 crash and the "genuinely thrilling" climax, which he regards as the best of any Captain Scarlet episode. Fryer suggests that the Mysteron victory " this invisible enemy as a truly formidable opponent" while arguing that the episode as a whole "treads a fine line between adult themes and suitability for the young audience".
Andrew Thomas of Dreamwatch magazine comments that the shots of Flight DT19 "sat menacingly" on the runway at London Airport, "with the controls moving on their own and row upon row of empty seats... is a chilling one, and sets the pattern for the series."
Chris Bentley, author of Captain Scarlet: The Vault, describes the conclusion as "startling", remarking that the Mysterons' victory over Spectrum greatly increases the tension in later episodes. He contrasts this with episodes of earlier Anderson series, which he says "always ended happily, with missions accomplished and lives saved".
Rick Sanchez of IGN views the scene in which Scarlet ejects Blue as an example of superior scriptwriting.
The British Board of Film Classification certifies the episode U, noting that it contains "some action and mild horror".