- "We will destroy President Roberts within the next twelve hours"
The Launching is the 29th produced, and the 27th broadcast, episode of the British television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
Plot[]
Mervin Brand, a reporter for The Tribune newspaper, is killed in his jet Tribune 3 by lightning while en route to the press conference with President Roberts. When reconstructed promptly by the Mysterons - so that Tribune Control doesn't suspect that the real Mervin Brand has crashed and died - the Mysteronized Brand continues his flight to the press conference, but is stopped by the Angels, who have strict instructions to attack & destroy any aircraft violating the restricted airspace over the President's residence (due to his life being under siege by the Mysterons). His arrogance and egotism don't help matters, as he believes the enemies preparing to kill him will not achieve their latest ploy of revenge, and ignores the fact that the Mysterons killed the Director-General of the United Asian Republic...
Spectrum continues to pursue his residence, but when the President reveals the new atomic-liner ship built by the Trans-Pacific Shipping Corporation, is being named after him - and is set to be released from port today - Captain Scarlet grasps that the Mysterons intend to destroy the President Roberts ship, and not the man himself...
Cast[]
Regular Cast[]
.png "Scarlet (the lauching).png (125 KB)")
.png "Blue (the lauching).png (144 KB)")
.png "Green (the lauching).png (142 KB)")
.png "White (the lauching).png (132 KB)")
.png "Ochre (the lauching).png (138 KB)")
.png "Destiny (the lauching).png (132 KB)")
.png "Harmony (the lauching).png (131 KB)")
(Lian Shin)
.png "Symphony (the lauching).png (143 KB)")
(Janna Hill)
.png "Black (the lauching).png (130 KB)")
(Donald Gray)
(Donald Gray)
Guest Cast[]
.png "Operator (the lauching).png (134 KB)")
Tribune Control
(Jeremy Wilkin)
(David Healey)
Trans-Pacific Shipping (Martin King)
(Sylvia Anderson)
Cameo Roles[]
Equipment Used[]
Brand's Aircraft
Atomic Liner
Locations[]
Trivia[]
- The festive music being played at the site of the launching was previously heard in the Fireball XL5 episode Flying Zodiac.
- Oops: when the episode was originally written and filmed, the Tribune newspaper was called the Chicago Tribune, which is a real daily newspaper. Seemingly it took until after filming for the producers to realise that the name may have potentially infringed trademark rights - because each and every scene that somehow involved the words "Chicago Tribune" had to be reshot.
- Also, for one reason or another, almost every scene of the presidential residence required reshooting. All of the remounted scenes were shot in the latter half of 1967.
- All original scenes, as well as those that did not have to be reshot, were filmed in late May 1967 (and possibly in the June of that year too).
- When Mervin Brand presents his press ID to Harmony Angel, it contains a picture of Captain Indigo, which is a coincidence as they are both voiced by Gary Files.
- Director-General Xian Yoh was mentioned by Captain Scarlet to telling President Roberts that the Mysterons success assassination him in the London Airport.
