Renegade Rocket

Infobox Television episode
Title = Renegade Rocket
Series = Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Season = 1
Episode = 16
Airdate = January 19, 1968
Production = 7
Writer = Ralph Hart
Director = Brian Burgess
Episode list = List of "Captain Scarlet" episodes
Prev = Seek and Destroy
Next = Crater 101

"Renegade Rocket" is the 16th episode of the Supermarionation television series "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons". It was the seventh episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was January 19, 1968 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Ralph Hart and directed by Brian Burgess.

Synopsis

An army officer is killed by the Mysterons and his reconstruction launches a Variable Geometry Rocket. Fleeing Base Concord with the destruct computer and target data, the Mysteron agent is intercepted by the Angels. Captains Scarlet and Blue are dispatched to Base Concord, but will they find out the target and the correct destruct code before the rocket plunges back to Earth?

Plot

On Cloudbase, Colonel White bids farewell to Major Reeves, a rocket expert who has been touring the headquarters. Later, Reeves is being transported to Base Concord by yacht. Unaware that Captain Black is observing the vessel from the shore through binoculars, the Major begins to feel nauseous and goes out on deck for fresh air. While Black continues to gaze, part of the side railing gives way and Reeves tumbles into the sea and drowns. The Mysteron rings pan over the body and a second Major Reeves enters the yacht's bridge. He tells the captain that he feels a new man.

The reconstructed Major Reeves arrives at the island base and orders a puzzled officer to seal the control room. When he refuses to launch a Variable Geometry Rocket on security grounds, Reeves guns him down with a pistol and begins to prime the VGR himself.

Transmitting to Earth, the Mysterons announce that they are about to launch an incendiary rocket and that humankind will have no way of knowing its target. At Base Concord, Reeves programs the target and inputs "ZERO" as the code word. He launches the rocket and removes the flight program unit from its circuit as personnel gather outside the room and demand that the door is opened.

The base commander arrives and the men blow open the door with an emergency detonator. The group discovers the dead officer and a security guard reveals that Major Reeves was the only person to enter the base that morning. The airstrip reports that Reeves has taken off in an interceptor jet. With the rocket expert the only possible suspect, the commander radios Colonel White and informs him of the situation. White realises that Reeves has been taken over by the Mysterons and is disturbed to learn that, without the flight program unit, the target of the rocket is unknown. In addition, it will impossible to destroy the VGR by remote control without the correct four-letter code word.

The Angels are launched to start a radar search for Reeves and the stolen unit. Melody locates the enemy jet, but Reeves circles around her and attacks with a front-mounted machine gun. Melody is able to eject from her craft before it nosedives into the sea and explodes. Rhapsody and Harmony tail Reeves with extreme caution.

Colonel White dispatches Captains Scarlet and Blue to Base Concord and the officers meet the commander in the control room. The target of the VGR is still a mystery. Furthermore, not one tracking station on Earth has detected the rocket. The commander explains that the VGR loses altitude miles from its target and then flies horizontally like a conventional plane. A sergeant ominously realises that the rocket would only be invisible to radar if it were travelling on a vertical flight path. Consequently, it must be programmed to return to its launch area and destroy Base Concord.

As the VGR reverses trajectory at the threshold of space, a replacement flight program unit is installed at the base. The sergeant and security guard work through each code word on the 10,000-strong list in alphabetical order, desperate to activate the rocket's destruct mechanism. Meanwhile, Rhapsody contacts Reeves and orders him to return to Base Concord. The Mysteron agent refuses and deliberately crashes his aircraft, sending the unit and codeword irretrievably to the seabed.

Later, all personnel except Scarlet and Blue have evacuated the base. With the rocket due to strike in three minutes, Colonel White orders his officers to leave. However, the captains disobey their instructions and decide to remain, testing more code words in the hope that they will destroy the VGR. White guarantees a court-martial for their conduct and counts down as the rocket makes its final approach towards the base. Scarlet and Blue's last code word, "AMEN", is unsuccessful. However, on the seafloor, Reeves's undamaged unit rolls onto its side. The destruct button is pushed down and the appropriate code word detonates the VGR.

Back on Cloudbase, White tells Scarlet and Blue that naval divers recovering the lost unit discovered that the codeword was "ZERO". The Colonel is amused by the aptness of "AMEN", but is furious that his officers relied on fate to destroy the rocket. However, when Lieutenant Green asks if the captains will be court-martialled, White says no, stating that brave men are vital to Spectrum's cause.

Cast

Regular voice cast

*Captain Scarlet — Francis Matthews
*Captain Blue — Ed Bishop
*Colonel White — Donald Gray
*Lieutenant Green — Cy Grant
*Rhapsody Angel — Liz Morgan
*Melody Angel — Sylvia Anderson
*Harmony Angel — Lian Shin
*Voice of the Mysterons — Donald Gray

Guest voice cast

In speaking order:

*Major Reeves — Gary Files
*Captain — Jeremy Wilkin
*Base Concord Controller — Charles Tingwell
*Security Guard — Jeremy Wilkin
*Commander — Paul Maxwell
*Sergeant — Martin King
*Airstrip (voice) — Martin King

External links

* [http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/scarleteg.html#Episode%20Seven Fanderson.org.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide: "Renegade Rocket"]
* [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Capt%20Scarlet%20Timeline.htm# Clivebanks.co.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide]