Place of Angels

Infobox Television episode
Title = Place of Angels
Series = Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Season = 1
Episode = 23
Airdate = March 8, 1968
Production = 21
Writer = Leo Eaton
Director = Leo Eaton
Episode list = List of "Captain Scarlet" episodes
Prev = Flight 104
Next = Noose of Ice

"Place of Angels" is the 23rd episode of the Supermarionation television series "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons". It was the 21st episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was March 8, 1968 on ATV Midlands. It was written and directed by Leo Eaton.

ynopsis

The Mysterons threaten to destroy the "place of the angels" and a phial containing a lethal man-made virus is stolen from a bacteriological research centre. Will Scarlet and Blue apprehend the Mysteron agent responsible before millions of lives are put at risk?

Plot

At the Bacteriological Research Centre near Manchester, England, Dr Denton and his assistant, Judith Chapman, activate a culture of K14 virus capable of killing ten million people. Denton locks the phial in a safe prior to testing the next day and Chapman prepares to leave the facility. Captain Black has been waiting in a fuel tanker and drives past the entrance just before Chapman departs in her car. Out of sight of his target, Black stops his vehicle and hurries to the roadside. Chapman is unable to brake in time and crashes into the tanker. As the Mysteron rings pan over the dead woman, the truck explodes and Chapman's reconstruction appears alongside Black.

Transmitting to Earth, the Mysteron threaten to destroy the "place of the angels". The Cloudbase personnel are puzzled by the obscure warning.

The duplicate Chapman returns to the Research Centre the next morning. Entering the laboratory, she throttles a security guard with safety forceps and the safe containing the K14 is opened by the Mysteron rings.

On Cloudbase, Blue wonders if the Mysterons intend to destroy one of the Spectrum Angels' home towns. Lieutenant Green is contacted by the Bacteriological Research Centre and Colonel White orders Scarlet and Blue to fly to England. Onboard the Spectrum Jet, Blue remembers that Rhapsody once lived in Manchester but Scarlet doubts that it could be called the "place of the angels".

At the Centre, Denton tells the Spectrum officers that Chapman is the only possible culprit behind the theft and killing because she was the sole person to enter the compound that morning. The K14 is the most deadly virus ever developed and would endanger millions of lives if its phial were broken. Returning to Cloudbase, Scarlet and Blue are informed that the suspect has been sighted in New York. Landing at the airport, they requisition an SPV and pursue Chapman as she drives along the interstate highway. Observing through binoculars, Captain Black warns the Mysteron agent that she is being intercepted and Chapman steps out of her car. She puts the vehicle in drive and watches as it leaves the road, colliding with a tree on the hillside. Scarlet and Blue arrive and find a broken phial on the dashboard.

The officers are transferred to an isolation capsule and flown back to Cloudbase pending infection tests. However, Denton's analysis on the phial checks negative for K14 and Colonel White realises that Spectrum has been tricked.

Hours later, reports of sightings of Chapman have reached Cloudbase from all over North America. Hearing that she has been spotted in Los Angeles, Scarlet deduces from the name that LA is the threatened "place of the angels". The captains immediately take off for California.

Chapman is driving towards the Colorado River, leading White to conclude that she is planning to release the K14 into the city's reservoir at the Boulder Dam. As Chapman arrives at her destination, Scarlet and Blue divert their Jet and Scarlet ejects over the structure at 500 feet. The Mysteron agent shoots the captain on his descent but the officer is not badly wounded. Landing, Scarlet threatens Chapman with his own gun as she prepares to snap the phial at the edge of the dam. However, a floor vent collapses, unbalancing the Mysteron agent and causing her to topple over the wall. As Chapman screams to her death, Scarlet lunges for the phial, which settles on a ledge just beyond his grasp. Gently manoeuvring his arm, the captain seizes the virus before it rolls over the side. Colonel White frantically radios Scarlet but is told that the place of the angels is safe.

Cast

Regular voice cast

*Captain Scarlet — Francis Matthews
*Captain Blue — Ed Bishop
*Colonel White — Donald Gray
*Lieutenant Green — Cy Grant
*Destiny Angel — Liz Morgan
*Symphony Angel — Janna Hill
*Captain Black / Voice of the Mysterons — Donald Gray

Guest voice cast

In speaking order:

*Dr Denton — Jeremy Wilkin
*Judith Chapman — Sylvia Anderson
*Security Guard — Gary Files
*Captain — Martin King
*Spectrum, New York (voice) — Jeremy Wilkin
*Engineer — Gary Files

Notes

*The original title for this episode was "The City of Angels" and in the script the Mysteron threat was to "destroy the population of the City of Angels".cite book
author = Bentley, Chris
title = The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet
year = 2001
pages = p.85
publisher = Carlton Books
id = ISBN 1-84222-405-0]

References

External links

* [http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/scarleteg2.html#Episode%20Twenty%20One Fanderson.org.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide: "Place of Angels"]
* [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Capt%20Scarlet%20Timeline.htm# Clivebanks.co.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide]