Three's a Crowd (Joe 90 episode)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Three's a Crowd
Series = Joe 90
Season = 1
Episode = 17
Airdate = January 19, 1969
Production = 5
Writer = Tony Barwick
Director = Peter Anderson
Episode list = List of "Joe 90" episodes
Prev = Double Agent
Next = The Professional

"Three's a Crowd" is the 17th episode of the Supermarionation television series "Joe 90". It was the fifth episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was January 19, 1969 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Peter Anderson.

Synopsis

When Mac falls for an attractive reporter, Joe is suspicious of the smooth girlfriend. Concerned by the potential security risk, Sam enlists Joe's help in exposing the woman's true intentions – with the aid of the BIG RAT.

Plot

In a jungle fortress home to criminal mastermind the "General", an unsuccessful agent is being prepared for execution. The General reminds him that he will be killed for failure and the agent is gunned down by a firing squad. A mysterious woman has been watching from the sideline. Approaching her, the General states that in his employ success is amply rewarded, but failure will lead to the same fate as the condemned man.

Some time later, the female agent, an American called Angela Davis, arrives at the McClaines' cottage posing as a reporter for a women's magazine. Mac has been told that she is writing a series on old English houses and answers questions on the cottage. The interview takes far longer than expected, but as Davis finally prepares to depart, Mac is surprised to discover that she has read some of electronics work and invites her to discuss a matter of contention with him. Joe, however, is unconvinced by Davis's smooth comments.

Mac begins to see Davis on a regular basis for restaurant trips and concerts. Smitten with the journalist, he begins to share less time with Joe and arouses the suspicions of WIN, who are concerned by the potential security risk and place a surveillance tag on the professor. At WIN Headquarters London, Shane Weston orders Sam Loover to explain the situation to his friend. However, when Sam comes over to the cottage, Mac interprets Loover's remarks as a command to stop seeing Davis and angrily storms off. Sam finds that Joe has been eavesdropping on the whole conversation and agrees with the boy that Mac has a very dubious girlfriend.

Allying themselves, Joe and Sam plot to uncover Davis's true intentions while she stays at the cottage for the weekend. That evening, as Davis urges Mac to reveal more about his work, they use a hidden aerial to record the woman's brain pattern onto the BIG RAT. Sam transfers the data to Joe, who confirms that Davis is an enemy agent planning to steal Mac's ideas. With his new knowledge and experience, Joe describes how it might happen…

Two men, Carlson and Andrews, are driving towards the McClaines' cottage in the early hours of the morning. Meanwhile, Davis descends to Mac's underground laboratory in the lift while the professor is asleep upstairs. The spy takes secret photographs of the BIG RAT equipment before blowing open a safe with plastic explosive and extracting the machine's master drawings and circuit diagrams. Returning to the lounge, she signals to Carlson and Andrews by flashing the room light and is picked up by her accomplices. The trio fly to the General's fortress and present their findings to their paymaster. The General, pleased by their success, offers them a reward of gold…

Sam is horrified by Joe's prediction and wants to tell Mac everything. Joe, however, believes that their story would break his father's heart and persuades Sam to let him try an alternative method.

The next day, Joe leaves the cottage without notifying Mac, who is alarmed and desperately tries to find his son. Sneaking back to the house wearing his special glasses, Joe corners Davis in the lounge. Using her brain pattern, he declares the reporter's true identity and her reason for her attachment to Mac. The boy then poses a series of questions and responds for Davis, getting each answer correct, until the woman is overwhelmed. Asked what she must do, Joe orders her to keep away from Mac.

When the professor returns, Davis tells Mac that she wants to end their relationship, explaining that she does not want to interfere in his and Joe's lives. Mac respects her decision and drives her to the monorail station for her journey home. On the train, a startled Davis is quietly arrested by Sam. That night, while relaxing in front of the lounge fire with Joe, Mac is still unaware of the truth about his girlfriend.

Cast

Regular voice cast

*Joe McClaine — Len Jones
*Professor Ian "Mac" McClaine — Rupert Davies
*Sam Loover — Keith Alexander
*Shane Weston — David Healy

Guest voice cast

In speaking order:

*General — Keith Alexander
*Failed Agent — Keith Alexander
*Angela Davis — Sylvia Anderson
*Carlson — David Healy
*Andrews — Gary Files

Notes

*The original title for this episode was "Think of a Number".
*The fortress model featured in the episode "The Fortress" appears here as the General's citadel. The monorail station set is the same one seen in the "Thunderbirds" episode "The Perils of Penelope".

External links

* [http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/joeeg.html#Episode%20Five Fanderson.org.uk: "Joe 90" Episode Guide: "Three's a Crowd"]
* [http://www.bigrat.co.uk/episodes/episode_05.html Bigrat.co.uk: "Joe 90" Episode Guide: "Three's a Crowd"]
* [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Joe%2090%20Timeline.htm# Clivebanks.co.uk: "Joe 90" Episode Guide]