Big Fish (Joe 90 episode)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Big Fish
Series = Joe 90
Season = 1
Episode = 10
Airdate = December 1, 1968
Production = 7
Writer = Shane Rimmer
Director = Leo Eaton
Episode list = List of "Joe 90" episodes
Prev = Splashdown
Next = Relative Danger

"Big Fish" is the tenth episode of the British Supermarionation television series "Joe 90". It was first broadcast on December 1, 1968 on ATV Midlands.

ynopsis

When a submarine is crippled inside enemy waters, it is up to Joe to remove it before the military regime discover the craft and cancel free elections to be held in the state.

Plot

A two-man U85 nuclear submarine is returning to its base after target practice. However, one of the torpedo tubes fails to close during rearming, causing water to flood the vessel. The captain and his officer, Gardner, are powerless to save the craft as it sinks and crashes on the seabed. The men are also alarmed to find that they have drifted miles off course and are now in the territorial waters of the small police state of Porto Guava. Transmitting a distress signal to their base through an emergency buoy, Gardner and the captain don diving suits and leave the stricken U85 via the airlock, inflating a liferaft on the surface. As the pair wait anxiously for a helijet to arrive and pick them up, a Porto Guavan patrol boat approaches the raft, but Gardner and the captain go unnoticed. The helijet soon reaches the scene and airlifts the men to safety.

It is imperative that the submarine is removed from Porto Guavan waters as quickly and covertly as possible because its discovery by the military dictatorship headed by Juan Chaves would jeopardise free elections to be held in the state. Because the only entrance to the submarine is through the narrow faulty torpedo tube, only Joe 90 could be assigned to access the craft, pump out the water and steer the vessel out into the open sea. At the McClaines' cottage in England, Joe is given the brain pattern of Bill Frazer, a top aquanaut, before flying out to Porto Guava with Mac on what is ostensibly a fishing trip.

Upon arrival at their destination, the McClaines are greeted at the customs office by Juan Chaves himself. At the marina, the father and son try to hire a vessel for private use. A boatman, Miguel, reminds Mac that by law all visitors must be accompanied at sea, but the professor bribes him with extra cash so that he and Joe can sail alone. Miguel is suspicious of his customers and decides to watch from the rocks as Mac fishes with a rod. Meanwhile, with the BIG RAT electrodes fitted into his mask, Joe has dived to the seafloor to perform reconnaissance of the abandoned U85. Surfacing, Joe reports that he will be able to fit through the torpedo tube when they return to complete the mission that evening.

Later, while the McClaines rest in their hotel room, Miguel drops by to confess that he was spying on them earlier. The boatman goes on to warn that ships are easily observable from the rocks and that their behaviour may attract the attention of the authorities. Unknown to the trio, a police lieutenant also spotted the McClaines alone at sea, prompting Chaves and his subordinate to accompany the patrol boat that evening.

After sunset, Mac and Joe set off with Miguel in his boat. At the dive site, Joe kits up and submerges once more, with Mac telling Miguel that his son is hunting a "big fish". However, as Joe tries to work his way through the torpedo tube, his leg is caught by a giant clam. On the surface, the Mac and Miguel are discovered by the patrol boat and confronted by Chaves and the lieutenant. Noticing that Joe is nowhere to be seen, Chaves places the men under arrest for murdering the boy and orders Miguel's boat to be towed back to shore. Meanwhile, Joe is unable to release his leg from the clam's grip as his air supply runs out…

By the next day, Mac and Miguel have been sentenced to death and are in the state jail awaiting execution. However, when Chaves enters their cell, the men are overjoyed to hear that the ruling has been quashed and are all the more relieved to see Joe standing close by.

Back at the hotel, Joe tells his father that ultimately he was able to free himself from the clam with just enough air left in his cylinder. He then entered the U85 through the torpedo tube, drained all the water inside and navigated his way into international waters. Before long, Miguel calls in with a proposal to capitalise on Joe's diving talents for financial gain, but after all their excitement, Mac and his son are simply eager to return home.

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:

*U85 Captain — David Healy
*Gardner — Shane Rimmer
*Juan Chaves — David Healy
*Miguel — Gary Files
*Lieutenant — Keith Alexander

External links

* [http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/joeeg.html#Episode%20Seven Fanderson.org.uk: "Joe 90" episode guide: "Big Fish"]
* [http://www.bigrat.co.uk/episodes/episode_07.html Bigrat.co.uk: "Joe 90" episode guide: "Big Fish"]
* [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Joe%2090%20Timeline.htm# Clivebanks.co.uk: "Joe 90" episode guide]