"Seek and Destroy" is the fifteenth instalment of Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons. It was written for television by Peter Curran and David Williams, and directed by Alan Perry.
In this instalment, a Mysteron threat to kill one of the Spectrum Angels leads to aerial combat that finds Melody Angel and her team fighting against a squad of likenesses of Angel Interceptors. The frequent special effects sequences and aerial shots in this instalment have garnered praise for the episode.
Plot[]
Captain Black intercepts a transporter ferrying valuable cargo to a warehouse, who then kills the driver. The Mysterons' agent then deliberately starts a fire which obliterates the building and everything inside it. Surveying the wreckage with a fire chief, the company director, Fairfield, reveals the contents of the transporter's shipment: three new Spectrum Angel Interceptors, fitted with engines and awaiting spraying and testing before delivery to Cloudbase. At that moment, however, three aircraft fly over the warehouse, bearing a strong resemblance to the planes that were destroyed in Captain Black's arson attack.
Meanwhile, the Mysterons have informed Spectrum that they intend to kill one of the Spectrum Angels. Destiny Angel is the only one of the five women currently away from Cloudbase so she is the most likely target, Colonel White sends Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue to retrieve her from her vacation leave in Paris when Lieutenant Green's attempts to contact her prove unsuccessful. The officers eventually locate Destiny at a café and the group depart for the nearest airport, only to find themselves ambushed on a country road by the reconstructed, unpiloted Angel fighters. Fortunately, the real Angels, led by Melody Angel, soon arrive at the danger zone and engage the enemy. After shooting down one of them, Harmony Angel is hit and is forced to eject before her aircraft is obliterated, but Rhapsody Angel manages to eliminate another, which crashes into the ground and explodes. Finally, the third plane is destroyed when it performs a suicidal nosedive and crashes into a building with Melody Angel in pursuit. The Melody Angel, however, reacts quickly enough to avoid crashing her own jet. On the ground, Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue, and Destiny Angel find that the Mysteron attack has reduced the Spectrum Saloon Car in which they were travelling to a charred wreck. This leads Captain Blue to quip mirthlessly that it will be "a long walk to Cloudbase."
Production[]
In the episode, the crate containing the unfinished Angel fighters is picked up by Jackson's transporter in a motion which is described in the shooting script as similar to "Thunderbird 2 picking up a pod". The Destiny Angel's hotel room is the same set used for the accommodation of the Director General in the instalment "Winged Assassin," while the exterior of the hotel also appears as the SHEF Headquarters in "Point 783".
The finished episode deletes a concluding scene in which the Destiny Angel finds that a bottle of perfume that she purchased in Paris has survived the destruction of the Spectrum Saloon Car.
Footage from "Seek and Destroy" was re-edited and used in Captain Scarlet vs the Mysterons, a Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons compilation film created in 1980.
Quotes[]
- Captain Black - "Good, Jackson. I like a man who can keep a secret."
Reception[]
In their Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode guide, Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett praise the aerial sequences in "Seek and Destroy", summarising that the episode is "an excellent showcase for the Angel aircraft, as well as providing the small 'Flying Unit' of Century 21 with an opportunity to express themselves in full." Rating the episode "U", the British Board of Film Classification notes that "Seek and Destroy" contains "infrequent, very mild" violence.
