Gerry Anderson's Stingray is the first color offering from the British "Supermariantion" studio and the one just before the more famous Thunderbirds show. At a half hour each these shows are very nicely paced and don't drag as some of the later Thunderbirds episodes are wont to do from time to time. The show is also brighter than Captain Scarlet, not so gloomy in its atmosphere. The stories are told with vigor and often with deft edits which lose none of the story but keep the show running briskly.
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| (Tempest, Marina and Phones) |
Stingray presents the adventures of Captain Troy Tempest (designed to look like James Garner) and his navigator "Phones". They are joined by Marina, a sea-dwelling mute woman with green hair (designed to look like Bridget Bardot or maybe Ursula Andress). Back at the base named Marineville are Commander Shore and his daughter and primary Tempest love interest Atlanta (who resembles Lois Maxwell the woman who voices her and James Bond's favorite secretary). So now we have two women, an actual love triangle for our characters to navigate. Stingray itself is a highly effective submarine which forms the spearhead for the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (W.A.S.P.) and is by all evidence in the series the only ship in the fleet. Sadly, the show also added a humorous character in the vein of the Mitch from Supercar and the Lazoon from Fireball XL5, in this case it was a seal named "Oink". Thankfully without arms and legs he was able to do much.
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In the future of 2065, most shipping is done with remotely controlled vessels, but still there seems plenty for Tempest and his crew to do. For one thing they are constantly battling the Aquaphibians, a race of undersea people who led by the tyrant Titan are constantly plotting to bring down Marineville and if possible, Tempest himself. Marina had been Titan's slave but was freed by Tempest and Phones in the debut episode.
The sea itself seems inhabited by a number of somewhat different peoples, with different looks and whatnot and Stingray finds itself coming across them regularly. Titan (with a Laurence Oliver air) is a hoot with his hyperbolic threats often coming to naught and his secret agent X-2-Zero (who looks like Claude Raines and sounds like Peter Lorre) who lurks in an old house on an island near Marineville. X-2-Zero often dons disguises and enters Marineville, but rarely accomplishes much.
I have dim memories of seeing Stingray before, as a kid, the only Anderson show I saw other than Captain Scarlet. To be honest none of the episodes in particular triggered any memories though the show's potent opening did echo in my mind. The music is a bit part of the energy of the show, especially when Stingray launches and when Marineville itself descends into the bunkers to withstand attacks (which come with some degree of regularity). Other than Captain Scarlet, Stingray is the most militant of the Anderson shows with a Cold War atmosphere most obvious when Marineville descends into protected bunkers at the first sign of threat. Supercar was about science, good deeds and adventure, while Fireball XL5 was about exploration.
While Stingray might not have been as accomplished technically as Thunderbirds, its superior pacing makes it (for me at least) a much more enjoyable show. I'm often impressed by Thunderbirds, but I actually often enjoy Stingray.
NOTE: This is a Dojo Revised Classic Post.
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In the future of 2065, most shipping is done with remotely controlled vessels, but still there seems plenty for Tempest and his crew to do. For one thing they are constantly battling the Aquaphibians, a race of undersea people who led by the tyrant Titan are constantly plotting to bring down Marineville and if possible, Tempest himself. Marina had been Titan's slave but was freed by Tempest and Phones in the debut episode.
The sea itself seems inhabited by a number of somewhat different peoples, with different looks and whatnot and Stingray finds itself coming across them regularly. Titan (with a Laurence Oliver air) is a hoot with his hyperbolic threats often coming to naught and his secret agent X-2-Zero (who looks like Claude Raines and sounds like Peter Lorre) who lurks in an old house on an island near Marineville. X-2-Zero often dons disguises and enters Marineville, but rarely accomplishes much.
I have dim memories of seeing Stingray before, as a kid, the only Anderson show I saw other than Captain Scarlet. To be honest none of the episodes in particular triggered any memories though the show's potent opening did echo in my mind. The music is a bit part of the energy of the show, especially when Stingray launches and when Marineville itself descends into the bunkers to withstand attacks (which come with some degree of regularity). Other than Captain Scarlet, Stingray is the most militant of the Anderson shows with a Cold War atmosphere most obvious when Marineville descends into protected bunkers at the first sign of threat. Supercar was about science, good deeds and adventure, while Fireball XL5 was about exploration.
While Stingray might not have been as accomplished technically as Thunderbirds, its superior pacing makes it (for me at least) a much more enjoyable show. I'm often impressed by Thunderbirds, but I actually often enjoy Stingray.
NOTE: This is a Dojo Revised Classic Post.
Like you, I have vague memories of this show, and remember the Thunderbirds a little better. I also recall being creeped out by the face of the characters, but was still strangely fascinated by the whole concept of Marionation.
ReplyDeleteI like your term "whole concept". It's the sum total that makes for the weirdness. The voices are normal for television, the music is above average, but the visuals are beyond strange. It's a clash which lingers in the memory.
DeleteOne of my abiding childhood memories was receiving a Stingray model that I could use in the bath. I agree, Stingray stories always felt well paced.
ReplyDeleteI did think upon this viewing that the Stingray ship looked a bit too much like a model, but that sure didn't occur to me back in the day.
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