Plant of Doom
| "Plant of Doom" | |
|---|---|
| Stingray episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. |
Season 1 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | David Elliott |
| Written by | Alan Fennell |
| Production code | 2 |
| Original air date | 23 May 1965 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Voices of: | |
| Episode chronology | |
"Plant of Doom" is the second episode of Supermarionation television series Stingray, originally broadcast as episode 34 on 23 May 1965. It was written by Alan Fennell and was directed by David Elliott.
Still outraged that his slave Marina assisted Troy and Phones in their escape from Titanica, Titan plots his revenge by ordering surface agent X-2-Zero to deliver a plant that consumes the atmosphere to her father Aphony, at Pacifica.
Plot
Titan is still enraged by the fact that Marina helped Troy and Phones to escape from Titanica, so he consults the fish god Teufel for advice on how to get revenge on his enemies.
Teufel opens his mouth and a beautiful plant appears. Titan notes that the perfume is one he has never experienced before. However, he soon begins to choke as the plant consumes the atmosphere around it.
At Marineville, after witnessing her crying, Troy realises that Marina is feeling homesick. So with Commander Shore's permission, he, Phones and Marina set sail for Pacifica to see her father Aphony.
Titan has surface agent X-2-Zero take the plant in a jar to Pacifica, ahead of Stingray. When the crew arrive they are treated to a lush meal and Marina has a look at the plant, though she puts the cover back on before the plant takes effect.
After the meal, Marina decides to remain with her father, and Troy and Phones return to Marineville. On the return journey, they hear a noise at the hull, which is Marina carrying the plant.
On her return to Marineville, Marina gives the plant to Atlanta as a present. Later, in her quarters, whilst playing the piano, Atlanta becomes affected by the plant, but Troy rescues her just in time.
To test Marina's loyalty, she is called to Atlanta's quarters with the plant still present. However, she does not know that the plant will hurt her as she stays in the room, thus confirming she is still on the side of the WASPs.
Production
Alan Fennell’s original script was written before principal photography began, so the script has a large amount of detail which did not make it into the final format.[1] An example of this is that Stingray itself is written as “Sting Ray”."[1] The script is actually longer than the standard 25 minute length and could have easily been recorded as a 50 minute episode."[1] Notably, the script originally featured a number of scenes to help keep the romantic triangle between the three main characters.[1] The script also hinted at the possibility that Phones also fancied Marina."[1] It also shows the way in which Surface Agent X-2-0 gets from the Island of Lemoy to Titanica.[1]
During filming, the director, David Elliot, did not always follow certain shots that Fennell had written into the script. Where many scenes had complicated tracking shots, Elliot simplified them with establishing shots.[1]
Broadcast
"Plant Of Doom" is notorious for its place in the original ATV broadcast order and its continuity place in the series. The episodes marks the first appearance of Aphony, Marina’s father, and shows that the other characters know little about Marina. Aphony himself reappears in the episode Tune Of Danger, which was broadcast before this episode. For continuity purposes this story should have been the second episode to be broadcast, but was moved to being the 34th (7th from last) to be broadcast.[2] ITV commonly changes the broadcast order of many of its series, because ratings for shows drop during the middle, so they like to have the strongest episodes at the beginning and end, with the weaker episodes in the middle. This must have meant they thought "Plant Of Doom was a good episode", and thus should have been left at number 2.[3] When the BBC re-broadcast the show in the 1990s and 2000s, the original ITC-devised order (which followed the production order) was used instead, meaning that "Plant of Doom" was restored to its early position.
Reception
Vincent Law, in Andersonic issue 8, states that "Plant of Doom" breaks the typical module of a Stingray episode in that its basis is Marina's wish to return to see her father. For the majority of the series, “the episodes are written as straightforward adventures, the heroes’ journey taking precedence over their needs (Plant of Doom is a possible exception to this.)"[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fryer, Ian (2011). Script To Screen. FAB Issue 69.
- ↑ Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4 ed.). Richmond, London: Reynolds and Hearn. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
- ↑ Fryer, Ian (1993). FAB. Fanderson (66): 28. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Law, Vincent (2009). Andersonic (8): 6. Missing or empty
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