Supercar

1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 2 (UK)
39 x 30 minute episodes

The basic formula for this series was simple; heroes thwarting the villains. The heroes in this series were five characters who lived and worked in an isolated laboratory set deep in the heart of the Nevada desert at Black Rock. This was the home base of the Supercar - a multi-terrain super vehicle, the brainchild of fatherly mid-European cliché, Professor Popkiss and balding British boffin Doctor Beaker, his assistant.

The eccentric scientists hire Mike Mercury (the hero of the series) a fearless and courageous test pilot to put Supercar through its paces. Tall, blue-eyed, firm-jawed and well built (all heavily caricatured features), his skills and daring were often called upon throughout the various adventures to save his friends and fight crime.

The right-hand-man of Popkiss, the balding and stammering Doctor Beaker, who often was shown as a slightly confused man - although his prowess as a scientist was renowned. 

He spent most of the series inventing new devices for Supercar (which were often used in  rescues and adventures - in The Sky's The Limit he used his new invisible-making paint to foil an attempt to steal Supercar) and on other projects which often led to a call for help to Supercar to effect a rescue.

Jimmy Gibson was a ten year old boy who joined the team in the very first episode after he and his brother Bill Gibson crashed into the sea in an airplane and were saved by Supercar.

The voice for Jimmy was provided by Sylvia Anderson - a trend that would continue in all of his productions. Jimmy's pet was, of course, the mischievous (and talking) monkey Mitch, who often played key roles in the stories. His tricks often led to danger for himself and the rest of the team and the need for Mike and Supercar to come to the rescue. In Space For Mitch he manages to set off a rocket with himself on board). And so it went on.

Masterspy was the Sydney Greenstreet-style villain of the series, who kept trying to steal the fabulous Supercar itself in order to use it for his own criminal ends. Tall and bald-headed, with a deep menacing voice, he operated from a base in a New York apartment and employed all sorts of people to help him in his scheme.  His aid was the often incompetent and worm-like Zarin who provided comic relief (and gave rise to the line "Zarin, you fool"). Their British counterparts, Harper and Judd completed the quartet of evil.

Supercar had eight rockets which could be controlled from afar by using the special remote-control device. On land it hovered just above the surface, it had folding wings for flight and when underwater it had a periscope. Its unique Clear-Vu system allowed the pilot to "see" via a cockpit display screen through clouds, fog or storms.

Supercar was Gerry Anderson's fourth puppet series (after Twizzle, Torchy the Battery Boy and Four Feather Falls) but the first of the Supermarionation science fiction shows that he became famous for. Supermarionation was Anderson's term for the realistic style of puppetry he developed. The technique featured a cast of eighteen inch high marionettes that blinked, moved their eyes and seemed to speak. They were suspended by control wires that triggered machinery hidden inside them. NB: The controls wires are the reason Supercar had no roof (take a look in the close-ups if you get to see it!).

Realistic walking was the hardest thing to reproduce which is why the cast of Supercar were always sitting down! The success of this series was staggering and led to a whole run of Supermarionation productions, including Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. 

EPISODES

Rescue  Amazonian Adventure  Talisman of Sargon  False Alarm   What goes up   Keep it cool  Grounded  Jungle Hazard  High Tension  A little Art Ice Fall  Island Incident  The Tracking of Master Spy  Phantom Piper  Deep 7  Pirate Plunder  Flight of Fancy  Hostage  The Sunken Temple   Trapped in the depths

Crash Landing  The Dragon of Ho Meng  The Lost City  Magic Carpet  The white Line  Supercar Take One  The Runaway Train  Precious Cargo  Operation Super Stork  Hi-Jack  Calling Charlie Queen  Space for Mitch  The Sky's the Limit  70 - B - LO   Atomic Witch Hunt   Jail Break  The Day Time Stood Still  Transatlantic Cable   King Kool