Stingray command
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | Stingray command |
| Original title | Stingray |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 1964-1965 |
| Production company |
AP Films |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Episodes | 39 in 1 season |
| genre | Science fiction , fantasy , children's and youth series |
| Theme music | Marina, Aquamarina by Gary Miller |
| idea |
Gerry Anderson , Sylvia Anderson |
| production | Gerry Anderson |
| music | Barry Gray |
| camera | John Read |
| First broadcast | 4th October 1964 (UK) on Associated Television |
| German-language first broadcast |
1992 on WDR |
Command Stingray (Original title: Stingray , German Alternative title The underwater adventure of Stingray ) is a British science fiction - puppets tv series by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson , who from 1963 to 1964 in 39 episodes in Supermarionation format and in Eastman Color was produced. In 1992 there was a German synchronization for the WDR . It was the first European television series to focus on the future of marine life and the first British children's television series to be produced entirely in color. The series focuses on the super submarine Stingray ( stingray ) and its commander , Captain Troy Tempest .
action
The series takes place in the year 2065. The Stingray and their Aquanauts are part of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (WASP), an international navy whose task it is to fight hostile underwater creatures, pirates and criminals . Your base, secured with missiles and interceptors , is the Marineville base , which is located at an undesignated location on the American west coast on the Pacific and is managed by Commander Shore. In the event of an alarm, Marineville can be lowered completely underground.
The crew of the Stingray consists of Troy Tempest and Phones and is often caused by Marina and Atlanta added. In six episodes, the seal Oink appears as a sidekick , analogous to the monkey Mitch in Supercar and the Lazoon Zoonie in Fireball .
The series is designed as an underwater space opera . The most important opponents of Troy Tempest and the Stingray - Crew is the tyrannical ruler of the underwater city Titanica , titanium , of the fish god devil worship. The most important weapon in the fight Titans against Marineville be him slavishly devoted overwater Agent X 2 Zero that the island operates Lemoy and so on in various forms as a film director , in the base of the Stingray to creep sabotage run.
The series is basically humorous and also has self-deprecating sequences . In the episode Loch Ness Monster , it turns out that the Loch Ness monster only a gigantic apparatus is designed to attract the tourists. In Titan Goes Pop enthusiastic titanium for the rock 'n' roll singer Duke Dexter because he hopes that Dexter's hysterical fans at the concert in Marineville chaos will trigger. For the episode Tune of Danger Barry Gray composed the song Blues Pacifica , which is played by the jazz band The Wasps ( The Wasps ).
The series receives a romantic component through the constellation Marina - Troy - Atlanta. While Atlanta is in love with Troy, the latter favors Marina, who is polite and reserved towards him.
On political and cultural level, the series actually White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP). Although it is set 100 years in the future , there are no Pacific residents such as East Asians , Russians or Melanesians in the Pacific apart from “white” protagonists who can be assigned to Canada, the USA or Australia . The only non-white ethnic group is the apparently Arab ruler El-Hudat , a megalomaniac villain with a red fez who appears in two episodes. He plans the destruction of Marinevilles and with his invisible gunboat Wadi , which he financed with oil revenues , destroys transport ships and WASP aircraft.
From flags , which are shown in the Star of the East episode , it can be seen that the earth states in 2065 from the USA, Great Britain, Sweden , apparently an Arab union (green flag with crescent moon and stars), a union from the USSR and the VR China (a red flag with a yellow hammer and sickle and a yellow star), and a union that uses an orange flag with stripes. Europe, Africa and Latin America cannot be visually identified.
Production history
The series was created as the successor to Fireball XL5 , Anderson's second puppet television series in the science fiction milieu. As with Fireball and its predecessor Supercar , the focus of the action is on the vehicle and its commander.
Stingray was a consistent further development of the previous Anderson puppet series with the aim of making the puppets more and more similar to real people. The faces of the dolls are partly modeled on real actors: James Garner ( Troy Tempest ), Ursula Andress ( Marina ), Laurence Olivier ( Titan ) and Claude Rains ( X 2 Zero ). X 2 Zero also got the imitation voice of Peter Lorre from his spokesman Robert Easton . Atlanta was modeled after its spokeswoman Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny in a James Bond film .
For the buildings, trick specialist Derek Meddings used cardboard and wood as well as models from Airfix , Revell and Monogram kits. The simulated underwater recordings were a particular challenge. For this purpose a six inch - Aquarium constructed, were kept in the tropical fish. This was placed in front of the scene and the underwater rides of the Stingray and other vehicles through the aquarium were filmed. The fish were directed with fish food to the places in the aquarium to be recorded. The simulated underwater images of the dolls were shot with a high-speed camera. The effect of Marina's hair blowing was created by fans while the puppeteer ran across the stage at high speed.
In contrast to the previous series, the puppet technique was very refined by coating the wires of the puppets with powder to avoid reflections from the studio light. For the most important protagonists of the series, alternative heads with different facial expressions and sometimes with movable eyelids were produced to make them appear more humane. The Andersons first used storyboards in one of their series , averaging 40 per episode.
In order to be able to better market the series on the US market, speakers who spoke US, Australian or Canadian English were selected for the dolls. Only Titan , Troy Tempest's antagonist , got a voice with a distinctly British accent.
At Stingray , the Andersons for the first time put a flashback episode one ( Aquanaut of the Year , no. 39). Highlights of the series were re- assembled and new material was shot for six and a half minutes. On the one hand, this had the advantage of cost savings and, on the other hand, it could compensate for production backlogs.
synchronization
- Captain Troy Tempest, Commander of the Stingray : Don Mason
- Corvette Captain (Commander) Sam Shore, Chief of Marineville: Ray Barrett
- Phones Sheridan, Stingray pilot : Robert Easton
- Marina, the silent daughter of an underwater king (in a dream sequence): Sylvia Anderson
- Atlanta Shore, daughter of the Commander: Lois Maxwell
- Titan, ruler of the underwater city Titanica and opponent of WASP: Ray Barrett
- X 2 Zero, Titan's surface agent: Robert Easton
- Admiral Denver: David Graham
Lore
Although the series was filmed in color, it did not air in that format in the UK until 1969. In 1992 it was dubbed German. In 1996 at least six episodes of Polygram under the title The Underwater Adventures of the Stingray were edited on VHS . The original version is now completely available on DVD .
Feature films
As part of the “Super Space Theater” series, two compilation films were created, with the content of the individual episodes being slightly changed:
- 1980: "The Incredible Voyage of Stingray"
- 1981: "Invaders from the Deep"
literature
- Simon Archer / Marcus Hearn: What made Thunderbirds Go! The authorized biography of Gerry Anderson , London (BBC Worldwide Limited) 2002, pp. 88-101. ISBN 0-563-53481-8
- Adam Pirani: The Complete Gerry Anderson Episode Guide , London (Titan Books Ltd) 1989, pp. 51-60. ISBN 1-85286-216-5
- Stephen La Rivière: Filmed in super marination. A History of the Future. Foreword by David Elliott , Neshannok, PA (Hermes Press) 2009, pp. 88-103. ISBN 1-932563-23-7
- Simon Archer: FAB Facts. Behind the Scenes of TV's Famous Adventures in the 21st Century , London (HarperCollinsPublishers) 1993. ISBN 0-00-638247-9
