TV Gold

...and I'll follow that up with this...

Disc Five : episode fifteen – “Imp” (46:28)
It’s a swirling underwater landscape matched to slightly psychedelic incidental music that greets us as we dive into this fifteen story with two costumed arms briefly outstretching in front of the camera. Nearby a round squat yellow craft known as ‘Triton One’, an undersea naval habitat conducting research becomes the focus of this undersea figure. As the mischievous diminutive person climbs the ladder here’s another actor whom might seem familiar. This man of oriental decent know as Pat Morita is probably best known for playing ‘Arnold’ the fast food proprietor of the main meeting place used during the 50s American set sit com “Happy Days”, a series that he appeared in during 26 episodes of the 1975-1983 show. For this story they’ve slightly tweaked his hair and moustache with the curling tongs to further elevate his bizarre character. Anyway in ‘Man From Atlantis’ he plays the title’s trouble making “Imp” character known as Moby whom has the alarming ability to render those whom he touches into carefree irresponsible children with a calculated age of about six years old! With the three men on duty in the research facility he gets them all to ‘go swimming without suits’ with obvious tragic effect before turning his attention on the remaining crewmember Duke Sheffield whom he later elects to leave in a child like state before swimming away from ‘Triton One’ as our F.O.R. team come to investigate. Back at the F.O.R. base CW plays a tape recording of a conversation with Duke for Mark and Elizabeth, that is after the pair return from Elizabeth’s driving lesson of our series lead, something that doesn’t go entirely successfully (i.e. he gets a traffic ticket!). Naturally the Cetacean is despatched to collect Duke from ‘Triton One’ and apart from noting a nice bit of restful self assured incidental music accompanying the subs return and subsequent docking the trip is relatively uneventful. However having exited the transfer tube from the sub into the base Duke suddenly reverts to a disruptive childlike persona which is further supported by the sudden unexpected appearance of Moby whom leaves CW and Elizabeth playing marbles on the carpet! In the chaos Duke and Moby leave the building driving off in an F.O.R. car clearly, as Mark deduces, ‘looking for fun’ which Elizabeth surmises would likely be found at the nearby fisherman’s village. There is a marvellous aerial establishing shot of this period styled tourist spot which is probably the only real highlight in a story that on repeated viewing I’m sure will test the patience of the even the most open minded of viewers. You then have Moby and Duke in a joke shop messing around before making their way to a nearby pirate ship attraction where Moby dares Duke to dive off the crows nest of this old fashioned sailing vessel with obvious tragic consequences. It’s amusing when Elizabeth later says of CW that she considers him to be the ‘rock of reality in a world gone mad’ and then in the next scene we find that he has organised a trip to the Pentagon for himself and Moby where the mischievous character looks forward to ‘pushing all the wrong buttons’. Thankfully Mark, by playing Moby at his own game, manages to persuade the pair to divert to the nearby Magic Miniature Castle Golf tourist attraction before then facing him with the consequences of his actions when visiting Duke in hospital. It’s a brave stab at a light-hearted atypical comedy drama but I for one couldn’t adequately sense the dangerous threat that Moby presented to humanity by the heightened level of laughter he gave to the people he touched. Sadly, in my opinion, it’s stories like this that work against other fine scripts that this series offers and no doubt lead to the sad cancellation of the series at the completion of this second season.

Right time to 'take the final plunge into the ocean depths' for some thoughts about the last pair of episodes of this aquatic adventure series starting with this...

Disc Five : episode sixteen – “Siren” (46:21)
A young lady scuba diver swims back to a cabin cruiser where her father waits to help her on board. The man is later identified as Hugh Trevellian, a National Defence Systems Director whom is enjoying a seemingly peaceful holiday with his daughter Amanda. However the area in which they are currently moored has recently seen three such vessels inexplicably wreaked leading to the F.O.R. team to investigate. Taking its inspiration from Greek mythology the central character of “Siren” is a little blond haired girl (replete with mermaid’s tail and furry little pet held in her arms) whose melodic singing has a disabling and damaging effect on humans and electrical systems. The youngster is held, in a large packing case on board a submarine patrolling the area under the command of Stringer, a dark blue bandana wearing, cigar chomping unscrupulous individual whose sole aim is to capture the National Defence Systems Director with the intention of learning the classified military secrets to which he is privy to. Through the submarine’s amplifying equipment the Siren’s song has the desired debilitating effect on Trevellian and his daughter with Stringer’s crew grabbing the director from his pleasure cruiser. Arriving in the area Mark boards the ‘Ambergris’ and eventually persuades the traumatised Amanda to return with him to the Cetacean and then on back to their base where she is transferred to a nearby hospital. Amanda is diagnosed as being in a critical condition however on his visit Mark uses a unique vocal technique to restore her apparently to perfect health. Mark then vows to honour his promise to her and locate and free her father from the clutches of Stringer and his cohorts. This is certainly one story where the Cetacean takes quite a pasting particularly during the sequence where depth charges are used against the sub in this adventures latter stages. Playing the part of Hugh Trevellian you’ve got another actor whom might be familiar to viewers as Michael Strong previously appeared as reclusive scientist Roger Corby during the first season Star Trek Original Series tale “What Little Girls Are Made Of?” Conspicuous by her absence is the familiar presence of Doctor Elizabeth Merrill with a brief scene where CW is on the phone to her asking when she might be returning from Washington. In her place on board the Cetacean there’s an equally insistent, dedicated individual called Jenny and although she admirably deputises during this story it really isn’t, in my opinion, the same as having Elizabeth as Mark’s main point of contact with the F.O.R. organisation. In summation “Siren” is a reasonably entertaining offering making good use of a mythological character to further the aims of a petty crooks ambitions. Worthy but hardly memorable.

You know I still get a real buzz of excitement from watching new stuff for the first time which for me makes Tuesday evenings something to look forward to. Just watched the first couple of a new 'box set' last night, the first of a projected fourteen week 'double story' run which get their first run on Tuesday's and then a 'second chance' viewing on Sunday morning. It's fun attempting to 'dial in' to what's happening, getting used to the characters, plots and the general feel of the show and I certainly see potential to offer thoughts about this 'highly regarded' British television series.

Well that's enough teasing for now, this is the end for 'Man From Atlantis' and I'd just like to say the following about the final story from this generally enjoyable series which, as a raretelevision 'bootleg' title is mostly of acceptable picture and sound quality and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone as something well worth checking out!

Disc Five : episode seventeen – “Deadly Carnival” (46:58)
Escorting a party of tourists around a Water & Power plant a Guide interrupts the thoughts of two nefarious characters whom do not share the same keen interest in the facility. Making an unusual pairing you have a straw hat and suit wearing midget called Moxie talking with his associate a tall thin individual called Arthur Summersdale whom has a large electric plug for a left hand. They stare into the waters of the outlet pipe of the plant as Moxie consults his pocket watch. Apparently an associate of theirs has made the claim that he can traverse the necessary length of an outlet pipe in five minutes thereby enabling the deactivation of an alarm system of the premises that the pair intend to rob. However suddenly the tour guide screams as in the water the inert figure of a man rises to the surface. It later transpires, in a briefing given by CW to Mark back at the F.O.R. base that this person was a Henry Stockwood, a long distance swimmer whom had been working undercover for the Government in an attempt to discern what Moxie and Summersdale were planning. By the staging of a fake rescue of a scuba diver getting into difficulty just off shore in plain view of the rather noticeable pair Mark takes the place of Stockwood. This develops into Mark becoming the new act at the ‘Baker Carnival and Travelling Side Show’ where the blonde haired young manager Sharleen soon becomes smitten with our series lead and his innocent naivety. It feels like a rather ignominious development to see Mark Harris in a circus tent in front of an assembled paying audience whilst ringmaster Sharleen, decked out in typical showman type ladies costume lavishly embellishes our series lead’s water breathing ability as if he is some ‘side show freak’. As if to further emphasise his ‘novelty act’ his appearance is preceded by Summersdale’s ‘electrical man’ act with his illuminating various charged units responding to specific charges rendered by his artificial plug arm. It is this ‘shocking’ ability that Summersdale uses to incapacitate Mark during his time in front of the assembled audience when he discovers a piece of paper in his trailer that indicates that he works ‘for the government’. Mark eventually is coerced into working for the pair in their theft plans which involves Mark deactivating alarm systems at the Chadway Museum so as to appropriate a valuable solid gold pharaoh mask that is on display there. Once again Elizabeth Merrill is conspicuous by her absence and to make matters worse we don’t even have the Cetacean or any undersea action which has been, by and large, so endemic to the series. “Deadly Carnival” feels like a considerably underwhelming mediocre offering and is a distinctly disappointing ‘whimper rather than a bang’ end to the series. The only ‘crumb of comfort’ you can take from this story is the amusing interplay between Mark and CW about his romantic interaction with Sharleen which helps to reinforce the naivety that our series lead still has.