The Heart of New York

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Heart of New York
Series = Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Season = 1
Episode = 11
Airdate = December 8, 1967
Production = 13
Writer = Tony Barwick
Director = Alan Perry
Episode list = List of "Captain Scarlet" episodes
Prev = Special Assignment
Next = Lunarville 7

"The Heart of New York" is the 11th episode of the Supermarionation television series "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons". It was the 13th episode to be produced. Its original UK air date was December 8, 1967 on ATV Midlands. It was written by Tony Barwick and directed by Alan Perry.

Synopsis

The Spectrum Security Vaults are mysteriously broken into. The thieves steal top-secret documentation and learn of the war of nerves between Earth and the Mysterons. As the aliens threaten to destroy the "Heart of New York", the criminals hatch a plot to make the Mysterons work for them. Their next target will be the Second National Bank…

Plot

Late at night, two criminals, Kruger and Doig, covertly approach the Spectrum Security Vaults on the bank of a river using a canoe camouflaged by part of a tree trunk. Landing, they watch from the shadows as the night guard steps outside the building. Kruger throws a metal disc in front of the security gates and the guard moves forward with a gun. However, when he touches the disc, he is knocked out by an emission of nerve gas.

Kruger and Doig disable the building's alarm systems and attach an explosive charge to the door of one of the vaults. They take cover behind an upturned desk and the detonation blasts open the door. Kruger is determined to find out just how rich Spectrum are.

Transmitting to Earth, the Mysterons announce that they have studied the greed and corruption of humans and threaten to destroy the "Heart of New York". Later, Kruger and Doig have completed the theft and Captains Scarlet and Blue are investigating the vaults with the revived night guard. However, the ransacked strong room contained nothing more than Grade A security documentation and microfilm. Colonel White orders Scarlet and Blue to fly to New York City to concentrate on the Mysteron threat and leave the break-in for the Spectrum Police. Travelling in a Spectrum Jet, Scarlet is still puzzled why professional criminals would steal what to them must be useless documentation. The Captains arrive to find the city evacuated but decide to conduct a search for booby traps that may have already been planted.

Hiding out at a motel, Kruger, Doig and their associate, Carl, are discordant about the events of the previous night. Doig brands their prizes worthless but Kruger is fascinated by the documents. Intrigued to learn of the war between Earth and the Mysterons, he is confident that the aliens could be made to work for them.

The crooks prepare a box of plastic explosive and set off in a car for the forest. Doig gets out a bottle of whisky and splashes it about. Kruger stops beside a lookout tower and shouts to the sentry that there is a fire. The man descends in a lift and is convinced from the smell of alcohol and the trio's strange behaviour that they are drunk. The criminals indignantly speed off.

Out of sight of the lookout, Kruger, Doig and Carl stop the car and replace themselves with replica dummies. They then put the unmanned vehicle in drive. The horrified lookout watches as the car goes out of control and flies off a ledge, exploding on the hillside below. Believing that the three intoxicated men have been killed, he calls his superiors from a cabin on the ground. However, the victims enter and say that they are Mysterons. Kruger announces that they will destroy the Second National Bank in New York and sprays the sentry with knockout gas.

Having heard the lookout's story, Colonel White is baffled why the Mysterons would narrow their attack to a bank. Unwilling to risk lives to save such a target, he radios Captain Scarlet. He orders for all police and Spectrum personnel to pull back behind the roadblocks erected around the city.

Driving in another car, Kruger, Doig and Carl approach New York. They are halted at one of the roadblocks and questioned by Captain Magenta. Meanwhile, Captain Ochre secretly checks them with a Mysteron Detector through a tent covering. Kruger presents government agent identification and says that they too have their orders. Ochre confirms that the men are clean and Magenta lets them pass. The men arrive at the Second National Bank for a raid, unaware that Captain Black is watching from a nearby building.

The robbers begin to fix their explosives to the door of the main vault. Carl reminds his companions that the gold reserve for the entire Eastern Seaboard is inside. As Black makes his way through the building, Doig believes that there is someone outside the room but Kruger is certain that the city is empty.

Scarlet and Blue pull up at Magenta's roadblock in a Spectrum Saloon, enquiring whether three men were permitted to pass. Magenta says that a grey saloon was recently cleared but that the occupants had authorisation to enter the city and knew of the Mysteron change of plan. Scarlet remembers that only Spectrum personnel were notified of the change and deduces that, because the men were cleared by the Mysteron Detector, the car crash was faked. Realising that the Second National Bank will be robbed, Scarlet and Blue set off in the saloon.

The criminals detonate the explosives and step inside the vault, preparing to load the gold bullion. However, Black seals the barred gate and leaves the robbers trapped, revealing that the bank will be destroyed in five minutes.

Scarlet and Blue rush to the scene but turn around when they spot Black at the wheel of the grey saloon. The Mysteron voice warns Black that he will be cut off by Magenta's roadblock. The Captain stops the vehicle in a blind alley and the car vanishes with a whooshing sound. Scarlet and Blue arrive to find that their target has disappeared. At the same time an explosion rips through the Second National Bank.

In the Cloudbase Lounge, Colonel White announces that the Mysterons have destroyed the "Heart of New York". However, he refuses to believe that Kruger, Doig and Carl were typical of humanity and is confident that human goodness will ultimately prevail over the evil of the Mysterons.

Cast

Regular voice cast

*Captain Scarlet — Francis Matthews
*Captain Blue — Ed Bishop
*Colonel White — Donald Gray
*Lieutenant Green — Cy Grant
*Captain Ochre — Jeremy Wilkin
*Captain Magenta — Gary Files
*Captain Black / Voice of the Mysterons — Donald Gray

Guest voice cast

In speaking order:

*Kruger — David Healy
*Guard — Martin King
*Doig — Gary Files
*Carl — Martin King
*Lookout — Jeremy Wilkin

Goofs

*In the scene where Kruger, Doig and Carl convince the lookout that they are Mysteron agents, the colour of Kruger's jacket changes from mauve to magenta between the puppet shots and the close-up shot in which he sprays the lookout with knockout gas.

Notes

*A slightly different puppet is used for Captain Black for the first few minutes of his appearance, but from the scene in which he speeds off in the grey saloon the normal puppet is used. The reason for this is unknown.
*The Mysteron's vanishing power is shown for the first time in this episode. it is seen again in Model Spy, Expo 2068 and Inferno

External links

* [http://www.fanderson.org.uk/epguides/scarleteg2.html#Episode%20Thirteen Fanderson.org.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide: "The Heart of New York"]
* [http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Capt%20Scarlet%20Timeline.htm# Clivebanks.co.uk: "Captain Scarlet" Episode Guide]