Stingray disc 4 today. There are 8 more episodes. The series continues to have writing flaws that make me wonder what they were thinking. The episodes aired in late 1964 and early 1965. There's another disc with 7 more episodes to go.
An Echo of Danger Stingray is sent to guard an oil transportation rig. Instead of putting the oil in a ship they have the oil in pods dragged, train like, behind a ship. Seems that would be much harder to guard, stretched out like that. Stingray is lured away from the convoy by Titan's Agent X-2-Zero with some phony under sea soundings. Instead of staying on guard duty they go chasing after the signals. The oil transport is blown up. When they can't find a ship Phones gets sent for medical evaluation. You'd think Troy Tempest would get some heat as the pilot. But no. Agent X-2-Zero disguises himself as a doctor to check Phones out. No one seems able to check up on the doctor who just happens to be living in Agent X-2-Zero's house overlooking the sea. It's almost like everything happening in an episode has no relation to any other episode.
Invisible Enemy Stingray finds a guy in a coma in a rowboat. The device in the boat is a signal device that called for help. It's also the same device Agent X-2-Zero used in the previous episode to divert Stingray from it's guard job. The comatose man is really under control and he uses a special watch to put everyone he can get to in Marineville into a coma. It doesn't work on Marina and she calls Troy, who's out in Stingray, to come save the day.
Deep Heat The Stingray crew have a celebration interrupted by the loss of an underwater probe. I like the stylized cave paintings on the wall of the bar where they are celebrating. They all seem to have drinks a lot. Troy, Phones and Marina go after the undersea probe to find out what happened. They get captured by the last remaining survivors of an underground race living near a live volcano. They capture Troy and Phones and try to steal Stingray before the volcano lets go. They have left Troy and Phones to die in the last area uncovered with lava. Luckily Marina is still aboard the Stingray and she doesn't let them in. Troy and Phones escape and overpower the undersea men. They take them back to Marineville for some jail time. You'd think that they would learn that three people on the ship is better than two and leaving someone behind is a valuable and safe idea. The WASP organization could use a beating with the Health and Safely stick.
In Search of the Tajmanon Stingray is asked to go to the Mediterranean Sea to investigate the disappearance of a temple that was covered by water when the area was flooded for a dam project. It turns out to have been stolen, brick by brick, and secretly moved to Africa. The guy in the head gear above capture's the Stingray gang and puts them in a sarcophagus with pointy stick in the lid. Oh, oh. They'll be find. The professor that told WASP about the disappearance of the temple uses a real human size projector to show his movies. It's massive and makes little sense, other than not having to build one. You'd think they'd have remembered you can stick anything up on a viewing screen and not have a need for a separate prop.
Titan Goes Pop Agent X-2Zero kidnaps a pop star at Titan's request. The Stingray crew has to go save him. It's too bad, that pop singer is really dull.
Set Sail for Adventure The WASP Admiral has a replica ship that he's sailing. It has an accident and the Admiral is knocked on the head. He starts taking cannon shots at the Stingray. Troy will soon put a stop to that.
Tune of Danger A turncoat puts a bomb in the upright bass of The WASP Trio. They are actual WASP crewmen who have a jazz trio. They have been invited to play for Marina's father in his underwater city. They have their own submarine. Marina, Atlanta and Phones travel with the trio and none of them know that their manager has put that bomb there. Troy over hears the manager but gets knocked out and locked into a shack in the forest. The manager starts a forest fire but Troy get rescued so he can race to the Undersea city and rescue everyone at the last second.
Rescue from the Skies A new WASP Lieutenant is being tested in Stingray. Agent X-2-Zero sneaks into the control center in a computer crate and listens into the plans to test the Lieutenant. No one bothers to open up the huge crate and it's shipped back because it's not been ordered. It's some sloppy writing. Agent X-2-Zero then plants some dynamite on a test target at the Stingray test range. When it explodes it cripples the Stingray. He plants a bomb on the hull of the Stingray while it lies on the floor of the ocean. Troy has to come to the rescue when they forget Marina could have left the Stingray and removed the bomb. Is no one paying attention to what's going on in the show. Marina can live underwater. It's just more lazy writing. Like much of the series. That's also the same bomb used in the previous episode. At least they're sensible about their props and budget.
Mostly the stories are fine, though every episode seems to have some sort of annoying thing going on. I'm still thinking that the series in less entertaining than Supercar. Certainly there's no one as entertaining as Professor Popkiss or Dr Beaker.
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