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Mysterons' methods, noting that while the purpose of the reconstructed Kramer and Steele seems to be to recruit the disgraced
Scarlet, the aliens murder the original conmen before Scarlet is dismissed from Spectrum ("They had no way of knowing Captain Scarlet would fall right into their hands, so had Spectrum kept their plan hush-hush for a later date, what exactly would the Mysterons' plan have entailed?") Despite this, McNamara also considers the episode to be "full of visual strengths" and engaging "human aspects", praising the "harrowing sight" of the SPV being targeted by the Angel squadron as well as
429:
these were Steele and Kramer's deaths in a car crash and their subsequent reconstruction by the
Mysterons (the crash being presented as an accident rather than the result of sabotage), followed by Colonel White addressing Cloudbase personnel after the Mysterons issue their threat. Later, as the episode was still under time, Captain Black's murder of Mason and the reconstructed Mason's sabotage of Steele and Kramer's car were also added.
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For timing reasons, several script changes were made during production. As originally scripted, the episode began with the gambling incident that sees
Scarlet dismissed from Spectrum. However, as the first cut of the episode was too short, this was changed by adding several new scenes. The first of
531:
Writer Fred McNamara criticises the episode's "clumsy, scrambling premise" and "bizarre" structure, commenting: "So much of it is stitched together so loosely. Everything in its set-up feels like it's in the wrong order, or that there's entire chunks of plot missing." He questions the logic of the
356:
where the
Mysteron agents are unveiling their plan, Scarlet appears to shoot Blue dead to reassure his new allies that he is on their side. However, he has fired nothing more than a tranquilliser dart and Blue regains consciousness after the others leave to steal an SPV from a nearby garage. He is
267:, was killed by the Mysterons and replaced by a reconstruction that subsequently broke free of their control. Scarlet's double has a self-healing power that enables him to recover from injuries that would be fatal to anyone else, making him Spectrum's best asset in its fight against the Mysterons.
360:
The Angels are launched and intercept
Scarlet and the Mysteron agents as they speed to Nuclear City in the SPV. Scarlet activates a smoke signal instructing the Angels to attack the vehicle. Realising that he and Kramer have been betrayed, Steele fatally shoots Scarlet, but the captain
548:
motifs" as
Spectrum and the Mysterons try to outwit each other and Scarlet seemingly defects to the Mysterons. McNamara concludes that "ometimes it's best to just let go of the madness and embrace the episode for what is – a lovely bit of Cold War-inspired trickery."
302:, the reconstructed Mason drains it. Back on the road, Steele and Kramer are unable to stop at a cliff edge and are killed when they crash onto the slope below. They are then replicated by the Mysterons, who transmit a message to Earth vowing to destroy the whole of
357:
radioed by a furious White, who informs him that
Scarlet has been working undercover to infiltrate and sabotage the Mysterons' plot. From a map left at the ranch house, Blue learns of the threat to Nuclear City and relays this information to White.
703:
436:; however, this is not conveyed in the finished episode. The Mysteron threat as stated in the finished episode is truncated from the scripted version, in which the Mysterons specifically vow to destroy North America within seven days.
262:
with the power to create functioning copies of destroyed people or objects and use them to carry out acts of aggression against humanity. Earth is defended by a military organisation called
Spectrum, whose top agent,
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524:
magazine consider Black's murder of Mason, accomplished by running the attendant over with his car, as one of the series' more violent moments, also noting that Black kills a filling station worker in "
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in which
Colonel White is seen away from Cloudbase. The only other episodes in which he is shown to leave the base are "White as Snow", "Spectrum Strikes Back" and "
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All music in "Special
Assignment" is taken from earlier episodes. One of the recycled tracks is "White as Snow", which was originally composed for the
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860:
274:. Shortly after, Scarlet, who has been dismissed from Spectrum for gambling while on duty, is seemingly blackmailed into betraying the organisation.
540:'s "crisp, stirring" voice acting during the scenes of the concerned Captain Blue's search for his friend Scarlet. He also admires scriptwriter
321:. When he is unable to pay his debt, the casino informs Spectrum and Scarlet is dismissed from the organisation. Broke, Scarlet moves into an
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before the SPV is destroyed, killing Steele and Kramer and saving Nuclear City. Later, the revived Scarlet is joined by Blue, White and
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and can be heard during the scene of Mason's murder. The music accompanying the closing scene was originally composed for the
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hotel. He is soon approached by the reconstructions of Steele and Kramer, who offer to write off his debt in exchange for a
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Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett note the unusual nature of the plot, writing that it "contains more than one
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Steele and Kramer pull in to have their car's brakes serviced. Instead of topping up their
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The script describes Nuclear City as housing all of North America's nuclear weapons and
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visits a casino and, with uncharacteristic poor judgement, ends up losing $ 5,000 on
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333:. Their aim is to detonate a nuclear device within the city, creating a
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In "Special Assignment", the Mysterons threaten to destroy the whole of
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Spectrum is Indestructible: An Unofficial Captain Scarlet Celebration
754:
Pixley, Andrew; Rogers, Julie (December 2001). Gillatt, Gary (ed.). "
491:
Although the script states that Blue travels to the ranch house in a
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regarding a "special assignment" concerning the Mysterons' threat,
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615:(4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. p. 130.
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powerful enough to obliterate the North American continent.
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as Kramer, Casino Croupier & Nuclear City Security Chief
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to track down his friend. When Blue arrives at the desert
613:
The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide
675:
Brown, Stephen; Jones, Mike (2017). Jones, Mike (ed.).
498:"Special Assignment" is one of only a few episodes of
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create a replica of Mason under their control. Later,
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was a modified version of the hunting lodge seen in "
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581:. Cambridge, UK: Signum Books. pp. 106–107.
290:attendant called Mason by running him over. The
243:, it was first broadcast on 1 December 1967 on
696:"Complete Studio-Recording List of Barry Gray"
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795:McNamara, Fred (2020). Simpson, Paul (ed.).
579:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault
577:Bentley, Chris (2017). Hearn, Marcus (ed.).
29:Episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
677:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: Close-Up
1264:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episodes
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847:
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453:props were parts of a toy set produced by
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340:Concerned by Scarlet's recent behaviour,
768:(published November 2001). p. 48.
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231:and filmed by their production company
725:Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme (1993).
528:" by crushing him with a car lifter.
518:". Andrew Pixley and Julie Rogers of
369:for an off-duty night at the casino.
7:
645:The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet
18:Special Assignment (Captain Scarlet)
799:. Chinbeard Books. pp. 55–59.
694:de Klerk, Theo (25 December 2003).
457:and had previously appeared in the
250:Set in 2068, the series depicts a "
165:
1269:Television episodes set in Arizona
1201:Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars
25:
1274:Television episodes set in Nevada
1208:Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons
871:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
756:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
727:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
706:from the original on 1 March 2010
216:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
46:Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
1259:1967 British television episodes
1231:
1230:
544:'s skill in "playfully twisting
140:as Steele & Garage Attendant
213:" is the fourteenth episode of
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1:
223:television series created by
764:. No. 280. London, UK:
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112:1 December 1967
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937:Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle
611:Bentley, Chris (2008) .
478:episode of the same name
327:Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle
254:" between Earth and the
643:Bentley, Chris (2001).
463:The Duchess Assignment
441:Creighton-Ward Mansion
233:Century 21 Productions
124:Guest character voices
1068:The Heart of New York
1026:Spectrum Strikes Back
977:Big Ben Strikes Again
486:30 Minutes After Noon
471:Spectrum Strikes Back
434:radioactive materials
1110:Dangerous Rendezvous
833:"Special Assignment"
824:"Special Assignment"
1217:New Captain Scarlet
1173:Attack on Cloudbase
1096:Flight to Atlantica
932:Spectrum Patrol Car
504:Flight to Atlantica
493:Spectrum Patrol Car
465:". The ranch house
309:After meeting with
1196:Compilation films
1054:Special Assignment
766:Visual Imagination
373:Regular voice cast
211:Special Assignment
162:Episode chronology
37:Special Assignment
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835:at TheVervoid.com
806:978-1-913256-05-0
740:978-1-852834-03-6
658:978-1-842224-05-2
622:978-1-905287-74-1
588:978-0-995519-12-1
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109:Original air date
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392:Lieutenant Green
367:Lieutenant Green
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221:Supermarionation
202:List of episodes
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758:: By Numbers".
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315:Captain Scarlet
288:filling station
282:Driving a car,
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265:Captain Scarlet
229:Sylvia Anderson
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96:Harry MacDonald
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235:. Written by
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1061:Lunarville 7
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708:. Retrieved
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258:: a race of
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245:ATV Midlands
237:Tony Barwick
219:, a British
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190:Lunarville 7
183:
172:
155:as Bartender
147:(uncredited)
146:
144:Shane Rimmer
79:Tony Barwick
44:
36:
26:
516:red herring
467:scale model
397:Donald Gray
354:ranch house
300:brake fluid
296:con artists
241:Robert Lynn
138:Martin King
69:Robert Lynn
65:Directed by
1253:Categories
1138:Flight 104
1103:Crater 101
879:Characters
553:References
455:Merit Toys
424:Production
286:murders a
132:Gary Files
116:1967-12-01
93:Editing by
75:Written by
60:Episode 14
1152:Expo 2068
1082:Model Spy
1033:Avalanche
991:Point 783
927:Cloudbase
911:Mysterons
774:0955-114X
761:Starburst
681:Fanderson
534:Ed Bishop
521:Starburst
510:Reception
484:episode "
461:episode "
409:Mysterons
379:Ed Bishop
350:Cloudbase
292:Mysterons
256:Mysterons
1237:Category
1047:The Trap
954:Episodes
920:Vehicles
782:79615651
710:20 March
704:Archived
546:Cold War
451:roulette
407:and the
388:Cy Grant
319:roulette
260:Martians
178:The Trap
173:Previous
149:as Mason
54:Episode
1131:Inferno
1075:Traitor
984:Manhunt
731:Boxtree
526:Manhunt
323:Arizona
186: →
171:←
114: (
49:episode
943:Zero-X
803:
780:
772:
737:
655:
619:
585:
363:ejects
331:Nevada
104:SCA 22
348:from
344:goes
225:Gerry
828:IMDb
801:ISBN
778:OCLC
770:ISSN
735:ISBN
712:2010
653:ISBN
617:ISBN
583:ISBN
536:and
346:AWOL
278:Plot
227:and
184:Next
826:at
506:".
488:".
473:".
416:as
399:as
390:as
381:as
56:no.
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