The World Aquanaut Security Patrol (WASPs) explored the oceans and kept the world safe from a variety of perils. The WASPs' main weapon was Stingray, a super-sub under the command of Troy Tempest. Troy's copilot was Phones, and they were often joined on missions by Marina, a princess of the undersea kingdom of Pacifica. Marina could breathe under water, but was unable to speak. In charge of the WASPs was gruff Commander Shore, whose daughter Atlanta was both a member of his staff and Marina's rival for Troy's affection. The missions of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, particularly the crew of its most advanced combat submarine, the Stingray. The four Supermarionation shows, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Thunderbirds, were strange but cool. And often they showed some real creativity. One of my favorite bits was the alarm system in Stingray. As their base went on alert, they didn't use horns or sirens, but drum beats over the PA. As they went to higher stages of alert different rhythms would superimpose themselves over the previous rhythms. It sounded neat and was a really effective way to build up the tension. Someday I'm going to find an excuse to steal the idea. Stingray ran in syndication about the time that I was in the first grade and I never missed an episode. Troy and Phones were my heroes, and I would identify with Marina as she accompanied them on their adventures. Looking back a little over thirty years later I am pleasantly surprised at how well it holds up today. I was very lucky to be able to acquire several of the (out of print) Channel 5 Video releases. I showed them to a younger friend of mine and she was literally blown away by how lifelike the marionettes were.<br/><br/>The voice acting, while always good in Supermarionation, was best in Stingray IMO, from Ray Barrett's gruff Commander Shore to Robert Easton's perfect South Carolina accent for Phones. Lois Maxwell (James Bond's Miss Moneypenney) was absolutely wonderful as Lt. Atlanta Shore. Don Mason as the authoritative voice Captain Troy Tempest rounded out the crew.<br/><br/>As with all of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's productions, super-cool hardware was everywhere. Troy, Phones, and Marina would enter Stingray via "injector tubes", special seats that would drop through the floor and lower them into Stingray via the roof hatch. In an emergency, the entire city would descend below ground into a vast fortified bunker. The villian, Titan, had a fleet of "terrorfish" submarines, and one would often see Stingray "dolphin hopping" with the terrorfish in pursuit (but not for long, as Stingray always got the last laugh). All of this, of course, was underscored by the incomparable music of Barry Gray.<br/><br/>There's plenty more that I could say about this show, but there's just not enough space here for it all. If you get a chance to see it, be sure that you do. You're in for a treat!
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365 weeks ago