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LAVENDER CASTLE

 

More than thirty years after creating the Supermarionation legend Thunderbirds - and much else since - Gerry Anderson had moved full circle from puppets to live action and on to model-animation. Although he had never been able to rediscover the form which brought him a string of hits in the 1960s, this modest production enjoyed excellent production values to bring a nicely crafted children's short to the early evening schedules. Originally screened on Thursdays, the programme went out as a series of 26 ten-minute episodes, just barely giving its audience time to get into the story. The script was variable in quality, but enjoyable enough for kids, and with a slight, self-mocking irony which gave adults something to pick up on. It was also quite funny, and for all the right reasons.

Set in outer space, it featured the ultimate unlikely hero in the bulbous shape of Captain Thrice (batwing ears, bearded, marsupial-like face, and a nose with a big eye in the centre). Thrice's sworn enemy was Dr Argon (blue skin, yellow eyes, hawkish nose, and evil troll face). It was Argon's ambition to eradicate all daylight, and in order to do this he had to find and destroy the legendary Lavender Castle, home of all that was good - but nowhere to be found on the map. Captain Thrice had the advantage of having once visited this sacred location, only now he can't actually remember where it is, so he and his motley crew operate on the assumption that, even if they can't find the castle, they can at least stop Argon getting his hands on it. So, operating from a space ship shaped and adorned like a village cottage, they travelled through the Universe thwarting their foe where they could - often accidentally.

Although by no means an Anderson classic, the programme was enjoyable. Like much of children's television on the two main network channels in the 1990s, the programme was badly presented and treated, with a highly irritating floating sub-screen obscuring the closing titles as future programming trailers were shown.

 


FEATURING THE VOICES OF

Jimmy Hibbert, Rob Rackstraw
David Holt, Kate Harbour

 


Story by: Pauline Fisk from an original
  concept by Rodney Matthews
Screenplay by: Gerry Anderson and
  Pauline Fisk
Executive Producer: Craig Hemmings
Producer: Gerry Anderson
Co-Production: Mary Anderson
Director: Chris Taylor
Music by: Crispin Merrell

An Anderson / Cosgrove Hall Production
26 colour 10-minute episodes

In The Beginning
Flower Power
The Twilight Tower
High Moon
The Lost Starfighter
The Black Swat
Double Cross
A Stitch In Time
Bird Of Prey

Collision Course
Swamp Fever
Raiders of the Planet Zark
The Galacternet
Brightonia On Sea
Traitor
The Collector
Lost In Space
?
Cloud Of Chaos
Diamonds Aren't Forever
Galactic Park

Wearizy
Supernova
Interface
Birds Of A Feather
?

 

All details are trademarked and copyrighted by their respective producers. All character and location names are also copyright. No infringement of any copyright is intended.
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