Expo 2068

Plot

In Quebec, Canada, a nuclear reactor being shipped to the Manicougan Power Complex by transporter truck is diverted by Captain Black onto an unfinished bridge, causing the transporter to crash into a canyon. The Mysterons reconstruct the driver, transporter and reactor to carry out their threat of devastation to the Atlantic Seaboard of North America. At the site of Expo 2068, a fleet of remote-controlled helicopters from the Seneca construction company ferries building materials.

Black infiltrates the Seneca control tower and forces the operator to divert a helicopter to a forest clearing, where the reconstructed driver loads the reactor into the helicopter's cargo container. The driver shoots a passing lumberjack who discovers him. Captains Scarlet and Blue, tracking the transporter in a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, find the wounded lumberjack and learn the reactor's thermal safety valve has been removed. The driver dies in a crash while evading Spectrum.

Recalling the lumberjack's mention of "Seneca", Scarlet and Blue speed to Expo 2068. Black orders the operator to crash the helicopter over the Expo tower; when the operator refuses, Black shoots him, causing the helicopter to fly erratically. Using a jet pack, Scarlet cuts into the cargo container and stabilises the reactor by disconnecting external circuits, though briefly crushed. The helicopter crashes into the Expo tower and explodes, fatally injuring Scarlet, whose body is flown back to Cloudbase.

Production

Filmed between October and November 1967 on Century 21 Studios' Stage 4, "Expo 2068" was the last Captain Scarlet episode shot on that stage; the next production for the Stage 4 unit was "The Most Special Agent", the first episode of Joe 90. The miniature models of the transporter truck and nuclear reactor had originally been built for "Big Ben Strikes Again". Several scripted scenes were shortened or removed to prevent over-running, including one showing Scarlet and Blue obtaining their SPV from a village shop, two expository scenes about the reactor and the Manicougan Power Complex, and some of Blue's dialogue in the final scene.

A line clarifying the Mysterons' objective of crashing the reactor into Expo 2068 was deleted, leaving the episode to imply the target was the Manicougan Power Complex. The incidental music, the last produced for Captain Scarlet, was recorded on 3 December 1967 by an ensemble of 14 instrumentalists during a four-hour session; the music for "Attack on Cloudbase" had been recorded earlier that session. The Captain Scarlet soundtrack CD includes a piece from this episode titled "The Reactor".

Reception

Shane M. Dallmann of Video Watchdog magazine calls "Expo 2068" a standout episode, praising the scene of Scarlet sawing into the cargo container for its concentration and skill behind the camera, though unimpressed by the miniature model of the container. Writer Fred McNamara praises the climax as one of the series' most satisfying action set pieces, noting tricky marionette manoeuvring and exquisite model work. He considers the episode one of the most energetic later instalments and commends Rimmer's use of the stolen reactor plot device, as well as the optimistic celebration of the industrialised world of 2068.

However, he identifies a plot hole: the initial crash of the transporter with the reactor should have caused widespread destruction, fulfilling the Mysterons' objective. Andrew Pixley and Julie Rogers of Starburst magazine regard the scene of Scarlet being crushed by the reactor as one of the series' most violent moments.