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Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3435 Location: New York
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:42 pm Post subject: The Investigator (1973) unsold pilot |
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Screenplay by Sylvia Anderson.
Directed by Gerry Anderson.
The Investigator, a benevolent alien from a distant galaxy, selects a pair of American youths, John and Julie, to assist him in his mission to make their world a better place.
Miniaturized and granted special powers, John and Julie are briefed on Stavros Karanti, a man who has made money easily but at the expense of others.
A 14th century Raphael masterpiece is one of the proudest possessions of an island community and because he cannot buy it, Karanti plans to steal it, so John and Julie are assigned to stop him.
The Investigator provides them with a special car fitted with a visual scanner and a sonic detector which they use to eavesdrop on Karanti's yacht, the Borgia. They tail Karanti to St. John's Cathedral in the island city of Mdina where the Raphael is on display. Karanti donates a valuable icon to the church's art collection and is shown the security arrangements for the icon's safekeeping . . .
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson decided to make a pilot episode for a new Supermarionation program, planning to show it to their friend George Heinemann, vice-president of specialized children's programming for the American NBC television network, in the hope that he might commission a full series.
The format of the series was designed along similar lines to the Andersons The Secret Service TV show with the puppet characters interacting with real people and settings.
Unfortunately, the production was beset by problems, including inclement weather and the unpredictability of a radio-controlled model car driven by the puppet characters. Anderson was so unhappy with the finished program that he felt unable to screen it for anyone, let alone an NBC executive, so the project was abandoned. |
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