Cloudbase
Encyclopedia
- For the cloud structure, see Cloud baseCloud baseThis article refers to meteorology. For the airborne base of the TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, see Cloudbase.The cloud base is the lowest altitude of the visible portion of the cloud...
.
Cloudbase is the fictional skyborne headquarters of international security organisation Spectrum, from Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
(1967).
Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Resembling a large aircraft carrierAircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, complete with flight deck
Flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
, Cloudbase hovers continuously at a height of 40,000 feet and can be moved above any point on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
as needed. Its altitude theoretically renders it invulnerable to attack, but the Mysteron
Mysteron
The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep...
s are always looking for ways to penetrate its defences. Because of its altitude, the entire structure is pressurised; pilots entering or leaving aircraft on the flight deck do so inside airtight capsules.
Layout
Rooms onboard Cloudbase include:- The Control Room, containing Colonel WhiteColonel WhiteColonel White is a character in the 1960s Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is the commander-in-Chief of Spectrum, the security organisation dedicated to defending Earth against the Mysterons from Mars...
's circular desk and Lieutenant GreenLieutenant GreenLieutenant Green is the assistant of Colonel White in the Supermarionation television series series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is of Trinidadian origin, and as well as being the only non-white male on Cloudbase, he is the only officer to hold the rank of lieutenant...
's computerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
, which is used to operate the base's PAPublic addressA public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
, thrustersRocket engineA rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...
and other systems - The Lounge, for relaxation
- The Conference Room, where Colonel White holds important meetings with his officers
- The Sick Bay, manned by Dr Fawn
- The Amber Room, the standby post for the Angel pilots
- The Room of Sleep, where the personnel rest
- The Radar Room, the security centre from which craft approaching or leaving Cloudbase are tracked
- The Generator Room, supplier of the base's power.
Angel fighters and other aircraft
Cloudbase's primary defence is its squadron of three Angel Interceptor fighter aircraftFighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, flown by five female pilots (who have faster reflexes than men). One fighter is manned around the clock, while the others are on permanent standby.
Other aircraft housed on Cloudbase include Spectrum Jets and Magnacopters, which are launched from a separate part of the flight deck.
Cloudbase model
In reality, Cloudbase was a six-foot model designed by Derek MeddingsDerek Meddings
Derek Meddings was a British television and cinema special effects expert, initially noted for his work on the "Supermarionation" television puppet series produced by Gerry Anderson, and later for the 1970s James Bond films and the Superman film series.-Early years:Both Meddings' parents had...
and filmed by his special effects unit, in front of a painted sky backdrop. Too heavy to be supported by wires, the model was held in the air by metal supports, which were concealed behind it. Larger sections of the flight deck were built for scenes showing aircraft taking off and landing.
Skybase
In the CGI series Gerry Anderson's New Captain ScarletGerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet is a United Kingdom-produced computer-generated imagery action-adventure TV series which debuted in February 2005 as part of the Ministry of Mayhem on ITV....
(2005), Cloudbase is replaced by Skybase. The updated headquarters resembles the original Cloudbase both in appearance and function. Robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
ic deckhands are stationed on Skybase's flight deck to assist in the take-off and landing of aircraft. Skybase is protected by a fleet of Falcon Interceptors and, in addition to the previously-featured facilities, is now also equipped with squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
courts.
Analysis
Guyanese actor Cy GrantCy Grant
Cy Grant was a Guyanese actor, singer, writer and poet, who in the 1950s became the first black person to appear regularly on British television...
, who voiced Green and saw the series as having positive multicultural value, has also noted the allegorical nature of Captain Scarlet. Christian symbolism is heavily implied, with Colonel White as God
God in Christianity
In Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. God is believed by most Christians to be immanent , while others believe the plan of redemption show he will be immanent later...
, Captain Black as the Devil, Captain Scarlet
Captain Scarlet (character)
Captain Scarlet is the fictional main character in Gerry Anderson's British Supermarionation science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its CGI remake Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet....
as Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, Cloudbase
Cloudbase
Cloudbase is the fictional skyborne headquarters of international security organisation Spectrum, from Gerry Anderson's science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .-Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons:...
as Heaven, and characters codenamed "the Angels", but Grant also mentions the idea of Lieutenant Green as an African trickster hero. On dualism, he suggests that, "the 'darkness
Darkness
Darkness, in contrast with brightness, is a relative absence of visible light. It is the appearance of black in a color space. When light is not present, rod and cone cells within the eye are not stimulated. This lack of stimulation means photoreceptor cells are unable to distinguish color...
' of the Mysteron
Mysteron
The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep...
s is most easily seen as the psychological rift—the struggle of 'good' and 'evil' — of the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
as personified by Colonel White and his team. Dark and light
Light (theology)
In theology, light or divine light is a term used to refer to an aspect of divine presence, specifically an unknown and mysterious ability of God, angels, or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means, rather than through physical capacities...
are but aspects of each other. Incidentally, green is the colour of nature that can heal that rift."