A mob boss threatens to kill the President by blowing up a high-speed monorail if his imprisoned henchmen aren't released. This was the pilot on which the eponymous 1994 series was based. Created by 'supermarionation maestro' Gerry Anderson, this tongue-in-cheek sci-fi-cop show features a cast of humans, puppets, and stop-action creatures. Both costumes and puppets are used to create the cat-like alien cops (depending on whether they are on full-size sets and interacting with people or on miniature sets interacting with other marionettes). The show is primarily played for laughs, with the villains bearing names like V. Lann and E. Vol (who talks like Peter Lorre and looks like a leprous E. T. with bad teeth). Excluding the crime angle, the plot is similar to an 'International Rescue' operation in 'Thunderbirds', with the heroes racing against the clock to stop a runaway high-speed monorail train. Typical of Anderson's oeuvre, there are lots of imaginative retro-futuristic craft and the scenes in space or on alien planets, while not exactly 'real looking', are imaginative and evocative. Presumably to impress potential broadcasters, there is a lot of special effects and action jammed into the 55 minute film and, overall, although a bit campier and more technically sophisticated, the film is like much of Anderson's output in the 1960s: a fun, kid-oriented puppet sci-fi adventure. Available along with other Anderson relics, on the 'The Lost Worlds of Gerry Anderson' DVD.
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