MST3K Story: Joel says the guys at the station sent a fax saying that Invaders From The Deep is up next. Crow has fired the retro rockets, but wants Servo to keep his involvement quiet. Joel apparently spends some time looking after some “vacuuflowers” which intoxicate with just a smell causing the Bots to attempt to avoid smelling them by putting clothespins on their noses.
Invaders From The Deep Story: WASP (the World Aquanaut Security Patrol) has been charged with the task of keeping the oceans safe. Captain Troy Tempest commands the submarine Stingray, the most impressive vessel in WASP’s fleet. He is accompanied by Lt. George Lee “Phones” Sheridan and Marina, a beautiful, but mute, princess of an underwater kingdom. Giving support at the home base, Marineville, are WASP’s leader, Commander Sam Shore and his daughter, Lt. Atlanta Shore. Their adventures are dramatized in the following stories:
- “Hostages of the Deep” – Admiral Carson, a former member of WASP, and his wife are kidnapped by the evil Gadus. Gadus leaves a bomb behind to destroy the WASPs when they come to investigate. His plans are foiled by a coded radio signal sent by the Admiral to Troy and Phones. Gadus flees deep into the ocean, finding refuge in a crack in the ocean floor too narrow for Stingray to enter. Marina attempts to rescue the Admiral and his wife, but she is captured. Troy and Phones manage to survive the intense pressure, rescue the captives and defeat Gadus.
- “Deep Heat” – In the middle of a rare night out, the Stingray team are called into action to discover the whereabouts of a missing probe. While investigating, the Stingray is sucked into the same crater where the probe was lost. At the bottom, Troy and Phones meet the last two survivors of an underwater race, the Centrallius. They explain that recent volcanic eruptions destroyed their world and that they tried to use the probe to escape, but failed. Since the WASPs have only two air masks, the Centrallius take the masks by force and attempt to board the Stingray. When Marina refuses to let them in, they return to their home, where they are overcome by the WASPs. By holding their breath, the WASPs are able to allow the Centrallius to use the air masks until all four reach the Stingray and escape to safety.
- “The Big Gun” – Stingray is attacked by a pair of submarines with powerful guns. The WASPs destroy one of the submarines and give chase to the other, leading them to the underwater city of Solarstar. The water pressure begins to prove too much for Stingray and she begins to buckle. Marina, who is immune to the effects of the water pressure, is able to destroy the final submarine, enabling Stingray to return to safer waters.
- “Emergency Marineville” – The WASPs’ home base Marineville finds itself under missile attack from an unknown location. Tracking the path of the missiles, Stingray and her crew come upon a volcano located on a tropical island. The inhabitants are able to capture the WASPs and torture Marina to get information that will allow their missiles to destroy Marineville. Troy and Phones manage to escape and disarm the missile before it is launched. They leave a message detailing their location inside the missile. When the missile lands in Marineville, the message is discovered, the WASPs are rescued and the aliens are defeated.
Season 0 Regular Cast: Joel Hodgson (Joel Robinson), Trace Beaulieu (Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester), Josh Weinstein (Tom Servo / Gypsy / Dr. Lawrence Erhardt), Kevin Murphy (Puppet Operation and Voices)
MST3K segments written by Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Josh Weinstein, Jim Mallon & Kevin Murphy
MST3K segments director unknown
Invaders From The Deep written by Allan Fennell
Invaders From The Deep directed by Desmond Saunders, David Elliott & John Kelly
Invaders From The Deep music by Barry GrayMST3K Guest Cast: unknown
Invaders From The Deep Cast: Don Mason (Troy), Lois Maxwell (Atlanta), Robert Easton (Phones, X-20)
LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey
Notes: This episode has not appeared in fan circles, so has not been seen in its entirety since its original broadcast. Several tidbits of information have, however, emerged over time.
Apparently, only Crow joins Joel in the theater to riff Invaders From The Deep.
Lois Maxwell is best known as the original Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond movies, playing the role from 1962’s Dr. No through 1985’s A View To A Kill. She also appeared in the MSTied movie in #508 – Operation Double 007.
Robert Easton’s genre work includes appearances on shows such as Lost in Space, The Munsters and The Bionic Woman and in films such as Pete’s Dragon (1977) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). To date he has appeared in over 70 movies, from 1949’s Undertow through 2004’s Lost. He also appeared in MSTied films used in #810 – The Giant Spider Invasion (which he also wrote) and #908 – The Touch Of Satan.
Stingray was a “Supermarionation” show from husband & wife team Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. The process utilized highly detailed and articulate puppets combined with spectacular effects and model work. Other “Supermarionation” shows included Thunderbirds, Supercar, and Captain Scarlet. Episodes of Captain Scarlet were MSTied in episode #K02 – Revenge Of The Mysterons From Mars. The Andersons also created the live action show Space: 1999, which was MSTied in episode #K10 – Cosmic Princess.
Barry Gray was the primary composer for Gary and Sylvia Anderson, working on all their major TV series from Supercar in 1960 to Space: 1999 in 1975. He also co-wrote the music for the two Doctor Who theatrical films: 1965’s Dr. Who And The Daleks (with Malcolm Lockyer) and 1966’s Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (with Bill McGuffie). His music can also be heard in the Anderson-produced work presented in episodes #K02 – Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars and #K10 – Cosmic Princess.
Invaders From The Deep original release date: 1981, from episodes of Stingray that originally aired from 1963 – 1965
