MovieChat Forums > Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967) Discussion > Massive Plot Hole???

Massive Plot Hole???

posted 9 years ago by danieltstocks
2 replies | jump to latest

I would just like to say before I ask my question that I loved this show as a child. With that said, the show popped into my mind today (I had just seen an article about Thunderbirds) and it got me thinking. I hope someone can help/correct me here, but there seems to be a major hole in the show's concept.
The Mysterons want to destroy earth/humanity, and they do this by destroying and then recreating people/objects using 'retro-metabolism'. Fair enough. But what I don't understand is if the Mysterons can destroy things at will, why use such elaborate schemes to achieve their ends?
I'll clarify this with two examples: in episode 2 the Mysterons attempt to assassinate the Asian Director General, who is taking a private jet from London. They do this by destroying and replacing a commercial flight from New York, in order to cause a midair collision. Why do they not just destroy the DGs plane in flight, instead of using another aircraft?
In episode 3 they attempt to blow up London with a stolen atomic bomb, but if they can destroy things at will (in order to replace them), why do they need the bomb to destroy the city?
Surely if the Mysterons CAN destroy things at will, then why not destroy everything and kill everyone in the first place, eliminating the need for such complex, intricate operations which have a chance of being prevented? Or have I missed something here?

[–] Mr_Zurkon 9 years ago

Because it's a war of nerves. That's why in each episode they tell Spectrum who/what their target is. They don't want to just destroy us, but to punish us. To see how inferior we are by that we can't stop them, even when warned. Although in most episodes Spectrum is successful in foiling them.

In the opening episode they even say their retaliation will be a slow one.

You are the disease, and Mr. Zurkon is the cure!

[–] blkguyazngirllove2012 8 years ago

Another thing I had an issue with is: If Spectrum knows where the Mysterons are - Capt. Black's disappearance surely was on their scopes - why can't they go to that area and confront the aliens directly rather than dragging it across 31 or 32 episodes? They have the invulnerable Capt. Scarlet...so there shouldn't be an issue.