Stingray

Stingray is a UK VHS release by Carlton Home Entertainment on 15th April 1998 and re-released by Carlton on 6th September 2000 and 5th February 2001.

## Description

*Stingray*, a nuclear-powered combat submarine, is the flagship of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (WASP), a branch of the World Security Patrol (WSP) responsible for policing the Earth's oceans in the mid-2060s. Armed with "sting missile" torpedoes, it can travel at up to 600 knots (1,100 km/h; 690 mph) underwater and reach depths of over 36,000 feet (11 km; 6.8 mi).

The WASP is based in the self-contained city of Marineville, located several miles inland somewhere on the West Coast of North America. It is connected to the Pacific Ocean via a tunnel leading to an "ocean door", through which *Stingray* is launched. General quarters alerts are sounded by rapid drumbeats played over the base's public address system. In emergency situations, the entire base can be lowered into underground bunkers via giant hydraulic jacks while fighter aircraft and interceptor missiles are launched to counter threats. WASP personnel acknowledge commands with the phrase "P.W.O.R." – short for "Proceeding With Orders Received".

*Stingray* is piloted by the square-jawed Captain Troy Tempest. He is paired with Southern navigator Lieutenant George Lee Sheridan, nicknamed "Phones" for his secondary role as *Stingray*'s hydrophone operator. Troy and Phones board *Stingray* from the Marineville stand-by lounge by sitting on twin seats that are then lowered into the submarine via injector tubes. They answer to the "hoverchair"-bound Commander Sam Shore, whose daughter, Lieutenant Atlanta Shore, works in the Marineville control tower and is enamoured of Troy.

The series begins with the WASP's discovery that the ocean floor is home to many advanced civilisations. Among these is the undersea city of Titanica, ruled by King Titan. A despot, Titan commands the Aquaphibians, a warrior race who possess a fleet of lethal submersibles called "Mechanical Fish". In the first episode, *Stingray* is attacked by Titan's forces and Troy and Phones are captured. They are rescued by Titan's slave, Marina, a mute young woman from the undersea city of Pacifica who can breathe underwater. Marina defects to the WASP and becomes a permanent member of the *Stingray* crew. Troy becomes infatuated with her, making Atlanta jealous.

Furious at Marina's betrayal, Titan swears revenge on "terraneans" (land people) in general and Troy and the WASP in particular. However, his attempts to destroy *Stingray* and Marineville are always thwarted, often due to the incompetence of his henchman Surface Agent X-2-Zero. Titan's spy on land, X-2-Zero operates from the Pacific island of Lemoy, where he lives in an outwardly dilapidated house whose interior conceals vast banks of sophisticated surveillance and tracking equipment. Some episodes revolve around encounters with other races living under the sea or within the Earth (some friendly and others hostile), or investigation of natural phenomena.

## Opening (Original 1998 release)

1. European Captioning Institute Warning Screen (1995-2005)
2. Carlton Warning Screen (1994-2004)
3. Carlton Home Entertainment children's trailer from 1997 [announced by Martin Jarvis]

## Closing (Original 1998 release)

1. Carlton Home Entertainment logo (1997-1999)

## Opening (September 2000 re-release)

1. European Captioning Institute Warning Screen (1995-2005)
2. Carlton Warning Screen (1994-2004)
3. Children's Videos from Carlton trailer from 1999 [announced by Nick Mercer and Jade Chaston]

## Opening (February 2001 re-release)

1. Carlton Warning Screen (1994-2004)
2. Carlton Video "Bring the Magic Home" children's trailer from 2000 [announced by Justin Fletcher]

## Trailers and info

### Original 1998 release

* Carlton Home Entertainment children's trailer from 1997 with clips of "Tots TV", "Rosie and Jim", "Starla and the Jewel Riders", "Bananas in Pyjamas", "Beatrix Potter", "Old Bear and Friends" and "The Willows in Winter".

### September 2000 re-release

* Children's Videos from Carlton trailer from 1999 with clips of "Jellikins", "The Fairies", "Dream Street", "Kingdom Of Rhymes: Incy Wincy Spider", "The Big Garage", "Beatrix Potter", "Tots TV", "The Wind in the Willows", "The Willows in Winter", "Bananas in Pyjamas", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie" and "Annabelle's Wish".

### February 2001 re-release

* Carlton Video "Bring the Magic Home" children's trailer from 2000 with clips of "A Monkey's Tale", "Thunderbirds", "Beatrix Potter", "Jellikins", "Tots TV", "Dream Street", "Bananas in Pyjamas", "Annabelle's Wish", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie" and "Casper's Haunted Christmas".