Lavender Castle
Lavender Castle (also known as Gerry Anderson's Lavender Castle) is a British stop motion/CGI television series created by Rodney Matthews and produced by Gerry Anderson. It was produced in 1997 through a collaboration between Carrington Productions International and Cosgrove Hall Films, and was first broadcast on CITV between 1999 and 2000. The series follows the story of Captain Thrice and his crew, on a quest to find the peaceful city of Lavender Castle before the evil Dr. Agon. Series overview. Lavender Castle is a place of mystery and legend, fabled throughout the universe, a floating city  of light, a place of peace, harmony and all the things that have ever been dreamt of. It is the centre of the universe and the greatest source of power - should it be destroyed, the universe would be plunged into darkness forever. Evil scientist Dr Agon plans to do just that. A lonely megalomaniac with technology-assisted powers of transmutation, he yearns for darkness and has pledged to destroy Lavender Castle from his fortress spaceship, the Dark Station, the most destructive power in the universe, crewed by unseen slaves working deep in the bowels. In order to prevent this, Captain  Thrice has set out on a quest to find the elusive Lavender Castle before Agon does and protect it at the same time. A previous encounter with Lavender Castle gave life to Thrice's walking stick and left the Captain with a special knowledge of its power and abilities. Travelling in his cottage spaceship, the "Paradox", Thrice assembles a crew of misfits to join him in his quest, combating evil wherever they find it as they travel the universe searching for clues that will lead them to Lavender Castle. But Lavender Castle works in mysterious ways and lends its power  to the "Paradox" crew to protect them when they most need help. Planets. Thestal: A barren desert planet, the location of the Twaddle Twins' business. Quagmire: A planet of swamps and bogs, populated by the Danks. Flora: Lyca's home planet. It is threatened by an asteroid in "Collision Course". Zark: A seemingly uninhabited planet of dense forests and violent weather. It is the location of the Mountain of Morg where the Lavender Compass is hidden. Icester: A seemingly uninhabited planet of ice and snow. It is the location of the Icester Diamond, which Short Fred Ledd tries to steal . Brightonia on Sea: A tropical planet which is a popular holiday destination. The Dragon's Planet: A planet populated by giant carnivorous plants. The name may not be real, as it is revealed to be part of a trick by Dr Agon (with Dragon's Planet rendered as Dr Agon's Planet). Trimbo: A seemingly uninhabited desert planet, the location of a couple of twin peaks where the "Paradox" once ended up trapped. Bharron: A seemingly uninhabited desert planet, where Lavender Castle can be sighted once every thousand years when the two suns of the planet eclipse. Themea: A planet  of jungles and mountains. It is the location of the Galactic Park, which is supposedly run by Twaddle Duff and only has one ride - a ghost train. Barrenette: A desert planet supposedly inhabited by aliens who were the victims of a massacre. However, it was revealed to be part of a trick by Dr. Agon. Australand: This planet isn't actually seen in the series, but according to one of the special features on the DVD, it's Roger's home planet. Toma: This planet isn't actually seen in the series, but according to the series bible, it is  the location of the Laplon tree, which Captain Thrice's Walking Stick was carved from. Many of the planets seen in the series are not named in-show, but the names are seen in the scripts and series bible. Machines & Vehicles. The Paradox: A half-timbered, thatched cottage spaceship, home to Captain Thrice and his crew as they search the universe for Lavender Castle. What it lacks in gunnery, it makes up for in speed and agility. It's powered by an MD-646 engine, which in turn is operated by Isambard, who usually makes it work by whacking it with  a wooden hammer. The Firefly: Roger's old Starfighter. As well as carrying passengers, it can also carry cargo. However, it meets its end at the hands of Dr. Agon, when it is destroyed by his Dark Station. The Dark Station: The most awesome destructive power in the universe. Captained by Dr. Agon, it has an inexhaustible supply of fuel thanks to its 1001 Unseen Slaves. It can even trigger the destruction of a sun with its lasers. There are times, however, when the Dark Station proves to be too big to reach its destination, which is when Dr. Agon  uses... The Mammoth Machine: A versatile spacecraft resembling an elephant, and even makes an elephant's trumpet sound. It is powered by steam, and can travel on land, underwater and through outer space. Its weapons include missiles, lasers, a harpoon and Leech bolts. The Giant Mechanical Spider: A giant remote controlled robot belonging to Dr. Agon, shaped like a spider. Its known abilities include being able to weave a steel web, and crushing its prey with its pincers. The Cutting Snark: Short Fred Ledd's pirate galleon. It sails across ether streams that are scattered throughout space. Like The Dark  Station, it has slaves working in the ship's depths - but unlike the Dark Station, the Cutting Snark's slaves are robots. Its only weapons are a pair of laser cannons, and the ship contains a rowboat that Ledd uses to get to planets that don't have ether streams. Episodes. Cancelled Series 2. A second season was planned in advance of the broadcast of the first series, and had already been commissioned by CITV. 26 scripts had been written by Gerry Anderson, Pauline Fisk, Chris Trengove, Jimmy Hibbert and Marco Palmer. For this 2nd season, the CGI sequences would  have been animated by Nelvana in Canada. It also would've been likely to introduce new characters alongside the regular cast. However, Carrington Productions International, the financiers of the show, were absorbed into Entertainment Rights (now DreamWorks Classics), and although they made several attempts to get the 2nd season off the ground, the plans would ultimately be dropped. CITV repeated the first 8 episodes during mid 2005.