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DVD: Stingray - The Complete Series
A&E Home Video (39 episodes on 5 DVDs)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
This, my friends, is the puppet-inhabited TV series that directly preceded Thunderbirds in Gerry Anderson's plot to take over the world. It's also the closest of his many shows to matching the excitement, action, gadgetry and character development that made Thunderbirds a timeless classic (or "that stupid puppet show," depending on who you ask). The most impressive part is that Stingray did it in a half hour while Thunderbirds had a full hour to work its magic.
The plot of Stingray isn't too complex. The Stingray is a submarine with plenty of oomph and defensive abilities, which it needs since there are all kinds of angry green men in large cities under the sea, green men who are bent on destroying... well, is it upper-earth, or is it just the Stingray folks and their base? Hmm... Anyway, there's also good folks down there in other cities, and the daughter of the king of one such city is rescued by Capt. Troy Tempest (I'm not making this up) and Phones, his Stingray Co-Pilot, so named because his main job seems to be listening to his headphones. (Imagine deep southern drawl.) "Troy... I may be crazy... but I think that big fish that's followin' us jus' fired up a big ol' torpedo!" The king's daughter, Aqua Marina, stays on as a member of the Stingray team and as Troy's love interest, much to the chagrin of his previous love interest, Atlanta Shore (Shut up, I said I'm not making this up!). Atlanta's beautiful and bright and has witty things to say. Aqua Marina is beautiful and mute and mostly just nods and points a lot. How could Troy resist? OH! I almost forgot! There's a little island the Stingray almost always cruises past for no apparent reason, and on a cliff on that island is a little house occupied by a spy for the bad green men. His voice is an impression of Peter Lorre and his house is a great excuse for all kinds of fun gadgets like a table that flips and becomes a communications console and pictures that rotate revealing switches and knobs that... do something pretty top secret, I'll betcha! This little guy is always between a rock and a hard place. Can't please the boss, can't beat city hall.
Okay, so the plot is a little complex, but not so tough that young kids can't hang with it. The bad guys might scare the crap out of the really little ones, but 7 year olds and up should fall in love with Stingray, and by "and up" I mean mom and dad. At least dad. We guys never really grow up completely, you know, and all those gadgets, all those explosions and the ever present possiblity of a cat fight between marionettes just reels us right in. Anderson fans will enjoy the two episodes of commentary tracks from the man himself (with a few more commentary tracks by other original production guys), and those who like something weird with their box sets will love the bonus French version of the "Aqua Marina" end credit theme. Like you need something weird when you've been watching a show where the characters continue steering the sub while it's sitting idle on the bottom of the sea.
© 2004 - DJ Johnson