Supercar (1961–1962): Season 1, Episode 20 - Trapped in the Depths - full transcript

♪ Supercar ♪

♪ With beauty and grace,
as swift as can be ♪

♪ Watch it flying
through the air ♪

♪ It travels in space or
under the sea ♪

♪ And it can journey anywhere ♪

♪ Supercar ♪

♪ It travels on land or
roams the skies ♪

♪ Through the heavens'
stormy rage ♪

♪ It's Mercury-manned,
and everyone cries ♪

♪ It's the marvel of the age ♪

♪ Supercar ♪



♪ Supercar ♪

(gentle music)

(dramatic music)

- You see that, Jimmy?

The Navy's got a new
bathyscaphe,

and they are going to make
the deepest underwater dive

that's ever been known.

- Gee, Professor, what's
a bathyscaphe?

- Well, it's like a great
big ball, Jimmy,

with two men inside.

They use it for going
down into the sea.

Much deeper than a submarine.

- Deeper than Supercar could go?

- Much deeper than that.



It says here that
the bathyscaphe

is on a naval boat
near New Zealand.

And they are going halfway down

to one of the deepest
sea beds in the world.

Jimmy, I tell you something,

I'd rather be here on dry land.

(laughing)

(lively music)

- The time is 1200 hours.

1200 hours.
Dive will commence now.

Mistral calling Lulu.

Dive commencing now
at 1200 hours.

1200.

Synchronize clocks now please.

This is Mistral here.

Dive now commencing.

All personnel connected
with dive take stations now.

Personnel connected
with dive take stations.

Mistral to Lulu,

clearing telephone line
for check now, over.

- Lulu calling Mistral control.

This is Commander
Keith speaking.

From Bathyscaphe Lulu.

We hear you loud and clear.

Better hold on John,

we should be hitting the
water any minute.

- Okay Phil, I'll watch it.

- Lulu to Mistral.

Wish you'd tell those
boys to drop it slower.

John always cracks his
head when we hit the water.

- Check, Commander.

- All set, John?

- All set.
- Cast off.

Commence dive.

Dive commence 12:03
Greenwich Mean Time.

- 12:03 it is.

Depth?
- 30 feet.

40, 50, 60.

Depth reading now 3,500 fathoms.

Descent normal.

Testing ASDIC Morse transmitter.

- Mistral here ready to
receive ASDIC call groups.

Go ahead please, Lulu.

- Do you read us, Mistral?

- We read you.

Message A-Z-A-Z-A-Z
received clearly.

- Well that's something anyway.

The telephone line may
not stand the pressure

at this depth, but
it's well to have

a second line of defense.

- Hello Mistral, hello Mistral.

- Mistral to Lulu.

Report on descent, please.

- Descent normal, controlled.

Rate four feet per second.

Batteries three-quarter
charged, all's well.

I repeat, descent normal, all's-

(ominous music)

- Mistral here.

Hello, Lulu.

Hello, Lulu.

Come in, Lulu.

This is Mistral here, Lulu.

Come in, please.

Do you still read me, Lulu?

Your signal strength has
fallen to zero.

Reply by ASDIC, please.

This is Mistral control here.

ASDIC message received
from Lulu reads

float damaged, sinking
out of control, danger.

We have lost telephone contact.

I repeat, we have lost telephone
contact with the sphere.

(dramatic music)

(beeping in Morse code)

- [Announcer] There is
still no contact with

the Navy divers who are
trapped in a bathyscaphe

while on a test dive
off New Zealand.

- Gee, Professor, does that
mean they can't speak to them

by telephone?
- That's right, Jimmy.

But I expect they are using
an ASDIC Morse transmitter.

- What's that, Professor?

- Well, Jimmy, the simplest
way I can explain it is this.

You know about radar, I'm sure.

- Oh sure, Professor.

I guess everyone's
heard of that.

- Well, ASDIC is the equivalent
of radar, but underwater.

- Now Mike, about this
ultrasonic gun.

Are you ready for a test?

- Okay by me, Dr. Beaker.

Guess we'll have to turn
Supercar around

so that we can fire into
the blast wall.

We better do it while
there's no one around

to get in the line of fire.
- Right, Mike.

I'll take over in the
control room.

- Okay, Doc.

Guess it's time I had
some target practice.

Who knows, we may need to use
this sooner than we thought.

- Ah, let me see now.

We charge first, I believe.

- That's it, Doc.

Okay, charging port.

I'll just give her 10,000.

Interlock on.
- Roger, pilot.

- Charging starboard.

Firing engines one and two.

Okay, all aboard for
the carousel.

Here we go.

(lively music)

A coconut?

Good thing Mitch isn't around.

- Just give me a chance
to get clear, Mike.

And then take aim.

- Okay, I'll line up the
sights on clear view.

I'm on target, Doc.

Countdown starting now.

10.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.
- Mitch!

- No, he couldn't have!

(hooting)

- By Jove.

That was close.

(hooting)

- I guess that scared Mitch
almost as much as it did me.

- It seems that the doc's
ultrasonic gun is a success.

And you may have a use
for it right now.

Have you heard the latest
news about those divers

in New Zealand?

Something has gone wrong,
they are trapped

at the bottom of the sea.

- Trapped?

Guess it's just our
kind of job, Doc.

What do you say, Professor?

- Well, whatever you
and Beaker think, Mike.

- Their only hope is Supercar.

- Interlock on.

- Fire one.

Charging starboard.

- Opening roof doors.

- They're open.

Fire two.

Right, Doc?
- Roger.

- Full throttle vertical.

- Call us when you're airborne,
Mike.

- Will do.

(lively music)

Supercar to console,
Supercar to console.

I'm setting course 205
magnetic at 1,000 knots.

Altitude 10,000 feet, over.

- We have your course marked
on clearview monitor, pilot.

(beeping)

- Where are they going,
Professor?

- Right here, in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean.

Here is where the
bathyscaphe is exploring.

- It's marked as awful deep.

- It certainly is, Jimmy.

Over 4,000 fathoms.

That's more than
five miles down.

- Gee, I wonder what's
happened to them.

(ominous music)

- Still no luck with the phone,
John?

- Not a peep.

The cable must've parted.

We'll have to use the ASDIC
microphone all the time.

- Better keep transmitting.

It'll give them a fix
to locate us by.

Any ideas what happened?

- I dunno, Phil.

Something hit us,
that's for sure.

Our float's punctured.

Can't you see out of
the porthole?

- Not much, except rocks.

I reckon we're jammed.

- Could be.

We're in a fair mess if so.

Nobody's likely to come and
pull us out from this depth.

- [Captain] Anything yet, lieutenant?
- No, sir.

They still keep transmitting.

We keep getting short
bursts on the ASDIC,

but nothing long enough
to read a message from.

- [Captain] Well, keep trying.

We'll start a slow search.

Call as soon as you
hear them again.

- Aye-aye, sir.

- Let's have another try, John.

How much short ballast left?

- Still half full, sir.
- Let it all go, then.

I'm not worried
about oxygen yet,

but we can't stay down
here forever.

- Suppose she suddenly
frees herself?

If we've lost all our ballast,

we'll go up like an
express train.

- Can't help it.

We'll just have to hold
our stomachs.

- Right, sir.

Jettisoning shotgun.

- Is she moving?
- Afraid not.

Ballast silo is empty now.

- Right.

Then we can do without
the main batteries too,

they weigh about a ton.

- But what about the
searchlight?

- We'll keep on the
reserve lighting battery.

We've got to get off the bottom,
John.

- Fair enough.

Dropping main batteries.

- Still no luck, eh?

- Can't tell whether it's
just that we're

jammed between rocks,
or whether the float's

badly holed as well.
Now what?

- Now we save our
breath and think.

Oh, and keep trying
with the ASDIC signals.

(dramatic music)

- Supercar to base,
approaching dive zone now.

We'll be breaking radio
contact shortly.

- Console to Supercar,
we hear you.

Don't take any
unnecessary risks, Mike.

Remember, we've never tried
a really deep dive before.

- The pressure down there
must be terrific, Professor.

- At 4,000 feet, Jimmy,
it will be more

than 10,000 pounds
per square inch.

- Right, Doc, here we go.

Stand by to dive.

(dramatic music)

Keep your eye on the
depth gauge, Dr. Beaker.

I'm not letting up.

And send a short message
on the ASDIC microphone.

It'll probably puzzle our
friends up above in the Mistral.

(beeping in Morse code)

- Just got an ASDIC message,
sir.

I can't understand it.

- [Captain] You have the code
book, haven't you, lieutenant?

- It's not in code, sir.

Straight Morse.
- [Captain] Okay, read it.

- Yes sir.

It says Supercar, or something,
diving to rescue, out.

I still don't understand it.

Supercar?

What's that?

- How are we doing?
- Uh, 8,000 feet.

That's diving at 10
feet per second.

That's dangerously fast.

- We're all right.
I don't see any leaks.

- Can you still see the
telephone cable?

- Sure, there it is.

As long as we can stick to
that, we can't go far wrong.

But we don't know where
the break is.

- Well, it's probably quite
near to the bathyscaphe itself,

I should say.
- Well, how do you know?

And that reminds me,
just before we took off

back in the lab, you said something
about our needing that.

- Well, I meant that it
was likely that

the cable was not broken,
but cut through,

or if you like, bitten through.

- Hey!
- What?

- We've reached the end
of the cable.

Looks like a clean break,
though.

Hey, what?

Doc!

(ominous music)

(mellow music)

- I don't get it.

I just don't get it.

First we get phony messages
on the intercom, and now-

- [Captain] What's the
problem, lieutenant?

And don't mutter!
- Sir, well, sir.

I've got a metallic echo
at 3,000 fathoms.

- [Captain] Great, they
must be coming up.

- It's not the commander
and Frasier, sir.

It's moving about too
fast for that.

Anyway, it's going down, not up.

And it's zigzagging, too.

What on earth's going
on down there?

(ominous music)
- Here it comes again!

Doc, it must weigh a
couple of tons or more.

- Probably, very probably.

Charge ultrasonic cannon.

- There he is.

You ready, Doc?
- Quite ready.

- Here he comes!

Steady.
Steady.

Fire!

Phew, got it.

Wow, I hope there aren't
many of his friends around.

- It's getting a bit
close in here, John.

How's the air?
- Just finishing the test now.

It's not too good, I'm afraid,
Phil.

Oxygen's all right
for the moment,

but there's something
else in the air.

Can you smell anything?

- Yes, I can.

It's gas from the batteries.

- We're overloading them,
that's why.

- We'll have to blow the
cabin clear with oxygen.

Stand by.

- Don't waste any,
Skipper, we need it all.

- Clear now.

How much have we got left?

- Two hours.
- Two hours?

We'll need the emergency supply.

- That was the emergency supply

you were using just now, Phil.

We've been down for four hours.

- Oh, boy, we're in trouble
then, I'm afraid, John.

Signal the surface anyway.

- Sure.
We're not dead yet.

(dramatic music)

- Only faint signals now, sir.

I think their power's
running out.

They may have jettisoned
the main batteries.

- Depth, Dr. Beaker?

- Nearly 4,000 fathoms.

- And not a leak anywhere.

Isn't she a beauty, Doc?

- Shhhh.

I think I'm getting a signal.

(beeping)

- Yeah, you're right.

They're still alive, anyway.

- You really want me to keep on,
Phil?

My hand's about dropping off,

and it's getting hotter in here.

- It's something to do.

- Well, nobody can do
anything about us, anyway.

- Okay, John, if it's
wearing ya, knock it off.

We can always play checkers.

- I'll level off a bit now.

Can you make any sense of it,
Doc?

- It's stopped.

All I have is 02 02 02.

- Pity we haven't got
their code book.

We could find out what it means.

- I'm afraid it isn't code,
Mike.

If I interpret it correctly,

they are signaling they
are short of oxygen.

- Then we've got to
find them fast.

Leveling off, let's take
a look around.

- No signal at all now, sir.

- [Captain] Keep listening,
lieutenant.

They should have a couple
of hours' air left still.

- How far from the
sea bed are we?

- Uh, just a minute.

I make it about 100 feet.

- Then they must be
somewhere near.

I'll try clearview.

Hey, there she is!

Half throttle, turning port.

- How's the air now?

- Not good.

We only just have enough
to reach the surface,

even if we broke free now.

- Well, there's nothing
else we can jettison,

except the lighting battery.

- Thanks, but no.

I have an objection to
dying in the dark.

- They're still alive, anyway.

And they're gonna be
about the most surprised

deep sea divers in the
universe in a minute.

Cutting engines for
glide approach.

- You realize we may not
be able to do anything,

since none of us can leave
either Supercar or the sphere.

- It won't hurt to take a look.

- In which case you had
better maneuver

right into contact
with the sphere.

We shall then be able to
communicate with them.

- Sure.

I should think they're
about ready to give up,

and that goes for the
people upstairs too.

- Captain, no signals received
for 10 minutes or more, sir.

- [Captain] Very good,
lieutenant.

Keep watch.

I'll make a signal to base
confirming the loss of LU-1.

- I suppose we're never
gonna find the answer

to those impossible echoes now.

(dramatic music)

- John!
- What's up?

- Oh, nothing.

I must be getting spots
before my eyes.

Oxygen's getting a bit short,
I expect.

- Why, Phil?

- Well, I thought I saw
something, that's why,

coming this way.

It looked big enough
for a shark.

- Not at this depth though, sir.

At least, I doubt it.

(creaking)

- What's that?

It can't be the batteries
falling off the float,

we've still got light.

- Commander, are you still
alive in there?

- Now wait a minute, I'm
beginning to have delusions too.

- Keith, Frasier, can
you hear us?

- John!

John, there's, there's
something resting up against us.

- Sure, Phil, sure.
It's a nuclear submarine.

The US Navy's
everywhere these days,

even at 25,000 feet down.

- Now quit clowning, John.

I tell you, there's
something there.

- Frasier, Keith, answer
if you hear us!

Are you sure we're right
against the sphere?

They don't answer.

- We're in contact,
I assure you.

- Well, it's gonna be
pretty tricky

if they're unconscious and they
can't tell us what happened.

Keith, Frasier!

- Oh, come off it, sport.

Don't let's kid ourselves.

- John, John, we're both
hearing it, John.

- Look, it's nearly empty.

That's what's talking
to us, lack of oxygen.

They say when you're short
of air you imagine things.

- I can hear them talking.

- Maybe they don't
believe we're here.

- You two in there!

Will you for Pete's sake
stop yammering and answer?

- Well, if that's a
hallucination,

then I've got my wings and
harp all ready.

Keith here!

- Ahoy there, Commander.

Don't ask questions,
just answer them.

What happened?
- Jumping Jim, what the-

- Quiet, quiet.

This is Commander Keith
and John Frasier here.

We are alive and well, but
we are running low on oxygen.

- What damage to your machine?

- The float's damaged,
and we think the sphere's

jammed between rocks.

- Jammed?

That's bad, but if the
float's torn badly,

we're really in trouble.
- We must inspect it at once.

There's no time to lose.

- Roger.
Ahoy there!

Breaking contact to
examine float.

- Well you can stand me up.

I don't get it.

What is that out there?

- We'd better save that
question for later.

And it looks as if there
may be a later now.

(suspenseful music)

- Cutting drive now.

Do you see anything?

- [Beaker] No, nothing yet.

- How about that, Doc?

Could that have been the
fish back there?

- Easily.

It's lucky he didn't do more.

There's a chance.

- Right, back to the sphere.

- I wonder what he
meant, examine the float?

I don't know what he's
got out there,

but it seems to be able to
do more than Lulu ever could.

- [Mike] Commander!
- Hello, back again.

- We've found a small tear
in your float, but only one.

You've lost gasoline from one
container only, that means.

Can you surface on the rest?

- Well, what do you think, John?

One tank holed out of 12,
can we do it?

- If we weren't jammed
and if we dropped the last

emergency lighting battery, yes,
probably.

- [Phil] Can you free us?

- We can try.

Do you think we can?

- We're rather limited.

We can try to push the sphere
loose with the engines.

- Okay.

Commander, have you got
enough oxygen

to last out the ascent?

- Only just.

Whatever you're going to
try to do, hurry!

- We will.

Breaking contact.

Hey, Doc?
- Yes?

- One question.
You're the expert.

Will the hull stand it?

I mean, pushing against a
solid object at full throttle?

- Well, I should have
to consider, calculate-

- Well, just guess, Dr. Beaker!

There isn't time for
calculations.

- Um, yes.

- That's good enough for me.
Quarter throttle.

- I sure hope they know
what they're doing.

Before we drop our last battery,
John, signal the surface.

- No point.

There's no code message
to cover this situation.

- I guess not.

They'd think we were nuts.

(suspenseful music)

- That's got it.
Now let's really try.

Full throttle.

- What are they using,
a steam hammer?

That's it, she's shifting!

- Be cautious, my dear fellow.

The strain on the hull-

- Caution nothing, we've
gotta get those two free.

- John, we're coming free!

- So's most of the equipment.

- Mike, you may damage the
seals around the cockpit.

- She's nearly free,
I can feel it.

- Jettison battery, John.

We're coming free!

- Okay, she's gone, Skipper.

- And we're coming loose!

- That's it, throttle's closed.

Look, Doc!

She's floating!

(sweeping music)

♪ Supercar ♪

♪ Supercar ♪

♪ With beauty and grace,
as swift as can be ♪

♪ Watch it flying
through the air ♪

♪ It travels in space or
under the sea ♪

♪ And it can journey anywhere ♪

♪ Supercar ♪

♪ It travels on land or
roams the skies ♪

♪ Through the heavens'
stormy rage ♪

♪ It's Mercury-manned,
and everyone cries ♪

♪ It's the marvel of the age ♪

♪ Supercar ♪

♪ Supercar ♪