Gerry Anderson Encyclopedia
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"One-hundred-fifty! One boggles at the thought! And on the Queen's Highway, too..." - J. Fairleigh Porthero

Grounded is the 7th produced, and the 6th broadcast, episode of the British television series Supercar.

Plot[]

Mike, Dr. Beaker, Professor Popkiss and Jimmy travel to England aboard Supercar, where they plan to carry out some tests for a new control unit for the Marvel of the Age. But a man called Harper gets to the plans first!

Now, it's up to Mike to stop him - but it won't be easy...

Synopsis[]

At JFP Electronics Limited in England, an employee called Harper, with his saferacking friend Judd, breaks into the company vault - and makes off with plans for a new control unit for Supercar! He then takes off in his own vehicle, intent on reaching a place called Monks Norton, where he has friends waiting at a small flying club and will fly him and his ill-gotten gains out of the country...

Meanwhile, Mike, Dr. Beaker, Professor Popkiss and Jimmy have arrived with Supercar at JFP - where manager J. Fairleigh Porthero informs them of the theft...

Mike and Professor Popkiss convince him not to call the police - they don’t want any publicity with regard towards Supercar - and elect to give chase after Harper themselves, once the thief contacts Dr Beaker and boasts of what he's done!

Harper, though, knows that Supercar will try to follow him - he even admits to Judd that he holds a certain grudging respect for the American craft - so he's left an unpleasant little surprise...

Back at JDP, Mike readies Supercar for the coming pursuit as best he can (lacking the specialized facilities available at home in Nevada). As he initiates his horizontal take-off - with Supercar's wings extended out - it starts wobbling only a few meters off the ground, and then abruptly tumbles straight down - sabotaged! A very lucky escape - for, had the wings been run out several hundred feet up in the air, certain calamity would've ensued...

Still, Supercar's starboard wing is a broken, shredded mess; and as such it cannot be flown - so Mike elects to give chase after the crooks by road instead, driving Supercar just like any other normal automobile. Or at least trying to - it's all quite an eye-opening experience, as his sky-loving ride submits none too easily to being kept (for her own good) so close to the ground!

Nonetheless, the Marvel of the Age remains extraordinary - and its greater speed delivers Mike at Monks Norton before Harper, who won't be going anywhere - except to jail!

Cast[]

Regular Cast[]

Guest Cast[]

Notes[]

  • A recurring theme of this episode is the gentle clash of English and American cultures - eg, the exchange between Mike and Dr. Beaker on the chilly English damp versus the dry Nevada climate!
  • Note that Mike is using a right-side driving seat as he drives Supercar along the motorway, as England drives on the left side of the road. (In the United States, traffic moves on the right side, and drivers are seated on the left in their vehicles.)
  • This is the first time we see Supercar being used as a true car.
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