Stingray: Super Space Theater – Review

By Roger Crow

When you have an iconic show like Stingray, rejigging the episodes to form something allegedly more epic is understandable.

Of course a feature-length version of the show cut together from the original eps is like taking a bunch of chipolata sausages and mashing them together to form one big one. A sausage is a sausage, regardless of whether it’s in bite-size chunks or a more substantial banger. And while Stingray is very much a product of its time, the picture quality in the latest Blu-ray version is rather good.

“Great watch”

Okay, some of the extras are questionable, such as the truly hideous NTSC alternate opening which is perhaps best lost at the bottom of the sea.

And the 75-second home movie footage of behind-the-scenes work is great, despite the sound of the projector drowning things out. Not that there’s any dialogue, but we didn’t need a deafening projector sound either.

Purists of course will want to snap up the latest edition, and while it’s a great watch if you’ve not seen the show for a while, for those who are very familiar with the eps, I wonder if there will be enough fresh stuff to warrant the purchase.

“Strangely compelling”

There are three audio-only mini albums included, one of which is ‘Marina Speaks’, featuring the mute heroine. Naturally she’s about as vocal as Harpo Marx or Gromit.

Outside of a spoof like Team America or the sublime Star Fleet, non-Gerry Anderson puppet projects like this are few and far between, so it’s testament to the peerless craftspeople who worked on Stingray that it’s still so strangely compelling rather than sub-standard. And for that gag I should spend a night in “Aquatraz”.