- [Narrator] "Joe 90" first aired in 1968
and was the sixth series to be made in Supermarionation.
- You know what to do.
Just relax.
- [Narrator] The show centred around
nine-year-old Joe McClaine,
whose father, Professor Ian McClaine,
had created a machine called the BIG RAT.
- The BIG RAT?
- The Brain Impulse Galvanoscope Record And Transfer.
- [Narrator] The BIG RAT was capable of recording
a human brain pattern onto magnetic tape
and then transferring all of that captured knowledge
and experience to another person.
- Ah, Mac, it's incredible!
Just incredible.
- [Narrator] After demonstrating the machine to Sam Loover,
Professor McClaine in surprised to discover
that his friend is really an agent
of the World Intelligence Network
and WIN chief Shane Weston is very interested
in purchasing the machine.
- Will somebody please explain to me
how this crazy scheme's supposed to work?
- [Narrator] Since the BIG RAT was originally tested on Joe,
and Professor McClaine has only a minimal interest
in his son's wellbeing...
- Don't come crying to me if you get hurt.
- [Narrator] ...he will now become
the World Intelligence Network's latest
and most special agent, Joe 90.
Each week, the brain pattern of a top specialist
will be recorded without their consent
and transferred to Joe, enabling him to carry out
a variety of dangerous missions
in order to preserve world peace.
- Smashing!
- [Narrator] After the large number of characters
that had made up the casts of both "Thunderbirds"
and "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons",
"Joe 90" would initially seem a much smaller series
by comparison.
- That's the way we like it, Sam.
- [Narrator] Joe and his father didn't live
in a top secret base,
but rather a nice, cosy cottage on the Cornish coast,
albeit one with a hidden lab in the basement.
And although several episodes of the show
would include memorable guest vehicles,
the only two we regularly saw
were Professor McClaine's Jet Air Car and Sam Loover's car.
- Car? What car?
- [Narrator] While this was certainly a departure
from what had gone before,
and gave merchandisers fewer potential toys to market
based on the show,
the series made up for its lack of cool hardware
by being one of the most character-driven
Anderson Productions ever made.
Joe himself was to be voiced by sixteen-year-old Len Jones
and was the first little boy
of the Supermarionation universe
not to be voiced by a woman.
But perhaps surprisingly, the real stars of the show
were the three adult leads.
Rupert Davies, best known to television audiences
as Maigret, gave a standout performance
as Proffessor McClaine,
Joe's loving but often conflicted father.
- I don't mind telling you, I had my doubts
about letting Joe work for World Intelligence.
- You certainly did, Mac.
- [Narrator] While Supermarionation regulars,
Keith Alexander and David Healy,
took on the roles of Sam Loover and the wisecracking
WIN chief Shane Weston respectively.
- It took a big rat to catch a BIG RAT.
(chuckles) Get it?
- Yes, chief, I got that.
- [Shane] Yeah, good (clears throat).
- [Narrator] Although the series centred around
the exploits of a nine-year-old boy,
some of its very best scenes
focused of these three characters
and the occasional conflict between them
regarding Joe's newfound career as a secret agent.
- Are you accusing us of sending Joe
on a highly dangerous assignment without your permission?
- The thought had crossed my mind.
- I suggest you two cut it out.
- [Narrator] The show would be filmed
using the same correctly proportioned puppets
that had been designed for its predecessor,
"Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons".
With the puppet builders and sculptors
once again refining their technique still further,
when it came to producing an even smaller puppet than usual
to play Joe himself.
- Sweet boy.
- [Narrator] And considering that the star of the show
was a nine-year-old boy,
viewers might have expected the series to include
less of the violence and death
that had been a regular feature of "Captain Scarlet".
- Take aim.
Fire!
(gun fires)
- [Narrator] But instead, "Joe 90" embraced
murder and carnage on a scale that even Captain Black
would have admired.
- [Captain Black] This is Captain Black,
relaying instructions from the Mysterons.
You know what you must do.
- Over here, Coletti!
(dramatic music)
(grenade explodes)
- [Narrator] While modern audiences might find the idea
of essentially brainwashing a nine-year-old orphan boy
and then sending him out on highly dangerous
kill-or-be-killed missions to be a little suspect,
it's only with hindsight that the show's
methods and morals become problematic.
- Huh. Forget it, amigo.
- [Narrator] Contemporary viewers found
almost nothing to complain about,
with children taking to Joe's amazing adventures
just as they had those of his predecessors,
provided they were lucky enough to live in a region
that was showing the series.
- Good evening.
- No!
- [Narrator] "Joe 90" ran for one season
of thirty exciting episodes and was a modest success
despite receiving relatively limited exposure
compared to "Thunderbirds" and "Captain Scarlet".
- Great, Joe, just great!
- [Narrator] The usual flurry of toys, novels and comics
accompanied the series but not quite as many as normal
and this is perhaps due to the show's
lack of memorable female characters.
- Blast!
- [Narrator] "Thunderbirds" had Lady Panelope.
- Baby.
- [Narrator] "Captain Scarlet" had the Angels.
- S.I.G.
- [Narrator] And "Joe 90" had Mrs Harris the housekeeper.
- Will you and Joe be in for lunch?
- [Narrator] For a production team that had obviously
recognised the importance of creating a series
that appealed to boys and girls alike,
the 'boys only' feel of "Joe 90" is somewhat surprising
and may have been another contributing factor
in the show not quite having the same mass appeal
as those that went before it.
- And what did they do before we had BIG RAT and Joe, eh?
Just answer me that.
- [Narrator] Despite this, the series has managed
to remain in the public consciousness,
bolstered by home video releases
and occasional repeat screenings.
- That's good news.
- [Narrator] Although often overshadowed
by its Supermarionation predecessors,
"Joe 90" contains all the superb
technical and production qualities
that made "Thunderbirds" and the rest such a success
at perhaps the very highest level Century 21 ever reached.
- That's strong talk, Weston.
- I'm ready to back it up with action.
- [Narrator] Some of the very best puppetry
and model effects sequences the team ever produced
are in this series,
coupled with another superb musical score from Barry Grey
and some standout characterizations.
Having a child as the show's main star
has caused many to wrongly dismiss the show
as being the most kid-friendly Spermarionation series.
- Bunch of amateurs.
- [Narrator] But those who are willing to give it a chance
have discovered it to be one of the most mature
and sophisticated of the bunch.
- I sensed an inner integrity and events proved me right.
- [Narrator] Its recent high definition Blu-ray release
has given the series the new lease of life
it has long deserved.
- It's terrific!
- [Narrator] And proven that fifty years on
from its first screening,
"Joe 90" still has much to offer fans old and young.
- I second that.
Joe 90, our most special agent.
(dramatic music)