Lavender Castle is a British stop motion/CGI science fantasy television series created by Rodney Matthews and produced by Gerry Anderson. It was produced in 1997 through a collaboration between Carrington Productions International and Cosgrove Hall Films, and was first broadcast on CITV from 1999 to 2000. The series follows the story of Captain Thrice and his crew, on a quest to find the peaceful city of Lavender Castle before the evil Dr. Agon.
Series overview Lavender Castle is a place of mystery and legend, fabled throughout the universe, a floating city of light, a place of peace, harmony and all the things that have ever been dreamt of. It is the centre of the universe and the greatest source of power – should it be destroyed, the universe would be plunged into darkness forever. Evil scientist Dr. Agon plans to do just that. A lonely megalomaniac with technology-assisted powers of transmutation, he yearns for darkness and has pledged to destroy Lavender Castle from his fortress spaceship, the Dark Station, the most destructive power in the universe, crewed by unseen slaves working deep in the bowels. To prevent this, Captain Thrice has set out on a quest to find the elusive Lavender Castle before Agon does and protect it at the same time. A previous encounter with Lavender Castle gave life to Thrice's walking stick and left the Captain with a special knowledge of its power and abilities. Travelling in his cottage spaceship, the Paradox, Thrice assembles a crew of misfits to join him in his quest, combating evil wherever they find it as they travel the universe searching for clues that will lead them to Lavender Castle. But Lavender Castle works in mysterious ways and lends its power to the Paradox crew to protect them when they most need help.
Characters
Protagonists Captain Thrice: the wise, elderly three-eyed captain of the Paradox, always accompanied by his talking, sentient walking stick. Years before, he fortuitously came across Lavender Castle during his space travels, and since that time, is bent on finding it again to try and protect it from Dr. Agon. Voiced by David Holt. Walking Stick: Captain Thrice's talking, sentient walking stick, who was given life when Thrice previously came across Lavender Castle. She maintains a link with the castle, and at desperate moments, she can produce a lavender ray to neutralise even the toughest of opponents. Voiced by Kate Harbour. Roger: An Australander who is the Paradox's pilot, anciently a Starfighter pilot in the Space Force, then a freelance mercenary and space freighter pilot before being captured by Short Fred Ledd, along with his last passenger Lyca. Talented and heroic, but also reckless and gung-ho, Roger has a tendency to act before thinking, which sometimes leads the whole crew into troubles. He seems often bent on impressing the lovely Lyca, but fails most of the time. Voiced by Rob Rackstraw. Isambard: Captain Thrice's first mate and engineer, in charge of the Paradox's engines. A brilliant mechanic, his methods are however rather unorthodox (for instance, whacking the central engine with his hammer to make it work is always a viable solution for him). He is very proud of his position and refers to the Paradox's engine as his "baby". He also invented many gadgets in the past; "some of them even work", according to him. He is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an important figure of the Industrial Revolution. Sometime before the series started, Isambard had his own ship which he accidentally blew up, and was rescued by Captain Thrice shortly after. Voiced by Rob Rackstraw. Lyca: The Paradox's Floran doctor, a medical student, a talented healer, and an adept of herbal medicine, who joined the crew after being freed from Short Fred Ledd along with Roger. Lyca is a very sweet and gentle soul, but she is also far removed from the classic Damsel in distress stereotype, being on the contrary quite brave and adventurous. She is very protective of Sproggle and tends to see him as a little brother. Voiced by Kate Harbour. Sir Squeakalot: A robot designed to look like a knight's suit of armour, but who behaves more like a mild-mannered and nervous servant. He is the Paradox's housekeeper, originally owned by Queen Zarla before her ship, the QZ3, was sunk and he was captured by Short Fred Ledd. Somewhat phlegmatic and refined, he is much of a gentleman and speaks in a distinguished English accent. He tends to be moderately nervous around Isambard, who seems often bent on having him test his new inventions. As well as being Squeakalot's former owner, Queen Zarla also knighted Squeakalot for his outstanding ability to reason. Voiced by Jimmy Hibbert. Sproggle: The Paradox's lovable but extremely incompetent navigator, who would like to define himself as such, while he can hardly tell his left from his right. Originally an orphaned child who served as Short Fred Ledd's navigator in the Cutting Snark's crows nest before being rescued by Captain Thrice. Gentle, naïve and easily bewildered, Sproggle also has a somewhat simplistic syntax, usually speaking in third person and with very few words. "Oooooh... Sproggle scared!" seems to be one of his favourite expressions. He has the ability to see through Dr. Agon's many disguises and also unknowingly carries the final clue to finding Lavender Castle. Voiced by David Holt.
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