The Investigator is a 1973 British television pilot devised, produced and directed by Gerry Anderson, creator of Thunderbirds and other Supermarionation TV series of the 1960s. It centres on two American youths, John and Julie, who have been recruited by an extragalactic being called "the Investigator" to aid his self-appointed task of ridding Earth of evil and corruption. Miniaturised and given special knowledge and abilities, they take on Stavros Karanti, an unscrupulous businessman plotting to steal a priceless painting from a Maltese cathedral. Shane Rimmer and Sylvia Anderson voice John and Julie, who are represented by two-foot-tall (0.61 m) marionette puppets, while Charles Thake and Peter Borg appear as Karanti and his minion Christoph. The pilot marked Gerry Anderson's first use of puppets since The Secret Service (1969). Written by his wife Sylvia from a story by Rimmer, it was filmed on location in Malta between the production of The Protectors and a planned second series of UFO (which would later be made as Space: 1999). Filming was complicated by numerous technical and logistical difficulties and the crew were unable to finish the shoot. The pilot was assembled from the incomplete footage but Anderson, disappointed with the result, abandoned his idea of pitching it to NBC as the basis for a new Supermarionation series. Unaired to date, the pilot has received a negative response from commentators. It was released on DVD in 2012 and 2015.
Plot The Investigator, an omniscient being from another galaxy, has come to Earth to rid it of evil and corruption. To assist him, he has recruited two young Americans, John and Julie, whom he has miniaturised and given special powers. In a cave on Malta, the Investigator (represented by a flashing green light) gives John and Julie their first assignment: they are to foil crooked entrepreneur Stavros Karanti's plan to steal a priceless Raphael painting from St John's Cathedral in Mdina. To aid their mission, he provides them with an eight-wheel miniature car equipped with powerful surveillance devices. Thanks to his new abilities, John instantly knows how to drive the car. John and Julie go to Angel's Leap and spy on Karanti as he boards his yacht, the Borgia, and meets his associate Christoph. When the men come ashore and drive to Mdina, John and Julie follow. While touring St John's, to which he has donated a fake painting, Karanti learns of the cathedral's security arrangements. Karanti and Christoph return to the Borgia pursued by John and Julie, who board the yacht via a miniature speedboat provided by the Investigator. The youths accidentally knock over an object, alerting the criminals to their presence, but avoid being discovered thanks to their small size. Returning to St John's at night with John and Julie again on their tail, Karanti and Christoph knock out the cathedral's security guard and seize the Raphael painting. John tries to stop the criminals by mounting a chandelier and swinging it at them. Karanti fires a gun at John, missing him but causing him to fall to the floor, injured. Karanti and Christoph get away. Leaving Christoph at the harbour, Karanti drives to a nearby airfield, planning to leave Malta in his Cessna 150 plane. John and Julie beat him to the airfield and stow away aboard the Cessna before Karanti takes off. Speaking through a miniature megaphone, John pretends to be Karanti's conscience urging him to surrender. At the same time, Julie uses a remote control to make the plane repeatedly roll and dive, terrifying Karanti. On John's instructions, Karanti radios air traffic control to confess his crimes and lands at the airfield, where he is arrested by police. With the painting safely returned to the cathedral, John and Julie report back to the Investigator, who congratulates them on a job well done.
Cast
Production The Investigator was Gerry Anderson's first puppet production since The Secret Service (1969), the last Supermarionation series to be made by his former company Century 21 Productions. Having gone on to make the live-action series UFO and The Protectors, neither of which were made specifically for children, Anderson wanted to create something new for the younger audience and devised The Investigator as the template for a new Supermarionation programme, intending to pitch it to American network NBC in the hope that it would commission a series. The pilot was planned by Anderson, his wife Sylvia and their long-time business partner Reg Hill. Written by Sylvia from a story by Shane Rimmer, it was funded by private venture capital and produced by shelf company Starkits between the making of The Protectors and the planned second series of UFO (which was then redeveloped as Space: 1999).
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