Will and Henry eventually make the crossing to France only to be arrested on their arrival. In jail they meet a new friend who promises to help them escape, and join them on their trip to The White Mountains.
"The English Channel - July, 2089AD" says a caption - and we are now on board Nick's ship, watching Nick staring pensively out to sea.
Landfall within the hour, we are told.
Henry is peeling spuds badly. The ship's cook, wearing a chef's hat to telegraph that he is the ship's cook, berates Henry for peeling them too thickly.
I note with interest that the guy playing the cook is the same guy who played the Tharn in the season 3, BLAKES 7 episode "DAWN OF THE GODS". He is speaking with a Dave Prowse accent, which I am glad that he did not use as the Tharn.
Will turns up and plots a plan with Henry to escape as soon as they get to France.
This is clearly leading up to that several episode sojourn where they stay on a French farm and almost forget their quest. Wonder how interminable the farm episodes will be?
The boys are sent below to meet the Captain and - hey presto! - it turns out to be Captain Curtis. That was lucky!
A local gendarme sails out to meet, greet and search the ship. Will and Henry bluff their way through the search and two other lads are taken away in their place by the gendarmes.
They are taken below, but then make their escape at nightfall, while the captain is ashore.
I am a bit confused at this point. Why are they trying to escape from the Captain who is supposed to be helping them?#
These two clever lads are then, almost immediately, captured again by the gendarmes, who tell them that they will be capped the next day, as there is a handy Tripod visiting the village. That was unlucky!
They are then shown down a well into a sewer, no doubt where they can escape again.
Ah, Beanpole has turned up and is, apparently, their jailer; carrying a lamp and opening their cell door.
Clearly they are going to have to convince Beanpole that they are the good guys and that he should join them on their quest. Not likely to happen this episode, as there are only ten minutes left - including credits.
It turns out that he has brought them a picnic and wears home made glasses/goggles.
He has also taught himself both French and a Bristol accent.
It turns out that Beanpole has escaped the capping by pretending to be keen, then feigning illness whenever a capping day comes around, as he does not wish to lose his inventiveness.
Beanpole (real name Jean Paul) agrees to leave the cell door unlocked and meet them on the beach. (The sewer leads there, surprise surprise.)
They give him the map, so that he can go on alone, if they are caught.
The lads escape via the sewer. (Wonder if they will do a cliffhanger ending and have them thinking that Beanpole has double-crossed them and gone on alone?)
No, Beanpole is there - and we see a PLANET OF THE APES type shot of them walking along a beach with a TRIPOD in the background. This is one of the "justifying calling the series "TRIPODS" shots that Matt Irvine mentioned in THE CULT OF THE TRIPODS - as it is the only shot we have seen of them this episode.
VERDICT:
And so the premise is totally set up now and the regulars are gathered together.
The episode itself was another good one and the series itself has yet to bore.
That could all change though, as we move onto episode four.....
The English Channel: July, 2089 AD: Directed by Graham Theakston. With John Shackley, Jim Baker, Ceri Seel, Harry Meacher. Will and Henry eventually make the crossing to France only to be arrested on their arrival. In jail they meet a new friend who promises to help them escape, and join them on...
