Lavender Castle (1999)
Synopsis
Lavender Castle is a British stop motion/CGI television series created by Rodney Matthews and produced by Gerry Anderson. It was produced between 1996 and 1998 through a collaboration between Carrington Productions International, Gerry Anderson Productions and Cosgrove Hall Films, and was first broadcast on CITV between 1999 and 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.
Creator
Brian Cosgrove, Craig Hemmings
Network
ITV1
Episodes
In the Beginning
Captain Thrice embarks on a mission to find the legendary Lavender Castle before Dr. Agon can destroy it. However, first Thrice must find a crew for his ship the Paradox. The Captain plans to rescue the prisoners of wicked pirate Short Fred Ledd, who is in league with Agon.
Flower Power
The Paradox crew intercept an Intergalactic Distress Call. Tracing it to the Dragon's Planet, they find a dying old lady in a dilapidated house inside a huge plant pod. She asks them to grant her dying wish but the old lady is in fact one of Dr. Agon's disguises and the villain plans to trap them all inside the pod!
The Twilight Tower
The Paradox is drawn to a dark tower perched on a cliff top. Captain Thrice, Roger and Isambard go to investigate, believing it to be a gateway to Lavender Castle. Inside, The Guardian welcomes them and invites them to view the Most Fabulous Object in the Universe...
High Moon
Isambard pushes the Paradox's engines beyond their capacity in an attempt to outrun Dr. Agon's Mammoth Machine. The engines explode and without power, the crew are sitting ducks for Dr. Agon who promises a poetic end for them: vaporisation when the Moon of Draco reaches its zenith!
The Lost Starfighter
Incredibly, the Paradox crew find Roger's old Starfighter, the Firefly, adrift in space. Roger hopes it can be used in their fight against Dr. Agon. However, when Dr. Agon's Mammoth Machine attacks, Sproggle becomes trapped in the cockpit of the Starfighter!
The Black Swat
Whilst Lyca and Sproggle look for treasure on the planet Scull, villainous pirate Short Fred Ledd destroys the Paradox and takes the crew captive. When Lyca and Sproggle arrive at the ruined ship, they rescue Walking Stick from the wreckage. Can the trio save their friends?
Double Cross
Junkyard owner Twaddle Duff contacts Captain Thrice to tell him of a customer who is willing to swap information about Lavender Castle for the Paradox's rare MD646 engine. Isambard refuses for his engine to be taken away but soon discovers he has no choice in the matter, as the engine has gone!
A Stitch in Time
Lyca takes a desperate gamble and activates an experimental time machine in order from preventing Dr. Agon from killing Captain Thrice and saving the Paradox from the brink of destruction.
Bird of Prey
Trump, Dr. Agon's falcon tails the Paradox but ends up getting sucked into a black hole and grows to a gigantic size. The falcon now attacks the Paradox and ends up swallowing the ship. The Paradox crew become trapped in the giant bird's throat!
Collision Course
An asteroid is on a collision course for Lyca's home planet Flora and if it is not stopped within seven hours, the whole population will die. With the help of junkyard twins Twaddle Duff and Twaddle Dim, a rescue mission gets underway.
Swamp Fever
Captain Thrice contracts galactic fever and could die within five days without treatment. The cure is an extract from the leaves of the Wumbo plant found in the swamps of the planet Quagmire, which is fiercely guarded by the Danks. Lyca and Sproggle go to find the plant but soon Lyca is captured by one of the Danks and it's up to Sproggle to save her…
Raiders of the Planet Zark
Following a message on Sproggle's radio, the Paradox crew are drawn to the Mountain of Morg on the planet Zark in search of a Lavender Compass, which will lead them to Lavender Castle. On entering the caves of Morg, the crew are unaware of a sinister figure watching their every move who wants the Compass for himself. The caves are full of traps and soon most of the crew are captured. Only Isambard is left. He dodges the traps and comes face to face with the figure: the Guardian. Can Isambard defeat the Guardian and save his friends.
The Galacternet
Isambard discovers that Lavender Castle has it's own website on the Galacternet with coordinates that apparently reveal it's position. The crew vote to follow the co-ordinates to the twin peaks on the planet Trimbo but Captain Thrice suspects a trap. His suspicious are proved correct because on the planet the Paradox is caught up in a gigantic spider's web.
Brightonia on Sea
The Paradox crew decide to take a holiday on the planet Brightonia on Sea. However, once there, evil pirate Short Fred Ledd captures them, chains them up and steals the Paradox. Luckily, Isambard and Sir Squeakalot save the day thanks to their invention, which can control the Paradox by remote control.
The Traitor
Short Fred Ledd's parrot Tin Lizzy takes over Sir Squeakalot, causing the robot to undergo a personality change. The robot ties up the Paradox crew and flies the ship to the Cutting Snark, where it seems even the force of Lavender Castle is powerless to save them from becoming the slaves of Dr. Agon!
The Collector
When Roger, Lyca and Sir Squeakalot arrive at Doodlebug's Supermarket to collect supplies, they discover that the place has been ransacked and Doodlebug placed in suspended animation. The culprit is the android Colonel Clump who plans to turn the Paradox crew into exhibits in his gallery of living space creatures. While Roger and Lyca return to the Paradox, Sir Squeakalot destroys Clump's mechanism box with his sword and the Colonel is disposed of down the waste disposal chute.
Lost in Space
Dr. Agon tricks the Twaddle twins into delivering a Starfighter to Captain Thrice as an anonymous gift. When Roger test flies it, the Starfighter goes out of control, breaking through the light barrier. The Starfighter comes to a stop at the other end of the galaxy with no way back for Roger.
Duelling Banjos
Having run out of fuel, the Paradox crash lands in the swamp on the planet Quagmire, near the Dank's shack. The suspicious Dank refuses to help the crew until Captain Thrice challenges him to a banjo-plucking contest. If Thrice wins, the Dank will help but the cost will be dear if the Dank wins: the Paradox will belong to the swamp creature!
The Legend
Captain Thrice and Walking Stick mount an expedition to the planet Bharron because according to legend, when the two suns eclipse on the planet every thousand years, Lavender Castle can be seen in the desert. However, on the third day, Thrice loses Walking Stick when he falls into a gully. Alone in the endless desert, the Captain soon finds himself at the mercy of Dr. Agon…
Cloud of Chaos
Sproggle is accidentally thrown from the Paradox and falls through a blue cloud during a close encounter with Dr. Agon's Mammoth Machine. The villain ‘rescues' the orphan but once they are both aboard the Mammoth Machine, both are oddly affected by the cloud and swap personalities. Dr. Agon becomes Sproggle while Sproggle turns into Dr. Agon!
Diamonds Aren't Forever
Following Short Fred Ledd to the planet Icesester, Sproggle is captured and held hostage by the pirate who is after the Icesester Diamond, the largest diamond in the universe with the power to absorb the energy of a sun. Unless the Paradox crew don't find the diamond within half-an-hour, Fred will cut off Sproggle's bauble…
Galactic Park
The Paradox crew need a break so they visit a Galactic Theme Park on the planet Themea, apparently run by Twaddle Duff. The crew decide to take a ride on the ghost train. However, they are unaware that this is a trap by Dr. Agon (disguised as Twaddle Duff) who plans to give them the ride of their lives!
Wearizy
Sproggle's birthday is coming soon and the young orphan wants a pet but Captain Thrice won't allow one on board the Paradox. Unknown to the captain, Sproggle is given an invisible dog called Wearizy by junkyard twins Twaddle Duff and Twaddle Dim. There's more trouble when Dr. Agon gatecrashes Sproggle's birthday.
Supernova
Finally finding Lavender Castle, Dr. Agon plans to destroy it. When the castle is in close range of a sun, he intends to create a chain reaction in the sun, which will destroy itself and vaporise Lavender Castle. The Paradox crew race to stop Agon but may already be too late!
Interface
The Paradox crew fall into another one of Dr. Agon's traps. On the planet Barrenette, the desert is littered full of bodies but these are cut outs. With the rest of the team knocked out by sleeping gas, Sir Squeakalot with a jetpack must defeat Dr. Agon's giant robot spider alone.
Birds of a Feather...
Dr. Agon puts out a radio call, calling all enemies of the Paradox to come together. Short Fred Ledd, Colonel Clump and the Dank arrive at the Dark Station. Each one has a story to tell of an encounter with the Paradox crew. Afterwards, the four enemies form an alliance to destroy the Paradox crew.
Cast
Details
Original Title
Lavender Castle
Status
Ended
Seasons
1
Episodes
26
Production
Carrington Productions International, Gerry Anderson Productions, Cosgrove Hall Films