The Champions (TV Series) The Ghost Plane (1968) User Reviews

A very well made episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 12 April 2023]

A group of American jets are taken out of the sky by an unknown, Ghost Plane, The Champions try to deduce how such a plane came into existence.

Is go so far as to say this has been one of my favourite episodes to date, I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the grit of it. We have several core elements, international villains, Sharron in danger, action sequences, it is a well thought out plot.

I don't know about you, but I thought there was an Avengers style about it, very polished looking.

I did actually buy into the international flavour of the episode, as the agents of Nemesis travelled around, I did actually buy into it, the production team did a great job here.

Very entertaining, 8/10.

Solid episode with a good international feel

[shakspryn · 8/10 · 17 June 2017]

The Champions was quite different from most ITC series in that our heroes were agents of an international espionage-type organization, which in theory could take them anywhere in the world. Thus the focus was broader than just Great Britain, though many good episodes are set in England. I think Department S was more UK-oriented.

Here, as other reviewers note, we are indeed globe-trotting with our heroes, which is always fun. Sure the various locales have to be presented by stock footage, but that works fine. This was quite an ambitious episode for the series. Plus, the balance of action scenes, and interactions among the main trio, are good.

Plain Old Fun

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 21 November 2015]

The Ghost Plane isn't the best episode I've seen so far, but it sure is a lot of fun. In this episode, The Champions are asked by Western governments to investigate a mysterious high-speed plane encountered off the coast of Hong Kong. Have the Chinese developed a plane that can outdo anything the West can throw up? And is there a connection with a disgruntled English scientist? The Champions are on the trail.

As I indicated, if I used one word to describe The Ghost Plane, it would be fun. Lots of espionage, scientific mumbo-jumbo, a bunch of interesting bad guys, explosives, and a trail that leads from England to Austria to Germany to Albania. Add to that the always rock-solid Andrew Keir, and you've got a nice episode.

The Ghost Plane isn't perfect. One problem I have with this episode really highlights one of the big weaknesses in the entire series. The Champions are too powerful and, as a result, there are often contradictions and plot holes that make no sense. For example, when the two guys put Sharron in the freezer, she could have easily prevented it form happening. We've already seen her fight and defeat tougher opponents. But had she done so, the episode would have ended right there. When the writers gave The Champions their powers, they gave them too much. The Champions would have had real problems with this kind of thing had the series extended past the first season.

Back on form

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 8 September 2021]

A step up from the lacklustre previous episode. This time around there's some aviation action and a mysterious experimental craft that might fall into the hands of Red China. Andrew Keir, that Hammer mainstay, has a good guest role and the whole thing flows seamlessly with a solid mix of plot and action.

Spectre in the sky

[ShadeGrenade · 9/10 · 24 July 2012]

In the Far East, American jet fighters on a training exercise see a mysterious aircraft travelling at a phenomenal speed. Several of their number are shot down before the plane vanishes. A pilot ( Paul Grist ) claims he saw a 'ghost' plane, but his superiors insist it is impossible for such a craft to exist, and thinks he imagined the whole thing. Richard and Sharron chase a lead to the Austrian Alps. A man named 'Krilov' throws an object through the window of their chalet. It turns out to be a refrigeration unit for a plane. Krilov is later found dead. University professor 'Dr.John Newman' ( the late Andrew Keir ) had submitted the design for the ghost plane months before, but failed to get government backing, so went to the East. 250 ghost planes have been built, the only thing needed to make them operational are the refrigeration units. Red China will then have achieved superiority of the air...

Donald James' 'The Ghost Plane', like 'The Beginning' and 'The Dark Island'. features the Red Chinese as the villains of the piece. Before anyone complains about racism, it should be noted that there was paranoia at the time towards the East, with reports of a population boom as well as nuclear testing. China was under the control of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, who many in the West saw as a despot and a threat to world peace. The paranoia manifested itself not only in 'The Champions' but also in the 1966 B-movie 'Battle Beneath The Earth' in which the Red Chinese tried to invade America via a network of underground tunnels. The 1967 Bond movie 'You Only Live Twice' also tapped into the same vein of mistrust and fear.

Andrew Keir is fine as 'Newman', with sultry Hilary Tindall as his fiancée 'Vanessa'. Tony Steedman appears as a gruff Ministry official called 'Hardwick'. Craig and Richard got locked in a freezer in 'Operatrion Deep-Freeze', here its Sharron's turn. One amusing moment is when she passionately embraces Richard after her ordeal. She has not developed a crush for him, she wants to keep warm! There is a Bond-style finale in Albania as Craig and Richard blow up a ship carrying the refrigeration units. Good stuff by and large, but what happened to the prototype we saw at the start? Presumably Newman has it stashed away somewhere, but we never find out.