Big Ben Strikes Again

"Big Ben Strikes Again" is the third episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Brian Burgess, it was first broadcast on 13 October 1967 on ATV Midlands.

Set in 2068, the series depicts a "war of nerves" between Earth and the Mysterons: a hostile race of Martians with the ability to create functioning copies of destroyed people or objects and use these reconstructions to carry out specific acts of aggression against humanity. Earth is defended by a military organisation called Spectrum, whose top agent, Captain Scarlet, was murdered by the Mysterons and replaced with a reconstruction that later broke free of their control. The double of Scarlet has powers of self-repair that enable him to recover from injuries that would be fatal to any other person, which make him Spectrum's best asset in its fight against the Mysterons.

In this episode, the Mysterons attempt to destroy London by hijacking a transporter truck and turning its cargo – a nuclear device – into a time bomb. Spectrum's key to locating the device before it detonates lies in solving the mystery of the truck driver's claim that he heard Big Ben strike 13 at midnight.

Along with the previous episode, "Big Ben Strikes Again" was postponed during the BBC's 2001 Captain Scarlet re-run after comparisons were drawn between the storyline and the attacks of September 11, 2001. The clip show series finale, "The Inquisition", features a flashback to this episode.