Part 3.2 'Stink' Captions v1.0

Date: 1855

'Over 8 Million gallons of raw sewage poured into the River Thames each day...
The newly built House of Commons looked out onto a stinking quagmire of putrefying filth.'

Outbreaks of Cholera were on the rise. Frightened Londoners demanded immediate action.

[action]: smoky type drifts over houses parliament: "save us from this stink!"

[action] Gurney enters holding nose and tosses his plan towards the house of commons.

'Gurney came to the aid of government with an ambitious plan to ventilate the house, and rid Parliament of its noxious fug.'

'He first installed a Steamjet Furnace at the base of the Clock Tower.
The Jet created a powerful 'through draught', pulling fresh air into the Palace from ground level.'

'Gurney believed that burning off the 'pestilential' gases produced by sewers was the key to permanently ridding London of its nauseating stench'.

'To demonstrate the principle, Gurney once again he turned to the SteamJet...'

The Plan
[written as a title, in Gurney's handwriting]

- 'Seal off a ring of sewers surrounding the Palace.'

- 'Connect the sewer 'ring' to the SteamJet Furnace by means of a pipe...'

- 'Draw the gas out of the sewer...'

- '...into the coal fire of the furnace, extinguishing the smell.'


[captions resume]

'At first, his experiments seemed promising...'

'But Parliament's verdict was damning'

[action] silhouettes of waving order papers as quotes drift up

"Economically Dubious" "Scientifically Unsound" "Doubtful Efficacy"

'Gurney's role as government's trusted advisor ended amid much acrimony and accusations of foul play.'

'However, an inspection of Clock Tower by a rival engineer revealed that gas from a fractured gas pipe had been seeping into the base of the building.'

'Had it not been for a single trapdoor that separated the leaking gas from the flames of the furnace, Gurney may have inadvertently 'lit up' Parliament one last time...' -

[action] Big Ben blasts off into space

'...in spectacular fashion!'

[action] Camera pulls into a portrait of Old Gurney, which cross fades into a portrait of a young Gurney...

we loop back to the start of part 1 'Road to Ruin p1.1.'

END