show, and had a digital readout on his laser projector which informed him of how many shots he had left). Distance was also a major enemy to the contestant, causing them to ask or borrow any mode of transport available to them. During the course of the series, more or less everything from bicycles to Sea King helicopters were used. The Interceptor, too, was able to hijack available transportation, but had his own fleet available to him. The most-used of these was his black-and-yellow Agusta A109 helicopter registered G-MEAN, piloted by his long-suffering pilot 'Mikey' (played by helicopter pilot Michael Malric-Smith). Also, at his disposal, was a Maserati Biturbo Spyder sports car registration INT 1, and a Kawasaki ZX10 motorbike registration INT 2. There was also an offroad Kawasaki KMX200 motorbike available with the registration INT 3 but was never used and only seen at the Interceptors lair in a few episodes. It was also claimed that a hovercraft was available to him, though, this was never used. The INT number plates were not real; the producers had special permission to film whilst using them. The contestants' other major enemy was the time limit. Once they had located their key, they often had to perform a task in order to obtain it. Examples included participating in a limited jousting exercise, or removing the key from a horse's braided mane. Airing The eight episodes were recorded over the summer of 1989 and shown soon afterwards. The first seven episodes were aired on a Wednesday. The only exception was the eighth and final episode, which was intended for a Christmas airing but was instead shown in the New Year. This episode included seasonal greetings from both Annabel and the Interceptor. Cancellation Interceptor was shown at the time when ITV was undergoing major changes, and it became a casualty of them. Interceptor was never recommissioned for a subsequent series. While ITV franchise Thames wanted to propose Interceptor for another ITV network commission in 1990, Thames was already responsible for a very large section of ITV's prime-time shows and other companies wanted a greater proportion. A new round of franchise bidding was impending, and Thames was concerned to improve its profitability; Interceptor was a relatively expensive show and was made by an independent contractor. In the event, Thames lost its franchise to Carlton which had put in a larger bid. No further series of