#Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons dvd

[spryfilm]

DVD review: “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons” (1967 – 1968)

“Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons” (1967 – 1968) Television / Sci-Fi Thirty Two Episodes Created by: Gerry and Sylvia Anderson Featuring: Sylvia Anderson, Ed Bishop, Gary Files, Cy Grant, Donald Gray, David Healy, Janna Hill, Martin King, Francis Matthews, Paul Maxwell, Liz Morgan, Lian-Shin, Charles Tingwell, Jeremy Wilkin, Neil McCallum and Shane Rimmer The Mysterons: [Their last line,…

[shinygoku]

Captain Scarlet Headcanons

A man stands in the gloom of an alleyway, lit up only by a yellow tinted spotlight. He’s tall, dark and handsome, and his striking red and black uniform give him quite the presence. The latest in the line of Anderson Heroes and the one tasked with enduring the most gruesome of settings and personal circumstance.

Also he’s gay and autistic, good for him!

Welcome to my Headcanons for Paul Metcalfe, aka Captain Scarlet.

I’m primarily drawing straight from the one true canon source; the 1967 Television Series, with some supplementary tidbits from the Haynes Manual and bonus material from my DVD set. I’m not counting from tie in novels, audio only stories, or comics, as they’re lower in the hierarchy and hard to come by, but if they’re any good then they shouldn’t contradict anything I have here ;D

This is a long post, so I’ll put the cut up here. Great to read when you’re sitting down with a nice drink and/or snack~

CANON INFO

Paul Metcalfe will be born in Winchester in 2036 and the series starts in 2068, making him 31 with change (as his DOB is in December and Ep 1 sure don’t look like Winter) when he’s killed and Mysteronised. That’s really quite sad, but of course, this is a series about a war…

With his December the 17th Birthday, he’s a Sagittarius. The prophecy aspect could allude to the occasionally remembered Mysteron Sense he has? Key traits mentioned include (Positive) Idealism and generosity, and (Negative) pronounced impatience and being shockingly blunt. These all fit nicely with our man in red here.

I ain’t sufficiently interested in Military crud to rehash it or try to put my own spin (I had to look up what a commission is in that context and I still only half get it!), same applies with Academic stuff, so for both them I’ll let the bio provided in the Haynes Manual cover it lmao

“Background: From a long-serving military family. Trained at West Point Military Academy. Following completion of degrees in technology, history and mathematical application at Winchester University joined World Army Air Force as private, rising rapidly to colonel through inspiring capacity to command and military professionalism. Having noted qualities of leadership, strategic thinking and dedication to duty, approached by Spectrum selection committee to become leading field agent. Commission accepted immediately.”

Yeah, the main characters of Anderson shows go real hard on the expansion pack pasts, I’m unsure how hilariously over the top it is compared to the 5 Tracy Boys but they weren’t shy about making the leads Cool and Experienced!

Also from the Haynes manual, instead of Personal Interests like most’a the other cast members, there’s a Special Note. It strikes me as a bit more cold and impersonal than what the Show has, and take it with a slight pinch of salt, but I’ve got it transcribed as written:

“After reconstruction by Mysterons following death in car crash and subsequent fall from tall structure, replica accepted as serving officer having completed extensive tests revealing capacity for retro-metabolism and loss of Mysteron influence.” 

Well anyway, that covers the Canon info, it’s limited but pretty interesting for what it’s worth. Below is another short bio, this one from my DVD set (the info presumably having been provided in Annuals prior).

HEADCANONS 

As ya can see in the Marital Status section, he’s Single. I shall make the bold statement too that he’s gay but possibly isn’t consciously aware of that …yet? He can see when a girl is pretty but he doesn’t React much to it, and none of the interactions he does have with ladies is romance coded. In fact, when Linda Nolan pretty strongly implies attraction he literally says: “Thank you. Let’s go, Adam!” –  I really think he didn’t Twig her intent and then he’s instantly getting Blue’s attention instead XD ~ But he does have stronger and more diverse interactions with other guys, especially Blue ;3

I think he’s autistic but good at masking – even before being Mysteronised his resting face is very unexpressive and his seemingly sincere bidding of good luck sounds quite flat. Other factors include the above mentioned focus on professionalism but deviating when his principles are challenged or things aren’t going to plan, plus how he spends free time in a quiet environment and mostly hanging out with Blue when given the chance. Also, again his canon Good At Academic angle. I expect he thrives fairly well in the pseudo military environment as it provides structure, routine and clear rules (Though he will disregard those when he’s being particularly spicy!).

Can be stubborn and impatient (noticeably uses a louder voice when re-asserting something), and isn’t the best at hiding his thoughts. Otherwise seems to have a stiff upper lip and good nerves. Slight hints of arrogance on occasion but strongly principled. He’s got a dry and sardonic sense of humour.

Mostly very professional but he’s not “on” all the time. Sitting at his Boss’ desk with his feet up on the desk as he Vibes is the oddest example, yet it doesn’t feel shockingly out of character. I’ve noticed he sits weird in many scenes too, sometimes his ankle rests on his knee, propping his feet way up on White’s desk, or sitting in a chair sideways (can file under gay / autistic traits / omg he just like me fr), and states in Spectrum Strikes Back that he enjoys the quietness of nature with less people around too (he’s SO real !!) Like when he needs to cool off in White as Snow it’s the little flower house on the Promenade Deck he picks to gaze out into the blue yonder.

I like the idea that Agent Blake from the Secret Service is his grandfather (Meta: the Captain Scarlet puppet was reused for the role), personally I see it working better as him being Paul Metcalfe’s Maternal Grandpa. As for the Paternal line, that’s where several generations of Military dudes comes from :T –  At least the Blake personality may explain where Scarlet got the history and maths nerd interests, Blake does have that bookish vibe rather than a strong presence.

Seeing how his Mysteron Sense manifests as Nausea, I think he gets motion sick more easily than a Pilot and Guy who drives Armoured Tank-Cars Backwards ought to… so he wears Pressure Bands to alleviate the sickness response (but the Mysteron Sense may bypass that, being psychic rather than motion based). I know it’s in part due to the puppets but he sure seems to prefer wearing high necked, long sleeved shirts, be it uniform of civvies (And well, 60’s fashion be like that too lol, maybe he’s a smidge Trendy!).

MYSTERONISATION & RETROMETABOLISM

Ok, so as one of the first to be Mysteronised, it feels like the Mysterons were themselves experimenting with how their duplicates were going to be. Black seems to be forcibly possessed with his personality overridden, and both Brown and Scarlet are killed in a car wreck fireball to be copied. 

While Brown was used to be a suicide bomb, Scarlet was used to try to take the President alive instead. Scarlet’s second death was from being shot in the chest and then falling maybe 10,000 feet (idk distances. It was REALLY really high!) to a presumably gory landing. However, after they get his remains back at base, they’re shocked to discover him showing signs of life again and his body reverts to his as-new form after the first Mysteron Reconstruction, but instead of being a pawn of the Mysterons, this time Scarlet is back to his original body’s personality, and that’s how he stays thereafter. I theorise that as he was an early draft, the Mysterons didn’t have the expectation that the healing factor they installed would be that potent, nor did they put in a way to Keep their programming after said death. That, or they did want to have a worthy opponent in their ongoing war of nerves… But yes, Scarlet remains completely unique as both a Reconstruction (effectively a clone of Paul Metcalfe [re]born at 31 with all his memories before the explosion-death intact), but also one with free will and unlimited healing powers that bring him back from death multiple times.

The Mysterons presumably don’t install a healing factor into the Mysteronised Drones thereafter, though they are harder than normal to kill, with High Voltage Electricity being the only surefire to kill them, and presumably would permakill Scarlet too. They are also unable to be X-rayed, instead being opaque on such photographs.

But yes, the grisly central premise of the show is that even though Scarlet can indeed be killed, he won’t stay down forever. Though he’s Indestructible, that’s from the healing power repairing injuries and reversing death rather than a Superman-esque bulletproof skin (the opening of the show features this only for brevity lol, the episodes themselves stick to the rules). Nope, it’s even explicit that he feels the pain of injuries and dying each time! That’s rough, buddy! 

A much lesser side effect of being a Mysteronised Clone is the “Sixth Sense” Mysteron sensing response that the writers sometimes forget about, where Paul feels nausea when another replicant is nearby.

The healing power is called the same term that the Mysterons use to recreate destroyed matter: Retrometabolism. And now I’ve recapped the origin and summary, I wanna dig in to the headcanoning part that they show sadly didn’t make enough time for… >:3c

🟢👁👁🟢

Here’s how I think Retrometabolism works for Scarlet specifically: In the event of injuries, the wound in question will get healed pretty quickly. The smaller the wound, the faster it heals, but even something like a broken leg or bullet wound will still leave no scar tissue or residual effects after the process is complete. However, if he’s been killed, then the Retrometalbolism probably focuses first on his most major organs to get his body restarted as swiftly as possible, with lesser injuries coming afterwards. 

I also imagine if the cause of death was something like being shot, the Retrometabolism will also force the bullet out, assuming it got stuck in his body. If he was poisoned, it would purge and/or neutralise this before getting his body back online. If he had brain damage from either the direct cause of death (hello, Operation Time!) or as a side effect of his brain being starved of oxygen, that damage will be waved away all as part of the package. It also seems he’s immune to disease, a hypothesis actually observed in Place of the Angels. I think he must also be immune to the harmful effects of Radiation, or at least that the death and rebirth would cleanse any lingering sickness.

However, the more grisly his death, the longer it will take to heal. I reckon the only way to speed up the Retrometabolistic process would be for surgical intervention to essentially do as much clean-up as possible so the Retrometabolism can ‘focus’ on the regeneration part. For this reason I think being riddled with bullets would probably be a simpler process than the times Scarlet is caught in an explosion, or some of the potentially-canon situations shown in the end credits which vary from a stock Pulp hazard (Dynamite, being thrown out of a speeding car, threatened by a cobra) to honestly quite nightmarish (the walls of spikes, the swamp/quicksand, being about to be run over by a tank, the impending inferno as he trips on a burning beam….), and the end credit scenarios offer an underrated facet of Spectrum.

It’s easy for bad faith takes to dismiss the dynamics of Scarlet as “the guy who always dies” and the other Spectrum officers as being surplus to requirements, but that’s a reductive and daft way of looking at it. Instead why don’t we focus on how much interest and (for lack of a better term) variation in strategy it offers when one member can offer to make the riskiest plays, in the safety not of having regenerative powers, but the assurance that there’s backup to retrieve him and look after him while he’s completely helpless. Like, in the Shark picture, I think the threat is much less the toothy fish, but instead that Scarlet is doomed to be stuck underwater, maybe ready to return to life but without outside assistance unable to do so without drowning all over again. There would be a lot of trust and courage needed in these situations, not to mention how deeply unpleasant it is for humans to be around a dead body that may also be in quite a state, so it’s a strange sort of sweetness that Scarlet has all this back up when needed.

I also feel it’s worth mentioning my headcanon on the mysterious case of the Two Scarlets - OG Human who is perma-dead and the Mysteron version with Retrometabolism. First of all, while it happens entirely unmentioned and offscreen, I expect Spectrum New York dug around the crash site a bit more after reporting Brown’s corpse and then found Scarlet’s. This body is presumably in a morgue, perhaps cremated or buried but perhaps not. Presumably it’s Scarlet’s call to make…

I don’t think there was any personality change at a core level between the Scarlets, though if he got more moody or distant or whatever I don’t think anyone can hold it against him! But in part of their accepting, embracing even, of Mysteron!Scarlet, I feel like his Self would remain how it was, with the caveat of the new tactical routes opened by the indestructibility. 

And, while the headcanon train chuffs along, I guess I can wonder how long Retrometabolism will last with the Scarlet we know and love? Will repeated use ever cause it to fade, or is it as unshakable like the movement of planets? Will it prevent him from aging, each death reset bringing him back to 31 physically, or will it see him into twilight years? If the Mysterons were defeated, would the power be taken away with them, or eased off as their influence fades like a memory? It may depend on how the Mysterons were to be beaten, or come to a peaceful agreement. If they could strip it from him, then their keeping it active for their recurring counter may add fuel to the idea they’re playing a game and need specific pieces to always be in play.

In that regard, I only have questions. But puzzling out and solidifying my interpretations of this fine fellow has been a lot of fun, and even after I finish editing this, and after I’ve posted it, something else is sure to occur to me to mull over! This show deserved to be longer, but everything it gave me is cherished, and at the heart of that is this autistic gay king. He’s intriguing and, of course, indestructible!

🌈🚀���

[pareidoliaonthemove]

Lemmings

The fact that all Colour-Coded Officers, and the Angels were off-Cloudbase in a fortnight long training refresher – at the World Senate’s command – was enough to put Colonel White’s nerves on edge.

The replacement compliment of terrestrial staff was, as expected, highly competent and highly capable of successfully completing the duties now required of them. The fact that they were terrestrial staff, and not assigned to Cloudbase in the first case was a very fine line of distinction. Assigning personnel to stations at the creation of Spectrum had been a fraught process, and many of the men and women temporarily staffing the base had every right to be there.

But events had overtaken them all, and the experience the Cloudbase officers had accumulated in dealing with the Mysterons now made it very difficult to dispense of their services, even if these group trainings sessions had always been intended. White’s nerves vibrated at the slightest sound from the communications systems.

So when Lieutenant Silver cheerfully announced an incoming communication from Doctor Fawn at the Helsinki base where all his most experienced officers were currently stationed, he had a sinking feeling in his gut.

And when the entire conversation was Fawn rather abruptly telling him: “Get down here. Now.” White felt sick.

Whatever White had expected to find on arriving at Helsinki, it wasn’t to be hustled immediately into the terrestrial base’s medical suite.

Fawn met him in the reception area, his mood apparently not having improved since he called Cloudbase. With a curt jerk of his head, Fawn stalked off into the corridors, unerringly threading through identical corridors.

As they approached a set of large doors with a sign in two languages, neither of which White understood, Fawn called over his shoulder. “I am a Doctor, Colonel. Not a veterinarian!”

White went to respond, but Fawn slammed his way through the doors, an unnecessarily dramatic entrance to the room beyond. White followed, and his jaw dropped in shock.

The room was the main ward, and all the beds were occupied. To his left, and sporting various casts and bandages lay Lieutenant Green, and the Captains. Along the other wall were the Angels, similarly encumbered.

Fawn stormed to a stop in the middle of the room, and spun on his heels, boots squeaking on the linoleum. “You have encumbered me with a pack of lemmings,” Fawn growled.

He spun again, pointing at Scarlet, laying confined with a neck brace, and a stunned expression on his face. “And that one is their king!”

As White struggled to regain his composure, Fawn stalked back out the door. “Until you find staff whom I am properly qualified to treat, I am on leave!” he bellowed, before disappearing.

The doors settled into stillness before White found his voice. Fixing his staff with a cold gaze, he cleared his throat. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I trust there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.”

Notes:

The standard disclaimers, I do not own Captain Scarlet, either the Original or CGI Series. (Although I do own copies on DVD.)

I do not do this for money, but for my own (in)sanity and entertainment.

[harleiquina]

All TV series I've ever seen.

@thefirsthogokage 's search for new show to binge inspired me to list all TV shows I've seen so far. Of course I might add some along the way because I won't remember everything in one sitting.

Considering that it's going to be a lot... I might as well divide them in

1940 -1970 (this post)

1980 - 2000

2010 - Now.

Let us begin.

1944 - The Black Whip (serial)

For youngsters, a serial was like a TV show that our grandparents (maybe even great-grandparents) watched on the cinema. Sometimes all episodes (around 15 min each) would be edited together and played as a movie.

It was an experimental take of the character known as Zorro (born in pulp fiction) transported to USA's Wild West where two siblings have a newspaper but the brother is also "The Black Whip" a vigilante that keeps the peace in their town... until he's killed so his sister takes over his mantle (without anyone noticing). Fun fact: George J. Lewis later played Guy Williams's Zorro's father: Don Alejandro de la Vega.

Overall entertaining. The cliffhangers are kind of over done (keep in mind maybe back then they had to wait 1 week or more to see the next episode) and the escapes are sometimes kinda ridiculous but well... it's fun anyway. I saw it on Youtube.

1957 - Zorro (Disney)

You are not argentinean if you didn't grow up watching Zorro at noon while having lunch (or run from school to catch it before it ended). It is still being broadcasted today (in 2023) believe it or not!

Follow the adventures of Diego de la Vega, a señorito (very delicated gentleman) that during the nights turns into El Zorro, a vigilante that rights injustices and saves the people of Los Angeles.

LOVE IT. Guy Williams is Zorro, no-one will ever be better than him. It's fun for the whole family (and do not be fooled by the time it was made, the female characters are well written and very progressive for the time being). Saw it on TV over and over and over again and never got tired of it.

1959 - The Three Stooges (year they began to be televised)

How could I forget about my childhood heroes?

My first contact with slapstick comedy and absurdities galore.

In this house we believe in Moe, Larry, Curly & Shemp supremacy!!

1961 - Mr. Ed.

Ever wondered how it would be to live with a talking horse? Well, now you'll know.

Fun for all family, catchy title song... you can see it probably in lots of places because it's a classic (but for me it was on a bootleg DVD pack)

1964 - The Addams Family

We all know and grew up with The Addams Family movies in the 90's but this is the original live-action (with Gorey's insight). The family canon is different: Mom is Gomez's mother, Fester is Morticia's uncle and my favourite (yet always forgotten in the new media) is Ophelia, Morticia's twin sister -who was supposed to marry Gomez in first place-.

To be fair I saw it a couple of years ago so I don't remember too much, but its all-family-fun and if you are a spooky-inclined person (such as me) you'll end up wanting to own a house like theirs (and maybe some of their creatures as well). I saw it on bootleg DVDs, shhh... don't tell anyone.

1965 - Get Smart

Another argentinean staple (not as strong as Zorro, though) was this spy-comedy born out of mocking James Bond with gadgets and all. "Smart, Maxwell Smart. Agent 86" carved himself a space in our hearts with Agent 99, the Chief, agent K-9, Jaime and the equitative incompetent villain Siegfried.

Super fun with all the weird and borderline ridiculous inventions and plots. It sort of loses its momentum in the final seasons (when Max and the 99 get married and have twins) but there are still moments of greatness. I have all the DVDs, original ones this time.

1967 - Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

In Argentina we use the expression "wooden actor/actress" a lot... but in this case it's probably right because they are all puppets (unless they do a close up of their hands, then they are human 😱).

Follow this colour-coded crew of space travellers and their adventures. I don't fully remember if it was a concept or if it actually happens in the show but maybe Captain Scarlet doesn't make it to the end of the day. Very early Aeon Flux from his part. Be like me buying a bootleg DVD collection or you can probably find it on Youtube.

1971 - The Persuaders!

Who on this Earth hates either Roger Moore or Tony Curtis? I'm ready to throw hands!

Two millonaires (with lots of monetary issues aparently) have to work together for a Judge solving different crimes (identity theft, kidnappings, robberies, etc). It is never quite explained why both of them are the right ones to do the job but no-one cares because you'll end up loving Lord Brett Sinclair (Moore) and his love-hate relationship with Danny Wilde (Curtis) plagued with sarcasm but, eventually, true friendship.

I'm a Danny Wilde kinda girl (and I would like to have like half of his jackets, they are awesome) but Moore is also lovable. Yes, most of the cases have a beautiful girl that ends up with any of them... yes, some things are a little too convenient... but it is a show to have a good time. Don't think too hard about it. I've watched it on bootleg DVD but it is also on Youtube.

1973 - El Chavo del 8 & El Chapulín Colorado (The Kid from the 8th and The Red Cricket)

Both shows were aired pretty much at the same time and starred by the same cast the first one tells the story of a orphan kid that lives in a vicinity with very colourful characters.

The second one is the Mexican Superhero by excellence.

Chespirito (a wordplay for the Spanish "Little Shakespeare" -Shakespeare chiquito-) AKA Roberto Gomez Bolaños -author and lead in both shows- even said that his superheroe was better than the ones from Marvel or DC because he didn't needed muscles... he just wanted to do good and had big heart.

1976 - Charlie's Angels

I really don't understand why is it so hard for the movies to get it right. They were private investigators, not super-spies!!

3 girls became cops but were destined to "girl jobs" like secretary, school crossing and making parking tickets... but were recruited by the misterious Charlie that knows that they are capable of more so now they work solving cases where the police can't or won't be called.

We only own the first season on bootleg DVD (my mom's and aunt's favourite with the three original angels). It's fun and it's for everybody.

1976 - The Bionic Woman

Jamie Sommers (professional tennis player and Steve Austin's finceé) has a skydiving accident resulting in her getting bionic replacements of her legs, arm and ear. Since the equipment was very expensive (not like Steve's six million dollars bionic parts) she agrees to use it to help the goverment in dangerous missions. In the meantime she'll keep on working as a teacher.

Adventures of all kinds and the most memorable ones are with the fembots (altough many people like the Sasquatch episode, who knows why 🤷🏻‍♀️). Saw it on bootleg DVD.

1976 - Wonder Woman

Really? Wonder Woman? Lynda Carter? Do I need to explain anything? Just go watch it. (I saw in on bootleg DVD, shhh! Mrs. Carter is nearby, I don't want her to get upset).

1976 - The Muppets

Do they need introduction? Guest stars in every episode, humor, music and Ms. Piggy. You just can't hate Jim Hensons' creatures.

I have the first season on bootleg DVD but saw quite a few scenes on Youtube and social media as well.

1977 - The Incredible Hulk.

Bill Bixby + Lou Ferrigno + weekly adventures + that bloody journalist that follows them everywhere (and you will recognize as the bartender in Back to the Future III) to try and caught them red handed + the saddest end to every episode seeing poor Bruce Banner with his backpack walking to another town because he can never stay on the same place for too long = this early Marvel property that gave us a sneek peek into the complicated life of a superhero.

It's good, a problem-of-the-week show, but then again... poor Bruce Banner always alone, I want to cry 😭 Saw it on TV, I don't think that all episodes were aired back then nor when my mom and aunts were little.

1978 - Mork & Mindy

An alien that looks and acts like Robin Williams ends up living with the human Mindy to learn more about us. By the end of every episode Mork gives his report about what he learned about Humanity and it's usually very uplifting.

I've watched a few episodes on TV (this was Argentina in the '90s, you were lucky if any TV channel bought 2 seasons of any show to repeat ad eternum).

Nanu nanu!!

[mariocki]

Classic TV round-up

In their latest batch of announcements about rediscovered old telly, Kaleidoscope have revealed a highly significant find - an audio only recording of Callan: Once A Big Man, Always A Big Man (2.11, Thames, 1969). Part of a job lot of reel to reel audio tapes purchased in a house clearance, this is a brilliant discovery and provides us with another glimpse (if only an aural glimpse) of Derek Bond's tenure as Hunter, much of which is sadly missing from the archives. The same haul also turned up the soundtrack to a contemporary installment of The Eamonn Andrews Show, which features Callan star Edward Woodward among its guests. Kaleidoscope have announced their intention to animate the Callan soundtrack as their next project, once work has been completed on the audio of an episode of Adam Adamant Lives! returned last year.

Other announcements include the securing of an episode of much mocked BBC ferry-set soap Triangle (1981 - 1983). Much maligned by the viewing public and critics alike, the series nevertheless ran for three years. The episode in question has been returned to the BBC, who have confirmed they now hold the entire run of the show - a happy ending for any old TV, no matter its popularity.

The good folk at Network continue their work to upscale previous releases to blu-ray quality. Having recently completed their HD releases of Man In A Suitcase (ITC, 1967 - 1968) and Joe 90 (ITC, 1968 - 1969), they are currently working on releases of Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons (1967 - 1968).

February sadly saw the passing of Patricia Garwood (28.1.1941 - 24.2.2019). Beginning her career as a child actor with a small, uncredited role in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Garwood's screen career lasted almost fifty years until her retirement in the late 1990s. Best known for playing Beryl Crabtree in the long running sitcom No Place Like Home (BBC, 1983 - 1987) opposite William Gaunt, Garwood also had a clutch of genre credits to her name - including episodes of Armchair Theatre (1964), Mystery And Imagination (1966), Public Eye (7.12, Fit Of Conscience, 1975) and The Gentle Touch (1980). In later years she continued to work on the stage and in her spare time wrote several books. She is survived by four daughters and ten grandchildren; her husband of fifty years, playwright Jeremy Paul, died in 2011.

[representativecharacters]

Character: Lieutenant Green/Serena Lewis

From: Captain Scarlet/Gerry Anderson’s New Captain Scarlet

Representation: Black

Their Importance: She’s an updated version of Seymour Griffiths from the original series, having been gender-flipped and given a more prominent role. Notably in the DVD commentary of the series the original creator, Gerry Anderson talked about how obvious it was that there needed to be more female characters with character depth who take an active role in the plot considering how much society had changed since the creation of the original series in the 60s (significantly younger creators have been way less graceful about the idea of diversifying their work as time marches on). She’s also a deeply loyal and razor-sharp agent with a surprisingly cheerful idealistic side which is a welcome reprieve considering how ridiculously dark this series can get.  

Issues: She does fall into the common trope of black characters dealing with the bulk of bad luck/angst – her spotlight episode involves her being forced to mercy kill a relative who’d been possessed by the enemy Mysterons and in another, she desperately fends of a psychic attack in an incredibly tense scene - aside from Captain Scarlet himself the rest of the predominantly white cast aren’t really put through the wringer in the same way. Though at least in her case her trauma isn’t dismissed by the narrative as other characters show strong sympathy for her and the audience is clearly supposed to as well. It also never stops her from being a very competent agent and a surprisingly cheerful person.

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

[silveragelovechild]

I discovered “Captain Scarlet” on TUBI, on online streaming service I can access via my cable system. I have the series on DVD but this is easier to binge watch this weekend.

I’m fond of the series - in particular because of the more realistic proportions of the characters and sets. I also like the use of the drum beats and intercutting photos used between scenes - very hip.

As I rewatched the 1st episode I realized that the show has something in common with “Babylon 5”. In Scarlett, Captain Black misinterprets a gesture of peace by the Mysterons and attacks. This trigger a war between Earth and the Mysterons. In B5, when Earth forces intercept a Minbar ship, they too misinterpret a gesture of peace, open fire, and trigger the Earth-Minbar War.

Rewatching the show has also brought to mind an issue that has bugged me. The Mysterons are capable of recreating themselves and anything that has been destroyed. So when Captain Black destroyed their base on Mars, they simply rebuilt it. Ultimately the damage was undone. That’s their thing, right? Why declare a war on Earth if they can undo the destruction? Seems pointless. But I’m sure little kids who watched never thought of that.

Now I find the episode much more repetitive than Fireball XL5 and Stingray. In Scarlet every episode follows the same pattern - the Mysterons threaten to destroy or kill; Spectrum tries to stop them, lots of explosions.

Also, in the era of the METOO movement, except for the Angels, there are virtually no female characters. Even the Angels have little to do. Anderson tried to balance the make/female breakdown in his CGI series but one character he switched was Lt. Green who was a glorified assistant, so there wasn’t much of an upgrade for women characters.

But still, I thing it would be fun to see a live action series produced.

https://silveragelovechild.tumblr.com/post/171104704418/isnt-it-about-time-we-had-a-live-action-captain

[vintage1981]

Century 21, Slough Documentary Available from Century 21 Films on DVD & Blu-Ray

A draughty warehouse on the Slough Trading Estate in the 1960s: what could possibly be so special about such a place?

In Century 21, Slough, the former studios of iconic series such as Stingray, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, The Secret Service, UFO, and most famously Thunderbirds are revisited one final time by the crew before the demolition of the buildings in 2017.

Original puppets and models from the series are returned to their former home as David Elliott (Director), Mary Turner (Puppeteer), Dee Anderson (Daughter of Sylvia Anderson), Alan Shubrook (Model Maker), David Lane (Director/Producer), and Academy Award winner Brian Johnson (Special Effects) reminisce over the production of some of the most magical and impressive television and film achievements, with the aid of rare archive footage and photographs – some seen here for the first time!

See also the final piece of Supermarionation filmed in the original building as David Elliott returns to the director’s chair and Mary Turner climbs the puppet bridge once again…

SPECIAL FEATURES

Exclusive Interview With Mike Trim

Behind the Scenes

Photo Gallery

Set of Art Cards Exclusive to Pre-Orders

REGION FREE

https://www.century21films.co.uk/store

[downthetubes]

A New Viewing Experience from Networkonair.com

Network Distributing will be familiar to aficionados of vintage television as the label behind the DVD and Blu-ray releases and restorations of TV classics like Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Prisoner, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, The Goodies and many others. Now the company is introducing a new way to experience classics of the small screen, with its first streaming service, watch.netwo…

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Captain Ultra (キャプテンウルトラ Kyaputen Urutora) is the titular intergalactic hero of a pulp-style tokusatsu science fiction space adventure television series titled Space Tokusatsu Series: Captain Ultra (宇宙特撮シリーズ キャプテンウルトラ Uchū Tokusatsu Shirīzu: Kyaputen Urutora). Produced by Toei Company Ltd., the series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) from April 16 to September 24, 1967, with a total of 24 episodes.

This series is based very loosely on Captain Future, the pulp science fiction saga created by the influential Edmond Hamilton. This was not the only time his work was adapted in Japan: Captain Future was officially adapted into an anime series by Toei Doga in 1978, and that same year, Tsuburaya Productions adapted his Starwolf novels into a tokusatsu sci-fi action series of the same title.

Originally, this series was aired by Tokyo Broadcasting System right after the end of the original Ultraman show to serve as a filler series to while Tsuburaya Productions geared up for the production of Ultra Seven. So only 24 episodes of Captain Ultra were ordered by the network. So, the week following the conclusion of Captain Ultra, Ultra Seven premiered on TBS. Still, while short-lived, the series has been released in Japan on all of the major home video formats since the 1980s: VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD, and in 2005, a tankōbon of the original serialized manga、illustrated by Shunji Obata, was published by Manga Shop.

Captain Ultra is among the more memorable tokusatsu series from the 1960s, and was one of the three cornerstones of Toei's programs of 1967, including Akakage and Giant Robo (better known in the US as Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot. Some Japanese fans also compare the looks of Captain Ultra to that of Captain Scarlet, the title hero of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (which had been shown in Japan around the same time and was very popular).

[shinygoku]

Top 10 CSatM Episodes (2/2)

See part 1 here

As a few paragraphs and pictures for 10 episodes in a row makes a rather long, unruly beast of a post!

The second half of my personal preferred picks for a Top 10, though the order they’re being listed in doesn’t correspond to my favour, but the order how I watch them on my DVDs. I still suggest you read the first half of the list before this one, all the same~

Spoilers below the cut, be warned! ✂

Crater 101

So this ep is pretty much a sequel to Lunarville 7, and is followed up with Dangerous Rendezvous. Neither of those made the cut of my list though, and even isolated from those it makes a solid story. The most Space-y of all the episodes and a visual treat, cause while we mostly stuck to the stark accommodations of Lunarville 7 in that episode, here we see the grey grimy gloom of the outside of the Moon, and the sharp, delightful contrast of the Mysteron’s fantastic plastic Complex. Here, vivid marbled colours and flashing lights join inorganic shapes that suggest something of the Mysteron’s nature, but as always, nothing conclusive.

Moving away from the lovely Aesthetics, this is also a strong one for characterisation. We get some sweet interactions with The Lads and for this episode only, the Best Female Character in the whole show. Linda Nolan is the controller of Lunarville 6, a smart, capable woman who had her own cool space mission referenced and in fact critical to the plot. She is also relatable in that she catches feelings for Scarlet, so while she’s barking up the wrong tree I still have nothing but respect for her, hehee.

Eerie, tense, interesting and still somewhat funny, this is another episode that eeks into an even higher ranking list than 10, I could comfortably put it in 5 and mmmaybe 3. Though I’m not gonna be able to say definitively as the best episodes all bring something different to the table, and this may just be the strongest in the uniqueness regard.

Fire at Rig 15

I get the feeling this may be an unorthodox choice, somehow? But yeah, I just really enjoy it. It’s not a funny episode, but it is rather exciting, and contains some lovely new music and a sweet scene at the end. The Mysteron’s plot is pretty simple, but should it succeed, devastating as it would be crippling Spectrum’s operations by removing the unique type of fuel all the craft uses.

In a way, it’s kind of like a dark mirror to a typical Thunderbirds setup; whereas in that show the initial fire would be more likely to be accidental or just maybe some ne’er do well like the Hood, this time it’s as simple as the Mysterons reopening the master valve. When traditional firefighters would eventually retreat to make room for International Rescue, here Spectrum themselves have a rather passive role as a professional rolls in. And of course, said man finds himself very, very dead due to further Mysteron interference (see picture), with Black seemingly hypnotising the poor bloke into standing too close to the explosion.

From there his duplicate half buries his original corpse and later receives direct instructions from Black to suicide bomb the nearby refinery, and it’s en route to this is where the thrilling car chase takes place! Scarlet saves the refinery but the whole SPV he was driving is completely ablaze at the end of it. Like my thoughts on Point 783, I really appreciate the human touch to the last scene, with soft music as arrangements are made for Scarlet to recover from the horrible state we’re spared of seeing. Seeing how his ability to recover from death is one of the cornerstones of the whole premise, I love it when we’re allowed a bit more insight into what the other Spectrum personnel do in the situations, in this case White specifically instructing Dr Fawn to make sure Scarlet is comfortable as the process takes place.

Treble Cross

A notable and unique spin of an episode, where a rather routine Mysteron threat takes quite the turn when their assassinated target is brought back to life! It seems by the 2060′s we’ll have cool machinery to do CPR for a couple of hours as well as doctors ready to play god when they happen to drive by the car crash scene, heheh

Seriously though, this is a really fresh premise, that the villains who have been using doppelgangers for their devious schemes get the tables turned. This time the duplicate gets perma-killed while the original Major Gravener willingly participates in an undercover mission to help draw Captain Black into a trap at last... However, an easily overlooked factor in the driver who was also killed had been duplicated offscreen, so even with this amazing chance Spectrum can’t catch Black. But the World Capital, Futura City, is saved and Spectrum find the Mysterons themselves can’t tell their own copies from the original person, so it’s all in all a net gain!

Also this episode contains the World’s Happiest Clock, so that’s a neat plus.

Flight 104

We start this story on the incredible note of Captain Blue singing in the shower of the Hotel room he shares with Captain Scarlet. Scarlet then orders them both room service for some lunch. And if that sounds like the start of a fanfic plot, it may well be, but it’s also literally right there in the episode, baybee!

Charmingly domestic opening aside, I love this whole shebang. Again it’s the usual Mysterons threatening of an individual who Spectrum are bodyguarding, but the way both our heroes and villains go about this is different from the norm. Scarlet and Blue are trying to avoid drawing attention, so they spend the whole episode in normal clothes (Blue spending 1/3 of this in that comfy bathrobe!), and don’t have their comms. What’s more, they get a pair of reporters suspicious, and the two trail them looking for a Big Scoop.

When I was first watching this, I was expecting the journalists to get killed by Black to be the Mysteron Pawns, but no! They’re both fine from the start to the end! Then we find Black doing ....something.... to the Flight Crew of the titular Flight 104, but they aren’t killed either, just drugged. Instead, the Mysterons remotely pilot the plane on a slow collision course with the Alps, but are undone when an Electrical Plant interferes with their control.

As breaking into the pilot cabin had the side effect of jamming the landing gear, the plane has to crash land at the airport, but almost everyone being unharmed makes this one of the most gentle episodes of the lot... of course, Scarlet himself is still heavily implied to have been killed from the crash, but even his injuries seem pretty minor this time. And yet, it’s not lacking in excitement, as the tension of Spectrum trying to communicate with the two without their Comms and the inability to override the Mysteron’s control until that pre-established Electrical weakness kicks in holds for a while.

Inferno

Those who know of me from Thunderbirds are Go (the 2015 TV series) discussion are likely to know how much I love the episode from Season 1, Tunnels of Time. It heavily features my favourite ship in that show as they explore an ancient South American Temple which is full of peril. The temple is destroyed by the end of the episode.

So anyway, Inferno features my favourite ship in this show as they explore an ancient South American Temple which is full of peril, and tragically the temple is destroyed by the end of the episode! Heheeheheee~

Ok seriously though, eerie parallels aside this is another utterly beautiful instalment, with set design and lighting that really blows other episodes out of the proverbial water. And the pyrotechnic team clearly had fun with the seemingly unending explosions at the end of the adventure. An all-around visual feast!

Main plot is relatively simple, like in White as Snow, the Mysterons kill a Satellite and its crew and steer the reconstructed version towards their target of the week. Unlike WaS, they succeed in the end, a reminder that they’re still not to be underestimated. No human lives are lost, but the important complex and more tragically, the 800 year old temple that’s otherwise intact, get bombed to smithereens. Something something additional cost of warfare on Culture and History.

But while this is the end of my personal Top 10 list, it’s not all bad, because the Scarlet and Blue antics in the temple are utterly lovely and [chef finger kiss] splendid cinema~!

That about wraps up this Two-part post of mine! Picking 10 out of 32 is easier than 10 out of 100, but it’s still tricky as most of the episodes are very good, with only a few I’d promptly write off as a candidate for the list. And in some ways I wonder if I went about this the right way, some eps I only saw once and might feel strong enough to pip one’a the ones I did choose.

I have been rewatching each of the eps covered, and a few that didn’t make it, but my initial choice was made looking at the full list and letting my gut grab a few, having to think over more as the slots filled. Some fan favourites like Lunarville 7 came close, but I hope I’ve been able to clearly convey what it is about this selection that gave them the edge ;3

I will write further posts on Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons in the future, but after this mammoth and also the Notable Episodes list I’d quite like to enjoy it for a while without thinking about points to talk about, haha

[shinygoku]

Top 10 CSatM Episodes (1/2)

Ahhh, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons...! Probably only Second to Thunderbirds when it comes to the most popular and beloved Supermarination programme, with only Stingray able to compete for that coveted Silver Medal. But for me, it’s my Favourite!

I could go on and on about it, but for now I’ll go over my personal picks for a Top 10, which may give some insight into what about the way the series ticks makes it so enthralling.

Without further ado, let’s jump in! I’m not ordering them by preference, but rather the Episode order as I watched them on my DVDs (tediously the ep listings never seem to be consistent :T) Spoilers for all eps covered! ✂

Winged Assassin

Starting off my Favourites is the 2nd episode of the whole show, featuring a good condensed version of the events of Ep 1 if ya missed it and probably the best explanation on the workings of Retrometabolism that canon media is ever gonna grant us. The plot is fairly straightforward, but what elevates this is the aforementioned Exposition, which feels more organic than it did last episode, the interactions between Scarlet and Blue, and even the shocking twist at the ending, where the mission that had been going so well falls at the very last hurdle, in spite of Spectrum’s best efforts.

One of the most chilling visuals in the series is a surfaced shard of a downed passenger plane floating up from the sea, before the camera pans out to show the duplicated plane flying through the air, and another dark shot later on, of Scarlet’s limp hand with blood running down after he died in the effort to prevent the massive explosion that occurs regardless.

Winged Assassin sets a lot of standards of things to follow; traits like massive collateral damage just as part of the Mysteron’s grander scheme, the close partnership of Scarlet and Blue, Scarlet’s seldom used Sixth Sense and even the occasional downer ending, where the Mysterons manage to sneak a victory in and actually kill or destroy their stated target.

White as Snow

This episode shines a very interesting light on the dynamics between Col. White and Scarlet. It’s obviously one of a superior giving orders most of the time, but in a twist from the somewhat strict nature of Jeff Tracy over his sons who show respect to their father by not arguing back, with these two there’s actually the occassional spark of friction, that Scarlet will voice when he doesn’t like the commands and will only reluctantly go through the motions in the situation. I’m referring mostly to the first Mysteron attack, where a satellite is on a collision course with Cloudbase, but Scarlet unsubtly opposes the plan as there’s the possibility of innocent people on board who would get killed if Spectrum shot it down first. However, he’s overruled... and it turns out that it was indeed a trap, the people on board had been exploded hours ago and what was shot down was a Replicant copy. And that’s just the first half of the episode! But I find it interesting that again, back in Thunderbirds, the call to not remotely destroy something like that on the offchance it was populated would be the Correct course of action, but in this show pragmatism is needed, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Anyway, the episode has another Mysteron attack aboard a submarine, with plenty of tension... but yet, there’s something of a comedic bend to the episode, such as a furious White shouting at the currently dead Scarlet, much to the Naval crew’s confusion, and the scene at the end which I’ve taken the picture from. The weakest part of the episode is probably Blue in charge of Cloudbase, as he doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing and I feel they coulda done more with him. Oh well! At least we got the fantastic music insert, which is also titled White as Snow.

Operation Time

Probably ranking in my Top 3, Operation Time is pretty remarkably both one of the most tension filled... yet an extremely funny episode. I guess some of that’s just due to my own odd sense of humour, though some moments are clearly intentional. Both the operation scenes, the Mysteron’s pursuit of the Doctor, and finally Spectrum chasing the Mysteron!Doctor are all played very suspensefully, and I find myself holding my breath. But then the funny scenes, like everything with Magenta and how hilariously pissy and unsubtle the Fake!Doctor gets leave me in stitches! [pun unintended lol]

I dunno, maybe some of the amusement effect is enhanced by the strong contrast between the scenes. Also we get a very grisly death for the Fake!Doctor and this episode establishes weaknesses for the Mysterons that will come up in future instalments. There’s a lot this ep has to offer, even something of an insight into 60′s medicine (though the series is set in 2068). While an extremely minor point, both the scenes with operations have the pssssshh.....fsssssshhhh sound that I associate with ventilators even though they ain’t being used, what’s up with that? But it’s another thing to add to the Atmosphere so s’all good, man.

Odd that I can’t think of much else to put here, I love it so much but maybe it’s so solid in the couple of things it does that’s all there really is to say? I’m feeling frustrated at how I don’t seem to have written enough for it, but trust me when I say it’s excellent and that it’s absolutely a Must Watch if you’re giving the series a look. (Though again, I’m spoiling each ep covered so uhh... read at your own risk if you’re using this to judge it!)

The Heart of New York

An interesting tale that I’ve actually Heard more than I’ve watched, as the audio adaptation is a free sample on the official Gerry Anderson site! [At least at the time of writing lmao, it’s worth a look anyway. This message was not paid for.]

This story is somewhat unique in that the Mysterons’ plan is pretty tame by their standards. They want to blow up... a Bank. Sure, it contributes to the long game they play, causing disruption and destruction, but compared to the casual massive collateral damage they inflict as part of a more focused murder attempt (again, see Winged Assassin and the passenger plane) this is small potatoes. But still, they end up feeling more moral in this episode than the actual ne’er do wells, a trio of would-be Robbers. These guys are pretty assholish, deliberately using the horrible cosmic war that’s already taken lives in the triple digits to hide behind while they take their pickings from a vault. Captain Black locking these morons in with the explosives feels like poetic justice, that they really did get what they wanted and are punished in kind.

Maybe this feeds the Mysteron’s point, that humans are aggressive, corrupt and selfish... though Colonel White challenges this view at the end of the episode, stating the robbers aren’t indicative of humanity as a whole. The whole shebang is a lot like The Twilight Zone, honestly. All we need is Rod Serling to open and close the episode...

Point 783

This episode is a bit harder to go into depth on, to be honest, it’s not one with a particular gimmic that makes it more memorable, but it’s a very solid ep all the same. There’s still a fair few layers that keep me thinking, like how it seems one of the Methane Trunk drivers had seemingly been Mysterionised offscreen to enable the Mysteron’s main pawns to me made. Then the first attempt to kill the Supreme Commander is thwarted by Scarlet’s (somewhat inconsistant) Mysteron Sense and perspex tubes that take their sweet time to descend and don’t even prioritise the actual target lol

Anyway, the meat of the episode is focused on the guest vehicle, the Unitron implacable unmanned Tank that can be controlled remotely by human operator or programmed to destroy something particular, and it will not stop or slow down no matter what’s thrown at it. Something something Proto-Drone Warfare commentary. The Mysterons’ last big attempt to assassinate today’s dude has one of their Mysterionised guys from earlier become the target, unknown to everyone else until he draws his gun inside the SPV (who even points out the 6th sense didn’t activate!). Scarlet gets shot 3 times but manages to eject himself and the Supreme Commander, which leads to the above scene, which offers a nice, human response.

Mr Supreme Commander later chews Blue out as it emerges instead of Scarlet going to a Hospital within 10 minutes, Spectrum insisted on waiting for one of their Helicopters to pick him up, which took 3 hours. Poor Blue has to try reassuring the army guys that Scarlet will be fine, truuuuust hiiiim. It makes me wonder if Spectrum is making things easier or harder overall by keeping his Retrometabolism under their hats, though I can understand they’d have reservations, but just trying to gloss over it with a ‘no no, it’s fine, he’ll get better.’ type answer doesn’t seem all that convincing. But I enjoy that it’s semi challenged here. And this episode summary ended up longer than expected cause all the Thinking I’ve done, haha!

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This has gotten a lot longer than expected and will be Two Parts! Find the second half here~