Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

1967

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
  • 0

7.8| 0h30m| NR| en
Synopsis

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill. First broadcast on ATV Midlands from September 1967 to May 1968, it has since been transmitted in more than 40 other countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Characters are presented as marionette puppets alongside scale model sets and special effects in a filming technique that the Andersons termed "Supermarionation". This technology incorporated solenoid motors as a means of synchronising the puppet's lip movements with pre-recorded dialogue. Set in 2068, Captain Scarlet presents the hostilities between Earth and a race of Martians known as the Mysterons. After human astronauts attack their city on Mars, the vengeful Mysterons declare war on Earth, initiating a series of reprisals that are countered by Spectrum, a worldwide security organisation. Spectrum boasts the extraordinary abilities of its primary agent, Captain Scarlet. During the events of the pilot episode, Scarlet acquires the Mysteron healing power of "retro-metabolism" and is thereafter considered to be virtually "indestructible", being able to recover fully from injuries that would normally be fatal.

Director

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ITC Entertainment

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Reviews

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
rt-ingram Another TV series I grew up watching, and have fond memories of, 'Captain Scarlet' is still as popular now as it was when it was first shown in 1967. I enjoyed 'Thunderbirds' enormously, so I gave 'Captain Scarlet' a go, and I wasn't disappointed.The concept is quite dark for a children's series, with characters being killed and resurrected as villains, and the Mysterons wanting to destroy all life on earth, but it's not too upsetting for children. And the stories are just as enjoyable; with the first episode, I did find myself piecing together what was happening, but it all makes sense in the end. There were a few instances where the Mysterons won, and this adds a touch of realism that the good guys sometimes fail.Unfortunately, the series ended with a flashback episode that provided no real sense of closure. The penultimate episode was an 'it was all a dream' story that featured the Mysterons destroying Cloudbase – had it not been a dream, this would have been an ideal conclusion.Overall, Captain Scarlet might be a lot more serious in tone, but it's enjoyable nonetheless and will no doubt continue to entertain in years to come.
Sam James I LOVE CAPTAION SCARLET!! it is one of the best TV programs i have ever seen, they don't make AMAZING things like this anymore, i have all of the dvds and the New Captain Scarlet coming in the post, i love both but i love the old ones a bit more :D Gerry Anderson was a Amazing Person and made my childhood awesome ! I watched these 3 series when i was a kid, Captain Scarlet,Stingray and Thunderbirds! as a kid i remember always wanting to be Captain Scarlet :) i just wish Gerry didn't have to go :( R.I.P Gerry Anderson :( We miss you so much!! !! !!Review by S.D.James
Markhoni Anderson's follow up to 'Thunderbirds' is far more brutal and pessimistic about the future. Virtually every episode begins with the Mysterons murdering someone to 'reconstruct' them under their control. The puppets are technically superior to ThunderBirds, Stingray etc and the special effects by Derek Meddings and co are excellent. There are some nice touches-the multi-racial, equal opportunity organisation 'Spectrum', the puppet 'guest stars',particularly the Robert Mitchum lookalike, and the fact that Colonel White, the Spectrum commander and the Mysterons share the same voice (is this symbolically significant as opposed to Anderson economising on actors?).However, overall it lacked the charm and innocent appeal of its predecessors. For pedants like me there were also some holes in the basic concept. It was quietly forgotten that Captain Scarlet himself was not the original but a Mysteron reconstruction. Was there no danger of him being taken over again? Like the workings of the Star Trek transporter the exact nature of his indestructibility was left vague. In the opening credits he is shown to be bullet proof, but in the series itself he just seems to be able to recover quickly from catastrophic injuries. Anyway, as far as I recall none of the other Mysteron agents were indestructible so why was he? Anderson is reputedly remaking the series as of 2003 so perhaps we'll learn some answers. Hope it's better than some of his latter day shows like 'Terrahawks' and the abysmal 'Space Precinct'
mikerichards Perhaps an entire generation was scarred by the voices of the Mysterons - between them and the Daleks I spent a good part of my childhood hiding behind the sofa. It was certainly a golden age for children with the prodigious talents of Gerry Anderson ensuring a constant stream of spectacular programmes for after school entertainment.'Captain Scarlet' was a follow-on to the immensely successful 'Thunderbirds', and whilst technically superior it never achieved the same level of popularity. Why? I think the answer lies in 'Captain Scarlet' being a darker production, sometime after 'Thunderbirds' Gerry Anderson seems to have lost a lot of his faith in humanity. The Mysteron conflict is started by human stupidity. Technology goes horribly wrong - and this time people die as a consequence.Or maybe it's just unpopular because the theme music isn't anywhere as catchy.Storywise, well there is a common plot. The Mysterons kindly inform Earth of their latest plan by means of a cryptic clue, (obviously they are a race of frustrated Martian crossword compilers). Shortly afterwards they use their patented replication technology to make a copy of a person who then goes about fulfilling the Mysteron plans; think 'Invasion of the Bodysnatchers' remade for kids. The Mysteron chief agent on Earth was the creepy Captain Black who desperately needed a shave and somehow managed to escape every week. It's all up to Captain Scarlet and his colour-coordinated sidekicks to save the day in a nuclear-powered, high-rise, high-speed world.It is clear that Gerry Anderson was just itching to move into live-action television (something he would achieve with the later 'UFO'), and was running into the limitations of puppets. Whilst technical advances between 'Thunderbirds' and 'Captain Scarlet' meant that it was possible to produce anatomically correctly proportioned puppets; string puppets could not be made to walk convincingly. So 'Captain Scarlet' is filled with shots of sitting people, moving walkways or head and shoulder shots. The use of much thinner strings on the puppets and insert shots for hands helps sell the illusion.In the end the weaknesses don't matter. The Century 21 team had established the formula with 'Thunderbirds'. Mix some high speed chases, a perilous situation for the heroes and end it all with a satisfying explosion or two and you can ensure that 25 minutes whip past before anyone can nit-pick.Like any Anderson production, the story used a lavish number of models and sets (almost all of which ended up in ruins by the end of the programme). Many of them are now classics - the SPV tank and the futuristic Spectrum Patrol Car were lovingly moulded into die-cast toys and were repeatedly crashed in living rooms around the country. If anyone has mine, please let me know! As always the special effects were of the very highest standard (many of the people involved went on to work with Kubrick on '2001') and still look good today.Re-watching the programme, one thing I found particularly striking were the strong roles given to women characters people who weren't British or American. Spectrum agents are a mix of all nationalities and ethnicities, apparently Anderson wanted children of all races to have heroes and learn to play together - not a bad aim for the 1960s and something that more programmes could remember.Looking at it today, 'Captain Scarlet' has survived much better than most programming of the era. Produced on a lavish budget and shot on film, it has been digitally remastered for re-broadcast and DVD and positively glows. Somehow the colours look richer than modern productions and the storytelling doesn't appear to be designed for the very stupid. Even down to the classic retro-futuristic fonts and the wonderful Century 21 logo it still looks modern.In short, I still love it.As they used to say at the end of each show; Captain Scarlet is indestructible. You are not. Remember this, do not try to imitate him.