Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

1967

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
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7.8| NR| en| More Info
Released: 29 September 1967 Ended
Producted By: ITC Entertainment
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

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.

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Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons Audience Reviews

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.
Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.
ShadeGrenade There have not been many children's shows featuring a dead man as the hero, but 1967's 'Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons' has to be the top contender for the title. It was Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's first 'Supermarionation' series since their phenomenally successful 'Thunderbirds', and repeated many of the same ingredients - a top secret organisation, futuristic hardware, exciting action scenes, dramatic Barry Gray music, and sinister villains, but there was a new element - violent death. Characters either got shot, blown up or electrocuted.In 2068 A.D., an expedition from Earth touches down on Mars. As the M.E.V. ( Martian Expeditionary Vehicle ) crawls across the craggy surface, a city twinkles in the distance. Convinced they are about to be attacked, Captain Black of the security force SPECTRUM opens fire. But, minutes later, the 'dead' city reappears intact. The inhabitants of Mars - the Mysterons - have the ability to reconstruct dead matter ( a process they call 'retro metabolism' ). They were a peace-loving race, but now they are mad, vowing to destroy Mankind. Soon after the expedition's return to Earth, Black disappears. The World President's life is threatened, so SPECTRUM - whose agents are named after colours, their leader is Colonel White - dispatches Captains Scarlet and Brown to protect him. En route, their car crashes. Brown is reconstructed as a Mysteron agent. In one of the most chilling scenes ever on children's television, Brown tries to kill the World President by becoming a human bomb. The attempt fails, so that only leaves Captain Scarlet, also Mysteronised, to complete the mission. Needless to say, it also fails, but Scarlet is soon free of Mysteron control. Being indestructible, he becomes SPECTRUM's top agent in the ongoing war of nerves against the Mysterons.Each week, the doom-laden voice of the Mysterons would issue its latest sabotage threat, and Captain Black would be duly dispatched to carry out his orders. Compared to the cosy family viewing that was 'Stingray' and 'Thunderbirds', this was nightmarish stuff indeed. Ordinary people died horribly so they could be reborn as Mysterons. One episode had a mechanic in an inspection pit being crushed when Black activated the hydraulic mechanism holding the car he was working on. 'Crater 101' saw Scarlet, Blue and Lieutenant Green heading for the Moon where the Mysterons have built a base. The scenes where they wander round the alien complex are incredibly eerie even now. 'Dangerous Rendezvous' had the Mysterons ostensibly offering to negotiate peace terms with SPECTRUM, but of course it all turned out to be a trap.The puppetry had noticeably improved since 'Thunderbirds', and there were no comedy characters such as 'Brains'. SPECTRUM's headquarters was Cloudbase, which was a sort of airborne aircraft carrier. The show's other major stars were the Angels - the beautiful all-girl pilots who flew sleek aircraft equipped with rockets, and had names like 'Melody', 'Symphony' and 'Rhapsody'. We never saw the Mysterons though - whenever they used their powers a pair of white rings would be visible. In a comic strip in 'T.V. Tornado' published shortly before the show's debut, they were depicted as hexagonal spheres, sporting a single eye which could spit death rays. In a 1967 'C.A.' annual, however, it was said the Mysterons had abandoned Mars, and it was their computers that were waging war on Mankind. To me they were scarier than the Daleks because they seemed to have the entire world under surveillance. I often wondered why they gave up so easily. Surely when Scarlet killed one of their agents, all they had to do was reconstruct him again. They preferred to cook up an entirely new scheme instead. Perhaps 'the war of nerves' was really nothing more than an elaborate game of cat and mouse played by the aliens for reasons we can only guess at.Like Anderson's other shows, 'C.A.' was heavily marketed ( I used to own a SPECTRUM wallet, complete with S.P.V. driving licence! ). The dinky toy of the S.P.V. ( Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle ) was for years the top selling toy of its kind. Kellogg's breakfast cereal 'Sugar Smacks' gave away badges to coincide with the original run, and the 'T.V. 21' comic featured beautifully drawn strips. The catchy pop song over the end credits was performed by 'The Spectrum'. So popular was 'C.A.' that 'The Golden Shot' ( hosted by the late Bob Monkhouse ) did a tie-in edition with the hostesses dressed as Angels! British audiences had to wait a few years to see the show in colour, but when they did it was worth it. Repeats have been plentiful over the years; the B.B.C. brought it to a new generation in 1993 ( Trevor Phillips of the Commission for Racial Equality incredibly denounced the show as racist on account of the villain being called 'Captain Black'. When it was pointed out to him that 'Lieutenant Green' was also black, he calmed down ).In 2005, the show was reincarnated as 'New Captain Scarlet' with stop motion C.G.I. replacing the Supermarionation puppets. I like both shows enormously, but the original holds a special place in my heart. Like its hero, it has proved to be indestructible. SPECTRUM Is Green!
godzilla1991 Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons...In my opinion, Gerry Anderson's greatest Supermarionation series if not the best series he ever made. This show is so full of memorable characters, quotes and of course the theme tune. It is very exciting and tense.Well, I am a slightly blood-thirsty person! and i quite like violent films, so Captain Scarlet is great! There is sometimes a bit of blood, but nothing too extreme. This is why Anderson series' are cult classics; they know how fare to go with violence and themes. This is why it is ideal for fans of all ages! Nothing is too complicated or over-done.The voice acting is probably the best of any Supermarionation show and almost every episode keeps you glued to the screen! The only thing which has stopped me from giving this show a 10 is the fact that I wish they were a little longer to develop supporting characters. Never the less most of the episodes are good at their own length.I think that this is superior to the New Captain Scarlet computer generated show because everything is REAL. The problem with CGI shows is that explosions and effects are not real which I think is not as impressive. The visual effects by Derek Medding's team for Captain Scarlet are great like everything he did.I grew up watching this series and hope that many more people believe that this show is better than the new one. It is dark and authentic, so what more do you want? Long live Captain Scarlet! Thanks for reading, godzilla1991
johcafra CS&M's American-broadcast predecessors (Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds) prompted novelty, fun, and no small amount of wishful thinking on the part of this frustrated model railroader. Thunderbirds to me at least became a pleasurable engineering-problem-of-the-week. But CS&M was different, far different.Invisible yet palpable evil was afoot. Characters that looked a lot more human got snuffed. Intentional catastrophes abounded or were openly threatened. And to confront this was SPECTRUM, sometimes arriving not quite in the nick of time.It may have aimed for the kids, but it was adult fare, at times delivered with genuine style and suspense. (I suspect the producers later chose to tone things down, hence Joe 90 and The Secret Service.) And at all times it was delivered with outright craftsmanship, a superb meld of direction, stories, voice acting and characterization, photography and editing, production design, sound and musical score, and in-camera special effects.If you're new to Supermarionation, don't mind the puppetry, kit-bashed models, tabletop explosions or rolling backgrounds, overlook the occasional wire and slot in the pavement, and just watch a show that has style. Because everything is scaled-down but filmed as realistically as practicable you'll get drawn into it faster than you think. For a sampler view the episodes "Winged Assassin," "Big Ben Strikes Again," "Manhunt," "Operation Time," "Shadow of Fear," "The Heart of New York," "Fire at Rig 15," "Traitor," "Noose of Ice" and "Attack on Cloudbase."I don't quite know when I'll view the CGI successor series, but I suspect tastes have changed over time. CS&M's original premise has unquestionably grown spookier. Suffice it to say I've seen nothing like this before or since. Be surprised, and enjoy.(UPDATE: I gradually view the new series' episodes. Though its imagery can dazzle, given the choice between "Hypermarionation" and, as another user puts it, "the luxuriously sedate menace of the 1967 original," I still prefer the latter.)
WTH61 While most people talk about Thunderbirds, for my money Captain Scarlet was the better show. The puppets were real life looking and for a programme produced in the 60's, the sets and models were very futuristic, and way ahead of their time.I'm every hopefully that either this show or Thunderbirds will be made into a movie with real actors as the technology today in films makes it very possible. However, as with any updated movie of an old TV show there is always a 50% chance they will mess it up.