- [Narrator] "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons"
first aired in 1967 and was the fifth series
to be made in Supermarionation.
Following the phenomenal success of "Thunderbirds"
was always going to be a challenge,
but Captain Scarlet proved to be almost as popular
as its predecessor and has remained so
over the last 50 years.
- I'm glad to hear it, go on.
- [Narrator] The series, the first to be made
under the Century 21 Productions name,
follows the exploits of Captain Scarlet,
the number one agent
of a world security organisation called Spectrum.
After a disastrous mission to Mars in which
fellow agent Captain Black destroys an alien city--
- They're obviously hostile.
- Okay lieutenant, let 'em have it.
- [Narrator] The invisible beings known as the Mysterons
declare war on earth and announce
that their first target for retaliation.
- [Mysteron] Will be the World President.
- [Narrator] Captains Scarlet and Brown race to protect him
but are killed en route and reconstructed by the Mysterons
using their special ability to recreate
the exact likeness of an object or person
known as retro-metabolism.
The Mysteron Captain Brown fails
in his attempt to kill the president,
(Captain Brown exploding) (building exploding)
who is then kidnapped by Scarlet and taken
to the top of the London Car View.
In the ensuing shootout with Captain Blue,
Scarlet falls 800 feet to his death,
(Captain Scarlet screaming) (mysterious music)
but miraculously recovers from his fatal injuries
and is no longer under Mysteron control.
- It would seem that this Captain Scarlet
is now indestructible.
- [Narrator] His body too now possesses
the ability of retro-metabolism,
enabling him to return to duty
and become Spectrum's greatest asset
in the fight against the Mysterons.
- It's great to be back.
- [Narrator] But Captain Scarlet wasn't alone in this fight.
- Yes sir, Captain Blue.
- S-I-G, Captain Scarlet.
- [Narrator] He was usually partnered with Captain Blue
with regular support from Captains Ochre,
- Spectrum is green.
- [Narrator] Grey,
- S-I-G.
- [Narrator] and Magenta.
- Yes sir, colonel sir.
- [Narrator] While on Spectrum's aerial headquarters,
Cloud Base, operations were supervised
by the no-nonsense Colonel White
- Initiative should never clash with discipline.
- [Narrator] and communications controller Leftenant Green.
- Engines one, two, and three, immediate launch.
- [Narrator] In most episodes though,
Spectrum's first line of defence was the Angels,
a group of five female fighter pilots:
Destiny, Harmony, Symphony, Rhapsody, and Melody,
who along with Leftenant Green was the first
regular black character in an Anderson series.
- [Green] Proceed to Cloud Base.
- [Melody] S-I-G.
- [Narrator] And the Angel Interceptor itself
was just one of the many memorable vehicles
that Spectrum had and their disposal.
- Splendid, tell me more.
- [Narrator] Other aircraft included
the Spectrum passenger jet and Spectrum helicopter,
but it was the ground vehicles that proved the most popular,
especially among merchandisers.
The flame-red Spectrum saloon car,
the rarely-seen maximum security vehicle,
and everyone's favourite, the Spectrum pursuit vehicle.
The SPV was an armoured tank that, much like Scarlet himself,
appeared to be virtually indestructible.
Inside the SPV, the driver sat in a rear-facing seat
designed to reduce injuries in the event of a crash,
an idea that seems to make perfect sense
to Anderson at the time,
but caused nothing but confusion for the viewers.
- We started to write in explanations in the scripts,
but then of course I realised that not everybody
would see that episode.
We put it in, say, five times.
It'd become boring, and if we only put it in once,
some other people wouldn't know,
and it was something I totally regretted doing.
(car screeching and exploding)
- [Narrator] The series continued Anderson's march
towards live action by introducing more life-like puppets
with heads scaled in correct proportion to their bodies
for the very first time,
but with the greater realism also came a reduction
in mobility and expression if this life-like illusion
was to be maintained.
(pistols firing)
- [Male] Help! Help!
(rifle firing)
(pistol firing) (man screaming)
(aircraft exploding)
- [Narrator] In another notable departure
from what had gone before,
the tone of the series was exceptionally dark
for a family show,
with guest characters being ruthlessly killed off
in almost every episode in order to be reborn
as agents of the Mysterons
and often being defeated just as violently.
(electricity crackling) (man screaming)
The darker tone is firmly set at the start of every episode
as the chilling voice of the Mysterons
lays out this week's evil plan before we see
Captain Black standing alone in a graveyard.
The former Spectrum agent, now just a zombie,
firmly under the control of the alien intelligence
he once tried to destroy.
- I have come to pass on your instructions
from the Mysterons.
- [Narrator] Despite these major changes,
some things remained reliably consistent.
The special effects sequences from Derek Meddings'
model department became even more spectacular,
and Barry Grey once again provided
a phenomenal musical score for the series
that perfectly spotlighted both the heroic exploits
of Spectrum and the sinister activities of the Mysterons.
(drums thumping)
♪ Captain Scarlet ♪
- [Narrator] The end titles theme on the first 14 episodes
was largely instrumental,
with real-life pop group The Spectrums stepping in
to provide a memorable theme song for the final 18.
♪ They crash him ♪
♪ And his body may burn ♪
♪ They smash him ♪
♪ But they know he'll return, to live again ♪
- [Narrator] But perhaps even more memorable than the song
was the seven-note staccato drum beat
used for scene transitions.
(drum thumping)
- What the? (drum thumping)
- [Narrator] "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons"
ran for just one season of 32 action-packed episodes,
each running just 25 minutes,
yet was a critical and merchandising success,
both in its time and in subsequent decades.
Books, comics, and toys based on the series
were all immensely popular,
and the show enjoyed high-profile repeat runs
on the BBC in the early 1990s and early 2000s.
- And because of this, I am convinced
of our ultimate victory against the Mysterons.
- [Narrator] The continued interest in the series
even led to Anderson creating a CGI re-imagining
of the show which launched in ITV in 2005
as "New Captain Scarlet."
Despite falling victim to poor scheduling,
"New Captain Scarlet" retained the memorable characters
and dark tone that has continued to make
the original series so popular,
while the CGI production enabled New Captain Scarlet
to do things that wouldn't have been possible
for his puppet counterpart,
but with the original Captain Scarlet celebrating
his 50th anniversary in 2017 with a slew of new merchandise
including brand new high-definition transfers
of all 32 episodes being released on blu-ray,
it's clear that the Supermarionation series
that started it all will live on in the hearts and minds
of both the public and fans alike
for many more years to come.
- On behalf of everyone,
all I can say is thank you, captain.
(triumphant music)
(dramatic orchestral music)