This man will be our hero... (Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons)

Member Name: pje

Product:	Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Date:	16/09/01 (694 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: He's indestructible.

Disadvantages: None ...because he's indestructible!

THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE MYSTERONS.
WE KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR US EARTHMEN...

As a kid I could never resist growling those words whenever
I saw rays of sunlight, reflecting off something (my wristwatch usually) move across a wall.

DUM-DUM DUMMM DUM-DUM-DUM DUM.

Ahhh, my childhood...
Growing up in the Seventies was quite frustrating.
You had missed all the good stuff that went off in the Sixties,
and had to suffer the Bay City Rollers and Showaddywaddy instead. Even worse ITV just would not repeat Thunderbirds.
I spent my formative years cursing ITV for never repeating Thunderbirds, maybe that's why I hate them to this day.
Although the fact that all their programmes are poo doesn't help.
But enough of that, this op is about:

CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS
'''''''''& #39;''''' 9;''''''''' 9;'''''' ;'''''''''' ;'''''' '''''''''' ''''''& #39;'''''''''& #39;'''''&# 39;''
First broadcast in 1967, it was Gerry Anderson's follow-up to the classic Thunderbirds.But you already know that because you've read my pointy-hatted opinion on UFO haven't you? (The 'All opinions' button at the bottom of the page does work y'know!)

Anderson had improved his 'supermarionation' for Captain Scarlet - the heads of the puppets were now correctly proportioned, thanks to greater miniaturisation of the thingumajiggery inside.
The puppets' lips were now synchronised to the dialogue as well, the brilliant Derek Meddings provided the special effects again, and how cool were those caps with the drop down microphones?

But this is a much darker series, i
n fact it is a war of nerves...

DUM-DUM DUMMM DUM-DUM-DUM DUM.

The scenario is this:
'''''''''& #39;''''' 9;''''''''' 9;'''''' ;'''''''''' ;
A manned mission to Mars in 2065 finds an alien complex there, this is the home of the Mysterons, whose attempt at welcoming their visitors is mistaken for hostility by trigger happy astronauts from Earth who attack the base. The Mysterons swear to destroy all life on Earth in retaliation...

"The Mysterons, sworn enemies of Earth.
Possessing the ability to recreate an exact likeness
of an object or person. But first they must destroy..."

DUM-DUM DUMMM DUM-DUM-DUM DUM.

The Mysterons have mastered the technique of retro-metabolism (the regeneration of people after death) so they kill and recreate people as zombified Mysteron agents. The first being that trigger happy astronaut... DUM-DUM DUMMM DUM-DUM-DUM DUM...
CAPTAIN BLACK. He becomes the Mysterons' agent of destruction on Earth, and the bad-guy of the series.

Next to suffer this fate are Captain Brown, who is turned into a human bomb and exploded, and the man who is to be our hero...

DUM-DUM DUMMM DUM-DUM-DUM DUM.

CAPTAIN SCARLET (real name Paul Metcalfe).
Having been killed and Mysteronized, he is shot by Captain Blue and falls 800ft to his death. But, and this is where suspension
of disbelief comes in useful, he recovers - apparently rendered indestructible. Which is handy! N.B. For Captain Scarlet's voice,
the actor Francis Matthews used his Cary Grant impersonation.

CAPTAIN BLUE (real name Adam Svenson) is based on, and voiced by, the actor Ed Bishop, who went on to star in UFO.
Captain Scarlet obviously bears no grudge against Captain Blue for shooting him, as they work together fo
r most of the series.


To combat the threat of the Mysterons, the SPECTRUM security organisation is formed, with its headquarters on CLOUDBASE -
an aircraft carrier hovering 40,000 feet above sea level.

The commander-in-chief of Spectrum is COLONEL WHITE.
(In a bizarrely appropriate bit of dual casting, the voices of both Colonel White and Captain Black are provided by Donald Gray.) His right-hand man is the calypso-loving LIEUTENANT GREEN.

Cloudbase is also the launch pad for the ANGEL INTERCEPTORS - jet aircraft piloted by top-gun dolly-birds called ANGELS:-

The leader of the Angels is called DESTINY, a French girl who looks a bit like Ursula Andress. The others are:- SYMPHONY; MELODY (whose voice was provided by Sylvia Anderson);
HARMONY (the Japanese one); and RHAPSODY (a Chelsea girl).

On the ground, agents use SPECTRUM PATROL VEHICLES [SPVs] - super-fast armoured cars in which the driver sits at the rear, facing backwards and watching the road on a television monitor.

DUM-DUM DUMMM DUM-DUM-DUM DUM.


Are you enjoying this op by the way? Well, I'm sorry about this, but I'm going to have to spoil the fun now, because we're not children any more and one of the penalties of adulthood is having to peer deeply into things. To analyze, deconstruct, dissect and draw parallels. It's not my fault, ok? I requested a new category for Captain Scarlet last weekend [and again a few days ago -
and since I'm not a very patient person I've posted it here now.]
I was hoping to post my opinion alongside the first of the repeats last Monday but there was a delay, and on Tuesday all hell was let loose. Originally the op included the following paragraph:

Remember that this show was made a couple of years before
the resurgence of violence in Northern Ireland, so any metaphor
is coincidental. But I can't help wondering whether a children's
programme all about a campaign of terrorism (by the Mysterons against Earth) would have been allowed in less innocent times.

Now the shocking events of Tuesday 11th September have given this series a disturbingly relevant edge. The BBC postponed the episode Winged Assassin, in which the Mysterons take over
a commercial jet airliner and try to smash it into another plane. Others may have to be cancelled too...

One episode is called Heart of New York and it begins with this chilling Mysteron threat: "We've seen the greed and corruption
of the world in which you live and will take our revenge upon it." Do you think of Captain Black or Osama Bin Laden when you read that? Freaky coincidence or propaganda? Did Gerry Anderson inadvertently invent terrorism back in 1967? Say it ain't so...

It's all too easy to see those Mysteron circles moving across
the fuselage of a doomed plane, but sadly this is 2001, not 2068, there's no International Rescue and none of us are indestructible, so take care.


The complete series of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
(32 episodes) is available on video, or on 5 DVDs (from Monday). It is also being re-shown on BBC2 on Mondays at 6:25pm.
______________________________________________ ______
EPISODE GUIDE
'''''''''& #39;''''' 9;''''''''' 9;'''''' ;'

THE MYSTERONS (MARS - 2068 AD)
Captain Brown and Captain Scarlet are killed in a car crash and recreated by the Mysterons. Brown is turned into a human bomb and blown up in an attempt to kill the World President, who is then abducted by Scarlet and taken up the 800 feet high Car-Vu observation platform. A shoot-out ensues in which Captain Blue shoots Scarlet who falls to his death...

WINGED ASSASSIN
The Mysterons take control of a jet airliner and try to c
rash it into a plane carrying the Director General of the United Asian Republic.
BIG BEN STRIKES AGAIN
Having threatened to destroy London, the Mysterons take control of a lorry carrying an nuclear device. When the driver is found unconscious he remembers hearing Big Ben strike thirteen...

MAN HUNT
Captain Black is exposed to radioactivity after a bungled break-in at a nuclear research centre, this enables Spectrum to track him down, but he captures one of the Angels as a hostage...

POINT 783
The Mysterons attempt to kill the Supreme Commander of Earth Forces while he watches a demonstration of an unstoppable new tank at a test site in the Sahara Desert

OPERATION TIME
The Mysterons announce their intention to "kill time..."
so General Tiempo, a World Defence Commander who is awaiting brain surgery, is brought to Cloudbase for the operation.

RENEGADE ROCKET
A rocket expert friend of Colonel White is killed and Mysteronized. He launches a new rocket towards an unknown target and then flees with the control box containing the self-destruct codeword...
WHITE AS SNOW
When the Mysterons try to kill Colonel White by crashing a satellite into Cloudbase, he decides it would be safer for all concerned if he went into hiding (leaving Captain Blue in charge).

SEEK AND DESTROY
Scarlet and Blue go to Paris to escort Destiny Angel back to base after a threat to kill one of the Angels, but the Mysterons have recreated three Angel Interceptors and a dogfight ensues.

SPECTRUM STRIKES BACK
Two weapons in the fight against the Mysterons are unveiled
at the headquarters of the Spectrum Intelligence Agency (hidden under a hunting lodge in Africa). A high-voltage electron gun and a portable Mysteron detector. They both come in handy...

AVALANCHE
Captain Scarlet and Lieutenant Green investigates a series
of mysterious deaths at a base in Alaska.

THE S
HADOW OF FEAR
In an attempt to get close-up photographs of the Mysteron base, a satellite is landed on the Martian moon Phobos. (Greek for the shadow of fear). A plot-line which was later recycled in UFO.

THE TRAP
The Mysterons give notice of the exact time and place they intend to wipe out the entire supreme command of the World Air Force.
Scarlet investigates the security of Glengarry Castle in Scotland, the venue of an International Air Conference and ends up in a dungeon...

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT
"We intend to obliterate the sub-continent of North America..."
Colonel White has no alternative but to ask for Captain Scarlet's resignation when he breaks Spectrum regulations by gambling. To clear his debts he steals an S.P.V. for some shady characters. He also kills Captain Blue...

HEART OF NEW YORK
"We've seen the greed and corruption of the world in which you live and will take our revenge upon it" say the Mysterons, while also threatening to destroy New York (not much chance of seeing this episode again I'm afraid.) A gang of crooks take advantage of the evacuated city to rob a bank...

TRAITOR
Captains Scarlet and Blue investigate some mysterious hovercraft accidents (!) at the Spectrum cadet school in Australia.

MODEL SPY
The Mysterons target a fashion designer. who is also a Spectrum spymaster. Two of the Angels go undercover as models.

FIRE AT RIG 15
The Mysterons threaten Spectrum's oil supply by attacking their reinery at Ben-Sheba. (Oh hell, isn't that in the Middle East?)

FLIGHT TO ATLANTICA
Atlantica, the World Navy complex is targeted. Unfortunately, Spectrum personnel are somewhat the worse for wear, after celebrating Spectrum's first anniversary.

LUNAVILLE 7
The Lunar Controller declares the Moon to be independent from Earth and calls a truce with the Mysterons. White sends Scarlet, Blue and Green
to investigate an unauthorised construction in the Humboldt Sea. Gerry Anderson provides the voice for SID - the Lunarville computer, and namesake of the computer in UFO.

CRATER 101
Scarlet, Blue and Green attempt to destroy the Mysteron complex on the moon, but their bomb is set to go off an hour early...

DANGEROUS RENDEZVOUS
The Mysterons threaten to destroy Cloudbase before midnight, White attempts to negotiate a peaceful settlement with them, but they will only negotiate with an unarmed agent in an isolated place (Greenland) - or is it a trap?

NOOSE OF ICE
The Mysterons cut the power supply to the world's only Tritonium mine, situated at the North Pole. Scarlet and Blue only have half an hour to save the whole place from being crushed by ice.

TREBLE CROSS
The Mysterons' plan to destroy the world capital (Futura City) goes awry when doctors manage to revive a test pilot after he has been killed and replicated - so Spectrum try to pull a switch...

INFERNO
After a Mysteron threat against a desalination plant in the Andes, Scarlet and Blue set up an obbo in a nearby Aztec temple.

FLIGHT 104
The Mysterons threaten to sabotage a conference in Switzerland. While escorting the world's leading astrophysicist to Geneva, Scarlet and Blue notice that the flightdeck of their plane is empty..
PLACE OF THE ANGELS
A Mysteron agent steals a test-tube containing a deadly virus - enough to kill ten million people - with the intention of destroying "the place of the angels"...

EXPO 2068
"This is the voice of the Mysterons.
Disaster will strike the Atlantic seaboard of North America.
We will deal a heavy blow to the prestige of the world."
The Mysterons hijack a lorry carrying a nuclear reactor core...
Gerry Anderson certainly gives Nostradamus a run for his money.

THE LAUNCHING
<br>When the Mysterons announce their int
ention to assassinate the World President within 12 hours, Scarlet becomes his bodyguard.

CODE NAME EUROPA
The Mysterons threaten to destroy the Triumvirate of Europe - the three most powerful men in the world (after the President).
They are taken to separate maximum security installations,
but the Mysterons use an electronics genius to get at them...

ATTACK ON CLOUDBASE
The Mysterons threaten to destroy Cloudbase, and they succeed. One by one everyone is killed. No, hang on, that can't be right...

THE INQUISITION
Captain Blue is drugged, when he wakes up on Cloudbase,
it appears deserted. An intelligence officer appears and demands he prove his identity by revealing secret Spectrum codes...

______________________________________________ ______
There is a new website devoted to the series at:

http://www.captainscarlet.tv/


The official Gerry Anderson web-site is at:

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/fanderson.html
______________________________________________ ______
... Captain Scarlet is indestructible. You are not. Remember this ... __________________________________________________ __

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