Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
In bold, white letters, the words "Captain Scarlet" are superimposed on the backdrop of a derelict, night-time alleyway. Added at the bottom of the picture are more words, "and the Mysterons", the last of which is in white, spiky lettering. The full title is thus revealed to be "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons".
GenreScience fiction
Created byGerry & Sylvia Anderson
Voices of
Opening theme"The Mysterons"[1]
Ending theme"Captain Scarlet"[2]
ComposerBarry Gray
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes32 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerGerry Anderson
ProducerReg Hill
Running time25 minutes
Production companyCentury 21 Television Productions
Budget£1.5 million
Original release
NetworkITV
Release29 September 1967 (1967-09-29) –
14 May 1968 (1968-05-14)[3]
Related
New Captain Scarlet
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often shortened to Captain Scarlet, is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 for ITC Entertainment. It is the sixth Anderson series to be filmed using a form of electronic marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation" combined with scale model special effects. Running to thirty-two 25-minute episodes, it was first broadcast on ITV regional franchises between 1967 and 1968 and has since aired in more than 40 other countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Set in 2068, Captain Scarlet presents a "war of nerves" between Earth and the Mysterons, a race of Martians who possess partial control over matter. When a misunderstanding causes human astronauts to attack their city on Mars, the Mysterons swear revenge and launch reprisals against Earth. These are countered by Spectrum, a worldwide security organisation. In the first episode, Spectrum agent Captain Scarlet acquires the Mysterons' self-healing power of "retrometabolism" and is rendered "indestructible", being able to recover from injuries that would normally be fatal. Scarlet immediately becomes Spectrum's top asset in its fight against the Mysterons.

Captain Scarlet, the eighth of the Andersons' ten puppet series, was preceded by Thunderbirds and followed by Joe 90 and The Secret Service. In terms of visual aesthetic, it marked a departure from earlier series in its use of puppets that were sculpted to realistic body proportions. Repeated several times in the UK, it has generated tie-ins ranging from toy cars and action figures to audio plays and novels, as well as strips in the weekly children's comic TV Century 21.

Compared to earlier Anderson productions, Captain Scarlet is widely regarded as "darker" in tone and less suited to children because of its violent content, as well as its themes of alien aggression and interplanetary war.[4][5][6][7] The change in puppet design has divided opinion and the decision to make the protagonist "indestructible" has been brought into question.[8][9][10][11] The series has been praised for its use of a multinational, multiethnic puppet cast and depiction of a utopian future Earth.[12][13] A computer-animated remake, New Captain Scarlet, first aired in 2005.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bentley, 40 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bentley, 124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bentley 2001, pp. 90; 118.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cambridge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference RadioTimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Decider was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference CrimeTV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Archer and Hearn, 151 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sangster&Condon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Peel, John (1993). Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet: The Authorised Programme Guide. London, UK: Virgin Books. pp. 244–246. ISBN 978-0-86369-728-9.
  12. ^ Bould, Mark (2008). "Science Fiction Television in the United Kingdom". In Telotte, J.P (ed.). The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 219–220. ISBN 978-0-8131-2492-6.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference WomenInSpace was invoked but never defined (see the help page).