Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons 1x2 First Time Watching Reaction & Review 

Gerry & Sylvie Anderson, along with the rest of their crew, were years ahead of just about anyone else when it came to miniatures, puppetry and all related special effects. Small wonder that everything they learned was later used in their live action shows to amazing effect. Man I miss the 70's! :p

Francis Matthews, who supplied the voice of Captain Scarlet, was doing an imitation of actor Cary Grant. I think he did a good job. Enjoy.

You know how they say that parkour is the art of getting from one place to another in the most interesting way possible? Gary Anderson series are the parkour of puppet and model work. They not only do things but they do it in the most interesting way possible!

Did you recognise the voice of Captain Blue it was of course Ed Bishop (very underrated actor) who of course played Ed Straker in U.F.O

Yes! Alexa, you're making a old Gerry Anderson fan boy a happy man.. Captain Scarlet is the last of the 'classic' supermarionation shows. It immediately precedes UFO, so the design values are very similar. Derek Meddings' model work is superb and his love of pyrotechnics was legendary.. Spectrum Is Green!

The puppets were inspired by real people. Captain Scarlet was Roger Moore. Destiny Angel was Ursula Andress!

The model work: sometimes the effects are superlative, such as the DT19 airliner spinning to a halt raising a cloud of dust and a small explosion, then the smaller jet colliding with it's tail and falling to the ground, exploding with a wing and engine rolling or falling out of the explosion. This episode has some of the best effects of all. Another detail: control panels such as on the DT19 have red, black or white lines everywhere, dividing up the panel. This design detail went all the way to the early Star Wars films, made only a few years later, by many of the same effects and designers.

If you haven't seen Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, you would probably enjoy it. It was filmed between Captain Scarlet and UFO. Many of the props in the movie ended up being used in UFO.

The toys based on the vehicles from Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds were probably the most desirable for me when I was a kid. If I couldn't have them myself, it was good to have friends who did.

Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, 1969. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

Considering the time ir was made, the show is very forward thinking and inclusive,having female fighter pilots, and characters of various races.

My favorite Gary Anderson puppet show as a child was "Stingray", so obviously I have to recommend at least doing the pilot of that one.

My favourite of the Anderson puppet shows, I had all the vehicle toys and still have an SPV.

It's a really fun show. As I said before. It's my favorite of the Gerry Anderson "Supermarionation" shows. Gerry is well known for the brilliant model work in his various series. The same model unit that did Gerry's various puppet series were employed again to do all the spaceship work on UFO and Space 1999. Also, actor Ed Bishop who played Commander Straker in UFO is the voice of Captain Blue here.

Gerry and Sylvia were very good producers and they gathered a top team around them for their shows - eg, effects supervisor Derek Meddings went on several years later to supervise the model and mechanical effects on Roger Moore's first five Bond films. This was a great example of that team work for the points you mentioned, eg the attention to detail, and the surprise ending.

I agree this is like a dry run for UFO - I think for a kids' show, it's surprisingly hard-hitting. And like you, I really applaud the fact that the heroes don't win right here in the second episode. I think it sets the tone nicely that it's not always going to be a last minute rescue and happy ending.

the captain scarlet puppet was based on roger moore's head and cary grant's voice (a singer called cy grant provided the voice of lieutenant green which caused some confusion) - and yes the mysterons did win sometimes - this tv series is based on the ending of the movie thunderbirds are go by gerry anderson (where earth explorers fire at big "rocks" on mars to take small samples - but which turn out to be living martian rock monsters and the others of them fire back - forcing the explorers to flee back to earth in a running battle - but unlike in this tv series they were not pursued by the martians) - 2 other points - yes captain felt weird whenever mysteron agents were near - and also when captain blue tries to shoot the aeroplane tyres but can't because his gun jams that is the invisible mysterons on mars stopping him (hear their music start to play).

I know they're puppets but I'm creeped out by how they never blink. 🤣🤣🤣

Such a great series!! Beautifully shot, designed & executed (there’s a lot of that 😳) Ed Bishop (a lovely bloke btw) voiced Blue and played Straker… but I’m sure you knew that. Enjoy the carnage! This wouldn’t get made today.

I’m so glad you’re back on this show, Alexis. It’s such a pleasure revisiting these old, and very spectacular, Gerry & Sylvia Anderson productions (…and hopefully movies…). They’re just so… fun and British, and the eye for detail is staggering. I’m enjoying watching you enjoy them.

Captain Scarlet received a BBC national release in the 90s. There were a lot of affordable toys in the UK, still available on internet sales sites... Corgi toys are re-releasing the SPV and the Angel Interceptor this Fall

I absolutely love that you are watching this. Your reactions are the same as mine watching this as an 8 year old on BBC 2 in 1993

Captain Scarlet was incredibly dark for a children's TV show. When first shown in 1967, I was four, and it was the first thing I can remember being utterly obsessed by. Spectrum don't always win, despite how meticulous their planning. I have watched it many, many times, and there are several particularly nasty, and quite graphic deaths - I can only suppose that they were deemed acceptable as the characters were 18" tall puppets. In an era where, in adult programmes, if someone was shot, they would just fall over. Here, you see blood. There are electrocution, drownings, throttlings, high falls, Captain Brown exploding (interestingly, it has been calculated that, if you could convert all the mass of a human into energy to explode, the resulting explosion would be similar to a low yield atomic device, as shown on screen) and Captain Black deliberately reverses a car over a garage mechanic. Add to that a military base full of suffocated personnel, and the discovery of the corpse of an oil well fire fighter, and you have yourself an entertaining kids' show. I still get goosebumps at the bit from 'Winged Assassin' where a bit of DT-19 (which possibly had about 300 passengers on board) floats to the surface. The camera pans up, to show the retrometabolized DT-19 flying overhead. Possibly one of the creepiest things on TV. It would be fun to pitch a show for children like this today...

Each show Gerry did was more realistic because he wanted to do live action

I felt so sad when you only reacted to the first episode, it now my heart is all a flutter with excitement as you continue this multi coloured journey. SIG Alexa.

The realism of the Captain Scarlet puppets was amazing in their detail, but they still couldn't get them to walk convincingly, so you mostly only see the characters from waist up. A lot of fans miss something of the charm of the earlier puppet shows, Fireball XL5 and Stingray which were not quite so technically brilliant, though still very creative.

A couple movie recommended that I believe would be fitting on your channel. “The Island of Dr Moreau” (1996) “Where the Wild Things Are” (2009) Both based on books of the same names.

The Invaders 1967-1968

Hi Alexa, This is probably where the Gerry Anderson puppet series reached their zenith. The technology for the marionettes had advanced to the point where they could be normally proportioned, the model work, pyrotechnics, and miniature sets are consistently high quality, and the voice acting (particularly by Francis Matthews) was memorably well done. (For the leads, the faces on the marionettes are even modelled on the actors voicing them.) Also, the Mysterons' standard tactic of destroying something or murdering someone and replacing them with a double, combined with the twist that the heroes sometimes fail and the Mysterons succeed, added a more gritty and "grown-up" edge to many of the stories. If you're still interested at the end of the marionette episodes, Anderson did a CGI-based reboot of the series in the 2000s which makes an interesting contrast with the original, and (at least for me) still lives up pretty well to the original concept.

Welcome to my childhood: Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, Stingray...

Knowing how much you love clothes... Many years ago it was possible to acquire a high quality patch of the spectrum logo. It was 3 or 4 inches across. I don't know who made it, and it might be extremely difficult to acquire, but now that you are aware it exists, you can decide for yourself if you want to hunt one down.

Although I’m fine with the heroes not winning _all_ the time, I just think it’s a shame when the reason they fail is because of idiocy, as it was here. Why couldn’t the _Angels_ blow out the wheels of DT-19 instead of Captain Scarlet taking unnecessarily long to rip them off? Or why couldn’t they just blow a trench just in front of the airliner to crash it with? 🙄

I've been looking forward to this. 😁 I too agree with you about the model effects, they're brilliant. All thanks to Derek Meddings. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series. S.I.G.

The BBC started to broadcast a repeat run of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons early this century, but this episode was pulled from the schedules at short notice, as it would have gone out in the week after September 11th 2001, and showing it so soon after a real-life terrorist incident involving planes would have been insensitive.

If you liked that, then please try to watch the first two episodes of 'Joe 90': 'Most Special Agent' & 'Hijacked'. Then watch the rest, as they are really gritty in places, and cool.

The only RU-vidr I know who's reacted to this series. About time someone did lol, my 2nd fav TV series of all time!

I saw this as a repeat when I was a kid in the 70s, and it was one of my favourite shows at the time. Interplanetary terrorism, heroes who sometimes failed, and at least one brutal murder in every episode - and this was a show for kids! I honestly think my generation lived through the best era of children's TV. From what I've seen of it, 21st Century kid's TV is mostly pretty dumbed down and sanitised. The shows we had when I was a kid didn't talk down to us, and they often taught us that you have to keep your wits about you in this world. Actually, you should give 70s British public information films a try sometime - a lot of them were aimed at kids, and some of them could have given Hammer a run for their money when it came to showing, or at least implying, violent death. Some of them are available to watch on RU-vid, like "Apache" and "The Finishing Line".

Before there was Charlies Angels in 1968, there were the original and best...Spectrum Angels. I was 10yrs old when I first saw this, Alexa. I collected ALL The Dinky toys, including the Interceptor Angels.. Which Angel character was your favourite, lads? Mine was Rhapsody.

Very much looking forward to you doing any of the Gary Anderson shows. While this was considered a kids show it never treated the viewers as dumb kids. It gave them adventure!

I loved this show when I was growing up. It's a lot more adult than Thunderbirds and you can certainly see the seeds of UFO running through the entire run. Great reaction Alexa!!

If there weren't toys and playsets of this stuff, then some marketing execs were asleep at the switch.

Yay!!! She made a teleport bracelet! Yeah, Liberator won't be in range until monday morning gmt. I'm sure Jenna or Callie will be happy to teleport you on board, or if you're lucky, Servalan will catch you before you do 😉

Love that your back on this series, it’s a wonderful, gritty and fun show. There are some stunning episodes to come - can’t wait to see your reaction to the rest of the series S.I.G 😄

Remember the Special Effects were from the same people who did U.F.O. Try to review Thunderbirds you,ll love it.

Excellent episode. Yes indeed, Captain Scarlet is a dark show.

What is the sound Captain Scarlet makes when he falls down the stairs? 2:44

Scarlet sounds like Cary Grant.

Hi, Alexa. If you like this you should watch Thunderbirds form the 1960's. I think this show was great.

Is it me or does Captain Scarlet sound like Cary Grant

Captain Scarlet!!!

Why do I keep thinking Monalisa whenever I see you?

Can you watch thunderbirds.? Its the show before scarlet