The Making of Captain Scarlet | Documentary 

Still watching all episodes. I'm 67 years old and proud 👏

As an American I never seen or heard of these great shows and movies and I just randomly stumbled upon them two days ago and I've watched nothing but for the past two days and I can get enough of Gerry Andersons work completely amazing. I'm definitely a new huge fan!

I’ve always thought that while Thunderbirds is more “wow”, Captain Scarlet is the moment that all the technology and skills of Gerry and his team shone the brightest. Everything coalesced with everyone at the top of their game. The puppets looked amazing, the effects off the scale and stories had a real edge.

Benzoyl Peroxide miniature fireball explosions, Derek Meddings is my hero. What a genius in special effects design and photography

Watching this made me so happy. I was in awe of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet as a young child and it amazes me that I can watch them now, aged 60, with a new kind of awe - an appreciation of just how brilliantly made the series were. Gerry may not have wanted to be making shows with puppets, but the shows he created have fired the imaginations of generations of children, and will continue to do so for many more generations to come.

Truly moving art, it was magical to me as a kid and still is today at 57

I’m 23 and I’m so happy my dad introduced me to these wonderful works of art. Still one of the finest works of science-fiction ever to grace the screen, and by far one of the most criminally underrated

Captain Scarlet really is indestructable and timeless.

Francis Matthews came to our school to judge a drama competition (he was a former pupil) at the height of his fame as Paul Temple. Charming man who answered all our excited questions about Captain Scarlet. A couple of years later another Gerry Anderson actor also visited, Michael Billington - Colonel Paul Foster from UFO. Looking at these amazing documentaries now, I feel really privileged to have got to meet such two great actors from two of the most famous series ever made for television.

SPV and the Angel Interceptor -- two of Gerry Anderson's and Derek Meddings' best designs ever!

I'm a sculptor and 70 now, yet I still look at life though the eyes of an artist, in terms of shape, colour, form and movement. I remember being highly influenced as a child by Gerry's early productions, all of which created my love of marionettes. As I grew, I would carve my own versions of Mike Mercury and Steve Zodiac out of wood, sew the costumers myself on my mother's sewing machine, and create hair out of cotton, then spend hours playing with them in my private world in the garden; many of the puppets ending up on parachutes etc. I could not be drawn away from the screen when Thunderbirds aired, and I was 15 when Scarlet began to air. I was hooked, as the puppets were so life-like and proportionally correct. I knew then I wanted to create puppets for a living, and wrote to Gerry sending a drawing. He responded, his letter and accompanying pamphlet subsequently stolen by a family member, but I sent two of my own carved creations via post; they never arrived, intercepted I think by someone in Royal Mail. That's life I guess, and life got in the way, a civil war, marriage, children and finally an extension of my art as a technician in the field of prosthetics and orthotics.Had those puppets arrived, who knows where I would be now and where life would have led. Great production, thank you.

the fact that I'm 14 and I was born 40 years after this was aired and I love it, shows how timeless these shows are

Captain Scarlet was the apex. Dark, intriguing and atmospheric. I still love this series to this day!

This was one of my most favorite series as a kid, a teen, and still is to this day! It was so far ahead of its time, literally and figuratively; like bugs bunny, your kids could watch it and miss all the adult themes. Captain Scarlet, even today, is so watchable and will still have you waiting to see how it all turns out!

Still think this was the best of Gerry’s shows.

Takes me back to my childhood (I'm another one commenting who's now in his 60's); Gerry Anderson was a genius. Not only were the programmes entertaining but if you look, for example, at Thunderbirds, he predicted wireless technology, video phonecalls and smartwatches 50 years or so before they came to exist, plenty of other examples of things he foresaw - wonder if he ever thought that they would become commonplace? It's believed that the entire UK special effects industry spun off from Thunderbirds. An amazing man whose legacy will surely live on for many more decades

I'm 64 now so I grew up watching Supercar, Stingray, Thunderbirds etc, but my favourite will always be Captain Scarlet. I'm still a Gerry Anderson fan to this day, when you look at the special effects they created for these shows back then they're amazing even now. Thankyou to Gerry and his team for some great childhood memories.

Gerry and his great crew were amazing what they gave us kids in the 1960s , i still watch them now in my 60s and still get that feeling of happiness watching them . everything about the shows was outstanding ,especially the music. even better still was the great merchandise that we had to play with.

I grew up watching Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet,each episode was like a small movie.Action,excitement,a little violence,all with a proper music score aswell,thunderbirds was exciting stuff whereas CS was a little darker.All good stuff,happy memories for me.👍

I was always blown away by the purity and accuracy of the colour. It was better than most cinema films of the time, plus the grading was consistent, the film stock was definitely much better than standard and the camera work was so expertly done. It was a shame Gerry Anderson never made a feature out of it - it would have been mind blowing in Techniscope (and a stereo soundtrack). The opening shot was so viscerally violent and yet perfect. Still the sound quality was so high and fully toned - even features films were not so well recorded (you could tell of the truck was using a Cummings or a Perkins).

Still one of my favourite shows of all time. Gerry Anderson is a genius. Love all his shows but this one is at the top with thunderbirds

Here in Chile the show was aired around 1977 to 1979, if I remember well. We were lucky to watch The Thinderbirds, Joe 90 and Captain Scarlett. I was around 6 years old when they started broadcasting Thunderbirds but my parents and in general adults of the time were impressed by the series and they remembered the series for a long time after they stop airing it. Unfortunately it seems that here not so many people still remembers this series, at least here in Chile. I was a technical drafter in architecture and topography, when I was a kid and this series was airing I spent hours drawing aircraft and vehicles from this shows and, of course, creating my own designs. Thanks for sharing this, my eternal gratitude to your father.

I'm 60 years of age , and I'm also still watching captain Scarlet & proud !!!!! You cannot Beat this classic LOVE IT TO BITS ❤

I'm 62 years old now (in 2023) and I still remember watching Captain Scarlet as a child and loving it.

Loved anything gerry +Co made in the 60's takes me back to my childhood I'm 59 this year thank you gerry

I love everything that Gerry Anderson ever created, whether marionette or human actors were involved, Of all of them, Scarlet was and will always be my favourite. It was remarkable in it's production & effects and the marionettes were never any better. His wife of that time, Sylvia, was a very important part of the look and final product of those different series that were made and she deserves a lot of credit for her contribution to the Anderson legend!

Its all so impressive. What a shame here in the states, or at least Southwest, my generation didn't get to grow up with these. They have a magic to them that would've not only been great at fun and escapism, but been one of the rare childhood works that actually ages well and looses none of its charm. I can tell that by how interesting this series and the other GA series are even though having no rosy lense of nostalgia. And its fascinating to me that these puppets from decades ago have a believable spark of life that most modern CGI sorely lacks.

My childhood revisited, fantastic documentary.

This is great. I used to buy Sugar smacks just because of 'Captain Scarlet'...I will always maintain that Gerry & Sylvia Anderson and his whole team including Derek Meddings, and particularly lovely to hear compliments about the late Barry Gray RIP etc. They never received the high recognition they truly deserved. What they achieved in the main, is done today at the touch of a CGI button or computer software etc. Back in the 50's, 60's & 70's this was done for real. When you think of Twizzle and how that emerged through the beloved series we all enjoyed growing up and today still, Oscar's have been given for less. Total respect will always be in my mind for what they produced. RIP to so many of those people responsible for some of the best TV series ever made imo. My only regret is that the most recent DVD blu ray releases, still omit the centre breaks and music in the episodes.

I was 6 years old when i first watched the likes of thunderbirds and captain scarlet in the late 90s when i was sat with my late dad one night and watched them with him and i enjoyed them from the get go. My dad had a lot of videos of thunderbirds and captain scarlet and they use to be my go to watch when ever i was off sick from school, along with his only fools and horses. Even now at the age of 29 and growing up in a different era, i still get more enjoyment watching them than i do most shows now. The wonderful memories of watching them with my dad will always be cherished.

Those Cereal Ads... Perfect. My introduction to model making came about when I discovered a Tiny Spectrum Helicopter Kit in my Cereal Bowl. I would dearly love to get my hands on more of those wonderful Miniatures. I doubt that any have survived after all these years. And yes, I am still looking.

I can trace my IT career back to Captain Scarlet with Lieutenant Green controlling the working of the Spectrum aircraft carrier, I thought it would be so cool operating computers. I tried building my own version out of cardboard boxes and bits and pieces, but I was always left disappointed because I had no flashing lights! And now, after 42 years in IT, I'll be retiring at the end of October, so thankyou Captain Scarlet!

It was back in 1993 when I first saw Captain Scarlet, and now nearly 30 years later, it is still an amazing series. :)

This show is truly an incredible work of art, if ever I saw one. The painstaking attention to detail and love of the craft shows in every episode. They created a magnificent retro-futuristic presentation with one of the most notable atmospheres, all from hand-crafted puppets, model sets, skilled voice acting talents and a brilliant score. Captain Scarlet will always have a special place in my heart.

unbelievably good...it is tv art at its best

My uncle made some of the models for this and Joe 90, he also worked on the spaceship for 2001 the Kubrick film

I'm 63 years old I watched it as a kid I still love it and I still will watch the reruns over and over again and I love the GCI one that they did a while back a part of my history of being a child that I'll never forget and won't want to forget 🛐♾️✝️❤️ LOL

This is some of the greatest theatrical creations ever made. Bar none. In my opinion. Still just as impressive as it was back then.

As a young boy the voice of the Mysterons scared the shit out of me. It still sends a shiver through these old bones. Silvia Anderson's voice (Lady Penelope) was always a calming influence.

This was probably the one single series that shaped my interests in adult life, yes I loved all from fireball, stingray, thunderbirds etc, but Captain Scarlet and it's darkness was the one that gripped me most.

I remember watching Captain Scarlet on tv when I was little, and loving it. Must have been the '90s rebroadcast

This is awesome! I was a kid in Argentina and this was/is my favourite series, we loved the machines and the Angels an I particulary loved the cross cutting with the drums. I remember I had a plastic F-104 that I had bent the wings and tail to look like an angel fighter. This series got deep into me, it is definitely a part of my chilhood and early adolescence. Big thanks to all creating this and to you for posting. Cheers from Normandy.

Thunderbirds and UFO were both excellent, but CS was head and shoulders above them. The concept was a strong and complete war of worlds idea that had clear heroes and villains. But the master stroke was to then blur the story beautifully by making the lead character a unique hybrid who has started as a Spectrum hero, then is killed and replaced by the Mysterons in a manner we'd already seen done to others, but the replica then fails for reasons unexplained and Scarlet reverts to hero again, but also gains powers during this unique resurrection including the central indestructible aspect. So the whole thing is given an extra dimension beyond a simple good v evil battle, and for me became compulsive viewing. I also enjoy something I only noticed as an adult, which is the fact that Donald Gray voices the good Col White character and the evil voices of the Mysterons and the Mysteron Captain Black. :-)

What a great documentary - massive thank you to all involved putting this together.

Got the entire series on DVD years ago and I'm still impressed after all these years with what the team achieved. This was the apex of Supermarionation IMO.

The special effects are amazing for the time, especially for a weekly show. I wonder how much it would cost to produce a show like this today especially with all the detailed miniaturized sets.

Such an enormous part of my childhood. Captain Scarlet, the Misterons, the angels. On hearing “this is the voice of the misterons” and that polo light moving around the screen, Genius . Mr Anderson and his creative team sparked the imagination of a generation and generations to come will discover them again. I thank you from my heart for giving me such amazing stories and visually stunning programmes. I still watch them and will till I move on . X great documentary x

Took me back to my happy childhood. Thanks for sharing.

A joy to behold. Ground-breaking, never equalled.

48:53 Captain Scarlett looks irritated or annoyed by the situation he finds himself in. Brilliant documentary. Scarlet deserves a high quality live action series - modern cgi and tech meets Gerry's ideas. Wow!

Brilliant insight into this show...plus how many were singing the lyrics at that end music. Such a classic

For me, having the other side win in some episodes was transforming story telling.

Essential viewing in my early years and that deep voice still give shivers and I am 58

I watched the re-runs in the 90s of Captain Scarlet, Stingray and Thunderbirds. It was excellent to watch it all with my Dad and sister. It was hard to pick a favourite series.

And what a legend Barry Gray was with his music for all the Anderson productions. Have you listened to a quality recording of the end credits to Joe 90? OMG!!

Captain Scarlet is one of my favourite series and I still love it.

Outstanding! Great childhood memories.

Turns out having the seats facing backwards was actually a good move. A famous youtuber by the name of Tom Scott, that does science based videos and engineering etc, did a recent video where they made a vehicle that you could drive via a screen sitting backwards. and it turns out you would be much safer in the event of a crash. and that you can actually get used to driving like that. so not as dumb an idea as he thought

Unique, the true master-work by Gerry's team. The blu-ray quality here is superb and it looks like it was filmed yesterday. A real treat for the visual senses. Special praise must go to the restored Kelloggs ads --nothing short of brilliant. Thanks for uploading this gem! Along with the Stingray sub, the wonderful SPV is the greatest of the Anderson team's designs.

I discovered this show by accident in the mid 1990s back when it aired on Comedy Central in the US and was completely obsessed with it. I would record the episodes and this really made me an Anderson fan.

This is a great show. Loved it as a kid back in the 1960s. I used to reenact the show with my GI Joes and it is an amazingly happy memory. Great TV back then.

Great to see this shedding light on the creation of Captain Scarlet. Loved watching the series as a child!

Fantastic show, discovering the new CGI version for myself now, also a brilliant show!

Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, Stingray and Joe 90 were some of the formative building blocks of my childhood. I feel some regret for subsequent generations of children who didn't have these shows acting as something of a social and moral compass for them.

Thank you for the documentary! Captain Scarlet played a huge part in my life! My father got me into it in the 90s, now 36 I have got my 7 year old into it and he absolutely loves it! Thank you for sharing!

Nice to see the documentary from the limited edition boxset finally see the light of day to the rest of the general public.

Lovely tribute to my favourite Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. The voice of the Mysterons scared me witless as a kid. I prefer the human scale puppets to the big head Thunderbirds puppets.

God I loved this show as a kid. For some reason the darker tone made it that much cooler.

Who did the artwork for the end credits on Captain Scarlet? That was the most iconic part of watching every episode when I was a kid.

OMG! That was a great look at the show, I love this behind the scenes stuff.

Loved this song as well as the show. Those two geniuses of the super-marionation really were special. loved all their shows.

I remember as a young fella watching this series here in Canada back in the ‘60’s, fantastic times with this and Thunderbird’s ,Joe 90, Stingray,….super shows for kids ( and I was a kid once!)

HAVE JUST ORDERED THE COMPLETE BOX AT AMAZON IN GERMAN LANGUAGE I AM 53 YEARS OLD, AND I'M GLAD I FINALLY HAVE HER 👍👍👍👍👍👍😉 THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO DID THIS SERIES 👍👍👍👍👍 VIELE GRÜßE AUS DEUTSCHLAND 🇩🇪 🇩🇪 BEST REGARDS FROM GERMANY 🇩🇪 🇩🇪

Oh dear I’m 70 now and you’re taking me back through all my Gerry Anderson fun moments . I think I started with twizzle , then to Torchy , followed by four feather falls , supercar , fireball XL5 , stingray , Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlett and I’m sure there’s a few I’ve forgotten . And I’ve just remembered of course Joe 90 and UFO . Edit : I just remembered space 1999 , I must be addicted I’m still watching half of these .

This channel should have 1 million plus subscribers

When our family first got a TV set in 1970, Captain Scarlet was on. TV had only arrived in the town where we lived about 18 months previously, and this was the programme's first broadcast there. At one point (Christmas or Birthday) I was given a set of three Captain Scarlet handkerchiefs. I still have one of them to this day.

That documentary was definitely S.I.G! #CaptainScarletDay

Thank you so much for this documentary. Brilliant!

We need shows like this for kids today.

Thankyou for making that available to watch.

The effort, research, and overall quality of these videos is immense. Bravo 👏🏻

Many 🤗s for restoring my favorite memories! 👍👍s 5⭐s & Countless ❣️s For sharing great entertainment with us all!

wow, thank you for posting this awesome docu !!!

Great video - Captain Scarlet was always my favourite GA show.

This is fantastic! I've loved Captain Scarlet since I was a kid. Got a Captain Blue costume in the works, after that I want to make a Captain Scarlet costume. S.I.G.

Absolutely brilliant. Well done, professional and very enjoyable! Thankyou.

Captain scarlett..used to run home from school to watch this and ufo thunderbirds.so glad i subscribed to this love it still and i'm 60 years old..gerry anderson you are a genius..

That was enthralling! Thank you!

At 56, I remember this series with great fondness!! Saw these shows back the early 1970's!

No CGI or live action remake could emulate this brilliant series

I remember watching this as a kid, can't remember how old I was when it was shown here in Australia, the voice at the start, the rings going over everything, The driving backwards, and I loved it, can't remember any of the story now... Can't remembering Thunderbirds, only saw references to it, parodies even later.

The mysteron voice was damn scary.... Like Barry White after smoking a pack of woodbines...... Great music and effects....

I don't remember ever seeing this in the US but I just saw a Tom Scott video where he had a vehicle made to test the driving backwards theory and whether it was possible or not and the whole show blew me away. I can't believe they had something like that on TV back then. Absolutely amazing.

Grew up with this. Well done Century 21 and ITV. Makes me proud to be an Englishman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Loved it then. Love it still. Im 61 and....S.I.G

I thoroughly enjoyed that… Thank you 🙏🏻

My brother and I would watch Thunderbirds, captain Scarett when we were little. I'm 27 now but I still have fond memories for these shows

Fabulous. ❤️ Happy days with such fond memories. Imagine having being a contributor to the series. I hope you are all so proud. ❤️

Am happy I was recommended this video. Never heard of or seen Captain Scarlet. I'd say I am very impressed about the quality of the special effects for it's time. Love scale models and dioramas so guess that adds to it for me. Also the skilled puppeteers are worth to appreciate. Overall an interesting story behind it all so maybe I watch some episodes later 🙂

Repeated on Saturday at 3pm on Talking Pictures Freeview Channel 82,love it!

My childhood heroes! Thank you Mr Anderson and team