Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons will be the latest of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s classic Supermarionation TV series to be shown on the much-loved cult TV/film channel Talking Pictures TV! The series is coming to the channel in June!
Often shortened to simply Captain Scarlet, the fifth TV series from A.P. Films to be billed as ‘filmed in Supermarionation’, originally broadcast between September 1967 and May 1968, depicted the adventures of global security organisation Spectrum defending the Earth from an accidentally triggered war between themselves and the malevolent Mysterons from Mars. The indestructible Captain Scarlet leads the fight against the Mysterons, who in turn are spearheaded by their Earth-based operative, former Spectrum agent Captain Black.
Captain Scarlet saw A.P. Films, by then operating under the renewed title of Century 21 Productions, take several bold leaps in the Supermarionation art form. Compared to their past works, the puppets of Captain Scarlet were designed to be perfectly proportioned in their construction, abandoning the caricatured look which had come to define Supermarionation at that point. The series also carried over the technique of controlling marionettes from below, first introduced in Thunderbirds Are Go. This is utilised to great effect for sequences involving characters piloting aircraft and other vehicles throughout the series, which continued to elevate Century 21 Productions as standard setters for their unique brand of enthralling, special effects-driven sci-fi entertainment.
Captain Scarlet also saw Century 21 Productions embrace a much darker attitude with their Supermarionation productions. The terrifying Mysterons, identified only through their disembodied voice and iconic projected green rings, poses the power of retrometabolism and are able to destroy and replicate a person or vehicle to become under their control. The indestructible Captain Scarlet, himself a recovered Mysteron doppelganger, leads the charge in defending the Earth from the Mysterons’ war of nerves!
Captain Scarlet will be taking over the Saturday afternoon slot from Stingray and will begin showing from Saturday, June 1st at 3 PM on Talking Pictures TV!
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