@@davidcampbell3616 58 here so lucky to have seen most episodes first time round !. For me CS had a huge impact because the Puppets were in proportion ie no big heads. Saying that , I still have my original TB2, minus the rear rockets lol.
I loved this show as a kid, it was rerun in the nineties on the bbc. Now I'm genuinely surprised at just how violent it is...maybe this stuff was more innocent before 2001...
@@LandersWorkshop the original show. Lots of violent deaths, assassinations, straight up murder of innocent scientists etc etc. Also the poor old captain's death reel at the end of the show 😄. Drowning in shark infested waters anyone?
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 cannot believe these were not syndicated in the US. Anderson's work is(was) so Americanise, not in an anglo-patronising way either. I grew up with this stuff... it was good then... and it's good to see it'a become cult now. You are proving the truth that 'good stuff' always returns.
All of the Gerry Anderson supermarionation series were shown in the US via syndication, at the time. As a child in the 60's, I watched Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlett, as well as his live action series UFO and Space:1999, all on American TV.
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.
I agree with you. Stingray was my personal favourite but Scarlet was really the pinnacle and I don't think anything ever equalled it. Scarlet was the last of the puppet series that I followed, I moved on to UFO after that and loved that too.
@@BlytheWorld1972 Captain Scarlet is a series about a man who has lost his humanity and struggles to regain it. Joe 90, as many pundits have commented, is borderline child abuse when viewed with modern eyes. So guess which I prefer? Even as a kid there was something about Joe 90 that felt odd to me and I didn't like it.
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.
Great shows indeed. I loved them also, along with Stringray, Supercar, and Fireball XL5. Got them all on DVD and thought my grandkids would like them too. However, since I'm 67 yo, this WAS science fiction and amazing to us as kids. " WOW, to have this, or that." Today's kids have a lot of "our sci-fi dreams of reality" here today, i.e. video games, intenet, phones with video, Facetime etc... These shows just DON'T impress them at all because of it.. Sad. really.
I’m 2 years younger than you and don’t recall CS when originally shown on British tv or being my first tv regular views with older brother but did watch Thunderbirds & Star Trek . ( & Daktari , High Chaperall , Dr Who , Man From UNCLE, Mission Impossible , The Monkees A few years later we had Joe 90 . 👍
@@hambone5718 they just laugh at the idea of flying cars nowadays and normal cars don’t travel half as quick as 40 years ago in my neck of the woods because when I began work the guys could race between my two local towns in 15 minutes or less whereas it takes 35 minutes today 👍
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Very interesting story mon ami. Best wishes to you from me an Englishman making miniature armour in a French forest.... and of course all the mice in the workshop! 🐀🐀🐁🐁 I loved Captain Scarlett too, but recently this love was eclipsed by ''The Secret Service' because of its absolute absurdity! Unashamedly dripping with British eccentricity... andly of course absoload a humannyform of the utmost... Professor Standi-ly unwymole. 🇬🇧 Stay creative, then immortality will be assured. ⚒️🌞
The music was alway’s good,too!Of course,Barry Gray’s music 🎵 was fabulous in that serie’s!And,the puppet’s remind one of…..Barbie doll’s!There so realistic!
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
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.
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
Me too! I'm 24 and my dad used to watch this with us when we were little. He also liked Godzilla, Ultraman and UFO. I still love these shows even if the style is different.
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).
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.👍
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!
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.
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.
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.
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. :-)
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.
Yes, a team of ultra-creative people who fortuitously for us,all came together at the right time and grew creatively together as they honed their skills through the various series',with Captain Scarlet being the pinnacle.
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.
Never noticed it before but during the Mysterons introduction and their watching the MEV you hear the Mysterons theme and in the background the Supercar Clear-Vu sound!
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.
Watching Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Joe 90 was a big event in the lives of us British kids during the 60s. They ae held in great affection.
I remember watching Captain Scarlet in the 90s when it aired on the Sci-Fi channel when I was a kid. I was impressed by the attention to detail, and the puppets looked realistic. The show had a mature feel and at times, seemed like it was intended for adults. The storyline is comparable to Star Trek and has elements similar to James Bond. This is how I got into the Gerry Anderson universe.
Still have the SPV toy metal car with working front missile, side door opens with Capt. Scarlet in the seat who is removable and rear snow traction for those slippery escapes. Loved it as a boy.
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!
You know my comment on the SPV video last week about my Top-5 episodes because of the SPV? I forgot to mention that I love the SPV in my Top-5 episodes even more, due to the awesome background music. So a big thank you to Barry Gray for that. A big thank you also to Ed Bishop for voicing my favourite character, Captain Blue. And although it's still very sad that the show had came to an end, with no end to the war, not defeating Captain Black and the show had to be moved to an CGI show as a fresh start, but a big thank you to Garry Anderson.
i think some of these interviews are as old now as captain scarlet was when the interviews were filmed. the adverts were a nice touch, they musta been hard to find. I loed this show as a kid in he 80's
Gerry Anderson changed everything.....we had Watch with Mother, The Fucking Woodentops, Andy Friggin' Pandy, and then came the future. For those of that generation Supercar, Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, forget Joe 90, Captain Scarlet... they just blew you away and we watched them in black and white. It was our PlayStation, Internet, everything, it was our alternative reality. When my kids were small ( they're all in their 20's now) I automatically reverted to type and whenever we passed under a railway viaduct, I'd entone in my deepest voice, " Earth Urchins, Robbie and Dougie, this is the voice of The Mysterons and we have come to A- V - E- N- G- E.....The guy was a fucking genius.
As a boy, I "proof-read" many of the scripts. My Mum worked for a printer in Rickmansworth who produced the scripts for a company called "Filmscripts", and she often brought home her brand new IBM Golfball typewriter to get scripts finished in time...they had to be checked, so I read through them months before they ever appeared! Did the same with the scripts for "The Prisoner"....
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.
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
It's amazing that 42 years on from my early teens, I am still transfixed by the original series. The theme song is fantabulous and so are the characters. I'm not a big fan of the new CGI series because they've tinkered with aspects that are sacrosanct e.g. the theme song and the simplicity of the plots. The same happened to Hawaii 5 "O" which lost its class in the more violent and less sartorial remake.
Personally, I loved the marionette version of Captain Scarlet. I would've been happy if they brought back CS in that form even today. Or go full CGI with the photoreal look of today's Marvel movies. The recent CGI version of CS weren't quite photoreal enough for me. I'm sure that went down to production costs, etc. I'm not sure if the popularity of Captain Scarlet today would be large enough to support a new launch of the series. And the comic books are not my thing. Although, I would be thrilled if Netflix would stream the old marionette version of Captain Scarlet so I can rewatch the shows over and over. There is a certain charm to the marionette versions that really cannot be matched, in my view. I will always be a huge fan of Captain Scarlet.
Used to watch this and Thunderbirds, Stingray and Joe 90 ( had the briefcase). The picture quality is stunning for the time. For me the opening and closing titles are the best of any tv series ever. I had a Captain Scarlet padded hat as a kid, i was born in 65 but have photos from 1968-69 playing with a Dinky SPC and a larger scale plastic SPC that fired rockets or missles from its front.We were so lucky here iin the UK back then having all these Gerry Anderson shows
Thank you for this, it really took me back to a lot of happy memories. I was born in 1961 and remember vividly the Saturday issue of TV21 which my parents bought me at a place in Nottingham called Sneinton Market. Mushy peas with mint sauce to eat whilst reading. At the same time I remember UFO which took things to a whole new level. I still watch them both when I have the chance. I'm sure I wasn't Gabrielle Drakes youngest fan ever but I must have been close. Then, years later, to find Ed Bishop was in 2001: A Space Odyssey was icing on the cake. He is the only actor I've ever seen interviewed who was not in awe of Stanley Kubrick. Thanks again.
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!
Wow! This brought back memories. Thank you. As a kid I think I preferred Thunderbirds but now that's very much reversed. Captain Scarlet was grittier and more morally ambiguous, which appeals to me as an adult. The overall design is fantastic, and who doesn't love the closing credits and that fantastic tune?
(I was listening to this while working so sorry for not knowing who said what I'm about to comment on.) The chap who said that it was all about lingering over the moments rather than the smash-cut editing technique of today was spot on. The recent Thunderbirds revival lost me with the opening credits - they raced through the "5 4 3 2 1 " moment that, when we were kids, was one of the best bits of the show - getting to see the Thunderbirds machines doing their thing.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
If I remember right, captain scarlet knew the mysteron game.... To this day if I have to try out a microphone or something, I say "this is the voice of the mysterons"
Watching the entire series of episodes and some of the scenes of innocent bystanders getting "recruited" by the Mysterions this definitely wasn't for kids.
-We'd have to sneak & watch Capt.Scarlet, because our mom thought this show was too violent & grown to be a kids show. ,,And she was right! Needless to say we saw most episodes anyway & just like Star Trek, there were certain hi tech instruments, vehicles, & items that are standards everywhere now, but weren't back then. And also, to me anyway, Capt.Blue resembled a young Robert Redford, Lt.Green a young Roger Moore & the beautiful Angel's resembled some women we'd seen somewhere. But still to this day this, along with the Thunderbirds & Stingray are my favs. And I'm a grandfather now lol.
Excellent. Good to see some background on Scarlet. Always loved (and still do) both CS and Thunderbirds equally. But I think Scarlet had a better theme song, even before it had a lyric added, although granted TB was probably more dramatic. However, once the CS theme had been turned into a song rather than an instrumental track, it gave it another dimension!!
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!!
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!
Still watching all episodes. I'm 67 years old and proud 👏
60 this year and still buy Gerry Anderson products dvds ect
Rock on!!!
@@davidcampbell3616 58 here so lucky to have seen most episodes first time round !. For me CS had a huge impact because the Puppets were in proportion ie no big heads. Saying that , I still have my original TB2, minus the rear rockets lol.
Thunderdirds are better 🤣
Thank you for bringing back so much great memories
Captain Scarlet was the apex. Dark, intriguing and atmospheric. I still love this series to this day!
Yep, wish they'd have carried it on for a few more seasons.
I’ve learned to love ❤️ this show when I first saw it!And,of course,Thunderbird’s was very popular to view,too!
I loved this show as a kid, it was rerun in the nineties on the bbc. Now I'm genuinely surprised at just how violent it is...maybe this stuff was more innocent before 2001...
@@mr_mctweets6905 The new one or the old one? The original was hardcore it must be said, but it was never violence / gore for the sake of it.
@@LandersWorkshop the original show. Lots of violent deaths, assassinations, straight up murder of innocent scientists etc etc. Also the poor old captain's death reel at the end of the show 😄. Drowning in shark infested waters anyone?
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 cannot believe these were not syndicated in the US. Anderson's work is(was) so Americanise, not in an anglo-patronising way either. I grew up with this stuff... it was good then... and it's good to see it'a become cult now. You are proving the truth that 'good stuff' always returns.
We had it in Canada. It was my favorite serie.
Same untill this episode i did not know this was a thing but amazing indeed
All of the Gerry Anderson supermarionation series were shown in the US via syndication, at the time. As a child in the 60's, I watched Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlett, as well as his live action series UFO and Space:1999, all on American TV.
Welcome to the world of Gerry Anderson.
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.
I agree with you. Stingray was my personal favourite but Scarlet was really the pinnacle and I don't think anything ever equalled it. Scarlet was the last of the puppet series that I followed, I moved on to UFO after that and loved that too.
I finally got to see the Captain Scarlet show after all these year’s.It was really spectacular to see,too!
And then come joe 90 when the sets and the effects got even more better Scarlet lacks any feelings joe 90 has much better story lines .
You are completely right about that!
@@BlytheWorld1972 Captain Scarlet is a series about a man who has lost his humanity and struggles to regain it. Joe 90, as many pundits have commented, is borderline child abuse when viewed with modern eyes. So guess which I prefer? Even as a kid there was something about Joe 90 that felt odd to me and I didn't like it.
I'm 60 years of age , and I'm also still watching captain Scarlet & proud !!!!!
You cannot Beat this classic LOVE IT TO BITS ❤
Benzoyl Peroxide miniature fireball explosions, Derek Meddings is my hero. What a genius in special effects design and photography
DEREK CHANGED THE INDUSTRY in how special effects were done.
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.
Great shows indeed. I loved them also, along with Stringray, Supercar, and Fireball XL5. Got them all on DVD and thought my grandkids would like them too. However, since I'm 67 yo, this WAS science fiction and amazing to us as kids. " WOW, to have this, or that." Today's kids have a lot of "our sci-fi dreams of reality" here today, i.e. video games, intenet, phones with video, Facetime etc... These shows just DON'T impress them at all because of it.. Sad. really.
I’m 2 years younger than you and don’t recall CS when originally shown on British tv or being my first tv regular views with older brother but did watch Thunderbirds & Star Trek . ( & Daktari , High Chaperall , Dr Who , Man From UNCLE, Mission Impossible , The Monkees A few years later we had Joe 90 . 👍
@@hambone5718 they just laugh at the idea of flying cars nowadays and normal cars don’t travel half as quick as 40 years ago in my neck of the woods because when I began work the guys could race between my two local towns in 15 minutes or less whereas it takes 35 minutes today 👍
@@newforestpixie5297 👍 All great shows from a simpler, less cynical (imo) era.
I’m 69 and still enjoy watching them. You don’t have to be a child to enjoy Gerry Anderson shows.
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.
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
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.
My uncle made some of the models for this and Joe 90, he also worked on the spaceship for 2001 the Kubrick film
Nice to see the documentary from the limited edition boxset finally see the light of day to the rest of the general public.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wow, crazy how life twists you around. Glad to see that you retained your sculpting passion 😊
Very interesting story mon ami.
Best wishes to you from me an Englishman making miniature armour in a French forest....
and of course all the mice in the workshop! 🐀🐀🐁🐁
I loved Captain Scarlett too, but recently this love was eclipsed by ''The Secret Service' because of its absolute absurdity!
Unashamedly dripping with British eccentricity... andly of course absoload a humannyform of the utmost... Professor Standi-ly unwymole. 🇬🇧
Stay creative, then immortality will be assured. ⚒️🌞
The music was alway’s good,too!Of course,Barry Gray’s music 🎵 was fabulous in that serie’s!And,the puppet’s remind one of…..Barbie doll’s!There so realistic!
Truly moving art, it was magical to me as a kid and still is today at 57
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
Outstanding! Great childhood memories.
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.
Still think this was the best of Gerry’s shows.
What a great documentary - massive thank you to all involved putting this together.
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
Me too! I'm 24 and my dad used to watch this with us when we were little. He also liked Godzilla, Ultraman and UFO. I still love these shows even if the style is different.
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).
SPV and the Angel Interceptor -- two of Gerry Anderson's and Derek Meddings' best designs ever!
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.👍
Don't forget the Thunderbirds episode! "Attack of the Alligators!"
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!
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.
This channel should have 1 million plus subscribers
❤️❤️❤️
❤
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.
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
No CGI or live action remake could emulate this brilliant series
Captain Scarlet really is indestructable and timeless.
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
For me, having the other side win in some episodes was transforming story telling.
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.
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. :-)
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.
Yes, a team of ultra-creative people who fortuitously for us,all came together at the right time and grew creatively together as they honed their skills through the various series',with Captain Scarlet being the pinnacle.
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.
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.
Ron Embleton was the artist
With Joe 90's various briefcases coming in second place.
Never noticed it before but during the Mysterons introduction and their watching the MEV you hear the Mysterons theme and in the background the Supercar Clear-Vu sound!
Brilliant insight into this show...plus how many were singing the lyrics at that end music. Such a classic
I was!!
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.
Watching Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Joe 90 was a big event in the lives of us British kids during the 60s. They ae held in great affection.
I remember watching Captain Scarlet in the 90s when it aired on the Sci-Fi channel when I was a kid. I was impressed by the attention to detail, and the puppets looked realistic. The show had a mature feel and at times, seemed like it was intended for adults. The storyline is comparable to Star Trek and has elements similar to James Bond.
This is how I got into the Gerry Anderson universe.
I liked all of Gerry's work right through the sixties. My favourite now is Supercar.
Still have the SPV toy metal car with working front missile, side door opens with Capt. Scarlet in the seat who is removable and rear snow traction for those slippery escapes.
Loved it as a boy.
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!
You know my comment on the SPV video last week about my Top-5 episodes because of the SPV? I forgot to mention that I love the SPV in my Top-5 episodes even more, due to the awesome background music. So a big thank you to Barry Gray for that. A big thank you also to Ed Bishop for voicing my favourite character, Captain Blue. And although it's still very sad that the show had came to an end, with no end to the war, not defeating Captain Black and the show had to be moved to an CGI show as a fresh start, but a big thank you to Garry Anderson.
The mysteron voice was damn scary.... Like Barry White after smoking a pack of woodbines...... Great music and effects....
i think some of these interviews are as old now as captain scarlet was when the interviews were filmed. the adverts were a nice touch, they musta been hard to find. I loed this show as a kid in he 80's
Gerry Anderson changed everything.....we had Watch with Mother, The Fucking Woodentops, Andy Friggin' Pandy, and then came the future. For those of that generation Supercar, Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, forget Joe 90, Captain Scarlet... they just blew you away and we watched them in black and white. It was our PlayStation, Internet, everything, it was our alternative reality. When my kids were small ( they're all in their 20's now) I automatically reverted to type and whenever we passed under a railway viaduct, I'd entone in my deepest voice, " Earth Urchins, Robbie and Dougie, this is the voice of The Mysterons and we have come to A- V - E- N- G- E.....The guy was a fucking genius.
That is very true, woodentops then Fireball XL5 what a diffetence!
As a boy, I "proof-read" many of the scripts. My Mum worked for a printer in Rickmansworth who produced the scripts for a company called "Filmscripts", and she often brought home her brand new IBM Golfball typewriter to get scripts finished in time...they had to be checked, so I read through them months before they ever appeared! Did the same with the scripts for "The Prisoner"....
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.
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
It's amazing that 42 years on from my early teens, I am still transfixed by the original series. The theme song is fantabulous and so are the characters. I'm not a big fan of the new CGI series because they've tinkered with aspects that are sacrosanct e.g. the theme song and the simplicity of the plots. The same happened to Hawaii 5 "O" which lost its class in the more violent and less sartorial remake.
Personally, I loved the marionette version of Captain Scarlet. I would've been happy if they brought back CS in that form even today. Or go full CGI with the photoreal look of today's Marvel movies. The recent CGI version of CS weren't quite photoreal enough for me. I'm sure that went down to production costs, etc. I'm not sure if the popularity of Captain Scarlet today would be large enough to support a new launch of the series. And the comic books are not my thing. Although, I would be thrilled if Netflix would stream the old marionette version of Captain Scarlet so I can rewatch the shows over and over. There is a certain charm to the marionette versions that really cannot be matched, in my view. I will always be a huge fan of Captain Scarlet.
BritBox do the entire series of the original marionette productions.
Also available in a dvd box set
It was great to watch back then so exciting and original brilliant series
My childhood revisited, fantastic documentary.
The Martians were rightly pissed off that their base was bombed, so they sought payback.
That's a big thing with Captain Scarlet, it's our fault that the Mysterons are here at all!
@@TheSmart-CasualGamer Spectrum was black and white, as it were.
This is some of the greatest theatrical creations ever made. Bar none. In my opinion. Still just as impressive as it was back then.
Used to watch this and Thunderbirds, Stingray and Joe 90 ( had the briefcase). The picture quality is stunning for the time.
For me the opening and closing titles are the best of any tv series ever.
I had a Captain Scarlet padded hat as a kid, i was born in 65 but have photos from 1968-69 playing with a Dinky SPC and a larger scale plastic SPC that fired rockets or missles from its front.We were so lucky here iin the UK back then having all these Gerry Anderson shows
Thank you for this, it really took me back to a lot of happy memories. I was born in 1961 and remember vividly the Saturday issue of TV21 which my parents bought me at a place in Nottingham called Sneinton Market. Mushy peas with mint sauce to eat whilst reading. At the same time I remember UFO which took things to a whole new level. I still watch them both when I have the chance. I'm sure I wasn't Gabrielle Drakes youngest fan ever but I must have been close. Then, years later, to find Ed Bishop was in 2001: A Space Odyssey was icing on the cake. He is the only actor I've ever seen interviewed who was not in awe of Stanley Kubrick. Thanks again.
I'm 62 years old now (in 2023) and I still remember watching Captain Scarlet as a child and loving it.
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!
That documentary was definitely S.I.G! #CaptainScarletDay
Took me back to my happy childhood. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! This brought back memories. Thank you. As a kid I think I preferred Thunderbirds but now that's very much reversed. Captain Scarlet was grittier and more morally ambiguous, which appeals to me as an adult. The overall design is fantastic, and who doesn't love the closing credits and that fantastic tune?
(I was listening to this while working so sorry for not knowing who said what I'm about to comment on.) The chap who said that it was all about lingering over the moments rather than the smash-cut editing technique of today was spot on. The recent Thunderbirds revival lost me with the opening credits - they raced through the "5 4 3 2 1 " moment that, when we were kids, was one of the best bits of the show - getting to see the Thunderbirds machines doing their thing.
It was back in 1993 when I first saw Captain Scarlet, and now nearly 30 years later, it is still an amazing series. :)
Fantastic show, discovering the new CGI version for myself now, also a brilliant show!
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.
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.
Marvelous. Particularly enjoyed the commercial break 😎 still love Gerry Anderson's work
I prefer Scarlet to thunderbirds. It’s a late night thriller more than a kids show
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.
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!
In some ways I would prefer if they re-released the original, not screw around "improving it" ( read #$%^ it up )
OMG! That was a great look at the show, I love this behind the scenes stuff.
A joy to behold. Ground-breaking, never equalled.
Why on earth has Captain Scarlet not been made into a real life movie? With the right actors and script it would be awesome.
I fear it would have neither the right actors, nor the right script!
Spectrum is Green!
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.
Great to see this shedding light on the creation of Captain Scarlet. Loved watching the series as a child!
Many 🤗s for restoring my favorite memories! 👍👍s 5⭐s & Countless ❣️s For sharing great entertainment with us all!
unbelievably good...it is tv art at its best
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
informative documentary,
Everything bad was Russian.somes things stay the same. The Mysterons are still here!. in Europe,
Thank God there's no terribly overmodulated voiceover that wasn't mixed.
If I remember right, captain scarlet knew the mysteron game....
To this day if I have to try out a microphone or something, I say "this is the voice of the mysterons"
God I loved this show as a kid. For some reason the darker tone made it that much cooler.
Watching the entire series of episodes and some of the scenes of innocent bystanders getting "recruited" by the Mysterions this definitely wasn't for kids.
-We'd have to sneak & watch Capt.Scarlet, because our mom thought this show was too violent & grown to be a kids show. ,,And she was right! Needless to say we saw most episodes anyway & just like Star Trek, there were certain hi tech instruments, vehicles, & items that are standards everywhere now, but weren't back then. And also, to me anyway, Capt.Blue resembled a young Robert Redford, Lt.Green a young Roger Moore & the beautiful Angel's resembled some women we'd seen somewhere. But still to this day this, along with the Thunderbirds & Stingray are my favs. And I'm a grandfather now lol.
Excellent. Good to see some background on Scarlet. Always loved (and still do) both CS and Thunderbirds equally. But I think Scarlet had a better theme song, even before it had a lyric added, although granted TB was probably more dramatic. However, once the CS theme had been turned into a song rather than an instrumental track, it gave it another dimension!!
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!!
SIG for Sugar Smacks and childhood diabetes. :)
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!
I laughed at the "NBC Peacock in the background at the beginning.... (LOL, only some will get this.)
Loved anything gerry +Co made in the 60's takes me back to my childhood I'm 59 this year thank you gerry