Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet

This article is about the computer animated series from 2005. For the 1967 Supermarionation series, see Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet

Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet title screenshot
Also known as Captain Scarlet[1]
New Captain Scarlet[1]
Genre Action
Adventure
Science fiction
Thriller
Created by Gerry Anderson
Written by Gerry Anderson
John Brown
Brian Finch
Phil Ford
Directed by David Lane
Dominic Lavery
Mark Woollard
Voices of Julia Brahms
Jules Dejongh
Wayne Forester
Mike Hayley
Jeremy Hitchen
Bruce Lawrence
Nigel Plaskitt
William Roberts
Robbie Stevens
Emma Tate
Heather Tobias
Suzie Westerby
Glenn Wrage
Composer(s) Crispin Merrell
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Gerry Anderson
Producer(s) Mark Sherwood
Editor(s) Andy Walter
Running time 22 mins per episode
(excluding advertisements)
Production company(s) Anderson Entertainment
Indestructible Production Company
Distributor Granada International
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release
Original network ITV
Audio format Stereo[1]
Original release 12 February (2005-02-12) – 26 November 2005 (2005-11-26)
Chronology
Related shows Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
(1967 original series)

Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (more commonly New Captain Scarlet or NCS) is a United Kingdom-produced computer-generated imagery action-adventure TV series which debuted in February 2005 as part of the Ministry of Mayhem on ITV. The last show produced by Gerry Anderson and broadcast in his life, it is a Hypermarionation reboot of the classic 1967 Supermarionation series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

Synopsis

In the year 2068, peace on Earth is maintained by the Spectrum Organization, a super-efficient security group, headquartered in the vast floating aircraft carrier Skybase, which hovers on the edge of Earth's atmosphere. Spectrum is manned by agents recruited from various military services, who are each assigned colour codenames to hide their true identities. Under the command of Colonel White, Spectrum has become the supreme peace-keeping force, maintaining a fleet of sophisticated vehicles for use by Spectrum field agents.

A mission to locate the source of mysterious signals originating from Mars unleashed the power of the Mysterons, a ruthless alien consciousness. When Spectrum Captains Scarlet and Black discovered the Mysteron City on Mars, Black mistook the intentions of a probe for a hostile offensive and opened fire, completely destroying the city. Using their power of retrometabolism (the ability to recreate matter), the Mysterons rebuilt their city, killed Black, and promised to crush Earth and its destructive people. This has taken the form of a war of nerves, with the Mysterons using their powers to influence people, vehicles and inanimate objects to fall under their control.

The Mysterons primary Earth agent is Captain Black, recreated from the body of the original Spectrum agent. Captain Scarlet was also engineered to become an agent of destruction, but the Mysterons' hold over him was broken after he fell through a power conduit in the Skybase engineering section. Retaining the original man's memories, personality and loyalties, the new Captain Scarlet also retains the Mysteron ability to survive injuries that would prove fatal to any other person. Spectrum's personnel and facilities are now mainly mobilised to combat the threat of the Mysterons, with Captain Scarlet as their greatest weapon.

Skybase

Skybase is a 330 metre long command ship and the operational headquarters of Spectrum. It is permanently stationed above the clouds at 18,288 m. There are six main engines to keep the base positioned in the sky and a further ten engines designed to keep Skybase balanced. Skybase is home to the fleet of high-tech Spectrum vehicles, including the squadron of Falcon aircraft.

The Falcons are handled on Skybase using a unique magnetic control system. After landing on the magna-strip runway, a circular lift lowers the plane into the hangar. Robotic arms automatically re-fuel, and re-arm guns and missiles. Using this system means that the Falcons are always action ready.

Regular characters

Main Spectrum personnel

Enemies

Supporting characters

Spectrum field agents

Spectrum Angels

Other characters

Vehicles and aircraft

Spectrum ground vehicles

Spectrum aircraft

Other craft

These craft are either Spectrum vehicles (used off-Earth), or vehicles not associated with Spectrum but used multiple times during the series:

Hydrolabs Condor Freighter with tail raised for loading.

Episode list

Comparison with the original series

Broadcast

ITV chose to air the series on the Saturday Morning entertainment show Ministry of Mayhem, which disappointed Gerry Anderson. "They took my half-hour show, cut the titles off and cut it in half. It wasn't even listed so people who watched Ministry of Mayhem had to wait and watch all the nonsense going on before the first half. When it finished they didn't say there was a second half or when it was going to start. After they had shown all the episodes, legally it had to be cited as a repeat so it never had a premiere. It just broke my heart."[3] Episodes were aired in the order they were completed in, meaning that the series finale aired as the penultimate instalment. This is because an alternative episode had to be made after one was abandoned because Gerry Anderson thought it was too scary for younger children. As of December 2015, New Captain Scarlet has yet to be broadcast in North America.

Home Media

DVD

Both Series 1 and 2 are available on DVD in the UK, the latter being produced under the ITV DVD banner. Individual volumes are available with three or four episodes on each disk and box sets of all volumes from both series are available separately. Interestingly, the DVD case for Series 2 gives a completely inaccurate description of the episode "Grey Skulls". The description mentions Scarlet taking a camping holiday with his sister and her son when they are attacked by the Mysterons. They then seek shelter in a house owned by an old toymaker and collector (plans were for him to resemble Gerry Anderson) but the Mysterons then bring to life all the toys in the house with murderous intentions. This episode (called House of Dolls) was originally planned and scripted but eventually scrapped as it was considered too scary for small children, and may not have been shown by broadcasters so it was replaced by Grey Skulls. However, the script was given a live performance by the cast at the 2006 Fanderson convention Sector 25 (with a guest appearance by Shane Rimmer as the toy maker). Series 2 is rated 12, due to some rather blunt violence that was not shown in the CITV version. It is also worth noting that the episode in Series 2 known as Duel has the wrong name on the box for the holiday resort. It is called Serendipity on the episode summaries, but was called Tranquility in the episode itself. Furthermore the episode order for the last disc of the season 2 DVD is incorrect. The final episode of the series "Dominion" and the aforementioned "Grey Skulls", which was the penultimate episode, should be watched in reverse order. As of early 2013 the series (Sony Licensed) has yet to achieve DVD release in North America, making it one of only a handful of Anderson series not to receive home video release outside the UK.

Volumes

DVD title Number of disc(s) Year Number of episodes DVD release
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
New Captain Scarlet Series 1 Volume 1 1 2005 4 - 17 October 2005 [4] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 1 Volume 2 1 2005 3 - 30 January 2006 [5] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 1 Volume 3 1 2005 3 - 30 January 2006 [6] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 1 Volume 4 1 2005 3 - 30 January 2006 [7] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 2 Volume 1 1 2006 4 - 18 September 2006 [8] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 2 Volume 2 1 2006 3 - 18 September 2006 [9] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 2 Volume 3 1 2006 3 - 18 September 2006 [10] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 2 Volume 4 1 2006 3 - 18 September 2006 [11] -

Boxsets

DVD Title # of Disc(s) Year # of Episodes DVD release
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
New Captain Scarlet Series One 4 2005 13 - 17 October 2005 [12] -
New Captain Scarlet Series Two 4 2005 13 - 18 September 2006 [13] -
New Captain Scarlet Series 1 & 2 8 2006 26 - 18 September 2006[14] -

Blu-ray

Although Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet was made in High Definition, it has not been released on Blu-ray yet.[15] In December 2014 it was announced on Gerry Anderson's official site that the HD masters of the series were thought to be lost but after some investigation, the masters were located and it is hoped that it will be released on Blu-ray in the future.[16]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 IMDb entry. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide
  3. "Talking Shop: Gerry Anderson". BBC News Online. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  4. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 1 Volume 1 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  5. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 1 Volume 2 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  6. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 1 Volume 3 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  7. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 1 Volume 4 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  8. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 2 Volume 1 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  9. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 2 Volume 2 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  10. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 2 Volume 3 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  11. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 2 Volume 4 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  12. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 1 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  13. "New Captain Scarlet - Series 2 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  14. "New Captain Scarlet Series 1 & 2 Slip Case [DVD] [2005]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  15. "Gerry Anderson’s New Captain Scarlet (2005)". containsmoderateperil.com. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  16. "Gerry Anderson Archive - December 2014 Update". gerryanderson.co.uk. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

External links

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