There have not been many children's shows featuring a dead man as the hero, but 1967's 'Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons' has to be the top contender for the title. It was Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's first 'Supermarionation' series since their phenomenally successful 'Thunderbirds', and repeated many of the same ingredients - a top secret organisation, futuristic hardware, exciting action scenes, dramatic Barry Gray music, and sinister villains, but there was a new element - violent death. Characters either got shot, blown up or electrocuted.In 2068 A.D., an expedition from Earth touches down on Mars. As the M.E.V. ( Martian Expeditionary Vehicle ) crawls across the craggy surface, a city twinkles in the distance. Convinced they are about to be attacked, Captain Black of the security force SPECTRUM opens fire. But, minutes later, the 'dead' city reappears intact. The inhabitants of Mars - the Mysterons - have the ability to reconstruct dead matter ( a process they call 'retro metabolism' ). They were a peace-loving race, but now they are mad, vowing to destroy Mankind. Soon after the expedition's return to Earth, Black disappears. The World President's life is threatened, so SPECTRUM - whose agents are named after colours, their leader is Colonel White - dispatches Captains Scarlet and Brown to protect him. En route, their car crashes. Brown is reconstructed as a Mysteron agent. In one of the most chilling scenes ever on children's television, Brown tries to kill the World President by becoming a human bomb. The attempt fails, so that only leaves Captain Scarlet, also Mysteronised, to complete the mission. Needless to say, it also fails, but Scarlet is soon free of Mysteron control. Being indestructible, he becomes SPECTRUM's top agent in the ongoing war of nerves against the Mysterons.Each week, the doom-laden voice of the Mysterons would issue its latest sabotage threat, and Captain Black would be duly dispatched to carry out his orders. Compared to the cosy family viewing that was 'Stingray' and 'Thunderbirds', this was nightmarish stuff indeed. Ordinary people died horribly so they could be reborn as Mysterons. One episode had a mechanic in an inspection pit being crushed when Black activated the hydraulic mechanism holding the car he was working on. 'Crater 101' saw Scarlet, Blue and Lieutenant Green heading for the Moon where the Mysterons have built a base. The scenes where they wander round the alien complex are incredibly eerie even now. 'Dangerous Rendezvous' had the Mysterons ostensibly offering to negotiate peace terms with SPECTRUM, but of course it all turned out to be a trap.The puppetry had noticeably improved since 'Thunderbirds', and there were no comedy characters such as 'Brains'. SPECTRUM's headquarters was Cloudbase, which was a sort of airborne aircraft carrier. The show's other major stars were the Angels - the beautiful all-girl pilots who flew sleek aircraft equipped with rockets, and had names like 'Melody', 'Symphony' and 'Rhapsody'. We never saw the Mysterons though - whenever they used their powers a pair of white rings would be visible. In a comic strip in 'T.V. Tornado' published shortly before the show's debut, they were depicted as hexagonal spheres, sporting a single eye which could spit death rays. In a 1967 'C.A.' annual, however, it was said the Mysterons had abandoned Mars, and it was their computers that were waging war on Mankind. To me they were scarier than the Daleks because they seemed to have the entire world under surveillance. I often wondered why they gave up so easily. Surely when Scarlet killed one of their agents, all they had to do was reconstruct him again. They preferred to cook up an entirely new scheme instead. Perhaps 'the war of nerves' was really nothing more than an elaborate game of cat and mouse played by the aliens for reasons we can only guess at.Like Anderson's other shows, 'C.A.' was heavily marketed ( I used to own a SPECTRUM wallet, complete with S.P.V. driving licence! ). The dinky toy of the S.P.V. ( Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle ) was for years the top selling toy of its kind. Kellogg's breakfast cereal 'Sugar Smacks' gave away badges to coincide with the original run, and the 'T.V. 21' comic featured beautifully drawn strips. The catchy pop song over the end credits was performed by 'The Spectrum'. So popular was 'C.A.' that 'The Golden Shot' ( hosted by the late Bob Monkhouse ) did a tie-in edition with the hostesses dressed as Angels! British audiences had to wait a few years to see the show in colour, but when they did it was worth it. Repeats have been plentiful over the years; the B.B.C. brought it to a new generation in 1993 ( Trevor Phillips of the Commission for Racial Equality incredibly denounced the show as racist on account of the villain being called 'Captain Black'. When it was pointed out to him that 'Lieutenant Green' was also black, he calmed down ).In 2005, the show was reincarnated as 'New Captain Scarlet' with stop motion C.G.I. replacing the Supermarionation puppets. I like both shows enormously, but the original holds a special place in my heart. Like its hero, it has proved to be indestructible. SPECTRUM Is Green!

"Captain Scarlet" (1967 - 32 episodes), is a brilliant production of the English couple Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, of "Thunderbirds", responsible for the Supermarionation technique that used plastic marionettes operated by fine threads of nylon. The plot starts in 2068 when the Spectrum organization - responsible for the world-wide peace - was making research in the Mars planet and, without thinking, attacks the base of the Mysterons. The attitude causes a great misunderstanding since the aliens were pacific. Hurt, they swear to destroy the human civilization for judging us maleficent and dangerous. After being dominated by the Mysterons, Captain Scarlet - the one direct responsible for Mars exploration - managed to revert the process and becomes immortal. The humanity had sufficient evolved to elect a world-wide president and Captain Scarlet was charged to protect him of the terrible attacks of the Mysterons. Main agent of the Spectrum, he will use his powers to fight against the powerful extraterrestrial race that has the power to invade and to take control of the body of the human beings.

i loved this show it was brilliant my favorate is Captian Black another top agent who is still under alien control one has to feel sorry for him what a team captian scarlet and captian black would make alas this is not to be i hope that a film is made and i hope they get it right

This show may have originally been made for kids but it is still loved by adults and kids alike. The voice of The Mysteron still sends shivers up my spine. I prefer it to Thunderbirds, although I still like Thunderbirds. The characters are much cooler in this, especially Captain Black - he kicks ass. I like those white aeroplane things, they're pretty cool. I always seem to like the bad guys more. Why will this show always be swinging? It so 60ish and it is 4 decades since then and it is still pretty popular. I remember when it made a comeback back in 93, that's how I first got into it. The one thing I did not like about the show was when the scene changed the picture would flash. I think Gerry Anderson's creations are the greatest.