''Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons'' is a 1981 television film based on the 1960s British puppet TV series '' Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' created by

Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice presi ...

and Sylvia Anderson. Produced by the New York office of the series' distributor,

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

, the film is a

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

of the ''Captain Scarlet'' episodes "

The Mysterons "The Mysterons" (sometimes referred to incorrectly as "Mars2068 A.D.") is the first episode of ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their produc ...

", " Winged Assassin", " Seek and Destroy" and "

Attack on Cloudbase "Attack on Cloudbase" is the 31st episode of ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for ITC Enterta ...

". It follows an earlier ''Captain Scarlet'' compilation, '' Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars''. Set in 2068, the original series depicts a "

war of nerves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

" between Earth and the Mysterons: a race of Martians with the power to create functioning copies of destroyed people or objects and use them to carry out acts of aggression against humanity. Earth is defended by a military organisation called Spectrum, whose top agent, Captain Scarlet, was killed by the Mysterons and replaced by a reconstruction that subsequently broke free of their control. Scarlet's double has a self-healing power that enables him to recover from injuries that would be fatal to anyone else, making him Spectrum's best asset in its fight against the Mysterons.

Plot

Astronauts on a mission to Mars attack the city of the Mysterons, a race of aliens with the ability to create duplicates of beings and objects. In revenge, the Mysterons declare war on humanity. Earth is defended by Spectrum, a worldwide security organisation. The Mysterons attempt to assassinate the World President (voiced by Paul Maxwell) using a double of Captain Scarlet (voiced by Francis Matthews), a Spectrum agent they have murdered. The double is defeated, after which it breaks free of Mysteron control and remains loyal to Spectrum ("

"). However, the Mysterons succeed in their efforts to assassinate the Director General of the United Asian Republic (" Winged Assassin"). Scarlet,

Captain Blue Captain Blue (born Adam Svenson) is a character in the British Supermarionation television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68) and its computer-animated remake, ''Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet'' (2005). He is a senior of ...

(voiced by

Ed Bishop George Victor Bishop (11 June 1932 – 8 June 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or sometimes Edward Bishop, was an American actor. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in ''UFO'', Captain Blue in ''Captain Scarlet and the Myste ...

) and Destiny Angel (voiced by Liz Morgan) come under attack from a trio of reconstructed Spectrum Angel fighters but are saved by the rest of the Angel squadron (" Seek and Destroy"). Later, the Mysterons launch an assault on

Cloudbase Spectrum Cloudbase, often shortened to Cloudbase, is the fictional skyborne headquarters of the international security organisation Spectrum from Gerry Anderson's science-fiction television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68). ...

, Spectrum's airborne headquarters, using a fleet of armed

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

s. Cloudbase is destroyed, but the Mysterons ultimately decide to show mercy: using their extraordinary powers to reverse time, they take the base back to a point prior to the attack, leaving it intact ("

").

Production

Created by the New York office of

, ''Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons'' was one of several TV film re-workings of Anderson series designed to renew overseas interest in these productions and promote syndication sales in the United States. The films were collectively titled "Super Space Theater". In the case of ''Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons'', the re-editing of the source material included the insertion of a new animated title sequence, updated special effects, new synthesised music and additional Mysteron voices supplied by an American actor.

Release and reception

The film's first UK home video release, by Precision Video, was a

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

exclusive. In 1986, the film was released on VHS by Channel 5 Video. The film was neither a critical nor commercial success. It was also disliked by Gerry Anderson, who was not consulted on the new production. Fan response was also negative; however, the ''Video Movie Guide 1996'' gives the film a rating of three-and-a-half stars out of four. Changes to the ending of "

" were widely criticised. After the destruction of

(as seen in the original TV episode), the Mysterons reverse time and restore the base while stating their intention to spare humanity; the voice-over is accompanied by a shot of a computer-animated pyramid. This sequence implies that the attack on Cloudbase really happened, whereas in the original episode, it is a nightmare dreamt by an unconscious Symphony Angel. According to Fred McNamara, "Attack on Cloudbase" was "unforgivably butchered" by these alterations. Noting that the last episode of the original ''Captain Scarlet'' ("

The Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

") did not provide a resolution to the conflict between Earth and Mars,

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

suggests that the material from "Attack on Cloudbase" was changed to give the series storyline a more satisfactory conclusion. He is negative in his assessment of the film: "The grafting of the new ending isn't too well done, and the whole thing looks totally faked."

References

External links

* {{ITC Distributions Chronology 1981 films 1981 television films 1980s English-language films Alien visitations in films American films about revenge American science fiction television films Captain Scarlet (franchise) Compilation films Films about assassinations Films set in 2068 Films set in London Marionette films Mars in film Resurrection in film Television films based on television series 1980s American films