The villain
of the piece, Captain Black, looking suitably Mysteronized with his original
‘pink’ eyes due to age. This is an original ‘frowner’ head. The puppet also
sports original hands.
I believe
this is the only known surviving screen-used head of Captain Ochre.
The ‘grinner’
head of Captain Grey, whose likeness was apparently based on Sean Connery.
An original
‘ smiler’ Captain Magenta. A 'smiler' has a moving mouth, while a 'grinnerhas a
fixed open mouthed grin.
An 'under-control' Doctor Fawn, with darker skin tones for a later appearance in Joe 90.
This
original screen used head is another of those ‘revamp puppets’ I mentioned on
my previous Secret Service post. It made
its first appearance in the Captain Scarlet episode, ‘Lunarville 7’, as the character,
Orson. It was later modified with darker skin for an appearance in the Joe 90
episode, ‘King for a Day’, as ‘Driver’.
It made two appearances in Captain Scarlet, five in Joe 90, and two in
The Secret Service.
The puppet
behind is best known for its appearance as Frazer in ‘Crater 101’, although it
did first appear as Captain Hassel in ‘Point 783’. It went on to be seen in two
other Captain Scarlet episodes, five Joe 90’s, and two Secret Services.
This revamp
puppet first appeared in Captain Scarlet episode, ‘Model Spy’ as Andre Verdain.
It was later modified with greying temples for the Joe 90 episode,
‘HI-Jacked. It made two appearances in
Captain Scarlet, seven in Joe 90, and three in The Secret Service.
This puppet
was the Captain of the U.S.S. Panther II in the Captain Scarlet episode, ‘
White as Snow’, although it might be more recognizable to fans as Selkirk in
the Joe 90 episode,’ Relative Danger’.
It appeared in two Captain Scarlet episodes, three Joe 90 episodes, and
three Secret Service episodes.
There were several other puppets on display, Captain Brown above who only appeared as that character in two episodes, returned in other episodesof Captain Scarlet. He was the 'mysteronized' villain in 'Renegade Rocket', 'Noose of Ice' and 'Codename Europa'.It also turned up as three other minor characters in the series.
This puppet, immaculately dressed as a Spectrum Security Guard here, makes several other appearances right up to and including The Secret Service.It is probably best known as 'Kruger', in the Captain Scarlet episode, 'Heart of New York'.
I love that these puppets have their own CV's. Did they all share the same Booking Agent?
ReplyDeleteWhile there are distinctions between a 'smiler' and a 'grinner' none has the flexibility of expression as the rival system used for the puppets seen in the Telegoons. Neddy Seagoon has this lot beat.
Ha! I certainly wouldn't enter into a debate into which system was best. both Ron Field and Gerry Anderson worked independently to each other on their different systems. and both had their advantages and disadvantages. Its a long time since I watched the Telegoons and from what I remember when the puppet talked it looked like someone's hand was operating the mouth(I know it was really a solenoid) maybe that was just down to the flexible material used to make the head. That's not a criticism, it worked well with caricatured look of Neddy or Grytpype Thynne. With Anderson's productions I think, as he didn't really like puppets, he strived for a less caricatured look, which essentially gives a puppet its personality, and with each new series the puppets obviously became more stilted.
DeleteHowever, as Anderson's puppet (and live action) series' are still being celebrated with events like this every year, Its no contest as to which is more enduring.
I could be wrong, but I suspect that all these characters are wearing wigs. Maybe Gerry Anderson, being bald himself, would only employ bald puppets, but you'd think there's be at least one with his own hair.
ReplyDeleteNothing gets past you, Kid, but you gotta love a syrup. Personally I always wanted a Roger Moore.
DeleteHaving a full, luxuriant head of hair, I sometimes comb it into a 'Rog'. It somehow makes me feel very 'saintly'.
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