The Grandson Junior and I recently caught the pilot episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
Its the one that starts on Mars.
I had high hopes for this with Junior watching as well but I couldn't remember what happens.
Getting carried away I told Junior all about the SPV, MSV and SPC, explaining that they're probably some of the best vehicles he'll ever see!
The episode didn't disappoint!
All three vehicles were there in spades and Junior was impressed, thankfully!
The high points were undoubtedly the Swift Removals Van scene, when it falls apart to reveal the SPV ready for mysteron-bashing and the Angel Interceptors taking off from Cloudbase.
But its pinnacle of Anderson magic was the Car-Vu. Designed by the gifted Mike Trim, what a fabulous high-rise car park it is, straight out of the future!
Like a giant fantastic screw, Junior and me were chuffed when the SPV got in there and looped its way to the top! I was thrilled it still looked so good for kids today after 50-odd years.
One sticking point were the guns. I'd forgotten how much shooting there was in Captain Scarlet. Everyone carries pistols and shoots the hell out of each other. No ray guns, these are normal weapons. Junior didn't seem bothered - he's 8 this year - so I didn't say anything.
All in all though, watching episode 1 of this old Anderson series with a modern 7 year old was thankfully a success!
Here's that Car-Vu scene again. Do you like it?
The pilot episode of Captain Scarlet blew me outa my seat when I first saw it, and still thrills me today. It may be the single most beautiful example of Supermarionation ever created. I was lucky enough to own a beautiful 16mm film print of this pilot for some years, and me and my friends would play it over and over. Only much later did I find out how rare film prints of these shows were, as they were usually syndicated on video tape. But man what a show! SFZ
ReplyDeletePS: I always liked the “darkness” of Captain Scarlet, the violence and the shootings and such. Made it feel more “grown-up.” SFZ
DeleteHow did you see it first SF? On TV?
DeleteI wouldn't be too concerned about special agents shooting in old TV shows. We didn't grow up to be gangster rappers. I'm sure kids today can see a lot worse than puppets falling down dead
ReplyDeleteThat is true Khusru!
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