List of Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet episodes
This is an episode guide for Gerry Anderson's television series Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, a CGI update of his Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967–1968). Commissioned in March 2003,[1] the first series was first broadcast between 12 February 2005 and 14 May 2005 (except 2 April). A second series followed between 1 September 2005 and 26 November 2005.[2]
CGI test film
The 2005 CGI reboot of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, was preceded by a short test film titled Captain Scarlet and the Return of the Mysterons and screened privately in 2000 and 2001.[3] The film was finally released to home video as part of the Complete Blu-ray set in 2017.
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by[4] | Written by[4] | Original Air Date[4] | Production No. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
— | — | "Captain Scarlet and the Return of the Mysterons" | Gerry Anderson & John Needham | Gerry Anderson & John Needham | Unaired | — | |
The Mysterons renew their vow to destroy all life on Earth. Captain Black appears to have been released from their control and returns to the service of Spectrum. Appearances can be deceptive, however. Soon Captain Scarlet finds himself caught up in a race against time to save the Drontenon power station from Black's Spectrum Patrol Car, which is packed with explosives. The test film ran for 4 mins. approx.[4] |
Series 1
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original Air Date | Production No. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Instrument of Destruction (Part 1)" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 12 February 2005 | 1 |
Dateline – 2068. When an unidentified mysterious extraplanetary signal from the surface of Mars is detected, the world security organisation known as Spectrum sends Captains Scarlet and Black on a search of the desert surface to find out who is sending the signal. There, they discover a cloaked city, which they destroy, fearing themselves under attack. The city rebuilds itself and the inhabitants, calling themselves the Mysterons, announce that they will destroy humanity with its own violence. Captain Black appears to be killed and Scarlet is returned to Earth as the Mysterons' instrument of destruction. | ||||||
2 | 2 | "Instrument of Destruction (Part 2)" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 19 February 2005 | 2 |
The Mysterons resurrect Captain Black, who gains control of a worldwide distribution company and a Russian military leader. With the latter they launch an all-out attack against Skybase whilst with the former they transport enough nuclear material to Siberia to create a bomb large enough to crack the world wide open. Meanwhile Captain Scarlet, who is now back to his old self, must earn Captain Blue's trust as they must work together to stop Captain Black. Meanwhile Black's former lover, Destiny Angel, must come to terms with the fact that the man she once loved is now in league with the enemy. | ||||||
3 | 3 | "Swarm" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 26 February 2005 | 8 |
The Angels shoot down a USAF transport plane that was heading for Skybase, but it releases a swarm of cyberbugs, advanced robots the size of a bug that are capable of eating metal and reproducing with great speed. Once they are aboard Skybase, they set about eating their way towards the atomic reactor core. The headquarters will be destroyed unless Scarlet can find a weakness. | ||||||
4 | 4 | "Rat Trap" | Dominic Lavery | Phil Ford | 5 March 2005 | 7 |
Three weeks after losing contact with Elysium Base on Mars, a team consisting of Captains Scarlet and Blue, Destiny and Harmony Angels, and Doctor Gold are sent to find out what happened to the crew. On arrival, they realise it is a Mysteron trap and that they are under attack from an titanium armour-plated research robot named Remote Acquisition Technology (RAT) which carries lasers and a diamond-tipped saw. Under Mysteron control, the RAT has become the ultimate killing machine. | ||||||
5 | 5 | "The Homecoming" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 12 March 2005 | 5 |
A space capsule escape pod from the Endeavor II, a manned mission to Jupiter which mysteriously disappeared fifteen years ago, returns to Earth with Lieutenant Green's father, Commander Lewis, aboard. Believed lost, he wastes no time catching up with his daughter, but when he arrives for his debriefing at the International Space Agency, he is revealed as a Mysteron agent and takes Green hostage inside a bunker containing an antimatter reactor that is rigged to blow, leaving nothing but a smoking hole from California to Texas and taking 8 million people with it. | ||||||
6 | 6 | "Mercury Falling" | Dominic Lavery | Phil Ford | 19 March 2005 | 4 |
Captain Blue and Destiny Angel pilot the International Space Agency shuttle Mercury on a top secret mission into space. They are to deploy a new satellite into Earth orbit, which will provide early warning of an imminent attack by identifying Mysteron energy on Mars. However, just as Mercury achieves orbit the shuttle's controls are taken over by an outside force, and its systems lock onto a new flight path. Spectrum then receives a transmission from an unidentified extortionist who demands a ransom of $50 million in diamonds or else they will initiate Mercury's re-entry over North America and crash the shuttle onto Washington DC. Captain Scarlet must discover the identity of the blackmailer before Captain Black can turn the situation to his (and the Mysterons') advantage and send the craft on a collision course with the White House. | ||||||
7 | 7 | "Circles of Doom" | Mark Woollard | Brian Finch | 26 March 2005 | 9 |
Captain Black reveals that, using Mysteron technology, that he now has control over all the digital systems on Earth and can destroy them at will. The Mysterons then speak through the rogue agent, demanding mankind's surrender in twenty-four hours or else they will trigger a world-wide technological failure that will destroy everyone on the planet. With humanity's surrender as the price, how can Spectrum carry on the fight with weapons that do not work? | ||||||
8 | 8 | "Rain of Terror" | Mark Woollard | John Brown | 9 April 2005 | 3 |
Spectrum becomes involved in a cloud seeding experiment, however they become desperate and race to stop it when it goes wrong after the Mysterons poison it and send one of the scientists mad with fear. A full test of the process in planned already and Colonel White is in the centre of it after being knocked unconscious by Captain Black, who disguises himself as a research scientist. If the Mysterons succeed, then they will send millions of people, including Colonel White, insane. | ||||||
9 | 9 | "Skin Deep" | Mark Woollard | John Brown | 16 April 2005 | 12 |
Destiny Angel is kidnapped by Captain Black, and sometime later it looks as though Destiny has staged a daring robbery of some missile launch codes. It appears that she has turned into a Mysteron agent, but things are not as they appear, when Captain Scarlet goes looking for her and finds that her so-called "betrayal" is only the first stage in an attack on Skybase. | ||||||
10 | 10 | "Chiller" | Mark Woollard | Phil Ford | 23 April 2005 | 6 |
In a remote diner in Phoenix, Arizona, Spectrum flight engineer Xander Story makes contact with two Mysteron agents. Story agrees to destroy Spectrum's Skybase in return for the aliens' promise that they will halt their war on mankind – he accepts a fusion bomb in a briefcase and also a large payment. Captain Scarlet gatecrashes the meeting but is shot and killed. Knowing that his body will regenerate, the Mysterons try to engineer Scarlet's total destruction in a massive explosion. Captain Blue finds his devastated corpse and takes it to Skybase. Doctor Gold finds that Scarlet's injuries are too severe, and with no sign of the retrometabolisation process taking place, he pronounces the agent dead. While Destiny and Blue grieve for their lost friend, Story plants the bomb on Skybase, set to an hour's delay. In sickbay, Scarlet regains consciousness, only to find that no one can see or hear him, and that he has somehow become intangible, yet somehow he must warn Destiny and Blue about the bomb. | ||||||
11 | 11 | "Trap for a Rhino" | Dominic Lavery | John Brown | 30 April 2005 | 10 |
In the Scottish Highlands, an elderly lady named Mrs. Mackenzie is alarmed to see green lights hovering over the nearby Grampian Nuclear Power Station; she reports the incident to the authorities, but no one believes her. When Colonel White learns of the incident he immediately sends Captain Scarlet and Harmony Angel to investigate. But that turns out to be just what the Mysterons want as the Spectrum SPV Rhino ground vehicle is just what they need to breach the reactor's defenses. | ||||||
12 | 12 | "Heist" | Dominic Lavery | Phil Ford | 7 May 2005 | 13 |
Three men kidnap Colonel White's daughter, Victoria and threaten to harm her unless the Colonel uses a Spectrum Rhino and help them mount an attack on an armored express train en route to Paris so that they can steal its cargo of $1 billion in gold bullion. But it is all part of a Mysteron plot by Captain Black to incriminate the Colonel in the robbery and thus end his Spectrum career. Whilst Colonel White pretends to go through with the robbery, Captain's Scarlet and Blue must get Victoria back. | ||||||
13 | 13 | "The Achilles Messenger" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 14 May 2005 | 11 |
Captain Scarlet and Destiny Angel are at a Spectrum Training Base in Castle Balmeath, Scotland. But the base commander, Astrid Winters, is turned into a Mysteron, but tells Scarlet she only wants to help humanity end the war and that she was sent by represents of a faction of the Mysteron consciousness which believes the war with Earth is a mistake. Winters is willing to pass the secret of defeating the Mysterons to Colonel White alone, but all the forces that the Mysterons can bring to bear will be ranged against her getting that far. |
Series 2
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original Air Date | Production No. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | 1 | "Touch of the Reaper" | Mark Woollard | Phil Ford | 3 September 2005 | 24 |
Two scientists die at chemical research facility – only to be reborn as Mysteron agents, each with the power to kill with a single touch. It is unclear who their target is and where they are both hiding, but it is up to Spectrum agents Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue to find them before they carry out their plans. | ||||||
15 | 2 | "Virus" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 10 September 2005 | 14 |
After several cases of random suicides, an investigation into the latest one leads Captain Blue to inadvertently upload a virus to Skybase's computers. Everyone on the base apart from Captain Scarlet and Destiny Angel are infected by the deadly virus which makes people end their own lives. Scarlet and Destiny must erase the virus before they too become infected. | ||||||
16 | 3 | "Enigma" | Dominic Lavery | Phil Ford | 17 September 2005 | 16 |
The Mysterons send a space ship to Earth and Colonel White sends the Angel fleet to intercept. However their weapons are useless against it. The ship lands in the Northern Territory of Australia and Captains Scarlet, Blue, Ochre and Gray are despatched to investigate only to end up getting teleported into the Mysteron ship. Soon the group end up as victims in a round of Mysteron mind games, unsure of whether or not they will be able to escape. | ||||||
17 | 4 | "Best of Enemies" | Dominic Lavery | John Brown | 24 September 2005 | 17 |
In the frozen wastes of Russia, Captain Black steals a prototype organic limpet mine from the Russian Navy Technology Division and ends up being pursued by Captain Scarlet in a Spectrum Rhino. After a brief chase and a fight in the snow, Scarlet and Black end up trapped in the Rhino under frozen ice. With no way to escape, can Scarlet and Black work together to get free? | ||||||
18 | 5 | "Contact" | Mark Woollard | Phil Ford | 1 October 2005 | 15 |
Doctor Phil Bogart, the designer of the devastating Thunder Pulse compression bomb, which is used as a sonic displacement weapon, is killed and reconstructed by the Mysterons. After the Mysteron double steals his invention and goes into hiding, Spectrum turns to his twin brother, Frank Bogart, a convicted criminal who has a telepathic link with his brother. | ||||||
19 | 6 | "Proteus" | Mark Woollard | Phil Ford | 8 October 2005 | 18 |
Captain Scarlet, Colonel White and Lieutenant Green are aboard a new stealth warship going through sea trials. However the Mysterons decide to use the ship for their own ends, by using it to start a war between the US and China. | ||||||
20 | 7 | "Syrtis Major" | Dominic Lavery | Phil Ford | 15 October 2005 | 19 |
Spectrum mounts an raid on the headquarters of Vulcan Industries. Colonel White confronts the board of governors over their recent breach of the Martian Exclusion Directive: despite the fact that the company's durinium mining operation on Syrtis Major was suspended some time ago, a three-man maintenance team recently left for Mars. On learning that all contact with these engineers has since been lost, Colonel White sends Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue, Captain Ochre, Destiny Angel and Doctor Gold to investigate. | ||||||
21 | 8 | "Fallen Angels" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 22 October 2005 | 20 |
After being shot down on a deserted tropical island, Angels Destiny, Harmony and Melody feel like they are in Paradise, until the Mysterons send replicas of modern-day pirates to pry the secret location of the World Summit from them. | ||||||
22 | 9 | "Storm at the End of the World" | Mark Woollard | Phil Ford | 29 October 2005 | 21 |
In the small town of Ragnarok in Alaska, which the Mysterons have destroyed and replicated, Scarlet and Blue are captured and forced to help mine for an ancient meteorite bearing a spore that can kill all life on Earth. | ||||||
23 | 10 | "Duel" | Dominic Lavery | Phil Ford | 5 November 2005 | 22 |
Captain Scarlet must foil a plot by Captain Black to steal a Spectrum Bison vehicle on the Moon, with which he can target any facility. Black's first target is Tranquility, a lunar spa where Destiny and Lieutenant Green are on vacation. | ||||||
24 | 11 | "Shape Shifter" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 12 November 2005 | 23 |
Captain Scarlet is guarding a particle collider at the Laroux Foundation in Louisiana. When a container tank is hit it releases a gaseous substance with special properties, which the Mysterons use to create an exact copy of Captain Scarlet. After disposing of the real Scarlet, the clone makes his way back to Cloudbase, intent on killing Colonel White. Later, it sets about destroying Skybase and Houston. | ||||||
25 | 12 | "Grey Skulls" | David Lane | Phil Ford | 26 November 2005 | 25 |
After the Mysterons take over a Phoenix policeman named Rimmer and use him to steal a canister of deadly alien spores brought back by a space probe from Ganymede, Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue are ordered to give chase. But they are thrown off their trail when the Mysterons take over a biker named Brock and use him to carry out the plot instead. Meanwhile, Captain Ochre's Raid Bike is stolen by another biker named Colt. | ||||||
26 | 13 | "Dominion" | Dominic Lavery | Phil Ford | 19 November 2005 | 26 |
Captain Black claims he is free of the Mysterons' control and suggests Scarlet return with him to Mars in a daring plan to destroy the Mysteron complex. Can Black really can be trusted – or is Scarlet being led into a final, lethal trap? |
References
- CGI News
- "Captain Scarlet" (2005) – Episode list
- Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-842224-05-2.
- Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4 ed.). London: Reynolds and Hearn. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.