rosedestler I absolutely LOVE Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. I did when I was a kid and I do now. As such I had quite low expectations about this series and it says something when you have low expectations and are disappointed. Seriously, I could only watch 3 episodes until my self-peservation kicked in and I had to stop. It was just SO BAD! The CGI, was passable, I'm not a huge fan of CGI cartoons but that's not the issue. I can't remember the storylines so they can't have been that good if they are so forgetable. There were sveral issues. One, why is Cloudbase noe Skybase? That was unneccesary Two, Why are Leiutenant Green and Captain Ochre now women? It's not sexiwm, you had the Captains and the Angels, they essentially had the same job Three, Why do Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue have love interests? What is the point of that? I am so sick of uneccecary love stories in shows. I think it's called pandering to the masses. Four, my biggest issue, what is with the accents?! One of the things I loved about Captain Scarlet was that he was English. There were no British superheros when I was a kid, they still are few and far between. Why is he American now? Why? It makes zero sense? They did it to Destiny too! Why does she have to be American? Do Americans have something against the French? There were other issues too, the awesome song was removed, the dialogue was beyond cringeworthy and the Doctor was completely changed but all in all it was just not on par with the original. So they were puppets with limited movement big deal! Lasted longer than this stupid thing. People really should leave classics alone. A reboot would have been fine if they had decent writers and hadn't changed so much. There will be those who agree with me and, I'm sure, call me petty because f the accents but DUDE! I'm British, don't take my superheros away from me, that is NEVER going to end well!

kmmcdonald Having just acquired access to the HD Animation channel through Dish Network in the US, I stumbled upon the New Captain Scarlet for the first time. So far, I have seen about 4 episodes. (It is shown daily on the HD Anime channel, followed by an episode of "Youri the Spaceman.") In 70" high definition, the New Captain Scarlet is absolutely spectacular ... the most impressive HD experience I have had so far in these past four weeks.I am a fan of some of the early Supermarionation series (e.g. Fireball XL5, Stingray), and have always been impressed with the quality of direction and production, and of the respect that Anderson and company has apparently had for their juvenile audiences. Each series has had a level of detail and story exposition that goes far beyond any comparable juvenile adventure series here in the US at the time.However, I was not a fan of the first Scarlet series. The puppets were just too stiff to maintain any involvement. At least Steve Zodiac and Venus went ice skating once in a while.But I digress. The new series is impeccably detailed, and the action is superbly directed and genuinely exciting. In contrast with the original series, the characters can at least walk, and much more. The stories aren't much to speak of, but every other aspect of production is impressive.

Dakota To borrow a phrase from our American cousins, Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet 'kicks serious ass!' This 26-part CG animation epic retains the basic setup of Earth caught in a war of nerves against The Mysterons, shapeless, disembodied entities from Mars with the ability to destroy objects and people and then reconstruct them for their own ends.The 1967 original is of course fondly remembered by fans for its air of menace and that aspect is just one of many elements the new series embraces and improves on with glee. Each week hapless humans die in spectacular 'accidents' and Mysteron agents are shot, electrocuted, blown up and flung off cliffs with impunity. In 'Skin Deep' the delightfully villainous Captain Black even shoots a woman in the face, at point blank range. This kind of deliciously dark mayhem is exactly what young and old love about the show. The scripts (the majority of them by Phil Ford) are not only pacey, varied and imaginative but exploit aspects of the basic format that were simply beyond the abilities of the original. For example, 'Chiller', sees Scarlet so badly injured in a Mysteron explosion that his spirit literally frees itself from his mangled remains. The result is that Scarlet finds himself invisible to everyone else on Skybase. Not only invisible but insubstantial, able to walk through walls and people like a ghost. All of which poses a major problem given that Scarlet knows a traitor has carried a bomb on board. But how can a ghost warn his friends? In 'Swarm', a plague of Mysteron nanobots takes over Skybase, wrapping its human prey in spider-like cocoons. 'Mercury Falling,' features Captain Blue and Destiny piloting a nuclear powered space shuttle (a tribute to 'Fireball XL5') which has been transformed into a flying bomb aimed at Washington D.C. And 'Rat Trap' sees our heroes dispatched to a spooky Martian colony to face some killer robots on the rampage. But for all the visceral hi-tech wizardry on display the new series also offers a satisfying emotional core. A blossoming love affair between Scarlet and Destiny Angel is a real pleasure to watch and surprisingly heartfelt in its impact. Although aimed at children this is, as Thunderbirds was before it, a show with genuine adult appeal. And if Scarlet is predictably loyal and heroic his worry about his invulnerability and the way it sets him apart from other humans adds another layer of depth to his character. As for the photorealistic CGI animation one word sums it up and that word is 'spectacular'. Given that the original Captain Scarlet was a puppet (marionette) show - with all the inherent limitations of movement and expression that entails - the new version is nothing short of miraculous. The characters can finally move without having to be in a vehicle or stand on a conveyor belt! They can smile, look sad, angry, frustrated, and have thrilling hand to hand fights. The new series exploits all of these possibilities to the hilt.In conclusion all I can say is that anyone who lives outside the UK should contact their local station and request them to carry this show. If you like Gerry & Sylvia Anderson's work but were horrified by Jonathan Frakes' Thunderbirds movie yet still want to see one of the old puppet shows updated with love and skill then New Captain Scarlet is a must. It's easily the best thing Anderson has done since Year One of Space:1999 and far better, IMO, than the BBC's recently relaunched Doctor Who.

Jon Roper Anyone fearing another 'Thunderbirds' style mess need not worry. With original creator Gerry Anderson on board this show can't fail.The first episode has just appeared on British T.V and I am amazed by the results. The original storyline is being stuck to but with more advanced machinery. Also, Lieutenant Green is now a lady and Doctor Fawn is now Doctor Gold.Capatin Black is back, sinister as ever complete with a Matrix-style coat and all the necessary lurking around in graveyards. Mysteron agents now have glowing green eyes too.The new vehicles are bigger, chunkier and shinier. The first episode sees the red Spectrum Patrol Car, a flying motorbike, a five strong squadron of Angels and of course Skybase (replacing Cloudbase) which is simply a huge airborne airport.I am a big fan of the original show and all of Gerry Andersons work, I didn't know what to expect from this but I was not disappointed. You get the feeling that this is the show that he had in mind all along but was just not possible with puppets. There is fantastic action which really picks up towards the end. The show gets moving fast too, there is no slow introduction which I felt hindered the original.There are 13 episodes in the first series, lasting approx 20 minutes each. Expect this to be 'BIG', the merchandise is already being produced, as is a second series.One complaint? No hint of Barry Gray's original music theme. Pity.Nevertheless, congratulations on a fantastic new show Mr Anderson, now hurry up and give us some Thunderbirds and show Jonathan Frakes how its done!