This review is on the four out of print and rare gatefold volumes of Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons manufactured by Tohokushinsha Home Video on the Emotion label and presented by the Bandai company. Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons was released in 4 individual gatefold sets numbered with Roman numerals I,II,III & 4 containing 2 bilingual discs per gatefold set. These are CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) and contain approximately one hour per side. The first 4 letters of the catalog numbers - BELL is the acronym for Bandai Emotion Linear Laserdisc meaning CLV discs. Bandai titles in CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) contain approximately 30 minutes per side and begin with the prefix BEAL which is the acronym for Bandai Emotion Angular Laserdisc. BEAL-334, the ITC Samplers disc is one such example.

These 4 gatefold sets in addition to having Roman numeral numbering have the following printing on them and are referred to by some collectors as the following:

Volume I - Scarlet Package

Volume II - Angel Package

Volume III - Blue Package

Volume IV - White Package

Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons (The series)

A Brief Summary

Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons is the best of Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation series (In My Opinion) and went for attention to detail in the accuracy in scale in the human proportions of the puppets and the posing of them in addition to the great set construction and model work. Earlier Anderson Supermarionation series were mere characterizations with proportions getting better as time went by, but not as detailed as Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons is. "Captain Scarlet" is a first class production and the efforts put into this series really show even many years (30 years as of the time of this writing) later.

Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons is about the Spectrum organization (S.I.G. - Spectrum Is Green!) and the back and forth fighting against the enemy - The Mysterons. The word Mystery being suggested in the term "Mysterons" is fitting as a thematic device as well as the fear of the unknown in that one never quite knows what the Mysterons will do next.

From the 1967 publicity material:

Some of the aspects of the show that appeal to me are that Spectrum doesn't always win which is more believable than the hero sailing away into the sunset with a different babe "puppet" each episode - as well as the fact that human error and miscalculation caused the entire battle of nerves that started everything with the Mysterons. I can't help but think that given the show came out in 1967 - this was perhaps an underlying political commentary given world events at that time. Other series pluses are the styling of the equipment and uniforms. Series negatives are that it had too short a run of only 32 episodes. This short run is typical of other Anderson productions.

Of note is the fact that Captain Blue is voiced by none other than actor Ed Bishop who is also the actor who portrays Commander Ed Straker in the later live action series UFO. Both Captain Scarlet and UFO involve man against an alien invasion/threat and bookmark each other quite nicely.

Also of note is the model work and set construction of Captain Scarlet as well as other Anderson series. For those of you out there who have enjoyed the classic Bond movies and the various sets and model work used (always those steel steps with no railing on a center beam) you'll be quick to note the work and styling cues of those such as Derek Meddings and others who cut their teeth on earlier Anderson shows such as Captain Scarlet. Some of the Anderson alumni went on to do modeling and other effects for such films as Star Wars.

This series made a strong impact on me as a child and I was completely thrilled to rediscover it again as an adult on these Bandai sets and in turn introduce my son to them. Of other Anderson fans and collectors I've talked with - Captain Scarlet is also their favorite Supermarionation show as well as one of their favorite shows from their youth.

These 4 Bandai volumes containing all of the episodes are highly prized by collectors. These definitely deserve a special place in any well rounded science fiction / action adventure video collection and if it has been years since you saw the series and can only recall the theme song in your head, search these out and watch them again from an adult perspective and you will NOT be disappointed.

The Bandai Laserdisc Sound

These discs all utilize the right audio channel for the English soundtrack and the left track is used for the Japanese soundtrack. This is the same as used in the Thunderbirds, UFO and other Bandai/Emotion laserdiscs and results in there being no need for subtitles. This is but one reason Bandai discs are so highly sought after. Note that Captain Scarlet was originally recorded in mono anyway, so no channel information is lost in this alternate audio track process. The audio quality varies at times between the Japanese and English tracks but is nothing one can't live with.

Although not as bright as many modern soundtracks - partially due to it being mono - the sound is still quite good considering how old the material is. Although there are a few foreign accents by different characters, the dialogue is clear. There is one exception - in the episode "Place Of Angels" in Volume III, towards the very end of the episode in a scene with Captain Scarlet and a Mysteron woman agent on a dam, one line of Captain Scarlet's dialogue gets a noticeable decrease in volume. Considering the overall quality of the 4 sets, this is more than worth the tradeoff. I suspect the sound used for the English channel was taken from the optical audio tracks of the film elements themselves and not magnetic media. For those with home theaters, a hall type setting seems to work nicely as long as one doesn't go nuts with delays and the like. During the opening theme music when I changed back and forth looking for a difference, my ears detected none unlike the UFO discs in which there was a distinctive difference in sound quality.

There were different versions of both the opening and end credits of Captain Scarlet. The very first episode has an interesting monologue which I will leave you, the reader to discover for yourself. In some of the earlier opening credits, after a sound effect only walk up to the gunplay in the alley in the opening sequence and the 7 beats with the letters "Captain Scarlet" a British voice tells us that "Although Captain Scarlet is indestructible - you are not" and not to imitate him. Seeing as how the series was made back in 1967 - this type of warning was ahead of its time. An interesting item to note because it's quite possible it may have been removed later because the disclaimer may have caused some parents to not let their kids watch the show after hearing it and thinking the show unsuitable for their children's viewing. Later opening credits deleted this bit of advisement and added an opening monologue by Ed Bishop.

The end credits consist of the paintings/credits sequence done to music in which his name "Captain Scarlet" is sang and then repeated as if modified by a synthesizer in the earlier episodes - and a later end credits version with numerous lyrics sung by "The Spectrum" (As in the name of the military organization) . According to a fellow Gerry Anderson collector, The Spectrum was a bona fide group of the time along the lines of a Hermit's Hermits although they never quite made it to the big league of music history.

Bandai Laserdisc Video Quality

Sharp, detailed, and drop dead gorgeous colors as one would expect from Bandai/Emotion. I wish US laserdisc manufacturers could emulate this quality in their laserdisc releases. Short of mint 35mm or 16mm film elements these laserdisc sets are the definitive medium by which to archive this series. Only one other Bandai Gerry Anderson series looks this good on laserdisc (In my opinion) and that's UFO.

Some extremely minor glitches were some brief very small white specks, and one small section during one of the shows where it looks as if there were a few emulsion nicks and fine scratches for the briefest of time on the elements used. In fact if you yawn or even blink your eyes you may miss it altogether. There was one slight frame jump in the original source material in "Winged Assassin" as well as what some may perceive to be a color problem in the scene where Captain Scarlet and Captain Brown have their car crash. In this scene the color shifts to blue, but I believe this to be an early "Mysteron" effect (pre double circles) and not an actual video problem.

The film elements were obviously lovingly taken care of. Special credit should be given to the film custodian(s)!

The Bandai Volumes Themselves

All of the sets have the discs in the cheap-o style plastic sleeves which slide into their respective slots in the 2 gatefold sleeves similar to the manner in which older double LP's are packaged. These gatefold sets are quite "busy" to the eye with numerous photographs and write-ups.

Each volume comes with a triangular shaped upper left corner cap which is printed mostly in Japanese. The cap from volume 1 differs from the others slightly. When finding these discs used some discover that a previous owner threw these away. The front of these caps has the Spectrum logo and the volume number in addition to the Emotion logo and Japanese writing. On the rear of these caps and depending on which volume paper cap , these have front shots of the other 3 volumes in the Captain Scarlet series as well as the Bandai ITC sampler disc.

Each volume also comes with a black and white printed supplement slightly smaller than the laserdisc package itself. This is a folded item consisting of 4 pages. This contains episode and other information printed in Japanese as well as a few photographs from the series. This is obviously more for the Japanese collector than the western one who doesn't speak Japanese. Still of some curiosity though.

These gatefold sets fit nicely and not too snugly in the regular sized plastic Chicago One Stop sleeve sold by Ken Cranes (www.kencranes.com). These are truly worth the 2 dollars to keep ones volumes in the best of shape.

In the following reviews - the price listed is original retail. Any misspellings in the write-ups from the covers are on the actual covers themselves.

Volume I - Captain "Scarlet" Package

Bandai/Emotion (BELL-455) Captain Scarlet Volume I ¥ 9,800

This rarest of the four gatefold sets is primarily Scarlet (what else?!) in color with yellow highlights. The cover has numerous photographs prominently featuring Captain Scarlet and his red SPECTRUM car. This volume is also known as the "Scarlet" Package. This is the first and for some reason the rarest of the gatefold sets. This observation is from speaking with some fellow collectors who were only able to obtain the 3 other volumes (and are still looking) as well as the amount of time it took this author to locate the first volume. I suspect as in other laserdisc purchases, some collectors only desire to have a representative example of a series and were quite satisfied to own just the first disc set. Those of us who archive an entire series would find it more difficult to obtain for this reason. Original production numbers may have a factor in this as well. Production numbers are unknown at this time. In speaking with a fellow collector who was fresh on the scene and recalls when these were originally released (and they walked right by many of us), he mentioned that this first set had next to no advance notice in the United States and that even many of the most avid Gerry Anderson collectors were caught off guard when this volume streeted and that many missed out on this first volume as Bandai had produced just enough to cover preorders and a slight production overrun above the pre-order amount. Once this first volume was known to exist - others scrambled to pre-order the other volumes and more were produced although still in relatively low numbers.

From the cover - "Captain Scarlet, who is Spectrum's number one agent and all the more important because of his fantastic ability to defy death. He's English and comes from a family of distinguished soldiers, has attained degrees in technology, history and the employment of mathematics, and has been ruthlessly trained as a field combat soldier. His brilliant Army career has led to his being invited to become Spectrum's agent number one."

The inside of the gatefold when opened has a header of "SPECTRUM Personal record" and has a character lineup. Also featured is a miniaturized specification sheet poster of personnel and equipment of SPECTRUM. Interesting anecdotes are such items as Captain Black's real name is Conrad Turner born March 17th with British Nationality. Colonel White is Charles Grey, Lieutenant Green's first name is Seymour and Dr. Fawn's first name is Edward. The writing is extremely small and difficult to make out other information.

The back of the gatefold set has a few photographs primarily featuring Captain Scarlet in the foreground with the Martian Mysteron complex in the background.

Volume I - The Episodes

Disc 1:

Side 1

#1 "The Mysterons"

#2 "Winged Assassin"

Side 2

#3 "Big Ben Strikes Again"

#4 "Manhunt"

Disc 2:

Side 1

#5 "Point 783"

#6 "Operation Time"

Side 2

#7 "Renegade Rocket"

#8 "White As Snow"

Volume II - "Angel" Interceptor Package

Bandai/Emotion (BELL-456) Captain Scarlet Volume II ¥ 9,800

From the cover - "Destiny Angel is French, born in Paris and educated there and in Rome. She joined the World Army Air Force and was switched to the Intelligence Corps before being promoted to the new Women's Flight Squadron as its commanding officer. Three years later, she started her own firm of flying contractors. Her combined talents in flying, intelligence and leadership resulted in Spectrum making her the leader of the five Angels. On duty, she is utterly ruthless and totally efficient; off-duty, is essentially French, feminine, charming and sophisticated. It goes without saying that she is fashion-conscious, and she's a wizard at designing and making her own clothes."

This gatefold set is primarily Black in color with yellow highlights. This is also the only set to feature supplementary material, this being a Japanese version of the opening theme and/or a commercial for Captain Scarlet. The supplemental material is from quite aged and worn elements, but still interesting to see.

The cover has numerous photographs - the largest of which are of one of the Angel girls and the Interceptor craft. This volume is also known as the "Angel" Package. It comes with a triangular shaped upper left corner cap which is printed mostly in Japanese.

The inside of the gatefold when opened has a header of "SPECTRUM Mechanical Data" and featuring smattering of SPECTRUM vehicles - primarily focusing on the aircraft. There is one largish photo of the deck of cloud base, airport photo and a few miscellaneous other photos from the series. The centerpiece/eye popper is the large Interceptor. With the exception of the vehicle names in English, the rest is in Japanese.

The back of the gatefold set has a few photographs with the same Angel girl standing out the most among them.

Volume II - The Episodes

Disc 1:

Side 1

#9 "Avalanche"

#10 "Seek And Destroy"

Side 2

#11 "Spectrum Strikes Back"

#12 "The Shadow Of Fear"

Disc 2:

Side 1

#13 "Fire At Rig 15"

#14 "Heart Of New York"

Side 2

#15 "The Trap"

#16 "Lunarville 7"

4. *Supplementary Material* - A Japanese version of the opening theme and/or a commercial for Captain Scarlet.

Volume III - Captain "Blue" Package

Bandai/Emotion (BELL-457) Captain Scarlet Volume III ¥ 9,800

From the cover - "Captain Blue comes from Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A, and is the eldest son of a wealthy financier. A brilliant scholar, with first class honours in economics, technology, computer control, applied mathematics and aerodynamics, he preferred the thrillingly dangerous life of a top test pilot to entering business, and soon became renowned as a fearless pilot with the World Aeronatic Society. He faced a new challenge when transferred to the security department as an active agent, and his successes in this sphere took him to Spectrum. He's a man of forceful personality but endless patience and loves an active outdoors life."

This gatefold set is primarily Blue in color with yellow highlights. The cover has numerous photographs most prominently of Captain Blue and a large SPV. This volume is also known as the "Blue" Package.

The inside of the gatefold when opened has a header of "Captain Scarlet - Plastic models" and displays a lineup of vintage Japanese Captain Scarlet models. The literature is printed in Japanese with the exception of the word IMAI in English from which it appears all of the material was culled. These appear to be vintage Japanese ads of yesteryear.

The back of the gatefold set has a few smallish photographs with Captain Blue in half of them.

Volume III - The Episodes

Disc 1:

Side 1

#17 "Crater 101"

#18 "Dangerous Rendezvous"

Side 2

#19 "Traitor"

#20 "Model Spy"

Disc 2:

Side 1

#21 "Flight 104"

#22 "Place Of Angels"

Side 2

#23 "Codename Europa"

#24 "Attack On Cloudbase"

Volume IV - Colonel "White" Package

Bandai/Emotion (BELL-458) Captain Scarlet Volume IV ¥ 9,800

From the cover - "His chief is Colonel White, who is the supreme commander-in-chief of the Spectrum organization. He, too, is English, highly educated with first class honours in computer control, navigation and technology, has served with the World Navy and gained admiration and acclaim for his daring escapades, coolness in handling tricky situations and fine leadership of men. As a "cover up" story, his retirement has been announced when actually called up to serve in the Universal Secret Service, where his dedication to the cause has led to his commandership of Spectrum."

This gatefold set is primarily White in color with yellow highlights. The cover has numerous photographs and this volume is also known as the "White" Package. This is the last and finale of the gatefold sets and the series episodes.

The inside of the gatefold when opened has a header of "Captain Scarlet Merchandising History" and reveals an intense lineup of vintage Captain Scarlet promotional literature for such items as AIRFIX, DINKY, Century 21 Toys and what appear to be press kit type marketing materials for various retailers to entice them into offering Captain Scarlet Merchandise. This is the best of the gatefold sets as far as the information. These materials (mostly in English) are well laid out and some obvious thought went into the layout and design of these items. The centerpiece/eye popper though is a large photograph of a Captain Scarlet puppet with smaller boxes beside it showing detail on the boots, waist/holster area and upper torso and head. There is also a photograph of 3 Japanese men holding 3 different puppets of Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue and Colonel White. Although much of the literature is printed in Japanese - a great deal of the original promotional items are printed in English as well.

The back of the gatefold set has a few photographs with Colonel White standing out the most among them.

Volume IV - The Episodes

Disc 1:

Side 1

#25 "Flight To Atlantica"

#26 "Inferno"

Side 2

#27 "Noose Of Ice"

#28 "Special Assignment"

Disc 2:

Side 1

#29 "The Inquisition"

#30 "The Launching"

Side 2

#31 "Expo 2068"

#32 "Treble Cross"

Closing Comments

The show itself has some of the best writing of Gerry Anderson's series. The often dark nature is more akin to today's "adult" comics and anime than a "kiddie" type show. The nature of the dialogue as well gears it more for a mature audience to enjoy. Many of us were hooked as kids by all of the special effects and designs, but as adults and having not watched these in years - I believe many will be pleasantly surprised how well this show holds up and does not insult one's intelligence. A great show to turn ones kids on to and enjoy again ones self which is what I'm doing with my son.

The amount of effort spent on the sets and model construction really shows when compared with later offerings of shows in the 1970's, 80's & 90's. If any of Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation series were to be "revived" in that way in which Hollywood goes for a sure bet by recycling - my vote would be for a PIXAR "Toy Story" styled computer animated Captain Scarlet or even a live action version. The benefits of a computer animated full length movie would be obvious in that some of the original voice talents may be able to be called back to reprise their roles.

There have been many science fiction shows on television over the years. Captain Scarlet enjoyed and perhaps even today enjoys a run on the Sci-Fi channel. These laserdiscs are running at the correct speed with all footage intact and unlike some videotapes and broadcast versions are not run at a faster speed with edited out scenes to make time to sell various products while ruining the integrity of the original production as sometimes happens on television. These Bandai laserdiscs are truly the best way to own this series barring your own pristine film elements or access to Gerry Anderson's film vault. As far as these Bandai discs are concerned.

Scarlet I Great !