Complete Book of Captain Scarlet

by Chris Bentley

Everything that the Captain Scarlet fan needs to know about the cult series, from guides to the characters and every episode to fascinating behind-the-scenes information about the making of the models. This is the absolutely definitive insider's guide to the world of Captain Scarlet, covering the story of the series' creation and filming, and the success of the first showing of the series, up to the present day and the relaunch on BBC2. Packed with amazing facts and photos, plus interviews with the people behind the show, and a look at the merchandising which will accompany its relaunch, this is a must-have book for all 'Fandersons'.

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is another great book by Chris Bentley, this one is on Captain Scarlet.
If you liked the complete book of Thunderbirds then this book is for you. It is full of facts that you will find interesting and informative about the 32 episodes of the Cult TV show. It has a before Captain Scarlet chapter with a listing of all Gerry Anderson's films and TV shows with some photos of Stingray, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds and so on. It has a lot of information on pre-production and production including the style and fashion of the puppet clothes, puppets that appear more than once in any episode, sets and designs, craft and logos. It gives you indepth informtaion on the actors and the characters they played and has photos of both actors and puppets they played and has the actors history. It also tells you of puppet problems and effects of the show and a bit on the Spectrum group who sang the theme song. Chapter two gives you the timeline of the year and the character histories, where and when they were born, lived and how old they are when the series was set. Incase you wonderd about the vehicles detail, it gives you a full information about them including top speeds. Next chapter is the episode guide which include details of cast members, voice guests and main characters, when it was first shown on TV and notes including mistakes for expample the colour of cars that change from scene to scene etc. If you are interested in merchandising, annuals, dolls, books, LP's and toys then you will find this interesting. The part on comics is espcially good as it also gives you not just comic information but also reprint history, the storylines and some pictures taken from the comic with its issue number and date it appears. It gives you the story, who wrote it and how many issues it covers with the dates. The novels section is not that good but does give any Fanderson view and some history on Jennison who wrote the novels based on Gerry Anderson's shows; again this section has notes which is a bit helpful. The end chapter is the post Captain Scarlet era giving some hostory on Joe 90, The Secret Service, UFO and Terrahawks with information of the 1990's revival and a good bit on the computer animation of Captain Scarlet and toys.
Once you start reading this book you will not be able to put it down, a must for any Fanderson.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm clearing some books from my bookshelves and thought I ought to read this as I've had it for years. Having recently watched the complete series for the first time it was extremely interesting to read the episode guides alongside the programmes. Afterwards I decided to read this book and was fascinated by the background to the series and issues had at the time with the transition to more 'realistic' puppets. Bentley writes well and covers just enough not to appear too nerdy. He gives us some of the voice actors' biographies, covers some of the merchandising that spun-off from the series and also talks about behind the scenes events.