DVD
Captain Scarlet (New)
Series 1 - Volume 4

Starring (voice): Nigel Plaskitt, Wayne Forester, Robbie Stevens and Emma Tate
Granada Ventures Ltd
RRP: £7.99
3711520923
Certificate: PG
Available 30 January 2006


The Mysterons continue their attack on Earth - the so-called war of nerves. However, Spectrum is getting wiser and the tables are turning thanks to its secret weapon, the indestructible Captain Scarlet...

Volumes 2, 3 and 4 of Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet - the remainder of the show's first season - show a marked improvement with each passing episode. It is quite clear that the production team was still getting used to the CGI characters when the show started out but by the time we reach disc 4 most of the 'problems' have been ironed out. Scripts, directing, pacing and the animation are all very neatly drawn together into a first rate product.

Volume 4 wraps up with Trap For A Rhino, Heist and The Achilles Messenger but no extras.

In most respects the CGI Captain Scarlet is better than the original - the main improvement being characterisation, something sadly lacking from the puppet show. The scripts are also tighter, which is hardly surprising as each episode comes in at just 22 minutes.

And it's here that I have a complaint. Yes, the discs are just £7.99 each but they contain barely a hour's worth of action. Why not put the show out on half as many DVDs? A four-disc set comprising season one's 13 episodes is available with a RRP of £29.99 which, with on-line discounts, actually makes for slightly more sense.

One quibble aside, the New Captain Scarlet is actually very good, although there is one thing missing - the indefinable magic that has given the original Supermarionation puppet shows their longevity. People will still be watching the puppet version of Captain Scarlet long after this CGI production has been confined to the vaults.

Anthony Clark

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cover
£5.99 (Amazon.co.uk)

All prices correct at time of going to press.