Customer Reviews
Hugely entertaining - By: Mark Naisbitt, 26 Mar 2008 
Gerry Anderson shows have always been special. Although most were made with only puppets & models, they had the same production values of acting, camerawork, music etc that a live action production would enjoy. This helps the viewer immerse themselvesin the fictional world & the drama becomes more believable, even if it's just puppets. That's the secret of good engaging storytelling. It was amusing to see Thunderbirds wipe the floor with imported US showsin 1992 when the BBC screened it. So what's the new Captain Scarlet like?.
In short, brilliant. Like many of my age (40's), I grew up with the classic shows & was severely disappointed with the turkey that was the Thunderbirds movie (it's truly awful) & so was reluctant to watch the new CGI show. I needn't have worried. This show is arguably one of the best TV shows of recent years & gives Hollywood a run for its money.
The new show is action packed & fast paced with rounded characters, now with first names, backgrounds & relationships. The technology is suitably beefed up & `fetishised' is the Gerry Anderson style. This is a bold reworking of a classic show, stunningin parts but there are some changes to contend with. Cloudbase is now Skybase, Colonel White can now walk & Lieutenant Green has had a sex change from male to female. The old Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (SPV) is now called the Rhino & there's a flying motorbike with guns & missiles. But Scarlet's red car is back & the mysterons are even creepier, still appearing as two `torch' circles & booming baritone voices. Oh, & the famous `drumbeat jump cut' is used as a scene transition device. Captain Black is still the baddie, killing people is bizarre ways so that his Mysteron masters can `reanimate' them. And you don't want to mess with the Angels!. Pity about the rather bland theme tune, but it's a minor gripein an otherwise outstanding piece of TV.
It's Captain Scarlet all right, but on steroids.
For the most part, the CG animation, complete with motion capture, is impressive but does vary a little between jaw-dropping `money shots' & looking a bit like a playstation game. The variable quality is largely due to time constraints, but Ron Thornton (this guy crashed the USS Voyager on a glacier!) & his team have, on the whole, created a lifelike believable world & some pretty awesome pieces of animation. The `money shots' have been wisely spent on the action sequences, especially the Angel dogfights. The flying sequences (based on real aircraft footage)in the episodes `Circles of Doom' & `Fallen Angels' are utterly brilliant pieces of animation, visually quite mind-blowing & exciting too boot.
It's such a crying shame, however, that poor marketing & ITV scheduling effectively killed this show before it got into gear (a third season would have been brilliant). But for now, there are 26 episodes to enjoy & it's worth buying the DVD set. I watched the whole lotin a weekend!!.
This is a terrific update of a much loved show which is intelligent, just as dark as the original & hugely entertaining. Lots of guilty pleasures for adults. My inner child loves it!.
A Superb Update! - By: DSR, 18 Sep 2007 I was really worried that the re-make of this classic show would follow the lines of Terrahawks, a Gerry Anderson series from the eighties I could appreciate but not enjoy on a lasting basis. I needn't have worried!
The stories are superbly done & the CGI state of the art for the time it was made (a couple of years is a VERY long timein the IT world). My son & I can quite happily sit & watch these together - the stories not too complicated for him & not at all patronising for me. The whole tone is reminiscent of the original, but the concepts have been usefully updated without inducing shock.
Unlike many of the episodes of the "new" Dr Who, which are of the "instant gratification" kind, the stories here are slower burners, ones to savour over repeated viewings, which is just as well if you buy this DVD set. I've found this to be the case with many of the Gerry Anderson productions, which makes buying them on DVD a lasting pleasure.
RECOMMENDED!
Ravishing Remake - By: Nicola Newman, 05 Sep 2007 
captain scarlet from the 60's is a classic. its well loved & any fan knows it. after the destruction of thunderbirds when made to film, i was worried the new captain scarlet series would enter the crucifiction category, however this is most definetly not the case. any fan will be indefinetly impressed with this cgi animation remake. the plots are well thought out & well made. but best of all, this is faithful to the original series. there are some changes, for example, more modern technology & a few minor changes to the characters, but this definetly does not dissappoint. well done gerry anderson!!
Wow - By: Drunk Cockroach, 22 Oct 2006 I am very impressed with the plots - crisp & fast-moving.
Picture quality - since they are CGI, they are near-perfect - near perfect because of too much details of some of the objects causing shimmering on occasions.
Extra - OK
I am hoping Gerry Anderson's next project is New Thunderbirds!
The most action packed television programme ever made! - By: P. W. Taylor, 21 Sep 2006 In the 1960's Gerry Anderson assembled a wonderful team of committed people who produced a whole series of fantastic ground-breaking Supermarionation shows including Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet & Joe 90.
He has now done it again by getting together a team of fantastic highly committed professionals to create New Captain Scarlet. Instead of strings there is advanced motion capture of real people's movements & actions. Instead of puppets there are 3D CGI versions of the original characters.
This is not a children's programme but a breathtaking family show on the cutting edge of television technology. It was expensive to make but this series shows what a creative force Gerry can be when given his head.
The directors, CGI animators, lighting technicians etc are very vocalin their support of Gerry & they should be very proud of their achievement. There is simply nothing else like it.
