CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS
 | Paul Metcalfe was born in Winchester, England on December 17th, 2036. With a father, grandfather and great-grandfather who had all served in the World Army, it was only natural that Metcalfe would follow in their footsteps. Graduating from Winchester University with degrees in technology, history and the employment of mathematics, Metcalfe trained as a field combat soldier at the West Point Military Academy, USA. He then joined the World Army Air Force as a private, but within two years, at the age of just twenty-four, he had risen to the rank of Colonel. The selection committee of Spectrum had followed his brilliant career, noting his amazing leadership ability, combat strategy sense, integrity and dedication to the W.A.A.F. Metcalfe was approached to join Spectrum and accepted the post of agent number one - Captain Scarlet. Following a Mysteron threat on the life of the World President, Metcalfe was killed in a car crash engineered by the Mysterons. Using their power of retrometabolism, the Mysterons created an indestructible doppelganger of Metcalfe with the original man's character and memories. However, this doppelganger was freed from the Mysterons' hold after an 800 ft. fall from the London Car-Vu and has now become Spectrum's leading agent in the fight against the Mysterons. He retains his ability to survive injuries that would prove fatal to any other man, and can detect the presence of a Mysteron agent in his immediate vicinity - he feels nauseous if a Mysteron agent is nearby. On duty, Metcalfe is a true professional agent, totally reliable, carrying out Colonel White's orders quickly and efficiently. Off duty, however, he changes completely. Full of fun, carefree and bursting with energy, Metcalfe is very popular with all the Spectrum agents. |
| Born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA on August 26th, 2035, Adam Svenson is the eldest son of wealthy financier Bjorn Svenson. Educated at Harvard University after winning a full scholarship in 2051, Svenson attained first class honours in economics, technology, computer control, applied mathematics and aerodynamics and seemed to be destined to follow in his father's footsteps. He surprised his family, however, by enrolling in the World Aeronautic Society, intent upon becoming a test pilot. Exhibiting outstanding courage and determination, Svenson soon became renowned as a top test pilot, but his superiors recognised qualities in him that made him ideally suited to assignment as an active agent in the World Aeronautic Society security department. With twenty hand-picked men, Svenson was entrusted with the difficult task of weeding out enemy agents who had infiltrated the W.A.S. Although three attempts were made on his life within his first six months on the job, with enthusiasm and ruthlessness he finally succeeded in his aim and expelled all enemy infiltrators and saboteurs from the Society. This success attracted the attention of the Spectrum selection committee and, given the codename Captain Blue, Svenson was drafted into the organisation as one of its five active agents on permanent assignment to Spectrum Cloudbase. Off duty, Svenson participates in active out-door pursuits, taking every opportunity to visit the eastern coast of Australia where he water-skis, surfs and goes deep-sea harpoon fishing. Svenson also holds the World Record for the longest surf-ride, an estimated distance of 5,000 ft. recorded at Waikiki Beach, Oahu in 2064. |  |
 | Juliette Pontoin was born in Paris, France on August 23rd, 2040, the daughter of a wealthy textile manufacturer. She was educated in a Paris convent and then at Rome University, but was all too keen to allow her social life to take precedence over her studies. Her work suffered as a consequence, but she still managed to graduate with degrees in telecommunications and weather control. With these unusual qualifications, Juliette joined the World Army Air Force but found that her true calling was in the Intelligence Corps. Training as a pilot was an important part of her job, and she soon became known to the W.A.A.F. officials for both her flying skills and her brilliant handling of Intelligence work. She was promoted to Commanding Officer of the newly formed Women's Fighter Squadron where she excelled herself in fighter tactics and exhibited superb leadership qualities. After three years in the force, however, Juliette grew tired of the lack of personal freedom afforded to her and she left the W.A.A.F. to set up her own firm of flying contractors. It was not long before her tremendous prowess in the field of Intelligence and her faultless flying record drew the attention of Spectrum and she was invited to join the organisation as Destiny Angel, one of the five members of Spectrum's elite air-combat fighting force. Utterly ruthless and totally efficient on duty, Juliette is charming and sophisticated as soon as she goes off duty. Extremely fashion conscious, she has a flair for designing and making her own clothes. |
| Born in Manchester, England on March 17th, 2029, Conrad Turner became an orphan at the age of only seven months when his parents were both killed in a devastating atomic war. He was left in the care of a distant relative who, while unable to offer the affection and comfort of a normal family life, was able to ensure that Turner received a good education. At fifteen, Turner entered the Manchester Technical Academy where he gained diplomas in physics, space navigation and international law, but he also became something of a recluse, cutting himself off from his fellow students and developing the single-minded drive and ambition that was to take him to the top in his chosen career. At the age of eighteen, after graduating from Northern University with degrees in science and technology, Turner joined the British Airforce. When Britain was plunged into civil war in the winter of 2047, Turner's flair for independent action soon enabled him to make a name for himself as a fearless and deadly combatant. Turner later joined the World Space Patrol as Commander of Fireball XL3, one of the principal craft in the W.S.P. fleet, and he soon became one of the W.S.P.'s most famous officers. His achievements were noted in high places and Turner was seconded from the World Space Patrol after several years' service to become one of Spectrum's first agents, under the code name of Captain Black. With Spectrum, he once again distinguished himself to the point where he was an automatic choice to lead a Zero X mission to Mars to investigate the source of strange alien signals which had been monitored by Spectrum. Discovering the Mysteron Complex, he made a fatal error when he mistook the Mysterons' scanning device for a weapon and opened fire on the complex, completely destroying it. The Mysterons swore revenge for this unprovoked attack and killed Turner, re-creating him using their powers of retrometabolism, to act as their primary agent in their war of nerves with the people of Earth. Receiving his orders directly from Mars, Turner executes them with the precision, skill and swiftness that he developed in Earth's service. |  |
 | Captain Scarlet - Collectors 6 DVD Box Set. This set contains all five of the standard DVD releases and also includes an additional, exclusive DVD featuring behind the scenes insight, interviews with puppeteers and directors, and highlights in a specially made Gerry Anderson production. This is a certificate U and is therefore suitable for all (children and chilredn at heart) and with a running time of 860 minutes, the price tag of £74.99 is rather modest, and I can see that this is definitely going to be big at Christmas (and Dad is not going to let the children near the remote control!!!). If you pre-order it at BLACKSTAR you can also save yourself a bit of money. You will have to hurry though as it is released on the 17th September. Of course, if your pocket isn't that deep and you would rather just grab hold of the series in bite sized chunks, you can get each of the five volumes containing the series on their own priced £15.99. The first two are available this month with the other all being released before Christmas. If you have a favourite episode and want to see where it crops up, here are the details... |