Newly out on DVD is the entirety of “Captain Scarlet,” one of those great Gerry Anderson puppet series that I watched as a kid. Captain Scarlet, as (hopefully most of) you recall, was an unkillable operative for SPECTRUM, an organization dedicated to battling the ongoing threat of the evil Mysterions.
I already own the 12-inch dolls of the Captain and his nemesis, Captain Black (who was, as it happens, not actually African-American.) But Kathleen found the shows on DVD, and bought them for me. So I”m in the living room along with Gwen (my 17 year old) who’s reading a book, and in bounds Kathleen who announces, “Guess what. I’ve got Captain Scarlet!”
And Gwen looks up from her book and says in bewilderment, “What is that, like, slang for your period? ‘I’ve got Captain Scarlet, along with his friends, Major Cramps, General Discomfort and Private Parts?”
Another fond childhood memory shot.
PAD
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That is classic, and it’s one of those stories that no one would beleive, ever. 🙂 “Yeah, right. Sure she said that.” Leave it up to a teenager to pop off quotes like that.
jeff
Ever notice that teenagers have no problem firing off one liners, but the older you get the more you lose from that quick fire ability.
Nowadays, all the best lines I come up with seem to be about 30 to 60 minutes after the fact!
The apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree…
Geez, youth is wasted on the young.
MCD, going back to gumming his Maypo…
Your daughter is very quick-witted.
I bought the Captain Scarlet box set recently and I love it! It is so clear that you can see the strings! The background information on the characters that was never mentioned on screen rivals that of Star Wars!
One of the things that I realized watching this is how the world has changed since then. There is a lot of violence in this show that would never get past the censors today. In one episode on the second disk, a building blows up and Captain Scarlet says something along the lines of “There’s no way anyone could possibly have survived.” On most kids shows today they would have most likely written a line for Captain Scarlet like this, “Thank goodness everyone escaped and are safe.” It just makes me think about how violence is handled on children’s shows today and the fact that there are frequently no consequences to it.
Anyway, I love this show from my childhood and I wanted to let you know that you weren’t alone in remembering it.
She’s definitely got her father’s quick wit.
There’s only one way to handle this kid. The approach endorsed by Harlan Ellison for those who failed to appreciate Dr. Who.
“Sit down, shut up, and watch!”
Received my copy of the Captain Marvel script today.
Thank you, and keep up the good work.
Sincerely yours,
Lee.
(posting thank you here also in case you didn’t get the original attempt through your e-mail link since I’m not an AOL member.)
Good lord, your daughter’s sharp. Wonder where she gets it?
If Gwen! becomes a writer, then I can’t wait to read her first book. Otherwise, she should consider stand-up routines. The teenage fellow who dates her should be lucky: Nevermind the show he takes her to, just sit with her someplace and listen. If he’s anywhere near as intelligent as she, he’ll have a good time.