Revamps in Captain Scarlet , Joe 90 and The Secret Service
Chris Bentley, Stephen Brown & Lynn Simpson
Leaving the disproportionate puppets of
Stingray
and
Thunderbirds
behind them, the Century 21 puppet workshop embarked upon the creation of a brand-new generation of
Supermarionation puppets
as production geared up in the Autumn of 1966 for the start of filming on
Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons.
For this spectacular new series – which, it was hoped, would emulate the success of Thunderbirds – a cast of over 60 marionettes had to be created to populate Captain Scarlet's 21st Century world, from doctors, pilots and army officers, to truck drivers, fashion designers and Delta Petrol attendants.
With the advent of home video a number of the more easily-recognisable revamp puppet characters have, to many fans of the Century 21 Supermarionation series, taken on an importance and identity on a par with that of the regular characters — so much so that a number of them can be individually named for their strongest 'performance' (Goddard, Kruger, Jason Smith, Kramer, Angela Davis and Reverend Shepherd to name just a few) and every fan knows exactly which puppet is being discussed. This recognition of revamp puppet characters was highlighted at the
Sylvia Anderson
puppet auction at Phillips in September 1995, where many of the 41 revamp puppet heads being offered sold for startlingly larger amounts of money than had been expected by the organisers.
As with the previous
Supermarionation series ,
the main cast of Captain Scarlet puppet characters was supported by a large repertory puppet cast of 'revamp' marionettes: puppets who could be used and re-used as necessary according to the requirements of the each new script. With a costume change and, occasionally, a different coloured wig, each of these puppets could take on any variety of suitable roles, moving from episode to episode much as an actor would do in repertory theatre, assuming a different character each week. Just as if these puppets were Century 21's 'actors', so they were cast for their roles from a directory of photographs, the
Supermarionation
version of the actors' directory Spotlight . Many of these puppets went on to appear in the later Supermarionation productions,
Joe 90
and
The Secret Service ,
for which many new puppets were also created. Even the puppets who had been cast in the major 'regular' roles in Scarlet later went on to appear as different characters in those two series.
When production began on Joe 90 , it made economic sense (in terms of both the budget and production schedule) to continue to use the Captain Scarlet puppets and, in time, supplement these with new puppets who would also go on to appear in the final Supermarionation series, The Secret Service . Two of the Captain Scarlet revamp puppets were given a complete make-over to appear as regular characters in Joe 90
(
Sam Loover
and
Shane Weston ),
while the other three regulars were newly created for the series.
Whereas the puppets portraying the main characters in the series had a variety of alternative heads created for them ('smiler', 'frowner', 'blinker' —
Scarlet
even had
for that "I've just been shot" look in
),
all of which were duplicated to enable the simultaneous shooting of two separate episodes on the two Century 21 Studio puppet soundstages, the revamp puppets were mostly all one-offs, although a few did have 'blinker' heads created if their characters had to be seen opening/closing their eyes — otherwise, the appearance of being asleep or dead was achieved with Plasticine eyelids overlaid on the puppet's eyes.
However, as some of the Joe 90 revamp puppets had originally appeared as regular characters in Captain Scarlet (most notably
Colonel White ,
Captain Ochre
and
Captain Grey ),
these puppets also had a variety of facial expressions available to the puppeteers — indeed, on at least two occasions, two different heads created for the same Captain Scarlet regular character, appear as two separate revamp characters in the same Joe 90 episode
(
Lieutenant Green
in
and
Dr. Fawn
in
).
A few new puppets were created for The Secret Service , most notably Father Stanley Unwin, The Bishop, Mrs. Appleby and Albert Hobson. Many lead characters from Captain Scarlet made appearances including Colonel White, Captains
Scarlet,
Blue ,
Ochre,
Magenta ,
Grey,
Black ,
Brown
and Indigo as well as Dr. Fawn. For the rest of the cast the series relied heavily on the vast repertoire of Century 21 revamp puppets.
Although they were all originally identified by number (inscribed in the back of the puppet's head) during filming, we have assigned character names to the puppets according to the role for which they will be most familiar to viewers (which, in some cases, is a role from one of the later series, rather than Scarlet ). We have compiled a complete list of each puppet's roles, so far as can be determined from what can be seen on screen and other photographic reference (some puppets are shrouded in darkness, have their backs to the camera in a number of the crowd scenes or are so out of focus that they cannot be identified).
Under individual headings for Regular Cast and Revamp Cast, the puppets are listed in order of appearance in the body of the episodes (i.e. not the title sequence). For certain puppets, this list is supplemented with additional information about subsequent notable appearances in other series, so as to help clarify the identity of the puppet.
Including the regular cast puppets, we have identified 63 different puppets used in Captain Scarlet , 70 different puppets in Joe 90 , all but 17 of which had previously appeared in Captain Scarlet and 59 different puppets in The Secret Service .
The majority of these puppets made multiple appearances in the series. Three – listed in the catalogue under 4th Observer, French General and Colonel Johnson – could bring the tally to 62, but I’ve been unable to find an exact match with anyone else.
This page is based on material originally published in FAB issues #31, #34 and #59
This puppet was first seen as MEV Pilot Lieutenant Dean in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – The Mysterons . He went on to appear in Joe 90 as Captain Barry in Splashdown and as Senator Casper in International Concerto . He later appeared in The Secret Service as Sergeant Welsh in Recall To Service . One of the most prolific revamp puppets, he would guest star as 24 different characters spread across the three Century 21 series. In Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – Special Assignment he could be found frequenting both The Vincent Bar and The Dice Club. As both roles were non-speaking it's difficult to know if he was playing two characters in the same episode or whether he was just a heavy drinker! Topping that he would appear as three characters in the final Scarlet episode The Inquisition (once as a new character and twice in flashback to previous episodes).
This was one of the few revamp puppets to have a secondary 'blinker' head made for it, enabling it to be seen opening and closing its eyes in both Big Ben Strikes Again and Spectrum Strikes Back . He first appeared as Macey in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – Big Ben Strikes Again before his only appearance as Captain Indigo in the episode Spectrum Strikes Back . Another notable role in the series was as the saboteur Mervin Brand in The Launching . He would make several subsequent guest appearances in Joe 90 as Nurse John in Operation McClaine , Astronaut Kent in Most Special Astronaut and the one for which he would be best known, Dr. Slade in Test Flight .
This puppet was first seen as an assassin in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – Winged Assassin , but better-known from that series as Kruger in The Heart Of New York . He later appeared in Joe 90 as Rollins in Relative Danger and in The Secret Service as the Dreisenberg Ambassador in A Case For The Bishop . His final Century 21 appearance was as Mullins in More Haste, Less Speed .
This puppet was first seen as General Tiempo in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Operation Time and is best-known as WIN agent Igor Sladek from the Joe 90 episode International Concerto . He is one of the most-used repertory puppets in the three Century 21 Supermarionation series and, like Lieutenant Dean before him, he would appear as three characters in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – The Inquisition . He later appeared in The Secret Service as Reed in Last Train To Bufflers Halt and Sakov in The Cure .
This puppet was first seen as Major Brooks in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Point 783 , but is better-known from that series for his role as the Commodore Goddard in The Trap . He is another of the few revamps to have a secondary 'blinker' head made for it, enabling it to be seen opening and closing its eyes in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Treble Cross . This puppet turned up a lot in Joe 90 where he was Roger Fleming in The Fortress , General Tempest in The Race , Dr. Newman in Double Agent and Jim Grant in Talkdown , among others. He later appeared as Brother Gregory in The Secret Service episode School For Spies .
This puppet was first seen as the Vice-President of Trans-Pacific Shipping in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – The Launching , but is better-known from that series as Steele in Special Assignment . He later appeared in Joe 90 as the Russian MIG Pilot in The Most Special Agent , the Captain of the U85 Submarine in Big Fish , and King in Colonel McClaine and as Forrester in the Hole In One episode of The Secret Service .
This puppet was first seen as the Delta Petrol Attendant in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – The Mysterons , but is best-known from that series as Eddie in Avalanche . He appeared in Joe 90 as the villainous Lt. Pierce in Colonel McClaine and as Carter in Hi-jacked .
First seen as Captain Brown in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – The Mysterons . Three versions of the puppet were used in that role: a normal, a smiler and a stunt head (the latter meeting a grisly end by being blown up!). During its Century 21 career the puppet would have several changes in appearance, by the time he played General Brompton in Hole In One and Professor Soames in The Deadly Whisper his hair had turned grey and he had grown a moustache.
This puppet then appeared in Joe 90 as Dr. Blakemore in Operation McClaine and as the traitorous Harry Sloane in Double Agent . He later appeared in The Secret Service as George Grey in To Catch A Spy and then, with grey hair and a moustache, as General Brompton in Hole In One and Professor Soames in The Deadly Whisper .
Incidentally, this is not the puppet that appears in the often published publicity portrait of Captain Brown (see page 49 of Boxtree's "Captain Scarlet" book). We don't know who that is.
This puppet was first seen as the Commander of Base Concord in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Renegade Rocket , but is better-known from that series as General Rebus in Noose Of Ice . He later appeared in Joe 90 as Dobson in Most Special Astronaut and the verger Old Thomas in The Unorthodox Shepherd and as Neilson in The Secret Service episode Question Of Miracles . His last outing was as Lord Hazlewell in The Secret Service – More Haste Less Speed which was the only occasion he wasn't sporting a beard.
Originally seen with dark brown hair, this puppet was apparently modelled on actor Robert Mitchum, to whom it bears a vague resemblance. First seen as Colonel Storm in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Point 783 , the puppet was re-wigged with white hair for his appearance in Joe 90 as Maurice Estoral in Operation McClaine , the Vizier in King For A Day and Dr.William Kelvin in Arctic Adventure , but he is probably best-known for his appearance as the Reverend Joseph Shepherd in The Unorthodox Shepherd . After this episode the colour of his eyes would be changed from blue to brown.
First seen as the World President in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – The Mysterons , he would reprise the role in Spectrum Strikes Back . He later appeared in Joe 90 as Dr. Sherman in Operation McClaine , Colonel Henderson in Business Holiday , the Canadian Prime Minister in Breakout and Juan Cordova in Viva Cordova . He ended his Century 21 career as the King of Muldovia in The Secret Service episode May-Day, May-Day! It would appear he is one of the gentlemen asleep in a chair at Greenways Health Farm in The Secret Service - The Cure .
This puppet's best known role would also be its first appearance, that of Helga in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Model Spy . Amazingly, Last Train To Buffler's Halt was the first time (other than Mrs. Appleby) a female charatcer appeared in The Secret Service .
This puppet was first seen as TVR-17 Control in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – White As Snow , but is better-known from that series as Jason Smith in Fire At Rig 15 . He later appeared in Joe 90 as Dr. Emil Kados in Operation McClaine and Preston in Colonel McClaine and then appeared again in The Secret Service as the Dreisenberg Ambassador's Aide in A Case For The Bishop and the Minister in The Cure .
Previously seen as Captain Ochre in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons , this puppet also appeared in The Secret Service , as pigeon-fancier John Masden in The Feathered Spies and as Burrows in The Cure . Most of the male Spectrum personnel would eventually turn up in Joe 90 and The Secret Service with some sort of disguise (re-wigged, with different colour eyes or even extra lines on the face) but unusually the Captain Ochre puppet stayed virtually the same throughout his Century 21 career.
This puppet was first seen as Andrè Verdain in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – ModelSpy . He went on to appear in Joe 90 as Mario Coletti in Hi-Jacked , Major Kloss in International Concerto , Kurson in Project 90 and as Captain Pat Moran in Breakout . He then appeared in The Secret Service as Hartley in A Question Of Miracles , Dr. Hawthorn in Hole in One and Pete Mackintosh in The Cure .
This puppet was first seen as the D.T. 19 Pilot in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Winged Assassin but is better-known from that series as Benson in Operation Time . He appears as Ed Johnson in the Joe 90 episode Hi-Jacked and later turns up in The Secret Service as Captain Mitchell in Recall To Service and Brother Jess in School For Spies .
This puppet was first seen as the Director General of the United Asian Republic in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Winged Assassin . He also played the Director General's double in the same episode; the subtle difference was a change in eye colour from brown to blue. In this episode he wore a moustache but for subsequent appearances in the series he had grown a beard. For Joe 90 – Three's A Crowd the beard disappeared but the moustache was retained. The eyes changed back from blue to brown for the episode Double Agent . The moustache was thicker but shorter. Yet another moustache and beard were added for Mission X-41 . For the role of an assassin in The Secret Service – May-Day, May-Day! the beard was now similar to the one worn in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons but his skin tone was darker. He bears a striking resemblance to the puppet listed as Kramer, but is more Asiatic and usually sports a moustache or beard. Both puppets appear together at the start of Mission X-41 .
This puppet was first seen as Richards in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Manhunt , but is better-known from that series for his role as D.J. Bob Lynn in White As Snow . He then appeared in Joe 90 as Astronaut Brodie in Most Special Astronaut .
This puppet was first seen as a radiographer in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Operation Time , but is better-known from that series as cadet Phil Machin in Traitor . He later appeared in Joe 90 as Gardner in Big Fish .
The Joe 90 puppet guide lists him as a new revamp for that series but it's now known that his first appearance was as a radio operator in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – Winged Assassin .
First and best known performance was as Dr. Magnus in Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons – Operation Time . In the Joe 90 episode guide we had Dr. Magnus listed as having just one role in the series: that of Foreign Correspondent in Most Special Agent (appearing in the same role again as a flashback in The Birthday ). In the same guide we had a puppet listed as 'Delegate'. We now know that two of the characters under this heading ('Delegate' International Concerto and 'Doc' Lone Handed 90 ) were also the Dr. Magnus puppet. To further complicate matters the character listed as 'Proctl' Child Of The Sun God under the heading 'archdeacon' was actually Dr. Magnus too.
This puppet first appeared as captain Hassel in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons - Point 783 but is best remembered for his role later in the series as Frazer in Crater 101 . He had two prominent roles in Joe 90 , that of Gregson in Hi-Jacked and Kline in The Unorthodox Shepherd .
This puppet was first seen as President Conrad Olafson in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Codename Europa .
This puppet was first seen as Orson in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Lunarville 7 .
This puppet was the first new revamp to appear in Joe 90 with his initial role as Russian Commander in Most Special Agent . His best known role would be later in the series as Anton in Splashdown .
This puppet was first seen as a nurse in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Operation Time but would have more prominent roles later in the series as Gabrielle in Model Spy and Judith Chapman in Place Of Angels . She went on to appear as Angela Davis in the Joe 90 episode Three's A Crowd and later appeared as Ann Soames in the The Secret Service episode The Deadly Whisper .
This puppet previously appeared as Captain Grey in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons . He appears again in The Secret Service as Tom Williams in A Question Of Miracles , Colonel Blair in Recall To Service and Brother Thomas in School For Spies .
After his fourteen appearances as Captain Magenta in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons this puppet seemed destined for very minor roles in the rest of his Century 21 career. His final outing would be Charlie, whose mate Pete has his bike stolen by Lady Martha in More Haste Less Speed . His appearance in The Fortress was edited from the BBC screening of Joe 90 .
Previously seen as Doctor Fawn in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons , this puppet later appeared in The Secret Service as British Intelligence agent Saunders in A Case For The Bishop and To Catch A Spy .
This puppet was first seen as an onlooker on the Airport Viewing Platform in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Winged Assassin , but he is better-known from that series as Spectrum cadet Joe Johnson in Traitor
This puppet was first seen as an onlooker at the airport in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – Winged Assassin and then as an oilworker in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Fire At Rig 15 , but he is better-known from that series as Kramer in Special Assignment . He then appeared in Joe 90 as Dr. Conrad Darota in Project 90 . He later turned up in The Secret Service as De Groot in The Feathered Spies and Kromer in Hole In One . This puppet is very similar to the Director General from Winged Assassin and they are cast from the same mould. The proof that they are separate puppets lies in the fact that they appear together in the opening scenes of Joe 90 – Mission X-41 and are both delegates in Captain Scarlet – The Trap . In Captain Scarlet – The Inquisition they both appear in the restaurant, Kramer as a patron whilst his twin is a waiter.
First seen as 1st Spectrum Guard, Maximum Security Building in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – The Mysterons . Throughout his Century 21 career this puppet would have very minor roles but two major revamps. For his two appearances in Joe 90 he was given a different moustache and his hair was made darker, and then altered to lighter hair and no moustache for his three outings in The Secret Service .
This puppet also had a secondary 'blinker' head. First seen as Trapper in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – Avalanche he would appear in three more episodes of the series on each occasion sporting a beard. We had originally assumed that these were his only appearances. It's now known that this was the same character that appeared (minus the beard) in Joe 90 , most noticeably as Mason in The Unorthodox Shepherd and Private Johnson in Colonel McClaine .
This puppet was first seen as Lt. Belmont in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – White As Snow , but is better-known from that series for his role as Carl in The Heart Of New York . In the Joe 90 guide we had private Clooney in The Race listed as a new puppet for that role but now believe that Clooney and Carl are one and the same.
This puppet was first seen as a partygoer in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Model Spy , but is better-known from that series as Linda Nolan in Crater 101 . She appeared briefly in Joe 90 as the appropriately named Nurse Linda in Operation McClaine , but also played a more substantial role as Dorina Cordova in Viva Cordova .
This puppet was a new revamp puppet created for Joe 90 . His first appearance is as Manston controller in the pilot episode of Joe 90 , Most Special Agent but he is best known for his role as archdeacon in The Secret Service – School For Spies .
This puppet was first seen as Fairfield in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Seek And Destroy , but is better-known from that series as Dr. Angelini in Shadow Of Fear .
This puppet, of course, went on to become Sam Loover in Joe 90 , although a new set of heads (with a variety of different expressions) were created specifically for the Loover character based on the original sculpt of this puppet's head.
This puppet was first seen as the trapper in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Avalanche , but is better-known from that series as the ill-fated lumberjack in Expo 2068 . Bearded in Captain Scarlet , he is clean-shaven for his three Joe 90 appearances. He was one of the few revamp puppets to have a secondary 'blinker' head made for it, enabling it to be seen opening and closing its eyes in Expo 2068 .
This puppet was first seen as the Captain of the USS Panther II in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – White As Snow but is equally known for his role as Selkirk in Joe 90 – Relative Danger .
This puppet was a new revamp puppet created for Joe 90 . he first appeared as Kramer in Joe 90 – Splashdown but is best remembered for his role in the same series as Ben Shazar in King For A Day .
This puppet's first and only prominent part was as Dr. Breck in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons - Shadow Of Fear .
This puppet was first seen as General Cope in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Point 783 . He then appeared in Joe 90 as Dr. Nagel in Most Special Astronaut and Carlson in Three's A Crowd .
This puppet was first seen as an airline passenger in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Place Of Angels , but is of course better-known for his later appearance as BISHOP agent Matthew Harding in The Secret Service . As with the Sam Loover and Shane Weston puppets, a new set of heads (with a variety of different expressions) were created specifically for the Matthew character based on the original sculpt of this puppet's head. Before that, however, he had specialised in 'yokel' roles, appearing in Joe 90 as the farmer in The Most Special Agent and as Constable Lewis in The Unorthodox Shepherd .
This puppet was first seen as security guard Harris in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Manhunt .
This puppet was a new revamp puppet created for Joe 90 .He is first seen as a soldier in The Fortress but is best remembered as Real (pronounced as re–al) in Breakout from the same series. His only appearance in The Secret Service , as the guard at Burgossa, was a non–speaking part.
This puppet was first seen as Mysteron agent Soames in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – White As Snow .
This puppet was first seen a restaurant patron in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Big Ben Strikes Again , and then appeared in that series as a Medical Student in Operation Time . He is probably best known as Crawford in Joe 90 – Most Special Astronaut
This puppet appeared as Colonel White in all but one episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons but made up for it with a guest appearance in Model Spy (at Verdain's party, just after the lights go out, you can just make out the Colonel's head as he moves across the screen). He also had the distinction of playing the role of Sam Loover's father in Joe 90 – Relative Danger . He also appeared in The Secret Service as desalination plant controller Brooks in A Question Of Miracles and Sir Humphrey Burton in To Catch A Spy .
Other than regular cast members this was the first new revamp puppet seen in The Secret Service , with his role as Albert Hobson in Last Train To Buffler's Halt being his best known.
This puppet was a new revamp puppet created for Joe 90 . He first appeared bearing quite possibly the longest name given to a puppet – Miguel Umberto dos Passos Francesca in Joe 90 – Big Fish , he would make two more appearances in the series before his only and best known role as Dr. Klam in The Secret Service – The Cure .
This puppet was previously seen as Symphony Angel in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons .
Except for the hair, this puppet is almost identical to the Linda Nolan puppet. However, they are not one and the same as both appear in the same shot at Andrè Verdain's party in Model Spy .
This puppet was a new revamp puppet created for Joe 90 .
This puppet was a new revamp puppet created for Joe 90 . His first and best known role was as Hank in Joe 90 – Lone Handed 90 .
This puppet was a new revamp puppet created for Joe 90 .
This puppet was first seen as Sergeant Marshall in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – Avalanche .
Previously seen as Lieutenant Green in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons , two versions of this puppet portrayed the bald Palace Guards seen opening the doors in King For A Day .
This puppet was previously seen as Destiny Angel in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons .
This puppet was previously seen as Rhapsody Angel in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons .
First appeared as a patron at the restaurant in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – The Inquisition , but best known as Callow in The Secret Service – Last Train To Buffler's Halt .
Best known for his appearance as Captain Blue in all 32 episodes of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons , he would take a well earned rest throughout Joe 90 before being re-wigged with black hair and given different coloured eyes for his two brief appearances in The Secret Service .
First seen in Joe 90 as Professor McClaine's housekeeper Ada Harris. The character of Mrs. Dunlop in The Secret Service - The Cure was named after the episode's author Pat Dunlop. There is a reasonable chance that the female seen a couple of times from behind in Father Unwin's congregation was also the Lady Martha puppet. It's highly likely that Lady Martha started life as a man! The neck is integral with the head – a feature of male heads only from Stingray onwards.
First and best known appearance as the SKR4 Navigator in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons – Inferno .
This puppet appears to be a new revamp for The Secret Service although he could be heavily made up from previous incarnations.
