title: BT Sport

text: BT Sport had full exclusive rights to the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. Lead commentary on Bundesliga action comes from Ben Andrews, Steve Bower, Simon Brotherton, Paul Dempsey, Dave Farrar, James Fielden, Seb Hutchinson, Alistair Mann, Dan Mason, Jonathan Pearce, John Roder, Dan Roebuck, Mark Scott, Joe Speight, Adam Summerton, Paul Walker, Oliver Wilson and Steven Wyeth. The co-commentators include Jim Beglin, Tony Dorigo, Efan Ekoku, Kevin Gallacher, Don Hutchison, Chris Perry, Stewart Robson and Nigel Spackman. Occasionally, Premier League pundit and ex Bayern Munich player, Owen Hargreaves also contributes to co-commentary. Ben Andrews, Tim Caple, James Fielden, Mark Scott and Oliver Wilson are the lead commentators on 2. Bundesliga coverage. BT Sport lost rights to the Bundesliga from the 2021-22 season onwards for the next 4 years to Sky Sports.


title: BT Sport

text: BT Sport previously broadcast DFB-Pokal. From the start of the 2018–19 season, coverage moved to Eleven Sports for a season only.


title: BT Sport

text: Previously, BT Sport showed both 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals between the Argentine Superclásico rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate; in simulcast with FreeSports. A year later, the Copa Libertadores final coverage moved to BBC Two.


title: BT Sport

text: Towards the end of the 2019–20 season, BT Sport began showing 3 games a week from the Turkish Süper Lig.


title: BT Sport

text: BT have broadcast all 34 matches from the Caribbean Premier League most recently in 2017. Sky Sports took over the rights from the 2018 edition onwards.


title: BT Sport

text: In 2019, BT Sport also won rights off Sky Sports to broadcast every match of the 2019 Indian Premier League, however from the 2020 Indian Premier League the rights switched back to Sky Sports.


title: BT Sport

text: In January 2013, BT Sport signed a deal with the WTA to show 21 live tournaments from the women's tennis tour. The coverage consisted of up to 800 live hours of coverage every year until 2016, each season ending with the WTA Finals.


title: BT Sport

text: From January 2017, BT Sport had the rights to show 52 WTA tournaments every year until 2019. Coverage on most competitions took feeds from the WTA international TV feed, but with larger events from the Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 category matches, Sam Smith or occasionally Annabel Croft presented coverage alongside Martina Navratilova. Lead commentary was provided by Chris Bradnam, David Law and David Mercer alongside co-commentators, Annabel Croft, Nigel Sears, Anne Keothavong and Jo Durie.


title: BT Sport

text: The last competition BT Sport broadcast was the 2019 WTA Finals in which Clare Balding presented coverage alongside Anne Keothavong and Jo Durie. With Annabel Croft and Nigel Sears reporting from Shenzhen. Lead commentary came from David Law and David Mercer alongside Keothavong and


title: BT Sport

text: For the 2020 WTA Tour onwards, Amazon Prime Video are now the exclusive UK broadcaster, showing 49 tournaments a year.


title: BT Sport

text: It was announced in December 2014 that BT Sport would share the rights to the 2015 BDO World Darts Championship alongside BBC Sport. Coverage would be presented by Ray Stubbs for the first two years of their coverage. In August 2016 they signed a new 2-year deal to share rights this time with Channel 4. Matt Smith took over as presenter with Chris Mason as studio pundit and Reshmin Chowdhury as roving reporter. Commentators on BT Sport Darts coverage were John Rawling, Jim Proudfoot, Vassos Alexander, Paul Nicholson, Deta Hedman and Chris Mason, these are shared with Channel 4's coverage, as the commentary is produced independently. BT Sport did not renew their contract for the 2019 tournament and the rights are now held by QUEST and Eurosport


title: BT Sport

text: BT Sport previously held exclusive rights to the NBA, since 2009–10 season. Live coverage of the games began on ESPN, from 6 October 2009 when the Utah Jazz took on the pre-season game against Chicago Bulls as part of NBA Europe Live Tour. Coverage continued on 8 October 2009 for Utah Jazz against Euroleague Basketball's Real Madrid Baloncesto. The NBA season officially started on 27 October 2009.


title: BT Sport

text: ESPN UK was unable to secure the rights to the 2012-13 NBA season until 5 December 2012 when a deal was made between NBA and ESPN to show 3 games a week, NBA All Star Game, First and Second Round NBA Play-off coverage, Western Conference Finals, and NBA Finals for this season (2012–13). Coverage began the following day. The channel continues to show this after the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport (becomes BT Sport ESPN) until 2017–18 season. From 2018–19 season, coverage moved to Sky Sports.


title: BT Sport

text: BT Sport produces a series of feature-length sports documentary films under the title "BT Sport Films". Among the films shown on the channel are "The Beautiful Game", "I Believe in Miracles" and "Don't Take Me Home". Documentaries that have been critically well-received include "Rocky & Wrighty: From Brockley To The Big Time", about childhood friends David Rocastle and Ian Wright, "Shoulder To Shoulder", on the Ireland national rugby union team during The Troubles, and "Brothers in Football", which tells the story of Corinthian Football Club.


title: BT Sport

text: These are shown alongside documentaries from ESPN, including "30 for 30", "Nine for IX", "SEC Storied" and "Backstory", as well as official MotoGP films.


title: BT Sport

text: BT Sport's weekday daytime schedules often include sporting action from yesteryear. Football features heavily and includes league matches from the 1970s and 1980s from both the ITV Sport, including full editions of "The Big Match", and the BBC's "Match of the Day" archives. Also featured are FA Cup matches from the 1970s to the present day and UEFA Champions League matches. Other sporting action includes boxing matches from the ESPN and ITV Sport archives as well as MotoGP races and Australian cricket.


title: Victoria Yeates

text: Victoria Natalie Yeates (born 19 April 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Sister Winifred in the period drama series "Call the Midwife". She also appeared in the film "" and its sequel, "".


title: Victoria Yeates

text: Yeates was born and raised in Bournemouth, Dorset, and practised ballet dancing as a child. In 2006, she earned a degree in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She began her career on the stage, earning critical praise for her roles in Noël Coward's "Private Lives", in the "Rookery Nook" and in Michael McClure's "The Beard". In 2017, she began touring in a production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible".


title: Victoria Yeates

text: In 2014, she joined the cast of the BBC period drama "Call the Midwife" as Sister Winifred, a midwife who moves to Poplar, London in the early 1960s to work at Nonnatus House.


title: Victoria Yeates

text: She became engaged to musician Paul Housden in 2016 in South Africa, during filming for the "Call the Midwife" Christmas special. They reside in London and married in June 2018.


title: Azhar (film)

text: Azhar is a 2016 Indian Hindi biographical sports drama film directed by Tony D'Souza. The story and is inspired from the life of Indian cricketer and former national team captain Mohammad Azharuddin. The film is produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor for Sony Pictures Networks and features Emraan Hashmi in the titular role. The film was released worldwide on 13 May 2016. The film was mediocre at the box office as it collected only 508 million gross against the budget of 380 million. The film also drew criticism for its fictionalised interpretation of events.


title: Azhar (film)

text: The film begins with Indian cricketer Azhar scoring a century in his 99th test match, but he soon faces allegations of match-fixing as his name has been linked with a London based bookie M.K. Sharma aka Shaun. The Indian cricket board slaps a life-ban on him. Azhar decides to challenge the ban in court with the help of his lawyer friend Reddy.


title: Azhar (film)

text: The story shifts back to 1963, when Azhar was born to a comfortable middle-class family in Hyderabad. His grandfather dreamt of Azhar playing 100 tests for Team India and motivates a soft-spoken young Azhar to answer his rivals with his batting skills. Young Azhar goes for an Indian team selection match to Mumbai, where on the match day he receives the bad news of his grandfather's death. Nonetheless, he participates in the match, in accordance with his grandfather's last wish.


title: Azhar (film)

text: Azhar impresses the selectors, sealing his place in Team India and he soon becomes a national hero by scoring 3 consecutive centuries in his first 3 Test innings. Azhar soon marries Naureen and they both begin a happy married life. After a loss against Pakistan in 1991, the President of Cricket Board calls Azhar for a one-to-one meeting. Azhar initially fears getting dropped from the team, but is surprised when he is offered the position of team Captain. Some senior players like Manoj, Ravi and Navjot, resent Azhar's appointment as Captain, not wishing to take orders from a younger and less experienced player. But Kapil supports and encourages him to focus on his duty.


title: Azhar (film)

text: While playing in an India–Pakistan match, Javed taunts Azhar, telling Azhar his Muslim heritage would be a better fit for the Pakistan team. Azhar leads his team to victory and soon becomes a successful Captain. At the peak of his career, Azhar's personal life takes a twist when he meets a former Miss India and famous Bollywood actress Sangeeta during an advertising film shoot and instantaneously falls in love with her. Sangeeta likes him too but, aware that he is already married, she warns him to stay away from her. Nevertheless, Azhar is infatuated by her beauty and does not listen to her advice. They begin dating but keep their relationship hidden, until it is suddenly exposed by a gossip magazine.


title: Azhar (film)

text: Azhar has no alternative but to publicly announce his affair with Sangeeta. Heartbroken, Naureen asks him for a divorce and soon Azhar leaves her to marry Sangeeta. During a cricket match against the West Indies, Azhar gets in a spat with team-mate Manoj for a slow run rate in order to complete his century, letting the team lose. Manoj is dropped from the next match and Azhar leads the team to victory. Manoj is humiliated and vows to take revenge. In later years of his career, Azhar, famous for his expensive lifestyle, comes into the eyes of match-fixers. He is soon approached by a London-based bookie M.K Sharma, disguised as a diamond merchant, who later offers him 10 million rupees to under play in a match against Sri Lanka, which Azhar hesitantly accepts.


title: Azhar (film)

text: In a parallel story, after the match-fixing scandal, Azhar is now facing nationwide criticism and a prosecutor, Meera, is building up a strong case against him on the basis of sting operations done by Manoj on Ravi, Navjot and several other cricketers. She also uses the report of the inquiry commission set up by the Cricket Board and secretly meets the bookie M. K. Sharma to gather more evidence. Meera also approaches Naureen, asking her to serve as a witness, but she refuses. Meanwhile, Azhar and his lawyer Reddy are struggling to find any proof of innocence as none of his fellow cricketers are ready to help him out.


title: Azhar (film)

text: Azhar attends a gym-opening ceremony to gain back his old fame in public, but is left insulted by the owner himself. After a long, eight-year legal fight, Reddy finally makes a breakthrough by proving in court that the inquiry commission report is biased, as they were paid by the Cricket Board itself. Reddy even challenges the authenticity of sting operation tapes as none of the witnesses were under oath and hence can not be treated as truth. Later, Azhar also reveals that he took 10 million rupees from the bookie to keep him away from other team members but later scored a match winning innings and returned all the money to the bookie.


title: Azhar (film)

text: On the final day of judgement, both Naureen and Sangeeta attend the court hearing, showing their support for Azhar. Kapil also states in a television interview that he believes Azhar is innocent. In its final verdict, the court lifts the India cricket board ban imposed on Azhar.


title: Azhar (film)

text: As early as June 2013, producer Ekta Kapoor had spoken of her plans and signed a contract with cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin to make this film based on certain well known and highly talked about incidents and facts of Azharrudin's life. At that time actors Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Ranveer Singh were on her wish list. Azharuddin was quizzical over the film until after he had read a copy of the script presented to him by director D'Souza. Pakistani actress Urwa Hocane was earlier offered the lead female role of Sangeeta Bijlani, however, she refused saying that she didn't want to do bold scenes. The role was later played by Nargis Fakhri, who herself is of Pakistani ethnicity. Actress Nyra Banerjee worked as an assistant director for this film. The sports action was done by stunt director Rob Miller. Prachi Desai was signed to play the role of Naureen, the first wife of Azharuddin and she met her personally to get into the skin of character. Lara Dutta played the role of lawyer Meera.


title: Azhar (film)

text: Filming started in May 2015. Various scenes for the film have been shot at cricket grounds including Lord's, The Oval, Edgbaston, St Lawrence Ground and County Ground, Derby, as well as other places in the United Kingdom including Harleyford Manor, Virginia Water, Mayfield Lavender Farm, and Windsor.


title: Azhar (film)

text: The first schedule of the film was completed in October 2015 in London and the second schedule also completed in Hyderabad.


title: Azhar (film)

text: The film has generated controversy prior to its release over a storyline that absolves the protagonist Mohammad Azharuddin from charges of fixing matches in return of money. M A Ganapathy the former Superintendent of Police in CBI who was the chief investigating officer in the match-fixing case has refuted the movie's clean chit to Azharuddin claiming that his confession is on tape with the CBI. Azharuddin's involvement in match fixing was also accepted by Rakesh Maria, the former head of the Crime Branch and Commissioner of Mumbai Police. In a conversation recorded by the news magazine Tehelka, Maria claims that Azhar had "a criminal bent of mind".


title: Azhar (film)

text: The soundtrack of "Azhar" has music composed by Amaal Mallik. Pritam and DJ Chetas have composed one song each as guest composers. Lyrics are penned by Kumaar, Manoj Yadav and Rashmi Virag. The background score has been composed by Sandeep Shirodkar. The Album consists of four original songs by Amaal Mallik & Pritam and one recreation by DJ Chetas.


title: Azhar (film)

text: Earlier, Pritam was supposed to compose music for the complete album but due to health issues, he was not able to follow the deadline. Amaal Mallik was then roped in to compose music for the film. T-Series has acquired the music rights of the film. DJ Chetas recreated the song "Oye Oye" from "Tridev" (1989 film) originally composed by Viju Shah. This song was picturised on Sangeeta Bijlani, who has been portrayed in the film by Nargis Fakhri.


title: Azhar (film)

text: The first single, "Bol Do Na Zara", sung by Armaan Malik was released on 8 April 2016. Following it, the second Single, "Itni Si Baat Hain", sung by Arijit Singh and Antara Mitra, with music by Pritam was released on 15 April 2016. The complete album consisting of 5 tracks was released on 19 April 2016.


title: Black Jesus (TV series)

text: Black Jesus is an American sitcom created by Aaron McGruder (creator of The Boondocks) and Mike Clattenburg that aired on Adult Swim. The series stars Gerald "Slink" Johnson, Charlie Murphy, Corey Holcomb, Kali Hawk, King Bach, Andra Fuller, and John Witherspoon. The series premiered on August 7, 2014. On December 10, 2014, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 18, 2015. Its third and final season premiered on September 21, 2019.


title: Black Jesus (TV series)

text: The scripted live-action comedy features Jesus Christ living in modern-day Compton, California, on a mission to spread love and kindness throughout the neighborhood with his small group of followers.


title: Black Jesus (TV series)

text: The series premiered in Australia on June 8, 2015, on The Comedy Channel, and in Canada on April 1, 2019, on Adult Swim.


title: Black Jesus (TV series)

text: At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the first season received an average score of 73, which indicates "generally positive reviews", based on five reviews. Brian Lowry of "Variety" gave the series a positive review, saying "Black Jesus is funny in part because it ventures so eagerly into areas most producers and networks, worn down by years of calls for sponsor boycotts and bad publicity, have simply decided it’s easier to avoid." Robert Lloyd of the "Los Angeles Times" gave the series a positive review, saying "I'm not saying it's particularly deep, and it is filled with language that cannot be reproduced in this newspaper, but it's good-natured and, compared with a lot of what's on television, the comedy is gentle and hopeful." Soraya Nadia McDonald of "The Washington Post" said, "Like his earthly counterparts, Black Jesus doesn’t have a perfect track record, but he gets the big concepts and leads by example. If anything, it seems McGruder is trying to tell his audience that if Jesus is just like us, maybe it’s not so much of a stretch for us to be just like him." James Poniewozik of "Time" stated, "You might expect McGruder, given his "Boondocks" history, to be out for pointed religious satire, but "Black Jesus" is really more of a stoner hangout comedy with a heart."As the series shows "Jesus" using several curse words, smoking marijuana, and drinking alcoholic beverages, several pastors called for its removal from the air .


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), launched a coup d'état, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government of Thailand, following six months of political crisis. The military established a junta called the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to govern the nation. The coup ended the political conflict between the military-led regime and democratic power, which was still going on from 2006 Thai coup d'état known as the unfinished coup. 7 years later, it has developed into 2020 Thai protests to reform the monarchy of Thailand.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: After dissolving the government and the Senate, the NCPO vested executive and legislative powers in its leader and ordered the judicial branch to operate under its directives. In addition, it partially repealed the 2007 constitution, save the second chapter which concerns the king, declared martial law and curfew nationwide, banned political gatherings, arrested and detained politicians and anti-coup activists, imposed Internet censorship and took control of the media.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO issued an interim constitution granting itself amnesty and sweeping power. The NCPO also established a military-dominated national legislature which later unanimously elected General Prayut as the new prime minister of the country.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: In February 2021, government ministers Puttipong Punnakanta, Nataphol Teepsuwan and Thaworn Senniam were found guilty of insurrection during protests that led to the 2014 coup d'état.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Thailand's politics system changed from absolute monarchy to democracy in the Siamese revolution of 1932. More than 10 coups occurred before the 1997 Constitution of Thailand, widely hailed as a landmark in Thai democratic constitutional reform, was enacted. Four years later, Thaksin Shinawatra had become the first prime minister of Thailand to complete a full term in office, and his rule is generally agreed to have been one of the most distinctive in the country's modern history. After 2005–2006 Thai political crisis led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, Thaksin was overthrown in a military coup on 19 September 2006, accused of lèse-majesté. His Thai Rak Thai Party was outlawed and he was barred from political activity. Thaksin has since lived in self-imposed exile. He was sentenced "in absentia" to two years in jail for abuse of power. From abroad he has continued to influence Thai politics, through the People's Power Party that ruled in 2008, and its successor organisation Pheu Thai Party, as well as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship or Red Shirts movement that were crackdown by Anupong Paochinda and Prayut Chan-o-cha army, Abhisit Vejjajiva and Suthep Thaugsuban's Democrat Party government in 2010.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: In the 2011 general election, Yingluck Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) won a landslide victory and formed the government with Yingluck as prime minister. Anti-government protests, led by former Democrat Party secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban, began in November 2013. Suthep later formed the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) for the purpose of demanding the establishment of an unelected "people's council" to supervise "political reform", seen as a dismissal of Thaksin power. Suthep told PDRC supporters that he had been in talks with General Prayut Chan-o-cha since 2010 about how to exclude Thaksin from power. Similarly, Reuters reported in December 2013 that close friends of Prayut, former army chief, Anupong Paochinda, and General Prawit Wongsuwan were supporters of the PDRC.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Pro-government groups, including the Red Shirts, held mass rallies in response. Violence occasionally occurred, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries. In December 2013, Yingluck dissolved the House of Representatives and scheduled a general election for 2 February 2014. Disrupted by the anti-government protesters, the election was not completed on that day. The Constitutional Court then nullified the election on 21 March 2014. On 7 May 2014, the Constitutional Court unanimously removed Yingluck and nine other senior ministers from office over the controversial transfer of a top security officer in 2011. The remaining ministers selected Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan to replace Yingluck as caretaker prime minister as protests continued.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Suthep claimed that before declaring martial law, Prayut told him that "Khun Suthep and your masses of PDRC supporters are too exhausted. It's now the duty of the army to take over the task".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The RTA intervened on 20 May 2014, when its commander, General Prayut, exercised the power under the act promulgated by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) entitled "Martial Law, BE 2457 (1914)", to impose martial law nationwide from 03:00. He said through a television pool that the imposition of martial law was due to continuous violence from both sides and was for the purpose of allowing the army to restore and maintain the peace.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: After imposing martial law, General Prayut ordered the dissolution of the Centre for Administration of Peace and Order, a police body formed by the caretaker government to resolve the crisis. He then established a Peace and Order Maintaining Command (POMC) with himself as its commander. Charged with the duty to "restore peace to the people from all sides without delay", the POMC was initially given the power to "prevent, suppress, abate and resolve" any situation affecting national security, to enforce every provision of the martial law, and to summon any person. General Prayut also ordered the personnel of the police, navy, air force and Ministry of Defence to be subject to the POMC.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: In Bangkok, soldiers were stationed in many places and the main roads were blockaded. The military retook the Government House from the PDRC protesters and seized all television stations in Bangkok and some other parts of the country before shutting down some stations, including those of the PDRC and the Red Shirts. General Prayut later ordered all media to replace their regular programs with the POMC programs whenever he required. and imposed a ban on publishing information which might affect the military's mission. He also directed all government agency chiefs to report to him.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 21 May 2014, the POMC established an Internet censorship task force and ordered Internet service providers to report to it in order to control online content.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The caretaker government complained that it had not been consulted about the martial law-related decisions of the army. The army claimed that the move was not a coup d'état and that the government remained in office.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: After its establishment, the POMC held talks with rival groups for two days in an attempt to find resolution. It was reported that the participants were of conflicting opinions and no agreement could be adopted. During talks, the caretaker government was requested by the Election Commission to resign. The government denied the request, saying it was required by the constitution to stay in office. The 2007 constitution prescribed that the cabinet vacates office en bloc upon dissolution of the House of Representatives but it shall remain in office and continue to function until a new cabinet takes office.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On the afternoon of 22 May 2014, the POMC held another talk at the Thai Army Club on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road The talk had proceeded for five hours without reaching agreement, whilst the government maintained that it bore a legal duty to remain in office. At the meeting, General Prayut eventually said to Minister of Justice Chaikasem Nitisiri who led the government representatives: "The talk knows no end because you all only speak about the law. [...] The government insists that it won't resign, right?" Chaikasem replied: "Not at this moment". General Prayut then told the meeting that "Sorry, I must seize power" and ordered the detention of the cabinet members as well as the leaders of the PDRC, Red Shirts, and political parties who attended the talk, much to the dismay of the media representatives who were present. They were held at the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the King's Guard, in Phaya Thai District.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On the evening of 22 May 2014, General Prayut announced through a televised address that the armed forces were assuming control of national administration, formally launching a coup d'état against the caretaker government and establishing the NCPO to rule the state.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Later that night, the NCPO repealed the 2007 constitution, save the second chapter which deals with the king. In addition, it formally ordered the dissolution of the caretaker government, but the Senate as well as all other state agencies, including the courts and the independent organs, were kept intact. The NCPO declared its composition as follows:


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO then announced that its leader would exercise all powers and duties which the laws invest in the prime minister and the cabinet, until there was a new prime minister. It placed its members in charge of government ministries and equivalent agencies.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 24 May 2014, the NCPO dissolved the existing Senate and granted legislative powers to its leader. It ordered the judicial branch to operate under its directives. It transferred Police General Adul to an inactive post in the Office of the Prime Minister and replaced him with Police General Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit. Adul was seen as a loyalist of the deposed government.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Immediately after the coup was launched, caretaker Prime Minister Niwatthamrong, who did not attend the talks, left his office at the Ministry of Commerce so as to avoid being apprehended by the military. The NCPO ordered him and the cabinet members who were not detained to report to the military that day. It was reported that Niwatthamrong attempted to establish a government-in-exile at the United States embassy in Bangkok, but the embassy denied the report.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On the night of 22 May 2014, military officers detained additional politicians, including Chalerm Yubamrung and his sons. The following day, the NCPO summoned PTP members and Shinawatra family members, including Yingluck. Niwatthamrong and Yingluck surrendered themselves to the NCPO on that day. Yingluck was detained at an undisclosed "safe house". The NCPO said it released her on 25 May.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO later summoned another 114 prominent figures from both sides and stated that those who refused to submit to it would be apprehended and prosecuted. Activist Sombat Boonngamanong, better known as Dotty Editor, was the first person who refused to surrender, saying "Hilarious. Not reporting [to the junta] is considered a criminal offense." He challenged the summons with a post on Facebook: "Catch me if you can". The NCPO responded by stating that on the morning of 24 May, it would send soldiers to apprehend those who failed to appear. One of those apprehended on that day was Panthongtae Shinawatra, a nephew of Yingluck. Sombat was eventually apprehended on 5 June 2014 in Chon Buri Province. The military tracked him down through the Internet, using the IP address he used to post his comments. In addition to two years in jail for violating its orders, the military said Sombat will face seven years of imprisonment on grounds of encouraging people to violate its orders, which are the "law of the nation". The military also said that those who provided refuge to Sombat were to be dealt with by two years in jail on account of "harbouring a criminal".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO also summoned the Bangkok diplomatic corps to its headquarters. In its summons, it said the corps were merely "invited" to a meeting with the military figures, so that they would have "correct understanding" of its mission. Many foreign ambassadors, including German Ambassador Rolf Peter Schulze, refused to go.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Former Minister of Education Chaturon Chaisaeng was the first person to be tried in a military court for failing to appear as summoned by the NCPO. Soldiers apprehended Chaturon in front of a crowd of foreign journalists immediately after giving a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand on 27 May 2014. An NCPO spokesman said that holding a press conference with foreign media was deemed improper and against NCPO policy. Chaturon faced fourteen years of imprisonment in consequence of computer crime charges.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Martial law allows the military to detain people for no more than seven days. The NCPO did not observe the time limit. Some individuals were held incommunicado for more than three weeks.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Upon announcing the coup, the NCPO laid down a ban on political gatherings and directed all protesters to disperse. It ordered all educational institutes, both public and private, to close from 23 to 25 May 2014. It imposed a curfew throughout the country, ordering people to stay indoors from 22:00 to 05:00. The curfew time was later changed to 24:00 to 04:00 hours, effective 28 May 2014. The curfew was lifted in most parts of the country on 13 June 2014.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO ordered all television and radio stations to stop airing their regular programs and to broadcast RTA programs only. It detained Wanchai Tantiwittayapitak, deputy director of the Thai Public Broadcasting Service which operates Thai PBS station, after he permitted the station to live broadcast a special program about the coup on YouTube instead of television. On the program, several scholars, including Chulalongkorn University lecturer Gothom Arya, were interviewed and gave negative comments on the coup. Thai PBS said Wanchai was taken to the First Army Area headquarters to "tune in understanding between the media and army".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 23 May 2014, the NCPO summoned all media chiefs to the Thai Army Club and ordered Internet service providers to censor any information deemed provocative, causing public disturbance, containing official secrets, likely detrimental to national security, or defamatory to the NCPO. It threatened to shut down social media if its operator failed to block information inciting unrest or inciting "opposition to peacekeeping".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On the afternoon of 23 May, analogue television networks, except Thai PBS, were allowed to resume their normal programming, after the NCPO ordered the Internet service providers to block all broadcast sharing attempts on the Internet and instructed the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to shut down Internet-based television. All digital television networks were permitted to resume broadcasts the following day.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 24 May 2014, media organisations issued an open letter urging the NCPO to end the restriction of press freedom as soon as possible. The NCPO responded by summoning all media operators, instructing them that they were required to attend a meeting with the NCPO first.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO stated on 23 May 2014 that it aimed to conduct national "economic, social and political" reforms before elections were permitted. It said a reform council and a national assembly will be set up to work on the reforms. It also said it wanted to handle, inter alia, the rice pledge project problems, and will carry out a project of constructing roads on both banks of the Chao Phraya River. The road construction project was originally initiated by the PTP in 2012 and was part of a flood control project.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: General Prayut said he would run the country until the situation required an interim government. In administering the country, he said he will use the military command and control systems which he believed would develop the country. The NCPO announced that its leader would determine national administrative policies, both "short-term and long-term".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Unlike previous coups, there were no promises of a quick return to civilian rule. On 26 May, the NCPO held a press conference at which a "Thai Rath" journalist asked General Prayut if he would become the new prime minister himself. Prayut did not refuse, answering, "It is already in the plan." Another journalist, from the "Bangkok Post", asked when an election would happen. Prayut replied, "[An election] depends on the situation. [There is] no deadline. That's enough", before walking out of the conference room. The following day, both journalists were summoned by the NCPO on grounds of "giving questions that lessen public confidence in the ruler".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: An NCPO spokesman also said that normal democratic principles could not be applied at the current time. "The Sydney Morning Herald" reported that the military's decisions showed that General Prayut is preparing "a long-term pervasive takeover without the calling of quick elections".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 29 May 2014, Lieutenant General Chatchalerm Chalermsukh, deputy army chief of staff, told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok, that while elections would be held, there was no timetable. "Right conditions" would have to be put in place before an election took place, he said. A day later, in a national television address, General Prayut said elections would not be held for at least fifteen months. He warned against resistance to the military and called on all sides to co-operate and stop protesting.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Some observers believe that elections are being postponed due to issues of succession to the throne of Thailand. The king's "...death will shake Thailand like nothing has in its modern history, and the Thai military wants to be firmly in charge when that happens. It is that simple."


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 24 May 2014, the NCPO said King Bhumibol Adulyadej had acknowledged the coup, but stopped short of describing the response as an endorsement. However, on 26 May 2014 the king formally appointed General Prayut to run the country. In Thailand the monarchy is highly respected and royal endorsement was seen as legitimation of the takeover.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: At a press conference on 23 May 2014, the NCPO said one of its missions is to "severely" deal with "lèse majesté" offenders in Thailand and ordered governmental officers to support this mission.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 25 May 2014, the NCPO authorised military courts to try all cases concerning "lèse majesté", sedition, national security, and violation of NCPO orders.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On that day, the NCPO searched the residence of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, an imprisoned magazine editor sentenced in 2013 to 11 years in jail for "lèse majesté". The NCPO detained his wife, who had been campaigning for political prisoners, and his son, a fourth year student at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. Other critics of the "lèse majesté" law were detained as well.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO later summoned a number of exiled activists accused of "lèse majesté", including former Chulalongkorn University political science lecturer Giles Ji Ungpakorn and former minister Jakrapob Penkair. They were ordered to appear by 9 June 2014.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: An interim constitution was enacted on 22 July 2014, paving the way for the establishment of a national legislature, a provisional government, and a reform council. The draft interim constitution originally required that a draft new constitution be approved by the citizens in a nationwide referendum before it is forwarded to the king for his signature. The requirement was disapproved by the NCPO and was deleted. Wissanu Krea-ngam, a Chulalongkorn University law lecturer who drafted the interim constitution, explained that the requirement was deleted to avoid "lengthy process".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The rise of fascism in Thailand began around the coup, first coined by James Taylor of University of Adelaide in 2011, after the junta took control, academics and political commentators started to identify a political system by fascism. Pithaya Pookaman and James Taylor called it 'New Right', consisting of ultraconservatives, reactionaries, semi-fascists, pseudo-intellectuals and former leftists. John Draper, an academic and political commentator, noted that the rise of fascism in Thailand began in 2014. The King's sufficient economy was mentioned that it serves as one of the ideological foundations of the military regime, and reminiscent of fascist regimes in Europe in the 1930s.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: In the run-up to the 7 August 2016 referendum on the new constitution, the army conducted a "grassroots information campaign." There was no debate permitted on its merits. Under the junta's rules, "people who propagate information deemed distorted, violent, aggressive, inciting or threatening so that voters do not vote or vote in a particular way" faced up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to 200,000 baht. The 105-page, 279-article proposed constitution was approved by 61.4 percent of Thai voters on 7 August 2016 with 59.4 percent of the public participating. Under the proposed constitution, Parliament is bicameral, consisting of a 250-member nominated Senate and a 500-member House of Representatives of whom 350 are elected from single-member constituencies,


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: and 150 members from party lists. The proposed constitution also allows the NCPO to appoint an eight to ten person panel who will choose Senators, to include six seats reserved for the heads of the Royal Thai Army, Navy, Air Force, and Police, plus the military's supreme commander, and defense permanent secretary. The bicameral Parliament could also select a candidate as Prime Minister who is not one of its members or even a politician. That person could become Prime Minister if the appointed Senate approves. Some suspect that with the new constitution the military seeks to hobble political parties in order to create disposable coalition governments. The military would then remain the real power, whatever the outcome of the referendum and the election.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Many PDRC protesters lauded the announcement of the coup at their rally sites. Phra Buddha Issara, a then Buddhist monk and PDRC co-leader, went on stage to proclaim the victory of the anti-Shinawatra government protesters before requesting that his followers disperse and go home. Soldiers took over the pro-government protest sites and fired shots in the air to disperse protesters.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The last group of protesters left Bangkok on the evening of 23 May 2014. The NCPO provided 70 military vehicles to carry the protesters from both sides home.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: In spite of a ban on political gatherings of more than five persons, demonstrators, including Thammasat University students, marched to the Democracy Monument on 23 May 2014 to express their anger at the coup. However the military stopped them from reaching the monument, citing fear of violence and clashes.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On the same day, separate protests took place outside the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, led by freelance media, artists, and social activists. Soldiers sent by the NCPO detained the protesters. A live round was fired and the whereabouts of those apprehended was not known.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 24 May 2014, a group held an anti-coup protest in front of Major Ratchayothin Cinema in Bangkok, where a company of troops with riot shields was stationed. On that evening, another group of at least 1,000 protesters marched to the Victory Monument. The military tried to stop their procession, using a police truck. Some of the protesters were apprehended but were released after negotiation.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: At midday on 25 May 2014, a group of anti-coup protesters gathered in front of a McDonald's restaurant at Ratchaprasong, in the heart of Bangkok. Soldiers arrived and seized the area. Another group of people tried to march from the Victory Monument to the Pathum Wan intersection protesting the coup. The military managed to block them.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Anti-coup protests also took place outside Bangkok. In Chiang Mai Province, a group of people clad in black held anti-coup activities for days, including marching to the city's ancient walls where they performed a candle-lit ceremony opposing the military's action. Some of them were apprehended by military on 24 May. Anti-coup rallies also occurred in several other provinces. In Khon Kaen Province, students held a ceremony to bid farewell to democracy in front of Central Plaza Khon Kaen shopping mall where soldiers were stationed. In Maha Sarakham Province, students held an anti-coup protest in the middle of the city but soldiers came and seized protest materials such as banners. A group of Thais living in Australia held anti-coup activities at Kings Park, Perth, on 26 May.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: A number of anti-coup activists outside Bangkok were later summoned by regional military courts and were detained without charges.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 10 June 2014, Chalard Vorachat, a retired pilot officer and renowned hunger striker, sued the NCPO before the Criminal Court. Chalard alleged that the NCPO, by staging the coup, committed insurrection. The court dismissed the case, ruling that Chalard was not the victim and was therefore not entitled to institute the case, although Chalard claimed that he was the victim because his rights and liberties had been affected by the coup.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Anti-coup sentiment was also echoed on Thai social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LINE, even though the military had previously warned that it would block social media if material critical of the coup was published.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: A reporter, Pornthip Mongyai, was dismissed by her news agency, Mono Group, after a photo of Pornthip, wearing a press armband, stood next to a line of soldiers with an "X" taped over her lips, went viral on the Internet.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: In response to anti-coup activities on social media, the NCPO ordered the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) to block Facebook in Thailand "from time to time", effective from 28 May 2014. On that evening, Facebook was blocked for about an hour throughout the country. The MICT stated on 24 May that more than 100 URLs have been blocked under martial law.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: People calling for protests on social media were warned that they will face prosecution for sedition. The military also said that liking an anti-coup page on Facebook constituted a criminal offence.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Thai coup protesters used a salute consisting of three fingers symbolising their opposition to the coup; it was inspired originally from "The Hunger Games" film series, but it was later extended to represent the ideas of liberty, equality and brotherhood. The military announced that it would arrest anyone who displayed the salute. The salute would later become a prominent symbol of the 2020 pro-democracy protests.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Protesters then adopted the sandwich as their new anti-coup symbol. They handed out sandwiches, shouting "sandwiches for democracy!". On 22 June 2014, a student eating sandwiches in front of Siam Paragon and a group of students who were to organise a sandwich activity at the same venue were apprehended and were later placed in detention.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Apart from using the three-finger salute and eating sandwiches in public, two other acts of expressing anti-coup stance have been criminalised: reading George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" in public, and wearing shirts with certain slogans such as "Peace Please" and "Respect My Vote".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Private citizens performing other symbolic acts were also apprehended and detained. These included: an aged woman wearing a mask with the word "People", a man shouting "I'm a common citizen who feels shame because there's another coup in my country", a fried squid vendor wearing a red shirt, a group of people covering their eyes, ears, and mouths, a group of movie commentators and artistic activists intending to organise the displaying of the film "Nineteen Eighty-Four", a group of people holding activities in front of Wat Phra Si Mahathat, a temple in Bangkok, to commemorate the transition of absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in the Siamese revolution of 1932, a student playing "La Marseillaise" in public, a group of people holding papers asking "Where are the people?", and a man holding a paper saying "Holding papers is not a crime". All were to be tried in military courts for sedition.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 25 May 2014, a pro-coup group held a counter-rally at the Democracy Monument calling on the NCPO to conduct reforms before a general election. The following day, a group of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a similar rally.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said on 25 May 2014 that he was sorry that he could not protect democracy. The following day, he urged the NCPO to take tough measures against anti-coup groups.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The coup met with strong reactions from Thai academics, with the majority expressing serious concern over its negative impact on Thailand's democracy and human rights. But some Thai academics argued that there was no other solution to Thailand's problems.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: A group of university lecturers, who call themselves the Assembly for the Defence of Democracy (AFDD), issued a statement on 23 May 2014, emphasizing the right of the people to offer resistance to an illegitimate ruler and requesting the military to promptly release the detained protesters. In its statement, the AFDD said,


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: A good ruler shall not rule by force. He must be accepted by the public, must gain public consent, must keep his words, and must acquire faith and trust from everyone. If the NCPO treats the people as its enemy and keeps on suppressing them by force, it will face endless resistance and will have to suppress countless people. Eventually, there will be no one left to be ruled.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On that day, AFDD members gathered in front of the Dome Building of Thammasat University to express their anti-coup stance. The scholars from the Midnight University also issued a statement denouncing the coup and demanding the resignation of the National Human Rights Commission.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The academic sector also called on NCPO members to disclose their financial interests to the public. However, the National Anti-Corruption Commission said that it is not required by any law.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: On 26 May 2014, Phra Paisal Visalo, a monk renowned for his roles in human rights protection, denounced the coup, saying "Even though this coup brought an end to some urgent problems..., it is the beginning of new various problems which are surely more serious".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: In response to heavy opposition from the academic sector, military officers were stationed at some higher education institutions to prevent academics from expressing political opinions or holding political activities. These included Thammasat University's Tha Pra Chan Campus in Bangkok.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The NCPO summoned leading pro-democracy scholars. Despite the NCPO threatening that those failing to show up would face criminal penalties, the summoned said they would not submit to the military. A number of scholars who failed to appear were later apprehended, such as Thammasat University law lecturer Sawatree Suksri who was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi Airport on 7 June 2014 after travelling back from the United States on a US embassy study trip about human rights.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The military also ordered Thai diplomats to take measures to force the return of exiled academicians. One of the targets was Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai associate professor at Kyoto University who challenged the summons by asking if he could send his pet chihuahua to meet with General Prayut in his stead. Pavin claimed that the Thai ambassador in Tokyo and consul general in Osaka had both been told by the military that if they failed to force Pavin to return, they would either be transferred or forced out of the foreign service. On 13 June 2014, the NCPO issued an arrest warrant against Pavin.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The United States suspended US$3.5m in military aid to Thailand from its overall aid package of US$10.5 million and cancelled military engagements, including military visits and training. It also urged tourists to cancel trips and halted non-essential visits by its governmental officers.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The Ministry of Tourism and Sports said on 27 May that the arrival of "foreign tourists dropped by 20%".


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: The coup also resulted in the cancellation of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's concert for The Red Tour, formerly scheduled on 9 June 2014, in Bangkok, and the postponement of several events, including USA Fair 2014 scheduled for 30 May–2 June 2014.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: "Asia Sentinel" reported on 9 June 2014 that Thai rights groups estimated that some 200 people remained in detention since the coup happened.


title: 2014 Thai coup d'état

text: After the NCPO vowed on 11 June 2014 to deal with illegal foreign workers in Thailand, saying "we see illegal workers as a threat", a very large number of foreign migrants, more than half of whom were women and children, left the country the same day. The International Organization for Migration described the event as a "sudden influx" and expressed its concern. The BBC reported on 16 June 2014 that more than 180,000 Cambodians fled Thailand after the NCPO announced the crackdown. A group of Cambodians died in a car accident on their way to the border and this enraged the Cambodian government, which said the Thai military must be held responsible for all the problems that have occurred. Burmese migrants in northern Thailand were arrested and were released only after a "protection fee" was paid. Rights groups said employers in southern Thailand had also advised their foreign workers to go into hiding in the woods or rubber plantations to avoid arrest.


title: Jackie Shroff filmography

text: Jackie Shroff (born 1 February 1957) is an Indian actor. He has been in the Hindi cinema (Bollywood) industry for almost four decades and till now has appeared in more than 250 films in thirteen languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Konkani, Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Bengali, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and English). He has won four Filmfare Awards among other accolades. He has also appeared in several successful short films.


title: Graham Russell

text: Graham Cyril Russell (born 11 June 1950) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist of the soft rock duo Air Supply.


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1975, with Russell Hitchcock, he formed Air Supply in Australia. The duo have been singing and performing romantic songs and ballads, such as "Lost in Love", "All Out of Love", "Every Woman in the World", "The One That You Love", "Even the Nights Are Better", "Goodbye" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", for more than 45 years.


title: Graham Russell

text: Russell was born in Arnold, Nottingham. He had a strong interest in poetry, music and books since his childhood. At the age of 11, he started writing poems and in the same year of 1961, he composed his first song, called "That Rockin' Feeling".


title: Graham Russell

text: Self-taught, he learned to play guitar and percussion alone and, after the loss of his mother in childhood, he became a loner and thereby found in music and poems a way to express his loss and his emotions.


title: Graham Russell

text: He attended the Carlton-Le-Willows, a technical school in Gedling, Nottingham, where his love for literature and the great English poets only grew further, fueled by study and also an interest that developed on the arts of the paranormal and occult sciences, highlighted by the works of writers Shelley, Keats, and Lord Byron.


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1963, the music of the Beatles was a strong influence that marked his life that year, and after watching a live show in 1964, Russell decided that he wanted to be a musician. Russell joined a band called Union Blues in 1965, where he played percussion, but really wanted to play his own songs in front of the stage.


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1968, he moved to Australia and formed a second band in Melbourne, and began to also play solo in cafes and dance clubs, gaining ground on the Australian circuit.


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1973, after reading spiritual and mystical content in search of knowledge and answers for several questions about life, Russell joined the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 1975 and met Russell Hitchcock on the first day and became instant friends. They would sing Beatles songs together during and after shows and this would eventually lead them to form the band Air Supply.


title: Graham Russell

text: After 18 months in "Jesus Christ Superstar", Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock formed the band under the name which Graham Russell had seen in a dream, a giant bright lights plate in which could be read "Air Supply". Their first single, "Love and Other Bruises", became a success.


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1976, after opening for Rod Stewart in Australia and also in the United States in 1977, Air Supply went on tour and two more hit records ensued, "Lost in Love" and "All Out of Love".


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1979, Clive Davis heard the song "Lost in Love", and the band signed to the label Arista Records. The first single on the Hot 100, "Lost in Love", reached the top 3 in May 1980, and Graham Russell's "The One That You Love" reached the top in July 1981.


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1967, Russell married a high school sweetheart, Linda, and had a son with her the following year, Simon, who is currently working with his father, organising concerts and the fan club. Graham and Linda also had a daughter, Samantha, born in March 1972. Graham Russell's marriage to Linda ended in 1978.


title: Graham Russell

text: In 1981, Russell met Jodi Varble at a show and, after two years in which they exchanged correspondence only, became a couple and married in 1986, when Jodi was 21 and Russell was 36.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often shortened to Captain Scarlet, is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor ITC Entertainment. Running to thirty-two 25-minute episodes, it was first broadcast on ITV regional franchises between 1967 and 1968 and has since been transmitted in more than 40 other countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It is one of several Anderson series that were filmed using a form of electronic marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation" combined with scale model special effects sequences.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Set in 2068, "Captain Scarlet" follows the "" between Earth and the Mysterons, a race of Martians who possess partial control over matter. When a misunderstanding causes human astronauts to attack their city on Mars, the Mysterons vow revenge and launch reprisals against Earth. These are countered by Spectrum, a worldwide security organisation. In the first episode, Spectrum agent Captain Scarlet acquires the Mysterons' self-healing power of "retrometabolism" and is thus rendered "indestructible", being able to recover from otherwise fatal injuries. In this way, Scarlet becomes Spectrum's top asset in its fight against the Mysterons.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: "Captain Scarlet", the eighth of the Andersons' ten puppet series, was preceded by "Thunderbirds" and followed by "Joe 90" and "The Secret Service". In terms of visual aesthetic, it represents a departure from "Thunderbirds" in its use of non-caricatured puppets sculpted to realistic body proportions. Repeated several times in the UK, it has generated tie-ins from toy cars and action figures to audio plays and original novels, as well as strips in the weekly children's comic "TV Century 21".


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Compared to "Thunderbirds" and earlier Anderson productions, "Captain Scarlet" is generally considered "darker" in tone and less suited to child audiences due to its violent content and themes of alien aggression and interplanetary war. The change in puppet design has divided opinion, while the wisdom of making the protagonist "indestructible" has also been questioned. However, the series has been praised for its use of a multinational, multi-ethnic puppet cast and depiction of a utopian future Earth. A computer-animated reboot, "Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet", was first broadcast in 2005.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The series begins in 2068. In the first episode, the crew of the "Zero-X" spacecraft are investigating the surface of Mars after mysterious radio signals are found to be coming from the planet. The source is discovered to be an alien city, which the astronauts destroy in a missile attack after mistaking a harmless surveillance device for a weapon. The city's inhabitants, the Mysterons, are a collective of sentient computers that possess partial control over matter and communicate in a deep, echoing voice. After using their power of "reversing matter" to rebuild their city, they swear revenge for humanity's unwarranted aggression and declare war on Earth.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Also called "retrometabolism", reversing matter enables the Mysterons to re-create people and objects as facsimiles that they can control. This ability is used to wage a "" against Earth in which the Mysterons issue threats against specific targets (from world leaders and military installations to entire cities and continents) and then destroy and reconstruct whatever instruments are needed (whether human beings or objects) to carry out their plans. The presence of the Mysterons is indicated by twin rings of green light that are projected onto scenes of destruction and reconstruction. Although the aliens are able to influence events from Mars, their actions on Earth are usually performed by their replicated intermediaries.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: "Zero-X" mission leader Captain Black becomes the Mysterons' primary agent when they seize control of his mind. Prior to the events of the series, Black was an officer in Spectrum, a worldwide security organisation that mobilises its personnel, vehicles and other resources to counter the threat posed by the Mysterons. Spectrum's most senior agents hold military ranks and colour codenames and are posted to the organisation's headquarters, Cloudbase – an airborne aircraft carrier stationed above the Earth's surface – where they answer to its commander-in-chief, Colonel White. Cloudbase is defended by Angel Interceptor fighters flown by an all-female team of pilots headed by Destiny Angel, while the base's computer systems are operated by White's assistant, Lieutenant Green. Spectrum also incorporates a fleet of armoured Spectrum Pursuit Vehicles (SPV), which are hidden in secret locations around the world, as well as patrol cars, maximum-security transports, passenger jet aircraft and machine gun-equipped helicopters.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Captain Scarlet becomes Spectrum's main asset in its fight against the Mysterons after the events of the first episode, in which the Mysterons attempt to assassinate the World President as their first act of retaliation. The original Scarlet is killed in a car accident engineered by the Mysterons and replaced with a reconstruction. However, after being shot by Spectrum's Captain Blue and falling to his death from the top of a tower, the reconstruction returns to life with the consciousness of the original Scarlet restored and is thereafter free of Mysteron control. With his new Mysteron body, Scarlet possesses two extraordinary abilities: he can sense other reconstructions nearby, and if injured or killed, his retrometabolism will restore him to full health, making him virtually "indestructible". As hostilities with Mars continue, Scarlet repeatedly sacrifices himself to thwart the Mysterons, safe in the knowledge that he will always return to face them again.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Over the course of the series, it is found that Mysteron reconstructions are especially vulnerable to electricity and can be identified through X-rays, which cannot penetrate their alien biology. These discoveries allow Spectrum to develop two anti-Mysteron devices: the "Mysteron Gun" and "Mysteron Detector". A three-episode story arc focuses on the discovery of a Mysteron outpost on the Moon, its destruction by Spectrum, and Spectrum's efforts to negotiate with the Mysterons after converting the base's salvaged power source into an interplanetary communication device. A failed attempt to survey Mars from space, aborted military conferences and the sabotaged construction of a new Earth space fleet hinder Spectrum's progress in taking the fight to the Mysterons, and the organisation twice fails to capture Captain Black. In the penultimate episode, the Mysterons destroy Cloudbase itself, but this is later revealed to be a nightmare dreamt by one of the Angels. The final episode is a clip show that leaves the conflict between Earth and Mars unresolved.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: When efforts to secure an American network broadcaster for "Thunderbirds" fell through in July 1966, Lew Grade, owner and financial backer of the Andersons' production company AP Films (APF), capped "Thunderbirds" Series Two at six episodes and cancelled the production. Having overseen APF's work since the making of "Supercar" in 1960, Grade was keen for Supermarionation to penetrate the lucrative American market and believed that a new series stood a better chance of landing a sale than a second series of "Thunderbirds".


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: As a result of the cancellation, Gerry Anderson was forced to come up with an idea for a new Supermarionation series. He had once been inspired by the thought of creating a live-action police drama in which the hero would have unexpectedly been murdered halfway through the series and replaced by a new lead character. Now giving fresh consideration to this idea, Anderson realised that a major selling point for his new production could be a character who is killed at the end of each episode and resurrected by the start of the next. This, coupled with contemporary theories about the possibility of life on Mars, led to the idea of an interplanetary war between Earth and its neighbour and a worldwide security organisation being called upon to defend humanity. After further thought, Anderson decided that "Scarlet" would be a suitably unusual name for this organisation's "indestructible" agent, while his partner in the field could be called "Blue". From this, Anderson reasoned that all personnel should have colour codenames and that the organisation should be called "Spectrum". Noting that white light is composed of, and can be broken down into, the colours of the spectrum, he named Spectrum's leader "White".


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Intrigued by the oft-heard phrase "life as we know it", Anderson wanted to set his alien villains apart from the conventional extraterrestrials of 1960s TV and film. Working from a basis of "life as we "don't" know it", he made the Mysterons a collective of sentient computers rather than a race of organic lifeforms (though their exact nature is not explicitly stated in the series itself). The intention was that the original Mysterons were extragalactic beings that established a base on Mars in the distant past before abandoning the planet at the start of the 20th century, leaving their computers behind them.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Anderson's recollections of the Second World War provided inspiration for a number of design aspects. For example, he remembered that during the Battle of Britain, RAF pilots had found it difficult to counter German attacks because having to take off from the ground meant that it took a long time to intercept the enemy. He therefore made Spectrum's headquarters, Cloudbase, an airborne aircraft carrier. According to Anderson, the Mysteron rings were inspired by a TV advertisement for wool that featured the Woolmark logo being projected onto a woman.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Adopting ""The Mysterons"" as their working title, Anderson and his wife Sylvia wrote a pilot script in August 1966. This differed significantly from the completed first episode. Originally, it was conceived that the Mysteron reconstruction of Captain Scarlet would be resurrected using an advanced computer, after which he would no longer be a true flesh-and-blood being but a "mechanical man" akin to an android. Another plan, also dropped, was for each episode to feature a "guest star" puppet voiced by a famous actor: the World President, for example, was originally intended to be voiced by Patrick McGoohan.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: With Gerry Anderson serving primarily as executive producer, most of the writing was done by Tony Barwick, who had previously written for "Thunderbirds". Originally "Captain Scarlet"'s script editor, Barwick went on to pen 18 of its 32 episodes himself, besides making substantial revisions to other writers' work. Discussing his approach to scriptwriting in a 1986 interview, Barwick compared the premise and characters of "Captain Scarlet" to those of "Thunderbirds" – for example, likening Spectrum to the heroic International Rescue and the character of Captain Black to recurring villain the Hood.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Filming on the first episode, "The Mysterons", began on 2 January 1967 after two months of pre-production. The budget for the series was set at £1.5 million (approximately £ million in ). At an average cost of £46,000 per episode, or £2,000 per minute, it was the most expensive Anderson production to date. A month before, Anderson and his colleagues had dropped the name "AP Films" and renamed their company "Century 21 Productions".


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: By the time "Captain Scarlet" entered production, many of the directors on earlier Anderson series – including Alan Pattillo, David Elliott and David Lane – had either left the company or were committed to the production of "Thunderbird 6", the second "Thunderbirds" feature film. Although Lane, Brian Burgess and Desmond Saunders were able to reprise directorial duties for at least one episode each, the Andersons were forced to promote some of the junior production personnel to replace the outgoing directors. To this end, Alan Perry and Ken Turner were promoted from the camera operator and art departments. Other directors were recruited from outside the company; among them was Robert Lynn, who had been assistant director on films including "Black Narcissus", "Dracula" and "The Revenge of Frankenstein". Although Saunders directed only the first episode, he stayed with the production as "supervising director" to guide the new recruits.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: "Captain Scarlet" was filmed in a set of converted factory units on the Slough Trading Estate, which had served as Century 21's studios since the production of "Stingray" in 1964. Continuing a practice that had started with earlier Anderson series, episodes were filmed in pairs on separate stages to speed up production. Filming overlapped with that of "Thunderbird 6", which was being shot on a different stage. Production design duties were split between Keith Wilson and John Lageu, the latter being responsible for the technical elements of the sets. The Mysteron rings were created by panning a transparency of two green circles across the sets using a slide projector, a method suggested by producer Reg Hill.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The scale model-making and special effects were handled by a separate unit headed by effects director Derek Meddings. It comprised two full-time effects crews and a "second unit" responsible for shots presenting flying aircraft. One of the series' technical innovations was that the noses of miniature vehicles would now "dip" as they came to a stop, to imitate the sudden application of brakes on a real-life vehicle. The vehicles were designed by Meddings or his assistant Mike Trim: the former created Cloudbase, the SPV and the Angel fighter (the last of these during a flight to New York), while the latter produced many of the less prominent vehicles. The Cloudbase filming model, which was long, proved too heavy to be held up with wires so was instead mounted on a pole. Some of Trim's creations, including the Spectrum Patrol Car, were originally meant to appear in only one episode, but proved so popular with the producers that they became regular features. As production continued, Trim's responsibilities grew, as Meddings was having to devote more and more of his time to the concurrent "Thunderbird 6" shoot.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: When the series began airing in September 1967, principal photography had been completed on the first 20 episodes. The puppet footage for each episode usually took two weeks or 11 working days to shoot. Although filming was originally expected to be completed in eight months, the demands of the "Thunderbird 6" shoot meant that it went on until November.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Supermarionation, a technique by which the movements of the puppets' mouths were electronically synchronised with pre-recorded dialogue, was first employed during the production of "Four Feather Falls" in 1960. In all Anderson series prior to "Captain Scarlet", the puppets' heads had been disproportionately large compared to the rest of their bodies as the cranium contained the solenoid that powered the automatic mouth movements. Scaling up the bodies to match the heads was not an option, as the puppets would have become too heavy to operate and there was not enough studio space to enlarge all of the sets. This gave the puppets a caricatured look that frustrated Gerry Anderson, who wanted their design to reflect natural anatomical proportions. Before "Captain Scarlet" entered production, Reg Hill and associate producer John Read created a new type of puppet with the solenoid built into the chest, thus enabling the heads to be scaled down to realistic size.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: After being sculpted in Plasticine, the puppet heads were moulded on a silicone rubber base and finished in fibreglass. At heights ranging from approximately one-third life sizethe next-generation puppets were no taller or shorter than their predecessors. As in earlier series, the main characters were given interchangeable heads with a range of expressions; these included "smiler", "frowner" and "blinker" heads. Because episodes were to be filmed in pairs on separate stages, the "expressionless" heads were made in duplicate. Costumes were designed by Sylvia Anderson, who drew inspiration from the work of French fashion designer Pierre Cardin (in particular, his 1966 "Cosmonaut" collection) in devising the Spectrum uniforms.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Despite their realistic form, the new puppets were harder to animate on set, making the overall design ironically "less" lifelike than Gerry Anderson had intended. Compared to the "Thunderbirds" cast, the "Captain Scarlet" puppets had inferior weight distribution: when standing, characters often had to be held in place with clamps and tape to prevent wobbling. The smaller heads made close-up shots difficult to obtain, and because most of the wires were headmounted, significantly reduced the puppeteers' level of control, with the result that head movements and other actions became jerkier. To reduce the amount of movement required, characters were frequently shown standing on moving walkways or sitting at moving desks: for example, Lieutenant Green operates the Cloudbase computer from a sliding chair and Colonel White's desk rotates. Puppeteer Jan King commented:


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The "under-controlled" puppets described by King had no wires and were manipulated from the waist. One advantage of this method was that a puppet could pass through a doorway without necessitating a break in the shot. For shots of characters sitting in aircraft cockpits, variations of the "under-controlled" design were made comprising only a head and torso; these were operated using levers and wires located beneath the set.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Scarlet's appearance has been compared to that of his voice actor, Francis Matthews, as well as Roger Moore. Ed Bishop, the voice of Captain Blue, believed that his character was modelled on him; however, Terry Curtis, who sculpted the Blue puppet said that he used himself as the template and simply added a blond wig after he learnt that Bishop would be supplying the voice. Curtis, a "James Bond" fan, based Captain Grey on Sean Connery and Destiny Angel on Ursula Andress, Connery's co-star in "Dr No" (1962). Lieutenant Green was modelled on Cy Grant, who voiced the character, while Rhapsody Angel was based on Jean Shrimpton, Melody Angel on Eartha Kitt and Harmony Angel on Tsai Chin.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Prior to "Captain Scarlet", guest characters had been sculpted in clay on an episode-by-episode basis. For "Captain Scarlet", however, these roles were played by a "repertory company" of over 50 puppets made to the same standards of workmanship as the regular characters. Called "revamp puppets", or just "revamps", these puppets were superficially altered for each new role by changing the colours or styles of their wigs, or adding or removing facial hair. Puppets from "Captain Scarlet" appeared in supporting roles in the final two Supermarionation series, "Joe 90" and "The Secret Service".


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The redesigned puppets have drawn a mixed response from crew members and commentators. Some members of the crew believed that the new marionettes lacked the charm of the previous generation due to the natural body proportions that were now being used. Director David Lane recalls that when he first saw the prototype, "it was as if there was a little dead person in [the box] ... because it was perfect in all its proportions it just looked odd." Sculptor John Brown remembers putting the prototype next to the Lady Penelope puppet from "Thunderbirds" and gauging his colleagues' response: "When they saw it, some people were horrified by the difference. Some didn't like it, some did." It has been argued that facial expression was sacrificed to make the appearance more realistic. Sculptor Terry Curtis recalls:


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Fellow sculptor John Blundall called the new design "ridiculous", criticising the attempts to make the puppets appear more lifelike on the basis that "we always try to do with puppets what you can't do with humans." He suggested that the transition from caricature to realism was at the expense of the marionettes' "character and personality", arguing that "if the puppet appears completely natural, the audience no longer has to use its imagination." Effects director Derek Meddings thought that although the new puppets were "very convincing miniature people", they were flawed in that audiences "couldn't identify one from the other. The heads were so small they didn't have any character to their faces." Supervising puppeteer Christine Glanville considered the puppets "awful" from a practical perspective, recalling that their smaller, lighter heads rarely moved fluidly: "If you wanted them to turn their heads then more often than not there would be someone out of shot, with their fingers just above the puppet's head, actually turning it round."


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Gerry Anderson said that he pushed for the new design to satisfy the audience, regarding it not as "a case of moving to a new technique, but more a case of incorporating new ideas with existing methods." However, in later years he expressed doubts about the wisdom of the redesign: "[T]he problem was that exact and precise movements became more vital than ever and that caused us terrible difficulties."


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The new design has been praised by Vincent Terrace, Jeff Evans and John Peel. Applauding the transfer of the electronics from the heads to the bodies, Evans describes the puppets as "perfect in proportion", while Peel argues that the increased realism would not have put off audiences familiar with the earlier design. A contrary view is held by Daniel O'Brien, who writes that the loss of the puppets' "idiosyncratic character" reduced them to the level of "de luxe Action Men". On the costume design, Mark Bould writes positively of the series' "commitment to fashion" and singles out the design of the Angel uniforms for particular praise.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: "Captain Scarlet" had the largest regular puppet cast of any Supermarionation production. Its use of a British protagonist was a departure from earlier series like "Thunderbirds", whose lead characters had been written as Americans to increase their appeal to the profitable US market. Stephen La Rivière suggests that Century 21 had been encouraged to give greater prominence to British characters due to the transatlantic success of British programmes like "The Avengers", "The Baron" and "The Saint", which had made it "altogether more acceptable to have English lead characters". Chris Drake and Graeme Bassett argue that the general style of the voice acting in "Captain Scarlet" was less exaggerated than before, relating this increased realism to the puppets' transition from caricatured to natural proportions. According to Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn, the proliferation of British accents between "Thunderbirds" and "Captain Scarlet" changed the sound of Supermarionation and its impression on the viewer.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Francis Matthews, who supplied the voice of Captain Scarlet, had turned down offers to voice characters in "Thunderbirds". According to Matthews, Gerry Anderson went to great lengths to cast him after being impressed by his imitation of Cary Grant in a radio programme, and indeed the actor based the voice of Scarlet on Grant's Mid-Atlantic tones. Anderson, however, stated in his biography that the Grant impression was Matthews' choice at audition, and that while it was not the voice that had been intended for Scarlet the production was happy to use it.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Matthews' co-star in the film "" (1966) had been Charles Tingwell, who was chosen to voice Cloudbase medical officer Dr Fawn. Tingwell, who had provided voices for Series Two of "Thunderbirds" as well as the feature film "Thunderbirds Are Go", had been recommended by fellow Australian Ray Barrett, a regular voice artist on "Stingray" and "Thunderbirds". Due to theatre commitments, Tingwell left the series following the completion of the first 12 episodes. Departing at the same time was Paul Maxwell, the voice of Captain Grey (and previously Steve Zodiac in "Fireball XL5" and Captain Travers in "Thunderbirds Are Go"), who left to take up the role of Steve Tanner in "Coronation Street". In Tingwell and Maxwell's absence, Fawn and Grey's roles were reduced to a handful of non-speaking appearances, though guest characters voiced by the actors can be heard in flashbacks to earlier episodes.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Cy Grant, the voice of Lieutenant Green, was known to the Andersons for his appearances on "Tonight", in which he sang calypsos inspired by current affairs. The casting of Grant led to that of Ed Bishop as Captain Blue. Bishop, who was working in theatre and had the same agent as Grant, recalled in an interview: "And [my agent's representative] said, 'Oh, by the way, Mr Anderson, we've just taken on a new, young American actor' – shows you how long ago it was – 'a new American actor, name of Edward Bishop. And we know how much you like American voices. Would you like to meet him as well?'"


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Donald Gray, who had found himself typecast after playing the lead role of detective Mark Saber in "The Vise", was having to resort to voice work to sustain his acting career. He had three regular roles in "Captain Scarlet": Colonel White, the Mysterons and Captain Black (who, after being taken over by the Mysterons, speaks in their voice). The deep, echoing tones of Black and the Mysterons were created by recording Gray's lines at high speed and then playing them back at normal speed.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The voice of Captain Ochre was provided by Jeremy Wilkin, who had voiced Virgil Tracy in "Thunderbirds" Series Two. Captain Magenta, meanwhile, was voiced by Gary Files, who had provided supporting voices in "Thunderbird 6". Liz Morgan was new to the Anderson productions and voiced Destiny Angel, leader of the Angel squadron, and one of her comrades, Rhapsody Angel. Sylvia Anderson, the voice of Lady Penelope in "Thunderbirds," took the role of Melody, while Canadian actress Janna Hill voiced Symphony. Morgan was additionally cast as Harmony Angel and voiced the character in five episodes. About a third of the way through the dialogue recording sessions, the role was reassigned to Chinese actress Lian-Shin, who voiced the character in only one episode ("The Launching") but was credited for 20.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Supporting character voices were performed by Anderson, Files, Hill, Maxwell, Morgan, Tingwell and Wilkin. Completing the credited cast were David Healy and Martin King. Shane Rimmer, previously heard as Scott Tracy in "Thunderbirds", made a number of uncredited vocal contributions besides writing for the series. Neil McCallum voiced guest characters in four episodes but was also uncredited. After "Captain Scarlet", six members of the voice cast would continue their association with Century 21. Healy voiced Shane Weston in "Joe 90" and Files voiced Matthew Harding in "The Secret Service". Wilkin, Morgan and King all had various supporting roles in these two series. Bishop later appeared in the lead role of Commander Ed Straker in "UFO", the Andersons' first live-action series.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Character dialogue was recorded once a fortnight, at up to four episodes a session, at the Anvil Films Recording Studio (now Denham Film Studios) in Denham, Buckinghamshire. Each actor was paid 15 guineas (15 pounds and 15 shillings; ) per episode, plus repeat fees, no matter how many lines he or she spoke. They were not given the opportunity to tour the Century 21 studios in Slough until their work was finished and therefore had no visualisation of their characters during the recording sessions. This was to Morgan's regret: "We all said that we wished we had seen the puppets before doing the dialogue, as it would have been helpful to have something physical to base the voices on. I knew that Destiny was French and that Rhapsody had to be frightfully 'Sloaney', but that was about it."


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The music for "Captain Scarlet" was composed by Barry Gray, who had scored all prior Supermarionation series. The opening theme – titled "The Mysterons" – was produced electronically and accompanied by a seven-note staccato drumbeat to introduce the protagonist, Scarlet. Gerry Anderson, who had intended this to be more a traditional fanfare, said of his initial reaction: "I thought, 'Christ, is this all he could produce?' Looking back on it, however, I can see that what he came up with worked very well." The drumbeat also had two other functions: to cut from one scene to another, with the shot alternating between the previous scene and the next in time with each beat; and to cut into and out of each episode's midpoint advert break, where it was accompanied by a zooming image of the Spectrum logo (a stylised "S" on a background of concentric rings in the colours of the rainbow).


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Two versions of the closing theme – "Captain Scarlet" – were recorded. The first version, used on the first 14 episodes, was mostly instrumental with the words "Captain Scarlet!" sung at intervals by a group of vocalists including Ken Barrie; each instance was followed by vocoded repetition supplied by Gray himself. It was later reworked as a song with lyrics performed by The Spectrum, a London boy band who happened to share their name with the fictional Spectrum Organisation. Originally formed in 1960, at the time of their involvement with "Captain Scarlet" the group were signed to RCA Victor and being promoted as an English imitation of The Monkees. They were brought to the Andersons' attention by Gerry's chauffeur, who had heard them on pirate radio, and signed a contract with Century 21 worth £100,000.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: As well as the opening and closing themes, between March and December 1967 Gray recorded incidental music for 18 episodes. Music for the other 14 was supplied by re-using these scores, supplemented by excerpts of music originally produced for earlier Anderson series. Compared to "Thunderbirds", the incidental music for "Captain Scarlet" was recorded using smaller ensembles: no episode featured more than 16 instruments.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: In their notes on the CD release, Ralph Titterton and Tim Mallett write that the "Captain Scarlet" soundtrack has a "military feel" that favours percussion, brass and wind instruments, contrasting with the full orchestral sound of "Thunderbirds". Gray preferred traditional instruments for much of the action, generally restricting his use of electronic music to scenes set in outer space as well as a four-note echoing motif used to identify the Mysterons. Scarlet's motif, used in incidental music as well as both versions of the closing theme, is a variation emphasising the captain's nature as an ex-Mysteron. Gray performed some of the series' electronic music himself.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Reviewing the soundtrack, Bruce Eder of AllMusic describes the collection of theme and incidental music as "a strange mix of otherworldly 'music of the spheres', late–50s/early–60s 'space-age pop', 'British Invasion' beat, Scottish folk-inspired tunes, kids-style 'Mickey Mouse' scoring, martial music, light jazz, and light classical". He singles out the two versions of "White as Snow" from the episode of the same name, "Cocktail Music" from the episode "Model Spy" and a piano piece from "The Inquisition" (which Gray performed himself) for particular praise. In his BBC Online review, Peter Marsh suggests that the music's grim tone reflects the series' use of realistic puppets and presentation of death as well as its frightening alien villains and lack of humour, noting that "dissonant vibraphone chords shimmer under hovering, tremulous strings contrasted with urgent, militaristic drums and pulsing brass – driving the action ever onto its climax (and, no doubt, a big explosion)."


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: In 1967, Century 21 Records (a label founded by Century 21 and Pye Records) released an extended play titled "TV Themes from Captain Scarlet", which included commercial re-recordings of the series' opening and closing theme music. The soundtrack has since had two CD releases: the first by Silva Screen Records, the second by Fanderson, the official Gerry Anderson fan club. Fanderson's version was available exclusively to club members and contained music from every episode except "The Heart of New York" and "Treble Cross" (which contain no original music) and "Traitor" (whose cue recordings are lost). Both CD releases' tracks are listed below.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: All episodes, except the first, incorporate two title sequences. The first of these, incorporating the title card and principal production credits, is set in a run-down alleyway and presented from the point of view of an unseen gunman; turning a corner, he comes face to face with Captain Scarlet and opens fire, only to be shot dead by a single round from the captain's handgun. The words "Captain Scarlet" appear letter by letter in time with the seven strikes of the series' signature drumbeat composed by Barry Gray. This sequence is intended to demonstrate Scarlet's indestructibility, the bullets from the assassin's machine gun having no effect on the captain.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: An alternative version, rarely used, runs: "One man. A man who is different. Chosen by fate. Caught up in Earth's unwanted conflict with the Mysterons. Determined. Courageous. Indestructible. His name: Captain Scarlet." Later prints feature an additional voiceover by Donald Gray, warning the audience: "Captain Scarlet is indestructible. You are not. Remember this. Do not try to imitate him." This served to establish the background to the series and warn younger viewers not to put themselves at risk by copying Scarlet's actions. It was used either on its own or following Bishop's "One man ..." voiceover.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: From the second episode, "Winged Assassin", the establishing scenes are followed by a secondary title sequence introducing Captain Blue, Colonel White, the Angels and Captain Black. As the Mysterons announce their latest threat against Earth, the Mysteron rings pass over the characters in various environments, thus demonstrating the aliens' omnipresence. At the same time, the characters' codenames are flashed on-screen. The Mysterons invariably begin their threats with the words: "This is the voice of the Mysterons. We know that you can hear us, Earthmen."


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: The closing titles were originally intended to feature images of printed circuit boards and other electronic components to reflect the Andersons' initial conception of Scarlet as a "mechanical man". In the finished sequence, these were replaced with a series of paintings depicting Scarlet in various moments of peril. In earlier episodes, the paintings are accompanied by the instrumental version of the "Captain Scarlet" theme music; in later episodes, this was substituted by a lyrical version sung by The Spectrum. The paintings were created by comic artist Ron Embleton, who would later illustrate the adult comic strips "Oh, Wicked Wanda!" and "Sweet Chastity" for "Penthouse" magazine. In 2005, the Animation Art Gallery in London released limited-edition prints of the paintings signed by Francis Matthews.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: In Japan, the original opening titles were replaced with a montage of action clips from various episodes accompanied by an upbeat song performed by children. This version is included in the special features of the "Captain Scarlet" DVD box set.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: "Captain Scarlet" had its official UK premiere on 29 September 1967 on the ATV Midlands franchise of the ITV network. The first episode was seen by an estimated 450,000 people, a number considered promising. Exactly five months earlier, this episode had been broadcast in the London area as an unscheduled late-night test transmission. The series officially debuted in London and Scotland on 1 October, with the Granada, Anglia, Channel, Southern and Westward franchises all following later that month. By the end of 1967, 4.95 million UK households – the equivalent of 10.9 million people – were watching the series. In the Midlands, viewing figures had risen to 1.1 million halfway through the run.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: By the start of the 1968, "Captain Scarlet" was being broadcast in all parts of the UK. The series was also shown in more than 40 other countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. In the United States, it aired in first-run syndication. Only six episodes were shown in the Netherlands.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: UK re-runs varied markedly by franchise. Granada, Harlech and Tyne Tees Television repeated the series until 1972, while in the Midlands, it aired four times in colour between 1969 and 1974. By contrast, Yorkshire Television did not show any repeats until the mid-1980s, when the series was re-broadcast on Saturday and Sunday mornings by various franchises across the network. The series was later shown in segmented form on Night Network.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: "Captain Scarlet" was subsequently acquired by the BBC, which on 1 October 1993 began the series' first UK-wide network run on BBC2. The first episode drew an audience of four million, the channel's third-highest viewing figure of the week. In September 2001, the BBC started repeating the series in digitally-remastered form. Following the September 11 attacks, the episode order was changed: "Winged Assassin" (in which the Mysterons destroy an airliner) and "Big Ben Strikes Again" (in which they hi-jack a nuclear device), were postponed due to perceived similarities between the plots and real-world events. These episodes were eventually broadcast in November and December 2001.


title: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

text: Although "Thunderbirds" had run for two series, Grade's unexpected cancellation of that production led Gerry Anderson to assume that there was no possibility of "Captain Scarlet" lasting more than one. In Anderson's words: "I didn't expect it to continue. I simply went to Lew and asked, 'What's the next thing you want us to do?