The Mysterons' tactics have been characterised as a form of terrorism by Gerry Anderson and others, including commentator Andrew Billen. Jim Sangster and Paul Condon consider it "oddly prophetic" that "Captain Scarlet"s original UK run ended not long before the hi-jacking of El Al Flight 426, an event that "made political terrorism big news." They regard the series' theme of terrorism as "incredibly perceptive" on Anderson's part, calling it "staggering ... that at the same time as airplane hi-jacks became a distressingly regular occurrence in the Middle East, and IRA bombings in London, Gerry Anderson was explaining the effects of terrorism to kids, even down to having an aggressor who, it could be argued, has a genuine cause for complaint."