AUDIO
BIG FINISH'S SPECTRUM FILES
- March 31, 2017.
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In association with ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE), Big Finish Productions released "The Spectrum Files", the audio adaptations of the three Captain Scarlet novels written by John Theydon, originally published in 1967, as part of their range of special audio books, in celebrations of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons 50th anniversary.
The audio books are directed and produced by Jamie Anderson (son of legendary Gerry Anderson), with Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs as executive producers.
Known in UK for their stunning audio adaptations of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Dark Shadows, the Avengers, the Prisoner and many others, Big Finish Productions ventured in later years in the worlds of Gerry Anderson by producing audio adventures featuring "Terrahawks". It's now the indestructible Captain Scarlet's turn with this very special offering.
Each if the three audio books is a 4 CD set of approximately 240 minutes each set. They are narrated by David Graham (the voice behind Thunderbirds characters such as Brains, Kyrano and most importantly Parker, Lady Penelope's chauffeur), with Wayne Forester and Liz Morgan performing the characters' voices. Big Finish credits each of the cover arts as created by Tom Newson (while an earlier report stated that the cover for 'Spectrum File One' was created by Oliver Arbour).
While Big Finish has not yet release an official synopsis for Spectrum File Two and Spectrum File Three, the audio books each adapt the novels 'Captain Scarlet and the Silent Saboteur' and 'The Angels and the Creeping the Enemy'. So for those of you who might not have read these books, you'll find, below the back cover blurb of each of these books, which were published in 1967: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (Spectrum File One) A violent thunderstorm floods London. Florida is
laid waste by hurricanes. Somehow the Mysterons are
controlling the world’s weather, and only Spectrum can
stop the devastation.
Captain Scarlet and the Silent Saboteur (Spectrum File Two): We, the Mysterons, will devastate your greatest nation! The world's most advanced and most deadly sub-marin e disappears. Top secret Thermic power stations at Rio de Janiero and Sydney are destroyed within hours of each other. And at the same time an eccentric inventor crashes his heli-jet into the Pacific ocean. Another battle of nerves is waged on Earth by the Mysteron s. Spectrum is green as its agents go into action to avert the biggest disaster of all time. And the world waits, panic stricken, as the seconds tick away.
The Angels and the Creeping Enemy (Spectrum File Three): We, the Mysterons, will destroy the earth's food supplies! Spectrum explodes into action... Immediate launch - Angels 1, 2 and 3! Using all their resources, Melody, Harmony, Destiny, Rhapsody and Symphony drive the Mysterons to the brink of defeat! But then the enemy strikes back. An army of plants masses into attack obeying the will of its evil masters and destroying all in its path!
The tables are turned and this time the Mysterons
seem certain to succeed!
The sets are also available for order on the Big Finish Productions website, where you can also purchase a downloadable version, at a lower price. You can also purchase a bundle of all three audiobooks.
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ORIGINAL 1967 AUDIO ADVENTURES
Between
September 1965 and September 1967, Century 21 Records issued the “Century
21 mini-albums”, thirty 7-inch vinyl EP records, amongst which were
featured many spin-offs
adventures of children TV shows.
Although several EPs presented recordings of other television
properties, such as the BBC’s Daleks, the most popular were the
mini-albums featuring the heroes of many of the Anderson-based universes.
To that date, there were twenty-three:
one Fireball XL5 record, three Stingray EPs, nineteen
Thunderbirds EPs, four EPs of the different series themes and music
tracks. Out of these stories,
sixteen were edited recordings from the soundtracks of Thunderbirds TV
episodes, with additional narration bye the series’ voice artists. The seven last records were dramatizations presenting either
NEW audio-adventures, using the original voice artists in their TV roles,
or background information of the featured secret organization.
To
coincide with the television launch of Captain Scarlet and the
Mysterons in September 1967, five new Captain Scarlet story EPs
were released. The first, 'Introducing Captain Scarlet',
retold the story of the series' pilot episode, The
Mysterons, using audio
from some scenes of the episode. Not simply an exact adaptation of the
pilot, ‘Introducing Captain Scarlet’ came with a new
presentation of the series, as we heard Colonel White presenting a report
of the events surrounding the first encounter with the Mysterons – and
then as we assist as the declaration of Doctor Fawn announcing that
Scarlet is reviving from his fall, and that’s he will no longer be under
the control of the Mysterons.
The
script of this first Captain Scarlet EP was written by Angus P.
Allan, then script editor of Century 21 Publishing's TV Century
21 comic. He also
wrote two other Captain Scarlet mini‑albums ('Captain
Scarlet and the Mysterons' and 'Captain Scarlet of Spectrum'),
while the other two ('Captain Scarlet is Indestructible' and 'Captain
Scarlet Versus Captain Black') were written by his TV Century
21 associate Richard O'Neill. All five records were produced by
Denis Skelton.
With an average running time of twenty‑one minutes (the established length of the Century 21 mini-albums), each of the four original Captain Scarlet stories presented on these records was about the same length as the individual television episodes. Many of the original voice artists of the series reprise their roles, and to that were added the music composed by Barry Grand and sounds effects from the show.
The
very last Century 21 mini-album was a music collection entitled 'TV
Themes from Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet', but
only two pieces of Captain
Scarlet music: Barry Gray's commercial release recordings of the title
theme and 'The Mysterons Theme'.
Below are the various releases of these audio adventures.
CLASSIC AUDIO-ADVENTURES - 1967 ORIGINAL
RELEASE
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CAPTAIN SCARLET 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE BOXSET FROM BIG FINISH
- March 31, 2017.
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AUDIO CASSETTES (1993 EDITION)
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CAPTAIN SCARLET MINI ALBUMS
LIMITED EDITION COLLECTORS - SET 1 3xCD Mini Albums
- Added April 13, 2018
Originally recorded in 1993, these 3 CD mini albums are special adaptations of three classic Captain Scarlet episodes, with added narration from Ed Bishop, as the voice of Captain Blue. These adaptations are part of the 8 episodes adaptations which are also included in the Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons 50th Anniversary box set.
If you are a member, you can buy this set of three audiobooks from Fanderson.
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NEW AUDIO-BOOKS (2003)
Two volumes of audio-books from the Captain Scarlet series. These audio-cassettes, in twin-sized format box, don't contain new adventures, but are adaptations of TV episodes written by Tony Barwick in audio format, with previously unreleased TV soundtracks, and additional narrative by Steve Blacknell. Fold-out sleeve contains Captains Scarlet and Blue biographies. You can purchase purchase these volumes at Amazon.co.uk, by clicking on each individual link:
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CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS
SOUNDTRACK
- Added April 13, 2018
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CAPTAIN SCARLET ORIGINAL TV SOUNDTRACK RELEASED
The
original soundtrack album from the 'Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'
TV show was released by Silva Screen Records, on November 17th, 2003.
Original recordings from Barry Gray's scores had been remastered for this CD
edition, that will comprise a mixture of themes, individual accidentals tracks
and episodic suites. The CD will include nearly 80 minutes of music from The
Mysterons, Winged Assassin, Big Ben Strikes Again, Point
783, Manhunt, White As Snow, Spectrum Strikes Back, Avalanche,
Fire At Rig 15, Lunarville 7, The Trap, Model Spy, Expo
2068, Attack On Cloudbase and The Inquisition. The album will
also include the original recordings of various versions of the main and
end titles themes.
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