How Secret is Spectrum?

[Marion]

In the CGI thread there has been a discussion brewing about just how secret Spectrum and the war against the Mysterons is. As what I have to say does not relate directly only to the CGI series I have posted my comments here.
Shaqui quoted Doc Brown and added:

Doc Brown wrote:
In the same book, incidentally, we've got a scene in which Scarlet is recognised by a woman in a Mexican village from pictures of him on the television, and her husband comments that he's her pin-up boy. Again, a suggestion that Spectrum isn't exactly the most secret of organisations!

It was widely established in TV Century 21 that Spectrum was perceived as a secret organisation, but became publically known when the Zero X returned after the first encounter on Mars.

If that's the case - that Spectrum is well-known and its operatives 'pin-up boys' for the general populace (I blame that Mary-Sue Mackay-Wells, myself ) - then it rather begs the question 'why didn't the two Ace-reporters recognise Scarlet and Blue when they were with Doctor Conrad on their way to Lake Toma?'
The confusion doesn't stop there, of course.
They also drop their code names when they're with Verdain in 'Model-Spy' - and use what we're told are their real names - which is surely a strange thing to do if they're part of a secret organisation?
And incidently, why do the men drop their code names and not the Angels? They remain Symphony and Destiny throughout... which would surely tip-off anybody with half a brain that they must be part of the same set-up?
Maybe the fact that Spectrum is a very well-known public organisation accounts for the frequent use of Christian names in the CGI series? Although, once again we have the men using their real names; at least everyone uses Paul, Adam and Conrad often enough - even the colonel, which REALLY jars! - but, with the exception of Lt Serena Green, the women are still refered to by their code names. Even as Blue is saying 'goodbye' to Destiny as their shuttle plunges earthwards - he says 'Its been nice knowing you, Destiny' and she says 'You too, Adam.'
I have no quarrell with them being well-known - especially after the Mysterons start their campaigns, in fact, I consider it more likely than not. I always had problems with International Rescue being that secret after the first few rescues, when they rush about telling everyone they're name is Tracy and calling each other Scott and Virgil all the time!
However, if Spectrum is 'in the public domain' - you'd expect a lot more press interest and interference wouldn't you? Unless the press has been well muzzled by the World Government - which brings us back again to how people knew about them?
Its another example of the confusion that percolates through almost every Anderson series.

[Clya Brown]

Well, I suppose secrecy was a little easier to maintain in the days when all you had to do was ask somebody not to take any photographs, and they said "Oops - sorry! I'll put the camera away at once! And would you like me not to look at this radar screen in front of me until you've flown home?" At least getting rid of that absurdity was one thing the Thunderbirds movie got right!

When International Rescue's called to come and save the day;
Reporters close their notebooks; tracking systems look away;
There'll be no truck with cameras, for cameras never lie;
So watch the wall, my darling, while the Thunderbirds go by.

No-one seems to notice them, but how blind can they be?
The brightest yellow submarine emerging from the sea;
And three enormous flying machines, sailing though the sky;
So watch the wall, my darling, while the Thunderbirds go by.

Don't forget the vehicles, the Firefly and the Mole;
Unseen by prying eyes until it pops out from its hole;
A pink Rolls for the lady who's supposed to be a spy;
So watch the wall, my darling, while the Thunderbirds go by.

If you should meet the Tracy brothers, uniformed in blue,
You be careful what you say, and whom you're talking to;
If you should take a photograph, there'll be a hue and cry;
So watch the wall, my darling, while the Thunderbirds go by.

Ref: http://morrab.tripod.com/a_smuggler.htm with apologies to Kipling

[Marion]

Oh Doc - that's wonderful! Where did you get that from?

[Carrie]

Doc...I'm so VERY impressed....that is quite splendid!
What a talented bunch of folks we have on this forum....quality stuff...

[Doc Denim]

I'm afraid I can only comment on Classic Spectrum as regards it's 'secret' role in 21st century global affairs, but Spectrum as a top secret organization isn't something that ever really occurred to me - they seem to have a lot of 'presence' out there - HQ in London, Security HQ in New York, Koala Base in Australia not to mention that they have elite officers in brightly colored uniforms with flashy jets and motor vehicles to gad about in. I also don't imagine that something like Cloudbase itself would have been easy to hide during construction, even if it was built in space - never mind the fiscal appropriations that would have had to have been made in World Government circles to fund the organization.

However, even if Spectrum itself isn't 'secret' that doesn't mean they can't run secret operations. Everyone knows about the FBI and the CIA - and everyone knows they do covert operations too. I've always thought of Spectum as a multinational Peacekeeping sort of organization - anti-terrorist works too, though that wasn't a specific task I'd previously assigned to them - a sort of go anywhere, do anything, multi-purpose military force functioning under the auspices of a politically 'neutral' World Government.

So I don't have much trouble reconciling the notion that a not so secret outfit of Spectrum's size and scope might well not advertise everything that they're necessarily up to....seems to me you can have it both ways!

Doc Denim

[Marion]

Yes, I guess you can't keep an organisation that big a secret for long - but I think I was more concerned about the personnel. Many of the gound-based agents (in local garages or shops, fur trappers' log cabins or a businessman's home) obviously live double lives.
Presumably, the elite agents on Cloudbase would be protected from the publicity by their code names etc. much in the way the FBI/CIA/MI5 work today.
One annual tells us that Ochre's death was faked to protect him whilst he was in Spectrum - and, presumably, Magenta's got a cover story to save him from Mob reprisals too (although I can't remember if that appeared in fan-fic or a published source.)
Scarlet - it seems - can't have his picture taken by conventional cameras (a topic discussed elsewhere on this forum) but if that protection isn't extended to the others - surely someone would recognise them and say - hey, Richard Fraser wasn't killed or Pat Dongahue isn't in prison (or whatever) which would make their lives more difficult?

[chrisbishop]

Scarlet - it seems - can't have his picture taken by conventional cameras (a topic discussed elsewhere on this forum) but if that protection isn't extended to the others - surely someone would recognise them

Who says he can't have his picture taken by conventional cameras?! Would it mean that Spectrum spent COUNTLESS of dollars (or whatever is used by the World Government in the latest part of the 21st Century) fo develop an X-ray camera for nothing, when they could only use a normal camera?!

Concerning the 'fogging image' - I'm still a strong believer of the 'camera fogging device' as a security equipment for Spectrum, as discussed in The X-ray Question topic some times ago, in The Mysterons board.

I also found a related topic in this same board here, called Hidden Identity, that might add a few thoughts to this debate here.

[Marion]

It is an conundrum... Why do they need a Mysteron detector if they can spot one by taking a photograph?
However: Black does show up on film (Manhunt) and the Mysteron detector makes very few appearances on the TV after it's invention.
Maybe someone cottoned on to what a waste it was?

[Kinggodzillak]

Something to add to this...in Special Assignment, Scarlet tells Blue that the casino owners threatened to report his gambling to Spectrum. There's no way to know whether that's just a lie, but I'm guessing it isn't.

[Sage]

With the camera thingy, I remember Scarlet twisted some little extra gizmo into his button.
It was never quite clear what that was, probably a camera as he able to get pictures of that guy.
Still think it could have had some inbuild device that cloaks whoever is wearing it. So they appeared as a shilouette (sp) in the picture, as Scarlet did in that episode.