Captain Scarlet and Captain Black

[Marion]

The question of the relationship between Captain Scarlet and Captain Black has intrigued me for some time.
The general consensus is that they were friends; indeed it has recently been asserted that Captain Black brought Colonel Paul Metcalfe to the attention of Spectrum’s selection Committee, the inference being he recommended Paul as a suitable candidate, and in NCS much play is made of the fact that Scarlet and Black were bosom pals.
But I am not so sure that this is the case in OCS, and, left to myself, I am inclined to imagine they were not friendly, but that there was, in fact, an antipathy between them.
Let me review the facts as we know them from the 1960 sources (CS annuals for 1968 and 1969).
Conrad Turner is the elder of the two men. Born in Manchester, in 2029, he was orphaned at an early age and raised by distant and indifferent relatives. I assume he lived his life in northern England, although there have been suggestions - designed to account for the American accent Black is heard to speak with in the opening episode when he is leading the expedition on Mars – that this distant relative was an American, or lived in America. I tend to think that his accent, which vanishes on his Mysteronisation, can be accounted for by the years he spent in the World Army Air Force and the World Space Patrol.
But be that as it may, the annuals’ biographies assert that, at 15, Conrad entered Manchester’s Technical Academy and graduated 18 months later with diplomas in physics, space navigation and international law. He then went on to study Science and Technology at Northern University, once again graduating in 18 months.
At 18 years of age (2047) he joined the British Air Force and, that same winter, gained fame when he saved an airbase from destruction, by piloting a booby-trapped plane away from the site.
I wonder what the impact of such intense media attention was on the young Conrad Turner, and how he felt to be feted as a hero, after a life, described as lacking in any real emotional support, which had left him ‘cold and hard’ and something of a recluse?
Certainly, once his recovery from his considerable injuries was complete he changed services and joined the WAAF, leaving celebrity behind him. He changed services again in 2054, joining the World Space Patrol, where he once more becomes famous as the captain of Fireball XL3, rising to the rank of commander (or sometimes colonel) at the age of 28.
In contrast, Captain Scarlet grew up in Winchester, in a well-to-do family, with a long military tradition. We know nothing about his home life, except that he went to University in Winchester, gaining degrees in history, technology and employment of maths. Thereafter he crossed the Atlantic to West Point, where he began his military career.
He was acclaimed as the ‘supreme soldier’ by staff and students alike, and joined the WAAF in 2063 at the age of 26/27. Some sources say he joined as a private, which seems a waste of all that training (not to mention a severe case of hubris), but be that as it may, Paul Metcalfe was a colonel by the time Spectrum approached him in 2065.
It seems unlikely that the two men’s paths had crossed before they entered Spectrum. By 2063, Turner was firmly ensconced in Fireball XL3, for a start.
When they did enter Spectrum – both of them described as ‘one of the first to be approached’ – Captain Black, the oldest of all the colour-captains, was appointed ‘tutor’ to the new recruits and assigned the task of training the younger men in all the necessary skills. This suggests he had been a member of Spectrum for longer than they, and had received his training already.
The elite squad of colour captains originated from all walks of life: only 2 of them, apart from Black and Scarlet, having had direct military training, although it is possible that Captain Blue may have done some basic ‘square bashing’. It is not known if the World Aeronautical Society was a military-based organisation, and I tend to imagine it as civilian outfit, albeit on the fringes of the military establishment.
So, here we have a situation where Captain Scarlet, the ‘Supreme Soldier’, described (off-duty) as ‘full of fun, carefree and bursting with energy’, is expected to receive training from a dour, ‘harsh’ career-soldier-turned-astronaut.
I believe that there may have been some antagonism between them for this reason, and the possibility that Black might have regarded Scarlet as favoured by fortune, and seen his meteoric rise to importance, as more a product of who he was and not what he was. In addition, Scarlet may well have felt patronised by the less charismatic and, in his view, less knowledgeable Captain Black, whose orders he was obliged to obey.
We can’t know if any of this has any relevance to the story as it is played out in OCS – where relationships do not play such an important role as they do in NCS – but I would be interested to know what sources state that Black and Scarlet were close friends, and any other views anyone has on the matter.
Assuming any one else has any views…

[MMK]

Of course we all have our views... we just don't always share them.

(classic_s) To put it simply, I think that Black and Scarlet are opposites:
Black being

'cold and hard'

and Scarlet being

‘full of fun, carefree and bursting with energy’

and therefore must have 'clashed' (did not get on well with each other).


Even though I'm a 'keen' fan of NCS, I am unsure about their relationship as I cannot find as background info about characters etc. in NCS than in OCS.

[Sage]

Yeah I can't see that they would have been friends, for the reasons Marion mentioned. They're both exceptional driven men, so a rivalry seems inevitable; without a friendship/rapport to temper it.

I honestly don't know where the idea that they could have been friends would come from; as there's nothing in canon to suggest it, or in the general consensus of other writers. Which is not to say it couldn't be done, but it would take some real work to be convincing.

I don't see Scarlet as being 'carefree' and all either. From what we se in canon h's more driven, prone to brooding and other solitary things. Obviously this is post-mysterons, and being a human freakshow probably wouldn't make you life of the party. But I doubt he'd have changed that much in such a short time.

No real comment on NCS, I'm not invested enough in it to really form opinions/theories.

[MMK]

Now that you mention it, Sage, I don't think Scarlet would be carefree. Since he comes from a military background - so did Black - and that Scarlet managed to rise to the rank of Colonel in the WAAF. But, I think Marion was trying to say that, he's probably more carefree than Black was.
Am I right, Marion?

[Marion]

I'm not saying it at all - I think Scarlet was probably a precocious little twerp, very motivated and very ego-centric. The 68 and 69 annuals (which is where all the descriptions come from) say that he is 'full of fun and carefree', and a great favourite with all the Angels - who obviously have NO taste!
Maybe I have got the wrong impression about the consensus being that they were great friends, then? (Wouldn't be the first time ) Only I'm sure I've had discussions about my theory that they didn't like each other before now, and been told they were friends... I'll just shut up before I dig myself into even deeper trouble with Colonel Chris and the Paulines!
As with the 'an Angel for every Captain' theory, it just doesn't seem likely to me that everyone in Spectrum is going to be bosom pals with everyone else. Real Life ain't like that. You work with people you might not chose to associate with if you had the choice, and can have a perfectly fine working relationship with them, without being 'friends'.
Well, that's my theory anyway

[Sage]

I know what you mean.
He is described that way in every canon source I've ever seen, so that's why it gets referenced. Even though it didn't quite translate on to screen it's still a point of reference, it's still must be how they imagined the character. It just wouldn't be an Anderson show with stuff like that.

[MMK]

He is described that way in every canon source I've ever seen, so that's why it gets referenced. Even though it didn't quite translate on to screen it's still a point of reference, it's still must be how they imagined the character. It just wouldn't be an Anderson show with stuff like that.

It's not always as easy as it looks translating stuff onto screen.


I think I'll shut up about NCS Scarlet.
1. There's minimal detail about him (or the other characters)
2. The only details there are, are: name, age, qualifications etc., family/friends.
There isn't even any info on 'relationships' .
Unless there is more that I have missed.

[Marion]

Sage said:

He is described that way in every canon source I've ever seen, so that's why it gets referenced. Even though it didn't quite translate on to screen it's still a point of reference, it's still must be how they imagined the character. It just wouldn't be an Anderson show with stuff like that.

You got that absolutely plumb! Oh, the joys of Anderson (non) continuity!

MMK, if all we had was the TV show, no one would know anything about the characters OCS either. It's the merchandising that provided the backgrounds and with NCS they failed to follow that up.

[Sage]

I know, and that is such a shame. For a show to survive you need to engage the fanbase in that way.

I'm not saying it at all - I think Scarlet was probably a precocious little twerp, very motivated and very ego-centric. The 68 and 69 annuals (which is where all the descriptions come from) say that he is 'full of fun and carefree', and a great favourite with all the Angels - who obviously have NO taste!

LOL really, never would have guessed you weren't fangirl over him.
That does seem a more accurate take, considering his having achieved so much, and the way he is on screen (even pre-retrometabolism, or did I just imagine the resentment in his voice when Brown got chosen to be field commander over hm).
So yeah it's not just you.

Maybe I have got the wrong impression about the consensus being that they were great friends, then? (Wouldn't be the first time ) Only I'm sure I've had discussions about my theory that they didn't like each other before now, and been told they were friends... I'll just shut up before I dig myself into even deeper trouble with Colonel Chris and the Paulines!

Hmm I never noticed it either, from discussion or fics.
Nah you'll be fine. We're all grown up enough to let everyone have their own view. And I've got your back

As with the 'an Angel for every Captain' theory, it just doesn't seem likely to me that everyone in Spectrum is going to be bosom pals with everyone else. Real Life ain't like that. You work with people you might not chose to associate with if you had the choice, and can have a perfectly fine working relationship with them, without being 'friends'.
Well, that's my theory anyway

I used to go for that, when I was younger. But now it doesn't seem likely, and anyway it's more fun to play with diffrent relationships/dynamics (even with the pairings I do write the relationships all pan out diffrently).
They're probably more civil and get along better than they might otherwise considering the job/enviroment, but that's not the same as 'best friends forever'.

[Marion]

Sage wrote:

Nah you'll be fine. We're all grown up enough to let everyone have their own view. And I've got your back

ROFL! That's such a comfort to know

Sage wrote:

LOL really, never would have guessed you weren't fangirl over him.

Actually, since I've been writing more about him recently, I'm not quite as 'anti' as I used to be. Mind you, five minutes of watching him strut about the screen and I'll be back to where I was. And yes, I think he sounds rather peeved when Colonel White gives field command to Captain Brown as well. My guess is that Scarlet had been 'mentoring' the other man and wasn't best pleased to have his authority usurped.

[Sage]

Hoped you might think so

Yeah I'm totally the same way. It makes it all the more satisfying to inflict some terrible fate on him.
That was my theory too.

[Parker Gabriel]

What Kim Murphy sent to me in the way of backstory, before SHE married J. Calvin Smith, said only that Paul Metcalfe was fourth-generation World Army-and-Air Force; in "Whose Heart Is Blackest?", on which she and Richard Spake collaborated, she described Metcalfe as a proud man who tried to avoid receiving special favors and wanted to avoid accusations of riding his famous father's reputation. Both of these distinctive personality traits had made him work doubly hard to earn everything he ever did earn in his life. This led him to develop an impetuous streak that almost certainly eased his rise through the ranks, by way of the WAAF Special Forces, or "Red Berets," to youngest full colonel in WAAF history.

[Marion]

Thanks for that.
I still have trouble seeing Metcalfe enrolling in the ranks and rising to colonel in two years, without (whether he knows, or likes it, or not) some 'special favours'. I also can't quite see how an 'impetuous streak' would help his rise through the ranks - an officer's duty is to follow orders and (I hope) look out for the men under his command. Rushing off to do things impetuously doesn't sound like fast-track officer material to me.
However, I am not that familiar with military ways (apart from one long-dead uncle, I've never known anyone in the services) so I'll take note (and a pinch of salt!).
What Kim Murphy sent is - as far as I can see - based on the conventional biographical material, and makes as much sense of it as anything does.

[Elentari]

In peace time you do have to spend a minimum amount of time in each rank before being eligible for promotion (and by eligible I mean you have to have passed certain courses, get good reports from your superiors that state among other things that you are fit to be promoted etc etc).

In war time however, field promotions could fast track a soldier/sailor/airman up the ranks. However, some of those promotions might only be acting positions and the person may, depending on the circumstances, eventually revert back to his/her substantive rank.

[LadyP]

My dear Elentari, do you mean that they don't simply take into account how splendid a man looks in his uniform when they hand out promotions?
I can't help but feel that they are missing the point here.
I shall have to have a serious word with some of the Top Brass, next time I bump into them at a dinner party, and suggest that the services might benefit from a woman's touch.
I shall, of course, be only too happy to volunteer my services.