Spectrum Acrostics

[Parker Gabriel]

P ossesses the power of retro-metabolism
A rmy general officer's son
U ncomfortable with formalities and the receipt of medals and decorations
L ived in Winchester, Hampshire, England as a boy

M other's spirit-and-image in appearance
E arned Victoria Cross and Knight Commander, Most Honourable Order of the Bath
T rained historian
C olonel in the World Army Air Force Special Forces ("Red Berets") who retired early to join Spectrum
A cts impetuously at times
L ived to escape Mysterons and became "virtually indestructible"
F irst Captain of his class at West Point
E xpert in ordnance

Better to use PHRASES rather than single words, I figured. All these phrases are descriptive.

[Serena Lewis]

NCS Blue...

Big
Lummox
Usually
Entertaining



xx

[Parker Gabriel]

A gent of the World Aeronautical Society
D isappointed his father with his career choice of test piloting
A ssassins thrice failed to kill him
M assachusetts financier's oldest son

S erves as Captain Scarlet's field partner
V ery fond of the Symphony Angel
E xpert at driving Spectrum Pursuit Vehicles and flying Spectrum Passenger Jets
N ot as tough as Captain Scarlet and thus more cautious
S tudied at and graduated from Harvard
O riginally a test pilot in the WAS and later Inspector General of its United States chapter
N arrowly missed betraying Spectrum to the Mysterons

I've already done for Paul Metcalfe; this is for Adam Svenson.

[Parker Gabriel]

C ommander-In-Chief of the Spectrum Organization
H olds degrees from Norwich University
A dmiral in the World Navy
R ebelled against the British military tyranny
L ost his wife when she miscarried their first-born son
E scaped one assassination attempt solely due to Captain Scarlet's insubordination
S ecret Service Director

G ave Captain Brown the only "big assignment" he ever got
R otating desk contains his contacts with Spectrum agents
A ngers more easily than mean average
Y ears younger than most general officers and flag officers

For now, I'm staying clear of Captain Magenta and Captain Ochre because their real names still can't be depicted with any accuracy with the available font colours.

[Parker Gabriel]

C ommanded Fireball XL3 in the World Space Patrol
O rphaned in the Atomic War of 2028
N o surviving family other than a distant relative in Manchester, England
R emains primary Mysteron agent on Earth
A ttacked the Mysteron complex illegally and without provocation
D ematerializes with Mysteron assistance if cornered

T raining of new Spectrum recruits was once his responsibility
U nder warrant of criminal arrest for war-monging
R ecruited Paul Metcalfe into Spectrum by bringing him to the attention of its Selection Committee
N early killed saving a British air base from a terrorist bomb
E xecutive officer of Cloudbase before Zero-X Mission to Mars (NOTE: This is personal speculation.)
R etains a pallid-complected and unshaven appearance

Nor will I bother with any of the Angels.

[Marion]

What's wrong with Ochre and Magenta ?

I don't remember reading that Black recruited Scarlet into Spectrum, either. I thought the selection process was done by a World Goverment Committee?

[Parker Gabriel]

I don't remember reading that Black recruited Scarlet into Spectrum. I thought the selection process was done by a World Goverment Committee.

It was Conrad Turner--Captain Black--who brought Paul Metcalfe--Captain Scarlet--to the attention of the Spectrum Selection Committee of the World Government. That was how I meant when I used the phrase in the acrostic.

My apologies for any misunderstanding.

[Parker Gabriel]

R ejected from college and the World Army Air Force for insufficient high-school graduation credits
I nterested more in building plastic model aircraft than in high school
C ommander of Detectives for World Government Police Department United States "precinct"
H as no advanced academic degrees
A cclaimed detective after he earned his plainclothes shield
R esident of Detroit, Michigan as a boy
D iscovered an interest in criminology as a WGPD cop (NOTE: This is personal speculation.)

F light skills first acquired at age 16
R umored to be interested in the Melody Angel
A ble to prevent an explosive diamond pulsator from destroying Cloudbase on one occasion
S taged his own assassination on the streets of Unity City
E ffective against organized crime during his WGPD tenure
R eceived surgical alterations AND shaved off heavy whiskers before joining Spectrum

Thanx to Marion Woods for encouraging me.

[Marion]

Parker Gabriel said:

It was Conrad Turner--Captain Black--who brought Paul Metcalfe--Captain Scarlet--to the attention of the Spectrum Selection Committee of the World Government.

Where does it say that, as a matter of interest. I don't recall seeing it, but then I don't claim to be an expert and I certainly haven't read every source there is.
In my fiction, Scarlet and Black do not get on very well, and something I'm working on (off and on - usually more off than on, at the moment (sigh)) touches on this. I'd be interested to know if I'm on the wrong track.

[luvmylops]

Methinks Mr Gabriel is pulling his information from Chris Bishop's fanfic All The Colours of the Rainbow.

[Parker Gabriel]

I'm not relying on that at all. Back when Power Star: The Imagination Anthology was being published, I tried to submit a story I called "Scarlet Against Scarlet." The first time I tried to do that, Kimberly Murphy-Smith (with whom I'm sure Mary Rudy still keeps in touch--or do you, Mary?) dispatched me a printed sheet containing Gerry Anderson's and Sylvia Anderson's back-stories for all the characters--she left out only Captain Grey. What I remember of that has been my main source for information.

Did the Colonel rely on the same source? For I've lost my copy.

[chrisbishop]

I relied on official sources: the annuals that were released way back at the end of the 60s, magazines, references books (particularly the one written by Chris Drake and Graeme Bessett), the "Complete Captain Scarlet Book", "The Encyclopedia of Captain Scarlet", from the Century 21 Magazine, Issue 15, released in the 1990s, cards, the TV show itself, the comic strips, novels, blueprints... In brief, all official source endorsed and/or published, at one time or another by the organisation behind the show.

The biographies as such might contain fan fic information, when it was deemed relevant or having had some sort of impact in the fandom, but that information is clearly stated by the various authors of the biographies, AS being fanfic rleated, so that there would no mistake done that they are not official sources.

The only access to Power Star I had was to the fanfic published there. And aside from a handful of stories, I didn't take anything else. I don't remember having even seen any biography sheet in it.

[Parker Gabriel]

The info sheet that I got was dispatched directly to me from Kim Murphy, and only left Captain Grey's backstory out.

[Marion]

Parker Gabriel wrote:

The info sheet that I got was dispatched directly to me from Kim Murphy, and only left Captain Grey's backstory out.

Where did s/he get it from? Was it compiled from official sources?
I started a new thread to discuss this - as I am keen to understand what is officially known about the inter-action between the two characters - for the purely selfish reason that I'm trying to write about them...
http://spectrum-headquarters.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1181
So any input is welcome.

[Marion]

D ebutante
I ngenue
A ngel
N ormally
N ice (to)
E veryone


Okay, so sue me...