Fave Episode in Season 2

[foster]

Perhaps it's only negative comments that we seem to notice the most, or perhaps those some negative comments are easier to come by than the positive ones?

That I have to agree with Chris. You're right though, humans do have flaws, and I guess we should respect that.[/quote]

[Serena Lewis]

To quote The Secretive Bus on one of his excellent Hanna-Babera show reviews...

It’s far more difficult to analyse something that’s great rather than something that’s pants.

It's basically easier to say negative things than positive things. I think that's why I, and some other people, go on about are least fave characters and such...

xx

[Marion]

I think Destiny was an experiment that went wrong - by the series makers, I mean.
Presumably the idea was that here would be this top-notch woman pilot, pretty, intelligent, well-liked and engaged (or at least, involved with) this captain who goes and dies on a mission.
It so happens, that his best friend was in love with her too - and he survived - so, here he is in the difficult situation of not knowing if he should make a move or not, because she's all cut up over Captain Black.
Having got the characters to that point in a relationship, they didn't seem to know what to do with them. Destiny became the second lead - Blue was banished to the periphery - and she got to do anything Spectrum wanted doing, only she generally mucked it up. By the time they used less of her, we (well, me at least) were sick of the whole thing.
Might've been better if Scarlet had made a move and she'd either decked him, or fallen into his arms, because, as it was, his indecision just made him look a wimp and her look like a tart - as she appeared to fling herself at any man who so much as spoke to her, and - what's more - seemed to think they'd all be delighted.
Maybe it just fell between two stools? No time in the show, and no interest from the target audience (who seem to have ignored the whole show, more or less), for a 'real 'romantic storyline or to develop the characters enough to make it apparant WHY Scarlet (and everyone else) had a high opinion of Destiny - high enough to cut her enough slack so she could flounce about.
Colonel White should probably have sent her on extended compassion leave when she tried to resign - or better yet - accepted the offer.
That is probably why they never had chance to expand on the secondary characters as well. The series is too short for the lesser characters to develop any personality - same thing applies to OCS -most of what we know about Grey, Magenta and Ochre comes from the incidental merchandising, annuals and comics.
The Series is named after Captain Scarlet - and even he doesn't get that good a deal - in either version.

[gojohnniegogo]

The Series is named after Captain Scarlet - and even he doesn't get that good a deal - in either version.

But more so in OCS than NCS, by quite a bit! Mostly in agreement with you Marion, whether or not they expected the show to be successful enough for another series to further develop the characters, we'll never know. It probably would have been, given a decent scheduling. Be interesting to find out what time slots it got in other countries I think.

[foster]

Be interesting to find out what time slots it got in other countries I think.

It was on at midnight in Japan, but the other countries got relatively the same times as us. Maybe a bit later, maybe a bit earlier.

[Cpt.Lilac]

I like 'The Storm at the end of the World' - it has some nice scenes between Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue and they don't seem to have so many adventures together in this series.
It was quite shocking when Scarlet thought Blue might be dead.

[Skybase Girl]

Thank you ,Chris, the voice of reason, as usual !

I have to admit ,( ok, from a rather long-in-the-tooth perspective !) that I'm finding the whole love/hate debate rather tedious.

Let's face it everyone, as far as characters are concerned, what you've got is what you've got - someone else's vision, to make of what you will, if you intend to write about them. I appreciate not everyone is interested in having a go at the fiction, of course.

Still, we must like something about it all, or we wouldn't be on this site in the first place ( after all, it's not really for anyone with just a passing interest, is it ? ) .

[Skybase Girl]

Postscript - didn't read page two of this before I replied. Shooting from the hip as usual !

Marion is probably right about the character dilemmas. The series ( all of them) suffered from lack of time. I get the feeling that NCS character and situation sypnopsis were written by men, along with the scripts and didn't address the emotional side of the situation in any way realistically. Ladies, we would have done much better ! ( Apologies to those chaps out there who feel they are very much in touch with their feminine side )

For what it's worth, my fave episodes from series 2 were "Virus", "Best of Enemies" and "Syrtis Major". Don't ask me to choose.....

[Marion]

Skybase Girl said:

I have to admit ,( ok, from a rather long-in-the-tooth perspective !) that I'm finding the whole love/hate debate rather tedious.

Yes, indeed. There is little point arguing it on the forum any longer - if you have an relationship/characterisation/plot continuation you want to promote - why don't you try writing a story that convinces everyone you have a point

[Serena Lewis]

We have argued it on the forum for too long now, I guess. I've lost the will to live, so I won't say anymore
I've tried writing the stories, converted no one to liking Magenta yet. Hopefully, it'll work at some point. Next one sent...

xx

[Skybase Girl]

Oh, I don't know, Serena. I thought you showed Magenta in a much better light than the TV episodes did. Which just goes to show, that all so-called stereotypes have hidden depths. ( Well, may have, it's up to us fictional sleuths to find them. ).

I think that the overlooked characters, or the unpopular ones, are by far the most interesting, because you are forced to look for redeeming qualities and/or reasons for why they are the way they are.

Only problem I have with NCS Magenta is, why is he so weird looking ? ( Marion, you thought Original Blue had cheekbones to ski down, but compared to this guy........? ) One thing about Original Magenta, he was gorgeous, but I think NCS graphics got mark 2 a little wrong - then again, that's maybe my taste in male looks !

[Serena Lewis]

He has got rather...unusual cheekbones. Poor guy. I think he's nice looking, in a strange way...

xx

P.S. Oh! I've worked out who he looks like now! That (funnily enough) puppet off the Dolmio sauces advert (Carlo, I think)!
Sorry...bit off topic in a way, but watch it, and he does look like Carlo!

[Skybase Girl]

i know what you mean. I get the feeling that he was meant to be classically good-looking in a chiselled sort of way, but something went wrong in the graphic process....

The CGI work on the whole series is excellent, but I feel that, while there may be other things that people have an issue with, Magenta is, for me, the only GI that looks as if he's a cartoon, rather than a real character. I know, I know, Blue was also like that in the beginning, but they refined him. And yes, there is the subject of Green's eyes, at times ! Maybe Magenta and the other more minor characters would have had the same attention to detail, had the series continued. Which brings us back to Marion's point about where ( if anywhere ) the characters were going, in NCS ! We need Series 3 , anyone listening out there ? !

[shaqui]

I voted 'Best Of Enemies' as, having made Black more of a character for NCS rather than the moody but bland cipher in the original, it was good to have character scenes between him and Scarlet for once.

It also gave the most tantlising glimpse that Conrad may still exist, under the Mysteron control... making for an emotional but understated ending...



But season two was consistently great overall, and makes one wish for much, much more.

(tears for a diff reason now!)

[Cpt. Amber]

Grey skulls for definite.
Elaine is my favourite character, simply for that reason.