"They want to destroy the earth... He won't let that happen!"

New Captain Scarlet, Gerry Anderson's digital remake of his and Sylvia Anderson's classic 1967 Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, turns 20 years old this week. The 26-episode CGI production reimagined the original series for the 21st century, bringing with it all the darkly exciting action, terror, drama and adventure that the classic series is famed for. 

In celebration of New Captain Scarlet's 20th anniversary, we're counting down out top 10 episodes from this stunning reinvention of the war of nerves! 

10. Mercury Falling

The Mysterons play a surprisingly minor role in this early gem from the series' earlier episodes. Mercury Falling highlights how menacing New Captain Scarlet could still be without the Mysterons as the main enemy. Captain Blue and Destiny Angel's piloting of the Mercury shuttle to launch an early warning systems satellite into orbit is thrown into chaos when an unseen saboteur hijacks the shuttle and threatens to crash-land the craft into Washington. Spectrum suspect Mysteron interference, but the real enemy is found to be closer to home. 'Mercury Falling' offers a neatly balanced mixture of cosmic danger and slow-burn mystery.

9. Heist

The Mysterons' plan to hijack a trainload of gold is in fact a cover-up for a scheme with far more devastating consequences. Lowlife thugs under the command of Captain Black capture Colonel White's daughter, forcing him to commit the robbery, with her as hostage. The actual plan to frame the Colonel for the crime and thus compromise Spectrum's leadership is a handsome reminder of the intelligent storytelling at work throughout New Captain Scarlet. The personal intensity of the Mysterons' plan involving Colonel White is emphasised by the snapshot into Charles' homelife, disrupted by the Mysterons. Heist highlights how the Colonel must place a near-permanent distance between himself and his family in the line of duty, but also how the Mysterons can ignore that distance and thrust the Colonel's family into jeopardy.

8. Touch of the Reaper

If any episode of New Captain Scarlet captures the grotesque extent to which the Mysterons are willing to carry out their threats, it's Touch of the Reaper. A pair of scientists are replicated into living infections that can pass on a deadly virus with a single touch - or kiss! The CCTV capturing of the Mysterons' replication process occurring results in Captain Scarlet suffering a minor existential crisis in his sense of self, questioning his own humanity now that it's so irreversibly hardwired with Mysteron characteristics. Balancing this welcome injection of characterisation is some of the series' deadliest and thrilling action set pieces, including a desperate pursuit of Air Force One when Spectrum realise the Mysterons' final target.

7. The Homecoming

The unexpected return of Commander Lewis, Lieutenant Green's father, when his space capsule from a manned mission to Jupiter turns out to not be the cause for celebration everyone believes it initially is. This emotionally-charged episode pits father against daughter when Commander Lewis is revealed to be in the hands of the Mysterons. The lieutenant is forced to push her feelings aside and help to stop this replicant from destroying the reactor of the International Space Agency's Propulsion Research Unit. 'The Homecoming' captures the despicable lows the Mysterons are willing to sink to, targeting Spectrum on an intimately personal level.

6. Proteus

'Proteus' feels like the natural next step in how Heist and The Homecoming highlight the found family relationship between Colonel White and Lieutenant Green. The Mysterons succeed in hijacking the advanced computer systems of the US Navy's new warship, the Proteus. The Mysterons threaten to attack the Chinese president with it, triggering a new world war into action. Captain Scarlet and Lieutenant Green must ward off an army of enemy maintenance drones before Proteus can launch its warheads, injecting the episode with a nerve-twisting 'base under siege' scenario. The claustrophobic setting and injured Colonel give Proteus a hugely satisfying centre-stage for Lieutenant Green to showcase her firepower. 

5. Syrtis Major

Another episode that delights in twisting expectations, Syrtis Major improves upon the isolated Martian setting seen in Rat Trap with a unsubtle finger pointed at the underhand scheming of corporate operatives. Spectrum journey to Mars to discover the fates of several workers from Vulcan Industries' mining operation when the firm sneakily resumes the functioning of its Mars base, despite a planet-wide restriction. The episode's eerie attitude and bleakly abandoned set designs make for a compelling journey into the unknown. Has the base fallen under Mysteron control? And why are tensions escalating to such extremes that Spectrum start to turn on each other? 

4. The Achilles Messenger

An intriguing idea peppered throughout plenty of Captain Scarlet media is the notion that the Mysterons are capable of individual consciousnesses, that they are not entirely a unified being with the sole agenda of destroying Earth. The comic spin-offs of the original Captain Scarlet grappled with such an idea, but The Achilles Messenger presents us with the paranoia of how far we can trust a Mysteron who claims that they too want the war of nerves to end peaceably. Scarlet and Destiny opening the episode with a violent and breathless escape from a Spectrum Training Centre, drenched in quite visible bruises, lend a grimly engrossing undertone to the episode. Alas, the war of nerves fails to be resolved, but the acknowledgement of some grey morality within the Mysterons is a welcome one.

3. Enigma

In whatever incarnation of Captain Scarlet you may prefer, the ever-present concept is that the less we know about the Mysterons, the better. In both puppet classic and CGI remake, we never learn the full extent of the Mysterons' capabilities, lending them a haunting 'unknown' quality that's displayed at its most effective in Enigma. The landing of a gargantuan Mysteron UFO results in Captains Scarlet, Blue, Grey and Ochre stepping into a surreal labyrinth of uncertainty. New Captain Scarlet's CGI qualities are in full force here, the interior of the Mysteron craft embracing physical impossibilities that distort reality. Sure enough, it's all eventually revealed to be an elaborate ruse to distract Spectrum from a more tangible attack. A powerfully weird episode.

2. Best of Enemies

New Captain Scarlet benefits hugely from Captain Scarlet and Captain Black being the ones who unknowingly trigger the war of nerves into life, lending a biting personal vendetta against the pair whenever they appear onscreen. It's not just the capture of this Mysteron agent that's Scarlet's ongoing mission, but the possible return of his best friend. But now, they are best of enemies, with this episode cleverly isolating the pair inside an upturned Rhino at the bottom of a frozen Russian lake and forced to work together to escape. Nigel Plaskitt excels as Conrad here, a trapped individual who can't fully be trusted, but still elicits sympathy when his human side can still overpower his Mysteron masters.

1. Dominion

Paul and Conrad's relationship is once again at the forefront of this enthralling series finale. In perfect symmetry with the series' opening two-parter, Instruments of Destruction, it's Scarlet and Black who venture back to Mars to try to end the war of nerves once and for fall. After successfully capturing an injured Conrad when an attack in Siberia goes awry, he declares himself to be free of the Mysterons. Naturally, nearly all of Spectrum isn't willing to trust him, but what's equally natural is that Paul is the only one who does. Defying orders, Scarlet helps Black escape, with the pair venturing back to Mars to end the Mysteron menace. Dominion thrills in serving as a satisfying culmination of all that's occurred throughout the series. Can this really be the end of the war? Or is Spectrum's indestructible superman being led into the ultimate death? 

20 years since its debut, New Captain Scarlet can rightly claim to be the dark horse of Gerry Anderson's far-reaching canon. The series' cinematically ambitious CGI is easily matched by its mature characterisations, compelling adventures, and thrilling action that effortlessly transplants the war of nerves into the 21st century.

Discover New Captain Scarlet on ITVX, Amazon Prime, or on Blu-ray/DVD from the Official Gerry Anderson store! Learn about the secrets of the series with our New Captain Scarlet Primer, too!

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