Captain Scarlet jets into Japan and the US

Cult 60s puppet series Captain Scarlet has proved a sales driver for Carlton International, after the UK distributor has inked licence deals in Japan, the UK, the US, Finland and Israel.

Japan's Tohokushinsha has taken broadcast, DVD, video and merchandise rights to the Gerry Anderson classic. The Asian company has previous inked a similar deal with Carlton for another of Anderson's 60s puppet shows, Thunderbirds.

In the UK, the BBC is lining up an autumn airing for Captain Scarlet – originally produced for ITV – and in Finland, MTV Oy has picked up rights to the 32×25' show. Israel's DTH satellite service Yes TV and Cyprus's CBC have also acquired a Captain Scarlet licence.

In the US, A&E Home Video has inked a ten-year DVD deal with Carlton for all Anderson's Supermarionation titles, including Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds.

Carlton Video will be releasing VHSs and DVDs of the show in the UK, while Vivid Imaginations is producing Captain Scarlet toys and playsets.

As for Thunderbirds, the show has been taken by Foxtel (Australia), TV3 (New Zealand), Canal Jimmy (France), Tohokushinsha (Japan), Kid Central, MediaCorp TV12 (Singapore) and Star TV (Asia).