Possibly one of the best presidents known to mankind, World President James T. Younger is a semi-reccuring character from the television series Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, and any subsequent audio and comic adventures. He appeared in episodes The Mysterons, Spectrum Strikes Back, and in flashback footage in Traitor, as well the audio adventures Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Captain Scarlet of Spectrum.
He was voiced by Paul Maxwell (television) and Francis Matthews (audio).
The Mysterons
After a misunderstanding on Mars, the Mysterons declare their first threat to be the assassination of the World President. Spectrum agents Captain Scarlet and Captain Brown are assigned to make security arrangements and a secret rendezvous in New York. However, on the way there, they're both killed in a car crash engineered by the Mysterons. The two men are reconstructed, and complete the arrangements.
The Mysteron Captain Scarlet returns to Cloudbase, while the Mysteron Captain Brown stays in New York to escort President Younger to a Maximum Security Building, in a Maximum Security Vehicle. During the screening process, Captain Brown sounds the alarms, but it proves to be a false alarm after he disposes of his cigarettes. They are both cleared and they descend 18 stories down, to the Maximum Security Suite. After joking about Three-Dimensional Chess, Captain Brown becomes unresponsive. After several tense moments, he explodes, blowing the building to pieces.
However, it turns out that he survived, thanks to "ejecting" into a bomb-proof compartment. He is recovered by Spectrum, and evacuated to Cloudbase. Colonel White reviews the security footage caught with a monitoring camera, and it proves that Captain Brown did explode, triggering a larger bomb hidden in the building. It also proved that President Younger "ejected" with a mere second to spare.
Captain Scarlet takes the World President in a Spectrum Passenger Jet to London, escorted by the Angels. Shortly after launch, Lieutenant Green receives a message from Spectrum New York, saying that they have found Captain Brown's body at the Spectrum Saloon Vehicle's crash site. Colonel White realises that whatever had happened to Captain Brown must have also happened to Captain Scarlet, and orders his returns. However, the Mysteron duplicate ignores the orders, and injures President Younger when he tries to radio for help. Under the orders of Colonel White, Destiny Angel performs a dummy attack on the jet, which causes the two men to eject. They land over the English countryside, approximately 60 miles from London city, and hijack a car. Colonel White orders to have a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle on the road as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Captain Scarlet heads in a northerly direction towards London, and Destiny Angel keeps a constant radio fix on his position. Captain Blue heads to a gas station, and after showing his pass to the attendant, a Swift Removals truck explodes, revealing a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle.
Destiny Angel radios in Captain Scarlet's current position; they are heading for the London Car-Vu on the M21. Rhapsody Angel destroys a nearby bridge, and forces Captain Scarlet up the London Car-Vu. Colonel White calls in Spectrum Helicopter A42, and tells the team that Captain Scarlet is now trapped. However, Captain Black has taken over Helicopter A42, and it will pick up Captain Scarlet and President Younger from the top of the Car-Vu. Captain Scarlet, the World President, and Captain Blue have all by now arrived at the Car-Vu. Captain Scarlet holds President Younger at gunpoint and takes him to a outcropping satellite dish. Captain Blue dons a jetpack and starts an assault on Captain Scarlet, instructing Helicopter A42 to do the same. However, as Helicopter A42 is under Mysteron controls, it works against Captain Blue, shooting him instead. Blue instructs Destiny Angel to shoot down the Helicopter, and after a few goes it crashes into the Car-Vu, causing a massive fire. A fierce gun battle ensues between Captain Blue and Captain Scarlet, resulting in the latter falling off the satellite structure. Using the jetpack, Captain Blue rescues the President with little time to spare, and the whole structure collapses.
Trivia
- The puppet used as President Younger also made an appearance in another Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episode, as Doctor Sommers in Expo 2068. It received a rather dramatic facelift, too.
- The original script for this episode reveals that Patrick McGoohan was originally to be cast as the President, but this was later dropped due to budgetary constraints.