Note To T.V. Producers - when making a sci-fi series, it is never a good idea to specify the year in which it is set. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 'U.F.O.' was made in 1970, but set ten years in the future, meaning it now looks bizarre compared to the reality. No Margaret Thatcher, for instance ( unless she slipped in unnoticed as one of the Moonbase girls! ). My first encounter with 'U.F.O.' came in the pages of the fondly remembered 'Countdown' comic in early 1971. When the series made it to my part of the world a few months later, I was already acquainted with its format and characters.
The premise is this; Earth is fighting a secret war against mysterious green-skinned aliens from an unknown planet, who travel in flying saucers that make a distinctive whirring sound. The aliens are not here to take over, but to kidnap people to use their internal organs as replacements for their own, as an unspecified catastrophe is causing them to gradually die out. Set up to defend us is S.H.A.D.O. ( Secret Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation ), headed by Commander Ed Straker ( Ed Bishop ). Its headquarters, concealed behind the facade of a film studio, is a male chauvinist's dream as its operatives are mostly female and shapely. Whenever a U.F.O. is detected entering our part of the Solar System, S.H.A.D.O. launches Interceptors from a base on the Moon. Should the pesky critters elude the Interceptors' missiles ( which was at least once a week ), the next line of defence were the Skydiver submarines ( though we only ever saw one ). Captain Peter Carlin ( Peter Gordeno ) would enter a hatch, gain access to the cockpit of 'Sky One' ( nothing to do with Rupert Murdoch, so don't worry ), the submarine tilted, and its entire front section detached itself and shot into the sky like a bullet. Should Carlin's aim be off, the U.F.O. next had to contend with Mobiles - huge, land-based vehicles not unlike tanks. The aliens knew of S.H.A.D.O.'s existence ( thanks to a number of people under their control ) and did their best to destroy it. In one episode, two of Straker's men are brainwashed and given orders to kill him. In another, a strange crystal found on the Moon drives insane anyone unlucky enough to touch it.
All this was tremendously exciting to my eight-year old eyes back in 1971. A war between planets, spaceships, submarines, underground offices, ray guns, cars whose doors opened vertically ( how we all wanted to own one! ), explosions, and Gabrielle Drake looking devastatingly sexy in a purple wig ( her dallying with aliens served her in good stead when she appeared in 'Crossroads' a decade later! ). Derek Meddings once more provided the S.F.X., making this one of the few British sci-fi shows of that period to stand comparison with the better funded American ones. Dinky brought out toy Interceptors and Mobiles ( and before you ask, yes, I had both these! )
Of the cast, Ed Bishop was superb as 'Straker', with George Sewell as lecherous 'Colonel Alec Freeman', and Michael Billington providing interest for the ladies as 'Colonel Paul Foster'. The guest-stars included Robin Bailey, George Cole, Adrienne Corri, Michael Jayston, Jane Merrow, Stuart Damon, and Patrick Mower.
I.T.V. did not know what to do with the show; many regions dumped it in late-night slots ( including my own - H.T.V. ). The few critics who bothered to review it predictably likened it to Anderson's 'Thunderbirds'. Very unfair, but what you would expect coming from the uninformed.
The last few episodes were made after a production break, and experienced film directors such as Cyril Frankel and Jeremy Summers came aboard, resulting in a superb run of stories including 'Timelash' in which Patrick Allen played a malevolent time-jumper, and 'The Long Sleep' with Tessa Wyatt. The latter episode was unusually strong for 1970 television, featuring a drug sequence and an attempted rape. Wanda Wentham replaced George Sewell as Straker's second-in-command.
A few years after it ended, 'U.F.O' became a surprise hit on U.S. television, and for a while a second series looked a certainty. But it never happened, and I'm glad it did not because I think the proposed changes in format ( making the Moonbase the focal point of the plots ) would quickly have palled.
As I write this, 'U.F.O.' is being screened on I.T.V.-4, and the series came out on D.V.D. some years ago. It may seem strange to young viewers ( I hope they do not think that the 1980 depicted in the show was anything like the real one! ), but I think it stands up well.
The premise is this; Earth is fighting a secret war against mysterious green-skinned aliens from an unknown planet, who travel in flying saucers that make a distinctive whirring sound. The aliens are not here to take over, but to kidnap people to use their internal organs as replacements for their own, as an unspecified catastrophe is causing them to gradually die out. Set up to defend us is S.H.A.D.O. ( Secret Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation ), headed by Commander Ed Straker ( Ed Bishop ). Its headquarters, concealed behind the facade of a film studio, is a male chauvinist's dream as its operatives are mostly female and shapely. Whenever a U.F.O. is detected entering our part of the Solar System, S.H.A.D.O. launches Interceptors from a base on the Moon. Should the pesky critters elude the Interceptors' missiles ( which was at least once a week ), the next line of defence were the Skydiver submarines ( though we only ever saw one ). Captain Peter Carlin ( Peter Gordeno ) would enter a hatch, gain access to the cockpit of 'Sky One' ( nothing to do with Rupert Murdoch, so don't worry ), the submarine tilted, and its entire front section detached itself and shot into the sky like a bullet. Should Carlin's aim be off, the U.F.O. next had to contend with Mobiles - huge, land-based vehicles not unlike tanks. The aliens knew of S.H.A.D.O.'s existence ( thanks to a number of people under their control ) and did their best to destroy it. In one episode, two of Straker's men are brainwashed and given orders to kill him. In another, a strange crystal found on the Moon drives insane anyone unlucky enough to touch it.
All this was tremendously exciting to my eight-year old eyes back in 1971. A war between planets, spaceships, submarines, underground offices, ray guns, cars whose doors opened vertically ( how we all wanted to own one! ), explosions, and Gabrielle Drake looking devastatingly sexy in a purple wig ( her dallying with aliens served her in good stead when she appeared in 'Crossroads' a decade later! ). Derek Meddings once more provided the S.F.X., making this one of the few British sci-fi shows of that period to stand comparison with the better funded American ones. Dinky brought out toy Interceptors and Mobiles ( and before you ask, yes, I had both these! )
Of the cast, Ed Bishop was superb as 'Straker', with George Sewell as lecherous 'Colonel Alec Freeman', and Michael Billington providing interest for the ladies as 'Colonel Paul Foster'. The guest-stars included Robin Bailey, George Cole, Adrienne Corri, Michael Jayston, Jane Merrow, Stuart Damon, and Patrick Mower.
I.T.V. did not know what to do with the show; many regions dumped it in late-night slots ( including my own - H.T.V. ). The few critics who bothered to review it predictably likened it to Anderson's 'Thunderbirds'. Very unfair, but what you would expect coming from the uninformed.
The last few episodes were made after a production break, and experienced film directors such as Cyril Frankel and Jeremy Summers came aboard, resulting in a superb run of stories including 'Timelash' in which Patrick Allen played a malevolent time-jumper, and 'The Long Sleep' with Tessa Wyatt. The latter episode was unusually strong for 1970 television, featuring a drug sequence and an attempted rape. Wanda Wentham replaced George Sewell as Straker's second-in-command.
A few years after it ended, 'U.F.O' became a surprise hit on U.S. television, and for a while a second series looked a certainty. But it never happened, and I'm glad it did not because I think the proposed changes in format ( making the Moonbase the focal point of the plots ) would quickly have palled.
As I write this, 'U.F.O.' is being screened on I.T.V.-4, and the series came out on D.V.D. some years ago. It may seem strange to young viewers ( I hope they do not think that the 1980 depicted in the show was anything like the real one! ), but I think it stands up well.