| Résumé
et présentation: UFO, alerte dans l'espace (UFO) est
une série télévisée britannique en 26 épisodes
de 48 minutes, créée par Gerry et Sylvia Anderson et diffusée
entre le 16 septembre 1970 et le 24 juillet 1971 sur le réseau
ITV. En France, la série a été diffusée
à partir du 9 mai 1977 sur TF1. (Wikipedia)
Synopsis
En 1980, la Terre est menacée d'invasion par une race extraterrestre
en voie d'extinction. Seule une organisation secrète militaire,
appelée le SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organization),
peut empêcher cette invasion... (Wikipedia)
Le coffret souvenir de l'ensemble des émissions
de la série est disponible sur Amazon et comporte en plus des
émissions, des ajouts nombreux avec entrevues des Anderson's,
entrevues avec les principaux personnages et extraits sonores multiples
de nombreux éléments comme les sons et alertes de l'ordinateur
SID etc... La qualité visuelle est impeccable et la numérisation
améliore grandement l'aspect d'origine. Toutefois et c'est un
constat qui doit être fait en 2008, près de 40 ans après
la production originale, de nombreuses situations ou présentations
sont choquantes pour un public moderne et pouvaient probablement passer
à l'époque. Par exemple, le sexisme est très intense,
la femme est un objet que l'on protège parce qu'il est naturellement
faible et on peut se permettre de giffler une femme, c'est normal puisqu'elle
est souvent hystérique. La cigarette fait partie du décor
et on boit encore plus dans le bureau du colonel Stryker que dans la
Taverne du Village... Tout cela doit pourtant être relativisé
et pour ceux qui aiment retourner dans les moeurs du passé avec
ses hauts et ses bas, ils seront ravis avec UFO-Alerte dans l'Espace...
(GGTV)
VERSION ANGLAISE
(d'après Wikipedia)
UFO is a British television science fiction series created
by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson and produced by the Anderson's
and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment
company. The Andersons had previously made a number of very successful
marionette-based children's science fiction series including Stingray,
Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlet. They had also made one live-action
science fiction movie, Doppelgänger, also known as Journey to the
Far Side of the Sun, and now felt ready to move into live-action television
and aim at a more adult market.
UFO was the Andersons' first totally live-action TV series. Despite
the assumption of many TV station executives, the series was not aimed
at children, but deliberately sought an older audience; many episodes
featured adult themes such as adultery, divorce, and drug use.
UFO first aired in the UK in 1970 and in US syndication over the next
two years. In all, 26 episodes, including the pilot, were filmed over
the course of more than a year, with a five-month production break caused
by the ultimate closure of the MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, where
the show was initially made. It is currently airing in the US in remastered
HD on Voom HD Networks' Family Room HD.
An idiosyncrasy of the series is that the term "UFO" is pronounced
as a word ("you-foh"), as suggested by the real-world originator
of the term Edward J. Ruppelt, and not as the more common "you-eff-oh".
This is particularly true of the lead character, Ed Straker. Technically
speaking the series title should properly be pronounced "you-foh"
as well. However, the "you-foh" pronunciation was not consistently
applied and some supporting characters use the more traditional form.
In a sad coincidence, lead actors Ed Bishop and Michael Billington died
in June 2005, within five days of each other.
Plot overview
A fan-made CGI illustration of two aliens from the series.
A fan-made CGI illustration of two aliens from the series.
The show's basic premise is that in the near future –a fictional
version of 1980 (a date indicated in the opening credits) – human
beings are being covertly harvested for their organs by aliens.
UFOs
The extraterrestrial spacecraft can readily cross the vast distances
between their planet and ours, but are only large enough for one or
two crewmembers. Their time on station is limited; UFOs can only survive
for a couple of days in the Earth's atmosphere before they heat up,
deteriorate, and finally explode. The alien craft can survive for far
longer underwater, however; one episode deals with the discovery of
a secret undersea alien base. In flight they are surrounded by horizontally-spinning
vanes and emit a distinctive pulsing electronic whine (actually produced
by series composer Barry Gray on an Ondes Martenot). The craft is armed
with a laser-type weapon, but can be destroyed by conventional explosives.
The personal arms of the aliens resemble shiny assault rifles; these
have a lower rate of fire than that used by SHADO.
Aliens
Notably for science fiction, and uniquely for a television series, the
alien race is never given a proper name, either by themselves or by
human beings; they are simply referred to as "the aliens."
Humanoid in appearance, the autopsy of the first alien captured reveals
that they are harvesting organs from the bodies of abducted humans.
Their faces are stained by the hue of a green oxygenated liquid which
is believed to cushion their lungs against the extreme acceleration
of interstellar flight; this liquid is contained in their space helmets.
To protect their eyes the aliens wear opaque sclera contact lenses with
small pinholes for vision. The show's opening sequence begins by showing
the image, remarkable for its time, of the removal of one of these contact
lenses from an obviously real eye with a pair of forceps — although
the scleral lens is never shown actually in contact with the eye.
SHADO
To defend against the aliens, a secret organisation called SHADO (Supreme
Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation) is established. Operating behind
the cover of the Harlington-Straker Studios movie studio in England,
SHADO is headed by Commander Ed Straker (played by Ed Bishop), a former
United States Air Force Colonel and astronaut who poses as the studio's
chief executive.
In reality, this was a cost-saving move by the producers — the
studio was the actual studio where the series was being filmed, originally
the MGM-British Studios, later Pinewood Studios, although the Harlington-Straker
studio office block seen throughout the series was actually Neptune
House - a building at the former British National Studios, in Borehamwood,
that were owned by ATV. Pinewood's studio buildings and streetscapes
were used extensively in later episodes, particularly "Timelash"
and "Mindbender", the latter featuring scenes that actually
showed the behind-the-scenes workings of the UFO sets when Straker briefly
finds himself hallucinating that he is an actor on a TV series and all
his SHADO colleagues are likewise actors.
Typical of Anderson productions, the studio-as-cover idea was both practical
and cost-effective for the production and provided a ready-made for
the viewer's suspension of disbelief. It removed the need to build an
expensive exterior set for the SHADO base and combined that all-important
"secret" cover (concealment and secrecy are always central
themes in Anderson dramas) with the trademark ring of at least nominal
plausibility. A studio was a business where unusual events and routines
would not be remarkable or even noticed. Comings and goings at odd times,
the movement of vehicles, equipment, people and materiel would not excite
undue interest and could easily be explained away as "sets",
"props", or "extras".
Another Anderson leitmotif was the concept of the mechanical conveyor
— e.g., the automatic boarding tubes of Stingray and the Thunderbird
craft. In UFO, this appeared in the guise of Straker's "secret"
office, which doubled as a lift (elevator) that takes him down to the
SHADO control centre located beneath the studio. The pilots of the Interceptors
slide down a boarding tube into the craft. After the tube retracts the
Interceptor is raised from the hanger on a platform the actual launch
pad being disguised as a lunar crater.
SHADO equipment
SHADO has a variety of high-tech hardware and vehicles at its disposal
to implement a layered defence of Earth. Early warning of alien attack
would come from SID (Space Intruder Detector), a computerised tracking
satellite that constantly scans for UFO incursions. The forward line
of defence is MoonBase from which the three Lunar Interceptor spacecraft
from which nuclear missiles are launched. The second line of defence
includes SkyDiver, a submarine mated with the submersible, undersea-launched
Sky One interceptor aircraft which would attack UFOs in earth atmosphere.
The last line of defence is ground units including the armed, IFV-like
SHADO Mobiles, fitted with caterpillar tracks. Special effects, as in
all Anderson's marionette shows, were supervised by Derek Meddings,
while the vehicles were designed by Meddings and his assistant, Michael
Trim.
The stories
The show's concept was very dark for its time — the basic premise
was that the alien invaders were abducting humans to use as involuntary
organ transplant donors. A later episode, "The Cat with Ten Lives",
contains a particularly sinister plot point which suggests that the
UFO pilots are not humanoid aliens at all, but are in fact human abductees
under the control of the alien intelligences. This suggests that the
aliens may have no physical being themselves and therefore need a vehicle
or container, meaning our human bodies, to incarnate.
The show also featured realistic, believable relationships between the
human characters to a far greater extent than usual in a typical science
fiction series, showing the clear influence of American programmes like
The Twilight Zone and Star Trek and British action series such as Danger
Man. One early episode, "The Computer Affair", strongly hinted
at an interracial romance between two continuing characters (something
that was uncommon on British TV in those days), while others showed
the heroes making mistakes with sometimes fatal consequences. Furthermore,
relatively few episodes of the series actually had happy or (for the
characters) satisfying endings.
One especially dramatic episode "Confetti Check A-OK" is almost
entirely devoted to the breakdown of Straker's marriage under the strain
of maintaining his secret identity. Another, "A Question of Priorities"
hinges on Straker having to make an agonising life-or-death choice —
to rescue his critically-injured son by diverting an aircraft carrying
SHADO mobiles to deliver life-saving medical supplies, or to attempt
a last-chance intercept against an incoming UFO. Interestingly, two
key images from "A Question of Priorities", Straker's son
being struck down and his ex declaring she never wants to see Straker
again, are repeated in "Sub-Smash" and "Mind-Bender",
suggested Straker remains haunted by unresolved emotions to the series
end and perhaps beyond.
Another episode "The Square Triangle" includes a plot by a
woman and her lover to murder her husband. When they accidentally kill
an alien from a downed UFO instead, SHADO intervenes and doses the guilty
pair with amnesia drugs (decades ahead of a similar story device in
Men in Black, and one deployed for similar reasons). Straker realises,
however, that the drugs will not affect their basic motivation. The
end credits of this episode feature a very dark scene set in the future
with the woman visiting her husband's grave, and then walking to meet
her lover.
Some critics complained that the emphasis on down-to-earth relationships
weakened the show's science fiction premise and were also a means of
saving money on special effects. The money-saving argument may have
been true to a limited extent, but the Andersons made a virtue of necessity.
They had always hoped to direct live action TV drama, and although the
marionette shows helped them develop impressive skills in effects and
scripting, they had always considered them as essentially being a way
of keeping in work and earning money while they tried to break into
"real" TV drama. Others countered that the characters were
more well-rounded than in other science fiction shows and that science
fiction concepts and special effects in themselves did not preclude
realistic action and interaction and believable, emotionally engaging
plots.
UFO confused broadcasters in both Britain and the United States who
could not decide if it was a programme for adults, or for children (the
fact Anderson was primarily associated with children's programming did
not help matters). This confusion — coupled with erratic broadcasts
— are considered as contributing factors in its cancellation,
although UFO is credited with opening the door to moderately successful
runs of later live-action, adult-oriented programming by Anderson such
as The Protectors and Space: 1999.
Special effects
The special effects, supervised by Derek Meddings, were of the highest
quality and outstanding for their day, given the relatively limited
resources at the team's disposal.
In a refinement of the underwater effect developed for Stingray, Meddings'
team devised a disconcerting effect — a double-walled visor for
the alien space helmets which could be gradually filled from the bottom
up with green-dyed water. When filmed from the appropriate angle it
produced a very convincing illusion of the helmet filling up and submerging
the alien's head.
After the 26 episodes were completed plans were drawn up for a sequel
to be called UFO: 1999 which would have been set in a much bigger Moonbase.
A subplot of the episode "Kill Straker!" sees Straker negotiating
with SHADO's financial supporters for funding to build more moonbases
within 10 years, which could be seen as a prologue to the Space: 1999
concept. When American broadcasters dropped their support for a second
season of UFO, the idea was dropped, but a couple of years later the
concept was revised into an even more far-fetched story about the moon
being blown out of orbit and Moonbase along with it — Space: 1999.
When Space:1999 was broadcast there was no trace in its plot of the
show which had been its precursor.
As with many Anderson productions, the series generated a range of merchandising
toys based on the SHADO vehicles. The classic Dinky die-cast range of
vehicles featured robust yet finely-finished products and included Straker's
futuristic gull-winged gas turbine car, the SHADO mobile and the missile-bearing
Lunar Interceptor (though the Interceptor was released in a lurid metallic
green finish unlike the original's white). Like the Thunderbirds and
Captain Scarlet related models, the original Dinky toys are now prized
collectors items. All the major vehicles, characters, and more have
been produced in model form many times over by a large number of licencee
companies; the Anderson shows and their merchandise have always had
widespread popularity, but they are especially popular in Japan.
The complete series has been released on DVD in the UK and in North
America and was finally released in Australia on 5 September 2007, after
many years of being promised "next year". Bonus features include
a commentary by Anderson on the pilot episode "Identified",
and an actor's commentary by Bishop on the episode "Sub-smash".
There are also some deleted scenes and lots of stills and publicity
artwork.
Characters
UFO had a large ensemble cast, and many of its members would come and
go during the course of the series, with a number of actors —
most notably George Sewell and Gabrielle Drake — leaving the series
during the production break that occurred when the series had to change
studios midway through production. It is established early on that SHADO
personnel rotate between positions, so the occasional disappearance
of characters — some of whom would later return in other positions
— fits in with the concept of the series. Also, due to the scheduling
of the series which did not reflect the production order, some episodes
featuring departed cast members were not actually aired until late in
the series, giving the impression that no major cast changes occurred.
Among the major actors, only Ed Bishop appeared in all episodes. These
are the major recurring characters in the series:
Comm. Ed Straker (Ed Bishop)
A former American Air Force pilot and astronaut originally from Boston
who organized SHADO following a series of UFO attacks in 1970. Straker
masquerades as the head of Harlington-Straker Film Studios, SHADO Headquarters
being located directly below the studio. He was married to Mary Nightingale
in 1970, but they soon divorced after the birth of John, their son.
(Timeframes are never given for events before the series, but it would
be reasonable to presume that their marriage had ended by the end of
the flashback presented in "Confetti Check A-OK").
As if perhaps to show her opinion of Straker and his cold attitude,
Mary would register their son as John Rutland, after his new stepfather
Steven Rutland (played by Philip Madoc). John was later seriously injured
when he was hit by a car and Straker, against his own rules, used a
SHADO aircraft in order to fly in antibiotic drugs from America. When
his second-in-command, Col, Freeman, diverted the plane in order to
investigate some curious UFO-related events in Ireland, pride prevented
Straker from informing and overruling him as to the plane's original
mission. The drugs arrived too late at the hospital and John died ("A
Question of Priorities").
One consistent element of Straker's character is that he refuses to
drink alcohol even though he has a fully stocked bar in his SHADO office.
An early episode refers to him possessing the willpower to avoid alcohol,
which suggests that he was once an alcoholic. Straker suffers from claustrophobia,
a fact known only to the SHADO doctors and Alec Freeman, and the major
plot device of "Sub-Smash."
Col. Paul Foster (Michael Billington)
Former test pilot whose plane was critically damaged when SHADO's Sky
1 intercepted and destroyed a UFO in close proximity to Foster's jet.
His subsequent persistent investigation of the incident threatened to
expose SHADO's existence and Straker considered having him killed, but
instead was impressed enough with Foster to offer him a position with
SHADO. Foster appears to be somewhat of a protégé of Straker's,
as he is shown in a number of major positions. He is Moonbase Commander
for a time (substituting for Lt. Ellis), is assigned to Skydiver for
several months, and also receives a position of authority at SHADO HQ.
He masquerades as one of Straker's film producers in the studio and
enjoyed a brief relationship with Col. Virginia Lake. Foster has the
unique distinction of having once actually befriended one of the aliens,
though he was unable to prevent the creature from being killed by SHADO
personnel; his overall demeanor became noticeably more cynical after
this event (chronicled in the episode "Survival").
Lt. Gay Ellis (Gabrielle Drake)
Most often seen as Moonbase Commander during the first half of the series,
Lt. Ellis is occasionally portrayed as lacking self-confidence, and
at other times as a take-charge officer. She is briefly reassigned to
SHADO HQ when it is suggested that she may be romantically involved
with Interceptor pilot Mark Bradley ("The Computer Affair").
She also appears to be attracted to Ed Straker, though nothing comes
of this.
Col. Alec Freeman (George Sewell)
SHADO's first officer until about the three-quarter point in the series
(when Sewell left following the change of studios). A lady's man in
his early 40s, Freeman is Straker's right hand man and, occasionally,
his muscle. Everybody's pal at SHADO, Freeman takes a sardonic attitude
towards some of the things Straker and SHADO must do to survive, and
at least once submitted his resignation in protest over a decision ("The
Computer Affair"). Straker's closest friend and best man at his
wedding, Freeman was the very first operative recruited into SHADO.
Gen. James Henderson (Grant Taylor)
Straker's superior officer, Henderson heads the International Astrophysical
Commission, which is a front for SHADO and is responsible for obtaining
funds and equipment from government in order to keep SHADO operational.
Straker and Henderson butt heads frequently over the needs of SHADO
and economic realities.
Col. Virginia Lake (Wanda Ventham)
Virginia Lake first appears in the pilot episode of the series, as a
SHADO scientist and prospective romantic conquest for Alec Freeman.
During the last quarter of the season, Lake returns to the series to,
ironically, take over the post of SHADO first officer, replacing Freeman.
A computer specialist, she also served as Moonbase commander. She was
romantically involved with Paul Foster for a time. She initially has
a somewhat tense working relationship with Straker, though by the end
of the series they appear to have grown close and she is seen comforting
him in the final scene of the final episode.
Capt. Peter Carlin (Peter Gordeno)
During the first half of the series, Carlin is the commander of the
submarine Skydiver and pilot of its interceptor aircraft, Sky 1. In
1970, Carlin and his sister found a UFO and were attacked; he was shot
and wounded and his sister vanished. He joined SHADO in hopes of finding
out what happened to his sister, and eventually learned that her organs
had been harvested ("Identified").
Lt. Nina Barry (Dolores Mantez)
One of Straker's first recruits into SHADO, Barry works as a tracker
at Moonbase and later replaces Lt. Ellis as its commanding officer;
she also serves aboard Skydiver at one point. One of several women attracted
to Straker, she is the second most frequently appearing character in
the series, appearing in 23 of 26 episodes.
Capt. Lew Waterman (Gary Myers)
Initially an Interceptor pilot on the Moon, Waterman is later promoted
to captain and replaces Peter Carlin as commanding officer of Skydiver
and pilot of Sky 1. He becomes a very close friend of Paul Foster's.
Lt. Keith Ford (Keith Alexander)
Former television interviewer who became a founding member of SHADO
and its main communications officer. Actor Keith Alexander left the
series after the production break, so the character disappears at the
2/3 mark of the series.
Lt. Ayshea Johnson (Ayshea Brough)
A SHADO headquarters officer in most episodes. Initially seen doing
miscellaneous tasks –stationed at a computer console, she's the
woman seen turning in her seat to smile and wave at an (offscreen) Col.
Alec Freeman in the opening credits– she later becomes SHADO's
communications officer following the departure of Lt. Ford. In her final
appearance, she is stationed at MoonBase. Highly observant, she provides
crucial information in the episode "The Cat with Ten Lives."
NB: this character's full name is conjecture. In the credits she is
identified only as Ayshea (as is the actress).
Dr. Doug Jackson (Vladek Sheybal)
SHADO psychiatrist and science officer. A somewhat sinister-looking
figure who sometimes appears to have his own agenda, Jackson serves
a number of capacities within SHADO, including acting as prosecution
officer during the court martial of Paul Foster. When Foster escapes
custody after being found (falsely) guilty, Jackson successfully convinces
General Henderson to have his guards use tranquilizer darts in their
pursuit, rather than shooting to kill. It is implied that Doug Jackson
is not the character's birth name, as he speaks with a strong Eastern
European accent. His origins, however, are never explored.
Lt. Joan Harrington (Antonia Ellis)
Another Moonbase UFO tracker, Harrington appears to have a dislike for
Lt. Ellis.
Miss Ealand (Norma Ronald)
SHADO operative masquerading as Straker's movie studio secretary. She
is the first line of defence against anyone entering SHADO HQ via Straker's
office/elevator. The character is not seen in most of the post-studio
change episodes, being replaced in two episodes by a Miss Holland (played
by Lois Maxwell).
Lt. Mark Bradley (Harry Baird)
Caribbean-born Interceptor pilot based on the Moon. He becomes romantically
involved with Lt. Ellis for a time, leading to a temporary assignment
at SHADO HQ on Earth, and later briefly assumes the position of MoonBase
Commander. Baird left the series midway through the season.
Minor characters
One of the unnamed female MoonBase operatives was played by Shakira
Baksh, who later married actor Michael Caine. Producer Gerry Anderson
later said that he had lost his temper with her so badly on the set
of UFO, that he always feared the idea of running into Michael Caine
at some actors' function, and being punched in the nose by him.[1]
Look of the show
* Not only is it never explained why female MoonBase personnel uniformally
wore purple wigs and extensive eye make-up (although it has been suggested
it was to combat static electricity), their unusual livery is never
alluded to in the series. Gerry Anderson has commented that it made
them look more futuristic and that it filmed better under the bright
lights, while Sylvia Anderson said she believed wigs would become accepted
components of military uniforms by the 1980s. Whenever female MoonBase
personnel visited Earth (as Ellis and Barry did from time to time),
their lunar regalia was never worn.
* Ed Bishop, who had dark hair in real life, initially bleached his
hair for Straker's unique white-haired look. He later began wearing
a white wig when the bleaching began damaging his hair. Straker's unusual
look may have been an attempt to make Bishop look like Captain Blue,
the character he voiced in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Bishop,
until not long before his death, possessed one of the wigs he wore on
the show and took great delight in displaying it at science fiction
conventions and on TV programmes. He also kept a Certina watch that
was specially made for his character. The look of Straker was one of
the inspirations behind The Fast Show character 'Jazz Club's' Louis
Balfour.[2]
* Many other male characters in the series also wore wigs, again because
the Andersons felt that they would become fashionable for both sexes
by the 1980s. Early episodes in which Michael Billington does not wear
a wig can be identified by his receding hairline and long sideburns.
* On both Skydiver and MoonBase, SHADO pilots enter their interceptor
craft by sliding down tubes. This is an allusion to the Andersons' earlier
series, Thunderbirds, which had the characters accessing their craft
in similar fashion.
* Ed Straker's dramatic gas turbine car, resembling somewhat the 1970
Citroën SM, was, in fact, a humble Ford Zephyr with a specially
built aluminium bodyshell.
* The control consoles, computer panels and spacesuits of MoonBase make
numerous appearances in other TV shows of the 1970s such as Dr Who,
Timeslip, Doomwatch, The Tomorrow People, The Goodies and briefly appeared
in the 1975 film Confessions of a Pop Performer. Some of the models
also appear in the Dr Who story "Frontier In Space". An Alien
spacesuit can also be seen in the Children's Film Foundation film Kadoing.
* Sylvia Anderson, having had made a pair of very sheer trousers for
actor Patrick Allen to wear in the episode "Timelash," later
regretted not having had the nerve to ask him to wear a jock strap underneath,
and commented on the DVD release of the series that "you should
not be able to tell which side anybody's 'packet' is on."
* The futuristic, gull-winged cars driven by the Ed Straker and Paul
Foster characters were originally built for the Anderson movie Doppelgänger
(later re-named Journey to the Far Side of the Sun). During the shooting
of the UFO series, David Lowe and Sydney Carlton raised funds to form
a company called "The Explorer Motor Company," dedicated to
the mass production of these cars for sale to the public. A plastic
mold was made of the Straker car, in preparation for mass production,
but the company never got off the ground. [1]
* Both Ed Bishop and Michael Billington have commented that the futuristic
cars were 'impossible to drive.' (Partly because the steering wheel
was designed for looks, rather than functionality.) Also, the gull-wing
doors did not open automatically. Every shot in which the car door was
seen to open automatically had to be arranged so that a prop man could
run up to the car, just outside of the frame, open the door, and hold
it open while Ed Bishop stepped out. In certain episodes (most notably
"Court Martial") the prop man can be seen
* The episode "Survival" shows that the Moon base is in the
Mare Imbrium, or in the northeast part of it, according to a map that
Foster and an alien studied while they were stranded on the surface.
* On the Carlton DVD commentary for the first episode, Gerry Anderson
noted that perhaps the programme's most dated aspect was its tobacco
and alcohol consumption. Straker has a futuristic home bar in his office
which dispenses whisky, bourbon, vodka, etc., from which Col. Freeman
partakes fairly regularly. While he himself does not drink, Straker
is regularly seen smoking in SHADO headquarters (despite its computer
equipment), his tobacco of choice being either a cigarette or what appears
to be a slim panatela cigar complete with holder. And despite the high-tech
milieu and enclosed environments, smoking is seen throughout the show,
as was par for course in 1970s British television drama. As a consequence
some of the sequences in the bunker of SHADO HQ are seen through a slight
smoky fug. Similarly many of the medical staff smoke whilst on duty,
and smoking is even permitted on board the closed environment of the
Skydiver, where Capt. Carlin is often shown idly flicking through magazines
with a cigarette in hand. Most striking of all, MoonBase personnel also
light up frequently.
Predictions
UFO, which was filmed in 1969 and 1970, made a number of predictions
about what life in the 1980s would be like, some of which have (to an
extent) come true. Among the innovations predicted by the series:
* Car telephones (a.k.a. cell phones)
* Gull-wing doors on automobiles (actually these had been pioneered
over a decade earlier in real life, in the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, but
were not widespread in 1969.)
* Spacecraft launched from an aircraft.
* Extensive use of computers in day-to-day life, even to the extent
of predicting and analyzing human behaviour
* Voice print identification systems; also, vocal analysis used to identify
individuals in the same way as fingerprints
* Spy satellites.
* The episode "Survival" indicates that, in the UFO universe,
racial prejudice was wiped out on Earth in the mid-1970s, a prediction
which did not come true.
* That cars would drive on the right-hand side of the road in the UK
and be converted to left-hand drive (another prediction which didn't
come true).
* UFO also featured episodes dealing with issues that would become topical
in later years, such as space junk and the disposal of toxic waste.
* Cordless telephones (the 3 on Straker's office desk had no cord between
the handsets and the base)
Episodes
Due to the then highly localized nature of the ITV "network"
in the United Kingdom, the 26 episodes of UFO were shown out of production
order, and every broadcaster showed the episodes in different order.
As the list below (based on information from the book The Complete Gerry
Anderson) shows, on several occasions during the first run various broadcasters
aired different episodes of the series on the same day. Some UK broadcasters
did not air some episodes until 1973; as a result, some episode guides
may list these episodes in different order. The North American DVD release
of the series usually follows the production order, with a few diversions.
The website ufoseries.com offers seven viewing order possibilities.
According to The Complete Gerry Anderson, the episode "Exposed"
was intended to be aired second, but it was produced fifth and appears
as the fifth episode in the American DVD release.
Episode
# Original air date (UK) Episode title Production order Guest cast Episode
summary Episode notes
1-01 16 September 1970 Identified 1 Shane Rimmer, Michael Mundell After
10 years of planning, SHADO officially goes into operation and encounters
its first UFO. An alien pilot is captured and discovered to have transplanted
human organs. none
1-02 23 September 1970 Exposed 5 Jean Marsh, Robin Bailey, Basil Moss,
Arthur Cox, Matt Zimmerman When civilian test pilot Paul Foster inadvertently
witnesses a SHADO operation, he's given a choice: join SHADO or die.
none
1-03 30 September 1970 Kill Straker! 16 David Sumner, Louise Pajo Foster
and his lunar module co-pilot are brainwashed by aliens to kill Straker.
none
1-04 30 September 1970 The Cat with Ten Lives 19 Alexis Kanner, Geraldine
Moffatt, Steven Berkoff, Windsor Davies, Colin Gordon, Lois Maxwell
A SHADO pilot is placed under an hypnotic spell by an alien-influenced
Siamese cat. none
1-05 7 October 1970 Conflict 6 Drewe Henley After Lunar Module 32 is
mysteriously destroyed, Straker campaigns to have space junk removed
from Earth's orbit. none
1-06 7 October 1970 E.S.P. 15 John Stratton, Douglas Wilmer, Deborah
Stanford, Stanley McGeagh A man with ESP knowledge of SHADO is co-opted
by the aliens. none
1-07 7 October 1970 The Sound of Silence 18 Michael Jayston, Susan Jameson,
Richard Vernon, Gito Santana, Basil Moss, Burnell Tucker, Tom Oliver,
Malcolm Reynolds A horse ranch owner is abducted by the aliens. none
1-08 14 October 1970 A Question of Priorities 8 Suzanne Neve, Philip
Madoc, Mary Merrall Straker faces a terrible decision: attend to an
alien defector or deliver life-saving medicine to his critically injured
son. none
1-09 11 November 1970 The Square Triangle 11 Adrienne Corri, Patrick
Mower, Allan Cuthbertson, Anthony Chinn, Godfrey James SHADO as well
as an alien find themselves in the middle of a murderous romantic triangle.
none
1-10 11 November 1970 Sub-Smash 17 Anthony Chinn, Paul Maxwell, Alan
Haywood, Burnell Tucker Straker must face his claustrophobia when Skydiver
1 is damaged and is unable to surface. none
1-11 2 December 1970 Destruction 20 Stephanie Beacham, Philip Madoc,
Edwin Richfield, Steven Berkoff, Jimmy Winston The aliens attempt to
destroy a ship dumping toxic nerve gas into the ocean. none
1-12 9 December 1970 The Computer Affair 2 Michael Mundell A SHADO investigation
reveals that romance may be complicating MoonBase operations. none
1-13 16 December 1970 Close Up 13 Neil Hallett, Peter Burton, John Levene,
Alan Tucker SHADO obtains what may be the first photos of the alien
homeworld. none
1-14 30 December 1970 The Psychobombs 22 David Collings, Deborah Grant,
Mike Pratt, Tom Adams, Alexander Davion, Christopher Timothy, Hans De
Vries The aliens transform three humans into walking bombs. none
1-15 6 January 1971 Survival 4 Suzan Farmer, Gito Santana, David Weston,
Ray Armstrong Foster is stranded on the Moon, where he befriends a similarly
stranded alien pilot. In this episode, Straker says that racial prejudice
burned itself out "five years ago", this said on April 13,
1981. In the other Anderson series "Space: 1999", Cmdr. Koenig
hints that prejudice was finally ended in a great conflict about 10-12
years prior to 1999.
1-16 13 January 1971 Mindbender 25 Stuart Damon, Charles Tingwell, Anouska
Hempel, Philip Madoc, Steven Berkoff, Peter Halliday, Basil Dignam,
Stephan Chase, James Marcus, Stanley McGeagh An alien device causes
Straker and other SHADO operatives to hallucinate. Ed Straker hallucinates
that he is an actor in a television series about UFOs and aliens. He
then steps out of the set and onto the real-world sound stage where
UFO is filmed, and we can see all the sets that were used to film the
series. Also, in Straker's hallucination, all the actors (except Ed
Bishop) are called by their real names: Paul Foster is called "Mike"
(as in Mike Billington), General Henderson is called "Grant"
(as in Grant Taylor), and so on.
1-17 20 January 1971 Flight Path 3 George Cole, Sonia Fox, David Daker
A blackmailed SHADO operative opens the door for a possible alien attack
on MoonBase. none
1-18 20 January 1971 Ordeal 9 David Healy, Quinn O'Hara The aliens abduct
Foster. You'll hear "Get Back" by The Beatles at the party
in this episode, released in 1969—about the same time this episode
was filmed originally.
1-19 3 February 1971 The Man Who Came Back 21 Derren Nesbitt, Lois Maxwell,
Roland Culver, David Savile A SHADO pilot believed dead suddenly turns
up alive—much to Straker's suspicion. none
1-20 10 February 1971 The Dalotek Affair 7 Tracy Reed, Philip Latham,
Basil Moss, John Breslin, Clinton Greyn, Dr. Frank E. Stranges, David
Weston, Alan Tucker Communications problems at MoonBase are traced to
a non-SHADO mining operation. none
1-21 17 February 1971 Timelash 24 Patrick Allen, Ron Pember, John J.
Carney Time stands still at the film studio for everyone but Straker,
Col. Lake and a mysterious enemy. In-programme physics are strange -
a chair in mid air can't be moved, but a piece of wood can be moved,
which begs the question of how the characters can breathe? Note that
Col. Lake doesn't have the MoonBase purple hair-do on Earth. Some serious
use of 'speed' drugs (see also "the Long Sleep" episode below).
Some extremely silly props in the cross-studio chase scenes. Best line
of the episode: "I think I'll just play that back."
1-22 3 March 1971 The Responsibility Seat 10 Jane Merrow Straker is
attracted to a reporter who poses a possible security leak to SHADO.
none
1-23 1 April 1971 The Long Sleep 26 Tessa Wyatt, Christian Roberts,
John Garrie, Christopher Robbie A woman awakening from a decade-long
coma sparks a hunt for an alien bomb. The references to drug use in
this episode led to several regional networks dropping it from the original
UK run.
1-24 1 May 1971 Court Martial 12 Jack Hedley, Pippa Steel, Louise Pajo,
Georgina Cookson, Tutte Lemkow Foster is tried and sentenced to death
after a security leak is traced to him. none
1-25 10 July 1971 Confetti Check A-OK 14 Suzanne Neve, Shane Rimmer,
Jeffrey Segal, Tom Oliver, Donald Pelmear, Geoffrey Hinsliff, Jack May,
Alan Tilvern, Gordon Sterne A flashback episode focusing on SHADO's
formation and Straker's failed marriage. none
1-26 24 July 1971 Reflections in the Water 23 Steven Berkoff, James
Cosmo, Richard Caldicot, David Warbeck, Anouska Hempel, Gordon Sterne,
Conrad Phillips, Gerald Cross Straker and Foster investigate an undersea
alien base. The massive UFO attack battle scene at the end was almost
entirely a compilation of special effects shots from previous episodes.
Four interceptor missiles are seen to be launched, implying that a spare
craft was launched for the emergency. The terrestrial portion of the
battle seemed to suggest that Sky 1 took out 25 UFOs unassisted.
A number episodes were edited together in the late 1970s to form the
feature-length Invasion: UFO, which was syndicated to American and European
broadcasters. It primarily consists of approximately 30 minutes each
from Identified, The Computer Affair, and Reflections in the Water,
with the ending taken from The Man Who Came Back. Shorter segments from
ESP and Confetti Check A-OK are used to bridge continuity gaps.
UFO stories in other media
Stories set in the Gerry Anderson UFO series have appeared in various
media:-
* Two novelizations based upon the series were published in the UK and
America.[2]
* In the comics "Countdown" and "TV Action".
* In 1991 to 1999 Entropy Express in Brighton, South Australia published
7 issues of a periodical called Flightpath, containing 39 text stories
set in the UFO scenario. These include a crossover with Bergerac (TV
series), and a crossover with Predator (film).
* There was a hardback annual for the series featuring text stories
which was released for two years. There were hardback annuals for the
Countdown and TV Action comics featuring comic strips.
Revivals
Several attempts have been made to either revive or remake the series.
The first attempt, as mentioned above, evolved into Space: 1999. In
the 1990s and early 2000s there were scattered reports of production
companies around the world investigating the possibility of producing
a new TV series or film, most recently in 2003 when Carlton International
Media (current rights holders for the series) announced that an American
company was planning to produce a new series,[citation needed] though
as of 2007 nothing has yet come of this. Australian company Bump Map
run by Albert Hastings pitched a revival of UFO to one of Australia's
major TV production companies in 1995/6. Also in 1996, Ed Bishop briefly
corresponded with independent Australian film maker/UFO fan Adrian Sherlock
about an unofficial revival called Damon Dark : Shadofall. The project
funding fell through but the script has been made into a fan-made audio
production and uploaded to YouTube and continues as an independent series.
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