Review U.F.O. (1970)

michaellevenson

michaellevenson

Moderator
Staff member
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Gerry Anderson masterpiece from 1970, his first series with live action rather than supermarionation. So many great ideas here, the fashions make it look a bit dated, but the stories are good so you don't care about the fashions.

My favourite episodes;
Timelash, Mindbender, Question of Priorities and Long Sleep.




 
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ant-mac

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
I loved the characters, the fashions, the technology and the stories. And some of those stories were surprisingly cold and grim.

As a kid, I was only ever able to catch the odd episode here and there, but a few years ago I was finally able to hire the DVD set out from a library and watch it through from start to finish. More recently I re-watched the entire TV series through on YouTube.
 
johnnybear

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
Very scary show it was to us kids back in the early seventies too! The aliens with their white eyes and faces with no emotion and that UFO spaceship and it's weird whining sound as it landed! Great series though!
JB
 
johnnybear

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
The episode Cat With Ten Lives seemed to have put a spanner in the works regarding the accepted theory of the alien attack upon the earth! Straker assumed the aliens were coming to earth to save their dying planet by kidnapping humans for spare part surgery, a fact proven in the episode ESP when Croxley confirms the idea when he is in mental contact with the green skinned, milky eyed guys in space! But then Dr.Jackson (?) examines the remains of an alien and confirms it as a human cadaver prepared for space-flight and being inserted with an alien intelligence to survive in space and later on we see Jim Regan captured by a UFO and instilled with an alien mind and linked to the Siamese cat which is ripped to pieces at the end by the hounds! I quite enjoyed the episode as it showed what some of the pilots get up to when they're not stuck on the moon waiting for the next alien attack or strange phenomena!
JB
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Because I have never done a dedicated watch of this show, my knowledge of it is a bit vague.

I think I had a UFO annual at one point....

And, in fact, it was this one.......



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and I don't think this enlightened me about the series much at all...

All I remember is that the aliens in it were verrrrry spooky and something about a green alien hand.

All a bit abstract, as memories of the show go, but there we are.

I definitely need to watch this series properly.

And does Space 1999 take place in the same universe? I read something about UFO referencing the base on the moon?

Overall, I like the sound of this series. It seems to have intriguing qualities.
 
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ant-mac

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
Doctor Omega said:
Because I have never done a dedicated watch of this show, my knowledge of it is a bit vague.

I think I had a UFO annual at one point....

And, in fact, it was this one.......

View attachment 6335

and I don't think this enlightened me about the series much at all...

All I remember is that the aliens in it were verrrrry spooky and something about a green alien hand.

All a bit abstract, as memories of the show go, but there we are.

I definitely need to watch this series properly.

And does Space 1999 take place in the same universe? I read something about UFO referencing the base on the moon?

Overall, I like the sound of this series. It seems to have intriguing qualities.
Click to expand...
You've never done a dedicated watch of this show?! :emoji_astonished:

I find it completely incomprehensible! :emoji_astonished:

I am shocked and appalled! :emoji_astonished:

I also think I just swallowed a fly... :emoji_anguished:
 
johnnybear

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
I've got the Carlton DVDs but haven't yet watched them and I've had them since 2005!!! I've seen the series many times over during it's original run and the eighties repeats and VHS releases!
UFO isn't in the same universe as 1999 but there is a base on the moon in both shows but 1999 has never referenced any events from UFO so it can't be..really!
JB
 
ant-mac

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
johnnybear said:
I've got the Carlton DVDs but haven't yet watched them and I've had them since 2005!!! I've seen the series many times over during it's original run and the eighties repeats and VHS releases!
UFO isn't in the same universe as 1999 but there is a base on the moon in both shows but 1999 has never referenced any events from UFO so it can't be..really!
JB
Click to expand...
The SPACE 1999 set was originally constructed with season 2 of UFO in mind. However, when that didn't happen, they came up with a new idea for another TV series.

However, there's no reason why the two TV series couldn't be set in the same universe...

UFO is set in 1980, while SPACE 1999 was set in a later year... I'm not quite sure which one. :emoji_wink:
 
johnnybear

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
UFOs timeline is all over the place! Survival is set in 1981 and Dalotek I think is 1984? So is the show set all throught the eighties or what?
JB
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Thanks for the clips Michael.

Those opening credits were familiar.

I wish my mobile was fully operational.

The signal comes and goes.

Bit of a nightmare really.

Seriously though, what I like about these vintage credits - and ditto The Persuaders - it tells you everything you need to know about the set up.

Along with a funky track.

Programmes of today could learn a lot from the credits of yesteryear, I think.
 
johnnybear

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
Space 1999 had the best credits on television and The Persuaders was very memorable for the French lady in a bikini walking between Curtis and Moore every week! Tune was great too!
JB
 
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