UFO - My Episode Ranking Worst to Best

[michaellevenson]

This is just my opinion of course, UFO is a very strong series, my third favourite behind Classic Who and Blake's 7, the episodes I've ranked in the bottom 4 are IMO easily the worst, the top five easily the best, and the others all good stuff. So here goes.

26. Close Up
This is my least favourite, in fact it's awful.
A boring pointless story about SHADO trying to get photos of the alien's home planet. Why this should be a game changer is not gone into. A super new camera is constructed and placed in a space vehicle in orbit around the moon, then a UFO is lured to veer away from the moon and return home. The SHADO craft follows, but as it is travelling at sub light speed it can't possibly keep up, but somehow does, then the camera develops a fault, so it's all a waste of time anyway. The main plot action, latching on to the UFO doesn't happen till about 35 minutes in, before that we had the most tedious space walking scene imaginable zzzzzzz.

25. Confetti Check AO-K
An episode that for me doesn't have much rewatch value, though I can see why fans could be dead keen on this, it just isn't for me. The whole episode is a flashback , to when SHADO was formed, we see the appointment of Straker as Commander, the early days of Alec Freeman and the Moonbase dolly girls, the construction of the SHADO HQ all played out to the disintegration of Straker’s marriage. Sort of interesting to see......once, but no alien attacks or any Sci Fi trappings.


24. Ordeal
Now this episode has a lot of promise, and has a very memorable scene.
Paul Foster is kidnapped by aliens whist in a health farm. He is put on board a UFO, and ends up in an alien spacesuit breathing green liquid. Really good, and when Straker orders the escaping UFO should be blasted out of the sky even though Foster is on board, more excitement. Unfortunately as the whole thing is a dream Foster is having in the sauna, who cares?!

 

[michaellevenson]

23. The Responsibility Seat
This is all my opinions only of course, but for me this episode rounds off the bottom 4, which are quite a bit poorer than any others. After this all the episodes have an amount of good stuff, it's just a question of how much good or great material.
Straker is suckered into giving an interview with a female journo Jo Fraser, who turns out to have a string of convictions for fraud and blackmail. Straker needs to get back a tape from Ms Fraser that is a security leak, and Alec Freeman steps up as temporary Commander. So two threads, Straker and the girl , and he sort of falls for her before realising the truth, and Freeman has to deal with a runaway Russian vehicle on the moon threatening to smash into Moonbase.



22. The Dalotek Affair
A bit of a predictable outcome to an average story, but some nice hardware seen, and new recruit Paul Foster as Moonbase commander in an early episode. A radio blackout on the Moon is blamed on the private Dalotek corporation who have geologists on the moon. A rogue meteorite sent in by the Aliens is to blame, as we worked out after 5 minutes, and we learn of SHADO'S amnesia drug which is administered to anyone breaching SHADO security. Some very dodgy morality is the bugbear here as Foster has an affair with one of Dalotek's members, who is given the amnesia drug and Foster takes advantage by propositioning her again post- drug. Straker works it all out by studying old TV footage as a UFO expert says " fireballs",the second syllable which some might use to describe this episode.


21. Conflict
Discarded space junk from previous Appollo missions is being used by the Aliens to hide a craft to attack Moonbase shuttles.
First battle of wills between Straker and General Henderson is the highlight here, and overall it ticks along nicely. Straker's reasoning for working out that it's all a decoy by the Aliens to launch an attack on SHADO HQ is decidedly vague and it spoils it a bit, and Henderson ordering Foster to take charge of SHADO is daft.

 

[michaellevenson]

20. Exposed
A solid episode that introduces Paul Foster though not particularly exciting. Foster is a test pilot who while in the air sees SHADO attack a UFO, and his aircraft is hit and he ends up in hospital. Returning to work he realises his photographic evidence of the UFO is being covered up and someone called Straker ex American Air force Colonel and now film producer is behind it all.
Straker has to decide what to do with Foster as he penetrates SHADO security.
Foster is obviously an interesting character as will be evident as the series progresses, a reasonable intro for him.



19. Reflections In The Water
Plenty of action in this, boy there's action, of the far fetched kind. 50 UFOS plan to attack Earth, but first alien constructed duplicates of SHADO personnel, operating from a base under the sea are going to pose as the real SHADO personnel and give orders to let the 50 alien craft through. How did the aliens manage to exactly duplicate SHADO'S hidden control room? Why can't the doubles speak, and have to mime to tape recordings?
How on earth did 50 UFOS get defeated by SHADO'S 3 Interceptors plus 4 Skydivers?
Don't know, but it's enjoyable hokum, with plenty of great model work and fx.

18. Sub-Smash
This is dramatic but a bit of a departure from SHADO'S ongoing battle with the Aliens which is why I've put it down in this position.
Skydiver submarine sinks to the sea bed after clashing with an alien underwater craft and it's a race to get everyone out before the air runs out. Straker is aboard and suffers from claustrophobia. So plenty of drama as Alec Freeman organises the rescue, but as I said a diversion from the norm. Very dramatic as Straker’s claustrophobia is tested and we see a possible " thing" blossoming between him and Nina.

 

[michaellevenson]

17. Flight Path
From here on there certainly are no duff episodes, all good stuff, and this one is good but maybe a bit illogical.
George Cole stars as a Moonbase operative, Roper, who is forced to give the Aliens information on how they can dodge SHADO defences and fly just above ground level on the moon to attack. Roper's wife is threatened to make him cooperate with a SHADO technician in HQ under alien influence. Not sure why the Aliens couldn't get the " Flight Path" themselves and the idea that Roper on the lunar surface with a mortar is the best hope is a bit naff, but dramatic.



16. Identified
A good opening episode which does everything you'd want from a first episode.
Characters introduced, hardware introduced, good sets for Moonbase and SHADO HQ, and a lot of information divulged about the Aliens motivations. The medical examination of the captured alien was really good, creepy, and the demise was unexpected and explained with the general knowledge gained about the Aliens and their weaknesses and desperation to survive. A powerful pilot episode.


15. Destruction
Good cast in this one, Stephanie Beacham and Philip Madoc and Edwin Richfield who played Captain Hart in Dr Who The Sea Devils playing a Naval Officer here too.
The aliens plan to attack a Naval vessel dumping toxic gas at sea, thus releasing poison and destroying mankind.
This goes against the assumed mission of the aliens and therefore is marked lower for that.
Wanda Ventham as Colonel Virginia Lake gets plenty to do, Paul Foster and Beacham's scenes together are entertaining.

 

[michaellevenson]

14. ESP
A bit far fetched, but enjoyable romp as the aliens increase the ESP power of a John Croxley in order to assassinate Straker.
We get a little bit more of the alien's motives when they communicate through Croxley and nice model work as a UFO smashes into Croxley's house. John Stratton excels as Croxley, a man pushed into a nervous breakdown. Stratton was Shockeye in Dr Who The Two Doctors.



13. The Sound Of Silence
Into the top half now, and I know which episodes are my top three, positions 4 to 13 are tricky. There's lots of great episodes, but I'll put this episode as 13th because it does run out of steam with 15 minutes to go.
Show jumper Russell Stone is kidnapped by aliens and is packed away in a lake bed landed UFO ready for the return journey, as part of the alien's organ harvesting programme.
SHADO are in the area trying to locate the UFO and are drawn into searching for Stone and work out where he is and in a great scene drop depth charges into the lake.
A fair bit of gore in this as a hippy and his dog are mutilated by the alien skulking about in the woods.

12 Computer Affair
Simple but effective story as a UFO crashes in a Canadian forest and SHADO sends in a team to get the aliens. Nice scenes as SHADO vehicles enter the forest and are fired upon by laser beams from the landed UFO. There's a gunfight among the trees and an alien is captured. Usual Moonbase controller Gay Ellis is centre stage on Earth going in with the team to get the aliens, as she has been re- assigned after her error led to the loss of an interceptor craft after a moon attack. SHADO computer suggests her feelings of love for Mark Bradley led to her making her mistake.
This thread of the story is less effective, but overall an enjoyable episode which also includes Freeman resigning from SHADO due to Straker’s actions.

 

[michaellevenson]

11. Survival
Most of this episode takes place on the lunar surface as Paul Foster is presumed dead after his moon vehicle is destroyed by a UFO crashing. Foster though wasn't in it and he is stranded on the moon with a dud radio and an alien for company.
The two of them work together to try and make their way to Moonbase while their oxygen runs out.
A bit of nonsense spoken by Straker about racism being a thing of the past dates this a bit, but there's some lovely lunar surface scenes as Foster and his team track the aliens before the mishap that led to him being stranded.



10. Court Martial
Into the top ten and this episode makes it despite having no Sci Fi trappings at all.
It's all about espionage as Foster is accused of selling SHADO secrets to the press, is put on trial and sentenced to death. What makes this work is the tension as time ticks away until Foster's execution and Straker tried to prove his innocence despite the evidence against him. Great performance by Vladek Sheybal as the prosecutor Jackson who we've already seen as SHADO psychiatrist and in latter episodes comes into his own as SHADO science guru and doctor.
There's some amusing scenes between Straker and General Henderson and ends with Straker throwing Henderson's line about being a pig headed lout back at him.


9. The Cat With Ten Lives
An astonishing revelation here or conjecture by Dr Jackson after examining an alien corpse after a Moonbase attack. The body is human! Are the aliens actually formless, have no physical bodies at all, just intellect using humans to come to Earth and collect organs for transplant. The trouble with that is why would they need used organs to keep old bodies going when they can just take over a new body.
Jackson's theory seems to be justified as a siamese cat influences SHADO pilot Regan and forces him to pilot a Moonbase Interceptor into a collision course with the base. The cat was found in the road by Regan and his wife just prior to she being captured by aliens and put on board a nearby UFO. The cat is the star of this episode, as it roams SHADO HQ on its alien driven purpose. All great fun, with Alexis Kanner, number 48 in the finale of The Prisoner as Regan.

 

[michaellevenson]

8. The Square Triangle
Always like seeing Patrick Mower, and here he plays Cass a guy plotting to murder the husband of his lover Liz.
Cass and Liz have lured the husband to a country cottage but unfortunately for them kill an alien instead. SHADO are in the area tracking the aliens down and find Cass and Liz after they've shot the alien. Liz and Cass have to be taken back to SHADO HQ to receive the amnesia treatment, but Foster pieces together the murder plot giving Straker a thorny problem. Does he let them go or report them? Problem is there's no evidence as Liz and Cass now have genuine amnesia. A chilling end to a above average episode.



7. The Man Who Came Back
Derren Nesbitt as Craig Collins a SHADO astronaut who is missing presumed dead after a UFO attack, but is found alive on an island in the Pacific.
SID the in orbit SHADO satellite is damaged and Collins and Foster prepare to launch in a rocket to repair it. But Collins accidentally apparently injures Foster and that means Straker has to join Collins in the rocket.
But Collins seems different since he returned surprisingly from his ordeal. Collins' behaviour has alarmed Col. Grey and Dr Jackson who says Collins medical has brought to light something odd.
A top class episode, wonderful performance by Nesbitt, and this episode, the second one made in the 2nd recording block, re- introducing Virginia Lake played by Wanda Ventham, shows no sign of the slower pace or padding of earlier ones. As we get towards the end of the production run, the series gets better and better.


6. The Psychobombs
Three members of the public come under alien influence and imbued with superhuman strength in order to assassinate Straker and destroy SHADO bases. Another way out theory by Dr Jackson, this time postulating that the aliens have turned the unfortunate three people into human bombs capable of drawing on the forces of the universe.
Good cast, creepy scenes as the trio go about their deadly business including a gory moment when Linda Simmons, played by Deborah Grant, a.k.a. Mrs Bergerac and Lucy's mother in Not Going Out, and Glen Mason, played by Mike Pratt a.k.a. Randall of Randall and Hopkirk , burn the fingerprints off of the hand of SHADO'S Captain Lauritzen.

 

[michaellevenson]

5. Kill Straker
Second best IMO of the first batch of episodes made at Borehamwood sees Paul Foster and another SHADO operative entering Earth orbit when their ship is captured by a UFO. Foster and Gray are are brainwashed into killing Straker and go about trying on their return to the moon.
Great ending as Straker is faced with the fact that Foster is finished as a SHADO man as the brainwashing can't be reversed and he must be terminated.



4. The Long Sleep
Final episode produced and a dramatic tale over two time periods.
Ten years previous Straker was in a car that ran down a girl who muttered something about seeing a UFO. The girl went into a coma for ten years, but now the case is reopened as the girl awakes.
In a flashback we see what happened 10 years ago to Catherine Fraser who encountered aliens in a deserted country farmhouse who were burying a bomb.
Catherine and her boyfriend Tim were stoned on LSD and stole a vital component of the bomb and lost it.
It's beautifully filmed with the flashback scenes in sepia brown, and the LSD scenes in purple, I think, I'm colour blind!
A very sad end to this tale, leaving the series open ended.


TOP THREE
3. A Question Of Priorities
Probably the best remembered episode as Straker has to decide what is more important, his son's life or tracking an alien who wants to help.
Straker's son is run down by a car, but the SHADO plane bringing a life saving drug from the U.S. is diverted by Alec Freeman to Ireland to catch the alien who has broken into a house belonging to a blind old lady.
Freeman didn't realise the plane was being used to transport the drug and Straker decides NOT to countermand the order.
Very dramatic and an ending not to be missed.

2. Mindbender
A truly bizarre tale as Straker ends up watching episodes of UFO!!,
A crystalline rock is discovered on the moon after a UFO destroys itself, and astronaut Conroy who found it when gets back inside Moonbase starts hallucinating that he's in the Wild West fighting Mexican bandits.
Back on Earth, Beaver James who also has touched the rock suddenly sees everyone in SHADO HQ as aliens and goes on a killing spree. The rock is obviously responsible, a trap planted by the aliens, but that doesn't dilute the fun, especially as Straker touches it and believes he is an actor in a Sci Fi series called UFO !
Behind the scenes revelations as to how the series was made as the hallucinating Straker wonders through the sets as characters learn their lines, and meets Paul Foster, and General Henderson, using their real names. Straker ends up watching outtakes of previous episodes, including the episode where his son dies.
A wonderful wacky episode which blurs fiction and reality.



1. Timelash
And number 1 is the incredible Timelash, where time around the SHADO HQ is frozen, everyone fixed like statues, except Straker and Virginia Lake who have to reverse the time freeze before the aliens arrive. SHADO operative Turner is a traitor who has helped the aliens by incorporating an alien device into one of SHADO'S own to freeze time in return for power, and the aliens have given him mastery over time, and has to hold off Straker and Lake in the millionth of a second that has been frozen, waiting for the aliens to land.
Amazing fx for 1970 as Straker and Lake wonder through the studio lot above SHADO HQ, we see a bird in flight frozen in midair, and other creepy scenes frozen. A masterpiece and deserving of number 1 place.