MG writes:
With the news of a new film based on a 40 year old TV programme (due for release sometime in 2013, I believe), I have recently been watching again a 1970 sci-fi serial, made by ITC and Gerry Anderson, he of 'Thunderbirds' fame, called UFO. (I saw it when it was originally aired but have not seen it since.) It is a live action, 'adult' drama which deals with humanoid, alien visitation, the UFOs of the title, which has a specific goal in mind, the harvesting of human organs for transplant, and the work of the counter-alien-threat led organisation and, more specifically, its deeply flawed and driven chief.
As a premise for a'story', this seems to me to be cut above the usual 'alien invasion' fodder often served up both on TV and in the movies; 'Independence Day', 'The War of the Worlds', 'Battlefield Earth' etc and while the 'special effects', in comparison to Industrial Light and Magic, are laughable, even these contain a certain 'British', quaint charm.
The actors appear to have been chosen, with the exception of Ed Bishop, surely a 'B' movie actor at best, and George Sewell, a staple of British TV in the '60s and '70s, as so much 'eye-candy'; Peter Gordeno, a dancer, and Michael Billington for the women and Gabrielle Drake, sister of the tragic Nick, and Ayesha Brough for the men; they even managed to squeeze in Penny Spencer {'Please, Sir', 'Fenn Street Gang') in a couple of episodes just in case more 'eye candy' was required. With all due respects to Ms Drake's acting talent, which she does possess, 'Au Pair Girls' notwithstanding, I don't think that was why she was chosen to appear. It had, I think, more to do with how good she looked in a tight silver suit and a purple wig!
While on the whole, it appears that very real attempts were made to ground the technology in new developments, the aircraft seem to this writer to be based on fighter aircraft designs which could have only been in prototype stage in 1970, it seems that, in common with all late sixties and early seventies manifestations of computers that no-one could envisage the day when open reel tape, endlessly turning back and forth, would be replaced by first the 3½" disk-drive and latterly the solid-state storage device. However, this is not UFO's most ridiculous assertion; how could anyone think that purple and violet wigs would replace helments and who, in their right mind, would assert that submarine crews would be kitted out in 'string vests'! (Well, actually we know; Sylvia Anderson, wife to the aforementioned Gerry and the voice of Lady Penelope!) The 'Nehru-style' suits worns by businessmen and commanders had at least an aura of practicality and were functionally fit for purpose, even if a little retro for 1980 when the series is set.
The series had been beset by production problems, most notably the five month hiatus between the first half of the 26 part series and the second half when the studio quietly went bankrupt and George Sewell and Gabrielle Drake jumped ship; Peter Gordeno had returned to his pliés and entrechats after about six episodes and the post hiatus series never really captured the 'vibe' of earlier episodes, although Dolores Mantez made not inconsiderable efforts to fill Ms Drake's shoes as resident 'totty in charge' on Moonbase. However, the series did try to tackle difficult questions, uncommon in sci-fi, 'Forbidden Planet notwithstanding; drug abuse; duty over personal loyalty; murder and the over-riding question throughout the series, which was never posed directly. Why did no-one, least of all Straker, attempt to negotiate a deal, similar to the transplant register, whereby the aliens could harvest the organs of the dead, instead of the living! That surely would have been a result; we gain the alien technology, they gain the organs they need for transplant.
No doubt the film will be crap and it won't have the wonderful Ms Drake in it, except as a cameo, if we're lucky, but I should worry. While the original remains on YouTube, we can all rest easy in our beds!
While we may lament the non-appearence of Lt Ellis surely what will be most missed is the almost constant cigarette and cigar smoking and the quafing of neat whisky in every other scene; hell they were even smoking inside the control centre of the submarine!
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