UFO
UFO
TV-14 | 16 September 1970 (USA)

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SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    UnowPriceless hyped garbage
    Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
    AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
    Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
    Alice Digsit There are many fuller reviews so I want to say that in the ones I've read so far no one has mentioned the actual sound of the UFO. That was a pretty odd noise back in the day, and young as I was I found it creepy and a bit scary but more distinctive than the programme's signature tune (though harder to hum or imitate). There have been a few reviewers who seem to have suggested the show was cheesy or have become apologists trying to defend it, but it needs no defence. People who make anachronistic criticisms are simply showing their lack of insight. This was cutting edge stuff. That it was, at the same time, very much of its own time is quite naturalThe sad thing for me is that the future was never as swish as they promised. There are still almost no car manufacturers (a few Italian crazies aside) who have had the nerve to produce a car as interesting as the ones used on set - I mean homologate, when I say produce. I believe the cars were from major manufacturers, but were futuristic styling exercises which were always, and still are, watered down to accommodate the tastes of fuddy-duddies before tooling up for production. The fashions were a bit closer to what was available from Quant or Courreges et al, but such out and out sparseness was never really widely marketed.And I will get one of those wigs one day ... maybe with some salt n pepper grey thrown in, because my figure is not up to those fashions, but I could get away with being, perhaps, a retired and gone to seed moonbase maiden: and maybe one in 5,000 people would get the reference.From a design point of view this show was superb. The dramas were great stuff. The acting was good. The scripts were sound and thoughtful. Anyone who thinks this show was cheesy probably thinks Metropolis is Kitsch rather than a stunning trailblazer.Sorry, not really a review, just the rant of a fan.
    Curtis G. "U.F.O." (pronounced YOU-foe by Ed Straker) was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid. I still have my original Dinky Interceptor toy. When the remastered DVD box set was released, I bought it immediately. I finally finished watching the series, and although it brought back fond memories, it struck me how wonderfully inept the show actually was.Derek Meddings' models were fantastic, of course, and the effects were on par with the other Gerry Anderson shows like "Thunderbirds," but dramatically, technically and logically, it was downright awful. (For example: On Moonbase, you can shut off your roommate's oxygen supply and no alarm will sound. And the best way to deal with an alien-controlled woman who wants to blow up your base is to spend 6 hours falling in love with her and then TAKE HER TO THE BASE.)It's like it was written by kids and realized by adults. It's a kids' show masquerading as a show for grown-ups. (I'm still fond of it, of course.)
    catey-49 I was hooked on this show from episode one, although I seem to be one of the few of my friends who remembers it. I was maybe twelve years old, but I loved the adult themes and personal stories. Plus I had a huge crush on Paul Foster....bet I'm not the only one. He was front and center for the whole last half of the series, by Straker's side every moment. Poor bugger, in almost every episode he gets the crap beat out of him. Or gets to kiss the girl. Or both. So glad I bought the series on DVD.Straker is a super cool character. The platinum hair gives him just the right icy touch, and he is believable as the commander of this life-and-death organization. He is constantly fighting for funding against beurocrats who can only see the bottom line, and his devotion to his work has cost him his marriage and his family. His isolation and loneliness are a constant theme, although they're never spelled out....only illustrated by Ed Bishop's wonderful performance.
    MARIO GAUCI I'm a devoted fan of science-fiction, even if I prefer the intellectual rather than the cheesy stuff: this one - with its hilarious would-be futuristic fashions and gadgetry and the cheap effects - tends to lean towards the latter category, apart from the occasional psychological insight (particularly the contribution of Vladek Sheybal as the space organization's resident doctor), intriguing 'horror' theme or outburst of excitement and suspense...but I warmed up to it after a while and actually found its inherent naivete quite endearing! Given that each episode follows a different plot line, quality is bound to vary but they're all eminently watchable and entertaining (despite some dull patches and a general lack of pace); the series' creators had earlier made sci-fi TV shows involving puppet characters, such as THUNDERBIRDS (1965), but the level of maturity here is clearly higher (if inconsistent).The main characters - Ed Bishop, George Sewell and Michael Billington, supported throughout the series by a respectable array of guest stars - are surprisingly engaging and the score, as redolent of its period as the rest of it(!), is undeniably infectious. Just for the record, I'd name "A Question Of Priorities", "Court Martial", "E.S.P.", "Kill Straker!", "The Cat With Ten Lives", "The Man Who Came Back", "The Psychobombs", "Reflections In The Water", "Timelash" and "Mindbender" among the best episodes - many of which are comparable to what was being done in THE TWILIGHT ZONE series; on the other hand, the weakest would have to be "Flight Path", "Survival", "Ordeal", "The Square Triangle" and "Close Up" - verging from the pedestrian to the overly technical.P.S. The series shared a staggering 11 actors with the sci-fi feature DOPPELGANGER aka JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN (1969) - apart from being partly shot on standing sets from that film, not to mention utilizing some of its music cues!; regrettably, I missed out on its sole broadcast (on late-night Italian TV) eons ago...