UFO (1970). Super-Not-Marionation 

I did not like it much as a kid. yes the Space ships were neat but I really did not understand the Story till I saw the episodes again on Sci Fi and understood the stories and the characters .

My lil brother and I just loved this as kids. We only had 3 channels.. other than , when dad adjusted the rabbit ears. Which we were not allowed to touch...EVER ! 🤠🖖🎄

@@cowboykelly6590 We were lucky to have an aerial on the roof that got our 3 channels and if conditions were favorable, sometimes PBS. Ah the "good" old days.

He certainly lent some real character to Straker's role. Great stuff!

@Penny Burns, Were you in the old Yahoo UFO group? Your name looks familiar

I especially agree with your last sentence.

I think she is a big part of the reason that the Moon stuff was so popular!

I was alway’s very fond of Vladek Sheybal!He was great 👍 in the Doctor No film,and the Ufo film,too!I think,in Doctor No,he played an agent an evil 👿 agent in the film,who got stabbed by a poison knife.Of course,to Ufo fans,he’ll be known as;Doctor Doug Jackson!Too,I have all the Ufo film”s in my room in a desk.I used to have the Ufo book’s,too,but sadly,I have lost them,or maybe,I gave them to a;Goodwill Industrie”s store?

@@bettyleeist Check out Valdek Sheybal as Otto Leipzig in Smiley's People.

@@chrisst8922 oh 👍 okay!We”ll check this movie out!Thank you for showing this movie to me!

Ed Bishop has that it factor to him.

I more than agree.

TV planners of the time did"nt know how to pitch it, too adult for kids, too many models etc for adults.Sad of course, but here it is still entertaining us.

Straker was such an unlikeable character. I guess that's why it didn't turn Bishop into a bigger star.

@@k33k32 You didn’t watch carefully. Even Ed said he’d find Straker interesting in Sub smash because the no nonsense guy Straker recited the prayer for the dead at sea, thinking he was about to die.

Correct... they hand waved it away by saying the purple wigs blocked radiation because the moon had no atmosphere.

True. Only Ed could create that air of respect/admiration. Commander Straker is one of the great TV characters of all time.

Absolutely agree,saw this in the early 70s and loved it-Gerry Anderson had nothing but praise for Ed Biship and his work CV was very extensive from early 60s until his death in 2006 only a few weeks before fellow UFO co star Mike Billington Auckland New Zealand 2023

@PatchesRips It was syndicated here in the US so some markets had it and some didn’t. I watched it in the early ‘70s on an independent station in Southern California. I think KHJ Channel 9 but I’m not sure. I also liked it better than Space 1999. 😃

I recommend getting the box set, it gets relegated for being an oddity for the way it breaks accepted supermarionation rules and centres around Stanley Unwin in a highly Brit-centric and somewhat silly way, but it’s highly entertaining stuff. You stop questioning the unique format 2-3 stories in and personally I found its tongue in cheek charm really appealing, it reminded me of fun 50s movies with the likes of Alec Guinness that make you feel like you’re watching adults play.

Same here!

Ha ha! For decades I'd been thought a nutter by my friends when I mentioned watching Secret Service and attempting to describe its premise!

48 here and the same. Very odd concept I have to say.

Apace 1999 was to be an evolution of UFO, but never quite got it. The 2 main leads had zero charisma (Martin Landau & Barbara Bain) and were obviously chosen to please the US market. On the very many re-runs, I have tried watching but frequently seem to be Brian Blessed doing his over-acting and 'I'll just talk loudly routine' Tony Anholt (Tony), Nick Tate (Carter) & Prentis Hancock (Paul) were well cast. The Series is reasonably OK up to the point that they introduce Catherine Schell character (as Maya) and the series went downhill from that point. Gotta laugh at the number of times they find a desolate world that becomes a garden of Eden and the first thing they do is start playing beach volley ball!

I rewatched it recently and enjoyed it just as much as in the 70's.

What's with the purple wigs? It would be cool if that were real hair, but it wasn't; so why do it?

agreed. Some very adult scripts in there.

@@mnbv990 Very dark ones too.

They had a massive budget compared to Blake's 7.

Some of the special effects like explosions on the moon with fireballs let it down. Also, people walking normally on the moon and the sound of the UFO in space. Still enjoyed it though.

I thought Space 1999 was ok...the first season, then when they did the second season re-shuffle the show seemed to lose what little originality it had and appeared to follow other space/futuristic tv shows.

Space1999 did have cooler music though. That opening credit sequence was epic.

Just watching the reruns in the UK, still fun still watch, and still listen to Nick Drakes music from time to time

Never knew that about George Sewell

Ahhh yes...the lovely Gabrielle Drake. She rocked the hell out of that purple wig and silver miniskirt.

I also watched UFO as a 12-year-old and I had such a crush on Lt. Ellis. 😂

Must have been around the time that I watched it as a kid, but on London Weekend Television, which showed most of the Anderson shows. My biggest regret with UFO is not having the cash to buy the Product Enterprise models when they were available, as they were excellent. You can buy newer reproductions of the same models but they're even more expensive!

I was also watching around the same time, but in New Zealand. I think it screened around 5p.m. on Fridays. I loved the style of it, but the end credits creeped me out. 🛸👽😱

Nah, ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Yeah, it was ahead of its time apparently.

Torchwood was introduced as an adult version of Doctor Who, because Russel T Davies couldn't present his favourite subject, buggery, in a pre-9pm. family show.

Except...WOOF!!!

Quite so :D

Hear hear !

Mendel in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

I watched it on PBS in the 1970’s in Maine. I learned later that it was one of the shows designed specifically to be aired opposite Doctor Who, and, as the later “Space:1999”, and others, it got slaughtered in the ratings..

Let me guess: the character based on Foster is Kaji.

@@milkwater1204 Right in one. They also said that they made Kaiji a bit more of a lech than Foster, but of course, some of that is an act (some).

I have never seen the whole series, sad to say. When it was first broadcast is was on as the last thing at night and I was too young to be up that late. Since then I have caught an episode here and there but not the complete season ... just enough to fall for Gabrielle Drake :chuckles:

Hello alexander, I am old enough to recall watching it the first time around when I was about 7 or 8. It's only re-watching it on files I downloaded years back that I came to fully appreciate it. I enjoyed the Horror Channel repeat too, nice to see it on my big TV instead of a laptop:). UFO is certainly unique with its wonderful blend of live action, miniatures, great story ideas (Mindbender, Timelash) with some 60's psychedelia. Pretty cool soundtrack too.

I still have the front missile on my interceptor but the landing gear on one side is a bit wonky. Haven’t figured out how to properly repair it.

@@rangercv4263 Ebay has a surprising selection of spare parts for such things. Take a look, maybe improvise something. I'm looking for a decent Captain Scarlet Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle - I could never afford many Dinky's when I was a kid. Expensive, but really well made!

@@blackpeter70 Will do m8. Thanks for the suggestion. I also have my original Space 1999 Eagle but unfortunately it is the worse for wear and I have long since lost all of the Space 1999 action figures for it. Wish I still had them. I imagine they are a bit more rare than the Star Wars figures that came out years later.

@@rangercv4263 I reckon so - it's news to me there even were action figures! 😺👌

"I was always puzzled why they were coloured green..." Going to hazard a guess it was some child's toy safety regulation thing. In the US market small, detachable "choking hazard" parts like that were generally neon orange, for ex.

I found it easy. UFO all the way. I hated Space 1999.

Loved em both too. Damn, those Eagles were beautiful spacecraft.

The regular cast were, as you said, competent but not outstanding. Gabrielle Drake - in addition to being stunningly beautiful - gives one of the more memorable, relaxed, natural performances among the regulars - she was missed in that second block of episodes. Dolores Mantez replaced her, and while not quite as solid an actress was a compelling personality and likeable. Ed Bishop as Straker has one note - irritated - he plays throughout all twenty-whatever episodes, and it quickly grows old. Michael Billington is more likeable as Paul Foster - SHADO's would-be James Bond - but also somewhat dull. (Billington was reportedly in the running for the Bond role after Sean Connery departed, but watching UFO you can see why Eon Productions passed. He doesn't quite have *it*.) George Sewell's Alec Freeman brings a little lightness to the proceedings but is also sexually creepy and makes contemporary viewers squirm - even at the time his antics were ridiculous. Wanda Ventham is much more enjoyable as Straker's second in command playing the professionally uptight and ruthless Col. Virginia Lake, who's equally sexually charged as Freeman but far less pathetic - she'd actually be much more-interesting as SHADO commander than Straker, and indeed when she arrives for the final block he begins to feel somewhat redundant. Peter Gordeno as Captain Carlin is - like Dolores Mantez - not a great actor but has great presence, like an anime character come to life, and it's sad he left the program after only six episodes. Norma Ronald is so good as Straker's secretary Miss Ealand it's a shame they didn't give her more to do. The funny thing is, while the casting of the regulars was a mixed bag, UFO did an incredible job luring in guest stars. Alexis Kanner and Lois Maxwell both appear in "The Cat With Ten Lives", giving fine performances, the always-wonderful Philip Madoc turns up in two episodes, once as Straker's ex-wife's new husband, Adrienne Corri and Patrick Mower are plotting murder before being interrupted by aliens in "The Square Triangle", Deborah Grant and David Collings turn in exceptional performances as doomed people possessed by the aliens in "The Psychobombs", George Cole has an especially tragic role in "Flight Path", Darren Nesbit is effectively creepy in "The Man Who Came Back", Michael Jayston and Susan Jameson play competitive show jumper siblings in "The Sound Of Silence" with hints at a very strange relationship, and Sable Colby herself, a baby-faced Stephanie Beacham, lights up "Destruction". The only problem with all of these wonderful guest stars is that they consistently make the main cast look relatively weak in comparison.

me too.