Series cast summary: | |||
Ed Bishop | ... | Cmdr. Ed Straker / ... 26 episodes, 1970-1971 | |
Dolores Mantez | ... | Nina Barry 23 episodes, 1970-1971 | |
Michael Billington | ... | Col. Paul Foster / ... 21 episodes, 1970-1971 | |
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Ayshea Brough | ... | SHADO Operative / ... 18 episodes, 1970-1971 |
George Sewell | ... | Col. Freeman / ... 17 episodes, 1970-1971 | |
Keith Alexander | ... | Shado Radio Operator / ... 15 episodes, 1970-1971 | |
Antonia Ellis | ... | Joan Harrington 13 episodes, 1970-1971 | |
In 1980, the Earth is threatened by an alien race who kidnap and kill humans and use them for body parts. A highly secret military organization is set up in the hope of defending the Earth from this alien threat. This organization is named SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organization) and operates from a secret location beneath a film studio. They also operate a fleet of submarines and have a base on the moon as well as an early warning satellite that detects inbound UFOs. UFOs can be destroyed in space by Interceptors which are launched from Moonbase. If one gets through it can be attacked in the Earth's atmosphere by a high altitude aircraft launched from one of the submarines. If a UFO also avoids this and manages to land it can be tracked and destroyed by a number of Mobiles (armored vehicles) which are deployed throughout the world. Written by Kevin Steinhauer <K.Steinhauer@BoM.GOV.AU>
I recently had a chance to review ALL of the UFO episodes in the order that they were numbered. Now I realize that this is not the order that they were originally presented, however they were great. Just great. I saw Star Wars in the theater. I have been weaned on science-fiction, so I think that I can say when I see good stuff and when I don't. Another reviewer said that the basic premise of this story could go for at least FIVE YEARS. I agree. 100%. Even the LAST episode (which was obviously not meant to be THE last episode) was very high quality and an appropriate ending, where it referenced the original pilot.
My friend highly recommended this show to me, and I cannot say that I'm disappointed. I've seen people complain about the acting? Unreal. The acting is top-notch, and many of the principals have been (or were) involved in high-end British acting gigs at the time. To me, the characters and the story were the driving forces. At the time they were very original. In fact, I am not surprised that many of the 'key elements' have been recycled in other places.
If Hollywood were to make a movie of this series they had best hold true to the original notion(s). As I said before, one review said that this idea could go for 5 years. It could. They could have COUNTLESS plots with the Moon Base, SkyDiver, the Mobiles, people from the past, people about to expose SHADO, budget funding, and so forth. Frankly, I think that they quit while they were FAR AHEAD. I'm sure that the fans would salivate for more, but only if the quality was as good. More often than not any sort of revival is often met with disdain. It would be unfortunate if UFO was met with that sort of inane fandom. It was far classier than that.
To me, probably one of classiest sci-fi show I've ever seen. Awesome. Truly awesome. Don't ruin it. Please! Cheers! PAYROLL