2025/09/15
On September 16th, 1970, UFO first aired. It is a British production about the covert efforts of an international defense organization (under the auspices of the United Nations) to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 for Grade's ITC Entertainment company. UFO was Gerry and Sylvia’s first live-action TV series! It lasted only one series, but including the pilot, the series had 26 episodes! Nowadays British TV shows rarely get over 6-10 episodes per series. Back in the day this was very different. In the last decade you see this also happening in the United States. Also in the US, more and more shows have much less episodes, especially on streaming services but this is also the case with many network shows. But in the UK, this has been this way as long as I can remember.
These 26 episodes were filmed over the course of more than one year. There was a five-month break because of the closure of MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, where the show was initially made. UFO was first broadcast in the UK and Canada from 1970, and in the United States from 1972. Initially in the US the rating were favorable, so a possible second series considered. It would be called: UFO 1999. However, this ultimately became Space 1999 with a totally different cast, so UFO was cancelled after its first and only series.
Characters:
Ed Bishop was Commander Ed Straker; Dolores Mantez (Lieutenant Nina Barry); Michael Billington (Colonel Paul Foster); Ayshea Brough (Lieutenant Ayshea Johnson); George Sewell (Colonel Alec Freeman); Keith Alexander (Lieutenant Keith Ford); Wanda Ventham (Colonel Virginia Lake).
UFO had a large ensemble cast. Many of these cast members, came and went over the course of the season. George Sewell and Gabrielle Drake left midway through the series during the production break. Because it was early on established that SHADO personnel rotate between positions, it solved the issue of the many cast changes over the course of its one and only series, it fits the concept of the series. Only Ed Bishop appeared in all 26 episodes.
The Premise:
The series' premise is that in 1980, Earth is being visited by aliens from a dying planet, who are abducting humans and harvesting their organs for their own bodies. The alien incursions may also be a prelude to a possible full-scale invasion. The series' main cast of characters are the staff of a secret, high-technology international military agency called SHADO (an acronym for Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization) established by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Germany to defend Earth and humanity against the mysterious aliens and learn more about them, while at the same time keeping the threat of an alien invasion hidden from the public.
Physical Media:
UFO has been released on Blu-ray in a few countries, in 2014 they were first released in Italy. It also has a Japanese and UK release and this year a new limited release will arrive from Imprint Films. Only 1500 copies, an 8-disc set. Before this year, I never saw UFO, however two years ago I purchased it on DVD, because the Blu-ray prices were kind of steep, and I didn’t know if I would like it enough to do a blind buy on Blu-ray. So therefore I stuck with the DVD set. The episodes have been digitally remastered and I can only say that indeed the set looks rather good on DVD for a 55 year old TV series. No need for me at this time to purchase in on Blu-ray. And also, the cover art of the DVD set passes with flying covers!
Final Word:
Because I think UFO cannot be skipped, I decided to write its 55th Anniversary blog. Even though my knowledge of the 70’s series is very limited. Therefore, I consulted Wikipedia to give you a HAPPY Anniversary Blog! So, meanwhile I also watched the TV series for the first time and I did enjoy it for the most part. I will definitely also will write a ‘First Watch’ blog this, anyway Happy 55th Anniversary UFO!
Anniversary blog written with help of Wiki.
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