User reviews

Everything you need to know about the show is contained in the opening credits; and they're some of the most eye popping and in your face since "Hawaii 5-0". Lots of quick cuts, flash frames, printouts and action shots showing you that aliens are attacking and that SHADO, Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation are on the case. All this is set to a thumping and groovy Barry Gray theme tune.

As a child, we loved the models, the action and the gimmicks. Sometimes we'd go to anywhere where there was a tube (like a waterslide or even a building site) and imagine us going down the chutes to enter our interceptors like the SHADO pilots did. As an adult, I never realized that under the mod fashions and shiny sets, there were some grim and downbeat stories in that show. Ed Straker was probably the first truly mean bastard to be a TV series main character. There was nothing he wouldn't do to stop the aliens, sacrificing his troops and even his family for the cause. Gerry Anderson said that Ed Bishop was the most talented actor he's ever worked with, and Bishop certainly is powerful in the role of Straker. Michael Billington was the man who might have been James Bond; he tested for the role 4 times and certainly you can imagine him in the part when you see him as Paul Foster here. Poor old Foster, every other week he was being set up by one side or the other.

The show has it's faults, what show doesn't? But UFO was a darker series than it's contemporary, Star Trek, because it had major characters arguing with each other, episodes where the aliens beat SHADO, personal tragedy and downbeat endings; all of which caused problems. A second series was going to be made, and the new moonbase sets were designed, new craft called "Eagles" were made when the network said that sci-fi set on Earth was a thing of the past; from now on it had to be about space exploration and lots of different aliens. So series two of UFO was canned and we got "Space:1999" instead. Ever feel short changed? The end credits of UFO were genuinely chilling which left the viewer feeling even more down! In the end, shows like "Blake's 7", "Babylon 5" and the new version of "Battlestar Galactica" owe a lot to Ed Straker and SHADO, with its charismatic yet ruthless characters, its interpersonal conflicts and humanity. My favourite episode? "Court Martial". Favourite line? Straker: "I'll listen to any reasonable suggestion, then I'm going to tell you how it's going to be"

I had vague memories of this show from when I was a kid. No one I asked could remember it and I wasn't sure it really existed. Fast forward to now and a search of the good ol' IMDb and there it was. even more surprising was it was (is) available on DVD. I rolled me own smokes and didn't buy any video games for the month of July and half of August. I bought a pre-paid VISA and ordered it. Oh, happy happy joy joy!! It arrived on a Friday, allowing me to hole up and spend the weekend with it. WOW! It was worth every crappy self-rolled cigarette. Some complicated characters, great writing, and lots of fun make it more than a treat. It also shows black characters as members of the team, no more and no less. Isn't that what equality is all about? Anglophiles, sci-fi buffs, and wanna-be film makers (myself included) should watch every minute. The models are great and the fashions for 1980 are hip, slick, and cool. By all means, check it out. You won't be disappointed.

1: Send more than one UFO at a time. SHADO has only a few defense vehicles, so they could easily be overwhelmed.

2: Don't pass the Moon on your way to Earth. Approach from the opposite side of the planet, where you'll be hundreds of thousands of miles away from those pesky Interceptors.

3: Even if you do conquer the Earth, don't touch Moonbase. My wrath will be terrible if you do anything to harm those spectacular purple-wigged silver-suited moon maidens.

4: Land somewhere other than England. All SHADO Mobiles are based there, so you'll have plenty of time to act. Try landing in central Asia, as far as possible from Skydiver.

5: Appointing me your leader will assure your victory.

This was definitely a show ahead of its time, which was never given a fair chance. Only one season was produced, and was poorly distributed in the US, where it had the most potential.

Aliens are coming to Earth and abducting humans (sound familiar?), ostensibly to provide transplant material for their dying, nearly sterile, humanoid race. A multi-national super-secret organization called SHADO (Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defence Organisation) is formed to combat this threat, with American USAF col. Ed Straker in charge. No one outside the organization is aware of it's existence, not even the immediate families of the operatives. Any civilians having alien contact are immediately given amnesia drugs by SHADO to force them to forget.

This was a real show with real characters. Portrayal of the effects of job secrecy and other stresses on the agents were realistic and very moving. The episodes portraying the effects of running SHADO on Straker's marriage (Confetti Check A-OK) and on the life of his son (A Question of Priorities) were two of the best written episodes of any TV series.

As always, there was the Super Cool hardware of Gerry Anderson everywhere. Interceptors launched from the moon engaged in dogfight style battles with the UFO's (6+ years before "Star wars"). "Skydiver" submarines launched fighter jets from underwater for atmospheric combat. Tanklike "Mobiles" closed in on UFO's on the ground

The sexy "Century 21" fashions of Sylvia Anderson were everywhere. From the Nehru Jackets with "priestly" collars for the men, to the purple wigs and silver bodysuits for the women who ran moonbase, no one so completely and fully depicted the future as she did then.

Combine this with the incomparable music of Barry Gray (including a theme that put Hawaii Five-o and Danger Man to shame) and you've got one unforgettable show. It's a shame that it only lasted one season. The Anderson's should have held out for a second season of UFO, instead of wasting all of their valuable resources on that mediocre Space:1999.

I remember this show when I was a kid in the late 70's. Every so often it was on during Saturday afternoons. Always a fan of spaceships and such, I was hooked. I couldn't remember much other than the various vehicles and Ed Straker's hair.

I recently got the entire thing on DVD and yes it's kind of campy but it's so fun to watch. I love retro stuff. I love British programming. I love SciFi. For me this was a hit.

I can echo the comments of another poster who said that he must be the only American to have seen and remembered it. I felt the same way. All through the years I when the topic came up I would describe it and the series name and NO ONE would remember it to the point of questioning if there was such a series ever on American TV. There was. U.F.O.

As far as the criticism goes... Yes some of them are a bit true but that is part of what makes this a SciFi cult classic.

I love the series with all of it's campiness and am so happy to own it on DVD. I received it as a Christmas present and still haven't watched the entire thing. I take it in small doses in order to savor every last drop.

My favorite female is Joan Harrington (Antonia Ellis - what a beautiful lady) and although Ed Straker (Ed Bishop) is an awesome character I really enjoyed the "James Bond" like smoothness and eye for the ladies of Alex Freeman. (George Sewell)

My favorite prop was the liquor dispenser in Straker's office and how they are all smoking cigarettes. I don't smoke cigarettes but it's so 60's/70's.

I LOVE IT!

UFO and the awesome Ed Bishop held me captive on Saturday mornings as a kid... oh and so did the beautiful Gabrielle Drake, too! ;)

Just like Star Trek, the stories were great, the drama was real and the effects were rubbish! Just like Star Trek, the actors and everyone else involved took the show seriously which is how it has lasted.

It also helped the show by having unspectacular story lines in favor of real characters and good drama. No loose ends tied up to placate the viewers... just a solemn promise of more to come of the same the following week.

Amazingly, this show never made it into the Rolling Stone's top 40 Sci-Fi programs... and rubbish like Buffy (which isn't Sci-Fi) did make it in! Which just goes to show that these top lists are either deliberately designed to provoke commentary or they're researched by monkey babies! I suspect the latter.

UFO was a fantastic look at the future when the future was fashionable.

I was a huge fan of Gerry & Sylvia Anderson/Century 21 Productions, from Fireball XL-5 onward. It, like all the others I have experienced, was definitely made by people for themselves at the target age. There was so much interest in all the topics, much of it influenced by their prior works, which steered a mainstream course in the river of science fiction. Rockets? Submarines? Things that come apart on purpose, and change what they are capable of because of it? Oh, and people launching themselves down tubes, feet first. Pure design genius.

UFO and Space 1999 definitely explored the envelope of Sci-Fi canon and neat ideas, especially the broadest concepts. The memes were strong, to survive over a century. I was not looking for it on Prime, but somehow those gigantic filters put it in front of my face.

UFO was produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson who up until then had been responsible for a range of internationally successful puppet based shows eg Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet etc. The basic conceit being that Earth was being visited by Aliens who were 'harvesting' humans for organs etc. and the travails of the defence arrangements made to respond to the threat. Set in 1980, there were two aspects to the production: the hardware as presented by model-work and the human interactions as represented by a'live' cast.

Firstly, the show has an aspiration to be for 'grown-ups' with many of the stories being to do with inter-human relationships against extraordinary backgrounds. This in itself is very ambitious, and I must say not entirely successful.

The nature of the alien threat is never taken beyond the flying saucer escapes interception and generates a threat to which SHADO, the defence organisation, deals with.

The show is attractive to watch in terms of production values and casting. The nature of SHADO, the global defence organisation, is well established but seems very lightweight in terms of the assets and personnel it controls to deal with the threat. But to be honest, I don't think this works against the show.

The main recurring characters are attractive and garner interest. The challenge of dealing with extraordinary situations is the main theme throughout the 26 episodes and in general terms the scripts superficially arrive at some kind of resolution, not always comforting or simple.

The show was an ambitious one, and for it's time (1969/70) was quite successful in presenting and dealing with big issues. But it was never clear to whom the show was being presented to. Often broadcast as a kids show, even where issues involving extra-marital sex or drug addiction were plot themes, you do wonder if the broadcasting networks ever watched the show!

Attractive to watch and of its time, the show retains interest and can be recommended to Anderson fans and viewers of 1960s social commentaries/dramas.

It's alway's surprised me that this series never took off during it's originally transmission. It was (and is) incredibly, dark, menacing and atmospheric and it's budget allowed it to look brilliant. It was ahead of it's time and should have been one of the most popular adult science fiction series of the era. But it wasn't! However now it has become a cult and is recognised as one of the finest sci-fi series ever made. And so it should be! The images of Alien's are horrific (even today) and the writing and choice of cast were just spot on. The late Ed Bishop was just phenomenal really, a truly marvellous actor who played Ed Straker to perfection. George Sewell and later Wanda Ventham were also wonderful. It also has to be one of the scariest science fiction series of the 1970's just look at The Long Sleep - now that really is a scary episode, and it's also damn good! Confined to peoples memories for over 15 years the series was finally brought to us in 1986 (if you miss out Precision Video's release of the confusingly edited Invasion: UFO) when Channel 5 video released many unedited episodes of the series (including Invasion: UFO). From this point the show's popularity suddenly rose and an ITV repeat followed later in the year running into 1987. Interestingly even a 'UFO' convention was held in London in 1988 because of the show's increased popularity in the 1980's. UFO was again repeated this time on BBC2 in 1996, but it took them 3 years to show the entire series! The BBC have never been very good at scheduling. Nowadays the show's popularity is still thriving what with recent DVD and Video releases still available. The series was in short superb and I think grossly underrated. UFO didn't even appear in the 2001 Channel 4 programme 'Top Ten Sci-fi' but Space: 1999 did. Space: 1999 is a great series but sometimes the writing and UFO is just better! Getting back to UFO, it is a popular cult which will stay in peoples memories for many years to come.

This series fizzles out with absolutely no conclusion.

A second series must have been planned and was shelved.

The series was shown out of running order on Forces TV but in the proper running order on the Horror Channel.

There is very little reference to previous episodes so almost every episode can be viewed as a standalone episode.

My Recommendation - Dip in and out of the series without worrying about missing an episode or getting through to the end.

Gerry Anderson was the creator of 'The Thunderbirds' and several other hugely successful children's SF/adventure puppet shows that enthralled generations of British and Australian kids and kept them glued to their TV sets. Anderson eventually grew tired of the format and wanted to branch out into live action drama. He made the hugely underrated movie 'Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun' in 1969, and used several members of the supporting cast in his next project 'UFO', most notably the super cool Ed Bishop. Bishop had a small role in Anderson's movie, and had previously had a bit part in '2001', but he became the central character of 'UFO', playing Com. Ed Straker leader of SHADO a secret organisation fighting a group of mysterious and hostile aliens. Anderson believed the series would lead on to bigger and better things for Bishop and make a major star, but sadly this was not to be. Watching 'UFO' now is a very strange experience because it combines lots of hilarious kitschy moments with some quite serious dramatic touches e.g. characters actually die, even children, and many episodes have very downbeat endings, something not all that common in say, the usually optimistic (original) 'Star Trek'. Despite being continually told we are watching events set in 1980, there are many bits of 1960s fashions, hair style and attitudes on display. This is particularly amusing in one episode where Col. Foster (Paul Billington) is on leave and goes to a party where everybody is frugging and grooving to The Beatles 'Get Back', or another great episode where two hippies take acid and meet a couple of spacemen. The whole series mixes and matches styles from the time it was made with ideas of what it was going to be like ten years in the future , which of course, is now over twenty years ago... This means that 'UFO's 1980 is very unlike OUR 1980! So the show has a unique retro-futuristic feel, quite unlike anything else before or since. Another odd thing about the show was that the supporting cast changed back and forth without a word of explanation. Early on the extremely foxy Gabrielle Drake (sister of doomed cult singer Nick Drake!) is in charge of the moonbase, then it's Foster, then someone else. And Straker (Bishop)'s second in command changes from the craggy faced George Sewell (Col. Freeman) to the more aesthetically pleasing Wanda Ventham (Col. Lake), and nothing is mentioned about it. Fans of British TV and movies from the 1960s will see several familiar faces as semi-regulars or guest stars, including David Warbeck, Steven Berkoff, Anoushka Hempel, Lois Maxwell, Shane Rimmer, and others. Also keep an eye out for 60s cult babe Ayshea, who is in just about every episode but hardly says half a page of dialogue throughout the whole series. She mainly wanders around holding a clip board and looking beautiful. The real sex symbol of the show however was the utterly gorgeous Gabrielle Drake, complete with silver jumpsuit and purple wig. Hundreds of middle aged men around the world are still in love with her I'm sure. I know I am! The early episodes of the series are sometimes a bit uneven, but the quality improved as the series went on. Unfortunately the series didn't continue, but Anderson went on to make 'Space 1999', a more commercially successful series, but not necessarily a better program. 'UFO' is highly recommended to all SF fans, especially those that dig the 1960s. It is by no means as mind-blowing and innovative as 'The Prisoner', or as consistently enjoyable as 'The Avengers', but personally I still prefer it to original Trek.

Its always fun to see how the future was depicted and then where it missed - a great example was Things to come where everything was aviation based - that was the emerging popularist technology then. So with this show we have the recognistion of computer based tech but alongside analogue instruments and good old CRT displays. Still the concept and stories are still quite passable in the main and still entertaining, which is the main thing. If you compare UFO to say Star trek it hangs pretty well both in technology and story.

Apparently everyone's childhood favourite - mine too - UFO still holds up exceptionally well in terms of what it delivers - which is unadulterated, cheesy space opera nonsense with a lot of style and attitude. The show is quite obviously being held together by Ed Bishop, a competent performer who swims really well in soapy material such as this - he gets his tone just right, much like John Forsythe would do years later in "Dynasty" playing Blake Carrington. Bishop's bleached blonde hipster haircut-come-wig practically forms the basis for the entire colour scheme of the show - all silvery greys with accents of warm oranges, pastel blues and, believe it or not, even the dreaded brown looks good in its many shades here. There's a bit of hilarity too - those see-through fishnets and hairy nipples on display are a hoot, just as it is to watch how the amount of blue eyeliner grows on Michael Billington over the stretch of the show. Elsewhere you have Gabrielle Drake's terribly posh accent to enjoy, as well as a plethora of other stunningly pretty women everywhere you look, all impeccably made up, coiffed and lacquered. Also there's something reassuringly comforting in the endlessly repeated stock shots of the Interceptors taking off and disappearing behind that ridge - and still they look to me like kitchen appliances of some sort. The ever-so-sophisticated Hammond-driven theme is by the old pro Barry Gray, as is the rest of the score - all very atmospheric with loads of spacey vibraphones and Ondes Martinot on cue. And there you have it - the look and the sound of the show are still by far its strongest points, perfectly encapsulating the chic times in which the show was made. Perfect for a cozy binge.

"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.)

I loved this show as a kid!

But now it's worth watching just for the FAB-U-LOUS costumes and go-go music. The purple wigs alone make it all worthwhile. Ridiculous scripts, truly "special" effects, god-awful acting and sexist dialogue all add to the mindless good fun.

And a modern bonus is realizing 40 years later that all these sets were re-purposed/re-used by the Andersons for their equally-hilarious series "Space: 1999".

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...

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 natural

The 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.

Jan 2022

I had never caught a single episode of this in my life, until very recently when i got to see them all. I had high expectations from how it looked, but i was a bit bored during many episodes.

George Sewell didn't suit his part, and i was put off by characters disappearing for several episodes then suddenly coming back.

It has a really nice look to it, but on the whole, not great.

6 out of 10.

There are several television series that I enjoyed as a child which - taken in proper analytical perspective - were not actually as good as I thought at the time. Seeing a movie or program again that I enjoyed when I was young inevitably resurrects fond memories and feelings; but were I to see them for the first time as an adult (and especially in my case having been involved in film and television production) might not be viewed as favorably. I suspect that may be the case with UFO. I am a fan of the Andersons and had seen most of their programs at the time of their release, but did not get a chance to see this series until now.

Like Irwin Allen, Quinn Martin, Dan Curtis, and other producers of the era, the Andersons had their own quirks - most of which lent some charm to their work. Oddball plot twists and often head-scratching costuming or character traits are among them. However I just cannot get myself to like UFO to the extent which many previous reviewers have expressed, and I wonder if it is because I did not see the series when I was younger.

One of my favorite Anderson productions is "Doppleganger" AKA "Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun", largely I believe, because I saw it when I was 11 years old and close to Christmas. The effects and the music are marvelous, but the "twist" and many other unusual parts of the movie are odd to me now - but it brings very fond memories, so I personally would rate it very high even though seeing it for the first time now might result in a lower opinion.

No intention to deride previous reviews, nor belittle anyone. Just offering some perspective for anyone seeing the series for the first time and wondering "What are they raving about?"