Any fans of Gerry Anderson? (Thunderbirds, UFO, Space 1999)

So, I finished watching the last UFO episode last night - "The Long Sleep" - completing a task (viewing the series that inspired the creation of Space: 1999) which had been on my to-do list since the late '70s. I have to admit, I'm sorry to have reached the end of the series. I don't think it ever lived up to its potential, but there are tantalizing flashes where you can see what a monster this program could have been if the execution had been just a bit more solid.

Still, in spite of a few problems - OK, a lot of problems - I highly recommend the series to any fans of 1999 (or any of the other Anderson series, really). Apart from a handful of seriously dud episodes, UFO is pretty consistent and in a few ways arguably superior to its successor.

For example, I found the lead character Ed Straker to be a lot more interesting than any of the leads on 1999, save possibly Barry Morse's Victor Bergman, and the conflicts between the various characters on the program (when they arose) generally seemed a lot less forced than many of the "dramatic" interactions on 1999.

I'm genuinely surprised - after having blown a bundle on sets and models - that ITC didn't go ahead and commission a second series of UFO. The scripts, direction and acting all improved in the second production block of episodes (about the final third of the episodes), and while the show still had issues, by that point those issues certainly didn't seem insurmountable.

I enjoy the look of the show as well, although it's quite inferior to 1999 in that regard. The model work is poor compared to Brian Johnson's incredible efforts on 1999 and the designs aren't nearly as good, but given the era and budget it's still alright. The hair and costumes on UFO are a hoot - most of it is very Austin Powers, but I have to give Sylvia Anderson and her cohorts credit for giving the program a very distinctive look and I admit a lot of the cast look pretty darn hot in their Nehru jackets, stretch pants, cat eye makeup, silver miniskirts & teased up hair. The uniforms worn by the personnel at SHADO's earth command center bear more than a passing resemblance to Rudi Gernreich's work for Space: 1999, which I also found somewhat surprising.

UFO is streaming in HD on Hulu right now in the US, and I thought it looked pretty good, apart from the occasional dust and scratches. The color seems to have that slightly greenish cast a lof of the old ITC series exhibited (The Prisoner had the same issue - must have been the film stock they used), but it's not too extreme.

Distribution rights to these programs tend to come and go, so if you finally want to see UFO now's the time to do so - it might not be available for streaming via Hulu (or anywhere else) much longer, and it's not available on Blu-ray in the US.

 

Great summary of your UFO viewing experience. I began the process of rewatching the series with my wife who's never even heard of it, let alone seen it, and so far I've only managed to get us to episode 2 (not on my account). I might end up having to watch it by myself at this point.

I've posted in this thread earlier about my experience watching UFO as a kid, so I won't go into it again. Just know that I'm a big fan of the series, warts and all.

The only thing I'll disagree with in your post is about UFO's model designs not being as good as 1999's. I think UFO's model designs are iconic. The Mobile is a practical, yet highly stylized design which still looks cool in 2015. Skydiver looks great, and Sky 1's design is compact, sleek, and powerful, not to mention the awesome way it integrates into Skydiver as a whole. The UFO itself is simply brilliant - taking the saucer shape we've grown to associate with UFOs over the decades, and making it fresh and exciting. The way it spins while flying, the reflections off of the teardrop-shaped panels, it's compact design - all make it seem eerily realistic and creepy.

The one design that I agree drops the ball is the Interceptor. While visually it's a great design, from a practical standpoint it's really, really stupid. One missile per Interceptor? Really? Not only does that negate the efficacy of an attack on a UFO, it also leaves the Interceptor vulnerable to attack if that missile fires and misses - which happens pretty much in every episode!

Anyway, I'm nitpicking, but just wanted to provide a counterpoint to the inferiority of the ship designs compared to 1999. While the Eagle is certainly different and iconic, it's also a pretty boring design, IMHO.

 

I've watched all of the Gerry Anderson series except UFO and the ones he did before Supercar. I think Stingray is my favorite.

 

Oh boy...



http://www.slashfilm.com/new-thunderbirds-teaser/

 

Actually, if a remake is to be done, CGI is the only way to capture the 3D marionette character designs while also unfettering their movement limitations. If done right, this remake could be really good. For that to happen, it will need to have great visuals, great voice acting, and most importantly, great stories.

I'm not going to diss it until I actually see the finished product.

 

Did you see the CGI Captain Scarlet? Awful

 

I have to admit, I did not. When did that come out?

 

All of that is correctable. I'd have to see it to know what you're talking about, but what we usually go for is pure black for the darkest parts of the picture and pure white for the whitest parts of the picture, and UFO is a show that had both. If they let the whites get contaminated when the negative was scanned, it's hard (but not impossible) to eliminate the contamination in final color. But film stock alone would not cause this problem; bad scanning and/or bad mastering could. I suspect it's just poor decisions being made.

I'd also have to see it on a calibrated monitor to know for sure, because you never know what the monitor is adding or obscuring from the picture otherwise.

 

Well, especially since this is a new monitor I haven't even tried to calibrate in any way... But nothing else has the slight greenish cast, and I do recall The Prisoner looking much the same when it came out on DVD.

It's not bad. Not as bad as The Prisoner DVDs were, and they weren't terrible either. Better than the Laserdiscs...

I did re-watch one UFO episode last night - "Flight Path" - and noticed a slew of dust and scratches. It seemed to be in much worse condition than most of the other episodes. No great loss, as it isn't one of their better episodes - confused writing and editing, and a dull guest performance that robbed the episode of a lot of potential emotional resonance.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Anderson's_New_Captain_Scarlet

 

No excuses for scratches or dirt these days. They figured out ways to digitally fix those years ago (with stuff like MTI's Dirt Removal System), and it just takes a few hours.

I found a lot of the UFO episodes to be very downbeat and depressing, which I suspect Gerry Anderson leaned towards in a deliberate effort to get away from the kiddie/puppet shows he had been known for in the previous 10-12 years.

 

Yes, they're very downbeat and depressing. It's pretty bracing, given the era. Few clean victories on that program. A refreshing change from '70s American television garbage - not that UFO doesn't have its own problems...

 

Hmmm. We'll have to agree to disagree. I think they're actually inferior - design wise if not from a realism perspective - to the models in Thunderbirds. The bug-eyed, fishy Lunar Module is probably the most interesting design. The SST is kinda bland. SID looks OK. The Interceptors are lame - they look like a shoe with a beak. Skydiver is cool but doesn't make a lot of sense (the interior is their best set, though - much better than the Moonbase interior, which is pretty lame - Doctor Who-esque, and also SHADO HQ's interior which is likewise kinda lame, like a marked-down Bond lair).

1999's model work is just stunning. Even on Blu-ray they look pretty darn good, and they were never intended to hold up to that kind of scrutiny. The Eagle is probably the best-designed sci-fi spaceship I've ever seen - makes more sense than pretty much any subsequent shuttle design that's cropped up on screen, and looks hella cool to this day. The interior is spectacular too - designer Keith Wilson did Skydiver one better with that set.

And of course 1999 also had Brian Johnson's incredible Moonbase model, improved upon from his work on 2001, plus a host of other craft (alien or human) pretty much every other week, including things like this bizarre craft:



Where do you even come up with an idea like that?

From a design perspective I don't think another sci-fi series came close until the reimagined Galactica last decade, with its creepy Cylon Basestars, realistic passenger transports and various other craft, including the massive Battlestars themselves.

 

Stingray fans will be happy to know that Marina's granddaughter, Iggy, has done quite well for herself lately.

 

Ha!

 

Been binging Space 1999 on Hulu. Spending more time there than Netflix these days I think...

 

UFO is available on Blu-ray in the UK now. Supposedly the remastering is much cleaner than any previous HD version ... and corrects the issues with the color timing. However, I haven't seen it yet (the price is a bit steep - 61 pounds even on Amazon UK) and there's very few reviews. Apparently this release does come with an exclusive 600 page book. That's not a typo, from the look of the box I'd say there is plenty of room for a 600 page book

‘UFO: The Complete Series’ Blu-ray reviewed

http://networkonair.com/shop/2566-ufo-the-complete-series-blu-ray-.html

 

I had the Interceptor toy as a kid. Still have it but like many kids the middle has gone missing which is rather telling. Cool but unpractical design.

 

I love Space: 1999. I used to have the action figures and spaceship. Good times.

 

If Network's past history is any indication, the first release will contain the book, and once those are sold out they will issue a slimmed-down version without the book. I plan to get this set, not least because I love UFO and because I've spent way too much time in the past trying to track down first-release copies of some of their other sets that I waited a bit too long to get before the supply suddenly dried up.

 

My brother had that Mattel Eagle playset, too! I loved the ship, but thought the figures were horrible (4 points of articulation: neck, shoulders, waist). Since I was a few years older than him, I had the Dinky Space: 1999 Eagle diecast vehicles.

 

I was a Fanderson member but my last year was the year Gerry A died. My generation was Space:1999, but I also loved Stingray in reruns. Since then I've gotten most everything on DVD back to Torchy The (annoying) Battery Boy! Having gotten a region 2 machine I am still fighting off any desire to buy blu-rays and a blu-ray player.

 

I really should buy a Blu-ray player one of these days.

 

Are they really that hard to come by? While most machines in NZ are coded for Region 4, they're pretty much Region Free. And our TV's support all the formats too, PAL, NTSC, Secam.

 

I'm watching the old movie "Thunderbird's Are Go!" right now (on Film 4).