A&E DVD Set 1 review

Ok, now that I've joined this list and verified that I've had the same
"sonic problems" as several of the others on this list with the collection,
I will present MY REVIEW of the collection.

UFO came out when I was about 6 or 7 years old and I saw it only on
small 12 inch black and white televisons, so I never saw the green fluid in
the alien helmets, the red smoke the UFO's leaked out when Sky One shot
them, nor the Purple wigs of Lt. Ellis and associates. But UFO was my
favorite show at the time, moreso than Star Trek, Lost In Space, Ultra Man
or any number of other Sci-Fi series that I watched. The only show in
years to come that would even rival it, was of course Space:1999.

Big difference between UFO and 1999 was that I was about 5 years older and
much better equipped to understand, relate to and remember 1999. I had
remembered bits and pieces of UFO, and only after getting the DVD Set 1
could I put those bits and pieces in order. I'm eagerly awaiting release
of Set 2, because some of my other memory fragments are apparently from
those 13 episodes.

Yes, there are a lot of "faults" with UFO...some inherent, some
incoherent. But if you sit back and look at the big picture, it's still
one of the greatest sci-fi shows of all time. Occassional bad acting or
overacting reminds me of Kirk on Star Trek, and some of the dialog from the
scripts is horrible, but that was a different time period. We've got way
too much to compare this old series to, and should actually be looking at
it for what it was and what it superceded. And along those lines it's
excellent.

I have not seen UFO since it originally aired until this point. With 1999,
not only was I older and remembered it better, but I would once in a blue
moon catch a rerun of it many years after it was pulled from production, as
some local channels would throw up a random episode of 1999 to fill a gap
in their late night programming (and I do mean LATE NIGHT...like 2 or 3 in
the morning).

UFO, however, I seemed to never see. I've had Sci-Fi channel a few
times...and nope...they never run UFO (or 1999) whenever I have access...it
was always "about a year ago" as people would tell me that they'd seen it
on there. So, in many ways, seeing the Set 1 collection was kinda like
seeing it for the first time (well, atleast the first time in many years).

As a child I was awed by the UFO's themselves...and the other machinery
(Sky One, Mobiles, Interceptors, SID, etc). I've always been partial to
space "vehicles" and "robots" and such...so this is not big surprise. I
still think the UFO's are the coolest design for a "flying saucer" that
I've ever seen. I wish I had a model of them (I understand they do exist,
and I've seen some overpriced one's on the internet). I did own 3 models
of Space:1999's Eagles when I was younger, as well as books from 1999, but
I've never owned anything UFO until now. I did go to school with a guy who
had a UFO lunchbox, and I tried my best to trade him out of it, but he
would not do it.

I see things I didn't see back then...most notably the sexuality, and all
the smoking and drinking! Anyone with any sense knows you would not smoke
in a submarine or a moonbase...as fire depletes the oxygen supply more
rapidly...not to mention, it'd kill those who can't stand cigar/cigarette
smoke. It'd be like a non-smoker being locked in closet with a chain
smoker. At 6 or 7 I wasn't all that interested in Lt. Ellis in a silver
mini-skirt, or all the other skin-tight clothes worn by various women on
the show...but at 38, I find this all quite interesting! I do however
prefer Ellis without the purple wig and all the overdone makeup, as she's
seen in a couple episodes. She's quite an attractive woman. I guess as a
child, I thought those ladies were "Friendly" aliens from yet a third
world, not the Earth and not the UFO alien's home world. But considering I
saw it in black and white, I didn't know they had purple hair...I just knew
they all "resembled", because they had the same haircut, makeup and uniforms.

I do notice now, that they reuse a LOT of footage. Skydivers underwater
scenes seem to be the same every time. UFO approaches seem to be pulled
out of one of several "stock" sequences, same goes for interceptors,
mobiles, lunar module and pretty much everything else that was done with
miniatures. As a child, I would not have noticed, but I do now. I used to
think it was funny how Battlestar Galactica used a lot of the same footage
over and over in each episode...sometimes flipping the film over to get an
approach from the "opposite" side. Now I see that UFO apparently pioneered
this! Well, I'm sure someone else did it first, but anyway you get the
picture. But it is understandable that it is expensive to build and
photograph these models, especially when you blow them up occassionally or
otherwise damage them to make the storyline more interesting. I'm sure
there were multiple models of everything, which only added to the cost.

But UFO was, and still is one of my favorite Sci-Fi shows...I'm still up in
arms as to whether I like it or Space:1999 better. They were both
important to me as a child, and still are as an adult. To anyone who was a
fan of this series, I definately recommend getting it...it's worth the
money, and if you're like me, you'll be holding your breath for the release
of the second half of the series.
Despite the quality of the packaging and the fact that some of the "extras"
on the DVD don't seem to have any significance, it's a very well remastered
collection. If only they'd used compressor/limiters on the audio track, so
that the music and sound effects didn't blast you away, but the spoken word
seems to be buried in places, it would be absolutely top notch!

I always have and always will love this show! And it brings back good memories!

Railhead wrote:
>e him out of it, but he
> would not do it.
>
> I see things I didn't see back then...most notably the sexuality, and all
> the smoking and drinking! Anyone with any sense knows you would not smoke
> in a submarine or a moonbase...as fire depletes the oxygen supply more
> rapidly...not to mention, it'd kill those who can't stand cigar/cigarette
> smoke.


As a matter of fact, some navies do permit smoking aboard
submerged submarines, or at least have done in the recent past.
The greatest disadvantage is the increased carbon monoxide level.

James

All I can say is:

8-)

-- Y

PS: Funny how strongly UFO has affected some of us. Can't wait till I
can get my set of DVDs. <rubbing hands greedily>



Railhead wrote:
>
> Ok, now that I've joined this list and verified that I've had the same
> "sonic problems" as several of the others on this list with the collection,
> I will present MY REVIEW of the collection.

snip

> I always have and always will love this show! And it brings back good memories!



--
[hidden email]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Tarrant: "Did you say something?"
Avon: "I said shut up; I apologize
for not realizing you are deaf."

I could take or leave the smoking but I sure would like to have that
wet bar module like Straker's in my office. Although first I guess I
should upgrade my cubicle to an actual office. ;-)

I don't suppose it would bother me TOOOooo much to have the women-
folk in my office wandering around putting on a show like in SHADO
either. <GRIN> Maybe even SkyDiver net-shirts too.

<SWAT>Bad doggy ;-)
S

--- In SHADO@y..., James Gibbon <james.gibbon@v...> wrote:
> Railhead wrote:
> >e him out of it, but he
> > would not do it.
> >
> > I see things I didn't see back then...most notably the sexuality,
and all
> > the smoking and drinking! Anyone with any sense knows you would
not smoke
> > in a submarine or a moonbase...as fire depletes the oxygen supply
more
> > rapidly...not to mention, it'd kill those who can't stand
cigar/cigarette
> > smoke.
>
>
> As a matter of fact, some navies do permit smoking aboard
> submerged submarines, or at least have done in the recent past.
> The greatest disadvantage is the increased carbon monoxide level.
>
> James