Binge watching on Britbox

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Binge watching on Britbox

chrisirvine
Hi

Like to say thanks to Marc for approving my membership and ability to post. I've been a long time fan after watching the show in my younger years when it originally aired, or rather when it was repeated in syndication during the 70s. I have a lot of fond memories of the show which, when I was a child watching, I recall as being quite trippy at times. I guess, like many on here, the show was a prominent part of my childhood due to 1. The distinctive, stylized images presented in the show and 2. The toys we all wanted when we were growing up, namely the Dinky Interceptors and Shado Mobiles.

To get to the point, I signed up for Britbox on the basis that they have the entire series available to view, and I've spent the best part of the last month binge watching the show. It's a bit of a disjointed experience as the episodes don't appear to be in the same order as originally broadcast, but it has definitely been enjoyable.. I was born in the late 1960s so didn't really get or appreciate the hype over the original 21st Century productions with puppets, but the two 'live' shows, UFO and Space 1999, were what I grew up with.

I have a number of observations from watching the show again with 21st Century eyes. Fell free to agree or disagree;

1. The production values in the show were fantastic. It's a beautifully and fully realised view of a specific premise which is explored across the whole season.

2. It deals with some issues, ie racism, better than others, most notably sexism. I've found the show to be incredibly sexist in virtually every episode. I've lost track of the times Straker or Freeman ask some female SHADO member to get them a coffee it's untrue.

3. The special effects were very good. Ignoring the fact they generally use the same visual shots of the Interceptors taking off in every single show, some of the visual effects were brilliant for their time. It's a shame we didn't get a more varied range of shots with the Interceptors, such an iconic ship.

4. The episodes were too long. Watching it today, with the benefit of no adverts, it's amazing how much filler there is in each episode to pad out the length. A shorter run time might have focused the storytelling in the episodes, making them more concise.

5. SHADO Mobiles were generally useless. In the few episodes they appeared in, they had tendency to get destroyed which belies their design. Disappointing for me as I loved them as a child.

6. The show was actually quite dark in places. Some of the episodes dealt with some very adult issues which I was quite surprised by, and some of the characters - regular and irregular - displayed some very dubious traits. Looking at you Straker.

I'm posting this on a Saturday night so I'm not going to proceed any further at this stage. Be interested to hear the views of any other fans currently bingeing the series as I am. I have two episodes left, and then I guess I'm moving onto Blakes 7.

Thanks again for allowing me to post.
TRT
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

TRT
Sexism isn't asking about who you ask to fetch you a coffee. Women in SHADO hold top ranks, their judgments are trusted (except in Computer Affair perhaps) and there's no sign of any inequality in terms of gender superiority. There are dangerous women too.
Having said that there are overtones of sexual objectification but that seems to be a production decision rather than storyline. 

And if you've got BritBox, give Survivors a go. More Terry Nation. 

Sent from my iOS device

On 3 Oct 2020, at 19:29, chrisirvine [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:

 Hi

Like to say thanks to Marc for approving my membership and ability to post. I've been a long time fan after watching the show in my younger years when it originally aired, or rather when it was repeated in syndication during the 70s. I have a lot of fond memories of the show which, when I was a child watching, I recall as being quite trippy at times. I guess, like many on here, the show was a prominent part of my childhood due to 1. The distinctive, stylized images presented in the show and 2. The toys we all wanted when we were growing up, namely the Dinky Interceptors and Shado Mobiles.

To get to the point, I signed up for Britbox on the basis that they have the entire series available to view, and I've spent the best part of the last month binge watching the show. It's a bit of a disjointed experience as the episodes don't appear to be in the same order as originally broadcast, but it has definitely been enjoyable.. I was born in the late 1960s so didn't really get or appreciate the hype over the original 21st Century productions with puppets, but the two 'live' shows, UFO and Space 1999, were what I grew up with.

I have a number of observations from watching the show again with 21st Century eyes. Fell free to agree or disagree;

1. The production values in the show were fantastic. It's a beautifully and fully realised view of a specific premise which is explored across the whole season.

2. It deals with some issues, ie racism, better than others, most notably sexism. I've found the show to be incredibly sexist in virtually every episode. I've lost track of the times Straker or Freeman ask some female SHADO member to get them a coffee it's untrue.

3. The special effects were very good. Ignoring the fact they generally use the same visual shots of the Interceptors taking off in every single show, some of the visual effects were brilliant for their time. It's a shame we didn't get a more varied range of shots with the Interceptors, such an iconic ship.

4. The episodes were too long. Watching it today, with the benefit of no adverts, it's amazing how much filler there is in each episode to pad out the length. A shorter run time might have focused the storytelling in the episodes, making them more concise.

5. SHADO Mobiles were generally useless. In the few episodes they appeared in, they had tendency to get destroyed which belies their design. Disappointing for me as I loved them as a child.

6. The show was actually quite dark in places. Some of the episodes dealt with some very adult issues which I was quite surprised by, and some of the characters - regular and irregular - displayed some very dubious traits. Looking at you Straker.

I'm posting this on a Saturday night so I'm not going to proceed any further at this stage. Be interested to hear the views of any other fans currently bingeing the series as I am. I have two episodes left, and then I guess I'm moving onto Blakes 7.

Thanks again for allowing me to post.


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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Shado-cabinet
In reply to this post by chrisirvine
Hi Chris

Thanks for your thoughts. With regards to your criticism re: some special FX shots being recycled in the show. A lot of TV shows of the 60s & 70s do this ie: Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (the 'real' one), Blakes-7, and 'V' etc so it was the trend at the time before the advent of CGI.

With regards to sexism, the show was set in the future (ie: 1980s), and in the 'actual 80s' female secretaries & PAs did basically run around after their bosses etc. But as TRT said in his reply a lot of the female characters in UFO were in command (ie: Col Virginia Lake, Lt Gay Ellis etc). There was a lot of objectification of both men & women in UFO (ie: the revealing costumes) but this was due to Sylvia Anderson trying to sexualise the show to appeal to the adult audience etc. It does work visually but it does seem strange to have some women in dangerous & authorative roles wearing brightly coloured make-up & wigs & mini-skirts etc. I do agree that the female characters (Lake, Ellis & Ayshea) should have been given more to do, with whole episodes based around them etc as I felt they a were tad underused (but again other shows have this problem ie: Blakes 7)

I have no problems with a little padding in some episodes here & there (like I said a lot of shows even today do this) but I do think some episodes contained too much emphasis on 'kitchen sink drama' rather than the sci-fi action adventure motif which really hurts the show ('Confetti-Check A-OK' is a prime example of this which is waste of an entire episode imho).

But I am glad you are revisiting the show as I currently am and that you enjoyed the show. I would recommend reading the UFO fanfic (there is quite a lot of it). I am currently reading 'How it all Ended' which is a fanfic you will find on the SHADO library site and it is very good. It is good to see that a 50-year old show is survived by its community of fans :)
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

chrisirvine
In reply to this post by TRT
Oh, come on, really? The show's titles deliberately feature a very curvy SHADO female employee walking away from the camera in a tight suit. Look. I'm not knocking that because UFO was a product of its time. I'm just saying, with the benefit of hindsight, the show is clearly misogynistic and sexist. I'm not a prude or woke in any way, but I've cringed several times watching the show during my recent binge. It is what it is, and there's no harm in pointing it out. There's also no harm enjoying it.
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

chrisirvine
In reply to this post by Shado-cabinet
Thank you.
TRT
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

TRT
In reply to this post by chrisirvine
OK, maybe a little more sexual objectification goes on in UFO than could be described as “overtones”. It does go both ways, in some episodes at least.  :-)
There are episodes that make me cringe in parts too (Dr Who is worse for that, TBH), but sexism, misogyny and sexual objectification are in my mind three different things. Anyway, this group isn’t really the forum for a debate on sex/gender politics. The opinion of our female members on this would be welcomed of course. Do they find the series sexist?
Personally I think that the depicted future is less guilty of sexism than the actual production. The only female “writing credit” goes to Sylvia Anderson, and there were no female directors.

I quite like padding. I find the older stories from Doctor Who were better paced as they were in 4 or 6 parters of 30 minutes each than the mad-cap frantic pace of many of the recent ones where they pack even more story into the one 45-50 minute show, though I reckon they could have done Star Trek Picard in 4, maybe 5 episodes instead of the 30-odd that there seemed to be as it dragged on forever towards the impossible climax.

 The mobiles were a bit less able than Sky 1 or the interceptors, but I think they were there to fulfil a different role really - they had to cover many terrains, they had to track, they were set to engage UFOs and aliens on foot, they were tasked with capture and clean up as well as destruction. I loved the design, though - I still get a slight thrill when I see some construction crane vehicles that have that Gerry Anderson look about them.

On 3 Oct 2020, at 21:53, chrisirvine [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:

Oh, come on, really? The show's titles deliberately feature a very curvy SHADO female employee walking away from the camera in a tight suit. Look. I'm not knocking that because UFO was a product of its time. I'm just saying, with the benefit of hindsight, the show is clearly misogynistic and sexist. I'm not a prude or woke in any way, but I've cringed several times watching the show during my recent binge. It is what it is, and there's no harm in pointing it out. There's also no harm enjoying it.


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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Lightcudder
I think it's important to remember that UFO was filmed in an era where sexism was accepted. As was smoking and drinking alcohol at work. As a woman, I didn't find the sexism objectionable at the time, and even now I have no real objections to that aspect of the filming. it was the way things were done then. As was the far greater sexism and misuse of women in the early James Bond films.

What I DO loathe though, is the preponderance of older male fans who seem to think it is acceptable to post on Facebook and elsewhere, the same old images of SHADO women along with utterly crude and disgusting comments, but that's really a different topic.

I think the credits were probably chosen by Gerry himself. He was the director of 'Identified' which is the episode with the most sexist scenes. The scene with Gay Ellis stripping off is frankly quite icky to watch as a female, as is the image of Joanna in her bra which has to be one of the most impractical, uncomfortable and badly made pieces of underwear ever created! NO woman would wear that and think it made her look sexy! It was dreadful.  I also stopped counting the number of shots of female bottoms after a while.

The following episodes were far less sexist. Look at Subsmash and the scenes with Nina Barry in her torn uniform. There was no hint of sexual objectification in those scenes, just intense emotion.

Yes, UFO was sexist, but the world was back then. But UFO was also forward thinking with regard to females. In the late 60s, women were not allowed to serve on submarines, or become astronauts. Women in the armed forces of the police force were seen (and treated) as less than men, or as lesbians. 'REAL" women were supposed to become teachers or (preferably) get married and raise children. (I am speaking here from personal experience)

UFO raised the bar for science-fiction series in that it had women (albeit attractive and sexy women) in positions of authority.

On a slightly different note - I think the reason actors like Gabrielle Drake / Ayshea etc were not given lead roles in the series was simple. They were not such strong actors. Simple as that. Dolores Mantez was the exception.
LtCdr: UFO fanfiction and other stuff!

http://lightcudder.com/
TRT
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

TRT
The changing room scene on Moonbase is uncomfortable to watch but one wonders if this is part of an odd feature of early/first episodes. I'm referring to the showcasing of designer creations - the overlong shots of commlocks being used, panning shots across banks of computers and consoles, close ups of voice-print lock grilles etc Demonstrations of the detail of design of props and costumes. Was Sylvia showcasing her concept of modular utilitarian uniform in the resource limited environment of the Moonbase? Every cubic inch of wardrobe space or every pound of clothing shipped by shuttle costs the Earth taxpayer £18,000 say and washing machines are not present up there. Maybe. That's the impression I got. As the series progressed the focus changed from showcasing gadgets to telling stories and we get to see some really good drama as actors get to know their characters. GA himself admits the longer format allows directors to develop characters, even incidental guest characters, which increases audience engagement. 

Sent from my iOS device

On 4 Oct 2020, at 10:03, Lightcudder [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:

 I think it's important to remember that UFO was filmed in an era where sexism was accepted. As was smoking and drinking alcohol at work. As a woman, I didn't find the sexism objectionable at the time, and even now I have no real objections to that aspect of the filming. it was the way things were done then. As was the far greater sexism and misuse of women in the early James Bond films.

What I DO loathe though, is the preponderance of older male fans who seem to think it is acceptable to post on Facebook and elsewhere, the same old images of SHADO women along with utterly crude and disgusting comments, but that's really a different topic.

I think the credits were probably chosen by Gerry himself. He was the director of 'Identified' which is the episode with the most sexist scenes. The scene with Gay Ellis stripping off is frankly quite icky to watch as a female, as is the image of Joanna in her bra which has to be one of the most impractical, uncomfortable and badly made pieces of underwear ever created! NO woman would wear that and think it made her look sexy! It was dreadful.  I also stopped counting the number of shots of female bottoms after a while.

The following episodes were far less sexist. Look at Subsmash and the scenes with Nina Barry in her torn uniform. There was no hint of sexual objectification in those scenes, just intense emotion.

Yes, UFO was sexist, but the world was back then. But UFO was also forward thinking with regard to females. In the late 60s, women were not allowed to serve on submarines, or become astronauts. Women in the armed forces of the police force were seen (and treated) as less than men, or as lesbians. 'REAL" women were supposed to become teachers or (preferably) get married and raise children. (I am speaking here from personal experience)

UFO raised the bar for science-fiction series in that it had women (albeit attractive and sexy women) in positions of authority.

On a slightly different note - I think the reason actors like Gabrielle Drake / Ayshea etc were not given lead roles in the series was simple. They were not such strong actors. Simple as that. Dolores Mantez was the exception.
LtCdr: UFO fanfiction and other stuff!

http://lightcudder.com/



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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Shado-cabinet
In reply to this post by Lightcudder
Hi Lightcudder

Thanks for your thoughts. I did not know that you were female. I suppose that would explain why you seem to appreciate the male from of Commander Straker from looking at some of those cool pics you have on your website where he is semi-naked etc. Speaking of fanfic I am currently reading 'How it all Ended' on the Shado Library website. Once I am finished I will check out the fanfic on your excellent site (I do remember reading the great piece you had written on the character Alec Freeman).

I do agree with you that Dolores Mantez is a great actress but I disagree that Gabrielle Drake & Ayshea are weaker actresses. I think they are all very good actresses and it is a pity that they were all under-used in UFO. I thought Drake made a great performance as Ellis in the 'Computer Affair' episode where she was conflicted in trying to balance her professional side with her personal in her dealings with a certain interceptor pilot.

The Andersons should have ditched awful episodes like 'Confetti-Check A-OK' and made episodes focusing on the female members of SHADO (Ellis & her moonbase crew, Ayshea etc). They could have made a great episode where a SHADAIR jet is shot down over a jungle by a UFO which Lake, Ellis & Ayshea survive, and find themselves hunted 'predator-style' by the alien crew. Completely cut-off from SHADO the women have to use their training & wits to survive the ordeal (with a sub-plot of tension between Ellis & Lake where Ellis feels that Lake promoted to Colonel over her etc). I think that would have made a pretty decent episode for the show or even as a fanfic story etc.
   
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Lightcudder
Ah - don't judge those images until you have read the appropriate stories! ;) Laughing here - I didnt create those pictures, they were done for me by a fellow fan who is far more talented than i am - I am totally useless at anything like that.

I write a variety of different genres in fanfic - from straightforward sci-fi (AfterMath) to horror (Midnight) to historical (Green Man)  As most readers of fanfic are women, I tend to write to that audience. I have written some 'adult' stuff but it is clearly labelled adult and its not a preferred genre for me.

In the coming months I am going to re-write The Shepherd and make some changes. Yes - it contains nudity, but both scenes are integral to the story and there is no sex. ;) (Apart from Alec Freeman and his girlfriend)

Thank you for your kind comment on my article on Alec Freeman. He was a much under-rated and mis-written (is that a word?) character in fanfic. One day I must do one on Dr Jackson! I think it behooves fanfic writers to try to keep the essence of a character as true to the way they were shown in the series, otherwise we are doing their work a disservice. I hope I have managed that in my later efforts.

LtCdr: UFO fanfiction and other stuff!

http://lightcudder.com/
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Shado-cabinet
Hi Lightcudder

Thank you for your reply. I look forward to checking out the 'Shepherd' novel once I finish 'How it all Ended' story on Shado-Library (and I will also re-read it again whenever you have published your re-edited version in a few months etc) I really appreciate the efforts writers like yourself to try & keep the UFO story alive (it is a pity there was only 1 season, and an even greater pity that Gerry Anderson produced a CGI-remake of Captain Scarlett instead of UFO in the early noughties). I am enjoying the 'How it all Ended' fanfic. I might post a quick review of it on this forum when I finished, as I will do once I have read the 'Shepherd' in order to direct any 'newbies' to this forum who may be interested in further reading of UFO on where to find it.  

I didn't know Alec Freeman had a steady girlfriend. He always seems to chasing Straker's secretary in certain episodes. I take it you are obviously a bigger fan of Straker than Freeman so I wonder if old Ed gets a look-in romantically in some of your stories (maybe Straker & Lake get together). One of the disappointments I had in the LONG SLEEP episode was that the producers rejected the original script where Straker actually falls in love with the girl in story which I thought was a better angle than the 'Father/Daughter relationship that the producers opted for (poor ol' Straker is in need of some lovin' - lol :)

I think one character that certainly needs more written about is poor Gay Ellis. I certainly hope there is room for her in UFO fanfic :)
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Lightcudder
Re; Fanfic - I would advise against reviewing on this site - and most non-fanfic sites actually. The unwritten rule of reading fanfic is also to keep reviews positive ;) You can review on sites such as fanfic.net or AO3, and my works on my site, but in general, fanfic is seen by most as the twee prerogative of the few female (and generally considered hormonal) fans of UFO! (Believe me, I've been there!) And before anyone comments, I am very happily married with three daughters!

As for Alec Freeman and his girlfriend. Although we didnt see him 'in action' in UFO I like to think he had more than a few girlfriends. He had a gentleness to him and I could see women falling for his charm. The girlfriend in Shepherd is not in the series. And yes, I have written Freeman in several stories but Straker is the character that is most intriguing to write about. A complex, vulnerable guy, solitary and aloof and always on the fringe of things. I believe it was Ed Bishop who made a particular point of rarely having any physical contact with anyone in SHADO - which is why certain scenes (eg the last scene in Reflections) and in Long Sleep and Subsmash were so effective. And it was Bishop who said he portrayed Straker as almost asexual, a deliberate move, and that he considered there was no sexual attraction between Straker and Lake.

Paul Foster is simply a red-blooded male. What you see is what you get and there is no real depth to the character. Doug Jackson however is absolutely fascinating to write though it is difficult to get him to come to life on the page.

I thought about your suggestion for a fanfic story involving Gay Ellis etc but its not something that would interest me. I did start a Hallowee'n UFO story involving Ellis and Straker (no relationship) but to me she was a fairly dull character in the series with little depth and no back story and it simply didnt work out.

You should look on AO3 for  really great fanfic - and not just in UFO.
LtCdr: UFO fanfiction and other stuff!

http://lightcudder.com/
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Clare Cross
In reply to this post by Shado-cabinet
shado-cabinet:  "I didn't know Alec Freeman had a steady girlfriend."

He didn't.  Or, at least, there is absolutely nothing in the series to suggest that he does - indeed, quite the opposite.  I suspect that the 'girlfriend' mentioned is merely one created for the fan-fic story.  It's important to separate the two.  
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Shado-cabinet
In reply to this post by Lightcudder
Hi Lightcudder

I was wondering if you could please provide a link to AO3.

As for reviews on fanfic I would only post positive reviews as I would only review fanfics that I have read & actually like (to be honest I do not think I have read a fanfic that was not at least entertaining).

The few fanfics that I have read (1 BSG fanfic, and 1 Space1999 fanfic) did not have any romantic (hormonal?) content in them. Although there was 1 Transformers fanfic (Where a woman briefly falls in love with an heroic Autobot) which was romantic but I did enjoy it and it was very well written, and there was a really strange Star Wars fanfic which involved a relationship between the villainous General Grievious and one of his soldiers (a battle-droid)  which was really weird as it bordered on almost a 'homo-erotic' theme (although without any physicality etc).

I didn't know that most fanfics were written by women (the 'Transformers' and 'Star Wars' fanfics were definitely written by women, the 'BSG' & 'Space-1999' were written by men).

The UFO-fanfic on Shado-Library site which I am currently reading is called 'How it all Ended'  and is also written by a man. I like the way it deals with the aliens circumventing SHADO and simply revealing themselves to the world. It seems like a logical thing for that aliens to do when they are stuck in a stalemate battling SHADO. The aliens make friends with humanity and share their UFO technology with them (but Straker suspects they have ulterior motives, and is secretly consulting with the Henderson and his superiors to try and send a task force to locate the Aliens homeworld). The premise of the Aliens suddenly integrating with humanity (in a limited & controlled way) seems fairly believable. The writer also gives examples of what he thinks their language is like (which he calls 'Alienese') that looks really weird. One thing I like about this fanfic is that it tries to explain the few plotholes that appeared in the TV show (in the fanfic it mentioned that the SHADO spy satellite that featured in the 'Close Up' episode contained an 'engine-block' that was taken from a crashed UFO which allowed the satellite to fly at SOL speed etc). Also the writer thankfully disregards the theory suggested by Dr Jackson in the awful 'Cat with 9 lives' episode that the aliens could be 'formless beings' who takeover human bodies (a rather stupid take on the Captain Scarlett series etc).

On the subject of Dr Jackson I think he is a great character (who was particularly creepy in the 'Exposed' episode where he is interviewing Paul Foster). I always thought that he sometimes appears scarier than the aliens themselves. I think a fanfic story on him would make interesting reading.

I also have to disagree about Lt Gay Ellis (probably my favourite UFO character). I think she is a very interesting character who is very professional on the outside who is always pushing herself to the limit because she judges herself unworthy (as seen in 'Close Up').  She also feels very vulnerable about certain people around her (such as Astronaut Bradley), and she tries to balance these feelings (As seen in 'A Computer Affair' which I feel is probably the best UFO episode I have seen so far). So I do think she is a great character who deserves more stories written about her.

I also think Paul Foster is a great character in UFO. Like Ellis is a cool professional but deep down he has a compassionate streak which sometimes acts a foil to Straker's coldness (for example in 'The Square Triangle' he argues with Straker against letting the woman & her boyfriend go as they are planning to commit murder). Foster also shows compassion to the Alien ( who had actually killed his friend)  in the brilliant 'Survival' episode (definitely the second best episode UFO episode I have seen so far), who literally when the Alien is killed by the SHADO troops at the end of the episode. Foster also shows an authorative  side in the excellent 'Dalotek Affair' ,as well as a fun & playful side (As seen in the ending of the equally brilliant 'Ordeal'). So I do think that both Foster and Ellis are great characters in UFO and I do hope that there are some fanfic stories written about them out there in the SHADO community.

I certainly would look forward to reading your planned fanfic story for Dr Jackson. I agree that he is a character that is certainly worth exploring.  
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Shado-cabinet
In reply to this post by Clare Cross
Hi Clare

I suppose the nearest in the series to a 'girlfriend' of Freeman could be Straker's secretary Miss Ealing. It is implied in 'Identified' that there is something going on between them. Also in the original script (and I think a still of a deleted scene in 'Identified' on the DVD boxset) there was a scene where Freeman is chatting up a studio secretary who turns down his advances. You can't say that Freeman doesn't try his best in the series :)    
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Clare Cross
I don't think it's implied that there is anything going on between Freeman and Miss Ealand.  It's strongly implied, however, the he wishes there was!  It's been a while since I looked at the original script, but certainly everything that's presented onscreen suggests that Freeman's romantic/lustful interest in Miss Ealand is unrequited.  

I think people need to stop looking at UFO with 2020 vision.  If you see what I mean.  UFO was made 50 years ago, at a time when we lived in a male-dominated world - as indeed we had since time immemorial.  Much has changed in the last half-century, but have we taken giant leaps forwards or backwards?  Certainly the girls in UFO were mostly eye-candy and yet it's worth noting that some of them held positions of power and authority in a way that wasn't common on TV (certainly not in sci-fi) in those days.  Look at Lt. Uhura in Star Trek - she was nothing more than a glorified telephone operator.  Her nearest equivalent in UFO, 'Ayshea', has far more to do in terms of official duties within SHADO.  

The costumes ARE ridiculous, but they were designed to suggest the future and to look good on colour TV.  If any of us had been around (as TV/film producers) in 1969, we'd have probably done just the same.  The feminists may well have looked away, but everyone else thought 'WOW!'  And the Gay Ellis 'striptease' sequence is really just a quick way of demonstrating the adaptability of the uniform  and is remarkably non-sexual when you look at it.  I've never found it disconcerting at all.  Sadly, silver mini-skirts were out of fashion by the real 1980.  But thanks to UFO, they'll always be haute couture.  

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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Lightcudder
In reply to this post by Shado-cabinet
UFO fanfic on AO3

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/UFO%20%7C%20Gerry%20Anderson's%20UFO/works

Be advised, this is a more 'adult' site than  https://www.fanfiction.net/tv/UFO/ but the quality of some of the writing is far superior.

As for writers - the vast majority of female fanfic writers write romance. Its the most popular genre for female readers. I can probably count on one hand the number of male UFO fanfic writers (not that there are many UFO writers anyway!)
LtCdr: UFO fanfiction and other stuff!

http://lightcudder.com/
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Clare Cross
In reply to this post by Shado-cabinet
Shado-cabinet -  "The UFO-fanfic on Shado-Library site which I am currently reading is called 'How it all Ended'  and is also written by a man. I like the way it deals with the aliens circumventing SHADO and simply revealing themselves to the world. It seems like a logical thing for that aliens to do when they are stuck in a stalemate battling SHADO. The aliens make friends with humanity and share their UFO technology with them (but Straker suspects they have ulterior motives, and is secretly consulting with the Henderson and his superiors to try and send a task force to locate the Aliens homeworld). The premise of the Aliens suddenly integrating with humanity (in a limited & controlled way) seems fairly believable. The writer also gives examples of what he thinks their language is like (which he calls 'Alienese') that looks really weird. One thing I like about this fanfic is that it tries to explain the few plotholes that appeared in the TV show (in the fanfic it mentioned that the SHADO spy satellite that featured in the 'Close Up' episode contained an 'engine-block' that was taken from a crashed UFO which allowed the satellite to fly at SOL speed etc). Also the writer thankfully disregards the theory suggested by Dr Jackson in the awful 'Cat with 9 lives' episode that the aliens could be 'formless beings' who takeover human bodies (a rather stupid take on the Captain Scarlett series etc)."

But surely this reveals one of the main problems with fan-fiction?  Fan-fic happily disregards something from the actual TV show that it doesn't like (Jackson's theory) and yet can add something that isn't referenced at all in the series (added Alien tech to the B142), which we can more or less ascertain would have been impossible, since UFOs blow themselves to pieces if exposed to Earth's atmosphere for too long.  Or did this one crash into the sea and was it (and the B142) contained in water for the entirety of the operation?  And I'd love to know how SHADO were able to link the Alien tech to their own control systems.  Yes, 'Close Up' was a below par episode in terms of concept, but the fan-fic scenario described above goes way too far for it to be seriously and credibly reconciled with the episode in question.  Just my personal views of course; but I don't think it's fan-fic's place to trample all over what has been presented on screen.  
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Shado-cabinet
Hi Clare

I suggest you read the 'How it all Ended' fanfic it is very good. I do not see any harm in a fanfic writer filling in a plot-hole in an episode where it makes sense. You must remember the UFO series did not have a strict 'story bible' and so guest writers and directors appear to press their own vision onto the series  such as the 'Alien theory' mentioned by Jackson in the 'Cat' episode (which was written by guest Director Dave Tomblin). This concept of Aliens being 'formless beings' who possess humans contradicts everything in the 'Identified' episode, and it is never mentioned again in the UFO novelisations, comic strips etc. So fanfic writers are correct in ignoring this 'Alien theory' of Jacksons's as that's what it appears to be just a theory.

The fanfic 'How it all ended' only refers to the 'Close Up' episode in a sentence. Basically SHADO had uncovered a UFO 'engine block' from a damaged UFO (I cannot remember if it was salvaged from UFO debris in space or from under the ocean). The SHADO technicians were unable to take the device apart in order to replicate it so it was placed within the B124 probe in order for it to keep track of the UFO flying in SOL. The writer also mentioned that the shots taken by the probe were eventually found to be of the correct magnification (which I don't mind as I never truly 'bought' that ending of the episode where the SHADO technicians could not ascertain the magnification of images, and instead theorizing that they could be of 'inner space' etc). This 'revisionist' approach taken by this Fanfic writer does not spoil the UFO series if it is only correcting minor plotholes of episodes like 'Close up' that some would call subpar (although I do quite like 'Closeup'  as there was a lot of Lt Ellis in it, particularly the scene at the end :)

I have no issues with how the women in SHADO are portrayed in UFO (As you say it is a 50-year old show). And I do appreciate the women costumes & uniforms & wigs (even though it makes the series look a bit campy etc). And I did enjoy the scenes of Lt Ellis changing out of her uniform in to the silver mini-skirt (I agree I think they should come back into fashion, although I think they have been replaced by silver/ gold 'hotpants'  which are equally good imho). And I have no issues with the producers 'sexing-up' the show by showing both female & male flesh (ie: those 'string-vest' uniforms that the men wear) as they are trying to target both a male & female adult audience etc.  My only problem is that they should have had more episodes in UFO centering on the women (Lt Ellis & her Moonbase crew, Col Lake & Lt Ayshea). It would have been great to see an episode like I mentioned in a previous post where Col Lake, Ellis & Ayshea have crashed in a jungle and are being hunted on foot by Aliens. It certainly would have raised viewing figures instead of the awful 'Kitchen sink' Drama episodes like 'Confetti-Check A-Ok', 'A Question of Priorities' and the abysmal 'Cat with 9 lives' which may have done the opposite etc.

 
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Re: Binge watching on Britbox

Shado-cabinet
In reply to this post by Lightcudder
Hi LightCudder

Thanks for the links. I will check then out (once I have completed 'How it all Ended' and read 'Shepherd').

BTW I was just wondering what does 'LightCudder' mean? Is it a reference to the UFO show?

 
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