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As I remember it CWTL was the third episode screened by ATV after EXPOSED back in 1971.At the time its order in the screening of the series did,nt seem out of place to me.
I thought the attack on moonbase was unbelievable,something very special for TV in those days.
The concept of the Aliens as portrayed by Dr Jackson made them sinister and frightening.From this episode on they were never anything but menacing.The huminoid form of their appearance was merely a manifestation.
They were to all intents and purposes the scientific version of zombies.Mindless,unemotive,callous,and totally in-human.I,ve always thought that the most terrifying concept is of the faceless,unemotive,dis-passionate psychopath.
A concept not lost on film makers who have used it to telling effect in films like Return of the Body Snatchers and I Married a monster from Outer Space.For me the supberb,but probably unintentional placement of CWTL as third in the running order coloured this view of the Aliens in later episodes and gave the series its undoubted edge.UFO was a supreme example of sophistication with Balls.Something very un-ordinary and a rare treat in television land.No wonder it has remained with me for so long.Of course,it goes without saying that the sinister sound and appearance of the actual Saucer,emeshed as it was within a sub world of UFO folklore, also added to a mixture that already had depth and character in plenty.
CWTL was perhaps not the best episode,it was however undoutedly the episode that characterised and encapsulated all the ingredients that made UFO the best,unconciously the most influencial, and certainly the most underrated science fiction series of all time.
Mark Davies UK
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