Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
 
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Blimey... you wait for years for a new thread to appear on the forum and when it finally does it really gets people talking!
Firstly; I disagree about Confetti Check A-OK being bad. I watched it way back in the early 1970s, as a kid, and I enjoyed it... I even taped it off the TV onto an audio tape. Personally I enjoyed seeing the other side of Straker ('before all the angst set in', as Ed Bishop once put it!) and watching his obsession with his command rob him of his marriage. People have said that Mary was too suspicious and should have cut Ed a bit more slack; but she had been told nothing about his new work or where he was and with who, so it's understandable in many ways that she should become paranoid. And since these were the very early days of SHADO, and with no reason to believe that they are being watched, I don't think Straker's decision to hold meetings at Nina's flat is that strange. Straker's sudden change of career is, I'll admit, a difficult one to explain... but then again, if a movie star can go on to become the US President then truth is surely just as strange as fiction. For all we know, the Private Eye following Straker could have been an ex policeman or even a former government agent, so maybe he was pretty good at being incognito and knowing if he is himself being watched. I think, as had been said before, UFO tried to be all things to everyone and would perhaps have worked better if it had decided what it wanted to be - kids action series or serious adult sc-fi drama. The costumes and a hardware were all very Captain Scarlet, but by the time they got to the Pinewood episodes, the tone of the series had shifted to the point where The Long Sleep, Timelash and Mindbender could not really be considered 'Kids' TV. UFO was an incredible series and without a doubt one of the best things the Andersons and ITC ever produced. The fact that we are all still talking about it 50 years later, and in such a lively and thought-provoking way, suggests that it made a huge impression and continues to get our grey matter firing. Andersonic contains many fine articles about UFO; editor Richard Farrell being a huge UFO fan, and I know that another issue is in the works and should be available soon. Fan fiction is something that I tend to avoid, as I think it can often go off on inappropriate tangents and is rarely faithful to the feel or the spirit of the series. This, of course, is also true of just about all fan fiction, such as Star Trek, The Professionals, Buffy, etc... Happy Half Century, UFO. Here's to the next 50 years. |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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Hi Clare
Thanks for your reply. And thank you for your thoughts on my review of 'Confetti'. You are correct that it is interesting to see the background story of SHADO being set up. But this could have been done in a series of brief flashbacks during an episode of SHADO dealing with another UFO infiltration rather than an entire episode dedicated to it. If a 'newbie' decides to tune into the UFO series for the first time they are going to be very excited when they see the opening titles (with all SHADO vehicles being deployed against a UFO attack) but would be extremely put-off when they see what looks a 'kitchen-sank' drama. The whole episode is off-tone with the UFO series. I agree with the view that Straker's wife was far too paranoid. According to the DVD Boxset extra's she was a typist at the MOD when she met Straker (who was a Colonel in the US Airforce Intelligence). Therefore she should have known about the secrecy involved in working with the Intelligence services anyway. Besides like I said in my post she would have been vetted by both the UN security council and the MOD prior to Straker getting the job of SHADO (and so would the rest of their relations), and she would have been fed a suitable cover story to explain Straker's long periods of absence from family life. You are correct the private detective would have been an ex-police man but in reality he would have never have been able to stalk & photograph Straker, and then stay outside the apartment (where he held the meeting) for the whole night without being arrested by the security detail that would be surrounding people like Straker (who are in charge of top secret organisation etc). It would like trying to stalk the head of the MOD (they would have security people surrounding them wherever they go). And yes, the setting up of top secret meetings in non-secure locations (such as a colleague's apartment) where the attendees all bring top secret documentation with them etc, would be considered the sackable (even arrestible) offence by the MOD. All such meetings are held in MOD offices, and so a clandestine organisation such as SHADO would have been no different. Also in reality Straker could have got this detective (and his mother-in-law who hired him) arrested for attempted breach of national security. Thanks for your comments about the thread I posted on this forum. It is good to stir up interest among the UFO fans and inject some energy into the forum. I do plan to post some more comments & reviews of episodes on this forum soon. Please do check out the other thread I posted about the real life encounter of the US navy and a UFO infiltration (it is the nearest thing to a real-life stand-off between Sky-1 and a UFO). Please let me know what you think of the post. It was this encounter that has now led me to believe in UFOs (where I was once a skeptic), and which had also rekindled my interest in the UFO series again. Which is why I am now watching the UFO DVD Boxset (which I have had in my possession for years but never watched it) |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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This post was updated on .
In reply to this post by Lightcudder
Hi Lightcudder
Thanks for your reply POWYS MEDIA is actually not a fanfic site. It is a publishing house endorsed by the brand holders of the SPACE 1999 property (ie: Carlton TV - who I think may also hold the rights to UFO), and so their novels are the official continuation of certain franchises (such as Space 1999, and the Prisoner etc). You may want to check out POWYS and let them see your work. They might agree to publish your novels as an official continuation of the UFO series since this is now the 50th anniversary of UFO. Plus the fact that the US Department of Defence have declassifed & released videos of actual UFOs being intercepted by US aircraft (see my other post on this) may spark some renewed interest in both the UFO phenomenon, and the cult UFO TV series itself. Although I have not seen any episode of Space 1999 since I was a very young child I have been purchasing the continuation novels from POWYS MEDIA, and they are a great read. I would also love to purchase a continuation novel to UFO if one ever gets published so I would suggest that you check them out and let them see your work. You never know they might be interested in publishing it :) https://tkundergroundmusic.wixsite.com/powysmedia https://www.facebook.com/Powys-Media-172593802762415/ |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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Hi, Shado-cabinet ;)
Thanks for the info, but to be honest, the take-up of UFO fanfic is pretty minimal - as you can probably tell by the number of current writers ;) I'm happy to keep my work free for those who wish to read it - to me that is the point of fanfic! It is written -- maybe not with the skills of an author such as James White or Diane Duane -- but with love for the series and the characters and as a free gift for other fans who enjoy reading the stories. I write in the hope of keeping the fandom alive long after it has been forgotten by the majority of people. I hope that in some small way my insignificant stories entertained fans who wanted to read more of their favourite characters. But it is nice to think my scribblings might be worthy of being published ;) Cheers, Ltcdr. On 12 July 2020 at 20:12 "Shado-cabinet [via SHADO]" <[hidden email]> wrote: |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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This post was updated on .
In reply to this post by Clare Cross
I am intrigued by this bit in shado-cabinet's post: "Also in reality Straker could have got this detective (and his mother-in-law who hired him) arrested for attempted breach of national security." Really? How? Why?
So, the Private Eye is engaged in what to him seems like a simple domestic case; married man having an affair with younger girl and then, out of the blue, he is arrested for 'attempted breach of national security'? Next stop, the papers and what would have probably blown over in a few weeks ends up being the focus of a huge expose in the national and then global press and completely blows Straker's cover. And I doubt it would have saved his marriage either! Also probably worth pointing out that: A) Nowhere in the actual TV series was it ever disclosed/revealed/suggested that Straker's wife had been a typist for the MOD when they met. Servicemen meet all sorts of people and, as far as what is actually presented on screen goes, Mary could have been a shop assistant or working in a library when she and Straker met. There is no way of knowing. Only what is actually shown/referred to on screen can be drawn upon as evidence. B) Speaking of which; when Confetti Check A-OK was shown, the usual opening title sequence was excised. c) I think it's unfair to draw any conclusions about how SHADO operated prior to it becoming fully operational, as it wasn't truly part of the MOD (or any other real-life agency or department) and so we just don't know whether Straker would have been tailed by security and watched round the clock. We are dealing with a wholly fictional organisation and scenario. We know, from 'Court Martial' that Foster sometimes worked from home on both studio and SHADO business - and this is in 1980. It's possible that in the early 1970s the rules re. security were even more relaxed. D) I'm of the view that if it wasn't onscreen then it's speculation and indeed fan-fiction. Some fan-fiction, of course, probably hits the nail right on the head... but more often than not just misses entirely and makes you cry out in pain! |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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In reply to this post by Lightcudder
Hi Lightcudder
Thanks for your reply. I totally understand that you write UFO stories for sharing with other UFO fans. if you ever do change your mind and decide to bring your writings to the next level then you might want to check out Powys media. Like I said you never know what might happen :) BTW - I know you are not a big Space-1999 fan (Personally I cannot remember any of its episodes as I have not seen it since I was a very young kid) but I would definitely recommend you check out their continuation novels as they are very good. Apparently there's even a continuation novel for the Prisoner series. I do look forward to reading 'The Shepherd' story. Like I said in my previous post its great that there is so much reading material for UFO out there (ie: the Countdown/ TV action comic strip, the scripts & the fanfic, - and hopefully someday a UFO continuation novel). It all makes a great reading companion for the TV series which I am currently watching :) |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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In reply to this post by Clare Cross
Hi Clare Thanks for your points Firstly SHADO is basically a multi-national project in which the UK Ministry of Defence is a stakeholder (as there was a scene in the 1st episode where the Defence Minister is meeting both Straker & Henderson to bring them to Chequers for a meeting with the Prime Minister). Since SHADO is funded by the UN Security council it would also involve other UK depts such as Foreign Office etc. So it is basically attached to the MOD and the FO. And so it would be wrapped around all the security protocol that such organisations entail (Official secrets act, National Security act, etc). Well Straker's mother-in-law knew that he was a Colonel in US airforce intelligence (and so would the detective taking the case as he would do a quick background check on Straker beforehand) and she knew that it was working for the intelligence service in some capacity (so did Straker's wife as Straker was obviously earning a paycheque from the MOD). Because of this both the Mother-in-law and the detective were both at risk of breaching national security by stalking him. Straker could have contacted the MOD and they would have seized the camera of this detective, and both he & Straker's Mother-in-law would have been detained for questioning (to see if they are not in the payroll of the Soviet secret services etc). Both them were at risk of breaching national security and the story would probably never be printed by the news media (as it would be need to be declassified by the MOD before being allowed to be published - under the official secrets act). I know SHADO is a 'fictional' organisation but its workings would be the same as any spy agency funded by the MOD. The same protocol would apply to any outsider poking their nose around it. As for your other points: A) I agree that nowhere in the actual TV series was it ever disclosed/revealed/suggested that Straker's wife had been a typist for the MOD when they first met. However in the DVDs Extras of the UFO boxset it does state the full backstory to the characters (it mentions that Straker's wife was an MOD typist which is how they both met and that she is also from a family who had worked with the military & military intelligence). So this is the actual 'bible' of the UFO TV show (ie: the source material in which all episode writers would refer to when creating their episodes), and so therefore it would be deemed as 'canon' and not actual fanfic. B) I agree there is no usual opening title sequence for the 'Confetti' episode (which makes it an even worse case of affairs for any UFO 'newbie' tuning in for the 1st time). However in the US I think the TV regulations back then insisted on the full opening title sequence for any TV show to bw shown when aired (this might be due to the insistence of their TV sponsorship). So in other words the 'Confetti' episode may have been re-edited to show the full title sequence before being allowed to air on US channels. I know this from the issues ATV (who produced UFO) had trying to air a particular episode of the Prisoner in the US that did not have the usual opening sequence (the 'Town like Harmony' episode just 'began' without the full credits). The episode was not allowed to be shown on US channels unless it had the full title sequence etc. But either ways whether the episode had the full title sequence or not it definitely did not hook any new viewers to the show. And so it was a mistake on Anderson's part to have an entire episode about the creation of the SHADO organisation (without any of the action or adventure of the other episodes) as it was totally out-of-tone with the arrest of the series. C) Like I said above SHADO is actually project partially-managed by the MOD & the UN security council. If an MOD member hosted a top secret meeting in an unsecured location with all members of its dept (who are bringing copies of top secret documentation) it would be deemed a breach of national security. Straker would have been fired for this. I have not seen the episode of 'Court Martial' so I do not know the security procedures around Foster working from home. Since joining SHADO he would probably be living in a location that was vetted or owned by the MOD (ie: a gated residence with a security guard, security personnel living in apartments adjacent to Foster, a secured telephone line in Foster's apartment etc). He definitely did not host any major meetings at this apartment with all SHADO staff members. D) The information I got on Straker's wife and her work for the MOD was part of the DVD Boxset extras (which would have been produced by Anderson himself) so it would be canon (even though there is no mention of it onscreen etc). |
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There were conflicts with the head of the IAC over Straker's monopolistic command of SHADO. It was Strakers way or nothing. That's why Responsibility Seat is so fascinating - Most unlike Straker to relinquish command the way he did.
Sent from my iOS device On 13 Jul 2020, at 14:00, Shado-cabinet [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:
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Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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A) I agree that nowhere in the actual TV series was it ever disclosed/revealed/suggested that Straker's wife had been a typist for the MOD when they first met. However in the DVDs Extras of the UFO boxset it does state the full backstory to the characters (it mentions that Straker's wife was an MOD typist which is how they both met and that she is also from a family who had worked with the military & military intelligence). So this is the actual 'bible' of the UFO TV show (ie: the source material in which all episode writers would refer to when creating their episodes), and so therefore it would be deemed as 'canon' and not actual fanfic.
D) The information I got on Straker's wife and her work for the MOD was part of the DVD Boxset extras (which would have been produced by Anderson himself) so it would be canon (even though there is no mention of it onscreen etc). I would be very interested if you could elaborate on this. As far as I am aware, there was no actual 'series bible' for UFO, beyond the fairly sketchy biogs prepared for the press packs. Indeed, Ed Bishop has confirmed this more than once. The only paperwork that the other writers could have worked from would have been other (earlier) scripts. Without checking, I don't know if Mary's (and her family's) backstory was detailed in the scripts for 'Question of Priorities' or 'Confetti Check A-OK'; but I would think not. If these details have been dreamed up in recent years, no matter who was the author, then they certainly cannot be considered canon. I am not aware of Gerry Anderson ever producing any extras for any UFO DVDs. Perhaps, as I say, you could give us some more information on the form and whereabouts (and author) of these previously unknown facts about Mary Straker? Thanks. |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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There was sort of a series bible, although it did not get into the origins of Mary Straker.
Those Carlton DVD bios were fabrications written by a fan -- presumably Chris Bentley wrote them. Marc |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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In reply to this post by Shado-cabinet
And yes, Gerry Anderson never produced any DVD extras. The Carlton DVD extras were mostly created by BBC restoration colourist Jonathan Wood along with fans within Fanderson (e.g. Chris Bentley)
Marc |
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So nice to see the group being active again (although there is no WORST episode of UFO, they were all almost perfect (although the Mindbender is the least to my liking and I am glad i haven't seen it in the original broadcast)!
All the best, Branko
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Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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In reply to this post by TRT
Hi TRT
Sorry to hear about your divorce :( Its great that you met Ed Bishop at the same hotel. I really Ed Bishop. I have seen him in a few other films (ie: '007 - Diamonds are Forever', 'Brass Target'). He is a great actor. It is a pity he did not get the stardom that he actually deserved. I think he would have done very well career-wise if UFO got picked up for a second season :) |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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In reply to this post by Branko
HI Branko
Thanks for your comments. I will be posting other episode reviews, and other things fairly soon. Please do check out my other post about the real life encounter between the US Navy and UFOs (its a bit like a real-life SKY-1 intercepting a UFO). BTW if you have any UFO Fanfic stories to recommend then pls do let me know :) |
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In reply to this post by Shado-cabinet
Hey, No need to be sorry, I’m not!
I was particularly squeeee! when he cropped up in French & Saunders from time to time.
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Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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In reply to this post by Marc Martin
Hi Marc
Thanks for checking that out for me. It would have taken me ages to try and find out which disc of Extras contained the exposition on Straker and his wife. And you are right, it probably was a bit of revisionist work done by the Fanderson-gang. But since Anderson also contributed a commentary to the DVD project, he would have also read all the DVD content provided by Chris & Jonathan. And since he didn't appear to object or veto their contributions it could be argued that Mary Straker's job at the MOD (where she met Ed Straker) is canon. Nevertheless whether it is canon or not it doesn't change the fact that her suspicions surrounding Ed Straker's clandestine work (despite him having a job in the MOD) does not hold water. In reality the MOD would have vetted her & family (ie: done a background check, fed her a cover story about Straker's job etc) before appointing Straker as the commander of SHADO. And yes, Gerry Anderson never produced any DVD extras. The Carlton DVD extras were mostly created by BBC restoration colourist Jonathan Wood along with fans within Fanderson (e.g. Chris Bentley) |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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On July 13, Shado-cabinet [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:
> And you are right, it probably was a bit of revisionist work done by > the Fanderson-gang. But since Anderson also contributed a commentary to > the DVD project, he would have also read all the DVD content provided > by Chris & Jonathan. And since he didn't appear to object or veto their > contributions it could be argued that Mary Straker's job at the MOD > (where she met Ed Straker) is canon. Heh, I don't think you know how commentaries work. Basically Carlton asked if Gerry Anderson wanted to do a commentary. And offered him a fair amount of money to do it (maybe £1000). He shows up, provides a commentary, and that's it. As far as I know, he had no other involvement with the production of the DVDs, and maybe never even saw them, ever. Some of the recent Fanderson FAB magazines go behind-the-scenes into the commentary tracks and extras created for the USA Gerry Anderson DVD releases, and I found it quite interesting to read about the making of the UFO "Kill Straker" and "Timelash" commentaries. And Gerry Anderson had no involvement in these either. :-) Marc |
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Commentaries on commentaries on DVD extras…
Meta.
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Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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On July 13, TRT [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Commentaries on commentaries on DVD extras… Heh, commentary tracks are probably my favorite "special feature" from the UFO DVDs. Although to get the full effect, you have to get the Australian set, which has 8 commentary tracks. My favorites are for "Kill Straker", "Timelash", and "The Psychobombs". Marc |
Re: Contender for the worst UFO episode: 'Confetti Check-A OK'
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And you are right, it probably was a bit of revisionist work done by the Fanderson-gang. But since Anderson also contributed a commentary to the DVD project, he would have also read all the DVD content provided by Chris & Jonathan. And since he didn't appear to object or veto their contributions it could be argued that Mary Straker's job at the MOD (where she met Ed Straker) is canon.
There is simply no likelihood that Gerry would have had the time or the inclination to read any of the written content for any of the other extras. He would have neither approved or disapproved of it. Therefore it simply cannot be argued that it is in any way canon. Interestingly, Chris Bentley gave Mary's maiden name as 'Nightingale' in his UFO book; based, presumably, on the fact that the actor playing Mary's father was one Michael Nightingale. These are the kind of in-jokes that often go into these books and DVD extras. I'll have to have a look at the extras on the old Carlton sets to see what else is on there. Never seen or heard of a UFO series bible, other than the story outline for 'The Computer Affair' which was distributed to various writers. If there was one, I will speculate that it would certainly have been a small document and I doubt that it would have contained any reference to guest characters. |
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