Fw: [SHADO] Re: ELECTRONIC ORGAN : OPENING SEQUENCES OF UFO

Hi Griff,

Yep, those were the days. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, as they say. I have a feeling some UFO fans on the forum will attempt to lynch me when they read my send up of "Confetti Check A-OK."

The early 70s was a strange time. We just had to make do with what was on TV and there was no way of recording stuff on video for home use (but Ithink the Americans were probably years ahead of us in that respect). We didn't even get a colour TV until 1974 in our house and it was a huge 22" thing in a wooden cabinet from Germany called a KORTING TRANSMARE. It weighed a ton. Funny how things change - I managed to carry my 47" LCD all bymyself with no help. Slimline flat screen TV was definately the thing of science fiction!!

The first sci-fi I ever saw in colour was "Star Trek" and I was absolutely stunned with the colours of the uniforms and special effects, which are alltaken for granted these days. I think the 'problem' with science fiction nowadays is that it's much more difficult to impress people with effects because the threshold of expectation is much higher. I am from the old school were the story comes first and special effects take second place. One of myfavourite films is a low budget British sci-fi from 1966 called "Invasion", starring Edward Judd. Filmed in black & white, the effects are minimal but quite sinister. It's also intelligently written and well acted.
There are UFO elements of strangeness in the story, particularly when the couple run over an alien while driving home down a dark country lane. Check it out if you get the chance.

Best wishes,

BRIAN



----- Forwarded Message ----
From: griffwason <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Thu, 11 March, 2010 12:52:43
Subject: Fw: [SHADO] Re: ELECTRONIC ORGAN : OPENING SEQUENCES OF UFO

 
Hi Brian,

It's funny you should mention E.S.P.

Back in the days before BluRay, DVD's, and even VCR's, it was seeing E.S.P.at I think the age of 8 or 9 that really blew my mind, and even now it is that episode that I find most evocative, and is the first episode that comes to my mind when I think of UFO.

I remember a bunch of school friends and myself had - what we would nowadays call a sleepover. It must have been 1969 or '70, and UFO was THE BIG subject at school, and just about everyone was talking about it, even if they hadn't seen it. Back then, UFO was shown about midday on Sundays, and I'll always remember the sheer frustration of just about seeing the last 5 or 10 minutes, as I was compelled to be a choirboy at the local church - and there was ABSOLUTELY NO getting out of it!

Back then, there was little or no information about UFO or just about any other TV show. No one even knew how many episodes there were, their titles, story lines, or when they'd be shown - if at all.

It was tantalizing and hugely frustrating to hear conflicting descriptions of the latest episode just shown. Years later, I'd realize that many of my school friends were just making up some episodes - such as: Straker and Foster being taken back to the alien planet; being distressed to hear that Foster gets killed, etc.

You have to remember, that back in those days, the only marketing collateral available to a school kid were:
- 2 x UFO novels - hard going for a 8-9 year old
- TV21 or Countdown comics - with actual photos from the series!
- Viewmaster slides
- Dinky toys: Moonbase Interceptor, Mobile and Strakers car
- Occasional info in TV listings magazines

That was about it...

Watching the show was all you had, and you never knew when you were going to be able to see it again - if ever. There's be rumors at school that they (ITV or ATV) were going to show it again. But, you might have to wait even years.

In my early teens, ALL I had was from the list above, and some audio cassette recordings I had made by recording the sound directly from the TV... listening to UFO is an interesting experience, but that's all I had...

THEN, the VCR came out, and we were VERY lucky to have one at home. I must have been 13 or 14, but had to wait a few years before UFO was again shown on TV, and I managed to record 6 episodes, that's ALL that was shown in theblock. One night, about 11pm I heard the UFO theme coming from our TV room. I was shocked. It was "The Responsibility Seat", and I'd never heard of this episode or seen it, and videoed the last 30 minutes.

Anyway, that's enough reminiscing, but - for me - that's how it was in those days...

...and the sleepover? Well, we all watched E.S.P. on the edge of our seats,thrilled, terrified, captivated and enthralled. Well, that feeling has never left me, and it never will. All those people that made UFO, well they'redefinitely on my ALL TIME HEROES list :)

Later,

Griff

--- In SHADO@yahoogroups. com, Brian Serridge <brianserridge@ ...> wrote:
>
> Hello Griff,
>
> I remember the show when I was a kid way back in the very early 70s (that's how old I am). I watched "ESP" the other day on my new 47" LCD 1080p television and I nearly dropped my can of Skol Super when I saw the UFO heading towards Mr Croxley's house. Absolutely stunning. CGI just cannot compete with effects like these, I'm sure you'll agree.
>
> All the Best,
>
> BRIAN





     

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