Greetings

Hi, I'm new here. [wave to everybody in SHADO] I thought I'd
introduce myself. I'm Diorite - yeah, not my real name. It's my
internet persona so that I can play and keep my cover as a mind-
mannered geology professor during the day. One of my nightmares is
to show up for class some day and have a student say, "Hey, did you
see what Dr. _________ said on the internet last night? She has the
hots for ___________!" Yikes!

Anyway, like a lot of other folks here I watched UFO when it was on
TV in the 70s. I was a high school girl at the time. Horrors! At
first I was taken with Paul Foster. Yes, I can be turned by a pretty
face. But I found along the way I started finding Straker much more
interesting.  

I think the interest in Straker started with the death of his son.  
It was the first truly shocking thing I remember ever seeing on a TV
show. I was convinced throughout that they would somehow save his
son. Boy, I was wrong. It was obvious even to my teenage self that
there was much more to Straker than the surface tough man.  

And I find that Straker is even more interesting to my other side of
50 self. I'm currently wading through archives. I keep finding
myself shouting, "Wait!", only to realize the discussion is years
old. After I finish my cruise through history, I'll have some
observations about the show and my thoughts on things Straker.

Diorite

Hello and Welcome:

I'm a little new here myself, but this list has some really good people on
it and I think as a fan of the show you will find out a lot of things you
didn't know before. I'm sure that Marc will be on soon to say hello and to let you
know where his great (IMHO) web site is.

If you would like to share your observations about Straker or any other
characters, please feel fee to do so! While there are many on this list who are
into making models of the equipment in the show, I liked it for it's premise,
it's characters and some of the risks they took as far as story lines go,
especially for 1969, when it was filmed.

Wendy



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Diorite,



I must say I shared your experience of reading the archives and
continually realising the discussions were years old very frustrating -
LOL! [:))] I'm looking forward to reading your comments on the
characterisations, especially dear old 'Straker'.

I just wanted to mention about another discussion group for admirers of
Ed Bishop, if you (or anybody) is interested in joining. It's called
"EdBishopFans" and is a Yahoo group like SHADO. I know Marc won't mind
- he's a member! It was originally set up to showcase Ed Bishop's
career and still does stand as testament to his life's work, despite his
passing [:(]

I'm planning to post a fairly lengthy discussion of the 'Straker'
character on there that was printed many years ago, with a view of
opening up an episode-by-episode discussion of the character and his
interactions with others in the series, in as much detail as you like!
I'll post a link to the group in another message. Please do come and
join us as well as SHADO! [:D]



Sarah



In [hidden email], "Diorite" <diorite@...> wrote:

> And I find that Straker is even more interesting to my other side of
> 50 self. I'm currently wading through archives. I keep finding
> myself shouting, "Wait!", only to realize the discussion is years
> old. After I finish my cruise through history, I'll have some
> observations about the show and my thoughts on things Straker.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi,

Here's the promised link:



[hidden email]
<mailto:[hidden email]>



[:)]



Sarah



--- In [hidden email], "moonbasegirl" <shaded2cinders@...> wrote:

> I'm planning to post a fairly lengthy discussion of the 'Straker'
> character on there that was printed many years ago, with a view of
> opening up an episode-by-episode discussion of the character and his
> interactions with others in the series, in as much detail as you like!
> I'll post a link to the group in another message. Please do come and
> join us as well as SHADO! [:D]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> I must say I shared your experience of reading the archives and
> continually realising the discussions were years old very frustrating -
> LOL!

Newcomers are certainly welcome to add their comments about old topics.
After all, I think most everything that could possibly be discussed
about UFO has already been discussed here sometime in the past 13 years,
but of course we have different people subscribed now, so the discussion
may still be new and interesting to these people. And old-timers probably
won't mind a bit of repitition... as long as you are asking what "FAB"
means... :-)

Marc

> And old-timers probably
> won't mind a bit of repitition... as long as you are asking what "FAB"
> means... :-)

ooops... I meant "as long as your are NOT asking what FAB means"...

Only 2 days until the Australian UFO DVD release!

Marc

Marc Martin wrote:

> > And old-timers probably
>> won't mind a bit of repitition... as long as you are asking what "FAB"
>> means... :-)
>
> ooops... I meant "as long as your are NOT asking what FAB means"...


Marc, your "oops" forgot to correct spelling.

Welcome, Diorite. The world needs more geologists.

Paul the spelling Nazi

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I've read some of the discussion about various airing
orders. I saw UFO in Houston (Texas, if you need that
part). It came on right after the 6 O'clock news, it
seems like a Tuesday or Wednesday night. I don't
remember much about the order, but I'm pretty sure
that Paul Foster was there a lot sooner than episode 4
and "Exposed" was shown later, which confused me. It
was pretty obvious that the episodes weren't shown in
order.

Diorite

Okay, I’ve realized I’m just not going to be able to
finish the archives before this next bit comes out.
If I don’t say it soon to someone, I’m going to burst!
After finally getting the DVDs, I had an epiphany
while watching “Confetti Check A-OK”. It’s something
my younger self would never have seen. I’ve got to
share it.


It’s been stated that becoming commander of SHADO
changed Straker. “Confetti Check A-OK” is the
essential episode for seeing who Ed Straker was before
SHADO and it is here more than any other episode how
he became the man he was when UFO started. The
picture isn’t always pretty.

Who was Ed Straker before SHADO? The best evidence
comes from the section of the story from the wedding
through to the early end of the “honeymoon”. Someone
said he was a little shy. I’d never thought of it
that way, but perhaps. According to the chronologies
I’ve been reading, Straker would have been almost 30
when he got married. This could be a shy man. Seeing
him at the reception, I thought he was maybe a little
uncomfortable being the focus of attention. He was
madly in love with his bride. He was warm, playful,
funny, and affectionate in the following scenes. In
rare other instances, we’ve seen where he has concern
for and sensitivity to the feelings of others.

The timing of Ed and Mary’s wedding it appalling. The
day after they are married, while at the airport
waiting to leave on their honeymoon, Straker is
summoned to see Henderson, where he finds out he is to
present final arguments for SHADO at the UN. If he’d
known in just a couple of days he’d be appointed the
commander of SHADO, he might not have married her.

While at the UN, we and the committee see the passion
Straker feels for SHADO’s mission. That seals his
fate. It appears that he is haunted by the bodies of
the dead.

The conflicts that develop between Ed and Mary are
painful to watch because of the realistic way they
play out. We see her become shriller and more
demanding and emotionally needy as he becomes more
consumed with his work. What bothers me most about
the arguments we see is that he is always more
concerned about her feelings than she ever is about
his. (Okay, it was the end of the 60s, men didn’t
have feelings then! Just kidding!). He is quick to
apologize when he realizes he’s screwed up. In the
argument about “next he’ll just not come home at all”,
he’s quickly remorseful for what he said about maybe
not coming home would be better and apologizes, but
she never apologizes to him for what she said, which
was just as hateful. (Can you tell I can’t stand
her?)

There are what I think are key scenes in the
transformation of Straker. One is where Mary asks Ed
what is more important to him, her or whatever he does
until 3 O’clock in the morning. Ed gives her a look.
I hadn’t necessarily given it that much significance
as a teenager, but now I think that is the first hint
he has that the answer isn’t one he or she will like.
Mary goes on to tell him if he wants to be a real
father to their son, he better decide while he still
has a choice. He looks stricken. The decision about
his family isn’t one he wants to make. He still wants
a home and family.

Irony, irony. He has his final staff meeting, the one
at Nina’s apartment. He goes home thinking things are
finally going to get better. She’s leaving. Her
mother has done her worst. I think he really was
going to spill all of the beans if only she had been
willing to listen. She screams hysterically and he
slaps her. There is an exchange of looks and she
shakes her head. Then you see a realization dawn on
his face. I think it’s finally dawned on him how much
he has been hurting her without realizing it. He
acquiesces to her leaving. She falls down the stairs.


Moving to the hospital. Straker stands staring out
into the rain. The whole world cries for him as his
marriage stands in shambles, his wife and child in
danger. What is he thinking? This was the point of
the epiphany. He’s not just worrying, which I thought
as a kid. In another episode, Straker tells Foster he
solves a lot of problems by just sitting and thinking
about them. He’s thinking about his problem. He now
knows he’s hurting Mary badly, however much he loves
her. She made him mad enough he lost his
soon-legendary control, slapping her. This is the
point where the Straker we know is born. He realizes
the only thing he can do for Mary out of love is let
her go. He can’t give enough of himself to be a
decent husband. As awful as it is, and as much as he
loves Mary, saving the world from UFOs is more
important to him than his marriage or his life. Only
his job is important and he shuts himself off from
emotion. Cold logic will make his choices. End of
episode. We now know everything we need to know about
Straker.

Diorite

In a message dated 9/1/2007 9:04:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:

I've read some of the discussion about various airing
orders. I saw UFO in Houston (Texas, if you need that
part). It came on right after the 6 O'clock news, it
seems like a Tuesday or Wednesday night. I don't
remember much about the order, but I'm pretty sure
that Paul Foster was there a lot sooner than episode 4
and "Exposed" was shown later, which confused me. It
was pretty obvious that the episodes weren't shown in
order.




Actually, on the US DVD set, "Exposed" is the 4th episode shown. At least I
think it is. I don't have the DVD's in front of me and it's 5:00 am on a
Sunday. ;-)

Wendy



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I think you missed Diorite's point. Having recently acquired the DVDs, she KNOWS that 'Exposed" is the fourth episode of the set. Her point was that in Houston, where she originally saw the show, she remembered Foster appearing earlier in the series, and 'Exposed' appearing much later than the 4th episode. Girls. : )

Jeff

[hidden email] wrote:

In a message dated 9/1/2007 9:04:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:

I've read some of the discussion about various airing
orders. I saw UFO in Houston (Texas, if you need that
part). It came on right after the 6 O'clock news, it
seems like a Tuesday or Wednesday night. I don't
remember much about the order, but I'm pretty sure
that Paul Foster was there a lot sooner than episode 4
and "Exposed" was shown later, which confused me. It
was pretty obvious that the episodes weren't shown in
order.

Actually, on the US DVD set, "Exposed" is the 4th episode shown. At least I
think it is. I don't have the DVD's in front of me and it's 5:00 am on a
Sunday. ;-)

Wendy

************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Diorite:

That was an amazing analysis of the Straker character! I'm not going to
reprint the whole thing due to space restrictions, but there are two things I
would like to mention.

Yes, Mary married a military man, and she should know that his time could
never really be his own and that he could be called away on short notice and be
gone for a long time. But that could put a major strain on a marriage,
especially if someone is pregnant and feels she is being cheated on and lied to,
with promises being broken on a regular basis.

I don't remember if they married before SHADO was in the making or not. But
if he knew about SHADO and it's importance, then getting married was the worse
possible thing he could to. If SHADO came about after his marriage, then I
can only feel sorry for a man put in an impossible situation.

Wendy





************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 9/2/2007 5:40:27 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:
I don't remember if they married before SHADO was in the making or not. But
if he knew about SHADO and it's importance, then getting married was the
worse
possible thing he could to.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

IIRC, Straker expected that Henderson would be made the commander
of SHADO; he never expected that he himself would be in charge or that
he would be involved to such an extent that it would disrupt his marriage.

Evelyn Duncan
[hidden email]

Cats are love on four legs. - Richard Torregrossa




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Accorging to "Confetti Check A-OK", SHADO was begining to beeing set
up when Mary and Ed married... but she was never told about it as it
was a classified project... hoewever Ed did think aboput telling her
about it but relented after discussing it with Alec... as S.H.A.D.O.
and it's security people would have then had to "work her over".

Yes, Mary knew she was marying a military man, involved in a "big"
project... but then again, there's big, and there's BIG (as far as
how time consuming ect it would be for Ed).

But, beyond that, the pics that her detective showed her, making it
look like Ed was seeing another woman, that was the last straw. but
it had nothing to do with SHADO per say.



--- In [hidden email], wenrose222@... wrote:
>
> Diorite:
>  
> That was an amazing analysis of the Straker character! I'm not
going to  
> reprint the whole thing due to space restrictions, but there are
two things I  
> would like to mention.
>  
> Yes, Mary married a military man, and she should know that his time
could  
> never really be his own and that he could be called away on short
notice and be  
> gone for a long time. But that could put a major strain on a
marriage,  
> especially if someone is pregnant and feels she is being cheated on
and lied to,  
> with promises being broken on a regular basis.
>  
> I don't remember if they married before SHADO was in the making or
not. But  
> if he knew about SHADO and it's importance, then getting married
was the worse
> possible thing he could to. If SHADO came about after his
marriage, then I
> can only feel sorry for a man put in an impossible situation.
>  
> Wendy
>  
>  
>
>
>
> ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-
new AOL at
> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Diorite,

That was an incredible analysis of Commander Straker.
And I believe you are right on the money with it. And
let's give a round of applause to Ed Bishop, a fine
actor who was able to pull that off so
effectively.....Man I wish they had made more
episodes!

Thank you for some wonderful insight

Jim


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--- [hidden email] wrote:

That's the way I see it, too. Straker never imagined
that the responsibility for getting SHADO up and
running would be his. He was the hard-working
underling and that's how he expected to continue.

And then there's what Henderson expected. Henderson
had expected Ed to win support for SHADO from the UN
committee. I don’t think he foresaw the committee
giving Ed command, though. However, Henderson doesn’t
seem upset with the decision because Straker has been
a good subordinate, probably doing most of the work,
being a team player, taking orders. He assumes Ed
will continue to follow his lead, so he (Henderson)
will still be in command except in name only. I
don’t think Henderson expects that Straker will come
into his own as a commander and excel, taking SHADO in
directions Henderson never foresaw and can’t control
except with purse strings. I think that is the
friction that we see later.

Diorite

 
In a message dated 9/5/2007 7:25:04 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
[hidden email] writes:

And then there's what Henderson expected. Henderson
had expected Ed to win support for SHADO from the UN
committee. I don’t think he foresaw the committee
giving Ed command, though. However, Henderson doesn’t
seem upset with the decision because Straker has been
a good subordinate, probably doing most of the work,
being a team player, taking orders. He assumes Ed
will continue to follow his lead, so he (Henderson)
will still be in command except in name only. I
don’t think Henderson expects that Straker will come
into his own as a commander and excel, taking SHADO in
directions Henderson never foresaw and can’t control
except with purse strings. I think that is the
friction that we see later.  

Diorite




But that type of situation can be hell on a marriage, ask any military  
spouse or corporate executive. Mary expected to have a marriage that somewhat  
resembled the way she was courted by Ed. When Ed became head of SHADO and had to  
start keeping very big secrets from her, her reactions were probably very
normal under the circumstances. Being pregnant didn't make it any easier. When
her mother got evidence that Ed might be seeing another woman (Nina Barry,who
was there at the start of SHADO), I don't think any woman in Mary's position
would have acted different. She left him. And Ed could not change anything,
because his is a job you can't leave.
 
One other point, I don't think that Straker ever expected to be the head of  
SHADO. That happened after the UFO attack on the car with Henderson and
Straker. As I can recall, Henderson was injured very badly and the projectwas
given to Straker on the premise that Henderson could no longer function doing the
command responsibilities that SHADO required.
 
Wendy



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- [hidden email] wrote:

> But that type of situation can be hell on a
> marriage, ask any military
> spouse or corporate executive. Mary expected to have
> a marriage that somewhat
> resembled the way she was courted by Ed. When Ed
> became head of SHADO and had to
> start keeping very big secrets from her, her
> reactions were probably very
> normal under the circumstances.

When I first wrote my comments I actually wrote a
long, rambling commentary on "Confetti Check". It was
too long, and I cut it down a lot. Some of what I
said is appropriate here.

I blame Mary for the demise of the Straker marriage,
obviously. Coming down on her hardest comes from the
fact that it appears to me she was just giving lip
service to understanding his job from the start. And,
I confess, I'm also hard on her because Straker is my
favorite character. ;D

But there are others who share in the blame. One may
surprise at least a couple of folks. One of the
people I hold partially responsible is Alec Freeman.

So let's look at the scene: Alec and Ed are touring
the headquarters nearing completion. Alec asks about
Mary and Ed gives the usual platitudes, then takes it
back and says Mary's problem #1. He closes the door.
Then Ed reveals a young husband's anguish over how to
handle the problem. He's asking his best friend for
help. My gut feeling is that baring his personal
problems isn't a common thing for Straker even when
things were better.

Ed wants to tell Mary enough to help her understand
why is he working such ridiculous hours. Alec's
response? Don't tell her anything. That's a help?
He doomed his friend's marriage on that advice.

And I realize I can't let Straker completely off the
hook (as much as I might like to!). His biggest sin
is his complete lack of imagination. Ed could have
told Mary lot's of things without compromising SHADO's
security. It could have been as simple as "I've been
given a lot more responsibility. There's something
very important I have to accomplish and I'm going to
have to work almost 24 hours a day for some time to do
it. I'd rather be here with you, but people (or my
country) are counting on me." And then he could quote
a little poetry to her - the poem I have in mind goes
something like "I could not love, thee, near so well,
my dear, loved I not honor more". (Just don't vilify
me for a misquote, I haven't read it in decades!)

Even though Mary saw the evidence that suggest Ed was
having an affair, I don't think the marriage was
irrevocably over. She woke up in the hospital wanting
Ed. He probably had a chance to explain then if he
had been there. It's that darned Alec Freeman again!

But if Straker had decided he needed to let Mary go,
the easiest way to do it would be to let her continue
to think he has been unfaithful. She would be hurt,
but she could feel justified in kicking Ed to the
curb. And she wouldn't know it was ultimately Ed's
decision.

Diorite, overinterpreting and loving it

In a message dated 9/6/2007 8:45:47 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:

And I realize I can't let Straker completely off the
hook (as much as I might like to!). His biggest sin
is his complete lack of imagination. Ed could have
told Mary lot's of things without compromising SHADO's
security. It could have been as simple as "I've been
given a lot more responsibility. There's something
very important I have to accomplish and I'm going to
have to work almost 24 hours a day for some time to do
it. I'd rather be here with you, but people (or my
country) are counting on me." And then he could quote
a little poetry to her - the poem I have in mind goes
something like "I could not love, thee, near so well,
my dear, loved I not honor more". (Just don't vilify
me for a misquote, I haven't read it in decades!)

Even though Mary saw the evidence that suggest Ed was
having an affair, I don't think the marriage was
irrevocably over. She woke up in the hospital wanting
Ed. He probably had a chance to explain then if he
had been there. It's that darned Alec Freeman again!




Diorte:

I was in a situation similar to what we have been discussing. I gave my
husband the choice of me or the 24/7/365. He was not in the military, but once
was ordered back to work during a vacation, leaving me alone in Germany (Where
he wanted to go) where I did not speak the language and having a Jewish
background, was very uncomfortable, so say the least.

His boss gave my husband the same choice. He chose me. BUT in SHADO land,
once you are in, your in. I doubt Freeman could get into the middle of the
marriage unless he was allowed to - by Straker, and because Straker already know
in his heart the you can't have two marriages's - Mary and SHADO. Ed had to
make a choice and saving the earth was saving the lives of the people he loved.

Wendy



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Here I sit, watching the first episode again. I've
watched in a couple of times closely now. Gee, I'm
even all of the way up to 2004 in the archives, so I
have a fair idea of a lot of what has been discussed.
Let's see if I can come up with anything that hasn't
been mentioned before.

Well, it's a pilot episode. It does what pilot
episodes do. As a teen I was grabbed by the teaser,
then it was "What the heck?" when we suddenly jump to
the studio. I remember it taking me a couple of
minutes to realize we were watching the same guy we
saw thrown out of the car in the wreck.

Rugs. More rugs in this show that in the mansion in
"Dynasty". Of course, there's Straker's platinum
blond wig. And the first instance where the wig
didn't quite cover up the fact of Ed Bishop's much
darker natural hair color. There is Alec's wig, which
is actually pretty good but there is something funky
about the hair line. And then the one I hadn't
noticed until I heard Wanda Ventham on her commentary
- yes, Virginia, you are wearing a hair piece in this
episode to give you the big hair. LOL.

Did anybody else ever notice that the pants legs on
Straker's off-white jump suit are held down by black
elastic straps under the shoes? I don't think they
did that on any of his other costumes, but that one
they did.

Peter Gordeno looked exceptionally fine in those
off-white pants and mesh shirt. Yum.

Ah, the joys of dry ice! It's what makes that lovely
boiling effect in the water after the UFO crashes.

I've seen comments about Straker throwing the cigar
butt on the ground when he first gets out of the car
and the rude blowing of ash off of his desk onto poor
Alec the Letch. I also notice that Straker leaves his
briefcase for Miss Ealand to bring in. Did they ever
give her a first name? I really liked her character.
Anyway, they seem to set off to make Straker as
obnoxious as humanly possible right from the start.

But we also get the first glimpse of the softer side
of Straker. It's at the end when he conveys his
condolences to Capt. Carlin. Then he wanted to spare
him the details of his sister's demise.

And then there is the comment about the aliens coming
from a dying planet, its resources exhausted. Ah,
echoes of the early days of environmentalism.

So, did I find anything new?

Diorite