Hello SHADO.

Hi all. Nice to be here.

I used to watch UFO as a boy in black and white and my Dad would explain bits of the plot to me. Always found it very creepy TV, the dying aliens in the water used to scare me as a child.

I rediscovered the series later in life as reruns and loved it. I guess I'm more of an ecclectic tastes guy than a mainstream viewer. Sadly, the vast majority seem to be unable to appreciate this exceptional series.

Anyway, I bought the DVDs a couple of years ago, after having a long break from UFO, and once again became a big fan of the show. Now I show it to my children and they get a kick out of it too.

Z.



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I live in New Zealand, where we got the Australian programming. As a
result I saw UFO in black-and-white in the late 70s, and out of
sequence. But it had a huge impact on my then young mind, I was
terrified (in a delighted way, if you understand that oxymoron)
every time I saw one of the UFOs approaching, and I loved the SHADO
hardware with the spinning tape drives and flashing lights; and
also, the awesome vistas of deep space and the lunar landscape
appealed to my scientific as well as artistic interest. For some
reason, I feel that black-and-white TV lends itself well to the
stark depths of space!

I saw a rebroadcast of several eps on TV a few years ago, and that,
of course, brought it all back to me in a rush. How we used to
play "Hunting Aliens" at school, and I'd lie awake at night looking
at the full Moon through my window and fantasising I was Cmdr
Straker. Of such things are stories born: now, in my 40's and a
serious writer, I am working on a series of short stories
influenced - in part, at least - by the concept of a base on the
Moon fighting against alien invaders.

-Lionheart.


--- In [hidden email], zerg harry <zergharry@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all. Nice to be here.
>    
> I used to watch UFO as a boy in black and white and my Dad would
explain bits of the plot to me. Always found it very creepy TV, the
dying aliens in the water used to scare me as a child.
>    
> I rediscovered the series later in life as reruns and loved it.
I guess I'm more of an ecclectic tastes guy than a mainstream
viewer. Sadly, the vast majority seem to be unable to appreciate
this exceptional series.
>    
> Anyway, I bought the DVDs a couple of years ago, after having a
long break from UFO, and once again became a big fan of the show.
Now I show it to my children and they get a kick out of it too.
>    
> Z.
>    
>    
>
> Send instant messages to your online friends
http://au.messenger.yahoo.com 
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Interesting reading. Yes, I recall turning the color down to black and white and suddenly UFO triggered more memories than it did in color! It's true that science fiction benefits from being viewed in black and white, too. But in UFO's case, I think it must've been shot in Eastman color like Thunderbirds, because it stands up so well today. They use very high key lighting I notice, too, which means its colors and details are very strong and clear.

When you say you're a writer, are your stories going to be published?

Z.

thecatnz <[hidden email]> wrote:

I live in New Zealand, where we got the Australian programming. As a
result I saw UFO in black-and-white in the late 70s, and out of
sequence. But it had a huge impact on my then young mind, I was
terrified (in a delighted way, if you understand that oxymoron)
every time I saw one of the UFOs approaching, and I loved the SHADO
hardware with the spinning tape drives and flashing lights; and
also, the awesome vistas of deep space and the lunar landscape
appealed to my scientific as well as artistic interest. For some
reason, I feel that black-and-white TV lends itself well to the
stark depths of space!

I saw a rebroadcast of several eps on TV a few years ago, and that,
of course, brought it all back to me in a rush. How we used to
play "Hunting Aliens" at school, and I'd lie awake at night looking
at the full Moon through my window and fantasising I was Cmdr
Straker. Of such things are stories born: now, in my 40's and a
serious writer, I am working on a series of short stories
influenced - in part, at least - by the concept of a base on the
Moon fighting against alien invaders.

-Lionheart.

--- In [hidden email], zerg harry <zergharry@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all. Nice to be here.
>
> I used to watch UFO as a boy in black and white and my Dad would
explain bits of the plot to me. Always found it very creepy TV, the
dying aliens in the water used to scare me as a child.
>
> I rediscovered the series later in life as reruns and loved it.
I guess I'm more of an ecclectic tastes guy than a mainstream
viewer. Sadly, the vast majority seem to be unable to appreciate
this exceptional series.
>
> Anyway, I bought the DVDs a couple of years ago, after having a
long break from UFO, and once again became a big fan of the show.
Now I show it to my children and they get a kick out of it too.
>
> Z.
>
>
>
> Send instant messages to your online friends
http://au.messenger.yahoo.com 
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>





Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com 

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

It's just an opinion, but I think they used too much key lighting in some of the space scenes, meaning the models appeared a bit over-coloured. And I wonder about the yellow-brown colour they gave the lunar surface in most of their model shots - would grey have looked more stark and realistic? Anyway, it's still a wonderful series and it stands tall against modern TV series' such as Stargate and the remake of Battlestar Galactica.

I am a rather prolific writer of fiction - mainly sci-fi, centered on my interest in astronomy, but animal fiction, too, because I am also a seasoned enthusiast of animals in general and big cats in particular. Currently I'm working on a novel set in prehistory, a novel about lions, and the short stories I mentioned earler. I have not been accepted for publication - yet.

----- Original Message -----
From: zerg harry
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 3:40 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] Re: Hello SHADO.


Interesting reading. Yes, I recall turning the color down to black and white and suddenly UFO triggered more memories than it did in color! It's true that science fiction benefits from being viewed in black and white, too. But in UFO's case, I think it must've been shot in Eastman color like Thunderbirds, because it stands up so well today. They use very high key lighting I notice, too, which means its colors and details are very strong and clear.

When you say you're a writer, are your stories going to be published?

Z.

thecatnz <[hidden email]> wrote:

I live in New Zealand, where we got the Australian programming. As a
result I saw UFO in black-and-white in the late 70s, and out of
sequence. But it had a huge impact on my then young mind, I was
terrified (in a delighted way, if you understand that oxymoron)
every time I saw one of the UFOs approaching, and I loved the SHADO
hardware with the spinning tape drives and flashing lights; and
also, the awesome vistas of deep space and the lunar landscape
appealed to my scientific as well as artistic interest. For some
reason, I feel that black-and-white TV lends itself well to the
stark depths of space!

I saw a rebroadcast of several eps on TV a few years ago, and that,
of course, brought it all back to me in a rush. How we used to
play "Hunting Aliens" at school, and I'd lie awake at night looking
at the full Moon through my window and fantasising I was Cmdr
Straker. Of such things are stories born: now, in my 40's and a
serious writer, I am working on a series of short stories
influenced - in part, at least - by the concept of a base on the
Moon fighting against alien invaders.

-Lionheart.

--- In [hidden email], zerg harry <zergharry@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all. Nice to be here.
>
> I used to watch UFO as a boy in black and white and my Dad would
explain bits of the plot to me. Always found it very creepy TV, the
dying aliens in the water used to scare me as a child.
>
> I rediscovered the series later in life as reruns and loved it.
I guess I'm more of an ecclectic tastes guy than a mainstream
viewer. Sadly, the vast majority seem to be unable to appreciate
this exceptional series.
>
> Anyway, I bought the DVDs a couple of years ago, after having a
long break from UFO, and once again became a big fan of the show.
Now I show it to my children and they get a kick out of it too.
>
> Z.
>
>
>
> Send instant messages to your online friends
http://au.messenger.yahoo.com 
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com 

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






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