Kill Straker & Sub Smash

Fans,

Last night I had an unusual block of "extra" time at my disposal and
decided to watch 2 of my favorite UFO episodes again: Kill Straker
and Sub-Smash. (Mind you, I don't actually have very many episodes;
besides these 2, I also have tapes of Dalotek Affair, Court Martial,
ESP, Confetti Check A-OK, Psychobombs, Question of Priorities, and
Exposed--I'm pretty sure that's it).

Both episodes struck me as top-knotch, first rate UFO. I thought
that what made "Kill Straker" particularly memorable was the contrast
between the characters of Straker and Foster. To me, each of them
beautifully realized the underlying subtleties of a man the world
would not see as terribly subtle--Straker the coldly efficient,
single-minded administrator and leader; Foster the rough and tumble
military man and "hero" type. I had forgotten the dramatic moment
when Foster unzips his space suit and pulls out his gun--that nearly
sent me into a dead faint! Masterfully played. I thought the
climactic confrontation between the two was riveting and suspenseful,
emotionally as well as dramatically. They both really earned their
pay at the end of that day's work (a jejune comment about a scene
that was sheer thespian brilliance). I was all the more impressed
with the scene in the light of the report about Michael Billington's
comment that he preferred to have Ed Bishop really hit him, rather
than have to go through a second take on that scene! If all this was
really done in one take, that's pretty incredible, reminiscent of
some of the feats I have read about the brilliant character actors on
those Sixties Hammer films when they were always shooting on such a
clipped schedule.

I'll save any extensive comment regarding Sub Smash, because it was
so nuanced I really want to watch it again, and it isn't currently up
for discussion on the list. I do have to ask though whether any of
you seasoned fan authorities have heard the actors complain about
those marvelously sexy though rather silly "fishing net" jerseys they
wore on the submarines! I think for those who prefer femmes Dolores
Mantez' shapely figure rather stole the show, while my own eyes were
glued to Michael Billington, especially once he got rid of that
ridiculous jacket. Ed Bishop's acting, though was the real winner
here. He was simply drop dead brilliant in this show! The subtlety
with which he hinted at Straker's panic and rising claustrophobia--
beautiful. His eyes and barely shaded shifts of expression added
volumes to the script.

Best wishes,

Steve
Boston, Mass.

[hidden email] wrote:

> Masterfully played. I thought the climactic confrontation
> between the two was riveting and suspenseful, emotionally as
> well as dramatically. They both really earned their pay at
> the end of that day's work (a jejune comment about a scene
> that was sheer thespian brilliance).

I know it's easy for fans of a particular programme to overdo
the superlatives, but I really think that to refer to the
performances of Billington & Bishop as 'thespian brilliance'
is outrageous. If we use this kind of language for what are
in reality, at best very ordinary acting performances then we
devalue the words we might use to express appreciation for truly
talented actors. Michael Caine, Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons.
Tom Hanks, Robert DeNiro perhaps.

I still maintain that the only really talented actor in the
regular cast was Vladek Sheybal.

There is a line over which successful actors cross when they
successfully create the suspension of disbelief whereby the
actor becomes invisible, and the audience sees right through
to the character. I've never ever seen Michael Billington or
Ed Bishop cross that line in UFO. I just see actors, taking
turns to speak their lines. Fairly unnaturally, awkwardly even,
in many cases.

Sorry to those who don't like to hear it, but I just had to
respond when I saw the term 'sheer thespian brilliance'.

James

James Gibbon wrote:

Ooooooooooooo-kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ......

I've seen them all - okay, maybe not Jeremy Irons - I don't watch him
much, so dunno, but the rest of em - I've seen them all do some pretty
bad stuff. Every one has off days and bad scripts and even the worst of
actors can have a brilliant moment. I mean, Michael says of his film
"Dressed to Kill" <coff coff sputter> that it's the film that paid for
his house - only good thing to say about THAT turkey, eh what?

Okay, THAT is inaccurate at best! Especially for THIS episode -
everything came together in Kill Straker! and I'm sorry, but I was
certainly riveted when they were suffocating in the punctured sphere.
No, there was nothing awkward about this particular episode.

And Ed Bishop is quite an excellent actor - adding great depth to a
character who wasn't even supposed to last through the whole series! (I
believe that's right - Straker, as originally written, was only supposed
to be in a couple eps?)

> Sorry to those who don't like to hear it, but I just had to
> respond when I saw the term 'sheer thespian brilliance'.

And I just had to respond when I saw the terms "unnaturally" and
"awkwardly."

-- Y

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You're forget Gabrielle Drake who was his student at RADA and won the
Schools acting medal. Now I'm just going to set back an watch you get fried
by the fans of the rest of the cast.
James K.

Yuchtar wrote:
> James Gibbon wrote:

>
> I've seen them all - okay, maybe not Jeremy Irons - I don't
> watch him much, so dunno, but the rest of em - I've seen them
> all do some pretty bad stuff. Every one has off days and bad
> scripts and even the worst of actors can have a brilliant
> moment. I mean, Michael says of his film "Dressed to Kill"
> <coff coff sputter> that it's the film that paid for his
> house - only good thing to say about THAT turkey, eh what?
>

Yes, and quite a few others. Michael Caine has quite
deliberately lent his considerable talent to some fairly bad
films in the past, simply because they were lucrative jobs ..
bit of a shame really. But none of the actors I listed has
ever turned in a bad performance due lack of acting ability.
Dressed to Kill isn't really a bad film in my opinion and
Caine's performance in it is very creditable as always.

And I can't imagine what you would categorise as Meryl
Streep's 'pretty bad stuff'


James

James writes:
>And I can't imagine what you would categorise as Meryl
>Streep's 'pretty bad stuff'

I hope this isn't going to turn into a critical examination
of actors who have *nothing* to do with UFO... :-)

As for Vladek Sheybal, I agree that he's got some good
bits in UFO, but I also think there was a bit of a problem
in that he seemed "different" from episode to episode.
Most likely a problem with him & the script-writers trying
to figure out his role in UFO.

Also, he wasn't that "transparent" in ORDEAL & THE LONG SLEEP,
if you ask me... (running for cover!)

--
Marc Martin, [hidden email]

James wrote:
> You're forget Gabrielle Drake who was his student at RADA and
> won the Schools acting medal. Now I'm just going to set back
> an watch you get fried by the fans of the rest of the cast.
>

Well James,

All I would say about Gabrielle Drake is - if she's a talented
actress, it certainly didn't show in UFO. Or Crossroads.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find too many people to praise
her acting who aren't biased. There is a reason why Gabrielle
Drake, Ed Bishop and Mike Billington aren't household names.

As for being fried - I'm off to Hong Kong this afternoon so given
the usual weather there in June I'm afraid the rest of the UFO
fans won't need to bother :/

Cheers
James

James Gibbon wrote;
<<There is a reason why Gabrielle Drake, Ed Bishop and Mike
Billington aren't household names.>>

Namely that he thinks their acting isn't that good.

Unlike say, Barbara Windsor, Sylvester Stallone, or Roger Moore (of
whom more later) ? Their acting talent is at best questionable,
certainly not brilliant, but they are household names. Famous actors
aren't necessarily talented, or talented actors necessarily famous.

I wonder whether James would have seen Ed Bishop as Willy Loman in
Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman', during his two years at the
National Theatre ? Or Mike Billington's theatre work, appearing in
Restoration comedies ? (They referred to these at Eclectic 21 as what
they perhaps regarded as their best works). Perhaps if so, he would
revise his opinion of their acting talents.

Mike B. certainly wasn't happy at the time with his acting on 'UFO' -
saying that he felt immediately after the series he might never get
offered work again ! - but personally, I feel that to be far too self-
critical. His portrayal of the Foster character had, as others have
said, an intensity which made it a creditable performance.

It is a pity Mike never got to play James Bond, which he would very
much have liked to. I think he would have been at least as good in
the role as Pierce Brosnan. (Brosnan seems to me to be somewhat
wooden in the role of Bond, and was much better as the extremely
dodgy Bond-type spy in 'The Tailor of Panama' - which just goes to
show that an actor's talent may be better reflected in some parts
than others).

When Roger Moore's contract as Bond came up for renewal, apparently
the news that the film execs had brought Mike B. over to step in if
Moore wanted too much money for the role concentrated Roger's mind
wonderfully...

And I'm convinced Mike is a much more talented actor than Roger Moore
(well, let's face it, that's not too difficult - sorry Roger <g>). He
would have been much more active as well (enjoying doing his own
stunts where possible, as he did in 'UFO' - for example jumping
through the glass panel in Straker's office in 'Court Martial'). Thus
more entertaining as well. But enough said.

Regards,

Andy

And you can't beat his performance as Klaus Hergerschimer in Diamonds Are
Forever (!).

_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Sorry, I just want to stick up for Roger Moore. Yes, he may not be Gielgud
or Olivier, but he's very very good at what he does, which is light comedy.
He's an incredibly underrated actor, who probably hasn't really had the
scope of roles to show what he can really do.

And Mike B fans might want to buy John Glen's book about the Bond films (of
which Glen directed five, and second unit directed MB in The Spy Who Loved
Me) - there are some fantastic pics of MB being pulled on a sled behind a
camera, looking very undignified, and trying to make him look like he's
skiing!

As for MB being tested for Bond - that may well be true, but it's also
possible that they used him as a stand in when testing other actors (ie
leading ladies), much in the same way that Colin Wells from Crossroads has
been doing.

>
>Unlike say, Barbara Windsor, Sylvester Stallone, or Roger Moore (of
>whom more later) ? Their acting talent is at best questionable,
>certainly not brilliant, but they are household names. Famous actors
>aren't necessarily talented, or talented actors necessarily famous.

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Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

In message <[hidden email]>, James Gibbon
<[hidden email]> writes

>I know it's easy for fans of a particular programme to overdo
>the superlatives, but I really think that to refer to the
>performances of Billington & Bishop as 'thespian brilliance'
>is outrageous.

Do you know how hard it is to make it in Hollywood? I find nothing
lacking in Ed Bishop's nor Michael Billington's acting abilities except
the String of the Fates. Not everyone makes it BIG Time and many of
those that do probably don't deserve it.

Without making too much fuss about the actors/actress you have mentioned
I know full well that they have all made their fare share of turkeys and
most of them bore me to tears at the best of times.

>I still maintain that the only really talented actor in the
>regular cast was Vladek Sheybal.

???? I love Vladek and I know that he made great use of his assets; he
knew his niche well (thanks to Betty Davis, another one of those people
loaded with 'thespian brilliance') but, again, he had his off peak
times, too. No, I wont flame you this time, Marc;-)

--
Suzanne Sutherland

Hi All,

sorry for not precisely UFO contents inside this message, but this
can be of interest for Gabrielle Drake Fans.

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1437543885

--
Angelo Finamore
--

CONTENTS DELETED

----- Original Message -----
From: <[hidden email]>


> You're forget Gabrielle Drake who was his student at RADA and won the
> Schools acting medal. Now I'm just going to set back an watch you get
fried
> by the fans of the rest of the cast.
> James K.

Dear James...
Let me give you a piece of advice... ;-)
Please...
Don't worry about James!
Most of us don't mind him when he's in *that* mood...
Sounds like PMS...
<giggle>

For all we know, he watches UFO for the big...
Beautiful....
Heavenly...
Eyes...
Of...
SID!

But, most of all, for his Edness wrist-watch, of course!
Heh heh heh!

--La Petite Anny :-)
<who likes the actors and how they acted (with much subtlety, in his
Bishopness' case) in the series or she wouldn't even still be watching the
thing after more than 30 years because UFO's more than the sum of errors one
can find within it.)
<wise nod>

[hidden email] wrote:

> Mike B. certainly wasn't happy at the time with his acting on 'UFO' -
> saying that he felt immediately after the series he might never get
> offered work again ! - but personally, I feel that to be far too self-
> critical. His portrayal of the Foster character had, as others have
> said, an intensity which made it a creditable performance.

I didn't hear his comments <whiiiine>, but it's possible he meant that
he was afraid he would be type-casted and never be offered anything
other than sci-fi stuff again. That happens a lot with shows like that.


-- Y

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Yuchtar zantai-Klaan | [hidden email]
I am not a number! I am a FREE FAN!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"As for you - do not make me tongue you."
-- D'Argo
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
http://yuchtar.users4.50megs.com/
http://nunzie.users2.50megs.com/

Hi Andy - have to say I agree with you on Mike B. and Ed Bishop as being
good actors who simply didn't get the breaks. Much as I hate to say this -
Trek enabled Shatner and Nimoy (esp the latter) to make very good careers
for themselves. Altho Shatner had worked Broadway and gotten rave reviews in
that medium, almost everything he'd done in TV was dross, and Nimoy had been
reduced to guest appearances in shows like Man from UNCLE to make ends meet
- til Trek. As for Stallone - he hit it big because he wrote Rocky himself -
and flogged it mercilessly for years before it was even accepted as a
screenplay. Roger Moore was not the definitive Bond, and neither have Dalton
or Brosnan. Most older folk I know prefer Connery. It's a known fact that
Moore was very lazy about Bond, and yes had to be coerced into continuing. I
think he felt himself getting very long in the tooth for action flicks. Even
Brosnan has said this latest Bond will be his last.

Pam

Much as I like Tom Hanks, I HAD to LOL at your comment! I feel the same way
about John Revolta and Matthew Broderick....However, I can sit through Ed B
and Mike B. anytime. I agree Vladek Sheybal was a fine actor, but he was
often shown as a rather nasty man in UFO. Actually, there is a man in my
building who looks remarkably like Mr. Sheybal!


"I know I'd rather face root canal surgery than have to sit through a film
featuring either Tom Hanks or Robert de Niro".



Pam

Wait a minute Amelia, are you saying that Ed and Suzanne Neve are in the
first film version of Portrait of a Lady together?

James Killian

Hi Anny,
Actually I would have known about that message at all if I hadn't
checked the archives looking for something else. Either Marc or the Supreme
Being(no not Straker thing even higher) saw to it that that message didn't
turn up in my e-mail perhaps fearing something unpleasant... like me having a
friend I know see to a Cruise missile misfiring and landing guess where.
But while I don't care for his opinions he is free to think what he
wants. But when everyone else thinks your opinions are wrong and the facts
don't bear them out is might be time to rethink those opinions.
And I like you think he might just be crying wolf.

Live Large!
James K.

BRAVO, Pam!




James K.