Re: DESTRUCTION

Griff wrote:
"Yes, I concur... This episode 'Destruction' is fundamentally flawed...However,
it could have been great, and with a little more judicial editing and
steering from the series editor, it could have been a great episode. I
can think of many story scenarios that could have worked really well.
...I was amused and not a little confused to see that Straker's ex's
boyfriend was the captain of the ship in question... Mary must sure
like uniforms..."

I never noticed that before, playing that up would have been great for
the episode and continuity. Can you imagine the Captain hearing
Strakers name or voice mentioned, and then being saved from the UFO,
and finally putting two and two together? Imagine what he would have
felt had he known that Straker was not a playboy studio exec but a
military man sworn to duty like himself?

There've been a few people here implying that the writer didn't
understand the premise of UFO when writing DESTRUCTION. I don't
think this is the case at all. In an old issue of Fanderson's
FAB magazine, they published a series of Century 21 inhouse
"memos" from 1969 which were intended to tell the UFO writers
about what the premise of the show was. And part of that was
that there were indeed "factions" on the Alien planet. You can
see that quite clearly in A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES. So if there's
a group of Aliens that's trying to wipe out the planet, that could
simply be a faction which is at odds with the organ harvesters.

As for myself, I thought DESTRUCTION was one of the more entertaining
episodes overall. There's some cheesy moments near the end when Straker,
etc. are in SHADO HQ are feeling powerless to save humanity, but other
than that an excellent episode!

Another amusing part is near the end, when it seems that SID is able to
track course changes in the UFO even though SHADO's tracking systems are
being jammed!

Marc

Marc Martin wrote:
> In an old issue of Fanderson's FAB magazine, they published a
> series of Century 21 inhouse "memos" from 1969 which were intended
> to tell the UFO writers about what the premise of the show was.
> And part of that was that there were indeed "factions" on the
> Alien planet. You can see that quite clearly in A QUESTION OF
> PRIORITIES. So if there's a group of Aliens that's trying to wipe
> out the planet, that could simply be a faction which is at odds
> with the organ harvesters.
>

OK, so there's one renegade alien in AQOP. But the notion that the
aliens in DESTRUCTION are intent on wiping out human life because
they belong to a different faction is never even hinted at in the
actual episode. And I must say - if the writers had really had
this in mind, I feel sure that it would have been - there are many
exposition moments in UFO where we are given an idea of what the
aliens are up to, typically conveyed by a conversation between
Straker & Freeman.

So, I do find this a bit far-fetched - I really do (still) think
it's a case of simple inattention to the basic premise of the
programme. The fact that other UFO episodes are riddled with
inconsistencies and logic holes tends to support this, I would
humbly submit.

It would have been hard to give them the Amnesia drug while they were out at sea.
As for Marys' boytoy being there, I can just see Straker thinking, if only for a moment, then giving the order to defend the ship anyway. Maybe Pam or some of our other authors could take your suggestions and weave them into something worth reading. Just a thought.

<Maybe Pam or some of our other authors could take your suggestions and
weave them into something worth reading. Just a thought.

I did a 'sort-of' sequel to Destruction called 'Lest We Forget' on
http://www.shadolibrary.org/library/ramage/index.htm. Had a few scenes with
Rutland [as the ship's captain] if I remember. Whether it's 'worth reading'
or not I don't know, but it's on that page somewhere.

Jess Ramage

Marc Martin <[hidden email]>
wrote:
In an old issue of Fanderson's
>FAB magazine, they published a series of Century 21 inhouse
>"memos" from 1969 which were intended to tell the UFO writers
>about what the premise of the show was. And part of that was
>that there were indeed "factions" on the Alien planet.

Marc,
This is interesting info. I always assumed that GA didn't care enough about
continuity (as evidenced from the other episodes.) It's nice to know that
he intended there to be other factions. In writing fanfic for the series, I
had to go that route simply to be believable. Although instead of other
factions, I simply had the enemy have "too many chiefs and not enough
indians." It worked for me and made it possible to allude to different
episodes without embarrassment.

Destruction is one of my favorite episodes, in spite of its overkill
premise. I liked the action, I liked the guest cast, and I enjoyed
Virginia's scene on Skydiver. And of course, Straker had some great lines
in this one! SUCH a funny scene when he asked Paul for Sarah's key!!!
*grin*
Yours,
Denise

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>This is interesting info. I always assumed that GA didn't care enough about
>continuity (as evidenced from the other episodes.) It's nice to know that
>he intended there to be other factions.

Actually, I just found that issue, and the description as written
really only supports what we see in A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES -- that
there could be "good aliens".

And I think there is sufficient evidence that continuity WASN'T cared
about in UFO... :-)

Marc

----- Original Message -----
From: "Denise Felt" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 5:57 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] DESTRUCTION


>
> Destruction is one of my favorite episodes, in spite of its overkill
> premise. I liked the action, I liked the guest cast, and I enjoyed
> Virginia's scene on Skydiver. And of course, Straker had some great lines
> in this one! SUCH a funny scene when he asked Paul for Sarah's key!!!
> *grin*
> Yours,
> Denise
>

---------------------------------------------

.....And I liked it when he casually discusses how far Foster has
progressed with her, and then suggests taking her "someplace special" and
then closing for the kill to pump her for more of the information he
needs....

Paul - "....Yeah baby! Who's your daddy!...."

Steph - "Oh, Oh, Paul! You're the best!..."

Paul - "That's right baby! What's Sherringham want in the
trench!..."

Steph - "Dump!....Site!.... Dump!.... Site!.....Ooooohh!!"


Dave H.

LMAO! That's probably in the bonus features on the UFO
box set.

Scott




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