Revisiting UFO after thirty years

I've learned not to watch again movies I remembered from
my childhood, because from todays point of view they often turned out
pretty disappointing. I broke this rule when they started
to show UFO in Germany a few weeks ago - and I'm not
disappointed.

I'm born in '63, so I must have been around seven years old
that time I saw it the first time. I'm pretty sure it ran
every tuesday evening at nine. Tuesday was the day my
parents were always out - and our babysitter allowed us
to watch it.

A few reflections:

-I remember I was more afraid of Straker than of anyone else in
the series ;-)

-From memory, I would have said that the aliens appear rarely in
person, but actually they do pretty often.

-We had B/W TV that time, so the aliens didn't look very strange,
maybe thats the reason for the above.
I never realized they had green skin ;-) The motivation for the
color given is pretty good.

-I was much more impressed by the color of the hair of the women in
the moonbase.

-I think I knew the color because I bought trading cards from some
italian schoolmate. As I learned from the website, there were
some in Italy, but none in Germany.

-We had a bunkbed and we entered it like the interceptor pilots did
enter the interceptors - getting a hold and swinging in
feet first ;-)

-I had memories of most of the hardware, but none of Strakers car.

-I've seen 2001 many times, but never realized Ed Bishop plays a
role in it.

-In the German dubbed version of "A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES", at the
end some off-voice gives Straker the message from the doctor, that
the antibiotica arrived in the last minute and his son survived.

Maybe later more of this.
Does anyone knowws exactly when UFO was shown in Germany the first
time?

Thanks for the great website.

Harald

Hello Harald, welcome aboard!

"Harald Kucharek" wrote:

> A few reflections:
>
> -I remember I was more afraid of Straker than of anyone else in
> the series ;-)
>
> -From memory, I would have said that the aliens appear rarely in
> person, but actually they do pretty often.
>


I had this thought as well after watching UFO for the first time in
many years back in the mid-eighties (in England). I think UFO was
shown on ITV back in '86 or so, at least in the North-East, and I
hadn't seen it for over ten years at that time.

I think it's because there's no alien dialogue for us to remember
so the scenes with aliens tend to fade from memory after a time.
This is one thing I appreciate most about UFO - the fact that we as
viewers are never allowed into the aliens thoughts makes them all
the more sinister, and mysterious.

There is actually one episode (can't remember which) where the
aliens send Straker an ultimatum by letter if I remember rightly.
I wonder if there was a directive in the producers 'bible' which
Marc mentioned a while ago which stated that the aliens were never
to have any lines?

James

HI Harald and welcome to SHADO!

> I've learned not to watch again movies I remembered from
> my childhood, because from todays point of view they often turned out
> pretty disappointing. I broke this rule when they started
> to show UFO in Germany a few weeks ago - and I'm not
> disappointed.

It has stood the test of time!
>
> I'm born in '63, so I must have been around seven years old
> that time I saw it the first time. I'm pretty sure it ran
> every tuesday evening at nine. Tuesday was the day my
> parents were always out - and our babysitter allowed us
> to watch it.

Very astute babysitter!
>
> A few reflections:
>
> -I remember I was more afraid of Straker than of anyone else in
> the series ;-)
Oh why?
>
> -From memory, I would have said that the aliens appear rarely in
> person, but actually they do pretty often.

Yes.
>
> -We had B/W TV that time, so the aliens didn't look very strange,
> maybe thats the reason for the above.
> I never realized they had green skin ;-) The motivation for the
> color given is pretty good.

I did not see UFO in colour until the mid eighties!
>
> -I was much more impressed by the color of the hair of the women in
> the moonbase.

those wigs are very cool! (but not for the wearer!)
>
> -I think I knew the color because I bought trading cards from some
> italian schoolmate. As I learned from the website, there were
> some in Italy, but none in Germany.
WOW
>
> -We had a bunkbed and we entered it like the interceptor pilots did
> enter the interceptors - getting a hold and swinging in
> feet first ;-)

oh that is a lovely image!
>
> -I had memories of most of the hardware, but none of Strakers car.
Really!
>
> -I've seen 2001 many times, but never realized Ed Bishop plays a
> role in it.

It is only a very small part. Most of his stuff ended up being cut from the
movie:-(
>
> -In the German dubbed version of "A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES", at the
> end some off-voice gives Straker the message from the doctor, that
> the antibiotica arrived in the last minute and his son survived.

Yes we heard about that not long ago. What a strange thing to do. Fancy them
interfering with the writers story. Surely that was an infringement of their
intellectual property?
>
> Maybe later more of this.
> Does anyone knowws exactly when UFO was shown in Germany the first
> time?

Not me....looks to those on the list who are more clued up on such things.
>
> Thanks for the great website.

Yeah aint it the best all other websites pale into insignificance...keep up
the good work Marc ;-)

Best of luck Marc with sorting out your website problems!

Sheila

Still UFO Crazy crazy crazy crrraaazzzzy!

Harald Kucharek wrote:

> I've learned not to watch again movies I remembered from
> my childhood, because from todays point of view they often turned out
> pretty disappointing. I broke this rule when they started
> to show UFO in Germany a few weeks ago - and I'm not
> disappointed.

Hi, Harald!!

snip

> A few reflections:
>
> -I remember I was more afraid of Straker than of anyone else in
> the series ;-)

Ooooooh, afraid of that angelic visage?

snip

> -We had a bunkbed and we entered it like the interceptor pilots did
> enter the interceptors - getting a hold and swinging in
> feet first ;-)

Heh heh

> -I had memories of most of the hardware, but none of Strakers car.
>
> -I've seen 2001 many times, but never realized Ed Bishop plays a
> role in it.

AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

> -In the German dubbed version of "A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES", at the
> end some off-voice gives Straker the message from the doctor, that
> the antibiotica arrived in the last minute and his son survived.

Yup, we've heard they did that in Germany <shaking head>

BTW, in future - That TWO movie? Is to be referred to as .... "That TWO
movie" ........

-- Y
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Vastly more dramatic than had been typical up to the time. Just try
not to snicker when you hear the cliché dialog: "People of Earth..."

The Psychobombs. A good episode, assuming you buy into the Alien
mind control thing. I've assumed the Aliens were telepathic and
therefore had no need for verbal/written language.

As the 3 bombs operated under greater Alien control, the less verbal
they became as well. I figured this reflected the minds of their
controllers. The letter stands apart in this aspect.

Somewhat bizarre was the Alien's use of tape recorders in Reflections
in the Water. Here the Aliens seem to understand language enough to
send phony SHADO radio communications. Yet again they seem unable to
speak themselves. Damage due to liquid breathing?




James Gibbon wrote:

--- In [hidden email], "Sheila Holton-Brown" <msealand@s...> wrote:
> HI Harald and welcome to SHADO!
> >
> > -I remember I was more afraid of Straker than of anyone else in
> > the series ;-)
> Oh why?

I have him much more unemotional in memory than he actually is. When
I remember correctly, it was most his haircut/color (must have been
pretty white in B/W) that makes him look pretty 'alien' to me.

> > -I was much more impressed by the color of the hair of the women
> > in the moonbase.
>
> those wigs are very cool! (but not for the wearer!)

Is this somewhere motivated? If it is just fashion, why is this style
only shown in the moonbase?

> > -In the German dubbed version of "A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES", at
> > the end some off-voice gives Straker the message from the doctor,
> > that the antibiotica arrived in the last minute and his son
> > survived.
>
> Yes we heard about that not long ago. What a strange thing to do.
> Fancy them interfering with the writers story. Surely that was an
> infringement of their intellectual property?

There is a famous example of some old Hollywood movie where the
original plot was about some Nazi-hunting in South America.
The German dubbed version made it to somewhat about drug-dealers.
I think it was in the Fifties, can't remember the name.

Another famous example is Woody Allens 'What's up, Tiger Lilly?'.
He bought a japanese movie and dubbed it to something different.
But he bought it and so had the right to do it. I don't know how
much change is allowed when dubbing. Difficult subject.

Harald

Yeah, you gotta watch yourself on how you say that! To this day, every time
I go to the library or video store and pass the shelf that has THAT TWO
movie on it, I always stop and cast a furtive glance over my shoulder! If
you haven't done so yet, get hold of "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" or
as it's called on the other side of the water "Doppleganger" (did I spell
that right? Maybe not.) There's a little more Ed in that one. As a matter of
fact, quite a number of the UFO cast appears in it. George Sewell (Freeman)
and Ed are even together in a scene or two.
Welcome! (Raises his cup of skydiver coffee.) :-)

Ken

--- In [hidden email], "Harald Kucharek" <harald.kucharek@g...>
wrote:
<snip>

> to show UFO in Germany a few weeks ago - and I'm not
> disappointed.
>
> I'm born in '63, so I must have been around seven years old
> that time I saw it the first time. I'm pretty sure it ran
> every tuesday evening at nine. Tuesday was the day my
> parents were always out - and our babysitter allowed us
> to watch it.

Hallo Harald!
Oh und ein Hallo an Alto!
And of course Hi to the rest of the crew! :-)

Sieh an, endlich ein paar Deutschsprachige bei SHADO. I asked a
month ago about people who are German or speak german cause I am from
Austria. Und jetzt gibt es gleich zwei davon! Jubel jubel!
Herzlich willkommen!! I was born in 1962.

> A few reflections:
>
> -From memory, I would have said that the aliens appear rarely in
> person, but actually they do pretty often.

Yes but watch out for the nine episodes which were not dubbed in
german. There are great Alien eps among them (try "The Sound of
Silence" or "The long Sleep"). Well, try to get ALL of the eps! :-)

> -We had B/W TV that time, so the aliens didn't look very strange,
> maybe thats the reason for the above.

So had I! But it was a great feeling anyway! 88-)

> -I think I knew the color because I bought trading cards from some
> italian schoolmate. As I learned from the website, there were
> some in Italy, but none in Germany.

I have two of this trading card books which were saled in Austria
in the 70's.

> -We had a bunkbed and we entered it like the interceptor pilots did
> enter the interceptors - getting a hold and swinging in
> feet first ;-)

I had lived in a school because my father was a "Schulwart" (don't
know the english word for this). There were these ladders with a big
interval between the rungs so you could swing your whole body
through. I always took one of these long small benches which you
certainly know from the gym lesson, hung it in the ladder and played
interceptor pilot. Or Skydiver pilot. Depended on. What a youth! 8-)

> -I've seen 2001 many times, but never realized Ed Bishop plays a
> role in it.

He is one of the pilots who are in the long small spaceship which
is docking on the spacestation, the "wheel".

> -In the German dubbed version of "A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES", at the
> end some off-voice gives Straker the message from the doctor, that
> the antibiotica arrived in the last minute and his son survived.

Yeah, I told the story on this group before. That was a real
shame! Treating german people like children. Buy the videos "A
Question of Priorities" and "Mindbender" ("Toedliche Traeume") in
english. These versions are much better! And take a look at message
582 http://www.egroups.com/message/SHADO/582

> Does anyone knowws exactly when UFO was shown in Germany the first
> time?

I will check it out for you on this weekend and tell you monday,
Harald, OK? :-)

If you like to do this conversation in german you can e-mail me
privately (that goes for you too, Alto :-) cause I won't bother the
people on this list who don't understand german with our native
language.

Nice to have both of you on the list!
(And of course all the other newbies too! :-)
CU C.

--- In [hidden email], kcarroll@g... wrote:

> you haven't done so yet, get hold of "Journey to the Far Side of
> the Sun" or as it's called on the other side of the water
> "Doppleganger" (did I spell that right? Maybe not

Never mind, Ken. It's called "Doppelgaenger". And in Germany the
movie is named "Unfall im Weltraum".

CU C.

--- In [hidden email], "Christian " <memorymetropolis@w...> wrote:
> --- In [hidden email], "Harald Kucharek" <harald.kucharek@g...>
> > -I've seen 2001 many times, but never realized Ed Bishop plays a
> > role in it.
>
> He is one of the pilots who are in the long small spaceship which
> is docking on the spacestation, the "wheel".

Nope, he's the moon shuttle commander.


> > Does anyone knowws exactly when UFO was shown in Germany the first
> > time?
>
> I will check it out for you on this weekend and tell you monday,
> Harald, OK? :-)

Thanks.

--- In [hidden email], "Christian " <memorymetropolis@w...> wrote: The original title is actually "Doppelganger", which is, without
the Umlaut, the German word "Doppelgänger", a "double" or
"look alike".

Why was the German word used? Is it some leanword in English, like
Kindergarden?

Harald

"Harald Kucharek" wrote:

> Why was the German word used? Is it some leanword in English, like
> Kindergarden?
>

It's one of those words which the English language has imported
from other languages, like 'rendezvous' for example.

Cheers
James

English is the great borrowing language and always has been. -
doppelganger (no umlaut) has been in English (American) dictionaries ever
since I can remember (and I bet I can remember back a bit farther than
you can. ;-)) You will probably also find 'weltsraum', 'goolagong', '
blitzkreig', and a lot of other 'borrowed' words in there.

Unlike some languages whose speakers are proud of the 'purity' of their
language and eschew foreign terms, literate English speakers are free to
scour the globe for the exact word that fits the exact meaning they're
looking for. And, if enough people like it, and it fills a linguistic
need, it will eventually find its way into vernacular. (And possibly into
the Winword spelling dictionary.)

As near as I can figure, Schulwalt probably translates as custodian or
maybe guard (It translates literally as 'school duty') - Did the parent
in question take care of the physical plant (buildings and grounds)?

Deborah R. SHADO Librarian
http://shadolibrary.org

Harald Kucharek wrote:

[hidden email] wrote:

> Yeah, you gotta watch yourself on how you say that! To this day, every time
> I go to the library or video store and pass the shelf that has THAT TWO
> movie on it, I always stop and cast a furtive glance over my shoulder!


Heh heh - my work is done <giggle>


And:
<<
The original title is actually "Doppelganger", which is, without
the Umlaut, the German word "Doppelgänger", a "double" or
"look alike".

Why was the German word used? Is it some leanword in English, like
Kindergarden?

Harald
>>

Yeah, the word doppelganger is used in English too. Not very often, but
it *is* used ......

And Deborah:
<<
English is the great borrowing language and always has been. -
doppelganger (no umlaut) has been in English (American) dictionaries
ever
since I can remember (and I bet I can remember back a bit farther than
you can. ;-)) You will probably also find 'weltsraum', 'goolagong', '
blitzkreig', and a lot of other 'borrowed' words in there.
>>

Well, English started out as a way for German AngloSaxons and French
Normans to speak to one another, so it's a conglomo language to begin
with ....


-- Y




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Yuchtar zantai-Klaan | [hidden email]
I am not a number! I am a FREE FAN!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Ooooh, Brisco!! Warn me before you
get nekkid in front of me!"
-- Lord Bowler
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
http://users4.50megs.com/yuchtar
http://users2.50megs.com/nunzie

The Yuchmeister:
>English is the great borrowing language and always has been. -
doppelganger (no umlaut) has been in English (American) dictionaries
ever since I can remember (and I bet I can remember back a bit farther than
you can. ;-)) You will probably also find 'weltsraum', 'goolagong', '
blitzkreig', and a lot of other 'borrowed' words in there.<


>Well, English started out as a way for German Anglo-Saxons and French
Normans to speak to one another, so it's a conglomo language to begin
with ....<

Sort of an early Esperanto, eh?

Kent (Esperanto reminds me of Gazpacho soup, for some reason...)

Little side note here,
My mother was German, born in Tegansee or Tergansee (In Bavaria) and since
my father was an airline employee we went over there several times. The
first time I remember being there (I think I was 9 years old) I was at my
uncles house and UFO was on. We lived in Phoenix at the time so I guess
this is around 1970 or 1971? It was the first time I had seen the show and
was hyptnotized by the purple wigged moonbase girls!

>> Does anyone knowws exactly when UFO was shown in Germany the first
>> time?
>
> I will check it out for you on this weekend and tell you monday,
>Harald, OK? :-)

"Laughlin, Kent" wrote:

> The Yuchmeister:
(Deborah, actually)
> >English is the great borrowing language and always has been. -
> doppelganger (no umlaut) has been in English (American) dictionaries
> ever since I can remember (and I bet I can remember back a bit farther than
> you can. ;-)) You will probably also find 'weltsraum', 'goolagong', '
> blitzkreig', and a lot of other 'borrowed' words in there.<

Then me .......
> >Well, English started out as a way for German Anglo-Saxons and French
> Normans to speak to one another, so it's a conglomo language to begin
> with ....<
>
> Sort of an early Esperanto, eh?
>
> Kent (Esperanto reminds me of Gazpacho soup, for some reason...)

See http://users2.50megs.com/nunzie/gus.html

:o)

AND to get this back on topic! Journey to the far Side of the Sun was on
SciFi last night and I missed it!!! <pout>

-- Y
--
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Yuchtar zantai-Klaan | [hidden email]
I am not a number! I am a FREE FAN!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Ooooh, Brisco!! Warn me before you
get nekkid in front of me!"
-- Lord Bowler
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
http://users4.50megs.com/yuchtar
http://users2.50megs.com/nunzie

--- In [hidden email], "Harald Kucharek" <harald.kucharek@g...>
wrote:
> -I've seen 2001 many times, but never realized Ed Bishop plays a
> role in it.
> >
> > He is one of the pilots who are in the long small spaceship which
> > is docking on the spacestation, the "wheel".
>
> Nope, he's the moon shuttle commander.
>

So, you have never realized Ed is in? ;-) But you are right,
Harald.
 

> Does anyone knowws exactly when UFO was shown in Germany the first
> time?
> >
> > I will check it out for you on this weekend and tell you
monday,
> > Harald, OK? :-)
>
> Thanks.

Oops! I must pass in this case. I checked my books but no one
mentioned the first appearance of UFO in Germany. Sorry, Harald.

> There is a famous example of some old Hollywood movie where the
original plot was about some Nazi-hunting in South America.
The German dubbed version made it to somewhat about drug-dealers.
I think it was in the Fifties, can't remember the name.

Yes this was the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Notorius" with Ingrid
Bergman. It was made in 1945/46 and after the War the german version
was called "Weisses Gift" and handled with the hunting of drug-
dealers (because Nazis wasn't "en vogue" any more with the german
people, which is understandable of course). Many years later they
made a proper dubbing with the Nazis in it and the title changed to
"Berüchtigt".

CU C.

<<Oops! I must pass in this case. I checked my books but no one
<<mentioned the first appearance of UFO in Germany. Sorry, Harald.

Maybe in the 1971.
Please see http://195.62.233.12/bravo.htm

--
http://www.supernet.it/ufotv
UFO MERCHANDISE COLLECTION HOME PAGE
Angelo Finamore, [hidden email]
--

--- In [hidden email], "Angelo Finamore" <finamore@s...> wrote:
>
> Maybe in the 1971.
> Please see http://195.62.233.12/bravo.htm
>
> --
> http://www.supernet.it/ufotv
> UFO MERCHANDISE COLLECTION HOME PAGE
> Angelo Finamore, finamore@s...
> --

Thanks, Angelo! Your site is a great storehouse. :-)

CU C.