The Square Triangle

How sad am I? Sitting here at 10:15pm on New Years Eve
writing about The Square Triangle!

TST is a very good episode IMHO. I remember watching
it as a kid & not really understanding what was going
on but always remembering the bit where Cass Fowler &
Liz Newton realise that 'Jack Newton' is about to
enter - only he isn't! Great stuff!

I thought it would've been nice if this ep was MORE of
a two-hander between Cass & Liz - which it is - with
the only time we become aware of it being a UFO ep
when the Alien enters & then when SHADO arrive.

I really like the scenes that involve the Game Warden
& his dog vs. the Alien, these are on a par with Peter
Carlin's confrontation with the Alien in the opening
scenes of Identified. Notice how the Alien seems to be
trying to inject the Game Warden in the neck & also
how the UFO fires on the Game Warden first before the
Alien fatally wounds him ... If I'm not mistaken, this
is the first time in the series that we realise that
the Aliens have other weapons than guns & that their
UFOs have self-defence mechanisms that, when left
unattended, whirr into life when they become aware of
HUMAN activity in the general vicinity. I imagine thse
would have to be maintained on a regular basis or else
the Aliens would be shot at every time they went back
to their own UFOs! Maybe they have a little keyfob
that disarms the UFO when the Alien returns to it if
it points it at it first!

On the minus side, I thought Cass Fowler's hairstyle
was ridiculous & I also thought that Patrick Mower
seemed to be picking his cues up a little slowly once
Cass & Liz are held captive at SHADO. I don't believe
Cass sees anything in Liz either, she's no oil
painting, is he? Cass is obviously her toyboy lover
who also sees himself as a bit of a chancer - maybe if
Jack Newton dies, Liz gets his inheritance & Cass
intends to fleece her of it later? After all, she can
hardly go to the police can she as she pulled the
trigger that killed Jack Newton ... Also notice how
Cass panics when he realises that the dead intruder
isn't Jack Newton & he makes a break for it, to back
up this theory of mine.

I also thought it would've been a nice touch if the
Alien's body started moving after Cass scarpers - the
Alien's not really dead! Adrienne Corri displays
terror marvellously when she looks at the Alien after
Cass's departure though.

I'm not convinced that SHADO's 'security angle' is
covered though. True, Foster shows Jack Newton an ID
that doesn't display the SHADO logo but as for telling
Newton to go back to London & to wait for his wife to
join him there ... Hang on a minute! The first thing
Newton's going to ask his wife is what's happened,
isn't it? Well, she's not going to be able to tell him
because of the amnesia drug is she & it looks like
Straker lets her go too early anyway. Newton's going
to be suspicious, there's no mention of him being
applied the amnesia drug & if he was, he'd forget to
go to London to wait for Liz as he was told this
before he took the drug!

There are a couple of unintentionally funny scenes in
TST. The first is after Cass snogs Liz after he's told
her that Newton bought her & we cut to Foster & the
SHADO operative in the woods - what are these guys
talking about? Is the SHADO operative telling Foster
how to use the torch he has in his hand or is Foster
saying to the SHADO operative "Oooh, look at me! I've
got a torch! If I press this button it lights up etc!"
Maybe we could run a caption competition?

The other funny bit involves one of my least favourite
characters, weedy Lieutenant. Keith Ford. In this ep,
he seems to have a very manly, deep voice in his
scenes with Straker & Freeman - is he hankering after
a promotion or something? Poor old Keith Alexander ...
he always seemed to be squinting when he spoke, was he
overlit or something? There's an earlier ep where Stud
Muffin Alec Freeman asks for his coffee 'hot, black &
sweet' from a very tasty looking black SHADO girl - we
just KNOW that Alec's had her or he's going to have
his wicked way with her very soon! Poor old Ford tries
to look like he's one of the lads & look all manly but
we just KNOW that the poor lad doesn't have a chance!

Finally, on a less irreverant note, the ending to this
ep is fantastic, Liz has killed Jack & she & Cass are
together - but for how long? I like this ending
because it's played out over the end credits & it
makes a very different coda to the usual UFO eps.

Neil

P.S.

Qusetion I've always wanted to ask ... is the Norman
Foster who was Production Designer on UFO the same
Norman Foster who became SIR Norman Foster, the
architect who, I believe, redesigned the Reichstag in
Germany & was also a front runner to design the
Millenium Dome?


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> UFOs have self-defence mechanisms that, when left
> unattended, whirr into life when they become aware of
> HUMAN activity in the general vicinity. I imagine thse
> would have to be maintained on a regular basis or else
> the Aliens would be shot at every time they went back
> to their own UFOs! Maybe they have a little keyfob
> that disarms the UFO when the Alien returns to it if
> it points it at it first!

I always thpught that the UFOs themselves would have a great deal
of onboard artificial intelligence. Certainly this would appear to be
the case in Survival, where a (presumably unmanned) UFO starts
to shoot at SHADO forces on the moon whilst the alien pilot is still
outside.

> Cass is obviously her toyboy lover
> who also sees himself as a bit of a chancer - maybe if
> Jack Newton dies, Liz gets his inheritance & Cass
> intends to fleece her of it later?

Yes, that, I think, is the impression the producers wanted to
convey. Also, Cass is generally a bit of an unpleasant little fellow.
A chancer and a coward to boot.

> I'm not convinced that SHADO's 'security angle' is
> covered though.

Let's face it, SHADO has bleedin' lousy security. Foster,
presumably a studio exec, would be known to the movigoing
public, as would Straker himself. Yet in Destruction, he is
intorduced to a Naval officer as being from a department dealing
with aviation safety.

> There are a couple of unintentionally funny scenes in
> TST. The first is after Cass snogs Liz after he's told
> her that Newton bought her & we cut to Foster & the
> SHADO operative in the woods - what are these guys
> talking about?

Perhaps Paul was saying "You know, I never realised how cute you
are before" :-) (sorry, that was mainly for the slash brigade lol)

> There's an earlier ep where Stud
> Muffin Alec Freeman asks for his coffee 'hot, black &
> sweet' from a very tasty looking black SHADO girl - we
> just KNOW that Alec's had her or he's going to have
> his wicked way with her very soon!

Let's face it, Alec is really such an old lech.

> Poor old Ford tries
> to look like he's one of the lads & look all manly but
> we just KNOW that the poor lad doesn't have a chance!

Keith Ford is a subbie.

> P.S.
>
> Qusetion I've always wanted to ask ... is the Norman
> Foster who was Production Designer on UFO the same
> Norman Foster who became SIR Norman Foster, the
> architect who, I believe, redesigned the Reichstag in
> Germany & was also a front runner to design the
> Millenium Dome?


Wouldn't have thought so. Especially as the Internet Movie
Database credits his last effort as Wild Geese II
(1985) (production supervisor).

Dave.

In response to Sigourney's Slave's comments on The
Square Triangle, Yes, I thought there was an earlier
ep where a - presumably unmanned - UFO fires on
non-Aliens in it's vicinity & Survival is definitely
it.

I enjoyed SS's Paul Foster 'caption' & I also agree
that SHADO has lousy security, doesn't it? I remember
the Destruction ep & we know from Court Martial that
Foster poses as a studio exec too so he'd be known to
the outside world. Can you imagine if UFO was for real
in 2003? Straker & Foster could be big-name movie
producers like Joel Silver or Jerry Bruckheimer! Maybe
if one of those guys made a UFO movie, it would be
about what they really do!

When you think about, it's very surprising that a big
budget Hollywood movie version of UFO has never been
made. Just imagine someone pitching the film ... 'I've
got a great idea for a movie!It's all about a secret
alien defence organistaion who have their headquarters
underneath a film studio!' What a great opportunity
for a major film studio to show their own film studio
- albeit, one called Harlington-Straker Studios - in a
movie!

It would also be fun if the films that
Harlington-Straker made featured real Hollywood stars
in cameo roles a la Robert Altman's excellent satire
The Player. I think it would take UFO away from it's
fan following into more of a comedy area but I think
if it was done well, if it didn't become too much of a
comedy like the similar in places but inferior Men In
Black (which actually began life as more of a dark,
sci-fi action movie, something I would've preferred
personally) it would be excellent! I would imagine
though, that if UFO was made into a movie, it'd be
called a MIB rip-off even though UFO came first but
MIB beat it to the silver screen.

By the way, who is the Harlington of
Harlington-Straker fame? Does anyone actually know?

SS also mentioned that Keith Ford is a subbie. Is SS
suggesting that Keith Ford is a submissive? Oh yes,
almost definitely! While I'm on the subject, who do
other fans think are the doms & the subbies in the
series?

I think Ford has very low self-esteem. He works
efficiently for SHADO but is always on a hiding to
nothing & is always being shouted at for basically,
being honest with Straker & doing his job to the best
of his ability. Although I don't like the Ford
character - it's a nothing part, he's just there to
feed the lines, he's a plot cypher & provides
exposition - I don't think we can underestimate his
contribution to SHADO, can we? It'd be cool if we
could hear the voice inside Ford's head & find out
what he really thinks of SHADO & the way that Straker
treats him! What do other fans think goes on inside
his head?

Neil


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Hi all,

I received an e-mail from A&E this morning saying that my UFO DVD
Set 2 had shipped! I requested overnight shipping, so you should
start getting some information from me about this set tomorrow!

Marc

In a message dated 02/01/03 14:25:30 GMT Standard Time,
[hidden email] writes:


> By the way, who is the Harlington of
> Harlington-Straker fame? Does anyone actually know?
>
>

This is such an old question, its not a who but a where. Harlington is a
village in the county of Middlesex in England.

Claire


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

Hi Claire,(happy new year by the way)
besides the one in Middlesex there is also a Harlington in Bedfordshire. But
I still think Harlington is a person not a town as per my previous answer
about the names of film studios.

James K.


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

i just checked deepdiscountdvd and they dont even show it for preorder yet???
To save maybe over $30, i can wait, but i would feel better to know they will
have it.

Bruce

On Thu, 2 Jan 2003 06:38:47 -0800 Marc Martin <[hidden email]> wrote:

>i just checked deepdiscountdvd and they dont even show it for preorder
yet???
>To save maybe over $30, i can wait, but i would feel better to know they
>will have it.

Hmmm, I wonder if DeepDiscountDVD will be carrying UFO Set 2?
They certainly don't carry everything, and I've noticed that
very few retailers seem to be carrying UFO Set 1 (which is
frustrating, since they seem to be carrying every other
Gerry Anderson title). It could be that poor sales of Set
1 has caused them to ignore Set 2.

The 2nd cheapest place I've seen for UFO DVDs is directvideo.com.
They already have UFO Set 2 for preorder at $45 plus $5 shipping.
But if it were me, I'd just wait & see if DeepDiscountDVD adds
it to their site in the next 4 weeks, as they will likely be
$43 plus free shipping.

Marc

I sent DDD an email last month concerning this very subject, and they told me
that they didn't have a firm date that it would be up on their site, but keep
checking. So, apparently they WILL have it available sometime in the future!!

Cheers,
Kevin Palm
Grafton, OH

thanks for you and Marcs response :) I'll wait
Bruce
----- Original Message -----
From: <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 2:46 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] A&E UFO DVD Set 2 Ships!


> I sent DDD an email last month concerning this very subject, and they told
me
> that they didn't have a firm date that it would be up on their site, but
keep
> checking. So, apparently they WILL have it available sometime in the
future!!

> It would also be fun if the films that
> Harlington-Straker made featured real Hollywood stars
> in cameo roles a la Robert Altman's excellent satire
> The Player.

Hmm, that's an intresting thought.

"How's that new sci-fi film shoot coming along on Stage three,
Alec?"

"It's starting to look really great, Ed. Who'd have thought it eh?"

"Yes. To think, a man who once directed Hovis commercials could
direct a movie such as this. Has he settled on a title yet?"

"Not yet, but he has shown me the rushes. The new female lead
shows great promise. And she's cute as hell, too. Wonder how
much time off she gets?"

"Steady, Alec ..."

> By the way, who is the Harlington of
> Harlington-Straker fame? Does anyone actually know?

Harlington is actually a village. The studios is located near to the
village of Harlington. I adnit that this confused me for years, too.

> SS also mentioned that Keith Ford is a subbie. Is SS
> suggesting that Keith Ford is a submissive? Oh yes,
> almost definitely! While I'm on the subject, who do
> other fans think are the doms & the subbies in the
> series?

Well, this is a 'family list' so, not going down that road *too* much
... I would say that Joan Harrington is definitely a Domme.
Ayshea too.

> I think Ford has very low self-esteem. He works
> efficiently for SHADO but is always on a hiding to
> nothing & is always being shouted at for basically,
> being honest with Straker & doing his job to the best
> of his ability.

I think he's just basically physically first in line for Straker's wrath
in so many situations. Ed comes out of his office into HQ and one
of the first people he encounters is Ford at his station. Also, Ford
presumably has to take Straker papers to sign etc etc. Look at
The Responsibility Seat where Alec is deputising for Ed. Ford has
to take in Skydiver launch authorisation to be signed and Alec
rounds on him (but then apologises). I think Ed would perhaps
have had more professionalism about him, but Alec does then call
Keith back and apologise:

"Can you imagine what Straker would have said?"

to which Ford replies in a certain tone

"Yes, sir!"

which implies he is thinking "yes, matey, I can imagine - all too
well!"

Dave.

I think we should write to DeepDiscountDVD.com and ask for the set.

I have written twice.

[hidden email]

Anthony
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Sherman" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 4:09 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] A&E UFO DVD Set 2 Ships!


> thanks for you and Marcs response :) I'll wait
> Bruce

Neil, I think you were a wee bit harsh on poor old Ford, but when you
mentioned the voices in his head I immediately thought of the pinball
machine in Dubya's head in 2DTV. It does ring true methinks. Maybe
they could incorporate that into the movie ?

I thought a subbie was a builder (sub contractor) because that's what
we call them at work ( and I have obviously lead a very sheltered
life).

Whilst sort of on the subject, did anyone else find it rather odd in
the scene where the husband turned up at the cottage to find it empty
except for a man wearing a syrup and rather tightly fitting clothes
(nylon / crimpolene - suits you!) who won't answer any of his
questions. Maybe Foster wanted to show him his torch as well.

teee_peee (thomas)
> __________________________________________________
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> Everything you'll ever need on one web page
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> I thought a subbie was a builder (sub contractor) because that's what
> we call them at work ( and I have obviously lead a very sheltered
> life).

Errrmmm. Not quite, thomas. Obviously I don't want to go too
much into this on a family list, but it refers to a submissive within
the BDSM community. Ok, 'nuff said I think.

> Whilst sort of on the subject, did anyone else find it rather odd in
> the scene where the husband turned up at the cottage to find it empty
> except for a man wearing a syrup and rather tightly fitting clothes
> (nylon / crimpolene - suits you!) who won't answer any of his
> questions.

Now it would, yes. But back in the late 60s we were all much
more subserveint to men in authority who could produce impressive
looking official pieces of ID.

Thankfull not any more.

Dave.