UFO Movie

A UFO remake (shudder), how can they hope to improve on perfection?

Before I get shot down in flames by the guys on the site (because of the
advances in techno stuff, I am sure you'll tell me how good it would be and
all that) but...

The original actors made UFO what is was then and the classic it is today (as
well as the crew who worked on it as well, lets not forget them). It can
only be improved upon (and I use the word loosely) in the technical, computer
and CGI/SFX departments, they cannot replace the original actors because they
made the characters believable, brought them to life and that's what I
appreciate. IMHO, it is ridiculous to remake UFO but then there we are. If
it has to be, then here are a few of my humble suggestions:-

For instance, there is no-one to replace the character of Jackson imho, but
they could for instance introduce another doctor in the same vein (excuse the
pun) - he would be played by Alan Rickman of course - now he would do another
role justice in UFO but they could not and should not replace the original
actors who made the show what it was then and what it is today.

Straker could still be played by Ed Bishop
Freeman could still be played by George Sewell
Foster could still be played by Mike Billington
Ellis could still be played by Gabrielle Drake and
Lake by Wanda Ventham

all elevated to higher positions of course and I was thinking that they could
explain away the loss of the doctors (sob) and Henderson by say having an
alien attack on them be it at Mayland, HQ or somewhere else. The doctors
could be out in the field (say) treating Henderson after some sort of alien
attack, perhaps their car was attacked coming back from a conference by an
alien after the top man, and the doctors happened to be in the same car (just
thinking out loud here) - and then start with different characters but please
do not cast other actors in the roles of Jackson, Shroeder, Ealand or
Henderson or anyone else I've missed - it won't work.

Soapbox gone, awaiting the SHADO firing squad for insubordination. (grin)


Claire






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

Hey, I'm not going to dump on you - I think you're right on the button. I've
refused to see such re-makes as the 2 M:I flicks and Lost in Space BECAUSE
they diverged too much from the original premises and turned some of the
original characters into bad guys (i.e. Jim Phelps in M:I) and didn't have
any place for the original actors. That made me PO'ed enough to say "no
thanks" when they appeared at my local theatre. I'm a purist. My view is
that the 6 movies produced with the original Star Trek cast were fab (well,
ok the first movie wasn't so great...) and they did better at the box office
than the 4 TNG movies did. Why? Because purists like me (and maybe some of
you) know what they want and it shows in box office receipts and attendance.

Pam


> A UFO remake (shudder), how can they hope to improve on perfection?
>
> Before I get shot down in flames by the guys on the site (because of the
> advances in techno stuff, I am sure you'll tell me how good it would be
and
> all that) but...
>
> The original actors made UFO what is was then and the classic it is today
(as
> well as the crew who worked on it as well, lets not forget them). It can
> only be improved upon (and I use the word loosely) in the technical,
computer
> and CGI/SFX departments, they cannot replace the original actors because
they
> made the characters believable, brought them to life and that's what I
> appreciate. IMHO, it is ridiculous to remake UFO but then there we are.
If
> it has to be, then here are a few of my humble suggestions:-
>
> For instance, there is no-one to replace the character of Jackson imho,
but
> they could for instance introduce another doctor in the same vein (excuse
the
> pun) - he would be played by Alan Rickman of course - now he would do
another could
> explain away the loss of the doctors (sob) and Henderson by say having an
> alien attack on them be it at Mayland, HQ or somewhere else. The doctors
> could be out in the field (say) treating Henderson after some sort of
alien
> attack, perhaps their car was attacked coming back from a conference by an
> alien after the top man, and the doctors happened to be in the same car
(just
> thinking out loud here) - and then start with different characters but
please

[hidden email] wrote:

> The original actors made UFO what is was then and the classic it
> is today (as well as the crew who worked on it as well, lets not
> forget them). It can only be improved upon (and I use the word
> loosely) in the technical, computer and CGI/SFX departments, they
> cannot replace the original actors because they made the
> characters believable, brought them to life and that's what I
> appreciate. IMHO, it is ridiculous to remake UFO but then there
> we are.

I half agree. I think the premise of UFO is brilliant and could
support a really great film, potentially - but it would certainly
not be UFO as we know and recognise it. I'd hate to see a UFO film
with the same UFO universe look and feel, with a Straker lookalike,
moonbase girls with purple wigs and similar looking hardware - that
would be a bit of a travesty for me.

The superb TV remake of Randall And Hopkirk (deceased) is an
excellent example of what can be acheived by exploiting an existing
premise without attempting a close copy. The '60s series and the
1990s remake are each distinctive and original in their own right.

Vic and Bob would make a fabulous Straker & Freeman :)

James

I've heard on the R & (deceased) site that alot of fans of that show HATED
the re-make - so go figure. As for UFO, well of course certaint hings sure
need to be updated - I don't question that. Alot of what G & Sylvia
envisioned has NOT caught on, ha ha! However, I think the original actors,
in some capacity SHOULD be there! Pam

> The superb TV remake of Randall And Hopkirk (deceased) is an
> excellent example of what can be acheived by exploiting an existing
> premise without attempting a close copy. The '60s series and the
> 1990s remake are each distinctive and original in their own right.

I have to agree with Claire. UFO without the original cast just
wouldn't be UFO. Yes, they are all older now and doing the actions scenes
might be a bit rough but it hasn't stopped Sean Connory or a lot of other
actors their age and older. That's what stuntmen and women are for.
The attempts to remake classic TV series without the original casts
have been for the most part terrible. They have either been made by people
who turned a serious series into a joke like was done with I Spy and Wild
Wild West or turned the original series hero into villain as in the first
Misson: Impossible film, or were just plain bad as with The Avengers. The
only films that did justice to the original was the Star Trek films because
the kept the original characters and concept of the original series.
In that light here is what I think should be done with a UFO film.
Set it 11 years in the future from the date it was filmed like the original
series. Open with a single UFO coming in toward the moon. Nothing opposses
it. It flys to the moon and goes to inspect Moonbase which is now a empty
shell and the Inteceptor bays open and empty. It flys on toward Earth
stopping to inspect SID which is now inactive. It flys down to Earth.
Nothing is launched to meet it. It heads to England and flys over
Harlington-Straker Studios. The studios are closed and overgrown with weeds.
No one is there but a lone security guard who thinks he hears something but
goes back to sleep.
The UFO heads back into space and speeds past SID. When it has
passed. A bank of circuitry in SID comes to life. A dish antenna on it aims
toward Earth and a coded message is sent. Around the world in different
agencies, The CIA, NSA, MI-6, GUR, KGB, and other intelligence and security
services a single teletype maching starts printing. A lone operative takes
the printout off the machine and carries it to the office of the head agent.
This agent locks the door and tell the agent with the printout they no longer
work for that agency. They then open a safe and take out a code book and
tell the agent to wait for them to leave and decode the message, he then
hads them a ID card saying SHADO on it and a silencer equipped pistol.(These
people will be the new younger SHADO operatives in the film mostly like
played by big name stars) The messages all give travel instuctions. We see
each one travel to the place mentioned where they met the others from their
country. The place is a airport hanger inside which is found a sleek jet the
next generation Seagull X-Ray. They board the plane and their pilot who has
also been activated by a coded message also. The planes all head for
England.
When they land they are met by the British operatives who are waiting
with cars to take them to Harlington-Straker. There they are meet as if they
are people who are going to reopen the studio. The proceed to what was
Straker's office. The enter and close the door.
There are only two things in the office. A desk and a cigarrette box.
Opening the box, each one of five operatives says one phrase. The American,
S is for Supreme, the British says H is for Headquarters. The French one says
A is for Alien.
The German says D is for Defense. The Russian says O is for Organization.
The Japanese says Open and the African operative says Sesame. The cigarette
box says "Special code correct. Shutdown override activated. The office
decends to the SHADO control. The headquarters in dark but starting to
light up as they enter. On one wall is a list of names of SHADO opertives
who died in battle(I figure this is good way to honor the cast members who
have past away by having the name of their character and they real name on
this list as well as those of characters who died in the series).
A single computer under a dusk cover starts to run and it begins
printing out names and addresses. The names are familar, Freeman, Foster,
Lake, Ellis, Barry, Harrington, etc. ect. and of course Straker. The only
difference is there is no address for Straker.
The new operatives go to meet the originals. They find some will come
back and some won't. They find some like Freeman and Foster and Lake have
been running companies making new equipment for the new SHADO like new
Interceptors and new attack aircraft and electonic gear. The each know a
little about Straker but not where he is. But putting the pieces together
they figure out where he is. Out in the Australian desert.
Straker knew the aliens had not stopped their attack 10 years ago when
the UN stopped funding and it was decided to stop operations. He set up the
safetynet that set the plan in motion when the UFO came snooping. He says
they have so long before the aliens will be back in force. The new recruits
have that long to train and the orignal operatives have that long to get back
in shape.
Then we get the scene of the people training and getting to know each
other. and the the new equipment being put in place and tested.
Then the aliens come an the battle takes place. It has to be a big
battle this a major film and you aren't going to have just one. two or three
UFO but Hundreds if not thousands.
When the battle is over and we have won but many of the UFO escaped
the world governments see that SHADO is still needed.

Anyway that is my idea.

James K.


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

I have to agree with Pam. I can't imagine seeing anyone other than Ed Bishop
of thirty years ago as Ed Straker...it just wouldn't fly. And Ed Bishop of
today is not Ed Bishop of thiry years ago so would not hold the same
character value in my humble opinion. The only way a movie could be
successful is if they somehow remade the characters of thirty years ago (if
they can make dinosaurs, who knows what they can do!)

Mary

-----Original Message-----
From: MCCAUG [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003 08:46
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [SHADO] UFO Movie


Hey, I'm not going to dump on you - I think you're right on the button. I've
refused to see such re-makes as the 2 M:I flicks and Lost in Space BECAUSE
they diverged too much from the original premises and turned some of the
original characters into bad guys (i.e. Jim Phelps in M:I) and didn't have
any place for the original actors. That made me PO'ed enough to say "no
thanks" when they appeared at my local theatre. I'm a purist. My view is that
the 6 movies produced with the original Star Trek cast were fab (well, ok the
first movie wasn't so great...) and they did better at the box office than
the 4 TNG movies did. Why? Because purists like me (and maybe some of
you) know what they want and it shows in box office receipts and attendance.

Pam


> A UFO remake (shudder), how can they hope to improve on perfection?
>
> Before I get shot down in flames by the guys on the site (because of
> the advances in techno stuff, I am sure you'll tell me how good it
> would be
and
> all that) but...
>
> The original actors made UFO what is was then and the classic it is
> today
(as
> well as the crew who worked on it as well, lets not forget them). It
> can only be improved upon (and I use the word loosely) in the
> technical,
computer
> and CGI/SFX departments, they cannot replace the original actors
> because
they
> made the characters believable, brought them to life and that's what I
> appreciate. IMHO, it is ridiculous to remake UFO but then there we
> are.
If
> it has to be, then here are a few of my humble suggestions:-
>
> For instance, there is no-one to replace the character of Jackson
> imho,
but
> they could for instance introduce another doctor in the same vein
> (excuse
the
> pun) - he would be played by Alan Rickman of course - now he would do
another could
> explain away the loss of the doctors (sob) and Henderson by say having
> an alien attack on them be it at Mayland, HQ or somewhere else. The
> doctors could be out in the field (say) treating Henderson after some
> sort of
alien
> attack, perhaps their car was attacked coming back from a conference
> by an alien after the top man, and the doctors happened to be in the
> same car
(just
> thinking out loud here) - and then start with different characters but
please


 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 

Sorry about that Marc! I'd like to include these remarks simply because I
agree with them: "UFO without the original cast just wouldn't be UFO. Yes,
they are all older now and doing the actions scenes might be a bit rough
but it hasn't stopped Sean Connory or a lot of other actors their age and
older. That's what stuntmen and women are for.
The attempts to remake classic TV series without the original casts have
been for the most part terrible. They have either been made by people who
turned a serious series into a joke like was done with I Spy and Wild Wild
West or turned the original series hero into villain as in the first
Misson: Impossible film, or were just plain bad as with The Avengers. The
only films that did justice to the original was the Star Trek films because
the kept the original characters and concept of the original series."

Incidentally I really liked James K's movie scenario - rather good one!!

I'm sure all of us who write UFO fan fic would LOVE a crack at writing a UFO
movie!! Pam

I am getting goosebumps reading James Killian's' idea for the movie, James my
friend - you should seriously think about submitting this as an idea when
they start asking for scripts, honestly this is a really brilliant idea and
if or one love it - brilliant. I can imagine every part of this happening
and that means it would work, once you can see the thing unfolding in your
imagination, then yes it would work. In fact, forget about waiting, submit
it now to Gerry Anderson...I'm going to go read this again - wow!.





Claire


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

I agree with Claire - James has a great movie idea!!! Pam

Great novel James! Do you have any other fanfic? Sounds like a winner to
me...

Mary

Hi Pam,

That is the only reason I mentioned it because the original actors did such a
good job in creating the characters and making them come alive. I'm still
reeling from James Killian's suggestions, boy that is a great idea. I too
have a major problem with shall we say *outside* companies who decide to redo
a show and don't give it any deep thought whatsoever, they ride roughshod
over the whole premise of the show, but hey if it gets bums on seats then
what do they care, they got their money. I still have never seen the film of
Mission Impossible because there is simply no way Phelps would betray his
country - never, that and I can't really take to Tom Cruise (but that's
neither her nor there). A sympathetic remake with a new storyline which
incorporates the spirit of the show and which actively has as many of the
original cast as are able to, or want to, take part can do so. I'm sorry to
keep going on about this but James' idea really is a sound one - updates the
idea of SHADO and the derelict sites give the impression that it will never
surface again, yet it is merely a sleeping tiger. The character of Straker
would have a plan B for want of a better word and he would keep his ideas as
closely guarded as he does his own emotions. After all, you would expect
nothing less from the man who has protected Earth with the rest of SHADO, I
also like the idea of the memorial to those who gave their lives in the
service of SHADO - it is a blisteringly good premise, and this is the type of
thing that those who are planning the film should see. If the film is done
with Gerry as consultant (as is now the case with Thunderbirds I believe)
then there may be hope. I am not simply saying that James' idea is good
because we both write fan fiction, it is a well thought out idea and yes, we
would all like to see our fiction turned into stories but what do we do if
there is a really good premise which a fanfic writer has thought of? I would
prefer not to ignore it and never let it see the light of day just because he
or she is a *fanfic writer*.

I'll just go and lie down now I think......................





Claire


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

In a message dated 09/04/03 17:04:58 GMT Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:


> Vic and Bob would make a fabulous Straker & Freeman :)
>

James,

I am sure you are joking, if you're not then you really should be. Vic and
Bob are great comedians and there were parts of R&H (d) that I enjoyed, it
again could not replace the original, just acted as a stand alone series and
that would not honour UFO in any way at all if it were portrayed in the same
light imho.




Claire


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

Thanks for the compliment Pam.

James K.(going to stick head in bucket of ice water so it doesn't swell)<g>


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

Thanks Claire.
James K.(wondering if he needs to get more Ice or watch the rest of his Capt.
Scarlett episode that came in the mail today)


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

Hi all,

The Italian Section of SHADO website now has scans from the booklet
that comes with the Italian UFO DVDs at:

http://www.isoshado.org

Looking at the episode guide, it looks like they used the frame
captures from my
"UFO Series Guide"! I guess I should have updated these frame
captures with ones from the DVDs sooner! (as the quality would have
been better, and I *do* already have them on my computer, thanks to
Christian!)

Marc

Thanks for the 2 cents worth Amelia.
My idea about using the voice print ID in the cigarette box was not to use it
to ID those operatives. They were picked by whomever happen to be the one to
take the message SID sent. Straker being the genius he is had the ID system
reset so that it would respond to those words but only if they were spoken by
different people(it a voice print ID so it can tell the difference) and from
different countries. Anyone trying to give all the words or some one doing
fake voices or accents would cause a lockdown.
Yes, idea in seting the movie the same about of time ahead as the TV
series is that in the series the actors played their character as being their
own age. So putting the movie that far ahead in time form the date it was
made makes sense.
I think there would have to be some expaination of why SHADO was
closed down in the film but this would have to be told by the returning
characters. Using clips from the series in flashbacks would cause techinal
problems. Movies are filmed at 24 frames per second while TV shows are run
at 30 frames per second. Also TV screens are square while movie screens are
retangular You'd have to blow the Tv clip up so big to make it fit the sides
of the movie screen that it would cut off the tops of the characters heads
rather the reverse of when they put a movie on TV and don't show it in
letterbox format and you lose the side of the image.
I think the new operatives being filled in by the original SHADO
member would give a great chase to develop characters and some interesting
by-play and comments on what happen in the past. Think of different members
telling of Straker having to let his son die, the break up of his marriage in
the name of security to the new members as they were being trained.
And yes I would certainly have the aliens having new craft and weapons
and I think I mentioned that in the down time some of the original SHADO
personel had been working on new equipment for the next assault by the
aliens.
Being a film it would have to have a big battle at the end. But I
would leave a opening in it for future battles. You never know if they might
want a few sequels<vbg>. Straker would say something like " We won this
time, but they will be back. I told them the last time. We won't make the
same mistake again. When they return we will be waiting for them at fully
strength and ready to carry the fight to them!

Thanks for the compliments and the suggestions.

James K.


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

so long as they don't do a Mission:Impossible and cast Tom Cruise as a new
commander and make Straker an alien agent, at the same time turning it from
a team into a solo effort.

Can anyone see I HATE both Mission:Impossible movies?


----- Original Message -----
From: <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 1:25 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] UFO Movie


> Thanks for the 2 cents worth Amelia.
> My idea about using the voice print ID in the cigarette box was not to use
it
> to ID those operatives. They were picked by whomever happen to be the one
to
> take the message SID sent. Straker being the genius he is had the ID
system
> reset so that it would respond to those words but only if they were spoken
by
> different people(it a voice print ID so it can tell the difference) and
from
> different countries. Anyone trying to give all the words or some one
doing
> fake voices or accents would cause a lockdown.
> Yes, idea in seting the movie the same about of time ahead as the
TV
> series is that in the series the actors played their character as being
their
> own age. So putting the movie that far ahead in time form the date it was
> made makes sense.
> I think there would have to be some expaination of why SHADO was
> closed down in the film but this would have to be told by the returning
> characters. Using clips from the series in flashbacks would cause
techinal
> problems. Movies are filmed at 24 frames per second while TV shows are
run
> at 30 frames per second. Also TV screens are square while movie screens
are
> retangular You'd have to blow the Tv clip up so big to make it fit the
sides
> of the movie screen that it would cut off the tops of the characters heads
> rather the reverse of when they put a movie on TV and don't show it in
> letterbox format and you lose the side of the image.
> I think the new operatives being filled in by the original SHADO
> member would give a great chase to develop characters and some interesting
> by-play and comments on what happen in the past. Think of different
members
> telling of Straker having to let his son die, the break up of his marriage
in
> the name of security to the new members as they were being trained.
> And yes I would certainly have the aliens having new craft and
weapons
> and I think I mentioned that in the down time some of the original SHADO
> personel had been working on new equipment for the next assault by the
> aliens.
> Being a film it would have to have a big battle at the end. But I
> would leave a opening in it for future battles. You never know if they
might
> want a few sequels<vbg>. Straker would say something like " We won this
> time, but they will be back. I told them the last time. We won't make
the

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.465 / Virus Database: 263 - Release Date: 27/03/03

CONTENTS DELETED

Did anyone involved with the MI movies even SEE the show? The series was
all based on a TEAM, not some pseudo-Bond wannabe.

----- Original Message -----
From: <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 3:59 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] UFO Movie


> In a message dated 4/9/03 9:34:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> [hidden email] writes:
>
> > and make Straker an alien agent, at the same time turning it from
> > a team into a solo effort.
> >
> >
>
> They dare make Straker a traitor and I'll personally go kamikaze on
their
> little wooden heads.
>
> I hate the MI movies too. I found out what they did to the Phelps
character all based on a TEAM, not some pseudo-Bond wannabe.

----- Original Message -----
From: <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 3:59 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] UFO Movie


> In a message dated 4/9/03 9:34:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> [hidden email] writes:
>
> > and make Straker an alien agent, at the same time turning it from
> > a team into a solo effort.
> >
> >
>
> They dare make Straker a traitor and I'll personally go kamikaze on
their
> little wooden heads.
>
> I hate the MI movies too. I found out what they did to the Phelps
character

> Looking at the episode guide, it looks like they
> used the frame captures from my "UFO Series Guide"!
> I guess I should have updated these frame captures
> with ones from the DVDs sooner! (as the quality
> would have been better, and I *do* already have
> them on my computer, thanks to Christian!)

Or better: they should have ask you, for you could have provide them
with the DVD ones (they should have ask you anyway)!

I ordered the set from www.DVD.it and I was a little bit astonished
that DVD.it has debited my account in advance! Normally a seller
debits ones account when the item is ready for shipping :-(

Christian