Posted by Phil-3 on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/Ed-Bishop-reads-Stupid-White-Men-excerpts-tp1498312p1498334.html

Coincidentally, Chronicle, formerly Science Fiction Chronicle reviewed the
first half of the A&E UFO set in the SF Cinema section written by Jeff Rovin.

Here it is!

Chronicle
November 2002 issue #230
Page 21 bottom second column and top third column

Half (thirteen) of the episodes of the British series UFO (1969,
but shown in the U.S. in 1972) have been released in a boxed set. The
hour-long series was produced by Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds), his first
life-action series. It is set in 1980, when Commander Edward Straker (Ed
Bishop) leads SNADO (Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defence Organization) in
its war against aliens. SHADO has one base on earth, ships beneath the
sea, and a base on the moon. Little is known about the extraterrestrials,
save that they are humanoid and suffering from "hereditary sterility" (!!).
Most of the adventures focus on human drama rather than action, though
there are a few dogfights here and there. The best episode is "A Question
of Priorities" in which Straker must decide which gets the resources; his
dying son or an alien trying to defect. Bishop is a strong, compelling
presence and a really good actor. The supporting players are quite
credible, even the purple-haired moon-base ladies. The miniatures by Derek
Meddings (the James Bond and Superman films) are top-notch, the composite
effects generally fine. The biggest drawback is that the science is weak
(fires on the moon, sound in space, punctured EVA suits causing suffocation
and not decompression), and the spaceships sound like jet fighters...in
space. But the colors are striking, the transfers flawless, and the set
worth a look.

The magazine should be on the newsstands now and is usually carried by
Barnes and Noble and Borders.

Marc, if you like I could scan the page for you, but there are no pictures,
just text and a small ad (For Worlds of Wonder) at the bottom of the
page. The rest of the magazine is devoted to SF publishing news and book
reviews with a couple of other columns on short fiction, magazines and a
film review column by Alan Dean Foster. Also featured is an interview with
the late Charles Sheffield who died of cancer last month.

What I typed is what they wrote...about UFO. A pretty good review I think,
but I've noticed over the years Jeff Rovin has a soft spot in his heart for
classic SFTV like UFO and Thunderbirds and also old 1950's era SF movies.

At 01:07 PM 11/18/02 -0800, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Well, our time allotted to discuss the UFO episode THE DALOTEK
>AFFAIR has come and gone, so it's time to move onto our next
>episode -- A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES. Any comments on this
>episode? (hopefully so, since it's widely regarded as one
>of the best of the series!)
>
>Marc