Posted by Murray Smith on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/Hello-tp1508065p1508069.html

Nat,

Thanks for your welcome. I'd like to give a few reasons, both serious and
amusing, for why I like the show:

1. The idea of a government organisation covering up alien activity, as in
'The X-Files', but this time genuinely done for the good of people, is a
refreshing change. I enjoy the efforts by those working for SHADO, from Ed
Straker down, to keep the rest of the population from knowing the truth,
including the use of an amnesia drug (anticipating 'Men in Black' by nearly
two decades), and the resulting serious moral dilemmas that need to be
confronted. (I like 'The Square Triangle' because of this, though the
acting isn't up to much.)

2. The realistic portrayal of leadership in a large organisation like
SHADO. Ed Straker is an obsessive workaholic, whose dedication to his duty
cost him his marriage and his son's life. He is quite unlike the womanising
James T. Kirk, who is almost always in the field, and gets away with such
tactics because the writers make sure that he is always right.

Compared to Kirk, Straker is unpleasant; but he is far more effective as a
leader. He is quite prepared to stay in headquarters, letting his field
commanders do the actual fighting; and, when he leaves for a break, he lets
his second-in-command run things. (This is why 'The Responsibility Seat' is
one of my favourite episodes.) It is this loyalty and trust that Straker
not only demands from his people, but which he gives to them in return that
establishes him as an effective leader. We also see him having to deal with
bureaucratic and financial constraints, including the hostility of General
Henderson, a former mentor now hostile to him for reasons never given.

3. The question of who the aliens are and what they want. This is something
we're not sure about. We're not even sure what they really look like. Are
they different aliens, who want different things from the Earth, or do they
just change their minds a lot? As you need to properly know your enemy to
properly defeat him, this lack of real knowledge is understandably
frustrating for SHADO, and is shown in the series.

4. SID: I liked that computer and how it sounds like Zen in 'Blake's 7',
another favourite sci-fi series of mine.

5. The clothes: Like other sci-fi series, 'U.F.O.' seemed to go for the
'nightclub' school of uniform design. I've laughed a lot at the wearing of
purple wigs by female Moonbase personnel, and the string tops worn on board
Skydiver! (That said, I like the Neru jackets on the men, and wouldn't mind
wearing one myself.)

>So you like The new Dr, or don't like him? Me, not to sure on the
>Scottish fella or the fact that their only 45 minute eps, but I totally
>fell for Christopher E, he was good.

I like the new fellow so far, though I agree that his predecessor was good;
it was a real pity they weren't able to keep him on. (I loved his
explanation to Rose of why he spoke in a Northern accent!) When I said that
my watching 'Dr. Who' was prejudiced by childhood nostalgia, I meant that,
for a long time, I compared all the other Doctors to Tom Baker. Since
watching other recorded episodes, I can be fairer to those others.


Murray