Re: Review for UFO: How it Ended (parts 1 and 2) by Anthony Appleyard
Posted by
TRT on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/Review-for-UFO-How-it-Ended-parts-1-and-2-by-Anthony-Appleyard-tp4024056p4024060.html
I’ve always thought there must be at least two castes of alien. The cost in resource terms for space travel... the limited numbers of visits and collections. They seem to take just one or two humans per trip. Then there’s the psycho-control aspect... is there a psychic elite race on the home world who need a supplement of some form that can only be found in human brains? The other organs get used to patch up the few remaining space pilots... their use of human brain tissue allows them gradually greater control of human minds until they can possess them completely. Have they also been taking kitty cats? Then again there’s a lot to be said for leaving it all unresolved. Could that contribute to the show’s longevity?
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On 21 Nov 2020, at 10:00, Clare Cross [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:
The author is correct to ignore the Dr Jackson theory presented in the 'Cat with 10 lives' episode since the writers & producers of the UFO strip in the Countdown comic have also ignored this. In 'The Snatch' serial the aliens on their homeworld are shown to be humanoid beings who all know how to perform organ transplants because they frequently require them in order live forever (ie: no 'formless beings' possessing earth abductees ala 'Captain Scarlett' etc). And since the Countdown comic is basically an Anderson production then the UFO strip is a definitive companion piece to the TV show (and the alien homeworld presented in the 'How it Ended' story does match this depiction in the comic, and so is arguably more 'canon' than the theories presented by Dr Jackson in the 'Cat with 10 lives' episode etc).
Congratulations. That's the most amazing post I have ever read re. UFO. Ever! As a youngster, I used to get 'Countdown' every week and it never occurred to me for one moment that the writers and artists on any strip (not just UFO) were more familiar with the format of the original series than the writers on the series itself! That's an incredible claim! Most writers and artists on comics have little interest in the subject matter... it's just work for them... and they work from (usually) the bear minimum of reference material. It is hugely unlikely that the writer of 'The Snatch' would have watched 'The Cat with 10 Lives' and then sat there and thought about it to the degree that we have over the years! The UFO strip in Countdown deviates from what is seen on TV in many ways. Sorry, but to suggest that 'fan fiction' and comic strips are 'more canon' than what is presented on screen is somewhat wild to say the least!
However, I'll admit that some of the ideas presented in this particular fan fiction story do sound intriguing and it's clear that some considerable thought has gone into it. Calling the UFOs 'Spinners' is surprisingly apt. Even if it does conjure up images of an Irish folk group.
Gerry Anderson's The Spinners - now there's a show that would have been worth watching!
I think we shall have to agree to disagree. Fan fiction, no matter how good, is still fan fiction and to suggest otherwise is a step too far.