Ace of Spades HQ

May 27, 2010

70s English Sci-Fi Show Is So Awesome I Need It Back On
— Ace

Great credit sequence! Best thing about the supertech future -- space-uniforms show off a girl's rack and butt really swell.

Second best thing? This incredible future awaits us, just a few years away, in 1980.

It's the British series UFO. I never really was able to get into it, but I do remember trying. I think a station used to play it on weekends after Mission: Impossible repeats.

I'm thinking the credit sequence probably drew me in, but the show couldn't live up to those promises.

Via Lilieks.

Posted by: Ace at 09:35 AM | Comments (69)
Post contains 112 words, total size 1 kb.

1 I loved it. I was a little boy who had never seen such T&A. With purple hair. Plus all the scifi gadgets and cars and shit.

Posted by: rdbrewer at May 27, 2010 09:38 AM (0UqBq)

2 why do the women working on the moon have to have purple hair? Is that part of the dress code?

Posted by: Ben at May 27, 2010 09:38 AM (wuv1c)

3 it was a cool show. This, Captain Scarlet and the Thunderbirds were staples.

Posted by: Blue Hen at May 27, 2010 09:42 AM (R2fpr)

4

was that a mesh shirt?

I am now scared of the future, thank you.

Posted by: s'moron at May 27, 2010 09:43 AM (UaxA0)

5 Got the boxed set.

The Anderson shows were the shit for production values. Writing, well...

Posted by: nickless at May 27, 2010 09:46 AM (MMC8r)

6 Gabrielle Drake. Hell yes.

Posted by: oblig. is pulling wood at May 27, 2010 09:48 AM (x7Ao8)

7 I too loved this show. The cheesy sets and special effects were great, and there were some great dramatic and melodramatic moments. Ed Straker was an awesome character, sort of Jack Bauer crossed with Captain Kirk.

Loved the purple hair on the moon-chicks too. Even better, in one episode, one of the moon women was being investigated. The whole time she was on Earth for the investigation, she had brown hair. Once reinstated and back in the moon, it was back to purple. No explanation provided, naturally.

Posted by: Splunge at May 27, 2010 09:49 AM (9uwvY)

The immortal Gerry & Sylvia Anderson productions.

Holy cow, from Fireball XL5, Supercar, Captain Scarlett vs. The Mysterons to Space:1999 and this one, they ruled my childhood and adolescence. Major flashbacks here.

Yes, I'm carrying my geek card.

Posted by: Bat Chain Puller at May 27, 2010 09:51 AM (SCcgT)

9 Are you sure this isn't a trailer for porno?

Posted by: moviegique at May 27, 2010 09:53 AM (ey5wt)

I loved that show when I was a kid. Pretty geeky now, but dang I loved it then.

Posted by: jmm at May 27, 2010 09:55 AM (9qVYM)

11 My dad walked in and saw those purple haired chix. It was another promo sequence where two of them can be seen walking toward the camera in a moonbase hallway. Really hot looking. Anyway, he told me on the spot I couldn't watch the show anymore. But, of course, I didn't let that ridiculousness stand in my way. I was a growing boy, and I needed to see hot, purple-haired chix. And cool space toys.

Posted by: rdbrewer at May 27, 2010 10:01 AM (0UqBq)

12 Wasn't there another one called "Stingray" or something like that? The Andersons influenced a lot of Brit scifi back in the day and you can still see it to this day.

Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at May 27, 2010 10:01 AM (rQTdM)

13 The guys get mesh space shirts. That's just the fucking way it is.

Who knew the future looked so much like a July Saturday on Fire Island?

Posted by: Bender Bending Rodriguez at May 27, 2010 10:04 AM (Z2+Cu)

14 One of my favourite shows and one of the best (if not THE best) openings in TV history. What wasn't 19080 as cool as that show was?

Posted by: ExurbanKevin at May 27, 2010 10:05 AM (a/Ojb)

15 Not enough shooting in it. A failure Anderson tried to rectify in TerraHawks and Space Precinct.

Posted by: Quilly Mammoth at May 27, 2010 10:06 AM (QIdcg)

16 Holy cow, from Fireball XL5, Supercar, Captain Scarlett vs. The Mysterons to Space:1999 and this one, they ruled my childhood and adolescence. Major flashbacks here. And let's not forget Joe 90 and (best of all) The Thunderbirds. Kid's shows of today are devoid of launch sequences. Can we blame juvenile delinquency on a lack of flopping palm trees?

Posted by: ExurbanKevin at May 27, 2010 10:08 AM (a/Ojb)

17 I read 70's UFO show and immediately thought of Project Blue Book.

Posted by: Scott J. at May 27, 2010 10:12 AM (NY7mQ)

U.F.O behind the scenes video.

Posted by: rdbrewer at May 27, 2010 10:13 AM (0UqBq)

My dad walked in and saw those purple haired chix. It was another promo sequence where two of them can be seen walking toward the camera in a moonbase hallway. Really hot looking. Anyway, he told me on the spot I couldn't watch the show anymore.

BTW, this was last week.

Posted by: rdbrewer at May 27, 2010 10:16 AM (0UqBq)

20
I watched that show when I was a kid. Really liked the purple hair chicks. Most the explosions were in the opening credits... and my pants.

Posted by: Dang at May 27, 2010 10:21 AM (UA4gE)

21 I saw this last summer. They re-use all the miniature shots in that title sequence over and over and over, so they're redundant during the episode.

The head purple-haired silver-jumpsuit chick, Gabrielle Drake, plays Lt. Gay Ellis. I'm sure that sounded less gay back in the '70s. Among her other credits is "Au Pair Girls," softcore semiporn.

The guys in the mesh shirts are all aboard a submarine. Hot seamen locked up in a long hard steel tube. I'm sure that sounded less gay back in the '70s.

Posted by: Little Miss Spellcheck at May 27, 2010 10:26 AM (a5ljo)

22 Hey SyFy Channel, this is what science fiction looks like. Ghost Hunters Who Always Fail To Find A Ghost and Ghost Whisperer, not so much.

Posted by: Arthur Branch at May 27, 2010 10:27 AM (k7SeR)

23
I Netflixed this a couple of months ago so as to introduce my 14-year old son to the good old days of television. They're smoking, they're unabashedly flirting with women in the workplace, and they're taking slugs of scotch and whiskey in the middle of the day. The show held up amazingly well.

I think Hamilton Booksellers has the entire series at a big discount.

Posted by: geoff at May 27, 2010 10:31 AM (Mzo8t)

24 Man, I actually had one of the intercecter-with-the-torpedo-nose toys. Torpedo was spring-loaded so you could shoot it. Just another one of my childhood toys, like my long gone G.I. Joes, Hot Wheels, etc. that are probably worth tens of thousands of dollars now.

Posted by: hachie1 at May 27, 2010 10:33 AM (FXtu9)

25
Yeah, you can get the series for only $19.95 right here.

Posted by: geoff at May 27, 2010 10:33 AM (Mzo8t)

26 Nothing protects you more from the harsh conditions of space than see through mesh shirts.

The mesh shirts were on the submarine.

And that's basically a British undershirt. A 'string vest' in their alien tongue.

Posted by: nickless at May 27, 2010 10:33 AM (MMC8r)

27 Love the car at the beginning. Was that a 2000 SUX?

Posted by: maddogg at May 27, 2010 10:35 AM (OlN4e)

28 Loved this show! I would color scenes from it in the 3rd grade.

Posted by: Mark in Spokane at May 27, 2010 10:48 AM (TbeMd)

29 The best part is the shots of the Moon. Conditioned to think of the moon romantically, it takes a while to feel the dread that the images of the moon cause to the people in UFO.

Posted by: Potosi Joel at May 27, 2010 10:51 AM (5s1FW)

30 Cool tunes. Now that's going to be running through my head the rest of the day. People are going to ask me why I'm walking around with a swing like Austin Powers.

Posted by: Max Entropy at May 27, 2010 10:51 AM (la188)

I wonder if the futuristic IBM Selectric they used in the opening credits was the same one used to write the TANG memos?

(Lucy Ramirez is the other purple-haired chick...)

Posted by: Warthog at May 27, 2010 10:53 AM (WDySP)

32
Looks like there's going to be a movie version...

I was a big fan of Gerry Anderson's shows too, and I especially liked those theme songs. About the purple wigs; one of the novelizations of "UFO" mentioned that they were anti-static in nature (so Gay & company's hair wouldn't frizz out in the reduced gravity on the moon)-- at least that was the rationale they came up with for the books. I think they just did it because it looked cool.

Posted by: Golem14 at May 27, 2010 10:56 AM (2X8VA)

33 I wonder how many animes it inspired.

Posted by: Iblis at May 27, 2010 11:03 AM (9221z)

34 Here's a better link:

http://www.ufo-themovie.com/shado

Posted by: Golem14 at May 27, 2010 11:05 AM (2X8VA)

35 Some of the future has a lot of Flo look-alikes.

Posted by: logprof at May 27, 2010 11:07 AM (Mmw0q)

I'd been wondering if I'd only dreamed this as a kid. I remember "1980" on the screen and thought that's what the series was called.

1980 seemed so far away and futuristic back then.

Posted by: Michael Rittenhouse at May 27, 2010 11:12 AM (b+X6h)

37 Gad, I loved this show as well... cool explosions, cool Brit actors and hot chix.... sigh...

Posted by: GuyfromNH at May 27, 2010 11:19 AM (GWXuo)

38 I loved this show when I was a kid. Greatest opening sequence since Jonny Quest. Ever count how many people die in the opening of JQ ? One thing I loved about this show was that a lot of the shows ended with the good guys losing or having a bloody nose. It had very adult story lines for a show of it's day. Ed Straker was kewl, loved his car. And purple... I loooooove purple :-)

Posted by: Noah Bawdy at May 27, 2010 11:32 AM (dCjum)

39 Yes, Stingray and the sometimes unappreciated Captain Scarlet were two other Gerry Anderson gems. Stingray was happy-go-lucky and Captain Scarlet was darker--the film noir of, um, marionette science-fiction dramas. Stingray had Captain Troy Tempest and his love interest Marina, an underwater sorta human who could not speak, representing for some men the very ideal of femininity. Lt. Atlanta Shore was the sensible brunette vying for Troy's attention. Troy's sidekick was his navigator, Phones, and I've always thought there was an uncanny resemblance between Phones on Stingray and Bones--Dr. McCoy--on the original Star Trek. Wiki says Stingray ran during 1964-65, with Star Trek starting in September, 1966. I'm just sayin'.

Stingray's dramatic tension was often heightened by the many guppies and swordtails flitting around in the aquarium they shot through to depict the submarine underwater.

Somebody released all the Gerry Anderson 'Supermationation' productions on DVD and it's just possible I have all of them except Supercar. I think a lot of them are still available on Amazon, and the prices came down significantly.

I am not a geek. At all.

Posted by: Christopher Fotos at May 27, 2010 11:33 AM (gHcba)

Yep, I watched this show and enjoyed it many years ago. I had no idea it was on DVD but I'm going to add it to my collection. Forget the girls; Paul Foster and Straker were uber-hot.

If I remember correctly the writing was much more adult-oriented than the other SF shows at the time, which would explain its short life.

Posted by: BB at May 27, 2010 11:46 AM (qF8q3)

41 One of my fave shows as a teen (released here in 75, but filmed in 69). One of the show's most ludicrous points (among a few) was that presumably, the world's most super-secret installation, on a par with Area 51 is located beneath... A FILM STUDIO!!!!! The chicks were teh hotness, with the glittery eye-shadow and electric-colored wigs. Ed Straker/Sarah Palin 2012

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at May 27, 2010 11:46 AM (9Cooa)

42 The head purple-haired silver-jumpsuit chick, Gabrielle Drake, plays Lt. Gay Ellis.

Really? Gay Ellis and her Sizzling Syncopators was a nom de wax for Lee Morse and her Blue Grass Boys on their British releases, back in the late Twenties - early Thirties. Must be a homage or sumpin'.

Posted by: Otis Criblecoblis at May 27, 2010 12:17 PM (kJXs1)

43 I remember watching the earlier episodes in B & W, I think this might have been pre-mesh shirts. I wonder, if I dyed my hair purple and wore a shiny new silver lame mini, would I end up working for a cool British space program? And would I have to pronounce U.F.O. as UFO?

Posted by: Mrs. Stevens at May 27, 2010 12:20 PM (4I3Ms)

One of the show's most ludicrous points (among a few) was that presumably, the world's most super-secret installation, on a par with Area 51 is located beneath... A FILM STUDIO!!!!!

I thought that was pretty clever. Anything could be explained away as part of a movie. "Oh, that big spaceship you saw? That was part of a movie. Those aliens? Probably extras."

Posted by: rdbrewer at May 27, 2010 12:29 PM (0UqBq)

45 "I don't know what it was. We get so much shit going in and out of this place."

Posted by: rdbrewer at May 27, 2010 12:31 PM (0UqBq)

Always watched this as a kid but never understood it. I just liked watching the chicks with the fishnet uniforms and purple hair.

Also -- killer theme song.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at May 27, 2010 12:32 PM (0QJjg)

47 Check out the movie "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun." Produced the same year as "UFO." Also a cult fave of mine with Roy Thinnes, who was the star of a great TV show here "The Invaders" (A Quinn/Martin Production-- in color)

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at May 27, 2010 12:34 PM (9Cooa)

48 The cover as a film studio was what made the costumes necessary. People were supposed to think that the people were actually actors. In fact, one episode had the guy in charge get sued for divorce because he had to pretend to be meeting the head moon chick for a casting couch meeting instead of figuring out how to stop the aliens.

The film studio was used to cover up the massive digging required to build the underground headquarters. Made the Get Smart phone booth look trivial. The entire "producers headquarters office" was used as an elevator.

Posted by: Sabba Hillel at May 27, 2010 12:41 PM (u3r63)

49 And I had a crush on that Indian chick.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at May 27, 2010 12:51 PM (0QJjg)

50 I'm thinking the credit sequence probably drew me in, but the show couldn't live up to those promises.

Couldn't live up to the promise of hot girls in form-fitting outfits?

Posted by: Ace's liver at May 27, 2010 12:54 PM (LtIsn)

51 Being a Navy brat, I always thought SkyDiver was the best part of that show. A submarine that launched an atmospheric interceptor? Plus, it looked more "real" than most of Irwin Allen's stuff.

Add the hot chicks wearing mesh shirts aboard the sub, and I was all set to join the SHADO navy. The hardest part would be pronouncing UFO as YEW-fo with a straight face. The second hardest part would be not telling everyone that I was a submarine launched fighter pilot for a secret planetary defense organization.

Posted by: Steve Skubinna at May 27, 2010 12:55 PM (oEoeA)

52 The ufo's always reminded me of spinning blowpops without the stick.

Posted by: Ruprect at May 27, 2010 01:12 PM (vnL7t)

Damn, Ace! That was one I had stuffed in the dusty memory banks!

Note how only the Brit actors with good teeth were employed. The future had great dental plans.

Posted by: Drillanwr at May 27, 2010 01:26 PM (GkYyh)

54 I had the hots for Colonel Virgina Lake (Wanda Ventham). Think Bo Derek's face and Raquel Welch's breastes. I think she was the prototype MILF.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at May 27, 2010 01:33 PM (9Cooa)

55 Did you say Vagina Lake? I went diving there once...

Posted by: Bad Lt. Cmdr at May 27, 2010 03:27 PM (ZgkLV)

56 I loved that show. I too recall the purple hair on the moon was some sort of anti-static thing. I have not thought about that show for years, but I do remember one espisode where the bad aliens had somehow slowed down time. The hero and one female SHADO agent were able to get around the time slowdown by shooting up with some sort of amphetamine. I recall there was controversy over the "drug use" shown in the episode. Drug use was not condoned even when trying to save the planet from marauding aliens!

Posted by: 415woman at May 27, 2010 03:43 PM (BqUpO)

57 The movie is going to be made soon.I have the complete series on DVD.

Posted by: steevy at May 27, 2010 03:53 PM (HP5TH)

58 why do the women working on the moon have to have purple hair? Is that part of the dress code? Posted by: Ben at May 27, 2010 01:38 PM

We have seen the future. It is us.

Posted by: Royal Me Lace Wigs and COSPlay Accessories at May 27, 2010 04:10 PM (I7L+g)

59 The famous computer game UFO: Enemy Unknown (alias X-COM: UFO Defense) basically ripped off UFO's concept and setting wholesale.

Posted by: anonymous irishman at May 27, 2010 04:56 PM (qwfnx)

60 Notice how the steering wheel on the car is on the left side? They drove on the right on this show despite the obvious UK location. The show mentioned that Britain switched from driving on the left to the right side of the road by 1980. Never explained why they did that, though...

Posted by: mikey at May 27, 2010 05:42 PM (xfRfG)

Ah, the good old days of kids shows! UFO was absolutely great. Complex intelligent plots for its time. The aliens were a formidable and mysterious force, the good guys very seldom had everything their own way. Ed Straker was the model of what you want a serious, thoughtful commander to be. And the Girls - with hot outfits, those great wigs, and they even had one (Lt. Ellis) as moon base commander! And the toys, the SHADO interceptors (I had one with the missile launcher as a kid) - good times. This was perhaps Gerry Andersons finest hour, and for its time it was almost a unique combination of kids action show and serious as in grim and dark, science fiction.

And yes, it pretty much inspired X-com single handed. IF they really make a movie out of this, I hope it is half as good as the original.

Posted by: BattleofthePyramids at May 27, 2010 06:30 PM (4M9Gz)

62 The closest thing to the Anderson's Supermarionation in real life is about to come to an end.
The Space Shuttle has two more launches scheduled, then, no more.
And nobody seems to care.
The US will not be able to launch men into space for at least a decade.

Posted by: j.pickens at May 27, 2010 07:41 PM (gfBKP)

63 And don't call the Virgin Galactic launches "men into space".
Merely brief suborbital jaunts, not delivering humans onto orbit.

Posted by: j.pickens at May 27, 2010 07:42 PM (gfBKP)

64 Ed Bishop as Straker, the gayest head of a secret international military organization since Gabe found out the UN wasn't actually mispelling "peacekeepers" and resigned his commission...

Posted by: Richard McEnroe at May 27, 2010 08:33 PM (d3DtB)

65 Odd little factoid: Ed Bishop (Cmdr. Straker) died five days after his UFO co-star, Michael Billington (Col. Paul Foster).

Posted by: Blacque Jacques Shellacque at May 28, 2010 12:25 AM (gjUVx)

66 #66
I wouldn't be surprised if Mr Branson came up with some hair brained scheme to take the shuttles off of Uncle Sam's hands and launch them himself :-) Also Sci Fi Channel used to run UFO also also AWESOME THEME SONG

Posted by: Hurricane567 at May 28, 2010 01:54 AM (pO1Qz)

I remember the episode where one of the guys was put in a space suit contraption and was breathing some kind of liquid. I don't remember why he was in that predictiment, I just remember the scene where they took his helmet off. It was pretty intense.

I always thnk of that scene when waterboarding is mentioned.

Posted by: Jaynie59 at May 28, 2010 09:01 AM (YjQWV)

68 Why don't they make shows like this anymore? Sure, there was the Battlestar Galactica remake, but frankly that fell apart after two seasons and turned into an all-out emo-fest. And don't get me started on how utterly stupid the ending was.

Posted by: R. Waher at May 28, 2010 08:27 PM (GWAGh)

69 Had been thinking about Lindsey's new vibram fivefingers ever since she posted about them on this blog. When she first sent me a photo of these bizarre looking vibram five,I just laughed at their vibram fivefingers ridiculousness

Posted by: altýn çilek at February 22, 2011 04:23 AM (wpz1H)

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