And When They Were Bad, We Still Loved Them
by Denise Felt 2005
Lest anyone assume from my original article on UFO directors, "When They Were Good, They Were Very, Very Good," that I am in Gerry Anderson’s pay to make his UFO series shine, I’m here to set all doubts to rest. UFO was excellent science fiction. But I believe that it deserves the credit for being considered so in spite of its obvious flaws. And flaws it had in abundance. The same directors that brought us those cool and memorable scenes gave us some really bad clunkers, as well — sometimes even in the same episode!
Come on! Let’s be honest. We all know that the episodes were not uniformly great. They weren’t even uniformly good. (Some, in fact, were supremely forgettable.) But in spite of that, UFO is rarely mistaken for B-rated science fiction. Why is that? I assert that the essential quality of the show — the tragic plots, the memorable characters, the beautiful cinematography, the sharp fashions, those awesome toy models — transcended any mistakes the directors, editors, or cameramen made in the production of the series.
Now that we understand one another, let’s take a second look at the directors of UFO. Cyril Frankel, who directed the fast-paced Timelash that included so many cool shots, also made a directorial mistake in that episode which cost it in terms of credibility. It’s the scene where Straker and Col. Lake are trying to get to the Medical Centre in HQ before they slow down to become frozen in time along with everyone else. It should have been a very suspenseful scene, fraught with tension and anxiety. Instead it just sinks into acute embarrassment as the actors try — really try — to portray slow motion. Every time I watch that scene, I find the same question coming up: why didn’t Frankel just shoot the scene, then play it in slow motion? Perhaps he tried that and failed, but it’s hard to imagine the scene looking any worse than it does in its present form.
Court Martial, Ron Appleton’s only contribution to the UFO universe, has more than its share of great moments, not the least of which is the easily missed, but heart wrenching shot of Straker glancing at Paul Foster after the sentencing. However, the bad scene is not easily missed, unfortunately, but very obvious to the audience. It’s the scene inside the electronics shop, where Straker out-toughs the tough guys. It might have worked, actually, if there weren’t such ludicrous pauses between the lines. If the director was trying to portray a sense of Straker’s power through those silences, he failed completely. The entire scene needs to be reworked extensively or thrown out all together. It isn’t even necessary to the storyline. The later scene with Miss Grant in his office is much more effective in portraying his power and concern for a fellow officer. I rate the electronics shop scene as one of UFO’s worst ever.
One of the hardest lines to draw for a director is knowing when the audience has seen enough of the bad guy to hate him as he should, but not so much of him that they change the channel and watch something else. I’ve seen multi-million dollar films with directors who didn’t know when to draw that line, and I often wonder if they ever learned what went wrong to turn their classic into a flop. Remember Dune? Enough said. UFO only had one episode where the line was not drawn soon enough, although there was another episode that skated the line pretty closely. And both episodes were directed by the same man: David Lane. To anyone who has watched all twenty-six episodes, the flop should be apparent. It was The Square Triangle. Too well does Lane display the adulterous couple for the audience. Too slimy by far is the manipulative boyfriend; too foolish the unfaithful wife. Yes, we are supposed to dislike them, but I’d had my fill before the credits were finished rolling! It might have saved the episode somewhat if they’d gotten their comeuppance in the end, but Lane robbed us of even that small vindication. In fact, the most we get is the clarity of Straker’s distaste for the couple in his final words, "Just get them out of here!" Lane should have heeded those words sooner.
Alan Perry comes under fire twice in the five episodes he directed. The first time is in Kill Straker!, where there is an obvious continuity error at the commercial break when Straker asks Paul what happened during those sixteen hours of blackout and we see Paul trying to remember. When the program returns after the break, however, that entire line of reasoning is dropped and Straker orders Foster to give him the gun. The audience is left feeling cheated, because we never learn what Paul might have said. Or even if Straker might have gotten through to him.
The second instance is in The Dalotek Affair, that really great story with lots of directorial stunts in it, including the freeze frames in the initial sequence. No problems there. But that kissing scene at the end! I realize that the episode ran too short and they were trying to fill time, but really! Couldn’t they have come up with something a little more science fiction-y and less soap opera-ish? Talk about your B ratings! That scene truly was unworthy of the level of excellence that prevails throughout the rest of the episode, and indeed, the rest of the series.
One of UFO’s best directors, Ken Turner, had a few pathetic scenes, as well. That singing scene at the end of Ordeal, while perhaps a delight to Michael Billington fans, was far too cheesy a way to end the episode that kept us on the edge of our seats for an hour. What a disappointment! I’d love to see that episode with the end rewritten in the same provocative manner as nearly every other episode of the series. That alone could bring the episode up into my top five favorites of the series. (I won’t tell you where it stands now.)
Turner’s other clunker is in Mindbender, in the same scene where Straker finds himself suddenly on a studio set rehearsing lines. It’s hard to imagine how that shot could go wrong, since it’s such a wonderful one. But the truth is that the dialogue is weak and not at all up to par with the animosity that they’re trying to convey. Name-calling is for children, not for presidents of the IAC! And Turner compounds the problem by repeating the most pathetic lines several times throughout the remainder of the episode! It is very jarring. And not at all believable.
In spite of the instances of poor direction that we’ve cited, UFO still manages to shine as an excellent example of the melding of incredible cinematography and great science fiction. In fact, it was so far ahead of its time in terms of experimentation that it really is a shame that there are only twenty-six episodes to enjoy. I think we can easily forgive a few bad shots in a series that every week took us out to where the universe ends. Or is it the beginning?
-- published in SHADOFILE 17, Summer 2002 issue. Revised April 2005.
Lest anyone assume from my original article on UFO directors, "When They Were Good, They Were Very, Very Good," that I am in Gerry Anderson’s pay to make his UFO series shine, I’m here to set all doubts to rest. UFO was excellent science fiction. But I believe that it deserves the credit for being considered so in spite of its obvious flaws. And flaws it had in abundance. The same directors that brought us those cool and memorable scenes gave us some really bad clunkers, as well — sometimes even in the same episode!
Come on! Let’s be honest. We all know that the episodes were not uniformly great. They weren’t even uniformly good. (Some, in fact, were supremely forgettable.) But in spite of that, UFO is rarely mistaken for B-rated science fiction. Why is that? I assert that the essential quality of the show — the tragic plots, the memorable characters, the beautiful cinematography, the sharp fashions, those awesome toy models — transcended any mistakes the directors, editors, or cameramen made in the production of the series.
Now that we understand one another, let’s take a second look at the directors of UFO. Cyril Frankel, who directed the fast-paced Timelash that included so many cool shots, also made a directorial mistake in that episode which cost it in terms of credibility. It’s the scene where Straker and Col. Lake are trying to get to the Medical Centre in HQ before they slow down to become frozen in time along with everyone else. It should have been a very suspenseful scene, fraught with tension and anxiety. Instead it just sinks into acute embarrassment as the actors try — really try — to portray slow motion. Every time I watch that scene, I find the same question coming up: why didn’t Frankel just shoot the scene, then play it in slow motion? Perhaps he tried that and failed, but it’s hard to imagine the scene looking any worse than it does in its present form.
Court Martial, Ron Appleton’s only contribution to the UFO universe, has more than its share of great moments, not the least of which is the easily missed, but heart wrenching shot of Straker glancing at Paul Foster after the sentencing. However, the bad scene is not easily missed, unfortunately, but very obvious to the audience. It’s the scene inside the electronics shop, where Straker out-toughs the tough guys. It might have worked, actually, if there weren’t such ludicrous pauses between the lines. If the director was trying to portray a sense of Straker’s power through those silences, he failed completely. The entire scene needs to be reworked extensively or thrown out all together. It isn’t even necessary to the storyline. The later scene with Miss Grant in his office is much more effective in portraying his power and concern for a fellow officer. I rate the electronics shop scene as one of UFO’s worst ever.
One of the hardest lines to draw for a director is knowing when the audience has seen enough of the bad guy to hate him as he should, but not so much of him that they change the channel and watch something else. I’ve seen multi-million dollar films with directors who didn’t know when to draw that line, and I often wonder if they ever learned what went wrong to turn their classic into a flop. Remember Dune? Enough said. UFO only had one episode where the line was not drawn soon enough, although there was another episode that skated the line pretty closely. And both episodes were directed by the same man: David Lane. To anyone who has watched all twenty-six episodes, the flop should be apparent. It was The Square Triangle. Too well does Lane display the adulterous couple for the audience. Too slimy by far is the manipulative boyfriend; too foolish the unfaithful wife. Yes, we are supposed to dislike them, but I’d had my fill before the credits were finished rolling! It might have saved the episode somewhat if they’d gotten their comeuppance in the end, but Lane robbed us of even that small vindication. In fact, the most we get is the clarity of Straker’s distaste for the couple in his final words, "Just get them out of here!" Lane should have heeded those words sooner.
Alan Perry comes under fire twice in the five episodes he directed. The first time is in Kill Straker!, where there is an obvious continuity error at the commercial break when Straker asks Paul what happened during those sixteen hours of blackout and we see Paul trying to remember. When the program returns after the break, however, that entire line of reasoning is dropped and Straker orders Foster to give him the gun. The audience is left feeling cheated, because we never learn what Paul might have said. Or even if Straker might have gotten through to him.
The second instance is in The Dalotek Affair, that really great story with lots of directorial stunts in it, including the freeze frames in the initial sequence. No problems there. But that kissing scene at the end! I realize that the episode ran too short and they were trying to fill time, but really! Couldn’t they have come up with something a little more science fiction-y and less soap opera-ish? Talk about your B ratings! That scene truly was unworthy of the level of excellence that prevails throughout the rest of the episode, and indeed, the rest of the series.
One of UFO’s best directors, Ken Turner, had a few pathetic scenes, as well. That singing scene at the end of Ordeal, while perhaps a delight to Michael Billington fans, was far too cheesy a way to end the episode that kept us on the edge of our seats for an hour. What a disappointment! I’d love to see that episode with the end rewritten in the same provocative manner as nearly every other episode of the series. That alone could bring the episode up into my top five favorites of the series. (I won’t tell you where it stands now.)
Turner’s other clunker is in Mindbender, in the same scene where Straker finds himself suddenly on a studio set rehearsing lines. It’s hard to imagine how that shot could go wrong, since it’s such a wonderful one. But the truth is that the dialogue is weak and not at all up to par with the animosity that they’re trying to convey. Name-calling is for children, not for presidents of the IAC! And Turner compounds the problem by repeating the most pathetic lines several times throughout the remainder of the episode! It is very jarring. And not at all believable.
In spite of the instances of poor direction that we’ve cited, UFO still manages to shine as an excellent example of the melding of incredible cinematography and great science fiction. In fact, it was so far ahead of its time in terms of experimentation that it really is a shame that there are only twenty-six episodes to enjoy. I think we can easily forgive a few bad shots in a series that every week took us out to where the universe ends. Or is it the beginning?
-- published in SHADOFILE 17, Summer 2002 issue. Revised April 2005.