When They Were Good, They Were Very, Very Good
by Denise Felt 2005
UFO suffered the usual problems of any low-budget science fiction series. That small budget, for one; which resulted in set walls that showed their seams and lighting that was never quite up to par. But amazingly, they still managed to make those wonderful models look real, didn’t they?
And the genre was another problem. Let’s face it, science fiction is a pretty wide field, one that includes such diverse talents as Isaac Asimov and George Lucas. So how can you hope to please fans who are expecting anything from illogical robots to evil emperors? UFO episodes often varied from straight action (as in Timelash) to more cerebral, thought-provoking concepts (as in Close Up.) But in its willingness to encompass so many different styles of science fiction, it was difficult for viewers to know what to expect from week to week.
Another problem that the UFO series had was a lack of continuity. The low budget may have been the reason for the lack of staff writers, editors, or even a "UFO bible" that detailed the lives and idiosyncrasies of the characters. Or perhaps the producers thought that the audience wouldn’t notice. It wouldn’t be the first time science fiction fans had been underrated. But whatever the reason, it was irritating for the fans to be confronted in an episode with a teetotaler Straker who suddenly drank. And that was one of the minor discrepancies.
One of the biggest problems that beset the show was that there was no continuous director. Of the meager twenty-six episodes shot for the series, eight different directors were used. That averages to a new director about every three episodes. Can you wonder that there were continuity issues? However, in spite of all the trouble such an assortment of personnel created, for the actors as well as for plotlines, this diversity was also one of UFO’s greatest strengths.
As a lover of film as an art form (and not just for entertainment purposes), I have always been drawn to the man behind the camera. And the question ever present in my mind as I watch anything, be it The Matrix or Forbidden Planet, is this: what is the director trying to show us? And in UFO, we are privileged to see inside the minds of some truly innovative directors. Setting aside the stories themselves for a moment, let’s venture behind the camera for an illuminating tour of some of UFO’s coolest scenes and the directors that brought them to life.
My favorite directorial scene in the UFO saga is in Timelash. Cyril Frankel directed that episode and put a thrillingly Hitchcockian touch to the scene where Commander Straker and Col. Lake are first wandering around the studio lots with everything frozen in time. The shot that catches my eye every time is when they see the workmen loading the large white hand onto the truck. Frankel used a view of that shot from behind Straker looking toward the truck, and although it’s not in the script, he had Straker’s hand clench at his side. It is the only movement in the shot and incredibly powerful in portraying the strained emotion of the scene. No words were needed.
Frankel also really scored well with the opening scene for Timelash, where Straker bursts into SHADO HQ tearing up the place. That insanity ensured the audience that this would be a great episode from start to finish. And it was. It’s a shame that this was Frankel’s only episode with the series. I personally would have liked to see more of his work.
Ron Appleton directed only one episode, as well: Court Martial. This is a favorite among many of the fans of the show, and with good reason. There’s lots of action, suspense, and good triumphing over evil in this one. And it includes a really great shot, where we see Paul Foster on a roller coaster, and suddenly Straker enters the frame. It’s a wonderfully shocking moment before the camera pans out to show them both on a set in front of a running film of a roller coaster ride. And it forewarns us that things (in this episode especially) aren’t always what they seem.
David Lane and Ken Turner each did more episodes than any of the other directors. Let’s look at some of Lane’s cool scenes. In Confetti Check A-OK, he keeps the audience very much in suspense after we learn that Straker may be having an affair by shooting a scene where the commander picks up Nina Barry and drives to her apartment. Even the dialogue supports the idea of an assignation, and he doesn’t give us the truth until a later scene, where we see the other SHADO members sitting around the apartment and realize that this is work, not play. Great tension there.
Another really intriguing shot is in the opening scene of A Question of Priorities, where we can’t be certain that this is a UFO episode, because it looks like the beginning of a murder mystery instead. For those who have only seen UFO on video, some of the surprise is ruined for you, but those of us who remember the show when it was first aired on TV can recall the confusion when that episode began. I remember asking my dad quite anxiously, "Isn’t UFO supposed to be on now?" It is very reminiscent of the Star Trek episode Tomorrow Is Yesterday, where the story begins with an Air Force jet zipping across a Twentieth Century sky and we don’t realize that it’s actually Star Trek until we see the UFO that the pilot has sighted: the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Sub-Smash is another of my favorite episodes to watch, and I believe that is mostly due to David Lane’s directing. My view of the world has always been a bit skewed, so I really enjoyed an episode where the sets were all on a tilt. It gave the story of a submarine sinking a realistic and very claustrophobic feel to watch the characters maneuver around that tilted set.
Ken Turner did nearly as many episodes as Lane. His two greatest shots are in Ordeal and Mindbender. In those scenes, we get the chance to see a director having lots of fun. The wonderful scene in Ordeal is, of course, the party scene that begins in the introductory segment and continues into the first scene after the credits. The camera caught everyone at unusual angles, not showing us a lot of full shots, but focusing more on the moving parts of the gyrating bodies. It really made the audience feel a participant at the party rather than a voyeur looking in.
Another of Turner’s cool scenes is in Mindbender, although it can be argued that all of Mindbender was one cool scene after another. You won’t find me disputing that! However, the most fun to be had on a studio lot was had in the shot where Straker is running around the lots chasing his stunt double (a very young Stuart Damon, believe it or not!) Turner had him running hard, but having a tough time catching up to, the actor dressed like himself (who is only walking); much in the manner of a Monty Python skit. It was priceless! Also of note were the characters that kept cropping up wherever he ran: the monk, the maiden, etc. And of course, that hilarious hand from Timelash!
Although The Long Sleep was never on my list of preferred episodes to watch, it had some interesting directorial touches worthy of note. Jeremy Summers, who directed the episode, used a monochromatic tint for all the flashback scenes. It was very much like The Wizard of Oz, where reality was in black and white, while Oz was in full color. I really enjoyed the artistic, almost nostalgic feel of the sepia tones, and I rank it as one of the best filmed episodes for that evocative touch.
Alan Perry directed five episodes, and his crowning scene was in The Responsibility Seat, where we see Straker getting shot by two assassins. Or do we? It was directing at its most intriguing, and it kept the tension going, because the concern for his personal safety stayed strong with the audience throughout the rest of the episode, even in scenes played out in the quiet of his home.
Finally, one of the fans’ favorite episodes is Conflict, which has several great directorial moments that make it the dynamic episode that it is. It was another of Turner’s episodes and includes some explosive and enlightening dialogue. However, the two very powerful scenes that set this episode apart deal with silence. The first scene is near the beginning, where Straker sits in his office before informing Alec on Moonbase that all lunar flights have been cancelled and Moonbase is on its own. But it is seen in that shot that it is really Straker who is isolated as the director pulls back from a head shot in complete silence, showing the commander brooding alone at his desk while the mural behind him creates the only movement. It comes across the screen very powerfully.
The second scene is where Straker lies on his bed in the dark with only a globe of light illuminating the shot. He is smoking and crushes his cigar out in the ashtray on his chest. We can tell without any words that he’s been there a long time thinking hard about SHADO’s numerous problems instead of sleeping. It is a very potent scene, both for showing the complex personality of the commander and the loneliness of his command. I don’t think any of the other directors came as close to showing the audience Straker’s true character as well as Turner did in that episode.
There is also a small wardrobe touch to be seen in Conflict that adds to the story’s theme. Whether this was the director’s choice or a wardrobe fluke, I don’t know, but since it has so much impact on the plotline, I am assuming that it was deliberate on the director’s part. At the beginning of the episode, Straker is seen in bad-ass black to Henderson’s white, showing their conflict in no uncertain terms. But as the show progresses, we see them both wearing white. Now who’s the bad guy? And is there one in reality? This wardrobe switch leads us slowly, but inexorably, to the final scene, where the audience is made aware of just how similar these two men really are to each other. It reassures us, as well, because there are definite moments in the story where we’re not sure whether either one of them is a good guy!
UFO never won the popular vote for science fiction entertainment when it was first aired. But the thinking man and the artist never forgot the series, because it was so beautifully crafted and executed that it stayed in the mind long after the episodes were over. And it continues to thrive today, because as long as there are those who can appreciate great camera work and incredible characterization, there will always be room for UFO.
-- published in SHADOFILE 17, Summer 2002 issue. Revised April 2005.
UFO suffered the usual problems of any low-budget science fiction series. That small budget, for one; which resulted in set walls that showed their seams and lighting that was never quite up to par. But amazingly, they still managed to make those wonderful models look real, didn’t they?
And the genre was another problem. Let’s face it, science fiction is a pretty wide field, one that includes such diverse talents as Isaac Asimov and George Lucas. So how can you hope to please fans who are expecting anything from illogical robots to evil emperors? UFO episodes often varied from straight action (as in Timelash) to more cerebral, thought-provoking concepts (as in Close Up.) But in its willingness to encompass so many different styles of science fiction, it was difficult for viewers to know what to expect from week to week.
Another problem that the UFO series had was a lack of continuity. The low budget may have been the reason for the lack of staff writers, editors, or even a "UFO bible" that detailed the lives and idiosyncrasies of the characters. Or perhaps the producers thought that the audience wouldn’t notice. It wouldn’t be the first time science fiction fans had been underrated. But whatever the reason, it was irritating for the fans to be confronted in an episode with a teetotaler Straker who suddenly drank. And that was one of the minor discrepancies.
One of the biggest problems that beset the show was that there was no continuous director. Of the meager twenty-six episodes shot for the series, eight different directors were used. That averages to a new director about every three episodes. Can you wonder that there were continuity issues? However, in spite of all the trouble such an assortment of personnel created, for the actors as well as for plotlines, this diversity was also one of UFO’s greatest strengths.
As a lover of film as an art form (and not just for entertainment purposes), I have always been drawn to the man behind the camera. And the question ever present in my mind as I watch anything, be it The Matrix or Forbidden Planet, is this: what is the director trying to show us? And in UFO, we are privileged to see inside the minds of some truly innovative directors. Setting aside the stories themselves for a moment, let’s venture behind the camera for an illuminating tour of some of UFO’s coolest scenes and the directors that brought them to life.
My favorite directorial scene in the UFO saga is in Timelash. Cyril Frankel directed that episode and put a thrillingly Hitchcockian touch to the scene where Commander Straker and Col. Lake are first wandering around the studio lots with everything frozen in time. The shot that catches my eye every time is when they see the workmen loading the large white hand onto the truck. Frankel used a view of that shot from behind Straker looking toward the truck, and although it’s not in the script, he had Straker’s hand clench at his side. It is the only movement in the shot and incredibly powerful in portraying the strained emotion of the scene. No words were needed.
Frankel also really scored well with the opening scene for Timelash, where Straker bursts into SHADO HQ tearing up the place. That insanity ensured the audience that this would be a great episode from start to finish. And it was. It’s a shame that this was Frankel’s only episode with the series. I personally would have liked to see more of his work.
Ron Appleton directed only one episode, as well: Court Martial. This is a favorite among many of the fans of the show, and with good reason. There’s lots of action, suspense, and good triumphing over evil in this one. And it includes a really great shot, where we see Paul Foster on a roller coaster, and suddenly Straker enters the frame. It’s a wonderfully shocking moment before the camera pans out to show them both on a set in front of a running film of a roller coaster ride. And it forewarns us that things (in this episode especially) aren’t always what they seem.
David Lane and Ken Turner each did more episodes than any of the other directors. Let’s look at some of Lane’s cool scenes. In Confetti Check A-OK, he keeps the audience very much in suspense after we learn that Straker may be having an affair by shooting a scene where the commander picks up Nina Barry and drives to her apartment. Even the dialogue supports the idea of an assignation, and he doesn’t give us the truth until a later scene, where we see the other SHADO members sitting around the apartment and realize that this is work, not play. Great tension there.
Another really intriguing shot is in the opening scene of A Question of Priorities, where we can’t be certain that this is a UFO episode, because it looks like the beginning of a murder mystery instead. For those who have only seen UFO on video, some of the surprise is ruined for you, but those of us who remember the show when it was first aired on TV can recall the confusion when that episode began. I remember asking my dad quite anxiously, "Isn’t UFO supposed to be on now?" It is very reminiscent of the Star Trek episode Tomorrow Is Yesterday, where the story begins with an Air Force jet zipping across a Twentieth Century sky and we don’t realize that it’s actually Star Trek until we see the UFO that the pilot has sighted: the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Sub-Smash is another of my favorite episodes to watch, and I believe that is mostly due to David Lane’s directing. My view of the world has always been a bit skewed, so I really enjoyed an episode where the sets were all on a tilt. It gave the story of a submarine sinking a realistic and very claustrophobic feel to watch the characters maneuver around that tilted set.
Ken Turner did nearly as many episodes as Lane. His two greatest shots are in Ordeal and Mindbender. In those scenes, we get the chance to see a director having lots of fun. The wonderful scene in Ordeal is, of course, the party scene that begins in the introductory segment and continues into the first scene after the credits. The camera caught everyone at unusual angles, not showing us a lot of full shots, but focusing more on the moving parts of the gyrating bodies. It really made the audience feel a participant at the party rather than a voyeur looking in.
Another of Turner’s cool scenes is in Mindbender, although it can be argued that all of Mindbender was one cool scene after another. You won’t find me disputing that! However, the most fun to be had on a studio lot was had in the shot where Straker is running around the lots chasing his stunt double (a very young Stuart Damon, believe it or not!) Turner had him running hard, but having a tough time catching up to, the actor dressed like himself (who is only walking); much in the manner of a Monty Python skit. It was priceless! Also of note were the characters that kept cropping up wherever he ran: the monk, the maiden, etc. And of course, that hilarious hand from Timelash!
Although The Long Sleep was never on my list of preferred episodes to watch, it had some interesting directorial touches worthy of note. Jeremy Summers, who directed the episode, used a monochromatic tint for all the flashback scenes. It was very much like The Wizard of Oz, where reality was in black and white, while Oz was in full color. I really enjoyed the artistic, almost nostalgic feel of the sepia tones, and I rank it as one of the best filmed episodes for that evocative touch.
Alan Perry directed five episodes, and his crowning scene was in The Responsibility Seat, where we see Straker getting shot by two assassins. Or do we? It was directing at its most intriguing, and it kept the tension going, because the concern for his personal safety stayed strong with the audience throughout the rest of the episode, even in scenes played out in the quiet of his home.
Finally, one of the fans’ favorite episodes is Conflict, which has several great directorial moments that make it the dynamic episode that it is. It was another of Turner’s episodes and includes some explosive and enlightening dialogue. However, the two very powerful scenes that set this episode apart deal with silence. The first scene is near the beginning, where Straker sits in his office before informing Alec on Moonbase that all lunar flights have been cancelled and Moonbase is on its own. But it is seen in that shot that it is really Straker who is isolated as the director pulls back from a head shot in complete silence, showing the commander brooding alone at his desk while the mural behind him creates the only movement. It comes across the screen very powerfully.
The second scene is where Straker lies on his bed in the dark with only a globe of light illuminating the shot. He is smoking and crushes his cigar out in the ashtray on his chest. We can tell without any words that he’s been there a long time thinking hard about SHADO’s numerous problems instead of sleeping. It is a very potent scene, both for showing the complex personality of the commander and the loneliness of his command. I don’t think any of the other directors came as close to showing the audience Straker’s true character as well as Turner did in that episode.
There is also a small wardrobe touch to be seen in Conflict that adds to the story’s theme. Whether this was the director’s choice or a wardrobe fluke, I don’t know, but since it has so much impact on the plotline, I am assuming that it was deliberate on the director’s part. At the beginning of the episode, Straker is seen in bad-ass black to Henderson’s white, showing their conflict in no uncertain terms. But as the show progresses, we see them both wearing white. Now who’s the bad guy? And is there one in reality? This wardrobe switch leads us slowly, but inexorably, to the final scene, where the audience is made aware of just how similar these two men really are to each other. It reassures us, as well, because there are definite moments in the story where we’re not sure whether either one of them is a good guy!
UFO never won the popular vote for science fiction entertainment when it was first aired. But the thinking man and the artist never forgot the series, because it was so beautifully crafted and executed that it stayed in the mind long after the episodes were over. And it continues to thrive today, because as long as there are those who can appreciate great camera work and incredible characterization, there will always be room for UFO.
-- published in SHADOFILE 17, Summer 2002 issue. Revised April 2005.