152 U.F.O.

First  watched : Uncertain

U.F.O.  was  Gerry  and  Sylvia  Anderson's  first  fully  live  action  drama  series. It  concerned  an organisation  called  SHADO  operating  from  a  base  disguised  as a  film  studio ( Pinewood  of  course )  and  a  watching  outpost  on  the  moon in  the  1980s. Its  purpose  was  to  protect  earth  from  alien  attack. The  aliens  themselves  had  no  physical  form  and  advanced  their  aims  from  abducting  and /or  controlling  human  hosts. All  this  sounds  very  Captain  Scarlet  and  similar  cost  considerations  affected  the  series.

However  having  human  actors  rather  than  marionettes  did  allow  for  more  interesting human  drama  to  compensate  for  the  limited  special  effects. Ed Bishop  played  the  scowling  commander  Straker  while  Gabrielle  Drake  provided  some  eye  candy  in  a  purple  wig and  skin  tight  costumes. The  series  had  a  dark  adult  tone ; the  day  would  often  be  saved  with  grave  consequences  for  some  of  those  involved . Because  of  this  there  was  some  confusion over when  to  schedule  it; different  ITV  companies  either put it in  the 17.20 pm  older  children's slot  or   the  weekend  morning  slot  often  allocated  to  other  Anderson  series.

26  episodes  were  made  between  1970  and  1971. A  second  series  was  planned  and  pre-production  work  well  advanced  when  disappointing  viewing  figures  in  America  caused  its  cancellation.  Many  of  the  ideas  for  the  new  series  were  recycled  and  used  in  the  subsequent  Space  1999.