UFO Volume 1 DVD Collector’s Edition boxset
01/05/2002 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
DVD: Carlton: 37115 02413. Time: 620 minutes spread across 4 DVD disks. Price: £44.99. Resisting temptation from one of my favourite
TV series isn’t something I like doing. Granted, with the exception
of two episodes that were never originally released on video, I already
have the series on video, so why go after a DVD boxset?
 The
last time I reviewed a DVD, I commented that the selling point has
to be the add-ons as much as anything if you already have it on
video. For the Gerry Anderson series ‘UFO’, we have some a 45 minute
commentary by Anderson, deleted scenes, some unused script pages,
background info about SHADO and Straker and production photos amongst
the 13 episodes.
In the snazzy packaging, there is also a behind the scenes booklet
and 5 postcards. Plus it’s cheaper by £16 as a boxset than by buying
each DVD separately.
Certainly, one can’t fault the presentation of all these goodies.
It’s unfortunate that the majority of it is on the first DVD. There
is an apology with the deleted scenes footage in not having a soundtrack
for all of it.
Other than insight as to its removal having more to do with episode
length, it couldn’t really be regarded as a significant loss. They
are more like curios of the past than anything. In some respects,
so are the photos. They give an insight into behind the scenes but
I doubt at the time that anyone thought they’d ever be given a viewing
30 years later or more would have been taken.
The Anderson commentary is over scenes from the first episode
‘Identified’. Much of the information is pretty much what I’ve read
over the years in various interviews. Then again, I’m a fan of the
show. I remember these things. Others like me are bound to find
a similar experience. At least this way, there is a more permanent
record that can be kept.
Of the physical goodies, the postcards aren’t your normal run
of the mill shots. There’s a great one of Gabrielle Drake as Gay
Ellis, a downed UFO using its ray beam, George Sewell as Alec Freeman,
Foster’s silver car and an unidentified Interceptor pilot. I doubt
if anyone buying this set will be posting them off to anyone but
does raise some speculation as to what’s in store with Volume 2.
It would be nice to see more of the hardware like Skydiver, Mobiles
or Moon Interceptors.
As I commented above, there’s a lot of attention to detail here.
About the only real error is on the back of the box where guest
actress Sonia Fox is mentioned twice playing the same role which
is a bit careless. If you’re a fan of the TV series, you’ll no doubt
be adding this set to your collection long before you even own a
DVD player.
What about the episodes? Do you even know what I’ve been ranting
on about for the past few paragraphs? OK, in chronological order,
we have the first 13 episodes of the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson production
‘UFO’. Set in 1980 - it seemed a long time away when it was filmed
in the early 70s, aliens have been invading Earth for decades kidnapping
people for their organs.
The series concentrates on a secret covert organisation, SHADO,
and their efforts to bloody the aliens’ noses sufficiently so they
don’t come back. To these ends, this military organisation has a
Moonbase defence and a jet-fighter carrying submarine fleet ready
to take on all-comers.
The stories centre very much on the problems of dealing with all
of this plus a level of human related problems that indicates nothing
is ever a bed of roses. The effects are on par with the Andersons’
early puppet shows which is hardly surprising as the incredible
Derek Meddings supervised them all. The Anderson shows were the
template for UK special effects shows back in the 60s-70s and even
the likes of Kubrick and other film directors poached these people
for their own work.
Unlike other series from this time, ‘UFO’ has never truly dated.
It’s version of 1980ish never came to pass. Big computers still
had flashing lights. Gull-wing doored cars never took off simply
because there isn’t enough room to park with enough space to open
them in our reality. Our space programme never got as far as having
regular missions on the Moon. Round-necked collared suits never
became that fashionable.
Outside of the UFOs coming to Earth, this is a representation of
Earth like it was imagined we were heading for until someone realised
the expense of it all. The one thing I noticed recently that the
handset telephones didn’t have any wire connecting them, Something
we might take for granted now wasn’t backwhen. As there were so
few connections to anything else, ‘UFO’ doesn’t look that out of
date as long as you don’t want to remember what decade it was supposed
to represent.
If you love vintage TV shows, then you’ll be adding this one to
your list. I’m looking forward to Volume 2 with the hope that we
see more of the cast, especially the Moonbase gals and what they
looked like without those purple anti-static wigs. [Before anyone
says anything, yes, I do know we saw Dolores Mantez and Gabrielle
Drake without them in the series, but not the others.]
check out websites: www.ufo-dvd.com
and www.carltonvisual.com
GF Willmetts
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