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UFO Volume 1 DVD Collector’s Edition boxset
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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OTHER REVIEWS - May 2002
NEW NOVELS Bewitched
Forever by Herbie J. Pilato The
Last Underclass by Dean Warren Perceptualistics:
Art By Jael. Time
Tunnel by Murray Leinster The
Shadow Sorceress by L.E. Modestitt Effendi:
The First Second by Jon Courtney Grimwood The
Tomorrow People Volume 2: The Medusa Strain Star
Wars: Attack of the Clones - Visual Dictionary Star
Wars: Attack of the Clones - Incredible Cross-Sections
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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.
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