Babylon 5 isn't the only superb and thought-provoking SF series on
British TV at the moment!
I just watched "U.F.O." on BBC2!
Admittedly, the sort of thoughts it provokes are along the lines of "Why are
those (female) Interceptor controllers on the Moonbase wearing spangly
jumpsuits and purple wigs?" or "Fishnet Jerseys as part of a military
uniform?", but it's still a welcome blast from the past- a past when
Earth
was defended from organ-thieving alien blighters by British character
actors with mutton chop sideburns and groovy Fab Gear, ably assisted by the
occasional inexpensive American or Eh Mehn Dooink Ehn Eggzent!
Brilliant!
Speaking of U.F.O., I have most of the series available on 3/4"
tape!! (From a friend who works for a Warner Bros. affiliate..) GREAT stuff!!
Oh god I feel old. I remember the first time it was on. Is the whole series
supoosed to be set in 1980? I just loved that submarine with the
interceptor on the front!!! Although I haven't played SGII yet I rekon a
scenario based on hunting our organ thieving friends through the woods
and gravel pits of England would be cool.
----------
From: FTGZG-L[SMTP:FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk]
Sent: 16 September 1996 19:06
To: FTGZG-L
Subject: TV SF's glorious past ;-)
Subject: TV SF's glorious past ;-)
Babylon 5 isn't the only superb and thought-provoking SF series on
British TV at the moment!
I just watched "U.F.O." on BBC2!
Admittedly, the sort of thoughts it provokes are along the lines of "Why
are those (female) Interceptor controllers on the Moonbase wearing spangly
jumpsuits and purple wigs?" or "Fishnet Jerseys as part of a military
uniform?", but it's still a welcome blast from the past- a past when
Earth
was defended from organ-thieving alien blighters by British character
actors with mutton chop sideburns and groovy Fab Gear, ably assisted by the
occasional inexpensive American or Eh Mehn Dooink Ehn Eggzent!
Brilliant!
> On 17 Sep 96 at 9:05, Simon Campbell-Smith wrote:
> Oh god I feel old. I remember the first time it was on. Is the whole
> series supoosed to be set in 1980? I just loved that submarine with
> and gravel pits of England would be cool.
Yup. odd, really. It was made in 1975, and you wouldn't think 'five years from
now' was very Scifi. Equally odd that everything in it (with the possible
excpetion of the submersible & jet fighter) was actually feasible in 1980. But
why did those interceptors have one missile? And why did they have wings, for
that matter? Brilliant (i.e. crap but good) TV though..
I had one of those interceptor toys with the spring loaded missile when I was
about 6. Now how old do you feel?
<cough> to keep it vaguely relevant, how about SGII rules for the craft, and
FT rules about missiles which detonate ahead of a vehicle which then flies
into the explosion?
TTFN
Jon
If I remember the AFV it had a single missile and some kind of auto cannon.
The Years are having a toll on my grey matter. I think I will go
to lycos and see what I can find on Gerry Anderson and UFO.
A friend of mine this weekend discovered the joys of FT at the Reading
convention. He has brought himself a fleet (NSL - well he can't be
perfect) he noted the simarlarity between NAC and Space 1999 Eagles. Of
course the scale is different and the similarity is in the shape of the
forward section. I always felt they had more to do with Star Trek type
ships, but the figure designer has taken his inspiration for the FT ships from
many sources and his own imagination. One can debate all day long
which design matches which genre of sci fi.
The Jester
"So hear I am once more in the playground of the broken heart"
Script for a Jesters Tear - Marillion 1983
----------
From: FTGZG-L[SMTP:FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk]
Sent: 17 September 1996 11:36
To: FTGZG-L
Subject: RE: TV SF's glorious past ;-)
> On 17 Sep 96 at 9:05, Simon Campbell-Smith wrote:
> Oh god I feel old. I remember the first time it was on. Is the whole
> interceptor on the front!!! Although I haven't played SGII yet I rekon
a
> scenario based on hunting our organ thieving friends through the woods
> and gravel pits of England would be cool.
Yup. odd, really. It was made in 1975, and you wouldn't think 'five years from
now' was very Scifi. Equally odd that everything in it (with the possible
excpetion of the submersible & jet fighter) was actually feasible in 1980. But
why did those interceptors have one missile? And why did they have wings, for
that matter? Brilliant (i.e. crap but good) TV though..
I had one of those interceptor toys with the spring loaded missile when I was
about 6. Now how old do you feel?
<cough> to keep it vaguely relevant, how about SGII rules for the craft, and
FT rules about missiles which detonate ahead of a vehicle which then flies
into the explosion?
TTFN
Jon
> At 11:36 AM 9/17/96 +0000, you wrote:
I had the SHADO2 ground vehicle as a toy. (SHADO = Supreme Headquarters Alien
Defense Organization). Great toy. The missile launcher flipped up on the back
of the vehicle. My friend had the interceptor.
The show was pre-1975, though. I think it was 1970 to 73 era. I remember
watching it on its first run. I was being "babysat" by my aunt while my
parents were out bowling. In 1975 I was in grade 8 and a little old to be
sleeping at my aunts until my parents picked me up. :-) More likely
1970 when I would have been in grade 3.
> The show was pre-1975, though. I think it was 1970 to 73 era. I
Geez, in 1974 I was just learning the wonders of potty training and why Big
Bird was so cool (Still is!!). Now I don't feel so old ;-). Wish I was
sometimes though with all these cool shows I missed.
> Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 22:43:34 -0400
...
> I had the SHADO2 ground vehicle as a toy. (SHADO = Supreme
Dinky made 'em. Right?
> The show was pre-1975, though. I think it was 1970 to 73 era. I
Or even before that. I have a feeling, basd on the way-hip clothing and
just general feel of UFO that it was actually '69-70 or so. Besides, the
depths of the 70s jumpsuit flares and beiges were from the mid-70s
Space: 1999 (if ever there was some dim SF...). Thet showed how much further
down the barrel Anderson had gone.
> Absolutely Barking Stars wrote:
How about "the Green Hornet's "Black Beauty""- Limo with rocket launcher
and MGs, "recce satellite" (a sort of flying top) in the boot, and the Hornet
himself to lean out the window with a gun! And not a microchip in sight!
(Various Captain Scarlet stuff too- especially the Angels)
Rob
> On 17 Sep 96 at 22:19, johnjmedway wrote:
> Or even before that. I have a feeling, basd on the way-hip clothing
BONG! Wrong I'm afraid. According to my references, UFO was shot between 1973
and 1975, actually at the studio that portrayed the SHADO base (now there's an
economy for you...). Space 1999 began as a plotline for the third series of
UFO which they never made, and the plot was developed later into a whole
separate show.
Century 21 fashions was actually a cover name for Sylvia Anderson's clothes
designs. Just shows you, nepotism is not always a good thing.
TTFN
Jon
> > I had one of those interceptor toys with the spring loaded missile
I can't remember the show very well, but I did have a model of the alien ship
(Interceptor?) -- in way-cool glow-in-the-dark plastic! <g>
> Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 10:24:18 +0000
Actually, the
> sub-launched fighter is the most feasible piece of equipment of the
Sub-launched aircraft have been launched by catapult or RATO
while the boat was on the surface.
> The short, cynical answer to the great one-missile question, which
> more control over the budget, and you can _really_ appreciate the
Well, there is that... <g>
> Not to mention Ayshea...
?
> Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 10:24:18 +0000
Actually, the
> sub-launched fighter is the most feasible piece of equipment of the
The 1-missile Interceptors are quite reasonable- think of the
assorted '40s-'50s-'60s manned interceptors with either a single salvo
of
rockets or a small number of big missiles- also remember that the SHADO
is
pushing technological limits to try and whack the occasional UFO- the
Interceptors are closer to F89 Scorpions than to F15s!
Aargh! That looks as if I'm taking it seriously! I do apologise!
Right then, U.F.O. in FT/MT...
> At 10:19 PM 9/17/96 CDT, John wrote:
Right. Just to keep the thread on topic :-) I wonder if the old SHADO2
vehicle would make a good Stargrunt vehicle. What was the scale? 20mm, 15mm?
> Or even before that. I have a feeling, basd on the way-hip clothing and
Yeah, I think you're right.
> At 08:28 PM 9/18/96 -0700, you wrote:
I had those, too!
In message <199609181604.RAA29888@mail.nerc-oxford.ac.uk >
> rkp@mail.nerc-oxford.ac.uk (Robin Paul) writes:
For those on this nostalgia trip there was a big article in one of the glossy
wargames mags... IIRC Minature Wargame... that dealt in some detail with a UFO
themed participation game (used as an example of how to sucessfully put on
such a game). The article was by John Treadaway I'm pretty sure. He covered
how he aquired the models for it in some detail. The game covered three
tables, I beleive, with UFOs making there way from moonbase and interceptors
past Skydiver and eventually getting polished off by mobiles.
Something like that.
So, who among the UK contingent gets Bravo Channel for such cult
TV...?
> Absolutely Barking Stars wrote:
> I had one of those interceptor toys with the spring loaded missile
Hmmm. I tended more towards the Lady Penelope's Pink Rolls-Royce with
the missile firing through the grill, myself. Also the James Bond
Aston-Martin with the ejection-seat, tyre-slashers, bulletproof
> kx.henderson@qut.edu.au wrote:
> Geez, in 1974 I was just learning the wonders of potty training and
...and I can remember as a nipper putting on the TV, and waiting the 3 minutes
for it to warm up, so as to watch this (to use the modern expression) "Way
Cool" new show. Called Dr Who. Which got postponed because some bloke called
Kennedy got himself shot, and that was all the BBC was showing that day...
Torchy the Battery Boy? Supercar ( a goodie that one, I had a model of
it).
Who can forget "Stand by for ACTION" before Stringray (same voice that did the
countdown in Thunderbirds). Joe-90 was mediocre IMHO. But Captain
Scarlet was great.
Obligatory On-topic note:
What's the FT background on the Pan-Pacific Union?
---------------------- <> <> How doth the little Crocodile
> On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Allan Goodall wrote:
I remember as a small child (I'm 30 now) sneaking in to watch U.F.O. because
my parents wouldn't let me watch it. They thought it was too scary and
violent. Little did they know then what I would watch
SciFi-wise growing up and today.
> On Thu, 19 Sep 1996, Kyle Klingler wrote:
I forgot to mention that later on every time I tried to talk to people about
the program, nobody knew what I was talking about. It wasn't until last year I
found the plots in one of the new groups. Finally, I had validation of a
childhood memory!
> I remember as a small child (I'm 30 now) sneaking in to watch U.F.O.
> Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 00:18:55 -0400 (EDT)
...
> I forgot to mention that later on every time I tried to talk to
They wanted to forget about it, were repressing horrible memories, and all
that.
Was it even on for more than one year? The short-time ones are easy to
forget.
Date sent: 20-SEP-1996 09:03:00
> So, who among the UK contingent gets Bravo Channel for such cult
That would be me, except it's just been replaced by Thunderbirds
(
With Captain Scarlet and Joe 90 on Saturday and Blakes-7 and
Dr-Who on Sunday. And with Battlestar Galactica and Robotech on
the Sci-Fi Channel and DS-9 on Sky, I'm a happy man. 8-)
)