UFO: The Vault

1. My opinion

This section of the book is meant to cast my own personal views and interest for the series. As there is too much to cover in simply this one chapter, this book will see my own views and interest throughout almost every part, but more explicitly in this part. Bearing in mind, this is just my opinion, and if your's differ that's perfectly fine.

UFO! Absolute perfection. My favourite Gerry Anderson series after Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. And my fourth favourite series after the aforementioned, and of course Doctor Who. The first live-action series of Gerry Anderson and the team of Century 21 following the immense success with the SUPERMARIONATION puppet shows. My first outing of UFO was actually on ITV4, from when it must have been around 2009, and I remember channel-hopping and watched a bit of it. The episode must have been either The Cat With Ten Lives or The Long Sleep, at the time of course I had no idea it was made from the genius behind my second favourite series Thunderbirds.

The first time I properly did watch the show was back on 6th February 2017 (yeah, I even remember the day I first watched it!) when I got the Australian DVD set on Amazon for cheap. At the time we didn't have a Blu Ray player for the recent Blu Ray only a few months earlier, neither was there a complete series on DVD yet (sort of?). So yeah, I watched Identified and was very intrigued by the show. I was engaged right from the start. At the time I had only seen two other Gerry Anderson shows; Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, as well as Thunderbirds Are Go!. Watching the episode in the ITC Recommended broadcast order, each episode I watched in the evening I thoroughly enjoyed and fell in love with the series just like the other Anderson shows. Each episode, as it should, I was excited to watch, waiting all day to see the next episode of UFO. The writing was so damn good! The acting, the music, the sets, the visuals, as always with Anderson's shows. It's a shame that not many really have watched these shows in the 2020's generation as much as the shows deserve.

UFO defiantly will always have a special place in my heart. I have had so many happy memories of watching those episodes. Favourite episodes of the first 17 I watched include ESP, The Responsibility Seat, Court Martial, Sub-Smash, Kill Straker! and A Question Of Priorities. After the 17th episode, the series did see several radical changes to the show's line up, especially the cast with lots disappearing as well as the line-up of writers and directors. To me, the last nine episodes are some of the best TV ever made, some of which are acknowledged classics of sci-fi TV, even though the show did significantly develop over the course of the 26 episodes and I find it interesting to compare the first episodes like Identified and see what it progressed to by The Long Sleep. Disappointed when I finished it, I immediately re-watched the series before re-watching it again about a year later, as well as the Summer after my GCSEs. And now, for the show's 50th anniversary.

Sure, I say to myself the show was from 1970, but for 1970 I find it hard to almost believe due to its superb visuals. And yeah, I could be here all day saying how UFO is not just good, but great. I would say generally just everything is great. It's almost just so hard to say why because that 17-year-old fanboy can't put his nerdiness and inner fan into words, just like anything I imagine. Just forgive the purple wigs - which was done simply as part of Century 21 Fashion's costume for the Moonbase girls. I read somewhere (no idea where it was) that it was done to create electrostatic on their heads to prevent headaches from the computers. My favourite episodes of the series as a whole include The Long Sleep, Mindbender, The Cat With Ten Lives, Reflections In The Water and Timelash. Classic after classic after classic. However, for me, my all-time favourite episode would be Tony Barwick's epic The Psycobombs - didn't take my eyes off the screen!

UFO is exciting. UFO is thrilling. UFO is above all - fun. UFO is a timeless, magical show that will forever thrill and excite audiences for many more years to come for those lucky enough to experience such a wonderful show that is loved by dozens worldwide. And its exceedingly high quality successfully meets CaptainThunderWho's insane standards of perfection. Now, how did it all start...

Century 21 Television/ITC

Produced: 1969-1970

First UK broadcast: 16th September 1970

26 episodes x 50 minutes

Executive Producer: Gerry Anderson

Producer: Reg Hill

Production Supervisor: Norman Foster

Century 21 Fashions by Sylvia Anderson

Director of Photography: Brendan J. Stafford BSC

Art Director: Bob Bell

Script Editor: Tony Barwick

Special Effects Supervisor: Derek Meddings

Senior Special Effects Director: Jim Elliott

Special Effects Directors: Bill Camp, Shaun Whittacker-Cook and Derek Meddings

Music Composed and Directed by Barry Gray

Series Cinematography by Brendan J Stafford

Series filming editing by Len Walter, Len Doig, Mike Campbell, Alan Killick and Harry MacDonald

Series makeup; Basil Newall, Alice Holmes, Cliff Sharpe, Henry Montsash, Alex Garfath, Stephanie Kaye and R.L Alexander

Production Manager; Norman Foster and Roger Connolly

2nd Second Unit Manager/Assistant director; Frank Hollands, Leo Eaton, Ron Appleton, Gino Marotta and Ken Baker

Art Department; Don Fagan, Fred Gunning, Keith Wilson, Harry Solomons and Bill MacIlraith

Sound Department; John Peverill, Peter Pennell, Sash Fisher, Ken Barker, J.B. Smith, Ken Rawkins, John Streeter, Ted Karnon, Jim Hopkins and Brian Hickin

Special effects; Derek Meddings, Harry Oaks, Mike Trim, Ken Holt, Jimmy Elliott, Bill Camp, Mike Rainer, Alan Perry, Alan Berry, Ian Wingrove, Frank Hollands and Shaun Whittacker-Cook

Special Visual effects; Derek Meddings, Jimmy Elliott, Mike Rainer, Mike Trim, Bill Camp, Frank Hollands, Harry Oakes and Shaun Whittacker-Cook

Series Stunts; Jack Silk, Gerry Crampton and Roy Vincente

Series Cameramen and Electrical Department; Derek Black, Alan McDonald, Robin McDonald, Jack Lowin, John May, Jack Lowin, Steve Britles, Brendan J Stafford

Costume and Wardrobe; Kim Martin, Iris Richens and Jean Fairlie

Editorial Department; Lee Doig and Desmond Saunders

Location Manager; Ray Frift

Music; Barry Gray, George Randall, Mike Campbell, Bob Auger, John Richards and Keith Grant

Continuity; Doreen Soan