# I Watched Episode 1 Of "UFO" last night. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738 "2011-06-24T18:11:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/1 "2011-06-24T18:11:01Z")
Not too shabby. Rather darker than I remembered, in a good way. I loved this show as a teen, now I have the box set and I plan on watching the rest of the episodes tonight and this weekend. One of the best theme songs ever! If only 1980 had really been that way. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/2 "2011-06-24T20:11:01Z")
I rewatched all the “UFO” episodes a few years ago. The visuals are so fun, especially the purple haired moon vixens! You can really see the influence from Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbirds” show. ---
**Author:** ![Silvio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Silvio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvio)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/3 "2011-06-24T20:12:46Z")
I loved this show and have the box set as well. It is an underrated show that was perhaps twenty years ahead of its time. There is an interesting mix of a far darker, murkier, more ambiguous tone than other shows of its era, and a snazzy vision of the 80s as imagined through the lense of early seventies swinger culture. Aside from some interesting costuming choices and the fact that people smoke like chimneys on moonbases and submarines, much of it holds up very well. I love the moon intercepters that sneak out of craters, the moon craft that look like giant wasps and the whole plane out of the submarine routine, even if it is endlessly recycled footage. The overall feel predated the X-Files by decades. We have enigmatic aliens with geniuinely alien motivations. As a kid, I thought it was terrifying, and even today it is an unsettling viewing experience. The studio thought it was too much, and reconfigured it after one year as the far more family friendly and effects driven Space 1999. This is a great show and I am happy that it was rescued from the dust bin by this DVD set. It would be great for a gritty, Battlestar Galactica style reimaging. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/4 "2011-06-24T20:15:07Z")
> [@Silvio](#): > > It would be great for a gritty, Battlestar Galactica style reimaging. Oh, yes please! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/5 "2011-06-24T20:40:55Z")
Loved this show. Agree with pretty much everything that’s been said. Good stories and writing. I think you could leave it futuristic, and replace the aliens with other bad guys, and it would still have been a good program. One possible disagreement, though: > [@Silvio](#): > > We have enigmatic aliens with geniuinely alien motivations. The aliens were enigmatic, but I think their motivations were understandable. While we never got it straight from the aliens, in one ep, I think Commander Straker opines that “maybe they’re from a planet that has used up its own resources, and are looking to ours for a new home.” I assumed that that was an expository device by the writer(s). ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/6 "2011-06-24T20:46:52Z")
But later it was speculated that maybe the aliens “had no bodies”. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/7 "2011-06-25T00:34:19Z")
> [@Silvio](#): > > The studio thought it was too much, and reconfigured it after one year as the far more family friendly and effects driven Space 1999. That is news to me. I watched it as a preteen, found it rather unsettling. I liked the one where the alien befriends a human astronaut. If it had stayed on the air longer it could have gone in some interesting directions. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/8 "2011-06-28T19:38:21Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Loved this show. Agree with pretty much everything that’s been said. Good stories and writing. I think you could leave it futuristic, and replace the aliens with other bad guys, and it would still have been a good program. One possible disagreement, though: > The aliens were enigmatic, but I think their motivations were understandable. While we never got it straight from the aliens, in one ep, I think Commander Straker opines that “maybe they’re from a planet that has used up its own resources, and are looking to ours for a new home.” I assumed that that was an expository device by the writer(s). I thought they had an episode where it turns out the aliens are using abducted humans for organ transplants or something like that. Or am I confusing it with a different show? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/9 "2011-06-28T19:42:41Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I have the box set > [@Silvio](#): > > I loved this show and have the box set as well. I also have the boxed set. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/10 "2011-06-28T19:48:56Z")
Damned good show. I question only one element of the concept, why would the Earth’s government need to keep the invasions a secret? But once that hurdle is ignored, smashing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/11 "2011-06-28T19:52:52Z")
Why do governments keep anything secret? One reason would be to avoid panic. Another is that the existence of aliens might cause uproars among religious communities. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/12 "2011-06-28T19:59:18Z")
Oh I get that. I just wonder _could_ the government keep that a secret. I think not. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/13 "2011-06-28T20:01:06Z")
It’s been a few years since i watched it, but wasn’t that part of the plot? The government trying to keep the public from knowing? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/14 "2011-06-28T20:02:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s been a few years since i watched it, but wasn’t that part of the plot? The government trying to keep the public from knowing? Yes, with amnesia spray, memory wipes, that sort of thing. way before _Men In Black_ poked fun at that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/15 "2011-06-28T20:06:04Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > I thought they had an episode where it turns out the aliens are using abducted humans for organ transplants or something like that. Or am I confusing it with a different show? Nope. Same show. And in another ep, the (possibly non-corporeal) aliens have taken over the body of a cat. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/16 "2011-06-28T21:33:38Z")
A great series with great concepts and great visuals. Will have to look for the boxed set. I especially liked the episode where they send a camera to follow a UFO to its home planet, but because the magnification software has failed, can make no sense of the resulting images (they have no idea of the scale). This was illustrated by a picture of a curved surface resembling part of a planet, but which turned out to be the top part of a Moon vixen’s upraised thigh, taken to demonstrate to Commander Straker his mistake in believing this to be a minor problem. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/17 "2011-06-29T12:11:38Z")
I can’t wait for that one! I loves me some moon-maids. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/18 "2011-06-29T12:58:09Z")
You are aware that there is a movie in the works? Or was–production started earlier in the year, but no updates in a while. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/19 "2011-06-29T12:59:33Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > You are aware that there is a movie in the works? Or was–production started earlier in the year, but no updates in a while. I was not, cool. They better, by God, use the same theme song. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738/20 "2011-06-29T13:00:57Z")
> [@Encinitas](#): > > I rewatched all the “UFO” episodes a few years ago. The visuals are so fun, especially the purple haired moon vixens! You can really see the influence from Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbirds” show. You are aware that UFO was also a Gerry Anderson show. I am so jonesing for the UFO movie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-episode-1-of-ufo-last-night/586738.md?page=2)