Rating: 
Summary: Groovy future
Review: I remember how impressive this was when I was 9 years old (1980 seemed to be a million years away). Now, Anderson's vision of the near-future is a little wide of the mark but this series is still well worth watching, even as a testament to the late 60's when it was filmed. Oh, and Ed Bishop as Straker is one of the finest unsung performances of the decade
Rating:
Summary: Blast from the Past
Review: I remember loving UFO in all its cheeky, kitsch glory when it first came out. Lightyears beyond FIREBALL XL-5 and THUNDERBIRDS yet keeping their sense of gosh-wow Popular Science adventure. And you can still enjoy them today.Not to say there aren't troubling things afoot. Oh, I can dig the swinging London soundtrack. I can dig the torpedo bras and the furry pink minis. I can even dig the sideburns and ridiculous combovers. (Not yet sure why the Moon Babes have to wear purple wigs and heavy blue eye makeup while on duty, though... or what purpose the unisex peek-a-boo fishnet shirts serve...) But what's to make of the commander of an ultra-secret planetary defense system enjoying a computerized whisky bar right in his office? What about the brilliant strategy of shooting at an alien while your commanding office sneaks up behind him -- and right into your firing path? What about a service which can build an orbiting supercomputer capable of watching over the solar system but leaves officers to solve advanced mathematical problems with a slide rule? For that matter, what makes Straker think he can speak English while interrogating an alien who comes from billions of lightyears away? Why does all the technology seem so pre-Cold War, consisting mainly of radar screens in ground control and gunners who must rely on hand-eye coordination to shoot, and often miss, targets? There are some mighty strange lapses of imagination on hand here... Most dated -- and troubling -- of all are the sexual politics of the series: absolutely every (paunchy, middle-aged) man is a blatant pig, and absolutely every woman eagerly enjoys their leering advances. Some might put this down to the times, but I put it down to the pyschosexual dynamics of Gerry & Sylvia Anderson. Uh-oh. And yet, UFO manages to maintain a true, serious and heartfelt love of the genre -- it's made by real sci-fi fans. Look at the lovingly detailed miniature work. Look at the attempts to add a real sense of mystery and awe by the almost silent closing credits (something they made awesome use of in the opening of CONTACT). The sheer thrill of it all is contagious, and that's what makes UFO so much fun, because of and in spite of its flaws. I love it, purple wigs and all.
Rating:
Summary: Back To The Past
Review: I remember watching UFO when it came out in 1970. To a 9 year old into sc-fi it was a show worth watching and I looked foward to watching it every week. But alas as with many shows it went off after one season. UFO, took place in the 1980's and dealt with a secret agency that battled aliens from another planet from taking over the earth (or at least harvesting humans to keep their race alive). The 2 set DVD collection brings all 26 episodes back and brings the viewer back to the past to see how the late 60's producers saw the future.
The 2 set DVD collection may not be perfect for everyone who dosen't remember the show when it was on in 1970 but the action (and I must admit campy) look of it at times will thrill those who like sci-fi made in the late 60's.
Rating:
Summary: Sixties Gold
Review: I saw my first episodes of UFO when I went home from college one summer to find my parents glued to the set. I couldn't believe I hadn't heard a word about such a great series- the best I'd seen since Classic Trek!
Unlike most (all BBC) British series, this Gerry Anderson production had fantastic special effects and sets that still hold up very well today, although some are dated. It is a very believable alternate universe. As always, the strength of the series is in its character development. The pressure cooker-like stress on Cmdr Straker is enough to hook you- you keep expecting him to melt down or explode!
Unfortunately, my favorite episode ("Kill Straker!") was not on this set, so I am eagerly awaiting Set Two.
The four discs had beautiful portraits of the major characters, although the plastic package might have been better designed,
and a booklet would have been nice. The vivid color and picture quality was fantastic!
I'll never understand why this series was shelved to make "Space:1999" - one of the all-time turkeys of SF. (You can't tell me THAT commander wouldn't have been spaced out the airlock the 2nd time- if not the 1st time- he got someone killed for no reason). Straker got some people killed, but he always had a good reason, and he put himself on the line too (you REALLY have to see "Kill Straker!")
Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic DVD film transfers
Review: I saw this series when I was about 10 years old and have always enjoyed it. Even today, it has a flair that you don't see anymore. I am extremely impressed by the DVD transfer from film. About the best I have seen. Extremely sharp, and bright colors. Amazing clarity. Its worth it just to see the series so clearly. A must buy. You get 13 episodes in "living color". Oh and the purple wigs that the girls wear on moonbase absolutely shimmer. I did notice a quality issue between some of the episodes and I would appreciate it if anyone else noticed. Some episodes were much sharper than others. For example, THE DALOTEK AFFAIR AND A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES WERE SUPER SHARP. While some of the other episodes such as COMPUTER AFFAIR had some ghosting that took away from the sharpness. I cannot understand why there would be some really sharp and some not so sharp. Anyone?
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes the older shows are the best.
Review: I use to watch this show when I was a kid, and was quite suprised that it was taken off the air. This show had a lot of insight, even while some of the plots were way out, some of the other shows were right down perfect for the time period. It showed the first car-phone in Straker's car (Remember this was done in the 70's) And even some of the cars designs were depicting future developments. I sometimes use the background elements of this show to influence my novels. (See Battlecruiser: Prototype on Amazon.) and I hoped that they would bring the show back on (Almost happened in 1996). You can visit the UFO website which shows artwork and scripts from the actual show. In the meantime, I look forward to getting set 1 and set 2 as a must have for any DVD collection. (PS-- I already have the show on video, but I would replace those immediately with a DVD... it's that good!!!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Panic, Alec!
Review: I watched this show as a kid in England - they were fantastic then and I caught every re-run. The follow-up show, Space 1999, got a lot more publicity and has much more name recognition today - most Americans that I know have never seen UFO, which is a shame, because it blows Space 1999 away completely. The DVD set is well worth the asking price. As other reviewers have stated, the packaging is awful, but the picture quality is incredible - I also noticed, for the first time, wires suspending the models. Here's something you may have missed in Identified (the first episode). At the beginning, as the Rolls carrying Straker and henderson pulls away from the plane at the airport, pause the picture, then frame-advance slowly. As the car passes directly in front of the camera, you can see the camera, cameraman and clapboard reflected in the Rolls windows!
Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get any better than this!
Review: If you look up "cool" in the dictionary, you will find a cast photo from Gerry Anderson's 1969-1970 cult classic TV series "UFO." It's too bad this series lasted only one season. It's an unusual mix of American and British ideas, something that doesn't happen much in British or American TV. At first I thought the series (especially the pilot episode) was like watching Austin Powers played straight, but it soon became evident that there was much more to the series than that. Sure, it has the Sixties look with clothes and decor and cool cars, but the overall storyline contains depth. And as it progresses, the stories become darker and more multi-layered. Set 2, which contains the last 13 episodes, deals with more kidnappings and multilations by the aliens who are out to harvest the organs of earthlings, but all this just proves the point of how important SHADO was (is?) to the protection of planet Earth and to the human race. So buy Set 1 and give yourself some time to get into the characters and it won't take long before you find yourself on a roller coaster ride enjoying some first class sci-fi adventures. I have a feeling that by the time you get to episode 13 in Set 1, you will have to have Set 2 of "UFO" in your collection so you can see the whole ball of wax. Long live Commander Straker (Ed Bishop), sci-fi guru Gerry Anderson and all the other talented people who brought "UFO" to life in the distant future of... 1980. Yep, you heard right, 1980!
Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get any better than this!
Review: If you look up "cool" in the dictionary, you will find a cast photo from Gerry Anderson's 1969-1970 cult classic TV series "UFO." It's too bad this series lasted only one season. It's an unusual mix of American and British ideas, something that doesn't happen much in British or American TV. At first I thought the series (especially the pilot episode) was like watching Austin Powers played straight, but it soon became evident that there was much more to the series than that. Sure, it has the Sixties look with clothes and decor and cool cars, but the overall storyline contains depth. And as it progresses, the stories become darker and more multi-layered. Set 2, which contains the last 13 episodes, deals with more kidnappings and multilations by the aliens who are out to harvest the organs of earthlings, but all this just proves the point of how important SHADO was (is?) to the protection of planet Earth and to the human race. So buy Set 1 and give yourself some time to get into the characters and it won't take long before you find yourself on a roller coaster ride enjoying some first class sci-fi adventures. I have a feeling that by the time you get to episode 13 in Set 1, you will have to have Set 2 of "UFO" in your collection so you can see the whole ball of wax. Long live Commander Straker (Ed Bishop), sci-fi guru Gerry Anderson and all the other talented people who brought "UFO" to life in the distant future of... 1980. Yep, you heard right, 1980!
Rating:
Summary: UFO
Review: It seems that the older I get (30 something), the more I appreciate the corny things that I was raised with. So I have to say I almost fell off my chair with laughter when I found U.F.O while surfing through Amazon DVD section.
I had forgotten all about this show but as soon as I saw the cover, my fun early 70's childhood memory bank went into overdrive.
I must have been around 5 when I first saw the show (dubbed in Farsi) and the first time I saw the aliens coming out of that sad excuse for a space craft, I made a mad dash out of the room.
I think anyone who remembers as kids something about the 60's & 70's Sci-Fi are going to absolutely enjoy these shows without worrying about the dialogue or the quality of the set designs...they seem to be about something more from your past.
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