Talk:UFO (British TV series)

message: Please consider joining the project! HowardBerry 19:22, 11 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Project

message: One could get quite nostalgic over this article! One thing that particularly strikes a viewer of the DVDs is how practically everyone at SHADO smokes like a chimney in this series, you wouldn't see that in a modern SF series... The "Century 21" fashions were quite of their time too, with the crew of SkyDiver (male and female) all wearing string vests, and they never did explain why all the female crew of Moonbase had to wear purple wigs, but the males didn't... -- Arwel 22:42, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, there should probably be a bit about the fashions in the article, along with the car designs and other fascinating future predictions, like racial prejudice just fizzling out. If only. Lee M 03:50, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Fashions

message: One of the episodes featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 was of the 1969 film Moon Zero Two. In it, a lunar hotel employee has the same metallic purple wig that adorns the female Moonbase personnel of UFO. When I saw this, I checked IMDb for connections between the two productions. The closest thing I found was that Moon Zero Two director Roy Ward Baker worked with Gerry and Sylvia Anderson on their popular live-action TV show The Protectors three years later, two years after UFO started. It occurred to me that one of these shows might have gotten the idea from the other, if these folks knew each other in 1969 or before. Any thoughts? — Jeff Q (talk) 04:11, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: It's possible. UFO also reused sets and costumes (and actors!) from a film the Andersons made in 1968-69 called Doppleganger (aka Journey to the Far Side of the Sun), but I've never seen it so I don't know if the purple hair appears in that film. 23skidoo 13:57, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Neither Gerry nor Sylvia have (to my knowledge) cited a particular inspiration for the wigs.  (I thought there was particular mention of the wigs in Gerry's bio, but I can't find it.)  I suspect it is more likely simply to be a case of parallel exposure.  They both had the knack of picking up current social emblems in language and style.  Sylvia, in particular, had a habit of taking current clothing trends and extending them.  Part of the hippie culture of the time was wearing bizarre wigs.  Wouldn't surprise me if another production designer was influenced in similar manner during the same period.  Cain Mosni 11:24, 27 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Purple hair origins 

message: I recent edit indicates that the pronounciation "you-foh" is the British way of saying UFO. I've never heard of this -- to my knowledge the Brits go "you-eff-oh" like everyone else. Can someone back this up? 23skidoo 18:19, 26 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed when I saw the edit today, I wondered what on Earth the person who stated that it was British was on about!  Being a Brit, having a father that works with astronomy, space and science-fiction, and having seen plenty of Brit sci-fi, I can honestly say that I have never heard one single person (outside of this show) pronounce U.F.O. as "you-foh".  In Britain it is pronounced "you-eff-oh". PeregrineAinsleyWotenuff 22:34, 26 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  And I see Khaosworks has reverted the edit. I had a feeling it was a little fishy but, even though I consider myself fairly well-versed in various British terminology and spellings, I thought I'd seek additional input in case this was something that wasn't on my radar. Cheers! 23skidoo 05:21, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Added a note on pronunciation: The originator of the term, USAF Captain Edward J. Ruppelt suggested "U-Foe", and this was the preferred pronunciation in official USAF usage, though hardly universal. This is mentioned in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unidentified_flying_objects#Modern_UFO_era . As the term moved into the mainstream, "You-Eff-Oh" became the standard. So the series is actually using a bit of authentic military jargon here. -- 201.78.233.162 23:06, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: That's a cool piece of trivia. Well done! 23skidoo 23:15, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: You-foh vs. you-eff-oh

message: I don't want to make an edit without being absolutely sure, but I don't recall any episode specifically saying the Interceptors used nuclear missiles. Can anyone confirm either way?
:I am absolutely certain you are correct, but can't cite reference.  Going from memory for the moment, I think you'll find it's in the very first episode "Identified" where there's a lot of exposition and not a lot of intricate story.  I don't have the time to watch it to find out, right now.  Cain Mosni 11:28, 27 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Nuclear missiles"? 

message: Considering the success of the new Battlestar Galactica and Dr Who, I'm surprised no-one has thought of bringing UFO back to the small screen. In spite of its shortcomings, the original series was imaginative and groundbreaking. It just needs updating a bit, perhaps it should be set in the 2080s :-)
:There's always lots of rumour about it, if you move in the right circles.  There's even (unsourced) rumour floating around at the moment.  Cain Mosni 11:29, 27 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: There was a serious revival attempt in 1996, with Ed Bishop apparently on-board.  See the ufoseries.com website for details  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.161.176.101 (talk) 02:10, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ripe for revival 

message: The article says that the gull wing doors of the cars had to be opened manually by a guy just out of shot and gives the episode "Court Martial" as an example of when this perosn could be seen. I've just watched that episode and couldn't see anything (as Straker and George Sewell get out by the electronics shop). Could someone tell me where he is and when or post a pic? Thanks
: This part of the article is plain wrong. There is a reflection of the building opposite in Strakers right hand door which can look like someone opening the door but it is just the building. I took this from the 1999 DVD at 33m57s. ChainsawDude (talk) 16:53, 17 June 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Please sign your comments. Just a quick note that posting an image would violate fair use. Sorry... 23skidoo 21:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

text: Posting a picture would violate laws? These laws are sick and should be changed.IceHunter 18:44, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Not laws, but Wikipedia image use rules. They're spelled out at Wikipedia:Image use policy, though the policy is revised from time to time (for example we used to be able to use publicity images in biographical articles, but not anymore.) 23skidoo 18:57, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The statement has now been removed from the article. DH85868993 (talk) 00:00, 21 June 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Automatic doors" 

message: The game X-Com seems very much inspired by this series. A team of people flying around the world chasing UFO's? Come on :) IceHunter 18:44, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  X-COM Ufo: 

message: In the episode "Survival", after Foster is separated from the rest of his team at the site of a UFO landing, the others try to raise him on the radio, and getting no answer, simply return to base.  That is so... negligent!  Why wouldn't they investigate and try to find Foster alive or find his remains?  Clear set-up to allow them to have Foster alone and found by the alien.
In "Ordeal", Foster seems to be abducted by aliens, but it turns out to be merely a dream.  Wow!  What a detailed dream!  Foster even dreamt about Sky 1 missing in its shot, SHADO personnel finding the spa staff dead, Straker angry about Carlin missing the UFO, the UFO turning and crashing, Dr. Jackson commenting on the primitive conditions at the moon base. Reminds me of the original version of "Invaders From Mars" when the boy had a detailed dream about the army loading tanks onto a train and such. GBC 01:00, 4 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Gaffes 

message: :Image:UFOTVDVDnew.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page.  Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 04:36, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:UFOTVDVDnew.jpg

message: What list is being used for the airdates on the episode list. A statement I wrote (which is still there) indicates that the Gerry Anderson book shows several different airdate variations, but this is no longer reflected in the chart. 23skidoo (talk) 20:33, 10 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I can promise you it was shown on Saturday mornings in 1970 (Yorkshire). ChainsawDude (talk) 16:59, 17 June 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: Airdate source?

message: When SHADO was first formed, it was a clandestine organization.  No one was supposed to know that you worked there or even that SHADO existed.  But later in the series, this changed and SHADO became more overt with SHADO security people wearing uniforms with SHADO logos in public.
Can anyone remember in what episode did this “change” take place and was there any explanation for the change?  In some of the episodes it appeared that the general public was fully aware of SHADO and what they did.  Throckmorton Guildersleeve (talk) 15:39, 19 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Clandestine to overt organizational change 

message: Most of these form the individual episodes are unreferenced and not particularly encyclopaedic. Nick Cooper (talk) 17:14, 19 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Notes" 

message: In Survival episode the Moonbase is located in the Mare Imbrium. Alessandro Crisafulli--147.163.48.49 (talk) 16:27, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mare Imbrium 

message: Great article on a series I loved. BTW, I remember a party scene where the adults were all dancing to Get Back. I remember thinking that was very cutting edge and visionary, that real grownups would be grooving to the Beatles in the future... Shawn in Montreal (talk) 21:03, 24 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: ''Get Back''

message: That's not the title screen for the show. It's from the prologue sequence, to be certain, but the actual official title card is the one that appears at the end of the opening teaser, as it includes the copyright notice for the show. 68.146.81.123 (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 18:20, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Title screen image incorrect

message: Spy satellite programs have been extant since 1959 when Corona first launched.  Heck, Ice Station Zebra is a 1968 film!  But the use of what came to be known as metadata as a plot device in Close-Up is a particularly nice touch.  It's not called as such, but nonetheless I've switched the relative importance of the terms in the "Predictions" section.  kencf0618 (talk) 06:16, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Metadata 

message: Article says: "Most of the cast were newcomers to Century 21 although star Ed Bishop had previously worked with the Andersons as a voice actor on Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons."
Bishop was also a live actor (played USAF officer) in Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.102.219.165 (talk) 22:03, 10 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ed Bishop 

message: The article states "Notably for science fiction, and uniquely for a television series,[citation needed] the alien race is never given a proper name, either by themselves or by human beings...". I believe the American 1960s series "The Invaders" also did not name the alien race, but I'm not absolutely sure of that. (First ever Wikipedia comment - hope I did it right!) Kerry2112 (talk) 17:13, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Aliens not named 

message: Almost none of the predictions listed in this section were anywhere near correct. I'm not sure whether the section should be rewritten so it doesn't imply that the show successfully predicted 1980, or just scrapped, but as it stands, it's embarrassingly misleading.
* Car telephones. 1946, MTS radiophones. They weren't widespread in 1969, but there were ads making it seem as if they would be over the next few years. And they still weren't widespread in 1980; it wasn't until AMPS and other cell technologies replaced the early radiophones in the mid 80s that car phones became popular among the business class.
* Gull-wing doors. 1954, Mercedes-Benz 300SL. The article says they were "not widespread in 1969", which is true, but they weren't any more widespread in 1980. In fact, there were probably fewer of them on the road in 1980 than in 1969. And they're still not widespread in 2011.
* Spacecraft air launches. 1959, X-15.
* Extensive use of computers in day-to-day life. Not in 1980; not until the mid 90s for most people.
* Computers predicting and analyzing human behaviour. While this was a very popular prediction in 60s sci-fi, it didn't even begin to become true until around the end of the century, and it's still only true in limited domains in 2011.
* Electronic fingerprint scanning and identification against a database. Electronic fingerprint scanners weren't usable until the mid-90s, and AFIS didn't exist until 1999.
* Voice print identification systems and vocal fingerprint analysis. The theory existed in the 60s, but the technology wasn't even close to ready until the mid 90s, and the first usable voice print verification systems didn't come out until the late 2000s.
* Space observatory. 1959, Corona.
* Metadata from observatories. This became important in the 1990s, as computer-assisted astronomy started to take over.
* Racial prejudice "burned itself out". As the article says, this never happened.
* Left-hand driving in the UK. As the article says, this never happened.
* Space junk. 1957, NORAD's Space Object Catalog. Became topical in 1970, when NORAD made the SOC public. Remember the Devo song Space Junk, written in 1975?
* Toxic waste. This one works. It was in the late 70s that toxic waste became a topical issue.
* Cordless phones. Invented in the 60s, first commercially available in 1971. They didn't become widespread until around 1990.
* MP3 players. Invented in 1996, became popular around the turn of the century.
So, that's 1 hit out of 15 predictions, plus a few more that are "only" off by a decade or two (which isn't exactly a "near-miss" for a prediction aimed only a decade in the future). --70.36.140.238 (talk) 16:10, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I get the impression that in the Court Martial episode Straker is picking up a miniature radio off of Miss Ealand's desk, not an MP3 player. — DJLon (talk) 08:52, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Predictions 

message: What does "the shows were copyrighted in 1969" mean?  If the series dated from 1970, that is the date of copyright, which is the date of creation.
: Actually if you look at the early episodes like Flight Path or The Dalotek Affair the copyright notices say "© COPYRIGHT CENTURY 21 PICTURES LIMITED MCMLXIX" (1969) whilst in later episodes like Destruction and The Cat With Ten Lives they say "© COPYRIGHT CENTURY 21 PICTURES LIMITED MCMLXX" (1970). Perhaps it needs to be re-worded? — DJLon (talk) 09:08, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: 17 episodes were shot in 1969 at MGM Borehamwood.  9 episodes wre shot in 1970 at Pinewood studios.  The copyright dates align with the production dates. ChainsawDude (talk) 17:06, 17 June 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Copyright 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on UFO (TV series). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100501135810/http://www.web-sighted.co.uk/franks/faq2.html to http://www.web-sighted.co.uk/franks/faq2.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 12:03, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified (January 2018) 

message: When I saw the reference to a 600-page book released with the Blu-ray edition, I thought it was a typo for 60 pages. I checked online and the set did indeed come with a 600-page book. I am correcting the reference to read "book" instead of "booklet" as there is no definition on this green earth for "booklet" that covers a work of that length. 70.73.90.119 (talk) 04:30, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: 600 page book with Blu-ray is correct

message: I removed the following essay on the history of electric typewriters from the article:
 The machine typing out information in the intro uses an IBM Selectric typewriter mechanism with an Orator element, and is using a cloth ribbon cartridge. This eliminates any system used primarily for word processing, such as the IBM MT/ST or the IBM Mag Card Typewriter, or such third-party products as the DURA 1041, since those would be fitted with carbon ribbons. Thus, apparently they did have access to an IBM 2741 terminal connected to a computer system, or something similar, to take those shots. The first Selectric was released in 1961, eight years before the series was produced, and was already near-obsolete technology by 1970.
It's unsourced and looks suspiciously like OR. It doesn't explain why the text is assumed to have been produced by a computer, as opposed to a human typist. It's not clear why the alleged obsolescence of the Selectric typewriter is relevant, if they were using an IBM 2741 terminal. The claim that the technology was "near-obsolete" is pretty dubious in any case - the Selectric was replaced by the Selectric II in 1971, but the basic mechanism was unchanged. The whole thing is also trivia that tells us next to nothing about the show itself. But I'll leave it here on the off chance that there is actually a reliable source to back it up. 89.168.64.248 (talk) 21:52, 2 June 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Probable OR deleted 

message: The article falsely says 
"Every shot in which the car door was seen to open automatically had to be arranged so that a prop man could run up to the car, just outside the frame, open the door, and hold it open while Ed Bishop stepped out."
The door opens unaided and in full view at 3 mins 23 secs in "The Long Sleep" . ChainsawDude (talk) 23:11, 20 June 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: I've removed the statement (and the preceding one), both of which were unsourced. DH85868993 (talk) 23:59, 20 June 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: "prop man always opens Straker's car door"