UFO

After spending most of the 1960s dangling their various cast members from bits of string, Gerry & Sylvia Anderson along with producer Reg Hill entered the 1970s with their first live action TV series, 'UFO'.

Over the course of one series we follow the trials and tribulations of SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation), a covert agency under the control of Commander Edward Straker (Ed Bishop) that is the planet's primary source of defence against organ harvesting aliens.  

Behind Barry Gray's killer theme tune is the Anderson's deliberate attempt to move away from the kid focussed television that they were known for by incorporating more mature topics into the episodes that often feel like a cumbersome distraction from the whole alien invasion thing but, beyond that, we get lots of fabulously retro-futurist design, typically implausible vehicles and a moonbase populated by silver suited ladies wearing purple wigs for no, easily discernable reason.

It's all a bit of a mess, albeit an occasionally entertaining one, but 'UFO' is perhaps most keenly remembered for being the catalyst - via an abandoned second series - for the Anderson's next series, 'Space 1999', oh, and for the wigs.

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The Silent Scream

The seventh episode of Hammer Studio's and ITC's 1980 television series 'Hammer House of Horror' sees a newly released convict with the action movie name of Chuck Spillers (Brian Cox) taking a job with the man who had visited him in prison, Martin Blueck (Peter Cushing).  The job entails helping him look after the wild big cats in his basement zoo that he's using in his experiments to create a prison with no bars.  Unfortunately, temptation soon proves too much for Spillers and Blueck's true nature and plans are revealed.

Cushing, in his last role for Hammer, is, of course, as brilliant as ever and plays both aspects of Blueck's nature - the facade of banality that conceals the psychopathy underneath - to perfection whilst Cox is perfectly cast opposite him as the incorrigible and fairly hapless jailbird and as an actor of note in his own right able to hold his own aganst the Hammer legend in full flight.  Being more of a psychological thriller than the outright horror that either the venerable studio or the lead actor is famed for it's great fun to see, even at this late stage, their take on something different and as such it's always been one of my favourite episodes from the series.

Buy it here - UK /  US 

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Baffled!

After leaving the cast of 'Mission Impossible' Leonard Nimoy spent several years racking up various special guest appearences along with a starring role in this pilot episode for a never made occult detective series from ITC, the home of such shows as The Saint, The Champions, The Prisoner, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Space 1999 and many more.

Nimoy plays racing car driver Tom Kovack who starts experiencing visions of death at an English country house.  Teaming up with rare book dealer and amateur occultist Michelle Brent (Susan Hampshire) they head to the clifftop house on the English coast where they find American actress Andrea Glenn (Vera Miles) and her daughter Jennifer (Jewel Blanch) caught up in an elaborate(ish), occult(ish) ,Agatha Christie(ish) scheme.

Truthfully it's no surprise it didn't go to series as it's just not great and it has a terrible name.  There's some nice chemistry between the two leads with Hampshire effortlessly affable in her role, Nimoy as cool as ever but he was always better when acting without emotions and there's a solid Wyrd Britain cast around them including Ray Brooks (the voice of 'Mr Benn'), Christopher Benjamin ('Henry Gordon Jago' in 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' and various Big Finish spin offs) and Milton Johns ('The Invasion of Time').  It's far too long though and despite obviously having a moderately healthy budget, some fun dialogue and a good bratty performance from Blanch it never really gets going but if - like me - you've a love of an occult detective romp and you've ever wanted to see Spock wrestling an old lady then this is for you.



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Strange Report

John Burke 
A Lancer Book

Strange Report was an ITC TV show about a scientist / sociologist / detective named Adam Strange and starring Anthony Quayle. It also featured a chap called Kaz Garas and former 1st Doctor companion Anneke Wills as his assistants Ham and Evelyn.

This novelisation of, I assume, the first two episodes of the 1st (and only) series reveals a show that very much is following the formula of these sort of things. Older, enigmatic and knowledgeable male with a quirky sideline - in this case sociology to show he's a bit of a counterculture type (he also drives around in a London black cab) - and two helpers to deal with the action or research and to ask what's going on.

The two stories here deal with corporate corruption and the murder of a pop star - still going for that counterculture kudos - and the stories unfold as these things often do. The writing is competent but uninspired, as is the plot and the whole thing resolutely refuses to sparkle.

On a slightly more positive note I do have the soundtrack here too and that's a very different kettle of fish shaped things.