And now for something completely different. We have a flashback to the
days when people still wore neckties, the British still drove on the
British side of the road, and Ed Straker's instincts for security were
not yet hyper-developed – oh, not by half. Nowhere near enough.
It's a story of the birth of SHADO, and the death of Straker's
marriage. General Henderson is about to make his push for the Earth
defense program that he and his colleague (protege?) Colonel Straker so
passionately believe in, but as he is still recuperating from the crash
we saw in Identified he must send Straker in his place. The
international committee is so impressed that they name the Colonel as
head of the program, with Henderson in charge of funding. If Henderson
is disappointed, he hides it well. After all, he and Straker are
friends an colleagues, and Straker is clearly the right man for the job.
The crux is that Straker has just married, and he cannot reveal the
truth about his work to his new bride Mary. It's a tough call. Ed
Straker makes one of the worst gambles he's ever made – that he can
handle both the job and the marriage.
After last week I've decided to start paying attention to who is
writing each episode. Confetti was penned by Tony Barwick, who served
as script editor as well as writing a large portion of the series. If
anyone knows this show and how to write it, it oughtta be Barwick.
Confetti has some nice touches throughout from continuity to
foreshadowing. An example, Straker's first official act as husband is
to sign himself and his wife into a hotel but his pen has run dry.
It's a fine character piece, if you've seen enough of the show to
realize that the Ed Straker of this flashback bears little resemblance
to the detached, cynical man he'll have become by 1980. This Ed Straker
is full of easy optimism and ready warmth. Crucially, he's also not
that good about keeping a secret except in the one case in which he
arguably should have taken a risk. He couldn't hide his newly married
status from the hotel staff, and later when interviewing SHADO
candidates in private he totally fails to realize that he is being spied
upon – this knowing his wife's suspicions of infideltiy.
As the episode is only some fifty minutes, we can;t delve too deeply
into these people to know their faults. Is Mary not patient enough to
allow for the strains of the job? Then again, night after night of a
no-show husband who won't call, what else can she think? Though he
clearly loves Mary and cares for her, Straker's passion seems more for
the job than his marriage. At least, that's where his passion is being
spent. Maybe he's just not good at the personal things. Whatever the
case, the honeymoon is over- no, scratch that, it never began.
UFO wouldn't be the show it is without something chilling, and is at
its most daring when it's our supposed protagonists who are clearly the
menace against all our expectations. Long-time friend Freeman advises
Ed that he absolutely cannot confide in Mary because to do so would be
to risk the security personnel of their own outfit targeting her for
death. Here we've been trusting that Straker and Henderson's initiative
is a force for good, and suddenly they're monsters! How did that
happen? Was that part of Henderson's/Straker's vision? How did he get
himself mixed up in this? A better question: why, if he knew, if he
loves his wife, would he have accepted a position that would endanger
her life?
Once again, the between Straker and Henderson are brilliantly
nuanced, though this time they depend on our familiarity with other
episodes. If you've just tuned in for the first time, the ironies will
be lost on you.
I can't decide whether this is a script credibility problem or the
tragic sign of a man who was different – optimistic and trusting.
The episode ends with Freeman driving him away from the ruins of
his home life. “I'm sorry about this”, he says to Straker, “You know I
wouldn't have done it if it hadn't' been absolutely necessary.” What is
he referring to? Evidently an edit for time, but it makes no
difference. It's just the same story it will always be for Straker. The
job is his life and will bear no mistress.
Ten furloughs and a little personal awakening.
Personal reaction...I don't know what I'd do in Straker's place.
Well, yeah, that's a telegraph from Captain Obvious, none of us are
currently heading up a shady, murderous organization to save the world
from aliens (you're not, are you? Guys?). Still, not telling Mary is a
choice that I can take in intellectually given the consequences but
which doesn't resonate personally. I think Id have told her.
I can't recall seeing this as a child, but I surely did – never
missed an ep. I do recall that there were times when the dramatic
thrust went right over my head (hi, Captain, nice to hear from you
again!). Yeah, I usually followed the plots but the human element
didn't ring any bells with my life experience of a whole six years.
Oddly, that was one of the draws of this show. I didn't get the drama,
but I appreciated that this fantasy indulgence (the good stuff) didn't
talk down to me for being a kid.
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