UFO - Subsmash

If you've got a TV show that features a submarine, you're obliged to do an episode in which it sinks with everyone trapped aboard. I think it's a law or something. This is Trope TV.

When SHADO suspects that the sinking of an ocean-going vessel may have been caused by a UFO, Straker swallows his claustrophobia and descends with Skydiver to oversee the investigation. Soon Skydiver too is attacked and sunk. With oxygen running out and most means of escape damaged, Straker and the crew await a rescue operation while trying to get each officer out of the craft one by one.

There's nothing more to say of the plot or of the story. Foster is aboard, which confirms that he has been well versed in all areas of SHADO operation – this is why I believe he is being groomed as a potential future replacement for Straker's position.

Nina Barry is on hand as well, a switch from her usual duties on Moonbase. Dialog suggests that this is because of her expertise with radar and sonar tracking – when Straker makes the decision to accompany the mission, he insists that the best possible crew be assembled. That's his phobia talking, I'm sure, as it raises the question of the quality of the usual crews. Including Barry is surprising, as it would not seem to make much sense, but it's most welcome all the same as it gives Delores Mantez a rare moment to shine. Barry tries to escape via a crashdive tube only to find the release hatch jammed, and herself stuck in a narrow space she nearly cannot navigate. Ironic, Straker is the one dealing with claustrophobia when her situation is far more alarming on that score. Now, this is the episode's lone female breaking down and crying...I would too, honestly, so I'd like to convince myself that it wasn't a sexist choice. Not really buying it.

Another officer, Chin, has suffered a severe concussion that leaves his head pierced with a high-frequency whine and a fever. The one emergency hatch can be used one crew member at a time, once every ninety minutes as it refills with oxygen. Eventually Straker is the last one aboard, or so he thinks. As Barry finally makes her way back up the tube and tries to re-enter the ship, Straker – battling his claustrophobia – imagines he hears first his dead son and then his estranged ex-wife Mary. It's the one genuine bit of story in the episode, poignant and unexpected. This bit of insight into Straker...he still loves and misses Mary, he will always be haunted by the loss of his son but also that of his wife as well. She is still alive, yet he will always be walled away from her. This raw moment alone raises my score to 5 boxes of celebratory cigars you shouldn't smoke 'cuz, y'know, they'll kill you. It's a decent episode but waaaaay standard.

Thoughts:

Anthony Chinn, playing Chin, has already appeared on UFO as the alien who stumbles into a murderous plot and gets accidentally offed in The Four-Sided Triangle.

I've always thought Delores Mantez lovely but so much more without that purple wig. It doesn't do anything good for her at all, unlike the living anime doll Gabrielle Drake. I, uh, rather like that string vest on Nina too...

Watched 2001: A Space odyssey this past week. Don't think I ever realized before that Ed Bishop plays the Aries 1B pilot (that's the ball-shaped shuttle flying from the orbital space station to the moon).

So the UFO – actually not a regular UFO but a drone – leaves the ocean and flies off, is pursued and blown out of the sky by Sky 1. What did I miss here, why did it fly away? “Mission accomplished”? Perhaps it only sank the freighter (I think it was a freighter) to lure Skydiver in.

UFO - KILL STRAKER!

Evading SID and Moonbased tracking, a UFO manages to assault a shuttle attempting Earth re-entry. Sixteen hours later the shuttle is discovered undamaged and its pilots dazed but unharmed. One of those pilots is Col. Foster, and he's in a real mood about it.

It's a mystery to Straker and Freeman, but not us. We know what they do not, that the pilots were bombarded with an irresistible hypnotic suggestion to “Kill Straker. Kill Straker! KILL STRAKER!”

I had to consider whether that was a mistake, to give that away so soon, but it was probably the right call. We've been here before, innocents with an implanted imperative to KILL STRAKER(!), which means we'd have known just where the episode was going and underwhelmed by the reveal when I came. Besides, it makes for an exciting way to tease what's come.

Still, it undercuts what should have been a strong character-driven story between Straker, Foster, and Freeman. Immediately Foster radiates a resentment against Straker for issuing an order that might as easily have killed him as saved him from the UFO. Fair enough, though Foster knows that such an order is a trademark of his commanding officer. There's more on his mind, a lot more, and it's all to do with Straker's excesses and arrogance.

Where is it all coming from? Not the aliens, all they did was implant a command. This is not mind control. It's up to the pilots, Foster and Craig, to supply their own justifications for it from their psyches. Freeman is flummoxed, and wants his old friend Ed Straker to slap down this subordinate. Normally Straker would do juts that, but with Paul Foster he's uncharacteristically humble about the charges laid against him. It must be demoralizing...these allegations are not new, everyone says the same things about him (including the audience), but coming from Paul they're a blow. Until now Paul Foster has had a puppydog case of hero worship for Straker. Gee, Straker might be thinking, maybe I'm really not such a swell guy if I've failed Paul of all people.

Knowing that Paul is acting on alien influence undermines the very personal nature of a conflict that should have been explored for character depth. Freeman and Paul have been developing a friendship, how does he feel about that? General Henderson is on hand as well, in a nuanced position beautifully played by Grant Taylor. Foster goes beyond the pale to report confidential details of a plan to expand Moon operations (four new bases) in a letter of complaint against Straker. These are just the things Henderson himself believes about Straker, yet he knows that Foster is the last person who should be saying them – and the manner in which he does so raises a red flag. Henderson wants to do the right thing, but what should that be? There's a nice exchange between he and Freeman, when the General summons Freeman under instructions not to inform Straker and knowing that's the first thing Freeman will do. Freeman, loyal to Straker to his core, doesn't disappoint. There's a lot of great stuff here, it just could have used some tweaking to bring it out more fully.

Col. Craig is a non-entity, we know nothing of him. Straker must not know him well either, because he's only taken notice of major shade from Col. Foster. That is, not until Craig tries to KILL STRAKER(!) in a lively extended sequence on Moonbase that leads to explosions on the Lunar surface. That also is good stuff. So is a suspenseful standoff between Foster and Straker when a slip of the tongue reveals both pilots have conspired to...you know(!).

Like I said, we know pretty much where it's going and it does. The only surprise is that it gets there fifteen minutes early. Foster is examined by everyone's favorite slippery SHADO operative, Dr. Jackson, under which his imprinting is revealed. That's not good news for Foster, because as we know SHADO lets no one retire. Not alive. He's not exactly cured, either, per Jackson, there may always be a trace of the alien command lurking like an unexploded bomb in Foster's psyche. It's time for another reckless move by Straker.

Straker locks himself and Foster in the SHADO arsenal, pretends that he intends to kill the junior officer, and proceeds to stoke the man's anger and sense of survival to the breaking point, playing off all the complaints Straker is too aware of regarding his command. Foster breaks, but cannot bring himself to kill Straker. Not in anger, not in self defense. The look on Paul's face is a troubling and moving image, a highly emotional moment. They've both been through hell.

7.5 melodramatic voices growling in your head.

Asides -

There's a line of dialog acknowledging that the orbits of the moon and SID do result in blind spots and loss of communications. Smart.

“No one gets fired by SHADO.” Chilling bit of understatement. Confirms that the danger to Lt. Ellis in Computer Affair was much greater than implied.

Straker has his own guest quarters on Moonbase? That's the only place I've seen his shifting art display aside from his office Earthside. He must actually like it as art, because it can't possibly be hiding anything here. Where is there to escape to from a base on the Moon?

“Why don't you girls go and grab a cup of coffee?” Ah, progress! Always nice to to be reminded one is respected as an equal!

UFO - Destruction

Stalwart TV fantasist Dennis Spooner (Doctor Who, the Avengers, various Anderson productions) pens his one and only UFO teleplay. It's crackling entertainment that intrigues, moves at a steady pace, and presents us with a real danger. It could be a series high point but for that bit about flying in the face of the series premise. Seems no one bothered to brief Spooner.

A British naval vessel sights and promptly shoots down what they claim is a UFO. The thing went down in one of the oceans deeper trenches and will never be found. Henderson is satisfied that the story is a dead end and no security risk, and probably wasn't an actual UFO anyway, and happy enough to let it go. Straker's not so sure and wants to press the matter. Have the aliens found a way past SHADO screening? Why would the Navy be so hot to fire on an unidentified vessel that had not attacked? Why the rush to conclude the matter with no investigation?

Straker and Henderson take a shot at official channels while Foster is assigned to try a more sneaky approach, wooing and spying on the secretary of the Admiral directly involved. Col. Lake, meanwhile, takes command of Skydiver to surveil the ship as it heads back to deep waters.

The secretary turns out to be the daughter of one of the men who built Moonbase – in fact, one who disappeared off the moon and was never heard from again, suspected to have been taken by the aliens. She has an expensive telescope with astral co-ordinates marked off. Parking an interceptor along that path incapacitates the pilot when an intense signal passes through the craft. Someone's passing information to the aliens, but what exactly is the information and what is the interest?

Straker and Henderson open up to the Admiral in hopes he will realize the danger Earth is in (and noting their trusty amnesia drug anyway). They are told that the navy has been tasked with the dispensing of a WMD so volatile that if released would wipe out all life on Earth. Imagine if you will a UFO attack on the vessel with that gas on board!

That is exactly what happens. Skydiver is on the scene and blasts the UFO out of the sky. Earth is saved. From the aliens. Who need us for their survival. Wait, what?

Okay, okay...so...reaching back to 'A Question of Priorities'... In that episode, a lone alien attempted to defect from his people. We know so little about the aliens that we may assume that they are not of one mind on the subject of Earth's exploitation or perhaps other matters. Might we accept that this attempt to exterminate Earth's resources is being carried out by another faction?

Given the work that went into conditioning the secretary, furnishing her with high-beam communications equipment, and posting multiple UFOs along the trajectory of that equipment (remember, one was shot down and there's at least one more that appears), plus the presence of an agent to periodically put the woman under remote mind control...there is organization behind this assault, and long-term effort. This is no lone wolf acting against alien interests as we've understood them thus far. Remember, that was always an assumption on SHADO's part. It's never been confirmed by an alien.

Whatever the explanation, it's part of the show now and we have to take it on board. It certainly underlines the absolute threat they pose. I've always had a problem suspending disbelief for stories in which the plot hinges on contradicting common sense, and Destruction comes perilously close. Only our lack of understanding of the aliens gives it an out.

I've said that the script is a top suspenser. There's not a lot in the way of character work and no exploration on those lines, but a few small character moments keep it lively. For example, Henderson and Straker...it's nice to see their professional capacity for working together for once instead of the constant pissing match. Straker is quick to have his defenses up when they meet and bristles for a fight, and Henderson is quick to calm his fears. They make a good team. One can see how firm the grounding of SHADO must have been in their hands. Pity about the falling out.

Another is a round of golf which Foster has been (ahem) invited to play with Straker. It's not Foster's thing, but you don't say no to the boss. Is the molding of the protege now to include his pastimes as well? This is where Foster is told he's to spy on the woman. We're left to wonder what he thinks of the assignment. We've seen him becoming a bit of a player already after having one relationship ended by his involvement in SHADO, so this could be considered a darker turn for him.

There's also Col. Lake. For the era, it's refreshing to see a woman in full command of a military force, even more to see that UFO has no need of elaborating on the fact but expects us to accept it as a given. In that role Wanda Ventham proves more than capable: confident, steady and attentive, decisive, ready to push but mindful of the risks. I dare say she has better command skills than Straker, though we've yet to see if she has his superhuman intuition. There's a good chemistry between Ventham and Ed Bishop, though character-wise I miss the yin-yang on ethical matters that Freeman provided.

How to rate...hell, I've never been good with reducing a work of entertainment to numbers. It'd be a smart story for some other show with a different premise, and Spooner is a legend. Straker's cover is blown again, in a brand new way, this time he's not only forgotten for his media-worthy military background but also as the head of a film studio as well when Henderson tries to pass him off as an official to do with aviation safety. For all his charisma, Straker must be a profoundly unmemorable guy.

7 shock-fuschia carpets, just as you'd expect to find in a high military office. Honestly, I'm leaning toward 6 or 6.5, but the plot really does provide a fun guessing game as well as upping the stakes.


Asides...

David Warbeck plays one of the Skydiver personnel. I know him best from a couple of horror films by Lucio Fulci.

A young Steven Berkoff plays the Interceptor pilot. I almost didn't recognize him. Berkoff played the bad guy General Orlov in Octopussy and has had a long career that includes a couple of Kubrick's films as well as extensive TV work.

Talk about stretching suspense, why did Skydiver wait so long in the finale before launching Sky 1?

Funny that the British military would go to the press with a tabloid headline like 'We shot down a UFO!” Not many world governments are in the habit of publicly crediting the existence of UFOs.

If Straker is itchy to use forget-me-drops on the Admiral, what's he going to do with a fairly huge ship full of witnesses? Will he be willing to settle for the Offical Secrets Act? Are those administered with the drug ever programmed with a false memory or story to cover missing time?

I finally figured out how the fx guys make those UFOs spin. It's the top clear dome that is attached to wires and remains stationary, while the interior and clear base spin. I could never see them that clearly before.

UFO - The Man Who Came Back

The plot synopsis:

Craig Collins, a SHADO operative and longtime friend of Ed Straker, is on his way home to Earth when the aliens spring a two-pronged attack, putting the Space Intruder Detector out of commission and apparently killing Collins.

Some time later as plans are underway to repair SID, Collins turns up alive and well on a desert isle. Good news all around, Straker is buoyed for his old friend, but also fortuitous in that Collins is one of the few astronauts with the training to repair their sentry satellite.

Heading up that project is John Grey, who has had a longstanding adversarial relationship with Collins. Just bad chemistry, he says, no real reason for it...they just rub each other the wrong way. That being what it is, when Grey begins to suspect that Collins has came back not entirely himself and possibly dangerous, Straker assumes Grey's antipathy is causing him to jump at shadows. After all, three SHADO psychiatrists have cleared Collins for duty.

Worryingly, other people who know Collins (including a recent lover) see a change as well though it is Grey alone who finds it suspicious. Collins is acting far more aggressive then he used to, bordering on veiled hostility. He's also stepped up his game at chess...and in one curious instance, something about him freaks out a total stranger on the Harlington/Straker lot - one Sir Esmond, who is blind but senses that Collins is not what he must seem.

During a weight training session, Collins misjudges his weights and injures Paul Foster, who had been assigned to partner with him on the SID mission. Surely it must be an accident? After all, it was Collins himself who had specifically requested Foster. Ah, well, only one man is left available for the job: no less than the head of SHADO himself, Ed Straker. Straker, who is having none of the now fully-alarmed Grey's warnings that he's being set up. Someone tried to murder Grey by shutting off the oxygen to his private compartment on Moonbase, and who else would it have been but Collins?

Enter the enigmatic Doctor Jackson, one of the three who had cleared Collins. Something's been nagging at him, and when Grey seeks his advice Jackson hesitantly shares the source of his misgivings. You see, alongside the standard evaluational tests, Jackson has been experimenting with a new procedure of his own, one for which Collins yielded puzzling results. These were not passed along to Straker because the experiment is so new that Jackson doesn't even know how to interpret what the test reveals about its subjects, let alone an anomaly like Collins. The test studies the brainwaves of a subject when shielded from external stimuli or input. When tried on Collins, he essentially ceased to exist as a person at all. He became an empty vessel.

Jackson and Collins theorize that the aliens have been controlling Collins via radio transmitted right into the astronaut's mind, and that their aims are to cripple SHADO by killing its head and making the recovery of SID impossible. Confronting him (rather recklessly alone), Collins silences first Grey and then Jackson. Grey survives the attempt on his life and at the last moment is able to relay his discovery to Straker, who realizes his old friend is gone and is forced to kill Collins to save himself.

evaluation:

Benefiting from a hiatus in production, this first episode from a new studio steps up it's game by the same factor Collins does his chess game. It's sharper, more fluid and dynamic on every level from acting to storytelling craft. You see it right away with a gripping pre-credits teaser in which the UFOs make a more sophisticated advance than they had before, three in number. Previously they had used diversionary ruses, where this time either one of their targets (Collins and SID) could be mistaken for a diversion but are equally integral to one grand plan that would effectively set SHADO back for months. This sequence is taut and exciting and boasts several new fx shots, one especially nice one that gives us a close look at the alien panels as they spin. In earlier episodes the actors' delivered their lines in neatly choreographed arrangements from stage 101. The opening of TMWCB lets the dialog flow in an almost Altmanesque rush, everyone talking at once. Our attention is commanded.

Editing is tightened throughout the episode, ratcheting up the tension level. Dialog is more organic with a minimum of exposition, so the human element is vivid without feeling forced. The usual extraneous fx sequences are pared to a bare story-telling necessity rather than filling time. This is not a theme-driven script, just a damned good drama.

Improvements continue production-wise, I even saw (or imagined I saw) more texture in the sets - seams in the cement pillars within SHADO central, for example. The new fx shots are simply a delight to behold, like the damaged SID spinning out of its orbit over Earth.

Straker has been a polarizing figure to this point, often losing what sympathy we'd want to grant him for his personal losses. He's didactic, removed, dictatorial, and more than a little insufferable for his arrogance. Writer Terence Feely manages to humanize Straker here without altering his persona one whit, as the opening sequence effectively puts us in the middle o=f his dilemma having to deal with an attack unfolding too quickly to respond to. This once, he's without a clever insight or sneaky ploy. He's not a television hero to smart to be real, he's just a man having to rely on his gut feelings and what his people tell him. It's not his episode, either, the tale centers on Grey...but it's Straker who loses the most and who we have to feel for ultimately. Pretty neat trick for a central character many viewers have come to dislike. You can see the terrible loss in his face when he realizes his friend is already gone. The episode doesn't even give us the solace space of a coda or wrapup, ending on Straker's heartbreak. This is on death he feels to his core.

The one thing that I would mention as a potential objection would be Jackson's premise for mind control, that Collins' "personality center has been burned out". That's problematic, though not to the point that it bars fanwank. Without his personal traits, including the most deep-seated ones like sense of humor or quirks of irritation, he would be fooling no one. Is it possible the aliens made a template of his psyche so complete as to replicate his most formative thought patterns, which they were able to beam back into his head subservient to his progtamming? That would mean an amazing level of sophistication I don't think we've seen from them before.

Still, that never gets in the way of the drama. 9 inflatable tubular pillows, because they may look uncomfortable but, dammit, this is the future!



Asides:

Jackson! Squeeeeeee! And in a sympathetic light, too!

Wanda Ventham is back as well, a welcome character return. it's well worth noting that her character is treated not as a sex object ala her introduction in Identified but as a fully dimensional personality. Her sexual life is openly questioned, and she has no hesitation in owning it as both private and fully considered. It may be a small moment, but a progressive one for the era (and sadly still for some in this one as well) ia woman who owns and takes responsibility for her own sexuality.

The above is set back slightly by an old cliche - the woman who discovers what must be a dead body naturally has to scream. Now, if it had been the male hotel manager and not the maid, that would have made my day!

Not only is Jackson's experiment not some wild sci-fi whimsy, it was actually a fad in scientific circles at the time: sensory deprivation booths. These are the same experiments that would be more widely popularized in Altered States in 1980.

The footage of the rocket on its launchpad came from Gerry Anderson's feature film Doppleganger, aka Journey to the Far Side of the Sun.

It's kind of odd and amusing to think of the Harlington/Straker lot now located at a new studio...that's a little more meta than expected.

UFO - Court Martial

Hotshot new protégé Paul Foster has been found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death. SHADO has sprung a leak with information privy only to Foster nearly becoming public. Is Foster all wet?

I don't know much about military tribunals but I do know a guy being railroaded when I see one. An investigation eventually clears Foster, revealing the leak is the result of an industrial spy prying on Harlington-Straker's film orperations, and stumbling onto military secrets. Not knowing what to do with those secrets, the spy sells the the press thus setting in motion the suspicions pointing to Straker's golden boy.

So why is Foster set to be executed? Because the trial and verdict came before the investigation! Therein lies the fundamental problem I have with this episode. I just can't buy into it. I can almost believe that the communications dilemma in The Dalotek Affair would be so upsetting that it would make everyone find a meteor to be a distracting nuisance rather than looking into it, but this is more than I can suspend disbelief for.

Just how much does Henderson hate Straker, anyway? We've seen before that he's a fair man, even regarding his former friend and now nemesis. Would he kill Straker's fast-rising recruit for revenge? Is he so hot to pursue an execution without ascertaining the facts? "It's gonna take positive proof of innocence to convince me!", he barks. Yet it did not take positive proof of guilt for him to sentence a man to death. As a matter of security, it would be prudent to keep a traitor alive long enough to discover how far the damage goes and where it may lead. I guess Foster shouldn't have yelled at him the first time they met. That's one hell of a bad first impression to leave that strong a grudge.

What about Straker? He too allows an investigation to be an afterthought. Worse, apparently he would not have conducted one at all if not for a lead from one of the directors affected by a leaked script that had been handled by Foster.

Freeman? He'd be the obvious advocate for the defense, but he also is an afterthought in this outing, following Straker's lead and keeping his own counsel.

Aaaaaah, but Doctor Jackson has returned! Vladek Sheybal always light up the screen even as he leaves an oily film on it. What about Jackson? Well, it' s a delightful performance as Jackson takes up the job of prosecuting the case against Foster. He plays true to expectations for being slippery, alright, but I'm still not sure it makes sense. As a psychological analyst for SHADO, I have to wonder at his motive. Seems to me he'd be as interested ass Straker to learn the truth rather than leap to blatantly unsupported conclusions - not out of concern but for his own fascination. Putting it plainly, I just don't get him here. none of the characters quite ring true, nor the plot. As it was written by Tony Barwick, the best writer on the series and the guy who knows these people best, that's disappointing.

I'm being harsh. Churlish, even. The hour has some joy in it. The pace is brisk, the twists keep us off balance, and the personal exchanges are a delight. As always there's a genuine spark between Henderson nd Straker. Everyone puts in an edgy performance, and Sheybal keeps the tribunal taut.

There is a detail of Foster's rise that is sharp, and one I would never have thought of: he is now a major player in the life of their cover operation, a movie producer! That's clever writing. I wish the substance had been as clever, expanding on the characters or exploring a theme...or at least making me believe what I was seeing.



This episode has always bugged me for it's illogic, and now that I'm taking a more serious look at the series overall it bugs me just a little more for being filler. It's fun but I can't give it more than 6 recording ballpoint pens from Sharper Image..

UFO - The Dalotek Affair

Mistaken for a meteorite, an alien device has been delivered to the moon's surface to disrupt communications between Moon-based defenses and Earthside SHADO forces. The outage causes the deadly crash of a moon shuttle and could shield incoming UFOs from interception, possibly with Earth unwarned of pending attack. Unaware of the source of the interference, Paul Foster (currently commanding officer Moonbase) suspects a privately owned business venture with a base nearby is operating equipment putting his people in harm's way.

Usually when I write up these episodes, thoroughly laying out the plot helps me process the material, see the connections and work out the themes. Nothing doing this week, it's a solid story with a nice pace, suspense, tension, and a modicum of personal involvement - if inconsequential - involving an attraction between Foster and a Dalotek employee. It's a fun episode, but there's nothing more substantial I could find in it.

For example, I might have hoped for something on the conflict between military and private interests. Straker holds an unreasoning attitude toward all such non-military ventures. Understandable, as it poses a potential hazard for SHADO personnel and Earth's defense, but his behavior is still childishly antagonistic. Foster seems more amenable until he too becomes convinced that Dalotek has irresponsibly caused the deaths of the shuttle crew. Will Straker's example as is mentor hold sway? That's another possible thread that could have been explored, but the script has no interest in that angle. The most we get is Foster pressing his luck with the same woman after her memory has been wiped of the whole affair. Or we could have had a story on the impossible dilemma of keeping the doings of a quasi-public operation secret, but that too is swept away none too neatly with that amnesia drug, causing more questions we're not supposed to ask about just how that could work.

The space action thrilled me as a kid. It still thrills the geek in me. 6 lunar excursions. Enjoyable but could have used another draft to build it up.





Stray thoughts:
Has Drake, head of Dalotek, not been informed that Ed Straker is a movie producer? Is he not a little incensed that a movie hack has a seat on a security council overseeing his company?

So the existence of Moonbase is known publicly after all, understood to be a military base. Doesn't explain Straker's involvement, though.

Kind of a script convenience that the alien device landed so near Dalotek. If that was deliberate, was the idea to throw suspicion on them? If so, to what benefit would that be? It seems like it would up the odds of discovery, as is exactly what happened.

Unusual intro sequence, running an old media interview speculating about flying saucers and what authorities might or might not know. Though it comes to play late in the episode, it seems more a mechanism toward re-stating the show's premise for those tuning in anew.

Blowing up the alien device puts the Dalotek base at risk of damage, and they're told to prepare for explosive decompression. Well, now...since they have the environment suits and expect to be ruptured anyway, why not minimize the damage by evacuating the interior atmosphere before the explosion?

Sign of budget-watching: the excursion suits worn by Dalotek are the same as those worn by SHADO astronauts. Must be one company supplying for all space ventures. You'd think SHADO would want their own.

I always loved those sub-surface Interceptor hangars disguised as craters, but I always used to wonder if the pilots had to climb back up the chutes when they came back. Hey, I was six.

It's nice to see Foster cultivating a friendship with Freeman. Both that and the romantic angle harken back to Foster's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day in Survival, losing his girlfriend but making an overture of camaraderie to Alec. (Nicely placed, Mr. Levenson!)

UFO - The Square Triangle

A trap has been set in the woodlands where, if all goes to plan, no one will witness it. The prey is on his way.

When the destination of an incoming UFO is determined, Straker risks allowing it to land unimpeded in the hopes of capturing the craft and its crew. Mobiles are in place ready to begin the hunt. No sure bet to begin with, things go awry when a game warden and his dog stumble upon the landing site and a fight ensues. The alien loses his supply of oxygenated liquid, the accidentally shoots his own ship as he kills the unlucky warden, sending the UFO into self-destruct mode. His exit off Earth now barred, he flees the scene. Finding a nearby home, he enters.

Said home belongs to Liz Newton (Adrienne Corri), the wife of well-to-do businessman Jack Newton (Allan Cuthbertson). Liz is there waiting for Jack, and so is her domineering lover Cass (Patrick Mower). Cass has cooked up a scheme to have Liz murder her husband in their own Summer home. Unfortunately for them, the one laying dead in the doorway is not the soon-to-be-late Mr. Newton but the alien, who like the game warden before him has blundered into a trap meant for someone else.

Before Newton arrives home and before the murderers can improvise a cover, SHADO arrives on the scene and takes the paramours to Harlington-Straker Studios. As witnesses to an alien incursion, they are given a drug that clears their memories of the past twenty four hours. Meanwhile, Foster deduces what must have occurred, leaving Straker with a moral dilemma: what to do about a murder which will surely occur but for which there can be no evidence before the fact.

For the sake of SHADO security, he decides that no action can be taken. We soon see the purportedly grieving widow at her husband's graveside before she walks off with Cass (as a nasty sting, this replaces the usual shot over which the closing credits play).

This is not the first time an episode has centered around the private lives of one-off characters, but it's the first time they have been wholly unsympathetic. We never get to know Mr/ Newton, who seems like a nice enough guy, apparently loving and thoughtful of his wife. For his alleged coldness toward her, we have only the unreliable words of Cass, who is manipulating the weak-willed Liz. She's a faithless flounder, but that Cass...well, the list has no end. Alpha male, misogynist, user, and ultimately a sociopath. He's slime. He twists Liz to his will in what we recognize as sheer hypocrisy ('Words! That's all he gives you!”), but Liz submits to it so readily.

What we have then is two parties making life and death decisions over other people, with Straker and Cass respectively calling the shots. This is no moral equivalency being drawn, the differences are clear – Cass and Liz are out for themselves where Straker has the security of the world to weigh. When it comes to murder, Liz is at first horrified to have killed the wrong person while Cass simply panics that he might be caught. Oddly enough, when the decision is made not to interfere with the murder scheme, humanitarian Alec Freeman doesn't bat an eye, not does Foster raise an objection...I thought this was a nice touch - the one note of moral outrage is uttered by Straker alone in his office. “Get them out of here!”, he says into the phone with disgust.

It's a neatly woven schematic but my enjoyment of it is blunted somewhat by the repulsive Cass and Liz Nor am I satisfied that there was nothing to be done to at least warn the intended victim to take extra care for his life. I'd have liked to have seen Freeman exercise his usual unauthorized initiative and try just that, but that would have unbalanced the scheme (Cass and Straker call the shots, Liz and Freeman follow) and strayed from the focus. Most likely any attempt to warn Newton discreetly would have been too little too late, shrugged off. Still, it bothers. It was meant to.

A fleet of 7.5 futuristic hauling rigs in impeccable miniature surroundings. I was going to give it a 6.5, but distaste aside it deserves better.

Asides: an error arises in the use of stock footage. As the Interceptors are recalled having not fired their missiles – the shot used is one where all three have indeed fired.

Nice continuity! The female SHADO agent who greets everyone who comes down the hydraulic office is waiting as always! Lorkris suggested she's a security officer, which sure seems to fit.

There's a really nice shot of Straker sitting at his desk, from an angle we've never seen before. POV is from behind the desk, and as we watch Straker we see colored lights shifting across him. These lights emanate from the animated lights of the art display that hangs on the wall behind his desk. We've all seen it, we know what it is, but I noticed that the shot comes in this particular scene without a prior shot establishing that the piece is there. I don't often notice the hands of the directors at work (to my own discredit), so let me say kudos to director David Lane.