UFO - Exposed

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin

The successful interception of a UFO is nearly compromised by a corporate test-flight. His co-pilot killed in the near-miss, Paul Foster finds his flying saucer report quashed by his employer (who wants to ground him), the evidence in the hands of the government, and total strangers going out of their way to intimidate him.

When people say they find UFO unsettling, I never know whether they mean the eerie alien threat or the moral quagmires raised. 'Exposed' is one of those that sits just a tad uncomfortably, and I have to give it credit for exactly that. How disturbing it's meant to be found I'm unsure of thanks to an ambivalent final scene.

SHADO and the dire nature of its secret cover already having been established as deserving our audience sympathies, we now have them in direct conflict with the accidental witness Foster. He's a threat to all we're rooting for. Yet, Exposed makes sure that we see Foster in a positive light – his plight is sympathetic, the man is intelligent, resourceful, even good-looking. In short, he's everything we might want in a hero. Our nominal heroes, meanwhile, share a private conversation that threatens ill for Foster if he blows SHADO's cover. How far will Straker go to keep Foster quiet?

That's what I appreciate most in this episode, the delicate balance of viewer loyalty. I have to wonder how the episode might have played had we seen it entirely through Foster's POV, with Straker a dangerous mystery figure. Would we buy as easily Foster's ultimate choice? It fits his character, but does it speak to the questions raised? Instead the narrative gives us the perspective from sides while cleverly keeping back just enough information to allow a satisfying last-minute twist.

The moral questions here are all too relevant today. Do feel comfortable entrusting our security to entities that are laws unto themselves – who can discredit us, meddle in our employment, manipulate our truths, threaten us physically and psychologically or even (Straker implies) ultimately have us murdered in the name of the greater good? The episode places SHADO in exactly that role, and if things turn out well it won't be because an autonomous agency really has anyone’s best interest at heart but because one man in authority retains a conscience. Under another man's leadership, SHADO wouldn't hesitate to ice the poor bastard.

And that's what ultimately unsettles me about the episode itself, because after the issues have been raised the script swipes them neatly aside without acknowledging the absence of a resolution to them. Satisfaction has been given and no harm done.

That's UFO at its best: fog.

“Exposed” introduces Michael Billington as Paul Foster. Most of the episode belongs to him and he uses it well. It's a neat way of bringing him into the fold, investing us immediately in his character. Vladek Sheybal (From Russia With Love's chessmaster and SPECTRE mastermind Kronsteen) steals a scene laying a head trip on Foster. It's but a single scene and I don't wish to downplay how effective Sheybal is in the Bond flick of note, but I find his character in UFO even more captivating – he's more intriguing as a snake than an ass.

One of the better episodes, tightly told all around. 8 thugs to rearrange your furniture.


Asides: I don't believe Ayshea's 'A' pendant is strictly in line with standard uniform regs. (Then again, maybe it's no more distracting than pharaonic eye shadow...) Maybe it's a high-level pass of some sort.

The miniature fx people really had a passion for their work! At least two new craft are introduced in this episode and despite knowing these models might never be seen again they both got the complete effort. These guys would get to totally unleash with the alien designs on Space:1999, really glorious stuff, but in a way their work on UFO is even more remarkable for having to keep their designs real-world credible.

A personal pet peeve, the notion that the world would collectively freak out if we were told that UFOs are real. It's treated as a given in “Exposed”, but then that wasn’t the story's focus.

I'm getting ahead of myself per the series as a whole but...aah, let's say I appreciate the brevity in editing the stock launch sequences. This happens in some episodes, and not often enough.

Gotta love the jets on Sky 1, that's pure smoke even underwater.

What exactly is the use of that go-cart at SHADO HQ? I guess it must be capable of greater speeds out on the lot, because it's useless for regular locomotion.

"Oh, you're WRONG, Foster, you're SO WRONG!” 😄😃

“That's okay, Ms. Ealand, I'm about to leave myself.” He should leave himself more often, he'd be less uptight.