This was the first time/way I saw UFO. I sort of knew it was a compilation of episodes but was enough to make me want to see more and uncut. I love that you covered this as I haven't seen it for decades since I got rid of my VHS and you have been able to point out the differences and as you say they have concentrated on Action and model work and like you have no idea why they did not include Lt Ellis mini skirt sequence that alone is all that needed to become a lifelong UFO fan. I would say my favourite all round UFO episode is Computer Affair it has great examples of both character and the model work that the series excelled in
I forgot these were cobbled together for video release. I saw last year a Planet of the Apes 'movie' on a cable channel which turned out to be a couple of episodes of the oft-forgotten short lived 1970's TV series edited together.
This is part of the Super Space Theatre project from the early 1980s. It was a way of bringing Anderson shows to video tapes for the first time. There are actually 13 in total. May I suggest you check out the ones for Space: 1999? Alien Attack, Journey Through the Black Sun, Cosmic Princess and Destination Moonbase Alpha.
I was lucky enough to have dinner with Ed Bishop and his wife. Ed is deaf to accents and even in 1996 his American accent was still 100%. He's lived here since the early 60s.
Just subscribed to "Tea in the Midlands", BTW. I've seen your Moonbase costume before. For someone who has never seen UFO or knows nothing about it, this weird thrown together amalgamation would be completely baffling. You asked how I would have editited it; Well, I just wouldn't have made it at all.
Alexa, did you know that there were plans for a feature film adaptation. It was going to be produced by Robert Evans, who was a bigwig back in the 70’s and 80’s. I’m not sure if they actually cast Straker, but supposedly Ali Larter was cast as Lake and Joshua Jackson as Foster. They had a streamlined Interceptor model made for promotional purposes, you might be able to find those shots in a search. Fortunately or unfortunately it all fell through…
Everyone knows but I think worth saying This was the first time liquid beathing an idea well ahead of it's time , next seen in James Cameron's "Abyss" One other well know fact is Wanda Ventham is Benedict Cumberbatch's mum .
Dunno about you Alexa, but I always thought it was a bit odd that the photo of his sister that Captain Carlin has on the wall of his cabin on Skydiver is a saucy modelling shot.
No shame in watching this gem of a show multiple times. I have too. I didn't watch it before I played the 1994 game X-COM: UFO Defense (or UFO: Enemy Unknown as it was called here in Europe) and I'm convinced the game makers were inspired by the TV series. It has too many elements of it to be a coincidence. Although cars, fashion and other designs in the show was better...
I know of these movie versions of UFO and Space but haven’t actually seen them before. I’d heard about the Jankie music but that was something else 😂. The first two volumes of the Captain Scarlet vhs tapes each took four episodes and cut them in to movies length adventures with updated special effects for the early 90s.
Like you Alexa, I love "Confetti Check, A-O.K." and "A Question of Priorities". As for the entrance to the UFOs you see that in "The Cat With Ten Lives" as they're carried aboard.
This was my intro to UFO! My parents hired this on vhs when I was a brat (in Sheriff of Nottingham mode just then ). I fell in love with this movie & the scary, albino, zombie aliens in gun battle with the good 'space' guys!😎👽 I can't help if Star Wars was an influence? That space battle at the end.
This series was first shown in the US in 1972, when I first saw it. Yeah, I'm old now😊. There were two paperback novels "Flesh Hunters," and "Sporting Blood" by Robert Mial on the US.
Further to another commenter suggesting the four Space: 1999 compilations, Alien Attack is the only one to contain additional footage. It has a couple of short framing scenes shot exclusively for the movie edit, featuring Patrick Allen and his unmistakable voice (you'll recognise him instantly from the UFO episode "Timelash" driving around in his little car, calling Straker a "Big man"!). For a different spin on the compilation movie, though, I'd also recommend Spazio: 1999. This is the one shown in Italian cinemas, and accounts for the show's Italian following to this day, including as it does an entirely new and unique soundtrack by the legendary Ennio Morricone. It's available as part of the "Space: 1999 Super Space Theater" Blu-Ray along with the other four movies. Dubbed with English subtitles (which is an experience in itself), it's put together from the "Breakaway", "Ring Around The Moon" and "Another Time, Another Place" episodes. Morricone is in a more atmospheric mode, reminding me a great deal of what Gyorgi Ligeti's three tracks did for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Personally, I found it worth the price of admission for his contribution alone!
I practically lived in the video library back in the day, and I'm pretty sure that I've heard that synth music in multiple low budget straight-to-video action/SF films. Cult TV fans weren't well-served by the video companies in the 80s. There was a belief that people wouldn't fork out for complete episodes of "old TV", so sometimes the video companies would put together these cut-and-paste jobs and market them as feature films. They also did this a couple of times with "Space: 1999". I remember being excited to see a couple of "Blake's 7" compilation videos in the shops in the late 80s and paying £25 each for them. Yes, I had a little bit of disposable income at that particular time in my life - unfortunately, I disposed of it. In my defence, I never expected to have the chance to see B7 again after it finished, apart from some episodes of the last season that I taped off-air. Not like today, when there's so much out there on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming services. The past really is a differnt country, although to me it doesn't seem that long ago.
I can see why they changed the titles and the music for a omnibus video, but as for using the same theme for the Electric Blue videos that's a head scratcher (& I bet some of the U.F.O. fans might be unaware what else it was used for), but as long as they don't edit any of the other scenes with Gabby Drake as Lt Gay Ellis then I am ok with it. (+ Thanks for letting us see Gay changing her uniform, that was a great addition to her character, and shows off the design by Sylvia).
Thanks for the ❤️ Alexa. Hope you have a wonderful 2025, lots of love, stay safe and 'keep doing what you're doing', looking forward to seeing more videos.
S.I.D. is the unsung hero of S.H.A.D.O. Taking episodes of television shows and making them into a movie or two is something that was done with more than just _'U.F.O.'_ in the Sixties. I am glad we don't do that anymore.
Amazing brilliant knowledge base you have on UFO, one of my long term fav shows, Century 21 productions had a small specisl effects house in a Bourne End industrial estate. After school one day with a friend who's father worked in this field, we watched some short clips of UFO ground attack fight scene. You look great Alexa, thanks for your good work.:)
I know two movies that I think you would enjoy watching. One of them is "Safety Last" from 1923 with Harold Lloyd, a comedy silent movie. Then there's the relatively modern comedy movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" from 1980 which I find wonderfully charming.
@ Maybe you’d like it then, it’s kind of like a movie with audio that has many scenes with humour like in silent movies. The first time I watched it it grew on me the longer I watched.
@@alexachipman ok sorry, I thought I was being vague enough and only tried to explain the type of humour. The sequel is also fun, have you seen the first one already then?
Great as always Alexa. I own this on VHS. There are (at least) two compilation movies of "Space: 1999." I imported two of them from Italy on DVDs. There are two compilation movies of "Thunderbirds" and one for "Stingray" on U.S. released LaserDiscs. Give "Lavender Castle" (1999) a try. I own the complete series on DVD and think you'd like it.
24:37 -Alexa, don’t forget in Cat With Ten Lives when the Aliens stun the Regans and take them aboard their UFO, it looked like there was a kind of ramp…🤔
My head canon for that is they have the ability to drain it into tanks when there are humans involved and have the ability to have a loading ramp; but that is not the default alien configuration.
I got into this show via my love of late sixties psych rock and retro culture. Hearing the techno beat and early 80s synth personally offended me 😠. Your enjoyment got me through.👽❤️
Been a long time since I have seen this version, got the whole series on dvd, but I would include mobiles shooting missiles at the UFO,s (main problem the series didn't do this) and the British warship shooting a UFO down. And agree, the big battle should have been the end episode of the series.
Lovely review, Alexa! About the music; these Anderson compilation movies all added extra Barry Gray music, but I gather they had to go with non-Gray music here because Invasion UFO was scheduled for a US TV broadcast before Gray's music tapes arrived or were accessible to the folks who compiled it. I've got a playlist of some of those extra tracks (including disco pulse!) here; ua-cam.com/play/PLJocmx5IkunZEKBpf98DzGRj8XsuDybYy.html&si=3tPPJOyJh2H9bFaO
Also, if you fancy learning Italian, there are 5 Italian UFO compilation movies! Because Italian TV was still broadcasting in b/w when UFO arrived they put it on in cinemas instead, and it was the success of those films that led to the Italians co-financing Space:1999's first season. ua-cam.com/video/PK7wXe3aIfo/v-deo.html
Alexa, you MUST watch Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. Being the big fan of UFO that you now are, you’re going to spend so much of the time reacting to what you see by……… (#spoilers censored!) 🤣👍
I am absolute rubbish at math or remembering names, but I can tell you what an extra in the back of a specific scene in an episode is wearing from memory 😂
So glad you continue to enjoy UFO and Space:1999 shows, two of my favorites. There was a fan made crossover production that is quite amusing. ua-cam.com/video/FHn-0K2vgxg/v-deo.htmlsi=bejQf7OdL_5NLNDm
So can't you just ask AI to put together your perfect version for you? it might even do a good job at creating inside the UFO or other vehicle based scenes. 🤔
This was the first time/way I saw UFO. I sort of knew it was a compilation of episodes but was enough to make me want to see more and uncut.
I love that you covered this as I haven't seen it for decades since I got rid of my VHS and you have been able to point out the differences and as you say they have concentrated on Action and model work and like you have no idea why they did not include Lt Ellis mini skirt sequence that alone is all that needed to become a lifelong UFO fan.
I would say my favourite all round UFO episode is Computer Affair it has great examples of both character and the model work that the series excelled in
The UFO & Space 1999 video compilations were a bit of a hatchet job. But for a long time, they were the only way you could own a copy of these shows.
I forgot these were cobbled together for video release. I saw last year a Planet of the Apes 'movie' on a cable channel which turned out to be a couple of episodes of the oft-forgotten short lived 1970's TV series edited together.
This is part of the Super Space Theatre project from the early 1980s. It was a way of bringing Anderson shows to video tapes for the first time. There are actually 13 in total.
May I suggest you check out the ones for Space: 1999? Alien Attack, Journey Through the Black Sun, Cosmic Princess and Destination Moonbase Alpha.
I was lucky enough to have dinner with Ed Bishop and his wife. Ed is deaf to accents and even in 1996 his American accent was still 100%. He's lived here since the early 60s.
Just subscribed to "Tea in the Midlands", BTW. I've seen your Moonbase costume before. For someone who has never seen UFO or knows nothing about it, this weird thrown together amalgamation would be completely baffling. You asked how I would have editited it; Well, I just wouldn't have made it at all.
Thank you!
Alexa, did you know that there were plans for a feature film adaptation. It was going to be produced by Robert Evans, who was a bigwig back in the 70’s and 80’s. I’m not sure if they actually cast Straker, but supposedly Ali Larter was cast as Lake and Joshua Jackson as Foster. They had a streamlined Interceptor model made for promotional purposes, you might be able to find those shots in a search. Fortunately or unfortunately it all fell through…
Noooo I wish we had one like Firefly got!
Everyone knows but I think worth saying This was the first time liquid beathing an idea well ahead of it's time , next seen in James Cameron's "Abyss" One other well know fact is Wanda Ventham is Benedict Cumberbatch's mum .
You mean Benedict is lucky enough to be Colonel Lake’s son.
hey I’m Ryan I have a movie request the movie anaconda and if you can please wear long wedding gloves for the movie
There are two Stingray compilation movies and three Thunderbirds. Two Captain Scarlet ones as well.
I disliked the Stingray movies as they had "new special effects" which was just chroma key laser beams covering up the torpedos.
Dunno about you Alexa, but I always thought it was a bit odd that the photo of his sister that Captain Carlin has on the wall of his cabin on Skydiver is a saucy modelling shot.
I assumed it was HER favorite picture. If she is anything like me and hates what she looks like in photos most of the time.
No shame in watching this gem of a show multiple times. I have too.
I didn't watch it before I played the 1994 game X-COM: UFO Defense (or UFO: Enemy Unknown as it was called here in Europe) and I'm convinced the game makers were inspired by the TV series. It has too many elements of it to be a coincidence. Although cars, fashion and other designs in the show was better...
I know of these movie versions of UFO and Space but haven’t actually seen them before. I’d heard about the Jankie music but that was something else 😂. The first two volumes of the Captain Scarlet vhs tapes each took four episodes and cut them in to movies length adventures with updated special effects for the early 90s.
Like you Alexa, I love "Confetti Check, A-O.K." and "A Question of Priorities". As for the entrance to the UFOs you see that in "The Cat With Ten Lives" as they're carried aboard.
Yes but my theory is they drained it for that purpose.
This was my intro to UFO! My parents hired this on vhs when I was a brat (in Sheriff of Nottingham mode just then ). I fell in love with this movie & the scary, albino, zombie aliens in gun battle with the good 'space' guys!😎👽 I can't help if Star Wars was an influence? That space battle at the end.
This series was first shown in the US in 1972, when I first saw it. Yeah, I'm old now😊. There were two paperback novels "Flesh Hunters," and "Sporting Blood" by Robert Mial on the US.
I have Flesh Hunters and was rather disappointed in it. It was composed of 3 episodes in such a short number of pages.
Further to another commenter suggesting the four Space: 1999 compilations, Alien Attack is the only one to contain additional footage. It has a couple of short framing scenes shot exclusively for the movie edit, featuring Patrick Allen and his unmistakable voice (you'll recognise him instantly from the UFO episode "Timelash" driving around in his little car, calling Straker a "Big man"!).
For a different spin on the compilation movie, though, I'd also recommend Spazio: 1999. This is the one shown in Italian cinemas, and accounts for the show's Italian following to this day, including as it does an entirely new and unique soundtrack by the legendary Ennio Morricone. It's available as part of the "Space: 1999 Super Space Theater" Blu-Ray along with the other four movies.
Dubbed with English subtitles (which is an experience in itself), it's put together from the "Breakaway", "Ring Around The Moon" and "Another Time, Another Place" episodes. Morricone is in a more atmospheric mode, reminding me a great deal of what Gyorgi Ligeti's three tracks did for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Personally, I found it worth the price of admission for his contribution alone!
Wow, this was a fun watch with you. Thanks, made my morning.
I practically lived in the video library back in the day, and I'm pretty sure that I've heard that synth music in multiple low budget straight-to-video action/SF films. Cult TV fans weren't well-served by the video companies in the 80s. There was a belief that people wouldn't fork out for complete episodes of "old TV", so sometimes the video companies would put together these cut-and-paste jobs and market them as feature films. They also did this a couple of times with "Space: 1999".
I remember being excited to see a couple of "Blake's 7" compilation videos in the shops in the late 80s and paying £25 each for them. Yes, I had a little bit of disposable income at that particular time in my life - unfortunately, I disposed of it. In my defence, I never expected to have the chance to see B7 again after it finished, apart from some episodes of the last season that I taped off-air. Not like today, when there's so much out there on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming services. The past really is a differnt country, although to me it doesn't seem that long ago.
I can see why they changed the titles and the music for a omnibus video, but as for using the same theme for the Electric Blue videos that's a head scratcher (& I bet some of the U.F.O. fans might be unaware what else it was used for), but as long as they don't edit any of the other scenes with Gabby Drake as Lt Gay Ellis then I am ok with it. (+ Thanks for letting us see Gay changing her uniform, that was a great addition to her character, and shows off the design by Sylvia).
Thanks for the ❤️ Alexa. Hope you have a wonderful 2025, lots of love, stay safe and 'keep doing what you're doing', looking forward to seeing more videos.
S.I.D. is the unsung hero of S.H.A.D.O.
Taking episodes of television shows and making them into a movie or two is something that was done with more than just _'U.F.O.'_ in the Sixties.
I am glad we don't do that anymore.
Nice review 😊
Amazing brilliant knowledge base you have on UFO, one of my long term fav shows, Century 21 productions had a small specisl effects house in a Bourne End industrial estate. After school one day with a friend who's father worked in this field, we watched some short clips of UFO ground attack fight scene. You look great Alexa, thanks for your good work.:)
Thank you!
👍
I know two movies that I think you would enjoy watching. One of them is "Safety Last" from 1923 with Harold Lloyd, a comedy silent movie. Then there's the relatively modern comedy movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" from 1980 which I find wonderfully charming.
I don't know "The Gods Must Be Crazy", but "Safety Last" is an absolute classic.
@ Maybe you’d like it then, it’s kind of like a movie with audio that has many scenes with humour like in silent movies. The first time I watched it it grew on me the longer I watched.
Please no spoilers in comments; normally I would remove this comment but I do want to say The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 is absolutely hilarious!
@@alexachipman ok sorry, I thought I was being vague enough and only tried to explain the type of humour.
The sequel is also fun, have you seen the first one already then?
Great as always Alexa. I own this on VHS. There are (at least) two compilation movies of "Space: 1999." I imported two of them from Italy on DVDs. There are two compilation movies of "Thunderbirds" and one for "Stingray" on U.S. released LaserDiscs. Give "Lavender Castle" (1999) a try. I own the complete series on DVD and think you'd like it.
24:37 -Alexa, don’t forget in Cat With Ten Lives when the Aliens stun the Regans and take them aboard their UFO, it looked like there was a kind of ramp…🤔
My head canon for that is they have the ability to drain it into tanks when there are humans involved and have the ability to have a loading ramp; but that is not the default alien configuration.
I got into this show via my love of late sixties psych rock and retro culture. Hearing the techno beat and early 80s synth personally offended me 😠. Your enjoyment got me through.👽❤️
Yes! This is one of the greatest sifi shows of all time. Enjoy.
Remember trying to get into UFO years ago could not get into it
Been a long time since I have seen this version, got the whole series on dvd, but I would include mobiles shooting missiles at the UFO,s (main problem the series didn't do this) and the British warship shooting a UFO down. And agree, the big battle should have been the end episode of the series.
The assault Mobile has an automatic canon and artillery turret for firing mortars / depth charges from up to half a mile away :) still pretty cool!
Lovely review, Alexa! About the music; these Anderson compilation movies all added extra Barry Gray music, but I gather they had to go with non-Gray music here because Invasion UFO was scheduled for a US TV broadcast before Gray's music tapes arrived or were accessible to the folks who compiled it. I've got a playlist of some of those extra tracks (including disco pulse!) here; ua-cam.com/play/PLJocmx5IkunZEKBpf98DzGRj8XsuDybYy.html&si=3tPPJOyJh2H9bFaO
Also, if you fancy learning Italian, there are 5 Italian UFO compilation movies! Because Italian TV was still broadcasting in b/w when UFO arrived they put it on in cinemas instead, and it was the success of those films that led to the Italians co-financing Space:1999's first season. ua-cam.com/video/PK7wXe3aIfo/v-deo.html
Alexa, you MUST watch Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. Being the big fan of UFO that you now are, you’re going to spend so much of the time reacting to what you see by……… (#spoilers censored!) 🤣👍
They wanted to do more "moonbase" eps, but someone felt they had enough for a new show altogether.
UFO. Is my 2rd favourite Gerry Anderson show , Space1999 is 1st !!
You need to watch Doppelganger/Journey To The Far Side of the Sun. It is a movie made by Gerry Anderson which is the precursor to UFO.
Wonderful 📺 👽 🌎❤
Your cross-referencing abilities always astound me. I wonder if you would enjoy Jason King or its precursor, Department S.?
I am absolute rubbish at math or remembering names, but I can tell you what an extra in the back of a specific scene in an episode is wearing from memory 😂
So glad you continue to enjoy UFO and Space:1999 shows, two of my favorites. There was a fan made crossover production that is quite amusing. ua-cam.com/video/FHn-0K2vgxg/v-deo.htmlsi=bejQf7OdL_5NLNDm
Was the sexy uniform change too racy for 2025?
So can't you just ask AI to put together your perfect version for you?
it might even do a good job at creating inside the UFO or other vehicle based scenes. 🤔