This is for random musings and stuff...

Me, I liked the SkyDivers. How many were there, 3?

I think there were at least 5. I have NO idea where that number came from.
There was a Sky 4 mentioned in Mindbender, but then in the same scene it was referred to as Sky One, so I don't know.
Hey! Does anyone have that great UFO Attack SKY Base game? Its not available on the net anymore, and I WANT IT!

I saw the show a few times on the Sci-Fi channel when I was about 13. The only 2 things I remember about it are that the rockets (in the supposed vacume of space) left smoke trails that looked like they were comming off of a cigarette lighter, and the opening credits featured a close-up of a woman's butt in a tight fitting jumpsuit as she walked away, (Like I said I was 13 at the time)

My main memories of UFO (in no particular order):

The girls' wigs.
The men's string vests!
The number of cigarettes Ed and Alec (in particular) got through in an average episode.
The great theme tune.
The scary sound the UFOs made.
SID!
The first time I saw a human forced to breathe liquid by the aliens - I had nightmares for about a week afterwards.

The first time I saw a human forced to breathe liquid by the aliens - I had nightmares for about a week afterwards.

Does anyone know if James Cameron was a UFO fan? The scene with Ed Harris in "The Abyss" taking off the helmet after breathing liquid seems a direct tribute to "Survival".

Here's a question perhaps someone can answer. Does anyone have a clue what the music is that opens the Invasion: UFO movie? It sounds kind of familiar.

Does anyone have any idea why Confetti Check A-OK and The Psychobombs had no opening credits sequences?

Callie, yes, I had the same nightmares.

Quick question, how many times did all the Interceptors fire their ONE missile and miss the UFO, and then have to return to base to get more? I'm sure it happened at least once, but can't remember the episode.

That to me is the major design flaw of the Interceptor, although I will say they do look WAY cool!

Also, the purple wigs - if they were anti-static, how come the guys didn't need them?

Who the heck is Harlington?

Alice, regarding interceptors, see my comments on the "The Square Triangle" board.

I wrote a text UFO story: it is at http://www.buckrogers.demon.co.uk/ufo/end.txt and http://www.buckrogers.demon.co.uk/ufo/end2.txt

Kinggodzillak asked who Harlington was. Once an envelope is seen addressed to "Harlington-Straker Studios, West Harlington, Wessex, England", i.e. Harlington was not a man but a place. Wessex is correctly the modern name for the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Westseaxna which used ro be in parts of southwest England, but it is sometimes used as a name for a fictional modern English county. Some think that Harlington-Straker Studios is where Elstree Studios is in the real world.

The ufoseries.com site has a clip up now where Ed Bishop says who 'Harlington' was, but I haven't downloaded it yet!

KZ I have told You The Reasonings Why, Confetti Check A-OK and The Psychobombs had no opening credits sequences. :P

Yes...... so why not tell everyone else!

I can't remember, which episode was it where SID was attacked by a UFO?

The episode which SID was attacked was The Man Who Came Back.

About Confetti and Psycobombs having no opening titles, why is that? Did they have too much episode footage and couldn't cut any out?

Yep.

A few weeks ago, I was in the checkout lane of a local US grocer, and noticed the usual bunch of supermarket tabloids in the rack by the cash register. One headline proclaimed "Air Force proves aliens visiting Earth!" or some such nonsense, with a photo of a downed UFO prominently displayed. You guessed it... the photographic "proof" was a still from this Gerry Anderson series!

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of UFO is Ed Straker's bronze car. The car, revamped from Journey To the Far Side of the Sun, is, even today, still futuristic looking. Foster's lavender car just can't compare. It looks clumsily designed next to it. The blue jeeps don't look too practical; they're a bit on the small side. The series is let down when (then contemporary) everyday 60's cars are used. The American cars look especially dated. The red Porsche (with its quirky design) in The Psychobombs has a timeless appeal though.

All the interior shots of the cars required quite a bit of blue-screen shots to add backgrounds. It's unusual to see a program from 1969 use that many opticals.

It's also fun to see near future technology that have now become obsolete; such as the SST (resembling the retired Concorde) and the tilt-rotor plane resembling the retired Osprey (used by the American Military).

With today's technology (internet and mobile phones with digital cameras), it would seem impossible that an organization such as SHADO could remain secret. I guess back in 1970 (when the show was made) it was possible (although an aggresive press would probably uncover such an organization in real life).

Favorite hardware:
The Interceptor, what a classic design!

Least favorite:
The Shado heavy transport plane, it just looks a bit bloated and clumsily designed.

Favorite hardware: SID!!!!

Actually, the Concorde and the Osprey are not obsolete. The Concorde was retired because (a) all existing Concordes are over 10 years old, and (b) after that Concorde crashed right after take-off in Paris, it was PERCEIVED (not necessarily accurately) that people would be afraid to fly in them. The Osprey is still relatively new, and a tilt-rotor design will always be a good way to give a fixed-wing aircraft VTOL capability. The aircraft on the TV show are meant to give the impression of using aerodynamic principles that are still valid to this day.

Also, Mike, the Concorde was also retired because it was economically inefficient.

OK, maybe. In any case, there's no reason to believe that no government organization (such as SHADO) will ever again use similar-looking aircraft.

Re:Paco's comment over Shadair SST's
Currently, there are 3 U.S small aircraft manafacturers proposing a Supersonic Business Jet, for sale in the near future...
The nearest (currently) to production is the Aerion, which looks like a cross between the X-3 & the F-104 Starfighter.
It's proposed top speed is Mach 1.5, & from the specifcations I read, looks quite viable.
The only bar to their introduction at present, is due to noise concerns, they cannot travel supersonically over land.
As for the tilt rotor, mentioned, well, the V-22 Osprey has not yet been cancelled, & the
Bell-Augusta BA609 small tilt rotor project is still on schedule...

The Concorde itself was very outdated. Its 60s controls weren't digital as with later planes. It was harder to fly and less fuel efficient than today's planes. As for the Osprey, who could forget all the news reports that it was crash prone and often unstable and difficult to fly.

One ep mentioned the problem of all the space junk in orbit around Earth (and the danger it posed to space vehicles). Just think, today, of how much more of a problem this is(than when the show was made in 1969). The solution presented (blowing up the junk) posed problems of its own. Wouldn't they be creating even more debris and junk?

Treklon - That episode was "Conflict", and it wasn't a matter of collisions with space debris, it was the fact that an alien device would hide near an orbiting burned-out rocket stage, then attach itself to returning SHADO transport spacecraft, thereby causing drag that ruined the re-entry trajectory. When it was too late for the crew to save themselves, the alien device would detach itself and return to orbit. The present-day real problem of orbiting debris causing a collision hazard was unforeseen at the time the show was made.

"Conflict" does show a chart which keeps track of the space junk. NASA also keeps track of space junk. It's a very real hazzard even today.

As for the technology shown in the series, the vehicles are a nice blend of real life and Thunderbirds style fancifulness. Purely realistic craft would be a bit dull. One can see that in a multitude of other shows and films.

Gerry Anderson spent some time in the RAF before he became a producer, so he knows about both basic aerodynamics and dramatic art. The "fancifulness" of the Thunderbids and the other craft on Gerry Anderson's shows is a fancifulness rooted in plausibility. Case in point: Thunderbird 2 has forward-swept wings; real aeronautics research has included experimental aircraft with forward-swept wings (albeit none anywhere near that large). Also, compare Thunderbird 2's overall appearance with that of a type of real aircraft known in some circles as the "Flying Boxcar". One of these planes appears in the recent remake of the motion picture, "Flight of the Phoenix".

To save some time, compare this picture with this one.

Re:Treklon's last comment
Treklon, Concorde was the first aircraft to have A "Fly-By Wire" control system, abeit analogue, rather than digital.
The first commercial aircraft to have Digital FBW & enter service is the Airbus A320...
"Glass" cockpits, which I think, you're referring to as "Digital", were not introduced to commercial aircraft until the late 1980's.
The Beech Starship 1 (Now sadly defunct), was one of the first aircraft to have a "Glass" cockpit...

As to Mike's comments, Anderson never designed any of the craft in his shows. Other did; Mike Trim, Derek Meddings, Brian Johnson, etc. Anderson can't be praised for scientific plausibility in his shows either. UFO is fun, but it is a ridiculous concept. Anderson takes the prize for Space:1999 though. It has the most ludicrous premise ( an intergalactic wandering moon!)of any scifi show I can think of. Shame on him for that one!

oh, lay off. No SF show ever made had a reasonable, logcial premise...

Um, WRONG. No TV show ever had TV writers who had been working for NASA before the film studio offered them a better salary.

IF we assume that alien beings from another star system HAVE been visiting Earth, we have to ask: Why would they come within 10 million miles of Earth, since every periodic-chart element is available on uninhabited bodies within our solar system? Because the aliens need something that exists on Earth, but nowhere else in the solar system. In other words, the only reason they would come within 10 million miles of Earth is because they need the organisms living on Earth (such as US) for some reason. Now take THAT premise and see if you can come up with anything better than the "UFO" series that Gerry Anderson gave us.

Oh, and BTW, Derek Meddings and the others (probably) would do a preliminary sketch of a major vehicle design, and Gerry Anderson, as Executive Producer, would have the final say on whether a design looked and "felt" right, for the impression that he wanted that design to convey.

Anderson was eager to cash in on the merchandising revenue from those designs. He didn't share any of the profits with those who actually designed the craft. Several of designers have complained about this.

sour grapes, pure and simple.

Look! Paco said "UFO...is a ridiculous concept." Jonesy said, "No SF show ever made had a reasonable, logical premise." Now re-read my posting of March 04, 03:39 pm, and I DARE ANYONE TO TRY making anything better than "UFO"!

UFO is ridiculous, but it's light years better than a show such as NBC's Project:UFO (1978). There's a reason why the show has such a cult following. I think it's one of the best scifi shows ever. UFO has it's own unique appeal, which will never be duplicated. I'm glad Ed Bishop wasn't a "hammosaurus" like Shatner. Only Ed could be Straker! What other show had such outrageous uniforms as those worn by the Moonbase gals? Purple wigs...and they all looked great in them!

So if YOU were doing a show for TODAY'S audiences, taking place 10 years in the future, YOU would have EVERYBODY dressing like they do TODAY? Or would your "extrapolation" somehow be more accurate?

By any reasonable standard, UFO placed too many breakthroughs in technology for a mere ten years in the future from 1970. All of them were more for entertainment, and not serious conjecture. Take Skydiver, it would be an impossibility in real life. To withstand underwater pressure, the hull of Sky-One would have to be so thick that it would be impractical (too heavy and slow) as a fighter jet. A moonbase as complex as depicted in the show wasn't serious conjecture either. Most people considered such a base to be possible only well into the 21st century. Fantasy is often more fun than reality, though.

If the makers of UFO could have seen the real 1980s what do you think would be different?

Would Ed & Alec be dressed like Crockett & Tubbs of Miami Vice?

Instead of purple wigs would the girls of Moonbase have really big hair?

How would AIDS have affected the aliens' organ harvesting?

Re:Kam's last comment
Well, the Kit cars used by Ed & Alec would probably be better looking....
As for HIV, it was argued, in the novelisations, that the aliens have no autoimmune systems, or at best, heavily supressed ones, they may already have a partial "cure" for AIDS...
(You could argue that a alien HIV analogue could be one of the reasons, why they're risking travelling to Earth to "Harvest" organs...).

Skydiver would NOT have to be too thick IF the internal air pressure was great enough. Also, we don't KNOW that it DIDN'T have nuclear rocket engines. Also, we don't know that "future" alloys and other materials aren't BOTH lighter AND stronger. And the real value of something like Skydiver is in the ability to have a fighter suddenly show up, when the aliens knew full well that there were neither aircraft carriers nor land airbases nearby. It MIGHT STILL be able to maneuver well enough to knock down a small starship that doesn't have to maneuver well in an atmosphere.

By the way, sometime in the late 1950's, somebody actually did have a design for a jet fighter plane that could also function as a minisub. It probably wasn't worth doing at that level of technology, but it shows that something like Skydiver IS...POSSIBLE.

The UFOs were always depicted as flying in a somewhat erratic manner. It may not have been intentional; the UFO models had to always be level so the spinning mechanisms wouldn't jam. The odd manner of the UFOs' flight suggested that they weren't that manueverable in the atmosphere.

In one sense, the UFOs would seem to be an easy target for Skydiver. Just think of a shuttle reentering the Earth's atmosphere. It would make for an easy target.

The shots of the mobiles leaving the transporter are all reused, and the mobile driver is obviously a puppet/doll in this shot.

From Callie:

The men's string vests!

Wasn't that only on SkyDiver? And the men don't wear anything under them. I assume the female officer on SkyDiver does, though....

Quick question, how many times did all the Interceptors fire their ONE missile and miss the UFO, and then have to return to base to get more? I'm sure it happened at least once, but can't remember the episode.

At least twice, in both "Identified" and "Computer Affair".

This was an intriguing Gerry Anderson series that had an epic scale to it with its various locations,a moonbase,outer space & incredible futuristic technology.The models & visual fx were wonderful.U.S.TV shows had nothing to compare to it for scale or ambition.That said,there were also weaknesses to UFO.The scripts were okay but simply not sensational.The cast was decent,but being an English show,the performances were played in that understated,aloof British manner.And I just find that style distances me from caring for or liking the leads very much.There were also some very illogical concepts within the premise.S.H.A.D.O. is supposed to be a super-duper secret organization,hidden from the public.So they hide their h.q. beneath an active movie studio? Why? Any studio would have reporters,p.r.people,entertainment news shows galore all over the lot.Movie/TV studios are in the public eye 24/7.Hardly a place to operate in secrecy,no matter how clever you may be.I realize that when the series was made back in the 1970's we did not have the intense scrutiny of the entertainment industry,or the numerous journalists,that we have presently.Still,what a ridiculous location to place a "covert" operation.Also,Stryker was the studio ceo/head of S.H.A.D.O. How could he manage to pull off such a deception? The studio was supposed to be a real,operating movie-making enterprise.Even if others were running the studio,he had to appear to be doing so,just to keep his cover real.And still be in charge of a secret agency besides!He would not have enough time in the day to pull this off realistically.The moonbase Interceptors are designed to carry one,and only one,missile? No other weapons systems are aboard them.Does that make any sense to you? S.I.D. is a satellite used to spot invading alien saucers.Good idea but why is there only one S.I.D.? Why does it not have any defensive capabilities? I'd love to see a revival of UFO,but some drastic updating would need to be done in order to make it believable.

Re: Harlington-Straker studios
In the UFO novelisations, it's inferred that Harlington-Straker Studios is the perfect place to hide equipment, as they will assume it's for a movie...
In addition, the public regards it as the last relic of a dying U.K film indrustry, that keeps turning out flops or low budget adaptations of T.V series, that only stays alive due to creative accounting...
(BTW, Hammer Films biggest grossing production in 1970, was a adaption of the London Weekend T.V comedy show On The Buses....)
In one of the novelisations, Straker is amused/horrified by the fact that one of his "movies" is actually making a profit, & as a result,he's worried that the IAC will use this, as a excuse to cut S.H.A.D.O's funding....

Perhaps the interceptors only carry one missile because given the closing speeds involved they'll only get one shot at the UFOs before the reach the Earth.

Some random musings;

That music at the end of each episode still gives me the creeps. I remember as a little kid it was enough to make me turn down the sound.

I'm still left wondering about that planet seen near Earth; is that supposed to be the alien's home world, which we can see for some reason, but is cloaked from SHADO? It can't be Mars, it's too close to the Earth and the Moon.

I never really thought about this until now, but I started wondering how many ships the aliens lost throughout the entire series. They lost a bunch in that big attack, so I'd make the number somewhere near 20 or more. I also wonder if these are considered fighter craft or just armed shuttles, and always wondered if there wasn't a Mothership out there somewhere (discounting the cloaked planet/asteroid I just mentioned).

I don't recall a single episode when SHADO attempted to contact a UFO, even to warn it away. I suppose by the time the series begins in 1980, the time for talking (the 70's) was over.

I'm so disappointed that there wasn't a second season, and we could have learned more about the alien's motivations, and had one of them speaking, revealing more about their planet.

I never liked the design for the alien's saucers at all,came off as looking like a kid's toy to me.Otherwise the show's designs for the moonbase,vehicles,sub,& aircraft were incredible.

Another element that Anderson missed.

Interceptor firings are all ground controlled, there is no fire control computer on board. They couldn't fire until given coordinates from the ground, and if there was interference, they were useless.

However, TPTB can be forgiven this, since the microchip wasn't even invented until 1971. Of course, a "modern" UFO-style interceptor would now have fire control, which would kill some of the plot points in the episodes.

According to the sf news sites a UFO movie is gearing up for production & the actor who plays the son of the quirky scientist on Fringe will be in it.

Of course, said movie never happened.

UFO lands on Big Finish starring Barnaby Kay as Ed Straker:
https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/ufo-mission-details?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=UFO01&utm_content=news

Good old Big Finish

I listed the images shown during the credits of 'Star Trek - Enterprise' and it's Mirror-Universe alternate credits, so I thought I'd do one for this series.
There's A LOT! There are so many fast cuts, that I never realized how many there are. Here goes;

- Alien eye shield removed.
- Typewriter spells out 'SHADO Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization...secret location...beneath studio'.
- The word 'SHADO'
- The typewriter again.
- The word 'SHADO' again.
- Outside view of the Straker - Harlington Film Studios sign.
- The year '1980'.
- Straker driving his car.
- The year '1980' again.
- Lt. Ayshea Johnson waves at someone off camera as it pans.
- Straker walks away from Johnson.
- Female SHADO operative leaves Straker's office.
- Straker looks at solar system model.
- Straker approaches Lt. Ford.
- View of Freeman and an Operative from behind.
- Curvaceous SHADO operative walking through HQ corridor.
- Computer reels.
- Radar display.
- Viewscreen display 'SHADO 1 6423-305'.
- Computer reels.
- Straker.
- Freeman.
- Ford.
- Foster.
- Straker again, only angry this time.
- Typewriter types 'SID Space Intruder Detector...maintaining scan for UFO's'.
- The year '1980'
- SID in Earth orbit.
- The word 'UFO'.
- Interior view of SID's computer banks.
- The word 'UFO' again.
- Another interior view of SID's computers.
- Typewriter types 'Skydiver on patrol...Sky One...ready for action in Earth's atmosphere'.
- View of Skydiver under water.
- The year '1980'.
- Skydiver Captain Carlin slides down Sky One entry chute.
- Skydiver tilting up to launch Sky One.
- Captain Waterman and blonde Skydiver officer.
- Close-up of Sky One launching from Skydiver.
- Long-shot of Sky One launching from Skydiver.
- Male and Female Skydiver crewmen looking upwards.
- Sky One breaks surface of water.
- Captain Carlin in Sky One cockpit.
- Two shots of Sky One in flight.
- Typewriter types 'Mobiles...all operational'.
- The word 'SHADO'.
- SHADO Control Mobile exiting aircraft.
- Lt. Mark Bradley and security officer inside Mobile.
- Mobile approaching camera.
- Bradley and security officer again.
- Close-up of Mobile's treads.
- The word 'SHADO'.
- Bradley and officer for the third time.
- SHADO Mobile 1 in forest.
- SHADO Mobile 2 in forest.
- Crashed UFO fires laser beam.
- SHADO Mobile 3 hit by laser and blows up.
- Typewriter types 'Moonbase tracker systems and space interceptors operational'.
- Zoom-in of the Moon in the sky.
- Lt. Gay Ellis in Moonbase control room.
- Zoom-in view of the Moon in the sky again.
- Moonbase from above.
- Lt. Nina Barry.
- Moonbase from above again.
- Three views of various control panels.
- Lt. Gay Ellis again.
- Another control panel.
- Lt. Joan Harrington again.
- Lt. Ellis on phone on Moonbase and pan to Nina Barry.
- Another control panel.
- Interceptor pilots enter chutes.
- Lt. Ellis walks past camera in silver miniskirt on Moonbase.
- Interceptor lift-off.
- UFO approaches camera.
- All three interceptors approach camera.
- Interceptor pilot speaking to Moonbase.
- UFO approaches.
- All three interceptors fire their missiles.
- UFO destroyed.
- Fade to black.

Were there two seasons of this show?

I got the impression that there was only one, with the next season turning into what became Space: 1999.

Whoever did this board inexplicably split the one and only season into two parts. The series was filmed in two parts, as they were forced to film in a different studio and several cast members, like George Sewell, were unavailable by then, so they were written out.
Basically, Colonel Lake was created to replace Colonel Freeman, which was almost a fair trade in my opinion.

The DVDs were broken up in two parts (don't recall they called them seasons or not), but I would guess it's because the British refer to filming blocks of TV shows as series which Americans confuse with seasons.

England and America, two countries divided by a common language. ;-)

I thought of merging the two threads into one, but decided not too.

I mean they've been like this since day one. No need to change them now.

Has there been an explanation of why the show was set only 10 years into the future? Even Gerry must have known at the time that such a scenario was impossible. Why not at least 2000 or 2025?

Probably helped keep costume and set budgets low, if it's only ten years in the future things would still look fairly, and believably, as they do in the present.

That's what I would say. And with so many flashbacks throughout the series to the 1970's it allowed them to use new cars and present-day (1969) furnishings for homes.
But, obviously this version of Earth has gone full force regarding its space programs and 1980 to them could have been 2001 for us (had our real-life space programs done more than a few space shuttles and one space station).

But, obviously this version of Earth has gone full force regarding its space programs and 1980 to them could have been 2001 for us (had our real-life space programs done more than a few space shuttles and one space station).

Yeah, but the Earth of this reality was under constant alien attack. They had to go full force to get into space in order to mount a defence and counter-attacks.

Perhaps if we had faced such attacks, we would have done the same thing. Fighting the aliens, and not each other.

Eric - why the show was set only 10 years into the future?

Maybe they just didn't think anyone would be watching the show in ten years?

On the other hand Lew Grade did believe the shows he made would be seen years later and made sure to buy music rights in perpetuity. (The Gerry Anderson YouTube channel has a lot of interesting tidbits.)

Why not at least 2000 or 2025?

Well, it would be hard to have a moonbase after the moon was blasted out of orbit in 1999. ;-)

Tim - Yeah, but the Earth of this reality was under constant alien attack.

Which the taxpayer would have had no knowledge of.

If the general public knew about these things I could see people getting behind things like a moonbase, SID, Skydiver, etc. Hell, private industry would probably be working on Alien & UFO detectors, etc. (On the other hand you'd probably also have some people worried about alien rights & such nonsense.)

There is no way something like this could be covered up.

It would be like trying to cover up World War II.

And that's why it was a good idea to have at least a few episodes dealing with normal people stumbling upon the existence of aliens or SHADO, rather than a la-dee-da-we're-a-secret-organization-and-nobody-ever-discovers-us attitude by the producers.
People found out stuff and there were consequences.

I had the same issue with the Stargate franchise. There is no way they could keep this under wraps.

They couldn't keep Watergate under wraps, the couldn't keep Iran-Contra under wraps, they couldn't keep the whole Monica Lewinsky thing under wraps. They ain't gonna be able to keep something this big, something that affects the whole would, under wraps either.

Stargate, at least, was mostly set on alien worlds where it would be easier to keep under wraps. It was those Earth-based episodes that were the problems.

With the gate being burried deep under Cheyenne Mountain, it wasn't too difficult to keep whatever would come through it contained. However, a few times things happened that it should not have been possible to keep secret, like the big battle over Antarctica, or an entire sky scraper just vanishing from the middle of a bustling city, stuff like that.

Yeah, but soon we had humans flying in ships all over the galaxy a la Star Trek.

Nope, you can't keep something like that a secret.

And the same applies for this show, IMO.

It is rather amazing that the people who do manage to discover SHADOs secrets suffer no real consequences (a la The Responsibility Seat). I guess we have to assume they all got a dose of the amnesia drug later.

Except SHADO are the good guys, right?

The interceptors could possibly have been engineered to carry a second missile, if they could show some kind of a track on the underside that moves the second one into position. In “Reflections Under the Water”, four missile firings are shown from the three lunar interceptors.

There also are several instances of showing the interceptors abandoning an intercept and returning to base… without any missiles, though none were ever fired during that scramble.

I believe the Avro F-105 (Arrow) was the first with fly by wire, back in 1957-58. There was no connection for the pilot to feel what was happening to his aircraft, so by adding the FBW, it could be felt. There certainly would be no digital back then.

Treklon mentioned blowing up debris. That was not the solution to junk, but rather the solution to the menace alien gadget hiding near some junk. They did create a bigger problem, but the alien gadget had to be dealt with.

I am not certain but in “Identified”, the female Skydiver crew member might not have been wearing anything over her breasts, or it was so subtle that her nipples were more visible. It doesn’t seem to be a problem in later episodes. I really don’t understand why they wore those outfits because I would expect Skydiver to be cold because of the cold ocean water it is operating in.

The closing credits show a very unrealistic solar system. With more than half the Earth and moon lit, the sun has to be closer to the camera, and to be such, the sun ends up being smaller than Pluto! The Earth and moon should have been shown more in a crescent phase, so the sun does look like it is further away. As to the alien planet hovering into view at the end… well, that’s unrealistic because it obviously is far beyond our solar system.

Straker lost an excellent opportunity in “The Computer Affair” because he wasn’t patient enough. The alien should have been locked up and they wait him out to see if he finally breaks after a few weeks or months.