PREMISE
In the year 1980, a secret military organization named SHADO (Supreme Headquarters
Alien Defence Organisation) becomes operational. Its purpose is to defend
the Earth
from a race of Aliens who've been kidnapping humans for body parts.
SHADO's main headquarters is hidden beneath a London film studio. It also
has a base
on the moon (Moonbase) and a fleet of submarines (Skydiver). Incoming UFO's
are
initially detected by an Earth orbiting satellite named SID (Space Intruder
Detector).
An initial interception attempt is made in space with three Interceptors
launched from
Moonbase. A second attempt is made in the Earth's atmosphere with a fighter
plane
(Sky One) launched from Skydiver. Landed UFO's are tracked down with ground
Mobiles.
SHADO is run by the extremely dedicated Commander Ed Straker. His seconds
in
command are Col. Alec Freeman, Col. Paul Foster, and Col. Virginia Lake.
Moonbase is
often commanded by Lt. Gay Ellis.
EPISODE SYNOPSES
IDENTIFIED
-- Ten years after the first confirmed UFO incident, SHADO is about to
become fully operational. A UFO attacks an SST delivering vital SHADO tracking
equipment, but it is shot down by Sky One. An Alien is captured and brought
back to
SHADO HQ, but what secrets does it reveal?
EXPOSED
-- During a UFO interception by Sky One, an experimental test plane is shot
down. The test pilot is convinced he saw a UFO, but when he tries to prove
it he is
discredited and harassed. His persistence leads him to SHADO's commander,
but will he
now be killed for knowing too much?
FLIGHT PATH
-- SHADO operative Paul Roper is being blackmailed by the Aliens for
flight plan data which will allow them to attack Moonbase undetected. After
being
discovered, Roper volunteers to defend Moonbase himself. But what are his
chances --
alone on the lunar surface and armed only with a handheld rocket launcher?
CONFLICT
-- A SHADO lunar module is mysteriously destroyed during Earth reentry,
and a second reentry attempt by Col. Foster nearly fails. Straker thinks
the cause
might be an Alien device hidden in some space junk, and sends in the Interceptors.
However, while the Earth is left undefended, a UFO is sighted and its target
is SHADO
headquarters!
SURVIVAL
-- An Alien bullet blows out a window on Moonbase, and an operative is
killed. A UFO is discovered in a nearby crater, and a battle leaves Col.
Foster missing
and presumed dead. However, Foster is still alive, as is an Alien. After
initial
mistrust, the two join together to try and survive the walk back to Moonbase.
But will
they?
THE DALOTEK
AFFAIR -- A series of unexplained communication blackouts on
Moonbase eventually destroys a lunar module during a landing attempt. Col.
Foster
believes the interference is coming from the nearby Dalotek base. However,
after
removing the suspected source, another blackout occurs -- just as a UFO
is coming in
for an attack!
COMPUTER AFFAIR
-- After a UFO collides with an Interceptor, computer tests
indicate that Lt. Ellis' judgment was affected by an emotional attachment
with one of
the Interceptor pilots. Col. Freeman doesn't buy this, and makes them both
part of his
team to battle the landed UFO in the Mobiles. However, will Lt. Ellis' judgment
be
affected again?
A QUESTION
OF PRIORITIES -- Commander Straker's son is hit by a car, and Straker
orders a SHADO transport jet to deliver desperately needed medication. However,
the
jet is diverted to investigate what might be a defecting Alien trying to
contact SHADO.
Will SHADO reach the Alien before its own kind does, and will Straker's
son die
because the Alien takes priority?
ORDEAL --
Following a late night party, Col. Foster reports to the SHADO health farm.
While in the sauna, Aliens attack the building, kidnap Foster, and adapt
him to liquid
breathing inside an Alien space suit. The UFO escapes the Earth's atmosphere,
as Sky
One's pilot is unable to shoot down his friend. How will Foster's nightmarish
ordeal
end?
THE
RESPONSIBILITY SEAT -- SHADO may have a security leak due to an interview
Straker gave to a female reporter. Leaving Freeman in charge, Straker tracks
down the
reporter, only to start becoming emotionally involved with her. Meanwhile,
Freeman is
having some troubles at SHADO, the latest being a Russian Moon crawler on
a collision
course with Moonbase!
THE SQUARE TRIANGLE
-- A woman and her lover conspire to kill her husband.
However, instead of shooting the husband, the woman accidentally shoots
an Alien
entering the house. Col. Foster brings the couple back to SHADO HQ to erase
their
memory of the incident, but what should they do about the two, who will
obviously try
to kill the husband again if let free?
COURT MARTIAL
-- Col. Foster is tried and sentenced to death after a security leak
points to him as being a traitor. Straker and Freeman are not convinced
however, and
start their own investigation. They finally prove Foster's innocence, but
it may be too
late, as Foster has escaped and security has orders to shoot on sight!
CLOSE UP
-- SHADO begins a project to follow a UFO back to its home planet and
photograph the surface using an amazing new telescopic camera. The probe
is launched
and readied, a UFO is successfully diverted back home, and after many months,
SHADO
finally receives photos of the Alien world. What does SHADO learn from these
photos?
CONFETTI CHECK
A-OK -- After a SHADO operative has a baby, Straker recalls his
own marriage of ten years ago. His marriage starts out happily enough, but
becomes
strained as he spends all of his time away from home working on the creation
of
SHADO. How can he make his wife understand that he's being faithful without
compromising SHADO's security?
E.S.P. -- A
UFO crash lands into a house, killing the woman inside. The woman's
husband has amazing powers of E.S.P., and after repeated scannings of Foster
in the
hospital, he sends Straker a detailed document full of secret information
about SHADO.
Straker and Freeman meet with him, but only then do they realize that he's
been taken
over by the Aliens and plans to kill them!
KILL STRAKER!
-- After a UFO encounter during a lunar module reentry, Foster
becomes unusually hostile towards Straker. Both he and the lunar module
co-pilot try
to kill Straker, with the co-pilot dying in his attempt. Foster's medical
exam reveals
that an Alien-implanted urge to "Kill Straker" may reappear at
any moment. Will Foster
have to be eliminated?
SUB-SMASH
-- A UFO destroys a ship in the Atlantic, so Straker and Foster go to
investigate in Skydiver. The UFO attacks the sub, leaving it heavily damaged
and
stranded on an undersea ledge. A rescue plane is on the way, but the escape
hatches are
all blocked or damaged and the air is running out. Will Straker and the
crew make it out
alive?
THE SOUND OF
SILENCE -- While searching for a landed UFO, Col. Foster investigates
a missing person report at a nearby horse ranch. After discovering the bodies
of a local
hippie and his dog, Foster thinks the UFO is hiding at the bottom of a nearby
lake. The
UFO is destroyed in a battle with the Mobiles, but an object remains intact
-- is it a
bomb that will detonate when taken back to SHADO HQ?
THE CAT WITH TEN
LIVES -- While driving home, Interceptor pilot James Regan and
his wife stop for a cat in the road and are abducted by the Aliens. Regan
is left behind,
and is now being controlled by an Alien mind in the cat. In his Interceptor,
Regan is
controlled to let a UFO escape and finally places his vehicle on a collision
course with
Moonbase!
DESTRUCTION
-- Straker investigates a UFO incident with a naval ship. He discovers
that the ship is planning to dump a highly toxic nerve gas into a deep trench
in the
Atlantic. However, the Aliens are being fed information about the ship's
schedule, and
if they succeed in destroying the ship, all life on Earth will be destroyed!
THE MAN WHO CAME
BACK -- SID is knocked out in an Alien attack, and Craig
Collins, the man chosen to pilot the repair mission, has been acting strangely
since a
UFO incident. Collins injures co-pilot Foster at the last minute, forcing
Straker to
replace him. However, once in space, Straker realizes that the Aliens have
programmed
Collins to kill him!
REFLECTIONS
IN THE WATER -- Skydiver's crew discovers an underwater Alien
dome in the Atlantic. Straker and Foster get inside the dome and find an
exact
duplication of SHADO HQ and its personnel. Straker realizes it's a plan
to fool the other
SHADO bases into letting through a massive UFO attack, but does he have
enough time
to stop it?
MINDBENDER
-- Two SHADO operatives go on killing sprees when they start
hallucinating, the first seeing cowboys on Moonbase, and the second Aliens
in SHADO
HQ. Since both operatives had to be killed, Straker is mystified about what's
happening.
But then Straker starts hallucinating -- and he's now an actor in a TV series
about
SHADO!
TIMELASH
-- Straker and Col. Lake arrive at SHADO HQ only to find everything frozen
in time -- everything except a traitorous SHADO operative who helped the
Aliens
create the time-freeze. While being taunted on the studio grounds, they
try to catch
him but cannot because he is able to manipulate time. Can Straker find a
way to
unfreeze time and stop the Aliens from taking over?
THE PSYCHOBOMBS
-- Straker receives an ultimatum for SHADO's surrender, and
three people who have been transformed by the Aliens into human bombs carry
out the
ultimatum's threats. First a SHADO tracking station is destroyed and then
a Skydiver.
The third person is found and brought to SHADO HQ -- the next target for
destruction!
THE LONG
SLEEP -- A young woman awakens from a coma and tells Straker that a
decade ago while on LSD, she stole a piece of an Alien bomb in a farmhouse.
Her
companion, previously thought to be dead but revived by the Aliens, appears
and forces
her to reveal the location of the missing piece. Now Straker and Foster
must find the
farmhouse and deactivate the bomb, or all of London will be destroyed!
CAST
Cmdr. Ed Straker: Ed Bishop
Col. Paul Foster: Michael Billington
Col. Alec Freeman: George Sewell
Col. Virginia Lake: Wanda Ventham
Gen. James Henderson: Grant Taylor
Dr. Doug Jackson: Vladek Sheybal
Lt. Gay Ellis: Gabrielle Drake
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Producers: Gerry Anderson & Reg Hill
Format: Gerry & Sylvia Anderson, Reg Hill
Century 21 Fashions: Sylvia Anderson
Special Effects: Derek Meddings
Music: Barry Gray
Script Editor: Tony Barwick
"UFO"
(c) 1969-70 Century 21 Pictures Ltd.
An ITC World Wide Distribution
British / 26 episodes / 50 minutes / Color
Makoto Yamamura (makoto96@yk.rim.or.jp)