Search - UFO, Set 2 on DVD

Go ahead and complete the set!

M. Painter | Pennsylvania, USA | 02/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a fan of the series or you bought the first set and liked what you saw, and you are now considering whether or not to spring for the second, the quick answer is yes. It should be said that the series changed as it went along. The original premise--that the aliens were harvesting transplant organs from humans--gave way to a new concept, that the aliens reprogram the minds of humans for use as zombie servants. This resulted in a radical shift in the series, from a space operatic, us-against-them concept, a la "Star Trek" or "Star Wars", to a psychological horror, us-against-ourselves concept, a la "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" or "X-Files." Whether or not this is an improvement depends on your tastes.Sadly, Alec Freeman, Gay Ellis, and Peter Carlin faded away as the series progressed. On the plus side, Nina Barry gets more to do, and Virginia Lake, whom we met in the pilot episode, becomes a regular.Even if these changes are not to your taste, you should buy the set, as it contains three memorable episodes, and one absolute, not-to-be-missed corker:"The Resonsibility Seat": An uncharacteristic lapse in judgment on Ed Straker's part leads to a security problem. Ed decides to go out into the field to deal with it himself, leaving Alec Freeman in command at SHADO. As Ed's adventure veers between security problem and romantic entanglement, Alec struggles to cope with a series of crises, some of which prove to be trivial, and some serious, without succumbing to the temptation to phone the boss and ask for advice. An unusual episode that veers from funny to tense to romantic and back again."Sub Smash": A compelling episode depicting Ed Straker, Paul Foster, Nina Barry, and two other crew members trapped on the seabed inside a Skydiver that's been disabled by a UFO."Mindbender": The aliens plant a hallucinogenic booby trap on the Moon which causes SHADO personnel to imagine first, that Mexican bandits have taken over Moonbase, then, that aliens have taken over SHADO HQ. When it finds its way into Ed Straker's hands, he hallucinates that he is an actor in a television series. Guess what it's about."Timelash": The gem of this set. The aliens manage to freeze SHADO HQ (and the movie studio above it) in time, with the assistance of a traitor named Turner. Only Ed Straker and Virginia Lake are unaffected. They must find a way to stop the aliens and save their colleagues, but first they must beat Turner at his own game of cat and mouse, complicated by the fact that Turner has the ability to slip forward or backward in time. The movie studio above SHADO was always a bit surreal, but it was never used to such good effect as in this episode, where the eerieness is compounded by the time freeze. Studio hands are frozen in the act of tossing a stool, a bird hangs motionless in midair, so does cigar smoke. Great stuff."