Identified... My views!
The opening credits I think these have stood the test of time really well. Yes the typewriter is dated now, but the overall effect is really good adn the music is brilliant. The first shot of the aliens eye under the plastic cover is creepy.
However, showing the opening credits at the beginning of the first episode in some way ruins the tension later on.
1) 1970 Peter Carlin , sister and friend find UFO in the woods. Carlin films it, they come under attack, Lelia captured by aliens Loathsome 'music'. silence might have been better! I never understood why the aliens shoot people.. surely that would damage organs? and Gerry gives the blokes a flash of Lelia Carlin's lace knickers before she is taken.. Typical!
2) Straker and Henderson arrive in UK for meeting with P.M. Rolls Royce comes under attack Okay, set in 1970, jet lands, all fine with this,, the Rolls, the crash, the great shot of the UFO picture going up in flames.. all well done. Although the drive to Chequers is a bit padded out.
3)1980 Ayshea's rear view! Straker arrives for work, followed by Alec.
Pink behind! Gerry again... just how many female 'bums' does he manage to get into this programme? Too many really.
but its a nice intro to the change of year, and the studio.
Straker arrives... nice car, but I always think he looks pissed off whern he gets out of the car, almost as if he can't be bothered. In fact throughouit this episode he doesn't seem to have a coherent consistent 'take' on how he is supposed to be played. Almost as if the Andersons hadn't come to a decision about what sort of character he was going to be. It made for inconsistencies and didn't help develop the story.
4) Straker's office; Fire at Westbrook.. ALec to take responsibility for transportig equipment What was that all about with the bloweing of ash onto Alec? HuH? ANd Straker calling him Freeman? Again, inconsistent. and another thing that always bugged me. Straker goes into his office, and seemingly a couple of minutes later Alec appears, but it appears that Straker has been in his own office for much longer, when Alec gets down there. a little bit of poor direction.. or perhaps it's just me. ALthough it was clever to have Alec showing us SHADO HQ instead of Ed. Although... the dumb blonde raises her head (and shows us her rear) when she escorts Alec to the COntrol room..COme on Gerry. Yet another rear view?? How many is that so far?
5)Alec flies Seagull X-ray . meets Col.Lake. Moonbase and Skydiver on alert No problems with the flight. Anderson at his best. although Alec's overtures to Ginny are , should we say, a little overdone!
Again .. Gerry at his best?/Worst?
I liked the way Ed blows a smoke ring and then the view changes to the Moon ( would have been better without the sign for HS studios in between) Shades of the famous scene in 2001 where the bone morphs into the space station.
Moonbase looks great. as good today as it did on first viewing it. Still vialble, still fabulous landscape. First rate.
And the girls.. good costumes.. although boots? Nah. and Gerry gets in on the act with a couple of strip teases. Typical. I'm getting a little bored with this by now Gerry.
Poor old Ed still doesn't know how he is meant to be played. Stern Commander when he berates Ford.... slushy lines.. poor script and too slow. and Gerry... handwritten reports?.... if we have bases on the moon, surely we'd have computerised reports. Another inconsistency.
But Ed has nice blue eyes!
The line. 'it gets pretty close to home'. is about the only indication that someone might have thought about the character of Straker. Apart form that, the whole Straker/Ford scene is slow and rather painful.
SID...I think it would have worked so much better, and given an added dimension if they had manned SID. It wouldn't have been that difficult really!
That's me done for now. I'll watch the rest later! Actually, reading through the above, makes it sound like I hate the episode. But I don't.
I just wish it had been done better.