Any excuse to put this up,too...

UFO is very much my show - I was born in 1963, mad on outer space (as all boys of the sixties were), and when UFO came out I just thought it was the best thing ever, on top of which my first crush was Gabrielle Drake (and I doubt I'm the only one!)

Through the pre-VHS seventies I had to rely on my memories and bubblegum cards as there were no repeats, and in my head it just got better and better. Fast-forward to the 80's and episodes started to appear on tape, but too expensive for a poor student (£12.99 for 2 episodes IIRC), and then odd repeats started being shown as more channels appeared.

Enter the DVD age though, and getting the whole series reasonably cheaply was an opportunity to review... and I was surprisingly impressed. For all of the 70s styling and a lack of subtlety, this was a rock-solid sci-fi premise - a secret military operation fighting a covert war against aliens, but having to battle with government bureaucrats and maintain a cover as a film studio.

As mentioned in the interview, many of the episodes take an adult perspective, and aren't just shoot-em-ups, not least the quoted example where Straker is given the choice of using one of his aircraft to destroy an approching UFO or transport the drugs that will save his dying son.

As it stands, for me personally, UFO balances on a strange precipice, of fond but dated pure nostalgia on one side, and genuine admiration on the other - I actually get a sense of this in this interview, where the director is worried about making a great film, but also one that will appeal to the nostalgia of the original fans... good luck to him.

In the end, put me in the "believe it when I see it" camp too, but I'd be delighted to see this happen.

I am so much there with you on your 1970's search for the show.

Sharing the same vintage, I had the toys, loved the comic strips in TV Action etc but really hadn't seen the show that much. It looked impossibly exciting but was never on - or it was it would pop up in some weird part of the schedule for 1 or 2 eps. Then I got some of the VHS's with great excitement...but have to admit to being disappointed

But like you, still kind of regard it as 'my show'.

about the Episode where Straker's kid gets killed.It was that yellow car that scares me and Peter Gordino's String Vest and acting make me nervous too.

not least for Straker's unique approach to man management, the intro, the gear, the Interceptors, and so much more ...the FPO and I have watched them all at least twice I'd say ...

Saw Way to Blue last weekend, only discovered from a web review later that Gabrielle Drake was sitting somewhere in the hall --- would have added quite a bit to the evening for us ---though I'm sure UFO fans not exactly what she'd have needed at that moment.

Who's going to play Phil Mogg?

I still can't understand why it's 'Space: 1999' that gets fondly remembered by so many people from the live action Gerry Anderson stuff - I genuinely think 'UFO' was miles better in every department.

As for the film - I'm looking forward to it. If they get it right, it could be great. You'd need to keep that kind of retro-space age style to it to an extent, I think, otherwise it's going to be a bit bland. Regardless, it can't harm the original series, and would probably do a great deal to boost its profile (perhaps a Blu Ray release? The restored DVDs looked fantastic, an HD version could be even better).

Incidentally, for anyone of an Anderson persuasion, can I just recommend the excellent new book 'Filmed In Supermarionation'? It's fascinating stuff for anyone interested in the slightly older puppet shows that Anderson and co. did...

http://www.filmedinsupermarionation.co.uk/

It was one of the first programmes I watched where I was conscious that I was watching something a bit more grown up which made it all the more appealing. I've caught the odd repeat now and then and I also think many of the story-lines were rock solid despite the sometimes hackneyed and overwrought dialogue. Conceptually it was spot on.