Hot Picks
|
|
|
UFO - Mindbender
episode 14
UK 1971
produced by Reg Hill, Gerry Anderson (executive) for Century 21 Television, ITC
directed by Ken Turner
starring Ed Bishop, Michael Billington, Al Mancini, Stuart Damon, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Wanda Ventham, Grant Taylor, Dolores Mantez, Norma Ronald, Steven Berkoff, Ayshea Brough, Craig Hunter, Larry Taylor, Ricardo Montez, Bill Morgan, Anouska Hempel, James Marcus, Stanley McGeagh, John Lyons, Stephan Chase, Norton Clarke, Paul Greaves
screenplay by Tony Barwick, created by Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, Reg Hill, music by Barry Gray, visual effects by Derek Meddings, costumes by Sylvia Anderson/Century 21
TV-series UFO
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|
|
|
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Moonbase: Lt Conroy (Al Mancini) has just investigated a UFO crash
site, but brought back nothing but a piece of rock. Then he goes bonkers,
thinks the moonbase crew has been replaced by Mexican bandits, shoots a
couple of people, and finally has to be shot himself. Earth, the alien
defence organisation SHADO's headquarters: Captain James (Charles 'Bud'
Tingwell), who has just been tasked with looking through the deceased Lt
Conroy's personal things but has found nothing out of the ordinary,
suddenly goes bonkers, believing his colleagues to be aliens, shooting at
them, and taking SHADO's second in command (Wanda Ventham) hostage.
Finally, SHADO's commander Straker (Ed Bishop) has to shoot James dead. Straker
is left with the personal things of Conroy, and suddenly he starts to
hallucinate that he's not SHADO's commander but merely an actor on the
studio lot serving as SHADO's front, and slowly he goes bonkers, too ...
but he keeps it together to try to back into the real reality, and
ultimately finds the piece of rock with Conroy's things, smashes it, and
the threat is over. One of the funnier episodes of UFO,
mainly because Mexican bandits taking over moonbase is just too campy to
not be laughed at. Unfortunately though, the episode also gives its game
away too early in the proceedings, and the longer Straker's own
hallucination goes on, the more it loses its impact. However, Ed Bishop is
a good enough actor to carry the thing and gives one of his best
performances within the series here. So yeah, not great, not even within
the series, but great fun!
|