UFO (TV Series) Survival (1970) User Reviews

A smashing good episode...

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 2 May 2010]

Okay, Americans would not say "smashing good" but in the spirit of this British series, why not? Plus, this really is one of the better episodes and shows an interesting side of the otherwise one-dimensional alien The show begins with a death on the moon base. One of the windows cracks and a man is killed. However, on closer inspection, it seems that the window was shot out by someone outside--most likely one of the pesky aliens. The theory is that one of their ships recently landed and there is an alien roaming about the moon's surface. So, two lunar transports are sent out to look for a ship. They soon find it and a firefight takes place. However, Colonel Foster gets separated from the men and is assumed killed. But, he is in fact alive and his radio has been smashed and he is injured. In an odd twist, however, he is found and assisted by the alien whose craft was just destroyed--with a plot that appears to have been recycled years later in the excellent film "Enemy Mine".

What makes this interesting is the alien's apparent humanity and the sad twist at the end of the show. A very good script and a show that stands up very well today. I have only two very minor quibbles about the show--very minor. One is that the people move about too quickly on the moon--they forgot to slow down the film like they did on their later series "Space: 1999". Second, if the alien was willing to blow out a window sniping, it does make you wonder why he would later help the Colonel. But, as I said, these are very minor quibbles in an otherwise impeccable episode.

Why Kill One Earthling and Help Another?

[richard.fuller1 · 7/10 · 13 June 2011]

I actually would not say it was minor for the alien to kill the Earthlings earlier by breaking out the window, then aiding Foster, a la Enemy Mine, which it did appear to be.

So the alien now has to get assistance, even if it is from his enemy? Doesn't work, as the ship was believed to be damaged on the moon, but this wasn't the case as it later took off (maybe it could still fly, but not make the necessary journey?) The alien craft crashes into the Earth crafts, one of them anyway. The other one was so close, probably didn't do it any good either.

But then was the alien craft flying without a pilot, or was this guy supposed to be thrown clear (thereby in better condition than Foster was, who had a leg injury from falling before the crash and then was possibly stunned from being too close to the explosion).

We could even go so far as to say there was two aliens, one who shot the window (we'll call Breaker) and one who was also in the capsule (they are supposed to be able to hold up to two occupants) who, again, we'll say, didn't know Breaker was going to attack the moonbase.

We'll call this guy Helper.

Again, Helper didn't know Breaker was going to shoot out the window, and now Breaker is making a run for it, abandoning Helper, who realizes the spaceship can't lift off completely.

There really doesn't give much evidence to there being two aliens, and we are left conclude that our guy WAS thrown clear after the explosion. Otherwise the spaceship took off on its own. ????? It still doesn't make sense as to why he didn't just as easily kill the enemy, Foster, than let him live.

It would actually work better had there been two aliens, but we just aren't given that.

Foster finds a friend

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 12 July 2012]

Under the cover of meteor activity, a U.F.O. lands close to Moonbase. The Alien ( Gito Santana ) shoots at a view-port, depressurizing the rest room. Foster gets out alive, but a colleague is not so lucky. Foster sets out in a Moon Mobile to locate the U.F.O. It is found, and it shoots at them. It takes off, only to be destroyed by Interceptors. As it crashes, Foster becomes separated from his men. Alone on the lunar surface, with little air left, things look bleak for him. But help comes from an unexpected source - the Alien.

There is a famous legend that, during The Great War, British and German soldiers temporarily put aside their mutual hatred, left their trenches, and played football on Christmas Day. It is a bit like that here; both Foster and the Alien are thrown together by mutual circumstances, in order to survive they must help one another. The Alien assists Foster with his air supply and to negotiate a rough terrain by sliding down a rope ( or whatever the Aliens use for rope ). But things go wrong and there is a sad ending which leaves Foster in tears. This was Michael Billington's first recorded episode, though his debut story as 'Foster' - 'Exposed' - would be filmed next. Harry Baird plays 'Lt.Mark Bradley', who is offered Foster's job as Moonbase Commander but turns it down because he feels he is being patronised on account of him being black ( Baird was the coach driver who botched 1969's 'The Italian Job' ). Interesting comment by Straker about racial prejudice having burned itself out five years before. If only... There might not be racism in this future world but sexism is still in abundance - witness the sight of Straker ordering 'Joan Harrington' ( Antonia Ellis ) to get him a cup of coffee! He is lucky she does not tell him to go and get it himself!

Lovely Suzan Farmer is seen as 'Tina Duval', Foster's current squeeze, who looks astonished when the man she had been told was dead suddenly turns up at her flat.

Gito Santana played Aliens in other episodes too, including 'The Sound Of Silence'. He looks incredibly creepy with those staring, blank eyes. One wishes though that here the series had taken a leaf out of the book of the 'Countdown' comic-strips by giving the Alien the power of speech. It would have been interesting to hear what he and Foster would have had to say to each other.

Topical issues have not become dated in 50 years

[lor_ · 8 August 2023]

Paul is stranded on the moon after a battle with the aliens, and teams up with a creature, who becomes his comrade in trying to survive with no rescue in sight. It's a plot similar to Wolfgang Petersen's major sci-fi movie a decade and a half later "Enemy Mine", which unfortunately was a costly flop.

Impressive studio sets depicting the moon's surface highlight this segment, which has plenty of suspense and life & death action to spare. And the way the alien is styled and dealt with is quite interesting.

Thoughtful script touches on serious issues, making this one of the more important episodes of the series.

Survival

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 14 November 2019]

In some ways this was a bold episode and in others it was confusing. It just demonstrates the flaws in the Anderson's approach to a live action show. The writing was somehow secondary to the production design and costumes.

An alien shoots at a window in the Moonbase. The leisure sphere is depressurised, Foster survives but his colleague dies.

Straker orders Foster to find the alien alive and a team goes out to look for it.

However Foster finds himself alone on the moon and with little air. Rescue comes in the form of the alien who helps Straker.

This episode predates the Dennis Quaid/Lou Gossett Jr film Enemy Mine by 14 years. If this story had gone through several rewrites and was written for Star Trek, this would be regarded as an all time classic especially in light of what happens to the alien after helps arrive for Foster.

This episode might be set in 1981 and as far as Straker is concerned, racism finished years ago. Not so to Bradley who is black. When Bradley is offered a promotion he thinks it is because of his colour. It tends to rare for a sci fi series set in the future to discuss racial politics. As a comedian once noted when Barack Obama became president of the USA. How would we now deal with the future in the movies, we cannot have a black president.

Me and my SHADO

[Lejink · 6/10 · 29 March 2024]

This episode of "UFO" focused on Foster, who sees a colleague die in front of him on Moonbase Alpha from a sniper shot by an alien camped out there somewhere on the moon surface, which shatters a window and de-pressurises the room in which they were relaxing. Fuelled by revenge, he goes out, against Straker's better judgement, on his moon-buggy, accompanied by some colleagues, to hunt down the perpetrator.

Soon enough, they track down the alien vessel in the depths of a remote crater but Paul gets separated from the group during the search, injuring himself in the process. As time passes, it seems that there's no way back for him, leading Straker to even consider a replacement for him.

This introduces the episode's sub-plot, a rather heavy-handed homily on race-relations as the chap he asks to step into the role is black and it seems worried about the racism he might encounter in the job. Now this seems strange to me, as there have been no signs at all of any such behaviour exhibited by anyone in SHADO, be it on Earth or the Moon. In fact, I'd say it's the women who have a stronger case for discrimination. Having now watched five episodes in the series, I've yet to see a woman in a major role. They seem to exist merely to sit at their flashing consoles and fetch the Commander's coffee.

Anyway, Foster knows he's in trouble when he sees his oxygen supply has been damaged but who do you think comes to his rescue in a true "we're all brothers under the sun" (or should that be "moon"?) moment? There's one more mordant twist in the tale.however although it's stretching things a little that Foster couldn't make himself clear to his rescuers from inside his transparent helmet.

Like I said, I found the politics laid on just a little too thick here plus Foster's trek back to base seemed to take longer than the slowest boat to China. Certainly the lack of any panoramic camera-work either from height or distance didn't help convince me that his journey was especially epic.

That said, it was a reasonable enough episode although it did tend to highlight the setbound limitations presumably imposed on the show.