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UFO - Court Martial
episode 20
UK 1971
produced by Reg Hill, Gerry Anderson (executive) for Century 21 Television, ITC
directed by Ron Appleton
starring Ed Bishop, George Sewell, Michael Billington, Grant Taylor, Vladek Sheybal, Georgina Cookson, Neil McCallum, Tutte Lemkow, Keith Alexander, Noel Davis, Michael Glover, Paul Greenhalgh, Jack Hedley, Gary Myers, Louise Pajo, Norma Ronald, Pippa Steel
screenplay by Tony Barwick, created by Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, Reg Hill, visual effects by Derek Meddings, costumes by Sylvia Anderson/Century 21
TV-series UFO
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Paul Foster (Michael Billington) is accused of having passed
classiefied information of the top secret alien defense organisation SHADO
on to the press. And it doesn't look good, every piece of evidence seems
to point into his direction, and there is nothing apart from his owrk of
honour that would speak in his favour. So he is tried and sentenced to
death by a military tribunal. Foster's boss Straker (Ed Bishop) however
doesn't believe he's guilty despite everything, and thus he leaves no
stone unturned to save Foster - but for the longest time to no avail. Then
he finds out that an invention that has nothing to do with SHADO left in
Foster's care has been passed on to a competitor ... and by putting two
and two together, Straker figures Foster must have fallen prey to
industrial espionage. Straker and his second-in-command Alec (George
Sewell) search Foster's apartment and find it swarming with bugs, then
track the bugs back to their owner (Georgina Cookson), whom they force to
sign a confession. By the time this is achieved though, Foster, desperate
not to get killed for a crime he didn't commit, has made a daring escape,
and was shot in the process. But there is a happy ending, Foster was not
shot dead but only stunned, and will live to see another day.
A
rather unusual UFO-episode, this one features no special
effects at all, instead tells a very earth-bound thriller story. And it
works, too, because the whole thing is actually well-written and rather
tightly directed. Oh, and the cast is brilliant, as always, especially
Vladek Sheybal's performance as prosecutor is chilling. Now don't get me
wrong, I don't say that this is a milestone in TV-thriller history, but to
see a series depending on (brilliant) special and miniature effects as
much as UFO succeeding in getting by without them ... well,
that's quite a feat.
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