Computer Affair
A failed UFO interception leads to a computer analysis of two SHADO officers.
"Computer Affair" is the 16th episode of the British sci-fi series UFO, made by Century 21 for ITC. The second episode filmed, it was written by Tony Barwick and directed by David Lane. Reviews for the episode have been mixed.
Quick Facts
- Series
- UFO
- Episode
- 16
- Director
- David Lane
- Writer
- Tony Barwick
- Photographer
- Brendan J. Stafford
- Editor
- Harry MacDonald
- Production
- 2
- Airdate
- 9 December 1970
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Colonel Freeman inspects SHADO Moonbase when a UFO is detected heading for Earth. Interceptors launch but the UFO evades their missiles. Moonbase chief Lieutenant Gay Ellis is slow to relay a course change to one Interceptor, and the UFO collides with it, killing pilot Matthews. The damaged UFO enters Earth's atmosphere and hides in a Canadian lake. Commander Straker orders an inquiry. Ellis and surviving pilots Lieutenant Mark Bradley and Lieutenant Waterman are recalled for psychoanalysis by a computer. Waterman is cleared, but the report shows Ellis and Bradley have an emotional connection compromising their objectivity. Straker splits them up: Bradley returns to Moonbase, Ellis is re-posted on Earth. Freeman questions trusting the computer analysis. In Canada, the UFO emerges and is shot down by Sky 1. Straker orders the aliens captured alive. Freeman defies Straker by assigning Ellis and Bradley to the recovery mission. As SHADO Mobiles converge, the UFO destroys one Mobile. Ellis sends in a second Mobile with Bradley. On foot, Bradley and his comrades encounter the aliens; one alien is shot dead, Bradley subdues the other. The UFO self-destructs. The surviving alien is interrogated but does not respond. Straker injects a truth serum that proves toxic, killing the alien. Ellis tells Bradley she ordered him in to prove the computer wrong: she will not let her closeness to him interfere with duty.
Production
The working title was "The Computer Affair". Barwick's script set the episode in 1981, but a line of dialogue indicates it is no earlier than 1984. Principal photography ran from 12 to 22 May 1969. A scene showing a birthday party for Lieutenant Bradley was mostly cut, as were scenes with Norma Ronald and Penny Spencer. The gunfight was filmed in Black Park, Wexham. During location shooting, actor Shane Rimmer, playing an alien, suffered an asthma and claustrophobia attack in his sealed costume, forcing a break; he quit and was replaced by Hugo Panczak. Model effects included a SHADO cargo aircraft adapted from a NASA plane in Century 21's film Doppelganger. The SHADO Mobiles were based on an army truck from the Joe 90 episode "Colonel McClaine". Each Mobile was a 21-inch miniature. Real vegetation—juniper bark and spray-painted limonium—was used for forest scenes.
Reception
The episode has drawn comment for its implied interracial romance between black Lieutenant Bradley and white Lieutenant Ellis. John Kenneth Muir, though finding the pace slow, praised it as "unique and worthwhile" for exploring technology and race issues, which he felt were "handled well". He noted the series suggests a "post-racial future of equality" but also "a sense of uneasiness about that new world order among individuals." The Anorak Zone ranked it 18th among UFO episodes, praising its "goofiness" but faulting aspects such as Freeman's non-resignation and the audience learning of Ellis and Bradley's relationship before the other characters, leaving viewers waiting for the UFO personnel to catch up. It criticized the treatment of race as "ham-fisted", citing the word association test where Ellis hesitates over "black". It also questioned Straker's logic in using truth serum before establishing communication with the alien. Video Watchdog noted that, special effects aside, "there is little here to engage viewers who might still be undecided about whether to continue watching the programme on a regular basis."
More in UFO Episodes
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced