Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

To mark Gerry Anderson Day, Big Finish have announced the launch of their latest series from the worlds created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson – UFO.

The first of two box sets, UFO – Destruct Positive! is due for release in August 2022.

This sci-fi cult favourite, originally launched in 1970 but set in the then ‘futuristic’ 1980, centred on the struggle between SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation) and mysterious, alien would-be invaders. It featured all the explosive, action-packed hardware hallmarks of an Anderson series, but also tackled very human, emotional themes.

Big Finish’s version is written by Andy Lane (known for his Young Sherlock Holmes YA novels) and script edited by Jamie Anderson (son of Gerry) and Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish’s award-winning Creative Director). It opens with three action-packed full-cast audio adventures, following Ed Straker (Barnaby Kay – Wallander, Doctor Who and former RSC member) as a US Air Force test pilot who gets sucked into the world of alien infiltration and human kind’s fight for survival. It’s a journey that will eventually take him to the top job at SHADO.

An array of familiar SHADO characters also feature including Colonel Alec Freeman (Samuel Clemens – award-winning film-maker, former RSC member, and son of Brian Clemens), Lieutenant Gay Ellis (Lynsey Murrell – Eastenders and the Sherlock Holmes Chapter One video game), General James Henderson (Harry Myers – The Sandman, Bernice Summerfield), and Lieutenant-Colonel Virginia Lake (Jeany Spark – Wallander, Collateral, RSC).

The human race is under threat. The public has no idea. But alien ships are already attacking. And aliens are already here. Ed Straker is a test pilot in the US Air Force. Then, one day, his aircraft is attacked by a UFO. His life will never be the same again…  

The three stories in this box set, all written by Andy Lane, are as follows:

Destruct: Positive!
Things We Lost In The Darkness
Full Fathom Five

Script Editor Jamie Anderson said: “I worked closely with Andy to create a new beginning for the show. But this audio series has all the essential DNA of Dad’s original creation. What we have here now is an irresistible fusion of a 1970s view of a 1980s world and our own ‘future’ perspective on that. A kind of retro-futurism.”

Script Editor/Director Nicholas Briggs added: “The inspiration behind adapting this rather famous TV series for audio is that I love it. It’s very difficult to categorise but I think UFO is a fascinating and innovative series. Every time I watch it again, and I’ve watched it many times, I adore it more.

“Destruct: Positive! is our reboot of the UFO story – it’s slightly different from the TV series. It’s a story of secrecy, paranoia, personal struggle, and threats.”

Producer Emma Haigh added: “It’s so exciting to be bringing UFO to audio. It is another iconic TV series from the Anderson world and it’s wonderful to hear Ed Straker, Virginia Lake, Alec Freeman and the SHADO team and stories in this reimagining.”

Writer Andy Lane exclusively told Sci-Fi Bulletin, “I grew up with ‘Stingray’, ‘Thunderbirds’, ‘Captain Scarlet’ and ‘Joe 90’, but watching ‘UFO’ for the first time was like suddenly being promoted to adulthood. Serious themes, moments of horror, moments of surrealism – whenever I rewatch the series I find something new in it. It also has one of the three best theme tunes in TV history. Being given the chance to work with Jamie Anderson on what I consider to be a cover version of ‘UFO’, rather than a revamp or a reboot, has been a pleasure and an honour, and the responsibility has been, frankly, a bit scary. And it also makes me nostalgic for the die-cast Dinky SHADO Interceptor and SHADO Mobile that I used to have as a kid. I wonder where they went.”

UFO — Destruct: Positive! is now available to pre-order for just £19.99 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £16.99 (download only), exclusively from the Big Finish website.