UFO: The Complete SHADO Files (Blu-ray Review)

Reviewed by: Bill Hunt
Review Date: Jun 16, 2025
Format: Blu-ray Disc

Director

Various, Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill

Release Date(s)

1970-1971 (April 23, 2025)

Studio(s)

ITV/Century 21 Television/Grenada International (Via Vision/Imprint Television)

Film/Program Grade: B
Video Grade: B
Audio Grade: B+
Extras Grade: A+

Imprint Television

Review

[Editor’s Note: While this is an Australian import Blu-ray release, the discs are ALL REGION.]

In the late 1960s, a hostile race of humanoid aliens from a distant star system began visiting the Earth, covertly hunting humans for use in gruesome experiments that they hoped could save their dying civilization. Alarmed by this threat, the governments of Earth created a specialized military force known as SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization) to fight back, with its secret headquarters located beneath England’s Harlington-Straker Studios.

Led by Commander Edward Straker (Ed Bishop) with the help of Paul Foster (Michael Billington), Alec Freeman (George Sewell), Gay Ellis (Gabrielle Drake), and Virginia Lake (Wanda Ventham, aka Benedict Cumberbatch’s mum), SHADO’s mission is to coordinate humanity’s cutting-edge defenses, which include Moonbase-launched Interceptors, the Skydiver submarine, SHADAir aircraft, and tank-like SHADO Mobiles—all heavily armed—with the computerized Space Intruder Detector orbiting high above to track incoming UFOs before they strike.

The first live-action TV series produced and created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, known previously for their popular “Supermarionation” puppet series (including Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, and Thunderbirds), UFO was targeted at a more adult audience. As such, the series is replete with mature themes, a surprisingly dark tone, and a heady balance of sci-fi action and special effects, all dressed in glam retro-future fashions, and set to a unique blending of uptempo jazz-pop, lounge guitar, electronic, and big band music. UFO’s opening theme, composed by Barry Gray, is as memorable as any series theme from the 1970s.

After the first season of 26 episodes aired in the UK, Lew Grade’s ITC Entertainment—for which the series was produced—realized that the episodes set on the Moon were more popular (which makes sense when you recall the other popular TV program people were watching in 1970 and 71—NASA’s Moon Landings). So they directed that the second season should take place entirely off Earth. But when the ratings for UFO’s syndicated run in the US began to drop, the series was cancelled entirely. However, so much pre-production work for Moon-based episodes had already been completed, that Anderson decided to pitch a completely different TV series to ITC that ultimately became Space: 1999 (1975-77). Meanwhile, select episodes of UFO were later edited into compilation films for release on VHS, notably Invasion: UFO in 1980.

All 26 episodes of UFO were shot on 35 mm film by cinematographer Brendan J. Stafford (The Prisoner, The Saint) using Mitchell BNC and Arriflex 35 cameras with spherical lenses. The series was finished photochemically and ultimately aired in the 1.33:1 analog television aspect ratio. In 2005 or 2006, ITV Granada had the series’ original camera negatives scanned in 2K resolution by Technicolor and a modest digital restoration was completed. Those masters have since been utilized for four different Blu-ray releases, one by Geneon Universal in Japan in 2012, a second by Epix Media in Germany in 2014, a third by Network in the UK in 2016, and now we have a new one from Via Vision’s Imprint Television label in Australia.

Unfortunately, each of the previous Blu-ray releases had its share of video issues. The Japanese and German editions, for example, suffered from inconsistent color grading (including an occasional beige tint and day-for-night scenes being rendered too bright), a brief aspect ratio error on the episode Ordeal, and missing sepia tinting (on the Japanese edition) in flashback footage in the episode The Long Sleep. Meanwhile, the UK edition had some of these same grading issues, then introduced new ones on the episodes Timelash and The Long Sleep, and added excessive digital noise reduction on top of it all.

The good news is that Imprint has taken steps to correct most of these problems, including better color grading across all the episodes. The company’s title announcement specifically states: “Grading work and updates have been applied to select episodes, correcting specific flaws in the original restoration.” It appears this essentially amounts to eight of the episodes in the set: Flight Path, Ordeal, The Cat with Ten Lives, The Sound of Silence, The Psychobombs, Reflections in the Water, Timelash, and The Long Sleep. And indeed, close examination reveals that the aspect ratio issue on Ordeal has been corrected, as has the sepia tinting on The Long Sleep, and the problem with Timelash as well (the bottom half of the image was oddly darker in the Network version). So basically, the team at Imprint paid attention to the issues that fans spotted with previous Blu-ray editions, and made sure to correct them all.

Judged on its own merits, the HD video quality here is very good looking on the whole. The episodes are presented in the original 1.33:1 TV aspect ratio (with black pillar-boxing to preserve the 4x3 broadcast format). Colors are bold and thankfully more accurate, including skin tones. The darkest areas of the image are nicely black, and only occasionally a little crushed—important given how much of the series takes place in space. Image detail is solid, if lacking in the kind of refinement that a modern film scan might provide. (Remember, these masters are likely nearly twenty years old—I’d love to see how proper 4K scans of the original camera negatives would improve things.) Thankfully, no digital noise reduction has been employed, so light photochemical grain remains in evidence. However, nor has any dirt or scratch removal been done, and here and there a bit of it would be useful. But the best news is that Imprint has spread the set’s episodes across more discs—seven in this set, compared to six on the UK release—resulting in less compression and a higher video data rate (25-30 Mbps on average here, vs about 20 Mbps on the UK edition). So this is definitely the best these episodes have ever looked on disc to date.

I should add that the Invasion: UFO feature film has been newly scanned and restored in high-definition from the original film elements, and it’s presented in 1.78:1 widescreen. But though the scan is newer, those elements are naturally a generation or two away from the original camera negatives, so the result is essentially a wash. The film certainly looks good, but the overall image quality is roughly similar to the episodes, save for the fact that there’s probably been a little more dirt removal done.

In terms of audio, all of these episodes include lossless English in the original 2.0 mono in LPCM format, as well as more modern sounding surround mixes in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio format. The former is actually the default option, and it’s certainly true to the original TV broadcast experience as I remember it from my own mid-1970s viewings, but I much prefer the 5.1. They’re lively and engaging, creating a more immersive soundstage. The surround channels are constantly engaged with music and atmospheric cues, as well as active effects panning. What’s most appreciated about these mixes is the way they create a genuine sense of sonic depth, while never sounding forced or unnecessarily modern. Optional English subtitles for the hard of hearing are also available. Note that the Invasion: UFO disc features the same audio and subtitle options.

Imprint’s Blu-ray release is an 8-disc set that includes all 26 episodes, plus the Invasion: UFO feature film and abundant special features. The exact disc breakdown is as follows:

Disc One

Identified (HD – 51:29)
Computer Affair (HD – 49:26)
Flight Path (HD – 49:37)
Exposed (HD – 49:39)

Audio Commentary on Identified by Producer Gerry Anderson
Identified: SHADO Briefing (SD – 20:04)
Identified: Original Opening & Alternate Ending (SD – 6:19)
Identified: SID Voice Session, Effect Test & Singing (SD – 3:55)
Exposed: Extended Scenes 1 & 2 (SD – 12:11)
Photo Galleries
- Identified (HD – 8:54)
- Computer Affair (HD – 4:06)
- Flight Path (HD – 2:54)
- Exposed (HD – 2:54)

Disc Two

Survival (HD – 48:42)
Conflict (HD – 49:50)
The Dalotek Affair (HD – 49:43)
A Question of Priorities (HD – 50:02)

Audio Commentary on Survival by Fanderson Members Ian Fryer and Chris Drake *
TV Spots (SD – 2:01)
Italian Trailers (SD – 17:06)
Meeting Commander Straker (SD – 10:31)
Photo Galleries
- Survival (HD – 3:48)
- Conflict (HD – 2:15)
- The Dalotek Affair (HD – 1:51)
- A Question of Priorities (HD – 3:39)

Disc Three

Ordeal (HD – 49:37)
The Responsibility Seat (HD – 49:45)
The Square Triangle (HD – 49:50)
Court Martial (HD – 49:51)

Reality Sets In: Interview with Guest Artist Jane Merrow (HD – 7:26) *
The Dopplecars (SD – 30:23) *
The Square Triangle: Clean Closing Titles (SD – 1:03)
Photo Galleries
- Ordeal (HD – 3:03)
- The Responsibility Seat (HD – 2:51)
- The Square Triangle (HD – 1:39)
- Court Martial (HD – 1:57)

Disc Four

Close Up (HD – 49:15)
Confetti Check A-OK (HD – 49:35)
ESP (HD – 49:59)
Kill Straker! (HD – 49:49)

Audio Commentary on ESP by Actor George Sewell *
Audio Commentary on Kill Straker Director Alan Perry and Actor Mike Billington *
Kill Straker!: Original Audio (SD – 5:47)
Ken Turner ISOSHADO Interview (SD – 13:23)
Photo Galleries
- Close Up (HD – :57)
- Confetti Check A-OK (HD – 1:06)
- ESP (HD – 2:15)
- Kill Straker! (HD – 2:18)

Disc Five

Sub-Smash (HD – 49:47)
The Sound of Silence (HD – 49:38)
The Cat with Ten Lives (HD – 49:30)
Destruction (HD – 49:46)

Audio Commentary on Sub-Smash with Actor Ed Bishop
Audio Commentary on The Cat with Ten Lives by Fanderson Members Ian Fryer and Chris Drake *
21st Century Craft Design (SD – 28:53) *
Tomorrow Today (SD – 13:21)
Textless End Titles (SD – 1:05)
Textless Material: Episode Title Backgrounds & Stock Footage (SD – 36:34)
Photo Galleries
- Sub-Smash (HD – 2:09)
- The Sound of Silence (HD – 2:00)
- The Cat with Ten Lives (HD – 1:21)
- Destruction (HD – 1:00)
- Rare Collectables Gallery (HD – 28:45)

Disc Six

The Man Who Came Back (HD – 49:36)
The Psychobombs (HD – 49:36)
Reflections in the Water (HD – 49:42)

Audio Commentary with Guest Artists Deborah Grant and Jonathan Wood *
The UFO Documentary (SD – 61:54) *
The Women of UFO (HD – 31:27)
The Man Who Came Back Again with Derren Nesbitt (HD – 3:19)
Photo Galleries
- The Man Who Came Back (HD – 1:27)
- The Psychobombs (HD – 2:33)
- Reflections in the Water (HD – 2:00)

Disc Seven

Mindbender (HD – 49:34)
Timelash (HD – 49:52)
The Long Sleep (HD – 49:42)

Audio Commentary on Timelash with Sylvia Anderson and Actor Wanda Ventham *
From Earth to the Moon (HD – 89:40)
Timelash: Day for Night & Clapperboard (SD – 1:27)
The Long Sleep: Unused Footage (SD – :52)
Photo Galleries
- Mindbender (HD – 1:06)
- Timelash (HD – 3:24)
- The Long Sleep & Miscellaneous (HD – 3:24)
- ISOSHADO/Behind the Scenes (HD – 6:36)
- Anderson Archive (HD – 9:06)

Disc Eight

Invasion: UFO (HD – 97:11) *

Audio Commentary with ITC Historians Jonathan Wood and Ricky Davy *
Invasion: UFO – Original 1980 Videotape Version (SD – 98:00) *
Full-Frame Opening Titles (HD – 2:02) *
Full-Frame End Titles (HD – 2:34) *
Textless End Titles (HD – 1:00) *
Invasion: UFO Trailer (SD – 1:05) *

* Indicates content that’s new for this release or collected from sources beyond the previous DVD and Blu-ray editions of the series.

This is essentially all of the extras from the A&E/Carlton DVD release and nearly everything from the Network Blu-ray release. In terms of disc-based content, all that’s missing here is the Ed Bishop: 1986 Audio Interview (SD – 32:39) from the Network BDs, and the Derek Meddings: The Anderson Years (SD – 13:36) and Deleted Fan Interviews (SD – 3:23) featurettes from the Kindred Productions/Fanderson UFO Documentary DVD release. That’s it.

Of course, you don’t get the 618-page UFO book by Andrew Pixley that came with the first run of Network’s Limited Edition Blu-ray set. But you do get a 120-page book replicating the original ITC Press Book for the series, that also includes an Episode Guide.

And the good news is that all of the previous audio commentary tracks from both the A&E/Carlton DVDs and the Network BDs have been collected here, plus you get the rare Kindred Productions UFO Documentary (which was previously only available on disc directly from Fanderson or on the Umbrella DVD release of the series in 2007). And there are several new features as well, either gathered from other sources or newly-created by Imprint for this Blu-ray release. In addition, you also get the Invasion: UFO theatrical feature film plus special features related to it! And all of this comes housed in a set of four multi-disc Amaray cases, with handsome and sturdy library box packaging!

UFO is one of the more memorable sci-fi TV series of the 1970s, and certainly one that’s more... mature in its sensibilities. Sure, the costumes are a bit over-the-top, there’s someone smoking in almost every scene, and the female characters—while still strong—are too often presented as eye candy for the male characters’ gaze. This series was very much a product of its time in that sense. But UFO also offered compelling stories, some with remarkably bleak endings, as well as unique production design, and terrific visual effects featuring cutting-edge miniature work by the great Derek Meddings (who would go on to work on the James Bond films and Richard Donner’s Superman).

More importantly, and just as they did with their excellent Space: 1999 – The Complete Series Ultimate Edition (reviewed here on The Bits), Imprint has produced the definitive Blu-ray box set of Gerry Anderson’s UFO. It features the best A/V presentation of these episodes on disc to date, looking arguably as good as they possibly can look short of a new ground-up 4K restoration from the camera negatives. And the set collects nearly all of the legacy special features that have been created for this series over the years, and adds some nice new material as well. Bottom line: If you’re a lifelong fan of UFO, this is definitely the Blu-ray box set you’ve been waiting for. Recommended.

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)