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UFO (@ Big Finish Productions) #2
UFO: Breaking Point
New recruits. New technology. New threats. SHADO is nearly fully operational, but the alien menace is intensifying at a greater rate than the fledgling organisation can cope with. Under ever-increasing pressures, Straker is repeatedly put to the test. Facing unimaginable weaponry, warring factions, and near-insurmountable personal strain - can the man leading the fight to defend Earth survive?
2.1 Lost in Action ~ An unexpected confrontation at 30,000 feet leads to a civilian casualty. With no other options, Straker must recruit this stubborn but brave pilot to join SHADO. Meanwhile, Straker’s team orders the early activation of Moonbase - without his consent. It’s just in time. Now, the nascent organisation is being put to the ultimate test, and SHADO’s latest recruit will have put his life on the line.
2.2 Assassination Time ~ In the wake of loss, SHADO’s problems are brought into sharp focus by a series of unexpected and inexplicable events. A new threat from the aliens emerges - one that the organisation is ill-equipped to deal with. With few options left, Straker must follow his instincts and put SHADO’s survival in the hands of a traitor.
2.3 Breaking Point ~ SHADO faces a severe security breach, swiftly followed by the most intense and highly-coordinated alien threat it has ever seen. Straker now faces unimaginable pressures from every angle. The strain on him, and his organisation, reach impossible levels. Mistakes will be made. Lives will be lost. Could this be the end?
Based on the original tv series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.
UFO © ITC Entertainment Group Limited 1970. Licensed by ITV Ventures Limited. All rights reserved.
2.1 Lost in Action ~ An unexpected confrontation at 30,000 feet leads to a civilian casualty. With no other options, Straker must recruit this stubborn but brave pilot to join SHADO. Meanwhile, Straker’s team orders the early activation of Moonbase - without his consent. It’s just in time. Now, the nascent organisation is being put to the ultimate test, and SHADO’s latest recruit will have put his life on the line.
2.2 Assassination Time ~ In the wake of loss, SHADO’s problems are brought into sharp focus by a series of unexpected and inexplicable events. A new threat from the aliens emerges - one that the organisation is ill-equipped to deal with. With few options left, Straker must follow his instincts and put SHADO’s survival in the hands of a traitor.
2.3 Breaking Point ~ SHADO faces a severe security breach, swiftly followed by the most intense and highly-coordinated alien threat it has ever seen. Straker now faces unimaginable pressures from every angle. The strain on him, and his organisation, reach impossible levels. Mistakes will be made. Lives will be lost. Could this be the end?
Based on the original tv series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.
UFO © ITC Entertainment Group Limited 1970. Licensed by ITV Ventures Limited. All rights reserved.
- GenresScience Fiction
Audio CD
Published March 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 15, 2023
2.1 Lost in Action - Maybe my expectations were set too high after that spectacularly entertaining first box set. But this one just felt clunky and a bit too predictably inevitable. There didn’t seem to be any spontaneity. I’m hoping it was just that my expectations were set to high, but otherwise the first set was just a fluke (2/5).
2.2 Assassination Time - Well, this one has certainly gone off the rails. This is taking UFO into Torchwood or Doctor Who territories. And, unfortunately, again not a direction I would have thought to take the series. Fast-paced, but it all feels far too convenient for me and stretches the concepts credibility too much (2/5).
2.3 Breaking Point - Okay, they kind of pulled it together for this final episode. It’s certainly the best one in this set, but it’s still not at all of the same caliber as the previous set. The pacing is certainly fast, but it felt very predictable. While a lot of this might be because I’m familiar with the series, but as they’ve gone off on a different tangent that’s not valid. But the bottom line is that I’m not sure I’ll continue with this series (3/5).
2.2 Assassination Time - Well, this one has certainly gone off the rails. This is taking UFO into Torchwood or Doctor Who territories. And, unfortunately, again not a direction I would have thought to take the series. Fast-paced, but it all feels far too convenient for me and stretches the concepts credibility too much (2/5).
2.3 Breaking Point - Okay, they kind of pulled it together for this final episode. It’s certainly the best one in this set, but it’s still not at all of the same caliber as the previous set. The pacing is certainly fast, but it felt very predictable. While a lot of this might be because I’m familiar with the series, but as they’ve gone off on a different tangent that’s not valid. But the bottom line is that I’m not sure I’ll continue with this series (3/5).
February 2, 2025
I listened to disc 1 of UFO Set 2 today (while driving to & from work). Sticking with the theme of the early days of SHADO - it's a few years after the first set, and Moonbase is up and running and the interceptors are ready. SID is turned on and almost immediately reports four UFOs near Jupiter heading for Earth. After the UFOs pass Mars the interceptors are launched.
The next bit felt like a football game:
The Interceptors destroy a UFO.
The UFOs destroy an Interceptor.
The Interceptors destroy a previously damaged UFO.
But the two Interceptors are now out of ammo and Lt. Gay Ellis orders them to return to base.
Two UFOs get through to Earth's atmosphere.
SHADO only has one working Skydiver so they send the jet after one UFO. Straker sends Col. Lake with the mobiles to get the other one.
The pilot of the Skydiver, Georgia, destroys a UFO, then goes after the second one.
But there's a civilian test flight in the area. Freeman tries to warn off the pilot as does Georgia. The pilot doesn't quite believe it until he sees something.
By a small miracle, the pilot, Paul Foster survives. Pretty sure Georgia does too, though Skydiver is probably damaged.
Anyway, Straker ends up recruiting Paul into SHADO. But his baptism of fire has him launching in Sky 2 from a normal Air Force Base landing strip instead of the water. Paul valiantly tries to shoot down the UFO and Georgia seems to arrive to help. But it also seems like Paul was shot down. The episode ends with Straker and Freeman mourning Paul Foster.
Since Paul Foster was a regular on the series, I hope he somehow recovers in the next disc
Listened to Disc 2 of UFO Box Set 2. Episode Title: "Assignation Time".
Well, it turns out Paul Foster isn't dead - but he returns to SHADO with some sort of Alien Time weapon that allows him to freeze time, freeze people. Foster seems determined to Kill Straker.
Meanwhile, Commander Straker keeps having premonitions or glimpses of the future. Straker concludes that two opposing alien forces are at work. The normal malevolent ones who want to kill him, and another unknown group who want to help him.
The story plays out like a cat & mouse espionage tale with a healthy dose of time manipulation.
Straker realizes the UFO he thought Foster destroyed by ramming it is still around but hidden. And Foster is slowly deprogrammed.
Straker, Foster, Alec Freeman, and Col. Lake with her mobile units locate and destroy the UFO, setting Foster completely free of his programming and ending Straker's premonitions.
This was an excellent story. I could have done with a little less running around SHADO yelling "kill Straker" and a little more detail on the time travel plot, but we will see what disc 3 brings.
Overall, an excellent story - highly recommended.
Disc Three - "Breaking Point"
Colonel Lake shows up in Straker's office and tells him the same car has been parked outside the Studio gates for several days. It also followed Straker to his home and back to the film studio. (SHADO is hidden under a film and television studio - one of the best cover stories ever!) The number plate on the car is fake.
There is now a UFO attack.
The plot quickly moves into Straker having to multitask the UFO attack and finding out who is following him.
The mysterious man gets into the studio with a blond wig and a badly forged pass. Col. Lake finds out that Melvin Hopkins and his partner Jeff Randall are private detectives. Straker thinks it was his wife, Mary, who hired him, but it turns out to be his grown son, Johnny.
But that's how Johnny and Mary end up at SHADO. Straker tells them everything. Then he tells them they can either take jobs in SHADO or be given an experimental amnesia drug.
As the battle with the aliens heats up - Straker sends his family home to "get a few things" and think about the offer.
Meanwhile, Hopkins is at large in a park where SHADO thinks the UFO might land.
Hopkins is taken by the aliens and tortured for information.
Johnny tells Col. Freeman, he has decided to work for SHADO. But then the UFO attacks and destroys Straker's house with his family inside.
This is one of the grimmest UFO stories yet.
The next bit felt like a football game:
The Interceptors destroy a UFO.
The UFOs destroy an Interceptor.
The Interceptors destroy a previously damaged UFO.
But the two Interceptors are now out of ammo and Lt. Gay Ellis orders them to return to base.
Two UFOs get through to Earth's atmosphere.
SHADO only has one working Skydiver so they send the jet after one UFO. Straker sends Col. Lake with the mobiles to get the other one.
The pilot of the Skydiver, Georgia, destroys a UFO, then goes after the second one.
But there's a civilian test flight in the area. Freeman tries to warn off the pilot as does Georgia. The pilot doesn't quite believe it until he sees something.
By a small miracle, the pilot, Paul Foster survives. Pretty sure Georgia does too, though Skydiver is probably damaged.
Anyway, Straker ends up recruiting Paul into SHADO. But his baptism of fire has him launching in Sky 2 from a normal Air Force Base landing strip instead of the water. Paul valiantly tries to shoot down the UFO and Georgia seems to arrive to help. But it also seems like Paul was shot down. The episode ends with Straker and Freeman mourning Paul Foster.
Since Paul Foster was a regular on the series, I hope he somehow recovers in the next disc
Listened to Disc 2 of UFO Box Set 2. Episode Title: "Assignation Time".
Well, it turns out Paul Foster isn't dead - but he returns to SHADO with some sort of Alien Time weapon that allows him to freeze time, freeze people. Foster seems determined to Kill Straker.
Meanwhile, Commander Straker keeps having premonitions or glimpses of the future. Straker concludes that two opposing alien forces are at work. The normal malevolent ones who want to kill him, and another unknown group who want to help him.
The story plays out like a cat & mouse espionage tale with a healthy dose of time manipulation.
Straker realizes the UFO he thought Foster destroyed by ramming it is still around but hidden. And Foster is slowly deprogrammed.
Straker, Foster, Alec Freeman, and Col. Lake with her mobile units locate and destroy the UFO, setting Foster completely free of his programming and ending Straker's premonitions.
This was an excellent story. I could have done with a little less running around SHADO yelling "kill Straker" and a little more detail on the time travel plot, but we will see what disc 3 brings.
Overall, an excellent story - highly recommended.
Disc Three - "Breaking Point"
Colonel Lake shows up in Straker's office and tells him the same car has been parked outside the Studio gates for several days. It also followed Straker to his home and back to the film studio. (SHADO is hidden under a film and television studio - one of the best cover stories ever!) The number plate on the car is fake.
There is now a UFO attack.
The plot quickly moves into Straker having to multitask the UFO attack and finding out who is following him.
The mysterious man gets into the studio with a blond wig and a badly forged pass. Col. Lake finds out that Melvin Hopkins and his partner Jeff Randall are private detectives. Straker thinks it was his wife, Mary, who hired him, but it turns out to be his grown son, Johnny.
But that's how Johnny and Mary end up at SHADO. Straker tells them everything. Then he tells them they can either take jobs in SHADO or be given an experimental amnesia drug.
As the battle with the aliens heats up - Straker sends his family home to "get a few things" and think about the offer.
Meanwhile, Hopkins is at large in a park where SHADO thinks the UFO might land.
Hopkins is taken by the aliens and tortured for information.
Johnny tells Col. Freeman, he has decided to work for SHADO. But then the UFO attacks and destroys Straker's house with his family inside.
This is one of the grimmest UFO stories yet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2024
Full disclosure here, I am an enormous fan of the UFO series and my rating may be colored by the fact that any content from this Anderson production would be welcomed by me. That said, this box set rocks! From the driving theme song to familiar characters there is not a step put wrong. There are three stories here, along with some behind the scenes commentary, that complete the listening experience.
The first story, Lost in Action, introduces us to Paul Foster and his recruitment into SHADO. However, his enlistment may be short-lived as he runs afoul of an aggressive UFO in his first deployment. We also are taken to Moonbase and hear from SID!
Next up is Assassination Time where an officer, presumed dead, shows up and not only messes with time, but is out to kill Straker! This story shows the frustrations the Commander has with the fledgling organization that is still ill equipped to deal with the plethora of threats it encounters.
Finally, Breaking Point, continues on with the theme of an organization trying to find its feet, but also deals with Straker's familial issues. He has been concealing and lying for too long and his son decides to take matters into his own hands. All this while a group of 6 (!) UFOs is enroute to earth where another lies waiting in a nefarious plot. Everything goes wrong at once and SHADO is stretched to the limit while its commander is buffeted with his own crises.
This is exactly what Big Finish excels at. Terrific writing, excellent acting, outstanding sound tracks and special effects, all combined into a value packed package that bears repeated listening. Out of this world value.
The first story, Lost in Action, introduces us to Paul Foster and his recruitment into SHADO. However, his enlistment may be short-lived as he runs afoul of an aggressive UFO in his first deployment. We also are taken to Moonbase and hear from SID!
Next up is Assassination Time where an officer, presumed dead, shows up and not only messes with time, but is out to kill Straker! This story shows the frustrations the Commander has with the fledgling organization that is still ill equipped to deal with the plethora of threats it encounters.
Finally, Breaking Point, continues on with the theme of an organization trying to find its feet, but also deals with Straker's familial issues. He has been concealing and lying for too long and his son decides to take matters into his own hands. All this while a group of 6 (!) UFOs is enroute to earth where another lies waiting in a nefarious plot. Everything goes wrong at once and SHADO is stretched to the limit while its commander is buffeted with his own crises.
This is exactly what Big Finish excels at. Terrific writing, excellent acting, outstanding sound tracks and special effects, all combined into a value packed package that bears repeated listening. Out of this world value.
May 21, 2023
Generous three stars. I mean, it's entertaining enough, but it feels a bit . . . basic? Is that what I mean? I guess I want BF to do for UFO what they did for Space: 1999. Bring the writing into the 21st Century.
And the lead character, Ed Straker, remains hard, angry, and rather unlikeable. Difficult to listen to Straker chewing scenery and barking at everyone for three episodes. (Well, six now.) I'd hoped he'd mellow a bit after settling in, but the dude's constantly a pressure cooker ready to blow. And after the way this set of episodes ended, well . . . I can't see him mellowing anytime soon. Mary Straker -- his wife -- is similarly annoying and unsympathetic. And . . .
I'll probably get any future releases because I'm mildly curious where this is all going, but . . . please give us plots that are a bit more interesting.
And the lead character, Ed Straker, remains hard, angry, and rather unlikeable. Difficult to listen to Straker chewing scenery and barking at everyone for three episodes. (Well, six now.) I'd hoped he'd mellow a bit after settling in, but the dude's constantly a pressure cooker ready to blow. And after the way this set of episodes ended, well . . . I can't see him mellowing anytime soon. Mary Straker -- his wife -- is similarly annoying and unsympathetic. And . . .
I'll probably get any future releases because I'm mildly curious where this is all going, but . . . please give us plots that are a bit more interesting.
July 3, 2023
I still prefer the TV series, but I'm enjoying seeing how they remix familiar points from the series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews