Great news at last for Gerry Anderson fans and lovers of top quality cult TV, Network Distributing has finally confirmed that the long-awaited, much-teased Blu-ray release of UFO, often acclaimed as Gerry Anderson’s finest and most sophisticated television production, is now set for November 14th in the UK. The 26-episode series, filmed across 1969-70, will be presented across seven discs in a brand new HD Restoration – Network’s recent release of the 1980s compilation feature Invasion UFO gives fans an idea of the quality of the restoration – and packed with a wealth of new special features. UFO stars Ed Bishop as Commander Ed Straker who, in a sleek and futuristic 1980, heads up SHADO – the Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation – which operates from under the Harlington-Straker Film Studios (in reality Elstree Studios in Buckinghamshire) and leads the fight against the threat of alien invasion from a dying race who come to Earth in their iconic whirling dervish Unidentified Flying Objects and abduct humans to repair their own dying bodies. The show remains a benchmark genre production featuring mature storylines and ground-breaking special effects.

New features on the collection include From Earth To The Moon, a brand new feature-length documentary packed with interviews, archive video, audio and stills – many of which have never been seen or heard before, The Women of UFO – a new documentary discussing the improved sexual equality depicted in UFO and the role of science-fiction in striving for that change, Identified: SHADO New Recruits Briefing – a newly-created SHADO briefing film narrated by Matt Zimmerman, an exclusive 600-page book on the making of the series by TV archivist Andrew Pixley, Dolby 5.1 audio mix as well as the as-transmitted mono audio, film material including textless episode title backgrounds, textless end titles, stock footage, TV spots, extra footage for episodes Identified and Exposed, unused footage from Timelash and The Long Sleep, Italian trailers, audio commentaries on Identified and Sub-Smash (carried over from the show’s original DVD release), SID Computer Voice Session and audio outtakes, archive Ed Bishop interview from 1996, Tomorrow Today: the Future Fashions of Sylvia Anderson, extensive photo gallery.

Network have clearly pulled out all the stops to give UFO the treatment it deserves and this highly-anticipated Blu-ray package looks set to become the cult TV release of the year. November 14th – a date for your diary.

SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW OR ON TWITTER @STARBURST_MAG

Find your local STARBURST stockist HERE, or buy direct from us HERE. For our digital edition (available to read on your iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows 8, Samsung and/or Huawei device – all for just £1.99), visit MAGZTER DIGITAL NEWSSTAND.

CLICK TO BUY!

MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB: