"Identified" is the pilot and first episode of ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

'', a 1970 British television science fiction series about an

alien invasion Alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and films, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade Earth to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resource ...

of Earth. The screenplay was written by

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...

Sylvia Anderson Sylvia Beatrice Anderson (; 25 March 1927 – 15 March 2016) was an English television and film producer, writer, voice actress and costume designer, best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson, her husband between 1960 and 1981. In ...

and

Tony Barwick Anthony Clive Barwick (10 July 1934 – 18 August 1993) was a British television scriptwriter who worked extensively on series created and produced by Gerry Anderson. Career Television Barwick scripted episodes for Gerry Anderson's Supermario ...

; the director was Gerry Anderson. The episode was filmed between 28 April and 12 May 1969, and aired on

ATV Midlands ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to ...

on 16 September 1970. The series was created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson with

Reg Hill Reginald Eric Hill (16 May 1914 – 31 October 1999) was an English model-maker, art director, producer, and freelance storyboard artist. He is most prominently associated with the work of Gerry Anderson. Early life Born on 16 May 1914, Hill ...

, and produced by the Andersons and

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a Ukrainian-born British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production ...

Century 21 Productions AP Films or APF (renamed Century 21 Productions in 1966) was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette t ...

for Grade's

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in the production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme C ...

company.

Plot

Two women and man come across a UFO that has landed in a wood. The man, Peter Carlin (

Peter Gordeno Peter Gordeno (20 June 1939 – 18 October 2008) was a British dancer, recording artist, cabaret singer, choreographer, and occasional actor. Biography Born as Peter Godenho in Rangoon, Burma, to an Italian American father and Scottish/ Bu ...

), starts filming the craft but the threesome are fired upon by the alien occupants. One of the women is killed, Carlin is shot and injured while the third, Carlin's sister, is abducted. Increasing UFO activity, starting in 1970, brings (as shown in the episode " Confetti Check A-O.K.") the United States, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the United Kingdom, France and West Germany together to combat the perceived threat. While ''en route'' to a secret meeting with the

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

, Colonel

Ed Straker Colonel Edward Straker, United States Air Force, Commander-in-Chief of SHADO, is the main character of British TV series ''UFO''. He is one of the original promoters of Project Angel, an international organisation to found the Supreme Headquarte ...

(

Ed Bishop George Victor Bishop (June 11, 1932 – June 8, 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or Edward Bishop, was an American actor, predominantly based in the UK. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in '' UFO'', Captain Blue in '' Cap ...

) and General Henderson's ( Grant Taylor)

Rolls-Royce Phantom VI The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI is a British limousine made from 1968 to 1990 by Rolls-Royce. A total of 374 Phantom VIs were made, of which fewer than 40 were manufactured in the last decade of production. The exterior is almost identical to the ...

and two escort police motorbikes are attacked by a UFO. Straker is thrown clear but Henderson is seriously wounded. After ten years of planning the international community has paid for the construction of a secret organisation – SHADO (the ''S''upreme ''H''eadquarters, ''A''lien ''D''efence ''O''rganisation) – in Britain to track and deal with any incoming UFO threats. Straker is now in command of this organisation. SHADO is hidden beneath Harlington-Straker, a working film studio used as cover for the underground base. Straker's cover involves being a film producer. Following a fire at Westbrook Electronics, Colonel Freeman (

George Sewell George Sewell (31 August 19242 April 2007) was an English actor, best known for his television roles, but also active on stage and in films. Early life and early career The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist, Sewell left school at the age o ...

) is piloting a transporter aircraft from Los Angeles which contains top secret Utronic equipment to track UFOs in deep space, plus its creator Colonel Virginia Lake (

Wanda Ventham Wanda Ventham (born 5 August 1935) is an English actress with many roles on British television since beginning her career in the 1950s. Ventham played Colonel Virginia Lake in the 1970s science-fiction television series '' UFO'' and had a rec ...

). SID, the ''S''pace ''I''ntruder ''D''etector (an early warning computerised tracking satellite that detects incoming alien UFOs), detects an approaching UFO heading for the North Atlantic. Moonbase launches three interceptors which fire upon the UFO but it manages to escape destruction. SHADO control authorise ''

Skydiver Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

'' submarine to launch the Sky One

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are c ...

piloted by Captain Peter Carlin. The UFO continues into Earth's atmosphere and tracks and fires at the transporter, but is shot down by Sky One. The UFO disintegrates in the sea. An injured alien occupant survives the UFO crash and is examined at SHADO's medical laboratory. The effects of Earth's atmosphere cause the alien to revert to his true age and die. Following an autopsy, SHADO discover that the alien has numerous organ transplants harvested from humans. It transpires that the alien's heart comes from Carlin's sister, who disappeared in the 1970 UFO incident shown at the beginning.

Production

During late 1968, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson collaborated with producer

and writers

Donald James Donald James (born Donald James Wheal; 22 August 1931 – 28 April 2008) was a British television writer, novelist and non-fiction writer. Life and career Born in World's End, Chelsea, and educated at Sloane Grammar School and Pembroke Coll ...

and

to develop the format for the series and the pilot episode ''Identified''. Initially, Earth's defence organisation was to be called UFoeDO – Unidentified Foe Defence Organisation – which was not a secret operation like SHADO was to become. The commander of UFoeDO was to be a Commander Straeker—later shortened to Straker—with Ed Bishop cast in the role. Second in command was to be Alex Freeman—later named Alec—and played by George Sewell. Both actors had appeared in the Andersons' film ''

Doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...

''. Initially the Moonbase Commander, named Franco Desica, was to be played by Italian actor Franco De Rosa. De Rosa was later fired after three days of filming for causing considerable delays. De Rosa's character was dropped entirely from the show. Some of Desica's dialogue was repurposed for a new Moonbase Commander, Lt Gay Ellis (played by

Gabrielle Drake Gabrielle Drake (born 30 March 1944) is a British actress. She appeared in the 1970s in television series '' The Brothers'' and '' UFO''. In the early 1970s she appeared in several erotic roles on screen. She later took parts in soap operas '' ...

) (this character was initially called Lt Paula Harris). The captain of the Skydiver craft, cast as Jon Karlin, was to be

Jon Kelley Jon Kelley (born August 5, 1965) is an American sports journalist, author, producer, and television personality. Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Kelley played four seasons of college football as a running back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers ...

, but before filming commenced the part was restructured and offered to dancer Peter Gordeno, and the character renamed Peter Carlin. Jon Kelley was re-cast as Skydiver navigator John Masters. Towards the end of April 1969, following five months of pre-production, principal photography for the pilot episode began with Gerry Anderson directing at

MGM-British Studios MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established (as MGM London Films Denham) at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquired ...

in Borehamwood. Second unit filming took place at

Burnham Beeches Burnham Beeches is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated west of Farnham Common in the village of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, Burnham, Buckinghamshire. The southern half is owned by the Corporation of London and is open to th ...

in Buckinghamshire; this included the UFO attack on Straker and Henderson's Rolls-Royce. This unit also filmed the scene with Peter Carlin (Peter Gordeno) and his sister Leila (Edwina Carroll) when they discover a UFO landed in a wood; this was filmed at

Black Park Black Park is a country park in Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England to the north of the A412 road. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Council, formerly County Council. It has an area of , of which two separate areas totalling have been designated ...

Iver Heath Iver is a civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets of Shreding Green and Thorney. Geography, tr ...

, close to

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

. Additional location shooting included

Neptune House The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios, is a television production facility, currently owned by the BBC. The complex is located between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. Th ...

ATV Elstree Studios The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios, is a television production facility, currently owned by the BBC. The complex is located between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. Th ...

. This building was used as the administration block for Harlington-Straker Studios. Various SHADO members were filmed arriving at this building. In the episode, Colonel Lake holds a newspaper with the date of 24 August 1980; this details the exact date that SHADO became operational. Other locations used for the filming included Handley Page Ltd.,

Radlett Aerodrome Radlett Aerodrome was an airfield and Handley Page aircraft manufacturing plant in Hertfordshire, now owned by Eon Productions. Part of the airfield is now the M25 motorway, M25 between junctions 21 (A405 road, A405) and 22 (A1081 road, A1081). H ...

, Hertfordshire.

Broadcast and reception

When the episode was first broadcast on 16 September 1970, it was seen by ATV's tenth-largest audience for that week, having achieved 36

ratings point Audience measurement calculates how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic. The term is sometim ...

s. Rating it the tenth-best episode of ''UFO'', review website ''anorakzone.com'' describes "Identified" as "not a particularly striking introduction to the eries'concept". It criticises certain scenes, finding them

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

in their writing or direction. It argues that the episode "can be appreciated on repeat viewings".

References

External links

*
"Identified" Screenplay
{{Gerry Anderson 1970 British television episodes 1970s British television series premieres Fiction set in 1970 Fiction set in 1980 Television episodes set in the 1970s Television episodes set in the 1980s Television episodes set on the Moon UFO (British TV series) episodes