1972-73 AMERICAN "UFO" BROADCASTS AS SEEN THROUGH TV GUIDE (last updated 29 September 2002) Compiled by Marc Martin Information supplied by Chris Campbell, Jeff Leroy, Dave McCoy, and Helen Weber In the United States, "UFO" was broadcast for the very first time during the 1972-73 television season. The show was not shown as part of a major network lineup, but instead was syndicated on 136 TV stations across the country. In an attempt to discover more about the original broadcast order in the United States, I tried tracking down some original broadcast dates using old issues of TV GUIDE magazine. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that this would be too difficult or expensive, as TV GUIDES from 1972 were not carried by my local libraries or magazine shops, and mail order places that did carry them charged a lot per issue and refused to do the research or make photocopies of relevant pages. Fortunately however, after asking if anyone had access to old TV GUIDES on the FAB-UFO Internet mailing list (now SHADO@yahoogroups.com), I got a response from Chris Campbell, who knew someone who had a collection of "Eastern New England" editions. He proceeded to go through the entire 1972-73 season, transcribing the dates, times, and plot synopses for UFO broadcasts in Boston Massachusetts, Providence Rhode Island, and Hartford Connecticut. I bought a couple of New York issues myself to see how the airdates compared, and also added some other stuff I already had, like alternate plot synopses and TV GUIDE's review of the series. More recently, Jeff Leroy has informed me of some dates from old Los Angeles TV Guides, and I found one from Seattle. Although my original goal was to learn more about UFO's original broadcast order in the United States, I'm afraid that more research is needed before any real conclusions can be drawn. The broadcast information from Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia suggests a consistent order among these three cities. However, the dates from Hartford and New York are completely different, so more information is needed to determine whether a consistent order was commonplace or not. If you have access to 1972-73 American TV GUIDES and would like to contribute information to this file, please contact Marc Martin at marc@ufoseries.com. ********************************************************************** * THE REVIEW * ********************************************************************** TV GUIDE reviews most programs at one point or another, and UFO was no exception. Here is Cleveland Amory's rather negative (but amusing) review, which appeared in the March 10 1973 issue, and was provided by Helen Weber via the SHADO-USECC UFO fan club: REVIEW by Cleveland Amory UFO "Have you ever thought", one character asks in the premiere episode here, "about the victims of UFO incidents -- their loved ones, brothers, sisters?" Frankly, we never had, but now, having been a victim of this show, we see no reason to confine our thoughts to loved ones, brothers, and sisters. There's trouble enough here even for total strangers. And, speaking of strangers, UFO is one more of those syndication jobs made in England. When we were a boy, in the days of The Forsythe Saga, "Made in England" used to stand for something. Now it seems to stand for I-can-get-it-for-you-wholesale. Not that the younger set won't find plenty to like here -- they will. It's all very futuristic -- it takes place in 1980 -- and full of terrific hardware: a submarine which launches airplanes, a Moon Base complete with buglike moon mobiles, a Space Intruder Detector called SID for short, etc. The trouble comes with the software -- the people, the stories and the dialogue. Cdr. Edward Straker (Ed Bishop) is apparently the star -- at least he's the crossest of the group. In any case, with him -- or at least not actively against him -- is a plaster cast consisting of Col. Alec Freeman (George Sewell), Col. Paul Foster (Michael Billington), the captain of the Seagull X-Ray craft (Peter Gordeno) and the girl in charge of Moon Base, Lt. Gay Ellis (Gabrielle Drake). All of them go around saying things like "Right", "Roger", "Wait here", and "I'll be back". All these people work for something called SHADO, which stands for Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defense Organization, and is enough to put you immediately on the side of the other guys (who, by the way, are green-faced, have pink eyes and breathe liquid). To combat them, the girls on our side wear purple hair. The first episode revolved around the aliens running short on vital organs -- you know, things like hearts, livers, lungs, thyroid glands, -- so they came down to kind of an earth supermarket. "They look upon us", one of our guys said, "not with animosity but with callousness, the way we look upon animals." In another episode, Colonel Foster is apparently captured by alien people who un-air him and make him breathe liquid. In the nick of time, our guys rescue him and re-air him, only to find out the whole thing was a dream. In still another show, a guy, wounded and helpless against an alien, is befriended by the alien, who, when human rescuers come, is of course shot. The idea that anything in outer space must be an enemy is perhaps one of the most offensive things here. But it's got lot of company. For one thing, the violence -- it's laid on with a trowel. For another thing, although we are told that race prejudice burned itself out "five years ago", outer space, even in 1980, is still crawling with male chauvinist pigs. In fairness, though, some of the girls do have very important jobs. One of them, dressed in a silver-mesh leotard catsuit, had the job of checking boosters. She sure had all the right equipment. ********************************************************************** * THE SYNOPSES * ********************************************************************** The UFO plot synopses which were printed in TV GUIDE were, as usual, short and to the point. Although most of the synopses don't list an episode title, the titles have been listed here for reference. Sometimes variations of the same description were found for a particular episode, and in these cases the most complete description is shown here. Other times completely different descriptions were found, and in these cases both are shown. These synopses were provided by Chris Campbell and Dave McCoy. IDENTIFIED version#1 -- Unidentified Flying Objects prove a threat to world security in this science fiction series, set in the 1980's. Tonight: a captured UFO leads to the discovery of a missing woman's fate. Cdr. Alex Freeman: George Sewell. Peter Karlin: Peter Gordeno. IDENTIFIED version#2 -- The fate of a missing woman becomes alarmingly clear after SHADO captures a UFO. EXPOSED -- A civilian test pilot threatens SHADO's security. Foster: Michael Billington. Straker: Ed Bishop. Jackson: Vladek Sheybal. Janna: Jean Marsh. A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES version#1 -- "A Question of Priorities." Cdr. Straker must choose between his duty to SHADO and risking his young son's life. Straker: Ed Bishop. John: Barnaby Shaw. Mary: Suzanne Neve. Alien: Richard Aylen. A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES version#2 -- It's "A Question of Priorities" for Straker as his professional duty to SHADO threatens the life of his son. John: Barnaby Shaw. Straker: Ed Bishop. Mary: Suzanne Neve. Alien: Richard Aylen. REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER -- "Reflections in the Water." Double identities complicate the investigation of an underwater UFO. THE DALOTEK AFFAIR version#1 -- Malfunction of Moonbase's communications system is intermittent -- and unexplainable. Foster: Michael Billington. Straker: Ed Bishop. Jane Carson: Tracy Reed. Tanner: Clinton Greyn. Mitchell: David Weston. THE DALOTEK AFFAIR version#2 -- Moonbase has trouble with communications; Straker suspects foul play. Jane: Tracy Reed. CONFLICT -- Are aliens using space debris to camouflage their attacks on Earth? Straker: Ed Bishop. Gen. Henderson: Grant Taylor. Paul Foster: Michael Billington. CONFETTI CHECK A-OK version#1 -- In flashbacks: SHADO's role in the break-up of Straker's marriage. Straker: Ed Bishop. Mary: Suzanne Neve. Henderson: Grant Taylor. CONFETTI CHECK A-OK version#2 -- Look into Straker's past as flashbacks reveal how the commander's marriage was destroyed. Straker: Ed Bishop. Mary: Suzanne Neve. SUB-SMASH -- Straker and a beautiful co-worker face death in a submarine trapped at the bottom of the sea. Straker: Ed Bishop. Nina Barry: Dolores Mantez. Waterman: Gary Myers. THE PSYCHOBOMBS -- Three average people suddenly become superhumans. Linda: Deborah Grant. Clark: David Collings. COURT MARTIAL version#1 -- Col. Paul Foster is court-martialed for espionage. Foster: Michael Billington. Straker: Ed Bishop. Mason: Neil McCallum. Actress: Pippa Steel. COURT MARTIAL version#2 -- A traitor in SHADO? Foster: Michael Billington. Straker: Ed Bishop. Actress: Pippa Steel. THE SQUARE TRIANGLE -- A love triangle leads to the murder of an alien. Liz Newton: Adrienne Corri. Fowler: Patrick Mower. Straker: Ed Bishop. Jack Newton: Allan Cuthbertson. FLIGHT PATH -- Aliens blackmail a Moonbase worker. Paul Roper: George Cole. Carol Roper: Sonia Fox. Freeman: George Sewell. Straker: Ed Bishop. TIMELASH -- Straker seems to have become deranged. Straker: Ed Bishop. Foster: Michael Billington. Miss Ealand: Norma Ronald. THE SOUND OF SILENCE -- A country estate is the site of a search for a young man -- and a UFO. Russell Stone: Michael Jayston. Anne: Susan Jameson. Culley: Nigel Gregory. Straker: Ed Bishop. THE RESPONSIBILITY SEAT -- Straker relinquishes his command to pursue a deadly love affair. Straker: Ed Bishop. Jo: Jane Merrow. ORDEAL -- Col. Paul Foster's trip to a health spa has deadly consequences. Foster: Michael Billington. Straker: Ed Bishop. Maxwell: Jeremy Wilkin. THE MAN WHO CAME BACK -- A long-missing pilot returns to SHADO -- but his behavior is baffling. Craig Collins: Derren Nesbitt. Col. Grey: Gary Redmond. Virginia Lake: Wanda Ventham. Straker: Ed Bishop. Jackson: Vladek Sheybal. KILL STRAKER -- "Kill Straker" -- the order comes not from a UFO but from his own organization -- SHADO. Straker: Ed Bishop. Craig: David Sumner. Foster: Michael Billington. ESP -- Extrasensory perception is the key to a man's strange behavior. Foster: Michael Billington. Croxley: John Stratton. Straker: Ed Bishop. Freeman: George Sewell. THE LONG SLEEP -- A 10-year-old unsolved UFO case is reopened when a young girl awakes from a coma. SURVIVAL -- Foster (Michael Billington) forms an unusual friendship when he is injured during a moon mission. Alien: Gito Santana. Straker: Ed Bishop. COMPUTER AFFAIR version#1 -- Can a computer detect love? Events surrounding an astronaut's death suggest it can. Gay Ellis: Gabrielle Drake. Mark: Harry Baird. COMPUTER AFFAIR version#2 -- "The Computer Affair", about computers vs. human emotions. Mark: Harry Baird. CLOSE-UP version#1 -- Futuristic gadgetry: Commander Straker (Ed Bishop) tries a space probe to track UFOs. CLOSE-UP version#2 -- Cdr. Straker launches a new space probe project which will track a UFO to its origin. MINDBENDER -- Two members of an interceptor crew return from a mission -- and attempt to kill their colleagues. Ed Bishop. Foster: Michael Billington. Conroy: Al Mancini. Dale: Craig Hunter. THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES -- A Siamese cat is at the heart of a sinister scheme. Regan: Alexis Kanner. Jean: Geraldine Moffatt. DESTRUCTION -- Cdr. Straker's investigation of a UFO is foiled when his superiors label the case "top secret". Sarah: Stephanie Beacham. Straker: Ed Bishop. Foster: Michael Billington. ********************************************************************** * THE BROADCASTS * ********************************************************************** Since UFO was syndicated during its original run in the United States, different stations aired the show at different days and times, and the episode ordering varied as well. What follows below is a collection of known broadcasts for Boston MA, Providence RI, Hartford CT, New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Philadelphia PA, and Seattle WA. Although there is enough information here to show that each city broadcast the series in a different (and seemingly random) order, it is interesting to note that the Boston and Providence orders are nearly identical. WBZ CHANNEL 4 BOSTON MA -- This was an NBC affiliate in 1972-3, but has since switched to CBS. WBZ showed UFO on Saturday evenings at 7 PM from September 1972 to January 1973, then moved it to Sunday at midnight from January to September 1973. There is no information on several episodes due to missing issues or no synopsis printed. However, using the rerun schedule and the very similar Providence schedule, educated guesses have been made as to which episodes these might have been. NEW EPISODES: 9/16/72 Sat 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: IDENTIFIED?) 9/23/72 Sat 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: EXPOSED?) 9/30/72 Sat 7 pm A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES 10/07/72 Sat 7 pm REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER 10/14/72 Sat 7 pm THE DALOTEK AFFAIR 10/21/72 Sat 7 pm CONFLICT 10/28/72 Sat 7 pm CONFETTI CHECK A-OK 11/04/72 Sat 7 pm SUB-SMASH 11/11/72 Sat 7 pm THE PSYCHOBOMBS 11/18/72 Sat 7 pm COURT MARTIAL 11/25/72 Sat 7 pm THE SQUARE TRIANGLE 12/02/72 Sat 7 pm FLIGHT PATH 12/09/72 Sat 7 pm TIMELASH 12/16/72 Sat 7 pm THE SOUND OF SILENCE 12/23/72 Sat 7 pm THE RESPONSIBILITY SEAT 12/30/72 Sat 7 pm ORDEAL 1/06/73 Sat 7 pm THE MAN WHO CAME BACK 1/13/73 Sat 7 pm issue unavailable (guess: KILL STRAKER?) 1/21/73 Sun 12 am ESP 1/28/73 Sun 12 am THE LONG SLEEP 2/04/73 Sun 12 am SURVIVAL 2/11/73 Sun 12 am COMPUTER AFFAIR 2/18/73 Sun 12 am MINDBENDER 2/25/73 Sun 12 am THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES 3/04/73 Sun 12 am issue unavailable (guess: CLOSE UP?) 3/11/73 Sun 12 am DESTRUCTION REPEATS: 3/18/73 Sun 12 am THE SOUND OF SILENCE 3/25/73 Sun 12 am EXPOSED 4/01/73 Sun 12 am CONFLICT 4/08/73 Sun 12 am no synopsis given (guess: REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER?) 4/15/73 Sun 12 am A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES 4/22/73 Sun 12 am THE DALOTEK AFFAIR 4/29/73 Sun 12 am CONFETTI CHECK A-OK 5/06/73 Sun 12 am SUB-SMASH 5/13/73 Sun 12 am no synopsis given (guess: THE PSYCHOBOMBS?) 5/20/73 Sun 12 am COURT MARTIAL 5/27/73 Sun 12 am no synopsis given (guess: THE SQUARE TRIANGLE?) 6/03/73 Sun 12 am FLIGHT PATH 6/10/73 Sun 12 am no synopsis given (guess: TIMELASH?) 6/17/73 Sun 12 am THE SOUND OF SILENCE 6/24/73 Sun 12 am THE RESPONSIBILITY SEAT 7/01/73 Sun 12 am ORDEAL 7/08/73 Sun 12 am THE MAN WHO CAME BACK 7/15/73 Sun 12 am KILL STRAKER 7/22/73 Sun 12 am ESP 7/29/73 Sun 12 am THE LONG SLEEP 8/05/73 Sun 12 am SURVIVAL 8/12/73 Sun 12 am COMPUTER AFFAIR 8/19/73 Sun 12 am CLOSE UP 8/26/73 Sun 12 am MINDBENDER 9/02/73 Sun 12 am THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES 9/09/73 Sun 1 am DESTRUCTION WPRI CHANNEL 12 PROVIDENCE RI -- This is a CBS affiliate which also showed UFO on Saturday evenings at 7 PM from September 1972 to January 1973, then moved it to Sundays at 7 PM from January to September 1973. There is no information for several episodes due to missing issues or no synopsis printed, but these have been guessed at using the rerun schedule and the very similar Boston schedule. NEW EPISODES: 9/16/72 Sat 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: IDENTIFIED?) 9/23/72 Sat 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: EXPOSED?) 9/30/72 Sat 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES?) 10/07/72 Sat 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER?) 10/14/72 Sat 7 pm THE DALOTEK AFFAIR 10/21/72 Sat 7 pm CONFLICT 10/28/72 Sat 7 pm CONFETTI CHECK A-OK 11/04/72 Sat 7 pm SUB-SMASH 11/11/72 Sat 7 pm THE PSYCHOBOMBS 11/18/72 Sat 7 pm COURT MARTIAL 11/25/72 Sat 7 pm THE SQUARE TRIANGLE 12/02/72 Sat 7 pm FLIGHT PATH 12/09/72 Sat 7 pm TIMELASH 12/16/72 Sat 7 pm THE SOUND OF SILENCE 12/23/72 Sat 7 pm THE RESPONSIBILITY SEAT 12/30/72 Sat 7 pm ORDEAL 1/06/73 Sat 7 pm THE MAN WHO CAME BACK 1/13/73 Sat 7 pm issue unavailable (guess: KILL STRAKER?) 1/21/73 Sun 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: ESP?) 1/28/73 Sun 7 pm THE LONG SLEEP 2/04/73 Sun 7 pm SURVIVAL 2/11/73 Sun 7 pm COMPUTER AFFAIR 2/18/73 Sun 7 pm CLOSE UP 2/25/73 Sun 7 pm MINDBENDER 3/04/73 Sun 7 pm issue unavailable (guess: THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES?) 3/11/73 Sun 7 pm DESTRUCTION REPEATS: 3/18/73 Sun 7 pm IDENTIFIED 3/25/73 Sun 7 pm EXPOSED 4/01/73 Sun 7 pm CONFLICT 4/08/73 Sun 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER?) 4/15/73 Sun 7 pm A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES 4/22/73 Sun 7 pm preempted 4/29/73 Sun 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: THE DALOTEK AFFAIR?) 5/06/73 Sun 7 pm CONFETTI CHECK A-OK 5/13/73 Sun 7 pm SUB-SMASH 5/20/73 Sun 7 pm THE PSYCHOBOMBS 5/27/73 Sun 7 pm COURT MARTIAL 6/03/73 Sun 7 pm THE SQUARE TRIANGLE 6/10/73 Sun 7 pm FLIGHT PATH 6/17/73 Sun 7 pm TIMELASH 6/24/73 Sun 7 pm no synopsis given (guess: THE SOUND OF SILENCE?) 7/01/73 Sun 7 pm THE RESPONSIBILITY SEAT 7/08/73 Sun 7 pm ORDEAL 7/15/73 Sun 7 pm THE MAN WHO CAME BACK 7/22/73 Sun 7 pm KILL STRAKER 7/29/73 Sun 7 pm ESP 8/05/73 Sun 7 pm THE LONG SLEEP 8/12/73 Sun 7 pm SURVIVAL 8/19/73 Sun 7 pm COMPUTER AFFAIR 8/26/73 Sun 7 pm CLOSE UP 9/02/73 Sun 7 pm MINDBENDER WTIC CHANNEL 3 HARTFORD CT -- This is a CBS affiliate which apparently showed UFO on Thursday evenings at 7 PM from September 1972 to January 1973, then moved it to Sundays at 5 PM from January 1973 to July 1973. Almost all of the information on the Thursday broadcasts are missing because Chris Campbell wasn't looking for UFO to be shown on Thursdays. However, the remaining information shows that UFO was broadcast here in a completely different order than in Boston or Providence. Also, unlike the Boston and Providence stations, this station preempted UFO on a number of dates. 9/??/72 - 1/11/73 no information 1/18/73 Thur 7 pm TIMELASH 1/21 or 1/25/73 no information 1/28/73 Sun 5 pm THE PSYCHOBOMBS 2/04/73 Sun 5 pm COURT MARTIAL 2/11/73 Sun 5 pm THE SQUARE TRIANGLE 2/18/73 Sun 5 pm no synopsis given 2/25/73 Sun 5 pm preempted 3/04/73 Sun 5 pm SUB-SMASH 3/11/73 Sun 5 pm preempted 3/18/73 Sun 5 pm IDENTIFIED 3/25/73 Sun 5 pm EXPOSED 4/01/73 Sun 5 pm DESTRUCTION 4/08/73 Sun 5 pm preempted 4/15/73 Sun 5 pm preempted 4/22/73 Sun 5 pm ESP 4/29/73 Sun 5 pm preempted 5/06/73 Sun 5 pm THE RESPONSIBILITY SEAT 5/13/73 Sun 5 pm ORDEAL 5/20/73 Sun 5 pm preempted 5/27/73 Sun 5 pm CLOSE UP 6/03/73 Sun 5 pm THE MAN WHO CAME BACK 6/10/73 Sun 5 pm CONFETTI CHECK A-OK 6/17/73 Sun 5 pm EXPOSED 6/24/73 Sun 5 pm KILL STRAKER 7/01/73 Sun 5 pm A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES 7/08/73 Sun 5 pm REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER 7/15/73 Sun 5 pm THE DALOTEK AFFAIR 7/22/73 Sun 5 pm CONFLICT 7/29/73 Sun 5 pm THE PSYCHOBOMBS CHANNEL 2 LOS ANGELES CA -- This is a CBS affiliate which showed UFO on Saturday evenings at 7 PM starting in September 1972. Here are a few known broadcast dates: 9/23/72 Sat 7 pm EXPOSED 9/30/72 Sat 7 pm A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES 10/07/72 Sat 7 pm REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER 10/14/72 Sat 7 pm THE DALOTEK AFFAIR 10/28/72 Sat 7 pm CONFETTI CHECK A-OK 11/28/72 Sat 7 pm COURT MARTIAL 12/02/72 Sat 7 pm FLIGHT PATH 12/09/72 Sat 7 pm TIMELASH 12/30/72 Sat 7 pm CLOSE UP 3/10/73 Sat 7 pm THE RESPONSIBILITY SEAT WCBS-TV CHANNEL 2 NEW YORK NY -- This is a CBS affiliate which apparently showed UFO on Saturday evenings at 7 PM starting in September 1972. I only have 2 dates of broadcast information, but from these it seems that the episodes were broadcast in a different order than in Boston and Providence. It also appears that the day of broadcast did not switch to Sundays in January, as it did in Boston, Providence, and Hartford. 1/13/73 Sat 7 pm THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES 3/03/73 Sat 7 pm ESP CHANNEL 10 PHILADELPHIA PA -- This is a CBS affiliate which showed UFO on Saturday evenings at 7 PM starting in September 1972. I only have one broadcast date for this station, but it is notable that the episode shown is the same as that shown in both Boston and Providence on this date. 11/04/72 Sat 7 pm SUB-SMASH KOMO CHANNEL 4 SEATTLE WA -- This is an ABC affiliate which showed UFO on Sunday evenings at 7 PM starting in September 1972. I have only one broadcast date for this station: 3/11/73 Sun 7 pm THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES KPIX CHANNEL 5 SAN FRANCISCO -- This is a CBS affiliate which showed UFO on Sunday evenings at 7 PM starting in September 1972. I have no broadcast dates for this station.