Gerry Anderson's UFO to be revived by Big Finish
The original television series starring Ed Bishop aired for 26 episodes in the early 1970s.
Big Finish is adding another audio remaining of a classic TV series to its stable, with a new series of audio plays based on Gerry Anderson's UFO.
The first of two box sets will be released in August, taking inspiration from the science-fiction drama which aired 26 episodes on ITV between September 1970 and August 1971.
The original television series starred Ed Bishop as Ed Straker, head of SHADO – a top-secret military agency formed to combat an extraterrestrial threat that is abducting humans and harvesting their organs.
The new reimagining from Big Finish has cast Barnaby Kay (The Five, Wallander) as Straker, alongside Samuel Clemens as Colonel Alec Freeman, Lynsey Murrell as Lieutenant Gay Ellis, Harry Myers as General James Henderson, and Jeany Spark as Lieutenant-Colonel Virginia Lake.
The two upcoming boxsets – UFO: Destruct: Positive! and UFO: Volume 2 (Title TBC) – will be written by Andy Lane and script edited by Jamie Anderson – Gerry Anderson's son and Managing Director of Anderson Entertainment – and Nicholas Briggs – Big Finish's Creative Director.
Jamie Anderson said: "I worked closely with Andy to create a new beginning for the show. But this audio series has all the essential DNA of Dad’s original creation. What we have here now is an irresistible fusion of a 1970s view of a 1980s world and our own 'future' perspective on that. A kind of retro-futurism."
Script Editor/Director Nicholas Briggs added: "The inspiration behind adapting this rather famous TV series for audio is that I love it. It’s very difficult to categorise but I think UFO is a fascinating and innovative series. Every time I watch it again, and I’ve watched it many times, I adore it more.
"Destruct: Positive! is our reboot of the UFO story – it's slightly different from the TV series. It’s a story of secrecy, paranoia, personal struggle, and threats."
Producer Emma Haigh added: "It’s so exciting to be bringing UFO to audio. It is another iconic TV series from the Anderson world and it’s wonderful to hear Ed Straker, Virginia Lake, Alec Freeman and the SHADO team and stories in this reimagining."
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The first boxset will contain three stories: 'Destruct: Positive!', 'Things We Lost In The Darkness', and 'Full Fathom Five'.
UFO marks Big Finish's latest foray into the worlds of Gerry Anderson, with the company already producing audio dramas based on Space: 1999, Stingray and Thunderbirds.
This latest announcement arrives on 2022's International Gerry Anderson Day, which marks the legendary TV and film producer's birthday and is also being marked by a special concert at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall that will play host to orchestral performances of iconic themes from Anderson's back catalogue.
UFO: Destruct: Positive! and UFO: Volume 2 (Title TBC) are each available to pre-order as a collector’s edition 3-disc CD box set (+ download for £19.99 each) or digital download (for £16.99 each), exclusively from bigfinish.com.
Read more:
- Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson to appear in new documentary using deep fake technology
- Gerry Anderson documentary to screen across UK alongside BritBox launch
- How the legend of Gerry Anderson lives on, as fans celebrate life and works of the Thunderbirds creator
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
