My new UFO tie-in novella Shadow Play released in September, and the audiobook edition will be available later in the year for those who prefer a “talking book” format – so today I’m posting a second ‘author’s commentary’ for the month with insights into the background of the storyline – but first here’s a couple of comments from reviewers…
“Shadow Play cleverly takes us deep into the mind of Ed Straker, and wow – what a ride it is… These aren’t just action-packed space adventures (although they absolutely deliver on that front, too) – they’re deep dives into what makes these characters tick.” – Jack Knoll, Security Hazard
“A strong effort in adding to the UFO story… Fans of the series will not be disappointed and enjoy this a great deal.” – Mark Yon, SFF World
UFO ran for a single season in 1970, following the beleaguered members of a top secret defence force fighting a desperate battle against a race of extraterrestrials intent on using humanity as spare parts for their own failing bodies, all while trying to keep the deadly secret from the rest of mankind. To learn more about the show, click here.
The last line of defence in a clandestine war, SHADO is all that stands between humanity and a force of alien invaders – and leading that fight is the uncompromising Ed Straker, commanding Earth’s defenders around the clock. But what happens when the man at the top is pushed too far? After an experiment goes wrong, Straker awakens from a coma with missing memories and strange hallucinations that threaten his grip on reality – but is it the result of alien interference, or has the commander’s iron will finally cracked? Facing danger from within and without, Straker must find the truth. Even if it kills him.
Spoiler Warning! These notes give away story points from UFO – Shadow Play and other episodes of the UFO TV series.
The novella’s title is a play (!) on words, obliquely referencing UFO’s secret organization SHADO.
Among the inspirations for this story are the 1960s TV series The Prisoner and the fiction of Philip K. Dick (notably “The Zap Gun”, “Imposter” and “The Father-Thing”).
Doctor Jackson submits Ed Straker to “a standard V-K series” of questions; ‘V-K’ is a nod to the Voight-Kampff machine from Blade Runner, which is used to determine if a person is a human or a replicant.
Straker sees a Cyranian Airlines jet taking off as he approaches Heathrow Airport; that airline appears in “Splashdown”, an episode of Joe 90, another Gerry Anderson production.
Passing through the backlot of the Harlington-Straker film studio, several props that regularly appear in UFO’s backgrounds (such as the giant white hand!) are mentioned.
In conversation with Paul Foster, Alec Freeman mentions EUROSEC, the European-based space agency from the Anderson-produced live-action movie Doppelganger (aka Journey to the Far Side of the Sun); he also mentions nuclear-powered spacecraft being designed by the World Space Commission, an oblique reference to the Eagle Transporters of UFO’s sister-show Space: 1999.
UFO episodes referenced in the novella include “Exposed” (Foster’s recruitment into SHADO), “Confetti Check A-O.K.” (Straker’s family life, and his long friendship with Freeman), “A Question of Priorities” (the death of Straker’s son), “Reflections in the Water” (an alien plot to duplicate SHADO HQ), along with events from “Mindbender”, “The Man Who Came Back”, “Timelash” and “The Cat with Ten Lives”.
As well as the episodes of the original series and the UFO comics, Chris Bentley’s The Complete Book of Gerry Anderson’s UFO and Chris Thompson’s and Andrew Clements’ SHADO Technical Operations Manual were invaluable resources for the writing of Shadow Play.
UFO – Shadow Play is available to pre-order in audiobook format from Big Finish Productions as a digital download here; and as Limited Edition Hardcover from Anderson Productions at this link.
