UFO - Timelash (1970)
SHADO has a weakness, & this episode demonstrates it in sheer splendour. Commander Straker suddenly appears out of nowhere, & smashes the crap out of computers. After Straker is restrained & laid in a private hospital bed, we're treated to a spectacle of cool, of a flashback episode! Straker & Col. Lake are harassed by a passing UFO on their way to the top secret SHADO HQ via the countryside, at spooky night. They're subjected to some fab, psychedelic colours, which only affects them for a fraction of a second. But, their biggest surprise is yet to come.. Time has been frozen, including the movie studio & hidden head, submerged quarters.
Not everyone is trapped in time. After exploring frozen surroundings & frozen in time (& space?), people, including a bird suspended in flight, a voice torments them both. Obviously a Human. Aw, c'mon! Seeing as we never hear the aliens talk! They're just space-zombies that want to steal our organs, minus a card. Looking at you, Star Trek:Voyagers Viidians! A groovy fire fight ensues with our traitor using the tech, given him by his ET allies, to play his psychological mind something or other, games on Straker & Lake. His ego doesn't waste time (no pun intended) in revealing that he's Turner, the SHADO radar operator. He even offers Straker a share in the power he expects to receive. Idiot!
Sherlock's Mum! Got the time? Peeper caught in the act!
This is a steamer of an episode! Obviously, the plot involves our nemesis not killing Straker instantly. Unlike his creepy alien allies, he delights in using his given bag of time tricks to play with them awhile, a la Ming The Merciless. He also seems to regard Straker in some way (?) He constantly taunts him with nicknames like "BOSS!", "MR BIG!", but his personal favourite being "BIG MAN!", feel free to pick your favourite. Sticks & stones, etc..
Oh, & I forgot to mention that our duo have to inject an experimental drug (speed?) to keep up with their foe & the time-trap. This is truly a blast of a blog! Patrick Allen plays Turner like a 'master!', (Okay, I know..) We rarely see him as much as hear his loud-speaker voice winding Straker up!
He also seems to have a thing for dodgem cars as he & Straker shoot it out on the bumper cars, on a merry-go-round of violence. "I'm outside of time, tee-hee!" Set your excitement level to 100% capacity! We're truly on a roll here! Wanda Ventham as Colonel Lake, in true to Bond influence fashion, wears a particularly tight shirt complete with machine-gun in tow. & No, I'm not into those 80's video's featuring bikini-clad women, carrying machine-guns. I'm self-righteous! Okay, maybe a peek...
Our hero whacks Turner. Yes, with a machine-gun, in an inventive or simple way. I'll let you be the judge of that. Then aims his sight at the approaching UFO, with a bazooka, blasting it close to smithereens, UFO limping away. Whether or not it survived is probably unlikely as it would've been unable to make it back to its own planet.
Truly we are amidst an action-packed adventure from start to finish! We've got fab, amazing, special effects in the time suspension scenes, 'specially that bird! & a creepy, incidental music accompaniment. We're treated to a weakness in the war to defend the Human race. Human evil itself, manipulated in all it's power hungry glory by the aliens. Still, we got an alien defector in Question of Priorities episode. As you can tell, I'm an eager-beaver about this episode. This is in your face, no nonsense, excitement & I make no apologies in my enthusiasm!
Yours, oh-so sincerely, count the..
Stay Safe!
Borgduck aka Stewart.