Anyone Remember Project UFO? (1978)

[Eric Paddon]

I ask because I just got introduced to this show courtesy of a grainy looking set of episodes taped from a British Sci-Fi channel. I honestly don't think this show has seen the light of day in the US since it originally aired for two half-seasons on NBC in 78-79 (totalling 26 episodes total, including one with Anne Lockhart guesting).

This was the last show produced by Jack Webb, and done to cash in on the craze of Close Encounters. The premise is a lot like X-Files as we follow Air Force investigators Jake Gatlin (replaced in Season 2 by Ben Ryan) and Sgt. Harry Fitz checking out alleged UFO sightings. Unlike X-Files though, and in the best Jack Webb tradition, there are no government conspiracies and cover-ups taking place. And in fact, most of the time, the Air Force, just like the real life Project Blue Book, discovers that much of what's reported falls in the hoax category. However, before they unveil the truth, we get to hear the descriptions of what the witnesses saw unfold in flashback which meant there was some primitive FX in the show for its time (light years behind what Galactica was being cutting edge with).

Strangely, one gets the impression that Universal, which also produced this show, was palming off some leftover elements of it on Galactica 1980 a year later. Not only did Galactica 1980 partly recycle some of Project UFO by having an Air Force officer investigate UFO sightings, but remember that bizarre credit that always flashed at the end of G80 episodes about how the Air Force stopped investigating UFOs in 1969 and said they didn't cause a threat to national security? That credit actually used to always appear at the end of Project UFO just before the familiar Jack Webb "Mark VII" credit would appear. I think someone at Universal who was responsible for putting G80 together must have thought they were still doing Project UFO at the time!

The show is not well remembered by a lot of people because it took the antithetical approach of an X-Files or Kolchak: The Night Stalker. This was a show primarily about debunking (though sometimes leaving the door open a crack for the possibility that there were things out there) and about the deceit that often lies behind many UFO reports picked up on in the tabloid press. That sort of premise isn't considered sexy enough for a lot of people, but strangely it's making it easier for me to enjoy these shows. I guess part of it stems from the fact that as a historian, I always enjoy seeing sensationalist stuff debunked, but also I have to confess that in trying to watch X-Files and Kolchak as I've done on DVD, there's something that wears thin after a while when strange aliens/monsters get discovered every week and as a result you always KNOW that there isn't going to be any room for skepticism. After one year of X-Files, why is Scully still a skeptic after all they've encountered? Just from judging one year of X-Files, I came away thinking the show would have been better if they'd mixed things up a bit and had a few weeks where there wasn't anything supernatural and that it was a hoax, and then you could create genuine suspense week to week wondering if this time it would be for real or this time it wouldn't.

Anyway, it's because Project UFO goes in the other direction, that makes it an interesting kind of alternative companion piece to the other two shows and one that can be enjoyed on that basis. At 26 episodes, that's enough to put the entire run in a single DVD set so let's hope Universal puts it out some day!

I remember this series. As a kid, I would watch it every week just to see the aliens and the spaceship designs. Even though it had Scooby Doo plots,( it was always a hoax) I got a kick out of the close encounters. There was always the hope that this episode, it was for real. The Jack Webb narration was real cool too. Would I buy the series on DVD? Only if I hit the lottery. There are at least 30 other DVD sets I would buy before Project UFO. Its a case of so little money, so many DVDs.

[Eric Paddon]

I know what you mean about the large choices of DVDs out there and a limited budget! Still, the more I go through this set of eps. the more interesting it's getting. At the very least this show is moving in to my top five of shows not given any kind of DVD release that I'd like to see come out (the 1975 detective series Ellery Queen tops the list with me).

Found a site devoted to the show which had an article explaining that the show's original lead, William Jordan (as Jake Gatlin) left the show after its first season because of creative clashes with Jack Webb. Webb was still doing the show in his Dragnet-Adam 12 style, which meant we never saw anything of the home and personal lives of the investigators, and Jordan thought that approach wasn't right for a show like this.

[Galactifan]

I have the complete "Project U.F.O." series on VHS. It's a decent tv show that I saw when it originally ran on tv. Although the stories vary from interesting to lame, the concept of the show is quite intriguing and was based on real U.F.O. investigations.

[Eric Paddon]

I just made my way into the second season of this show and I can see why it lost a lot of its audience after a successful first season and failed to last. First big mistake was hiring Ed Winter as the replacement for William Jordan. Winter was already entrenched in the public mind as the wacko Colonel Flagg from MASH, which made it impossible to take him seriously as a strait-laced Air Force officer, especially in a show about investigating UFOs. Also, they tossed out the intro and music theme of the first season, a well-done one by Nelson Riddle (Batman, Emergency) that I found infectious, and replaced it with a very bad theme that had no definable melody. I really think producers of a show are not always sensitive to how changing a TV show's theme music can often drive away a lot of the audience, at least in those days when part of a show's identity lay in the theme music. When you don't hear something familiar, it leaves you with the subliminal message that the show is no longer what it once was when you started to enjoy it and so you think there's no need to keep watching.

EDIT-
Quick addendum I had to make regarding Season 2. Laurette Spang appeared in the second episode which aired the same week Galactica debuted, and she was *not* a very nice person in that one!

[jewels]

I think Laurette was a contract player at Universal just before or during BG's run, so her being in another Uni. TV show wouldn't be unusual.

I remember the show too and liked it at the time. I think the actual Project Blue Book was HQ at Wright-Patterson AFB, which has a legendary secure hanger thanks to that project's tenure there.

[Pegasus4]

I borrowed this box set from a friend a couple months ago and forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me. Will watch when I get a chance.

[buckaroohawk]

I remember this show from when I was a kid, too. My parents were big UFO buffs at the time so anything that dealt was the subject was of interest. From what I can recall, Webb based the episodes on actual Project Blue Book files, just like he did with Dragnet. How he got his hands on them back then is a curiosity since I think most of them were still classified despite the back the PBB was dissolved.

Also, contrary to what others have mentioned here, not every episode ended as a hoax. There were in fact several episodes that declared the encounters as "unexplained" because the investigators could not find a suitable natural or scientific explanation for the sighting. they never came out and said "yes, this was a UFO," they just closed the case without making a final determination one way or the other.

Webb was also a UFO enthusiast himself. He firmly believed that there is life out there in the galaxy and that they have visited Earth. Strange for a guy who seemed so nuts-and bolts straightforward. Perhaps I just associate Webb with the character of Joe Friday too much. All I know is that his opening dialogue, "Ezekial saw the wheel..." used to send chills down my spine. I also recall that in one episode they used a slightly modified model of the Millenium Falcon as a UFO during a witness flashback scene. They removed the cylindical side cockpit and placed it between the forward triangluar wedges. They also moved the access ramp from the side the center of the ship's belly. I think they may have painted is orange as well.

What a fun memory! I haven't thought about that show in eons. Seriously doubt that it'll ever make it to DVD, though.

[Eric Paddon]

That "Ezekiel saw the wheel" opening was sadly one of the other casualties in the overhaul from Season 1 to Season 2. Webb's narration in the opening was now seemingly dumbed down as if someone said the kiddies would never get the Biblical reference.

Anne Lockhart guested in a Season 2 episode which may have been the last thing she did before signing on as Sheba.

I watched that show as a kid and loved it. Of course, I was a UFO nut then, and since my Dad was in the Air Force I thought anything related to the USAF was as cool as it got. My favorite sequence, as I remember it, involved a family being holed up in their farmhouse, scared to death, and taking shots at a bunch of greenies that were surrounding the house, taking up station in the trees, and trying to come in through the doors and windows. Awesome fun!

Interestingly, my father brought me an Air Force magazine from his office one day since the cover story was about the TV show, and they had used a Cylon Raider model for the cover shoot, barely disguised by some optical effects. If I can find that pic I'll scan it and post it.

[captmiloman]

My brother and I never missed an episode back in the day. He and a buddy of his were big UFO buffs at the time.

[Senmut]

It was good TV, EP. That alone weighs against it ever seeing the light of video.

[Punisher454]

I remember this series, although I remembered it as actually being called "Project Bluebook".

[David Kerin]

I loved that series as a kid. I do remember it as Project UFO, but I have heard the name Project Bluebook used for it as well. I think Project UFO was the name of the show, and they were investigating stories from Project Bluebook. I say that with no historical fact on my side. Would love to find copies of the series. Though some shows I've learned are best left in the memories of my youth.

[peter noble]

It was called Project U.F.O.

Usually, there were some nice miniatures from Brick Price Movie Miniatures featured.

Anne Lockhart and Laurette Spang guested in episodes.

[Punisher454]

dang my memory gets worse all the time.
I do remember one episode where a guy built a ufo prop and suspended it below a helicopter which had its lights covered with "100 mph tape" to make the helicopter "invisible" at night.

[David Kerin]

I did find a torrent with both seasons. Not good quality, but enough to bring back some memories. Will have to burn to disk and watch. These are the things file sharing was made for. Old titles that will never be released, but someone out there has a copy on VHS!

Lots of miniature work. Not the best special effects, but for a 10 year old in 1978, it was impressive as sheeot!

[David Kerin]

Watched the first episode, and it wasn't bad. Since it was produced by Jack Webb of Dragnet fame, it was a very straight forward approach.

[BST]

I recall a show named "UFO" that was produced by ICM, I think. One thing in particular that I remember about it was the car. Its doors opened at the top, like wings.

[Gemini1999]

Originally Posted by BST

I recall a show named "UFO" that was produced by ICM, I think. One thing in particular that I remember about it was the car. Its doors opened at the top, like wings.

Pete -

The series you're referring to is the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson series that was released into syndication back in 1970. It was produced by ITC, which no longer exists. I'm a big fan of the show and watch the DVDs of it at least once a year.

In answer to Eric's original question - I remember the series title of Project UFO, but I was so steeped in traditional SciFi television during the late 70's, the idea of a weekly series (I think it was on NBC) that focused on the UFO phenomenon didn't really get my interest.

Bryan

[Senmut]

Originally Posted by David Kerin

Watched the first episode, and it wasn't bad. Since it was produced by Jack Webb of Dragnet fame, it was a very straight forward approach.

Just the fax, ma'am.

[BST]

Originally Posted by Gemini1999

Pete -

The series you're referring to is the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson series that was released into syndication back in 1970. It was produced by ITC, which no longer exists. I'm a big fan of the show and watch the DVDs of it at least once a year.


Bryan

That's the one.

So, the show is out on DVD? I might have to part with a little discretionary income and add that to my collection.

[Gemini1999]

Originally Posted by BST

That's the one.

So, the show is out on DVD? I might have to part with a little discretionary income and add that to my collection.

Pete -

Here's a link to the listing at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-M...2698569&sr=1-1

The series has been on DVD since 2003 and it's much cheaper to get than it used to be. You can get the entire series for just under 30.00. When it was originally released, you had to buy the DVDs in two volumes which cost close to 40.00 apiece. The second release is a "megaset" which has the entire series all on one package that takes up less space.

If you're going to get it, then you'd probably make your move fairly quick. I read recently that A&E was discontinuing them.

[BST]

Thanks, Bryan.

[Senmut]

I just check 'em out from the library, and copy 'em.

Oops.