Production
Filming locations included Black Park and Black Park Cottage in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire. [1] The closing graveyard scene was shot outside the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Harefield, London Borough of Hillingdon. [5] [6]
| "The Square Triangle" | |
|---|---|
| UFO episode | |
| Episode no. | Episode 10 |
| Directed by | David Lane |
| Written by | Alan Pattillo |
| Editing by | Harry MacDonald |
| Production code | 11 |
| Original air date | 9 December 1970 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Square Triangle" is the tenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Alan Pattillo and the director was David Lane. The episode was filmed between 3 September and 15 September 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 9 December 1970. Though shown as the ninth episode, it was actually the eleventh to have been filmed. [1] [2]
The series was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company. [3]
Straker allows a UFO to land in Southern England in an attempt to capture the craft, and its alien crew, by sending out a fleet of SHADO mobiles. After the UFO lands safely, a lone alien survivor has a fight with a game warden and his dog, causing the alien's uniform to rip and his helmet to shatter. The alien kills the human with a machine gun-style weapon, drags the corpse to the UFO, and then self-destructs the craft in an attempt to get away by substituting the human with himself. Colonel Foster and his crew identify the charred corpse as the human and not the alien; moreover, they find a piece of the alien's uniform and use the surviving canine to track his location within the surrounding woodlands. Meantime, in a cottage close to the landing site, Liz Newton is conspiring with her lover Cass Fowler to murder Liz's husband, Jack. Liz plans to shoot Jack upon his arrival at home and then claim that she thought him to be an intruder. To that end Cass coaches her in the details of her alibi and it's made clear that he is the driving force in the plan. However, their scheme is foiled when the alien suddenly appears at the front door and is shot instead.
Foster and his investigation team arrive with the dog to find the dead alien, from which the conniving pair are taken to SHADO headquarters, where they are debriefed of the events, and eventually given an amnesia drug to make them forget everything that had occurred within the previous twelve hours.
Meanwhile Foster continues the investigation at the cottage. When Jack returns, Foster questions him to deduce the couple's murderous plan. At SHADO, Foster explains a theory that the pair originally planned to kill the husband and if released, there was no stopping them from doing it again. Straker points out that they cannot provide the body of an alien or turn over the pair to the authorities because SHADO is not in the "moralising business", from which Straker orders Foster to get everything possible about the destroyed UFO, and Colonel Freeman to check on the autopsy of the alien. The pair are released. The final shot shows Liz in the near future looking at a non-identifying gravestone during the end credits with a far shot of an approaching male that appears to be Cass. [4]
Filming locations included Black Park and Black Park Cottage in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire. [1] The closing graveyard scene was shot outside the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Harefield, London Borough of Hillingdon. [5] [6]
Review website anorakzone.com ranks "The Square Triangle" the third-best episode of UFO, calling it "a fine example of a relatively mundane episode being lifted into something far greater by a classic ending". [7]
Describing it as "one of the most brilliant and successful" instalments, John Kenneth Muir praises the episode for its themes of sacrifice and "hypocrisy" in war ("Here, an innocent man must be allowed to die for the secrecy of [SHADO's] cause.") Muir also comments on the cinematography of the graveyard scene, noting that the camera zooms out to indicate "a kind of withdrawal, in shame and horror, at what has occurred". [8]
UFO is a 1970 British science fiction television series about the covert efforts of an international defence organisation to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.
Colonel Edward Straker, United States Air Force, Commander-in-Chief of SHADO, is the main character of British TV series UFO. He is one of the original promoters of Project Angel, an international organisation to found the Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organisation (SHADO), in order to fight incoming flying saucers carrying hostile extraterrestrials. He is portrayed by actor Ed Bishop.
"Identified" is the pilot and first episode of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson and Tony Barwick; the director was Gerry Anderson. The episode was filmed between 28 April and 12 May 1969, and aired on ATV Midlands on 16 September 1970.
"Exposed" is the second episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Tony Barwick and the director was David Lane. The episode was filmed between 13 May and 23 May 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 23 September 1970. Though shown as the second episode, it was actually the fifth to have been filmed.
"Kill Straker!" is the seventh episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written Donald James and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 5 November and 17 November 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 4 November 1970. Though shown as the seventh episode, it was actually the sixteenth to have been filmed. The episode was originally titled The Inside Man.
"The Cat with Ten Lives" is the third episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. David Tomblin wrote the screenplay and directed the episode. The episode was filmed between 22 May and 3 June 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 30 September 1970. Though shown as the third episode, it was actually the nineteenth to have been filmed.
"Conflict" is the fourth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. Ruric Powell wrote the screenplay and it was directed by Ken Turner. The episode, initially titled "Ambush", was filmed between 2 July and 14 July 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 7 October 1970. Though shown as the fourth episode, it was actually the sixth to have been filmed.
"A Question of Priorities" is the fifth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. Tony Barwick wrote the screenplay and it was directed by David Lane. The episode was filmed between 28 July and 7 August 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 14 October 1970. Though shown as the fifth episode, it was actually the eighth to have been filmed.
"E.S.P." is the sixth episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. Alan Fennell wrote the screenplay and it was directed by Ken Turner. The episode was filmed between 23 October and 4 November 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 21 October 1970. Though shown as the sixth episode, it was actually the fifteenth to have been filmed.
"Sub-Smash" is the eighth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written Alan Fennell and the director was David Lane. The episode was filmed between 18 November and 28 November 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 11 November 1970. Though shown as the seventh episode, it was actually the seventeenth to have been filmed.
"Destruction" is the ninth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Dennis Spooner and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed between 4 June and 16 June 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 2 December 1970. Though shown as the ninth episode, it was actually the twentieth to have been filmed.
"Close Up" is the eleventh episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written Tony Barwick and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 29 September to 9 October 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 16 December 1970. Though shown as the eleventh episode, it was actually the thirteenth to have been filmed.
"The Psychobombs" is the twelfth episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Tony Barwick and the director was Jeremy Summers. The episode was filmed between 30 June and 10 July 1970, and first aired on ATV Midlands on 30 December 1970. Though shown as the twelfth episode, it was actually the twenty-second to be filmed.
"Survival" is the thirteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written Tony Barwick and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 30 June and 10 July 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 30 December 1970. Though shown as the thirteenth episode, it was actually the fourth to have been filmed.
"Mindbender" is the fourteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Tony Barwick and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed from 30 June to 10 July 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 13 January 1971. Though shown as the fourteenth episode, it was actually the twenty-fifth to have been filmed.
"Flight Path" is the fifteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay, originally entitled "The Sun Always Rises", was written by Ian Scott Stewart and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed between 26 May to 5 June 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 20 January 1971. Though shown as the fifteenth episode, it was actually the third to have been filmed.
"The Man Who Came Back" is the sixteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Terence Feely and the director was David Lane. The episode was filmed from 17 June to 29 June 1970, and aired on ATV Midlands on 3 February 1971. Though shown as the sixteenth episode, it was actually the twenty-first to have been filmed.
"The Dalotek Affair" is the seventeenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Ruric Powell and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 15 July to 25 July 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 10 February 1971. Though shown as the sixteenth episode, it was actually the seventh to have been filmed.
"Timelash" is the eighteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Terence Feely and the director was Cyril Frankel. The episode was filmed from 24 July to 6 August 1970, and aired on ATV Midlands on 17 February 1971. Though shown as the eighteenth episode, it was actually the twenty-fourth to have been filmed.
"Ordeal" is the nineteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Tony Barwick and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed from 8 August to 20 August 1969, and aired on ATV Midlands on 14 April 1971. Though shown as the nineteenth episode, it was actually the ninth to have been filmed.
| Episodes 1–19 | |
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| Related topics | |
