Technical operations manual set to reveal secrets of UFO’s S.H.A.D.O. – Redshirts Always Die

Anderson Entertainment is publishing the UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Technical Operations Manual.

Because both NASA and the Pentagon are openly talking about unidentified flying objects (or, if you prefer, “unidentified aerial phenomena”), it’s the perfect time for Anderson Entertainment to publish the UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Technical Operations Manual, available for pre-order later this month.

The syndicated reruns of Star Trek that ultimately gave our favorite show a new lease on life were far from the only sci-fi on TV in the 1970s. UFO was a British science fiction series. It chronicled the adventures of the Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization (S.H.A.D.O.) as it secretly protected Earth from extraterrestrial dangers.

UFO was the first live-action series from writer-producer Gerry Anderson, best known for co-creating with his wife Sylvia the marionette action adventure series Thunderbirds (1965-66). The Andersons later created Space: 1999 (1975-77), originally conceived as a continuation of UFO.

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Successful in Britain in 1970, UFO also performed well in U.S. syndication. And on both sides of the pond, the show’s fan base has remained loyal and has grown in the decades since.

Now, Anderson Entertainment is making a bigger move into the States with products celebrating the Andersons’ several iconic creations shipping directly from U.S. warehouses. The UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Technical Operations Manual is the first, and it looks like it’s a great choice to spearhead this British (space) invasion.

The UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Technical Operations Manual details a darker sci-fi vision

Here are some details and a description of the UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Technical Operations Manual from an Anderson Entertainment press release:

Across the oversized (11.8” x 9” x 1”) and lavishly illustrated (150+ brand-new illustrations) hardcover book’s 208 pages, [authors Chris] Thompson and [Andrew] Clements explore S.H.A.D.O.’s history, introduce readers to the show’s inventive vehicles and equipment via illustrations and blueprints, and share an overview of everything known about the dangerous unidentified aliens, a dying race that–in 1980—abducts humans and harvests their organs.

With organ-collecting aliens at the heart of its mythos, UFO steered into thematically darker territory than had Thunderbirds or previous Anderson productions. Chris Thompson notes in the press release that UFO was also darker than Space: 1999, for which he and Clements produced a similar volume in 2021 (the Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Technical Operations Manual).

But UFO’s aliens weren’t the only reason the show ventured into gray areas. As its acronym suggests, S.H.A.D.O. is a clandestine organization, with all the moral ambiguity one would expect. In the press release, Thompson says “the S.H.A.D.O Technical Operations Manual is very much a piece of literature that is designed never to see the light of day and gives a wider overview of a future that is barely a decade from the time it was conceived. Tonally, it is a darker book [than the Moonbase Alpha manual] but shows the occasional moral quandary in S.H.A.D.O.’s operations.”

Anderson Entertainment will publish the UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Technical Operations Manual in not only a hardback trade edition but also a limited edition of only 500 units. The limited edition will include an individually numbered S.H.A.D.O. ID badge, a replica S.H.A.D.O. document wallet, and other selected S.H.A.D.O. items.

UFO fans who are ready to take this informative, illustrated deep dive into the show and its world should keep watching the Anderson Entertainment website or their favorite online pop culture retailer for their chance to order!