Ancient Web: Marc Martin’s UFO Site Kept a Failed 1996 Sequel Proposal

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's UFO lasted one television season, but its fans kept planning what might have happened next. Marc Martin's website even preserved the paperwork from a sequel attempt that went nowhere.

Visit the UFO Series Home Page.

The independent site celebrates the 1970 British science-fiction drama, in which the secret organization SHADO fights extraterrestrial visitors from a film-studio headquarters and bases beneath the sea and on the Moon. The homepage offers episode guides, publicity photographs, sound effects, music, scripts, blueprints, merchandise, and fan-convention material.

Its frequently asked questions, last updated June 14, 2005, are a miniature book. Marc explains why the women at Moonbase wear purple wigs, how the Skydiver submarine works in the story, and why release orders and episode lists can disagree.

The sequel that existed on paper

The most revealing section is the 1996 revival attempt. In January of that year, Australian filmmaker Albert Hastings contacted a fan mailing list proposing a direct follow-up called UFO-2. Fans were encouraged to send supporting letters to potential financial backers.

According to the archive, Hastings contacted actor Ed Bishop, who expressed interest in reprising Commander Straker, and original producer Gerry Anderson, who gave the project his blessing. The proposal was submitted but did not attract the required financing. Hastings acknowledged defeat in October 1996.

What survives is remarkably specific: mailing-list messages spanning January to October, a letter to Bishop, the full proposed sequel document, an illustration of a 'Stealth Interceptor,' and another producer's covering letter. The archive credits Danielle Plamondon with transcribing the proposal.

This material is more than fan speculation remembered decades later. The correspondence was made available on Martin's website in January and February 1997, close to the attempt itself.

The site's other sections document a culture that traded electronic mailing-list posts, image files, and audio clips before streaming and official fan hubs became routine. Not every older outbound link is guaranteed to function now.

Nothing here establishes that UFO-2 reached production. The value is precisely the preservation of an unrealized project and the fans who tried to make it happen.

Browse the 1996 revival documents and the larger UFO archive.

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.