I recently watched the 1970-1971 series UFO and found myself captivated not by the complex storyline, interesting dialogue or even the action and adventure. No, I was fixated on one thing - Commander Straker's killer office.
I know this is an idiotic idea for a post, but, then again, I've posted on naked ladies on funk album covers before... so who am I to suddenly insist on quality? Anyway, let me carefully assess why I am so smitten with Straker's place of work.
Let's start at the beginning. In every episode, Straker drives up in a cool futuristic car to his place of business, SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation), which looks like an ordinary film studio from the outside.
Once Straker enters the secret headquarters, there's the color coded map for those SHADO employees who I assume have a severly impaired sense of direction. Notice there's not only a restaurant, but also a lounge - and I'm quite certain it is of the cocktail lounge variety (I'd love to have one at my work). However, Straker will head left to his office near the control room.
Now, if you remember UFO, you recall that the SHADO facility was one of the grooviest places on earth. Everything was painted mod colors with babes in mini-skirts or unitards strolling the hallways. Obviously, Straker had a hand in choosing its employees, and chose only ravishing bombshells to work at the supreme headquarters.
Maybe it's because I work in a vast sea of cubicles with the most bland conservative decor imaginable that I find the SHADO facility so appealling. Whatever the case, Straker certainly has a pleasurable walk to his underground office.
The two gentlemen in the picture below stand at the entryway to Straker's office (the door is behind them). You better believe you don't enter his office without permission - Straker is one tough S.O.B. and barks orders at his employees like a madman. They don't mind 'cause he so damn cool.
Now we come to the good stuff - the office itself. Let's take a moment to dissect his groovy 9 to 5 pad. First, there's the psychedelic screen behind his desk - it serves no purpose other than to accentuate his coolness. Then there's the pink, orange and green cordless phones - note that UFO was among the first to predict the cordless phone as commonplace in the future (UFO was supposed to take place in the 1980s).
The orange box on the wall on the left is a vaporizer, and the green unit above it is a futuristic reel to reel stereo. On his desk is a cup of cigars (Straker is quite the aficionado), and there's leather seats throughout the office.
And now for the coup de grâce - a fully stocked bar! Press a button and you get a Long Island Iced Tea, press another you get a Tom Collins, a White Russian... hell, I'm sure one button would spit out a shot of Jäger if he wanted it to.
As if that weren't enough, on the opposite wall (directly across from the psychedelic screen) is a flat screen TV, easily 50 inches, and past the wet bar is a nice little conference table. Man, if my office were like this, I wouldn't have to drag myself to work every morning - I'd probably actually be on time.
Last but not least, would you expect anything less than a smoking hot secretary who waits on him hand and foot? Does Straker ever just get down on his knees and thank God?
Look, I know it's a hard job at SHADO keeping those nameless aliens from harvesting our organs. And I'm sure I couldn't just walk straight into Straker's job. I'd have to pay my dues and work my way up to the top... maybe I could start at Moonbase?
If you recall, the ladies of the SHADO facility called Moonbase all wore purple wigs and heavy makeup - this was actually supposed to be their military uniform.... don't ask questions, just roll with it.
Yes, I think tomorrow morning I'll definitely bring my application and resumé down to SHADO... according to the color coded map (shown towards the top of this post), the reception desk is to the left. It's a bad economy out there, so I hope they're hiring!
I know this is an idiotic idea for a post, but, then again, I've posted on naked ladies on funk album covers before... so who am I to suddenly insist on quality? Anyway, let me carefully assess why I am so smitten with Straker's place of work.
Let's start at the beginning. In every episode, Straker drives up in a cool futuristic car to his place of business, SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation), which looks like an ordinary film studio from the outside.
Once Straker enters the secret headquarters, there's the color coded map for those SHADO employees who I assume have a severly impaired sense of direction. Notice there's not only a restaurant, but also a lounge - and I'm quite certain it is of the cocktail lounge variety (I'd love to have one at my work). However, Straker will head left to his office near the control room.
Now, if you remember UFO, you recall that the SHADO facility was one of the grooviest places on earth. Everything was painted mod colors with babes in mini-skirts or unitards strolling the hallways. Obviously, Straker had a hand in choosing its employees, and chose only ravishing bombshells to work at the supreme headquarters.
Maybe it's because I work in a vast sea of cubicles with the most bland conservative decor imaginable that I find the SHADO facility so appealling. Whatever the case, Straker certainly has a pleasurable walk to his underground office.The two gentlemen in the picture below stand at the entryway to Straker's office (the door is behind them). You better believe you don't enter his office without permission - Straker is one tough S.O.B. and barks orders at his employees like a madman. They don't mind 'cause he so damn cool.
Now we come to the good stuff - the office itself. Let's take a moment to dissect his groovy 9 to 5 pad. First, there's the psychedelic screen behind his desk - it serves no purpose other than to accentuate his coolness. Then there's the pink, orange and green cordless phones - note that UFO was among the first to predict the cordless phone as commonplace in the future (UFO was supposed to take place in the 1980s).
The orange box on the wall on the left is a vaporizer, and the green unit above it is a futuristic reel to reel stereo. On his desk is a cup of cigars (Straker is quite the aficionado), and there's leather seats throughout the office.And now for the coup de grâce - a fully stocked bar! Press a button and you get a Long Island Iced Tea, press another you get a Tom Collins, a White Russian... hell, I'm sure one button would spit out a shot of Jäger if he wanted it to.
As if that weren't enough, on the opposite wall (directly across from the psychedelic screen) is a flat screen TV, easily 50 inches, and past the wet bar is a nice little conference table. Man, if my office were like this, I wouldn't have to drag myself to work every morning - I'd probably actually be on time.Last but not least, would you expect anything less than a smoking hot secretary who waits on him hand and foot? Does Straker ever just get down on his knees and thank God?
Look, I know it's a hard job at SHADO keeping those nameless aliens from harvesting our organs. And I'm sure I couldn't just walk straight into Straker's job. I'd have to pay my dues and work my way up to the top... maybe I could start at Moonbase?
If you recall, the ladies of the SHADO facility called Moonbase all wore purple wigs and heavy makeup - this was actually supposed to be their military uniform.... don't ask questions, just roll with it.Yes, I think tomorrow morning I'll definitely bring my application and resumé down to SHADO... according to the color coded map (shown towards the top of this post), the reception desk is to the left. It's a bad economy out there, so I hope they're hiring!
