UFO (TV series)
Following poor ratings for "Joe 90" (1968–69) and the cancellation of children's espionage television series "The Secret Service" (1969) after only one series, Lew Grade approached Gerry Anderson to look into creating his first live-action TV series. Anderson worked with his wife, Sylvia, and producer Reg Hill to create a sci-fi adventure series based around UFOs. Anderson said the core idea for the series was that UFO sightings were a common issue during the late 1960s and that idea of aliens harvesting human organs came from the work of Christian Barnard and his pioneering transplant operations. The creative team initially envisioned an organisation called UFoeDO (Unidentified Foe Defence Organisation), which was to become the secret SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation).
Doppelgänger (1969 film)
Despite the polarised critical reception and commercial failure of "Doppelgänger", Lew Grade offered the Andersons further opportunities to film in live action. Their first television series not based on puppetry was "UFO", which premièred in the UK in 1970. "Doppelgänger" is considered an immediate precursor to "UFO", and has also been described as a "trial run" for the Andersons' third live-action series, "". "UFO" featured actors, costumes, props, locations and music that had previously appeared in "Doppelgänger". Of the film's cast, Ed Bishop, Keith Alexander, Cy Grant, Martin King and Jeremy Wilkin had previously had an association with the Andersons: all had provided voices for "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons" except Alexander, who had voiced characters for the penultimate Supermarionation series, "Joe 90". With 11 other cast members, all but Grant and King appeared in at least one episode of "UFO", in which Bishop had in the lead role of Commander Ed Straker.