UFO (TV series)
The special effects (as in all Anderson's shows of this era) were supervised by Derek Meddings, and the vehicles were designed by Meddings and his assistant Michael Trim. As with all these Anderson series, the look and narrative action of "UFO" relied heavily on the groundbreaking miniature props and special effects sequences created by Meddings and his team, who devised a range of innovative low-cost, high-quality techniques used to create very convincing miniature sets and locations and miniature action scenes featuring ground transportation, underwater, atmospheric and space travel, and dramatic explosion effects. The large-scale miniature vehicles and craft used for close-up filming were extremely detailed and combine innovative design with a high level of fine workmanship. Most production miniatures typically consisted of a mixture of custom-made elements and detail pieces 'cannibalised' from commercial scale model kits.
The Castle (Fargo)
The UFO's appearance provoked discussion and controversy among critics and fans alike, some of whom criticized the moment as a "deus ex machina" and considered the literal inclusion of a science fiction device to be inappropriate for the series. Hawley elaborated on the scene in interviews and explained some of its influences, which included the Coen brothers' 2002 film "The Man Who Wasn't There" as well as the real-life 1979 Val Johnson incident in which a Minnesota deputy sheriff claimed to have encountered a UFO. Hawley stated that the idea of "accept[ing] the mystery," which he called a "staple of the Coen Bros. philosophy in their films," guided his decision to include a UFO in "Fargo". Additionally, he said that the UFO represents the series' false claim of being "based on a true story", which to Hawley offers a commentary on the nature of how history is retold: "It’s not just that truth is stranger than fiction, it’s that what we call truth is a small part of the historic picture. There are so many elements that usually get weeded out of the story so you can have a simpler narrative." In a later interview, Hawley named the original 1996 film as an inspiration for the UFO; namely, the scene with Mike Yanagita, which serves no purpose in the film's plot yet exists both as a character moment and as a representation of its apparent "realism."