UFO Question

[aquatroy]

So, a local television station has been running UFO. I have a vague memory of the show and don't remember if there was ever a reason given for the purple hair. Does someone have an answer?

[Captain]

Cheaper than pointy ears and eye brows???

[david_b]

Not really. Sylvia Anderson was asked that question many times, and it was just a style thing. No functional reason on the Moonbase headquarters was ever considered.

I've been on enough UFO sites/forums over the years and there's never been any other explanation, but again it was Sylvia's idea.

[Mikey]

Crazy as it seems I always thought it was part of their uniform

[Joe90]

I've read in various places that the wigs were strictly a Sylvia fashion thing. Other sources claim that the wigs were meant to be some sort of radiation protection. Who knows, that rationale might have been grafted onto the whole UFO mythos.

[david_b]

I've read in various places that the wigs were strictly a Sylvia fashion thing. Other sources claim that the wigs were meant to be some sort of radiation protection. Who knows, that rationale might have been grafted onto the whole UFO mythos.

Exactly what I heard.. Of course, if it was radiation protection, I always wondered why the men didn't wear 'em. I always thought they were a very nice, distinctive touch with the silver skirts, which is probably Sylvia's rationale. Haven't read it, but I'd assume she brought it up at least once in her memoirs.

Could have been an approved '80s fad in that era the show represented.. nothing more. Like tattoos being approved for wear in the armed forces now.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Everything I've ever read said it was a fashion of the time and didn't serve any practical purpose. Which I thought was a nice touch, 'cos you never see ordinary people stuff in any sci-fi show.

Don C.

[aquatroy]

Fashion is as good a reason as any. I had thought that, because these women spent so much time on the moon that they had been genetically altered to better deal with the environment. The purple hair was a by product of this. Last night I watched Invasion and noticed that the leader of the purple hair gang was on Earth, manning a communications console in a kind of tank thing. And, she had brown hair.
Threw me for a loop. :0

On a related note. I can't tell you how dissappointed I was that the female submariners didn't wear the same shirts that the men wore. :(

[Mikey]

Many fans claim UFO and Space 1999 are in the same universe with UFO being a bit before 1999.

I just can't see stuff like those wigs being in the 1999 universe.

[jessica]

I think it helps keep them warm in their skimpy outfits!

[palitoy]

One book claimed they were "Anti Static" wigs, no idea why the guys didn't wear them.

[YANOULI]

Many fans claim UFO and Space 1999 are in the same universe with UFO being a bit before 1999.

I just can't see stuff like those wigs being in the 1999 universe.

They are.
It was a sequel, of sorts. Some details were changed and it became Space 1999.

For example, the Hawk fighters were built as replacements to the moonbase interceptors but the UFO incursions stopped and they became obsolete.

[palitoy]

The plans for a second season of UFO morphed into an entirely new series, the shows aren't neccesarily linked but 1999 was created out of those discussions.

[wolfie]

I think it helps keep them warm in their skimpy outfits!

The skimpy outfits certainly kept me warm.

[ironman1188]

I remember reading somewhere that Sylvia designed them as part of the female uniform so that all of them would be alike in their dressing.