I know! Jets, space stations, radar, purple wigs, and people on the moon! What the holy hell were they smoking?

Even the sisters had silky purple hair. That's how advanced we got.

Are they "sisters" if they're British? I like how the uniforms are explicitly designed to call attention to the breasts. We get some of those, I'll bet enlistment goes up in all the armed forces.

Do they send a Skyranger out to recover the elirium or what?

The original (British) title of XCom was "UFO: Enemy Unknown". The creators of the game basically admitted that it was a straight-up adaptation.

ya, I was aware of the original title, I was wondering if there was a connection.

**Open Cockpit Entry Chute**

**Cockpit Entry Chute Open**

**Initiating Cockpit Entry**

**Wheeeeeeee**

Sorry guys, it's my beard. Sometimes it just brushes up against the keyboard.

The kind that can't see through clouds.

Perhaps thematically, but Space 99 came five years after this, and UFO came only a few years after Star Trek, which makes it more of an answer. Stingray! At first I thought you meant the American Stingray, which didn't come into the 80's. Now I don't know what you're talking about.

Stingray was just like Thunderbirds and just as great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E06cNv55jTs

As to answering ST, here are the facts:

ST: interstellar adventures, laser equipped ships, maverick go-getter runs the ship.

S1999: interstellar adventures, laser equipped eagles, maverick go-getter runs the base.

UFO: stuck in earth orbit, fire one rocket and you have to go back to base, and some guy with a hairdo runs the operation.

Supermarionation, the technology that singlehandedly defeated the Soviets.

no pun intended.

Oh, and make sure our elite interceptors only have one honkin' huge missile, so if they fuck up they're reduced to shaking their fists in frustration as the youfoe glides serenely past.