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| An angelic blond-haired boy innocently watches a man about to strangle a woman. Someone yells "Cut!" and we see this is all being done in a film studio. Ed
Straker has his son, John, for the day. It is obvious he is happy spending time with him and ends up taking John back home later than expected. At SHADO HQ, Colonel Freeman and Lieutenant Ford are amazed at the speed of two UFOs. Coming in at SOL 1.4, |
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the Interceptors can not catch them. One veers off while the other heads towards Earth so fast that it will have trouble landing. Straker meets his ex-wife, Mary, as he brings John home. Their meeting is polite yet strained. Ed waits to see the boat John has made but Mary's second husband stands at the back like a hawk. Mary says it is best if Ed leaves. John calls from his window as his father drives away. Forgetting all his green cross code skills, the boy is hit by a car and collapses by the side of the road. He is badly injured and Mary shouts at her ex-husband to do something. |
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At the hospital, Mary, her new husband Steven Rutland and Ed learn that John has broken bones, internal bleeding and requires antibiotics. Because John had an allergic reaction to a Teramycine injection when he was three, the doctor suggests a new American anti-allergenic drug. Despite Steven Rutland's protestations, Ed says he will take care of getting the new medicine. "He's still my son,"states Straker. His pager bleeps and he quietly announces
he has to leave. Mary pouts, "You always had to leave." Ed discreetly organises a courier to pick-up the new drug in New York and a transporter to bring it to London. The speeding UFO crashes into the sea off the west coast of Ireland. An escape pod ejects from the craft just before the sudden watery landing. An old lady and her parrot hear the commotion. |
| Freeman explains the current situation but he notices Straker is not his usual self. He asks, "Is everything alright?" Straker remains enigmatic, "Is it ever?" Once Ed is alone again, he phones the hospital. He looks upset as he learns his son is now called John Rutland. The boy's condition is stable. Straker orders the immediate take-off of the transporter. The alien enters the old lady's cottage. Mrs. O'Connor tells her intruder that she is blind. The green-faced man sets up a strange-looking device that turns out to be a radio transmitter. Alec suggests Ed goes home. "What home?" Ed ironically replies. Ignoring Ed's cryptic remark, Alec wonders why the UFO came in so fast. It could not have been merely to avoid the Interceptors. |
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Lt. Ford informs Straker the transporter is due at 23:30 hours. Ed cheers up and wants his car in half an hour. With a smile he says, "I'm going home." As he makes his way to his office, he suggests the UFO could have been hit by the other craft that veered off. He phones the hospital and tells Mary the drug is on its way. Mary blubbers, "Don't let Johnny down this time, Ed. Don't let us down." Skydiver goes to the scene of the crash and finds the remains. Captain Carlin takes pictures of the craft. Part of the UFO has been vaporised. SHADO HQ now picks up a strange broadcast of an old lady saying "Why don't you go away? Why don't you leave my house?" It has cut in on their waveband with a signal strength of about 1500 Megawatts. It is coming from somewhere near the crash site. Reluctantly, Straker cancels his car. |
| Ford informs Freeman there are no vehicles in the area to get closer bearings of the transmission. He also mentions the transporter on its way to London. Freeman thinks Straker is a psychic for ordering the transporter to take off a lot earlier than expected. Freeman then orders the transporter to be diverted so it can take the mobiles to the crash area. When Ed finds out about the diversion, he phones Mary to tell her of the delay. "What can be more important than your own son's life?" she bleats. Straker orders that as soon as the transporter is unloaded it gets back on course to London. Alec apologises about the transporter and asks if it was important. Ed resignedly says "These things are always a question of priorities." He finds his resolve and becomes the resolute commander once again. He thinks the alien wants to help and possibly co-operate if it has gone to all this trouble. |
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 | The mobiles move in and they pick-up the transmitter's bearings. SID warns the second UFO is coming back. The alien leaves Mrs. O'Connor's home taking the bleeping transmitter with him. The second UFO
avoids the Interceptors and targets the defecting alien. He gets blasted to death and instantly crumbles. Alec bemoans the fact that the alien "might have told us everything." Ed rushes to the hospital with flashbacks of the accident still fresh in his head. It's too late: his son is dead. Rutland supports Mary as she uncontrollably weeps. She manages to say "I never want to see you again". Ed silently watches them walk away. |
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Mrs. O'Connor
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A Question of Priorities is one of the most important stories in the UFO canon. The death of Commander Straker's son is the
final straw between Straker and his ex-wife. It will come back to haunt him in future episodes, namely Sub-smash and Mindbender. The idea of an alien wanting to cooperate was hinted at in Survival (well, I hinted at it, at least!). But, sadly, this issue was never thoroughly looked into. I am sure the second series of UFO would have resolved it to some degree. Even though Tony Barwick wrote the script, Gerry Anderson input his ideas. In "The UFO Documentary", he relates that the story is based on something personal: not wanting to miss a boy's birthday but having to stay late at work. He understood the sacrifices priorities make in the adult world despite them not necessarily always being emotionally satisfying. |
| Having been brought up on a science-fiction diet of Lost in Space, My Favorite Martian and Star Trek, when I first saw A Question of Priorities, I grimaced and laughted through it all. The huge splat of reality contained in the episode was too alien for me at the time (oh, pardon the pun). I watch it now and marvel at its brilliance. The story borders on pure genius for its uniqueness and originality. Weaving a science-fiction based story with a very human theme creates a compelling tale never to be seen in a science fiction television series up until that time. No classic Star Trek episode ever hit in the solar plexus like A Question of Priorities. |  |
| In terms of Kink Factor, A Question of Priorities scores very low. But do not let that detract from the fact that this is one of the best episodes from the series. We've just come from
The Dalotek Affair and its pre-occupation with Paul Foster. It is now the turn of Ed Straker and, my, what an enigmatic fellow he is! There are many faces to this man and sometimes he likes to keep them hidden - even from his closest friends. For me, it is a mystery why he just never comes out with it and tells Alec what happened to John. Gee, it would have made life so much easier as Alec is one of the most understanding souls in SHADO. For Straker not to confide in Alec, I would like to quote Dr Jacob Bronowski from The Ascent of Man when he describes Sir Isaac Newton: "...that is an extraordinary expression of his secret character." |
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We get to see a cornucopia of emotions from Straker. There is an honest loving
delight in his face as he spends time with his son. In fact, we see him really smile for the first time. For someone who spends most of his time gurning and staring, it is a revealing aspect to his
character. It is tragic someone he loves so much has to die. It is touching to see the close-up of his face as he learns his son is booked into the hospital as John Rutland. Yes, there are a lot of close-ups in this episode, too. See my comments about this use of the camera in Conflict. I am particularly fascinated by his pre-occupied stare as he thinks about his home and family when he is supposed to be defending the planet. I worked for a company that insisted its employees leave their family troubles behind. I find it almost comforting to know that such a stalwart figure had the occasional lapse. |
| For those of us who love to linger on Ed Straker, we hit the jackpot in A Question of Priorities. How delightful it is see a good-looking man
going through an emotional crisis complete with eye-liner (I hereby proclaim this Eyeliner Moment No. 3). Personally, the added make-up accentuates the pathos and depth of feeling Ed must go through. It does not detract; it
adds and titillates. And while I am on the subject, the camera also lingers on his fine lithe physique. Just looking at his lovely long legs makes some of us hardened female Straker fans wonder just what other delights we might find underneath that white Nehru suit. And now, for Bitchy Moment No. 2: I have to admit I have every sympathy for the Commander. I would not hesitate to slap his hysterical wife as she frets and moans. |
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Naturally, I would be upset if any of my children were involved in a major accident but she is just plain annoying. I blame her for all this mess! She is the daughter of a military man. She should have accepted the fact Ed could not tell her anything about SHADO.
She would have still been married to Ed (oh, c'mon, she still loves him, what does she see in that bearded twit Rutland?) and Johnny would still be living and breathing. Geesh, we have to suffer her again in Confetti Check A-OK! Mary Merrall excels in her warm and compassionate portrayal of Mrs. O'Connor. One has to admit the aspect of an alien setting up temporary home in an old Irish lady's house is pretty wacky. But the makers of UFO can never be called unoriginal. Not even an episode of Father Ted went as far as that! |
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