In the distant future of 1980 mysterious aliens are making missions to Earth and kidnapping people. Absolutely nothing is known about them. American Air Force Colonel Ed Straker is put in command of the secret organization SHADO which includes a lunar base with space fighters, a submarine that launches a jet that shoots down UFOs and a secret base located underneath a movie studio in England where Straker poses as a movie producer. To keep up appearances Straker and his paramilitary staff have to look the part. Fancy cars, and campy mod outfits for everyone. The kind of thing that inspired Austin Powers.
Interestingly enough, while you are recovering from laughing at the early 1970s/last 1960s styles, you will get engrossed in strong plots, strong scripts and strong acting.
This isn’t a space opera. The stories revolve around the dearth of information about the aliens, the palpable desperation of SHADO to find out why they are here and some strongly cerebral cloak and dagger plots.