Blake's 7: Space Fall
Jul. 30th, 2013 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pebblerockerFinally getting around to posting about B7 again. Second episode, yay! I think everything about Blake's 7 is full of yay. This is fun!
We get to know a lot about the ship's crew pretty efficiently. Young guy studying for getting a job on a better ship (I shall know him as Says Everything Twice Man) and the world-weary commander. And there's horrible, horrible Raiker whom we learn very effectively to loathe. I like Blake calling him "sir" as instructed instead of deciding to make a fuss and get punished. He can say "sir" but he doesn't necessarily have to mean it. Very sensible, Blake!
Jenna has a different approach. She isn't scared of Raiker. She's awesome. He's trying to scare her and creep at her and she's laughing at him. She's so wonderful with her piloting skills and her hair and her sparkly top. I take it she's wearing jewellery and glitzy clothes because she's made such a lot of money from her smuggling - nobody else dresses like that.
Suddenly there's Avon! I didn't expect him at all and then we see him sitting at the table and it looks like he must have been on the ship the whole time. (Re-watching: he appears briefly while the prisoners are unstrapping from their seats. Now I know what he's wearing I can spot him earlier.) Vila introduced him to Blake and Jenna because apparently Vila knows everyone. He's also well up on his frightening rumours. Avon loses no time in letting everyone know he's not a cuddly person.
Blake thinks Avon's talents could come in handy. He's getting busy scheming and planning already, and making the most of everything available to improve his chances – even such a grumpy-pants as Avon.
Some inconsiderate bunch of hooligans are having a space battle right in the road! While the crew are distracted is a good time for Blake to have a bit of an explore into various parts of the ship: this is an absolutely excellent low-budget SF set, just a space a bit too narrow for Blake to crawl through, festooned with bundles of cables. I think this sort of thing looks great, it's exactly how I would make SF sets. And when in doubt, add stove knobs.
It seems most of the prisoners are working together to cover for Blake's disappearances. Vila's in charge of keeping the guard's attention on conjuring tricks. A bad idea for the guard to let any prisoner that close to him; he can't be sure Vila's opposed to violence and is only reaching out to make objects appear from behind his ear, rather than grab him.
Blake's talking to Avon, trying to enlist him in the scheme, and he says, "You've had four months to think about that." Does that mean they're already halfway to Cygnus Alpha - and Avon has had only one small piece of paper to read the whole way? That's enough to make anyone crabby. Also, they seem to be talking about their plot very openly with a guard just over in the other room. But anyway, Avon's agreed to help, and while the ship's banging around is the time to move. Vila, Gan and young Redshirt are the only ones who are going to help - the others are too drugged up apparently. So our heroes haven't been eating or drinking anything lately?
Blake pushes Avon into the tunnel and Avon immediately demonstrates his agility with a superbly graceful tunnel crawl. This was the moment I decided to pay attention to how Avon moves in every scene. I'm pleased to see a computer genius winning a hand-to-hand fight without help. He needed to spend a bit of time lurking in his cupboard planning, but once his course of action was chosen he succeeded – twice, when the crewmember came round again.
Uck, there's a man stuck in the wall all covered in foam. Better get him out before he starts to smell.
Blake and friends aren't waiting around for Avon to finish his punch-up - thanks to Gan and his Vulcan nerve pinch they're out of their room and on the move, bringing a guard to open doors for them. Blake has the gun and he wants Jenna with him, while the doped-up lot lurch after Gan and Vila to find some weapons. "I don't even like guns!" says Vila. Gan uses his nerve pinch (which works on any part of the body including forearms) to get hold of some guns, but their attempt fails almost immediately. I don't blame Vila at all for this; I don't think people should be valued solely by how good they are at shooting people. Vila isn't an expert with guns and he shouldn't be expected to be.
Blake makes his demands. He's gained an advantage and he's making the most of it, firmly and calmly. I rather admire him. The commander has several problems on his hands - Blake causing trouble, a large object drifting uncomfortably close while the scanners aren't working, and crew who are far too ready to kill prisoners which is not what he wants at all. In that situation I'm not surprised he delegates some of his responsibilities to Raiker.
A scene in the computer room: Blake gets a bit hammy. "They butchered my family!" and "Not until power is back in the hands of the honest man!" Avon lays out exactly how Blake's plans don't mesh with his worldview (but he's still doing everything Blake asks of him). Jenna aligns herself on Blake's side - she wants to believe in Blake, just in case it works out.
Raiker starts killing prisoners, and Blake has to give himself up. Even one death is too high a price to pay. Did I mention I admire Blake? He's a goodguy, just the sort of hero who's worth having. I'm liking him a lot. Afterwards Avon just has to rub it in how badly he failed and let everyone down.
Ta-daaa... first sight of the Liberator! Credit signs ding in Raiker's eyes and he wants to take that beautiful machine home and sell it for zillions. The boarding crew's outfits don't look exactly useful – white overalls and hard hats in space? I like the boarding tube set, again effective for the budget. Was there absolutely no effort to explain why there's gravity in the boarding tube, or... are they using a slight slow-motion effect to suggest weightlessness? Heheh.
Now that the boarding party have all been killed in mysterious circumstances, some new volunteers are needed – and they've chosen those three badly-behaved prisoners. I wonder if Raiker hopes more that they'll die or that they'll secure a ship that will bring him a lot of money. Blake, Jenna and Avon don't even get hard hats. They get on board and we finally get a look at the inside of the Liberator. Hello hexagons! What a ship!
Blake is the only one able to resist the ship's mysterious visions. Having his mind interfered with so often has given him the superpower of resistance to further mind control. He saves the other two by throwing Avon across the couch and shooting up parts of the ship – let's hope he hasn't wrecked anything. Blake is quick to organise a getaway, now that they have a ship and someone who can just about make it start and stop, and at the same time he's predicting and preparing to counter Raiker's next move.
I am not at all sad to see Raiker sucked out into space (via wirework or possibly a mannequin) when the Liberator takes off. What a thoroughly evil man. He shot Blake, but the injury seems minor (whew). Now Blake has an amazing ship and the power to go anywhere, so he's going to... carry on in the same direction, following the London to Cygnus Alpha! The rest of the prisoners need rescuing too and Blake won't abandon them.
I enjoyed this episode; seems like Part 2 of setting up the situation in order for Adventures Flying the Liberator to get under way, but it didn't feel at all like it was making me wait around for the real show to start. We get a good sense of the various characters, after the first episode being almost entirely about Blake, and get to see them working together... and the ship interior, and some good model shots! I've watched this episode several times, first in very poor quality and then a lot clearer from a DVD and again with a commentary track by Sally Knyvette, Michael Keating and David Maloney the producer, which was interesting – apparently this one was filmed first and they went back to do the first one afterwards. It wasn't the most amazing commentary track (I'm used to hearing commentary from casts with amazingly strong camaraderie and heaps of jokes, never a moment's silence) but there were some good tidbits about the way the show was made.
Blake continues to impress. I've had enough of protagonists who do nothing but grizzle about how everyone is mean to them and then go and blow everything up while making sure they look cool, not stopping even to wonder if any bystanders were injured in the explosion. Blake wants to do what's right and he wants to help people; to me he's a character who's worth watching and such a breath of fresh air – an actually heroic hero.
Jenna is good to have on the team. Her piloting skills will be vital to the mission... at least, I hope her skills are put to use and she doesn't get relegated to being a love interest or damsel in distress. I like how she's not entirely sure about Blake's plan but she's going to do her best to make it a success because it's the best chance she has.
Avon promises to provide lots of conflict. He's rather a nasty person ("Now now, no flattery!" says Avon) and he doesn't hesitate to say something barbed at every opportunity. I'm familiar with Avon's most iconable face (see DW icon), and seeing him in motion is different; I didn't expect him ever to smile, but he does it often and it's scary.
Once again, can't wait to go on to the next one.
We get to know a lot about the ship's crew pretty efficiently. Young guy studying for getting a job on a better ship (I shall know him as Says Everything Twice Man) and the world-weary commander. And there's horrible, horrible Raiker whom we learn very effectively to loathe. I like Blake calling him "sir" as instructed instead of deciding to make a fuss and get punished. He can say "sir" but he doesn't necessarily have to mean it. Very sensible, Blake!
Jenna has a different approach. She isn't scared of Raiker. She's awesome. He's trying to scare her and creep at her and she's laughing at him. She's so wonderful with her piloting skills and her hair and her sparkly top. I take it she's wearing jewellery and glitzy clothes because she's made such a lot of money from her smuggling - nobody else dresses like that.
Suddenly there's Avon! I didn't expect him at all and then we see him sitting at the table and it looks like he must have been on the ship the whole time. (Re-watching: he appears briefly while the prisoners are unstrapping from their seats. Now I know what he's wearing I can spot him earlier.) Vila introduced him to Blake and Jenna because apparently Vila knows everyone. He's also well up on his frightening rumours. Avon loses no time in letting everyone know he's not a cuddly person.
Blake thinks Avon's talents could come in handy. He's getting busy scheming and planning already, and making the most of everything available to improve his chances – even such a grumpy-pants as Avon.
Some inconsiderate bunch of hooligans are having a space battle right in the road! While the crew are distracted is a good time for Blake to have a bit of an explore into various parts of the ship: this is an absolutely excellent low-budget SF set, just a space a bit too narrow for Blake to crawl through, festooned with bundles of cables. I think this sort of thing looks great, it's exactly how I would make SF sets. And when in doubt, add stove knobs.
It seems most of the prisoners are working together to cover for Blake's disappearances. Vila's in charge of keeping the guard's attention on conjuring tricks. A bad idea for the guard to let any prisoner that close to him; he can't be sure Vila's opposed to violence and is only reaching out to make objects appear from behind his ear, rather than grab him.
Blake's talking to Avon, trying to enlist him in the scheme, and he says, "You've had four months to think about that." Does that mean they're already halfway to Cygnus Alpha - and Avon has had only one small piece of paper to read the whole way? That's enough to make anyone crabby. Also, they seem to be talking about their plot very openly with a guard just over in the other room. But anyway, Avon's agreed to help, and while the ship's banging around is the time to move. Vila, Gan and young Redshirt are the only ones who are going to help - the others are too drugged up apparently. So our heroes haven't been eating or drinking anything lately?
Blake pushes Avon into the tunnel and Avon immediately demonstrates his agility with a superbly graceful tunnel crawl. This was the moment I decided to pay attention to how Avon moves in every scene. I'm pleased to see a computer genius winning a hand-to-hand fight without help. He needed to spend a bit of time lurking in his cupboard planning, but once his course of action was chosen he succeeded – twice, when the crewmember came round again.
Uck, there's a man stuck in the wall all covered in foam. Better get him out before he starts to smell.
Blake and friends aren't waiting around for Avon to finish his punch-up - thanks to Gan and his Vulcan nerve pinch they're out of their room and on the move, bringing a guard to open doors for them. Blake has the gun and he wants Jenna with him, while the doped-up lot lurch after Gan and Vila to find some weapons. "I don't even like guns!" says Vila. Gan uses his nerve pinch (which works on any part of the body including forearms) to get hold of some guns, but their attempt fails almost immediately. I don't blame Vila at all for this; I don't think people should be valued solely by how good they are at shooting people. Vila isn't an expert with guns and he shouldn't be expected to be.
Blake makes his demands. He's gained an advantage and he's making the most of it, firmly and calmly. I rather admire him. The commander has several problems on his hands - Blake causing trouble, a large object drifting uncomfortably close while the scanners aren't working, and crew who are far too ready to kill prisoners which is not what he wants at all. In that situation I'm not surprised he delegates some of his responsibilities to Raiker.
A scene in the computer room: Blake gets a bit hammy. "They butchered my family!" and "Not until power is back in the hands of the honest man!" Avon lays out exactly how Blake's plans don't mesh with his worldview (but he's still doing everything Blake asks of him). Jenna aligns herself on Blake's side - she wants to believe in Blake, just in case it works out.
Raiker starts killing prisoners, and Blake has to give himself up. Even one death is too high a price to pay. Did I mention I admire Blake? He's a goodguy, just the sort of hero who's worth having. I'm liking him a lot. Afterwards Avon just has to rub it in how badly he failed and let everyone down.
Ta-daaa... first sight of the Liberator! Credit signs ding in Raiker's eyes and he wants to take that beautiful machine home and sell it for zillions. The boarding crew's outfits don't look exactly useful – white overalls and hard hats in space? I like the boarding tube set, again effective for the budget. Was there absolutely no effort to explain why there's gravity in the boarding tube, or... are they using a slight slow-motion effect to suggest weightlessness? Heheh.
Now that the boarding party have all been killed in mysterious circumstances, some new volunteers are needed – and they've chosen those three badly-behaved prisoners. I wonder if Raiker hopes more that they'll die or that they'll secure a ship that will bring him a lot of money. Blake, Jenna and Avon don't even get hard hats. They get on board and we finally get a look at the inside of the Liberator. Hello hexagons! What a ship!
Blake is the only one able to resist the ship's mysterious visions. Having his mind interfered with so often has given him the superpower of resistance to further mind control. He saves the other two by throwing Avon across the couch and shooting up parts of the ship – let's hope he hasn't wrecked anything. Blake is quick to organise a getaway, now that they have a ship and someone who can just about make it start and stop, and at the same time he's predicting and preparing to counter Raiker's next move.
I am not at all sad to see Raiker sucked out into space (via wirework or possibly a mannequin) when the Liberator takes off. What a thoroughly evil man. He shot Blake, but the injury seems minor (whew). Now Blake has an amazing ship and the power to go anywhere, so he's going to... carry on in the same direction, following the London to Cygnus Alpha! The rest of the prisoners need rescuing too and Blake won't abandon them.
I enjoyed this episode; seems like Part 2 of setting up the situation in order for Adventures Flying the Liberator to get under way, but it didn't feel at all like it was making me wait around for the real show to start. We get a good sense of the various characters, after the first episode being almost entirely about Blake, and get to see them working together... and the ship interior, and some good model shots! I've watched this episode several times, first in very poor quality and then a lot clearer from a DVD and again with a commentary track by Sally Knyvette, Michael Keating and David Maloney the producer, which was interesting – apparently this one was filmed first and they went back to do the first one afterwards. It wasn't the most amazing commentary track (I'm used to hearing commentary from casts with amazingly strong camaraderie and heaps of jokes, never a moment's silence) but there were some good tidbits about the way the show was made.
Blake continues to impress. I've had enough of protagonists who do nothing but grizzle about how everyone is mean to them and then go and blow everything up while making sure they look cool, not stopping even to wonder if any bystanders were injured in the explosion. Blake wants to do what's right and he wants to help people; to me he's a character who's worth watching and such a breath of fresh air – an actually heroic hero.
Jenna is good to have on the team. Her piloting skills will be vital to the mission... at least, I hope her skills are put to use and she doesn't get relegated to being a love interest or damsel in distress. I like how she's not entirely sure about Blake's plan but she's going to do her best to make it a success because it's the best chance she has.
Avon promises to provide lots of conflict. He's rather a nasty person ("Now now, no flattery!" says Avon) and he doesn't hesitate to say something barbed at every opportunity. I'm familiar with Avon's most iconable face (see DW icon), and seeing him in motion is different; I didn't expect him ever to smile, but he does it often and it's scary.
Once again, can't wait to go on to the next one.
