WEBVTT NOTE This transcript was created on 2026-06-07 at 21:58:28 1 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:06.120 Max power. 2 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:17.039 Hello and welcome back to Maximum Power, the Blake 7 podcast. 3 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:24.839 Now, this episode we were supposed to be discussing Star One, but unfortunately, no one knows where Star One is. 4 00:00:24.899 --> 00:00:26.579 No one at all. 5 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:31.079 Unfortunately, I found it on BritBox, so we're okay. 6 00:00:31.140 --> 00:00:32.340 I'm Cy. 7 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:33.539 I'm Cole. 8 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:34.920 And James. 9 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:36.179 I'm Pete. 10 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:37.380 And I'm Peter. 11 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:49.500 So yeah, so here we are at the end of series B. Terry Nation has walked away because he's got no ideas left on how to finish the season, so it's up to Chris Boucher to end us. 12 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:55.979 So, I think he's done a good job, but Peter, what do you think of this episode? 13 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:57.060 Me? 14 00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:58.079 You. 15 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:13.079 I think this episode is what happens when you have a pivotal entry in the series, which is written by the series script editor, and directed by the series producer, both of whom are better at the job than anyone they were able to employ. 16 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:17.400 So while it isn't quite my favourite episode of Blake 7. 17 00:01:17.459 --> 00:01:25.319 I think it's sheer quality and it's importance and its demonstration of what the show could do just with assured writing and production. 18 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:27.719 It is clearly the best episode of the series. 19 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.000 I certainly agree with that. 20 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:32.340 I think, although it's not my favourite episode. 21 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:33.420 This is the best one. 22 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:40.319 This is the one that changes the series again for for the rest of its life, really. 23 00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:44.340 This is a really pivotal story in the series history. 24 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:45.599 What about you, Pete? 25 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:52.680 Yeah, I mean, yeah, this is one of those ones where if they'd got it wrong, how could this have quite panned out? 26 00:01:52.739 --> 00:02:20.819 But setting everything up, moving Avon into very much into the leader chair, especially by the end of it, and everything actually comes together, and it, and it feels like a real finale of the type we're used to in modern TV that really wasn't what people, I think, from my knowledge of it, isn't what people were particularly expecting back in the 70s and 80s, that a series would end with a big crescendo of an episode, other series we could mention, had more of a tendency to just limp towards the finish line having run out of money, but in this one, they really packed all their punches into 27 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:21.000 this. 28 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:21.240 Yeah. 29 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:23.280 I think they also did run out of money. 30 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:34.800 It's interesting what you say there, Pete, about the cliffhanger, because I think this is probably only the 2nd season cliffhanger in TV history after Aurak last season, and that's absolutely the best. 31 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:36.060 So someone proved me wrong. 32 00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:42.360 I'm on a postcard, BBC television centre with my W-12, 1979. 33 00:02:43.199 --> 00:03:04.680 It helps that I'm jumping to literally the final 2nd of the episode, but only just to talk about the music, because this is because Dudley Simpson throughout, is bringing his A game and the fact that he's able in that final moment to write incidental music that leads specifically up to the 1st note of his theme music as if it was one particular tune, is, yeah, the crowning glory on the whole thing. 34 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:06.180 But that's ages away. 35 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:09.599 I love the beginning, the spaceships in peril. 36 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:15.900 I really believe that the guys on the on the intercom conversation between the increasingly alarmed. 37 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:17.039 Are you kidding? 38 00:03:17.099 --> 00:03:18.060 Pilot guy. 39 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:18.599 Yes. 40 00:03:18.659 --> 00:03:19.560 Yes. 41 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:21.300 I think you're totally wrong. 42 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:22.439 I'm sorry. 43 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:24.240 So boring. 44 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:25.800 It's so boring. 45 00:03:25.860 --> 00:03:30.300 It's like 2 fucking British Airways pilot. like seven. 46 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:36.240 I'm sitting there going, oh, would you mind awfully getting your thing off 040? 47 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:37.860 Oh, I'm not on zero. 48 00:03:37.979 --> 00:03:40.139 Would you mind awfully just moving up 040? 49 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:46.199 That's because they think it's an ordinary boring day and then in the final seconds when it's too late they realise. 50 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:47.400 Do you know who the guy is? 51 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:53.879 where it's too late where 2 ships obviously going up one mile an hour explode at each other. 52 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:55.319 Do you know who the guy is? 53 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:57.659 Who's the who's the captain? 54 00:03:57.719 --> 00:03:59.039 Morbino, you don't. 55 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:00.180 It's Morbius. 56 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:08.879 Oh, I take issue with the name of one of those starships because there is only one Nova queen in this series and that is so... 57 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:14.520 I'm more the lizard that crawls up at decolitage. 58 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:16.920 We all love to do that lizard. 59 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:25.500 And then the casual way that Servlan is talking, you know, they're just because, oh, yes, it was terrible. 1000s of people killed. 60 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:27.660 Oh, and then the nuclear character fell on the city. 61 00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:29.339 Oh my god, yes. 62 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:30.480 I love that scene. 63 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:32.399 She's so differently moral, isn't she? 64 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:34.740 It's just like, oh, these things happen. 65 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:36.899 What happened, Durkham? 66 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:38.279 Turn it on and off again. 67 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:40.019 Star one's not working. 68 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.379 It's fabulous No, Pete, in all seriousness, Pete. 69 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:45.060 No, it is a good opening scene. 70 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:56.819 It just, it's explaining the whole setup for the whole thing and how things have sort of horribly gone wrong and that they've relied on something that they, uh, they shouldn't have perhaps, but it's just very badly paced and, you know. 71 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:57.779 No, it's not. 72 00:04:57.839 --> 00:04:59.759 No, it's placency. 73 00:04:59.819 --> 00:05:00.720 It's a slow build. 74 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:01.620 Okay, okay. 75 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:03.060 It's a tragic, I think. 76 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:04.500 I'm with Pete on this. 77 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:09.779 I think it's brilliant and I think it would be a brilliant audio drama as well. an hour of that. 78 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:11.399 What audio dramas of Blake 7? 79 00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:13.079 That's strange. 80 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:13.920 Yeah. 81 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:15.839 Maybe I should do them sometime. 82 00:05:17.579 --> 00:05:21.959 There is, as I said, a lot to unpack in this episode. 83 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:25.560 So let's start with one of the many A-plots. 84 00:05:25.620 --> 00:05:34.860 Let's start with Serverland's grab for power and how she uses the collapse of Star one to seize ultimate power in the Federation. 85 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:38.100 James, I can see you are itching to talk about this. 86 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.139 No, I just love that. 87 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:45.000 It's just, it's so, she's just so cool about it and it's all done in dialogue. 88 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:48.959 There's no footage of of the president being dragged away. 89 00:05:49.019 --> 00:05:54.899 It's just literally, they're being arrested, all done off screen just with hers sort of going, no, I've taken control. 90 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:55.800 It's fabulous. 91 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:58.620 It's the kind of thing that Jacqueline Pierce excels at. 92 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:06.180 I don't think she's ever better than when she's kind of delivering that urgent sustained dialogue with a hint of vulnerability. 93 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:13.199 She'll do it again in terminal next year where she just has endless scenes of dialogue and she gives them such urgency and drama. 94 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:14.100 She is excellent. 95 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:18.959 And of course, it helps that she's got, what's his name, who plays Durkim, John Bone, to play off. 96 00:06:19.019 --> 00:06:22.860 He's really good because most of the season she's had Travis and he's not that great. 97 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:25.500 You know, what we've seen John Bonan before? 98 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:28.680 He's Antedus in Doctor Who and the Dalek. 99 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:30.720 He's a technical... 100 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:31.139 Wow. 101 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:33.360 Wow. 102 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:35.699 They've ditched the old pacifism, haven't they? 103 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:39.480 That's an actor with range. 104 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:41.939 Imagine if the Daleks had turned up at the end. 105 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:46.439 Yeah, yeah, well, this is one of the updates we might need to unpack it. 106 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:55.439 But basically the so the A plot is Microsoft Teams is glitching and it's leading to multiple fatalities at the moment, which is something that we can all probably emphasise with. 107 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:58.500 Yeah, I think pizza is absolutely right. 108 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:02.339 I think this is one of Jacqueline Pierce's finest performances in the show. 109 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:11.160 This is the end of her still and menacing Serverland before the big flamboyant Serverland turns up in aftermath, I think. 110 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:14.639 But she is absolutely resplendent here. 111 00:07:14.699 --> 00:07:18.779 She delivers, like Pete said, delivers everything with such urgency. 112 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:29.459 The line that always gets me is the where she just very steely and quietly says space command no longer registers the command of the president. 113 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.100 She's just superb there, and you just think, you'd follow her. 114 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.740 Even if you didn't want to, you'd... 115 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:47.220 And that's the thing that this episode is doing, like everyone concentrates on the fact that, you know, Blake is being moved out of the way and Avon is being given the command, but also what's happening on the other side is that Travis is being ditched and Servolan is being moved into prime position. 116 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:49.860 And so it's such an important episode for her. 117 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:51.779 Yeah, it's hard to look back on. 118 00:07:51.839 --> 00:08:06.839 Yeah, with knowing how everything about Blake 7, one of the things of watching it through in order is, it's hard to conceptualise the fact that she was a sort of bonus feature in the early episodes. which instead of being like the person that is almost entirely about, most of the time, and there's plenty of episodes where she's the character who gets the most dialogue. 119 00:08:06.899 --> 00:08:09.420 What does some BBC worldwide call that? 120 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:10.079 Vam? 121 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:11.399 Value added material? 122 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:13.500 Not that they exist anymore. 123 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.980 Funnily enough, Vam was also the little known 3rd Tarrant brother. 124 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:23.879 That moment where he 1st calls her Madam President. 125 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:25.680 It's great. 126 00:08:25.740 --> 00:08:31.980 She, and she, she doesn't particularly, or she does react, but I mean, she does make a huge, there isn't a huge fanfare or, you know, in the music or anything. 127 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:34.019 But it's just a moment that really lands. 128 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:39.240 But then immediately someone else calls her supreme commander on the phone and just like, yeah, she's not there yet. 129 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:42.360 She's convinced him she hasn't actually convinced the universe yet. 130 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:47.879 And as brilliant as she is, John Bone makes those saints as well because he delivers his dialogue so well. 131 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:58.500 Considering he's got a lot of exposition to do, and he's got a lot of the explanation of what's going on elsewhere in the universe because he's been the one investigating it all. 132 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:00.419 He delivers it really, really well. 133 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:02.519 It's one of the things about this episode. 134 00:09:02.580 --> 00:09:06.720 I think, you know, David Loney, we've talked about what a great directory is, and we'll talk more about that. 135 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:11.759 But the guest cast is uniformly excellent because he just, he keeps them all on the same page. 136 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:14.340 So, John Bones, brilliant, Lorena's brilliant. 137 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.620 Everyone on Star one is brilliant, and the regulars are great. 138 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:17.820 There's there's nothing. 139 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:19.980 There's nothing bad about the episode. 140 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:21.240 Maybe. 141 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:26.759 There's always got to be one. 142 00:09:26.820 --> 00:09:28.080 Wonder Centre. 143 00:09:28.139 --> 00:09:30.600 Well, the Blake... 144 00:09:30.659 --> 00:09:32.879 But I think you're right, Peter. 145 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:49.080 I think having your producer in directing, I do wonder whether that's made everyone raise their game slightly, because I think we saw it in the location scenes in deliverance last year when David Maloney directed those as well, and everyone is really on it and really pacy. 146 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:56.580 Because we forget, David Maloney is a superb director and he doesn't get a chance very often to direct his own show. 147 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:00.840 So it's only this half of deliverance and power play, isn't it, that he does. 148 00:10:00.899 --> 00:10:08.820 So we don't see him take control of the show very often, but when he does, the quality is really, really good. right. 149 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:14.460 And Via Lorimer was originally supposed to be directing this until the very last minute, which is why David Maloney stepped in. 150 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:20.039 And as good as Vier Lorimar can be on episodes, I just don't think it would have been half as good. 151 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:28.379 And he's one of those directors, isn't he, who was desperate, who was actually desperate to do the big prestige BBC costume dramas and things like that, and indeed did. 152 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:37.019 But in interviews, he said, you know, I didn't really want it to be famous as being just a science fiction director, because you see the saw that was a bit formulaic and wanted to do the classics. 153 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:39.240 Well, he wouldn't be so bloody good at it then, should he? 154 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:42.000 Because you just think it's, oh, stop it. 155 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:47.460 Get all those, get all those historical frocks offset and get everyone in proper space costumes. 156 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:48.539 Stop making us give you work. 157 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:52.259 Yeah, stop doing culture. do adventures. 158 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:59.159 Are there BBC rules against the script editor writing scripts and the director, sorry, the producer directing episodes? 159 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:08.460 As I understand it, Chris Boucher was given special dispensation to write 3 episodes a year, and he wrote Star one because it was literally a last minute thing. 160 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.039 It's all a bit old boys network, isn't it? 161 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:21.179 It's not like you'd, yeah, it's not like you'd get a fine or a thing it would be, you'd be tutted at in corridors, is the impression, this is just me imagining how it works, but you get the impression from these BPTs website, well, I better not do that. 162 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:30.899 I might get, might be a mark against me. rather than there being a specific, here are your 3 coupons for writing scripts, which is how it sort of ends up feeling when they talk about it, but maybe it was more, yeah. 163 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:34.919 They could sort of sneak one in, which was technically breaking the rules. 164 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:35.460 But yeah. 165 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:41.460 Yeah, Barry Letts had to have it written into his contract that he would direct a Doctor Who story every year. 166 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:46.860 So it wasn't a given that just because you're producing, you could direct your own show. 167 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:47.580 That's right. 168 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:57.000 And it's a bit unfortunate that Blake 7 didn't have the talent of David Maloney to call on behind the camera more often because he is the perfect director for it. 169 00:11:57.059 --> 00:12:05.820 He's not Douglas Canfield on Duel, who kind of does a really great job, but brings his own kind of style and pace to it. 170 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:12.000 Dave Maloney works within the constraints of the series and just delivers everything like an A game. 171 00:12:12.059 --> 00:12:23.940 So not only does he have great action sequences and cover them well, and you see that, not only with the climax, but that great sequence which culminates with Cali throwing the bombs over the ridge, which is really well built up. 172 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:28.379 But even the dialogue is covered in a really visually interesting way. 173 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:34.559 So that great early scene with Lake sitting on the liberated flight deck and Avon's prowling round behind him. 174 00:12:34.620 --> 00:12:38.639 The one where Avon says you can wade in blood up to your armpits, that brilliant line. 175 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:53.580 The camera just follows Avon, left to right, left to right, with Blake moving from the writer frame to the left of frame in it, and it kind of subliminally reflects the nervous energy and stakes of the episode. just brilliant. a really great point. 176 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:54.240 Yeah. 177 00:12:54.299 --> 00:13:00.000 That great conversation about, is it, you know, morally, should they destroy Star one or control Star one? 178 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:05.100 Blake's of just of this crusading opinions like, well, I've just got to do this to prove I was right. 179 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:06.600 I'm not going to stop. 180 00:13:06.659 --> 00:13:09.299 And they don't perhaps fully explore, right? 181 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:12.659 Well, look, you know, if we can control this, we could do this, this, this, and this. 182 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:18.299 And it's just like, well, instead, look, we've bought these bombs from B&M earlier, we may as well use them. 183 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:19.919 Yeah, yeah. 184 00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:21.059 And yeah, and you're right. 185 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:24.000 And it definitely, it just takes it that little bit too far. 186 00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:30.000 So you're like, okay, the way he says it, just lands as, oh, actually, yeah, he's a bit of an utter, isn't he? 187 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:34.679 He's gone, he's a little bit too convinced that he's doing this for the sake of, he's committed to it now. 188 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:38.940 It's brilliant, the way Callie just turns to him and says to prove you were right. 189 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:49.559 It's not necessarily about his whole crusade, it's about him, and this is where the season has been building to with Blake all the way along, right from redemption onwards. 190 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:53.580 It's Blake's crusading and almost megalomania. 191 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:55.019 It doesn't quite come across as that. 192 00:13:55.080 --> 00:14:00.120 It seems to come across as like a man trying to find a parking space at Waitrose. 193 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:03.659 He's really cross, but he's not megliomaniac about it. 194 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:06.899 It could have come to a bit more of a blow. 195 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.899 But no, I just, I love what you said, Peter, around. 196 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:16.860 It's all focussed on Avon and he's standing up, whereas Blake's sitting down and just sort of go, turning around and going, excuse me, are you going to answer Jenna's question? 197 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:22.139 Because if you don't, the only other thing she's got through this episode is talk to the camera through a minute, you know? 198 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:24.360 So, yeah, it's a really good scene. 199 00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:27.000 I mean, the whole thing is very, very well done as an episode. 200 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:33.059 It's got so much to it. so much to unpick, so much to think about, so much to realise what's going on. 201 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:44.639 And the other thing I really like about it is that Blake and Travis have the same kind of outcome in mind. in the sense that when Blake turns up and they're like, oh, hi, Travis. 202 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:47.159 He's like, yes, yes, I am Travis. 203 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:48.779 Let me show you my my hand. 204 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:51.539 Really good. 205 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:52.679 Yeah. 206 00:14:53.820 --> 00:15:07.320 What I find interesting about that ending, oh, we jumped straight to the ending, um, is it's kind of a replay of the of the same sort of moral ethical dynamic they have at the end of killer. 207 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:10.559 You know, they could let this Federation be destroyed. 208 00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:17.519 You know, they could let the space plague, you know, decimate planets, but they do the moral thing. 209 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:25.919 They warn Servoland because aliens, you know, wiping out humanity is bad. apparently. 210 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:27.059 It's a bigger friend. 211 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:32.460 It's Jenna's cool, which is a good... was this build as being Blake's last episode in advance. 212 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:33.059 People know. 213 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:38.700 I think I read some, but I might be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere that people knew in advance that Gareth Thomas was leaving. 214 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:43.919 So that would have been mentioned in newspaper articles that they hadn't signed for a 3rd season. 215 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:44.220 Yeah. 216 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:45.240 Okay, right, yeah. 217 00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:47.759 So, yeah, so that's that just puts an interesting context on it. 218 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:51.120 So people, particularly, everyone would have been worried, is he going to survive the episode? 219 00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:56.340 But I guess not so much probably was made of the fact that it's also, of course, Jenna's last episode. 220 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:03.539 Yeah, I'm glad that she, at least, it's her who, who, who, it's her and Avon up on the liberator, and for once they, they don't just have, sorry, her and Villa. 221 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:11.700 Um, up on the liberator and um, once she gets to make a big call that saves the universe, we hope, or maybe we'll find that, but that's next year. 222 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:26.100 Credit to the show's female characters here because while Blake is running around talking about his mother and getting shot, Kelly's the one who gets the bombs out of the base and generous server land between them saved the human race from extinction. 223 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:28.799 Awesome Yeah, that's good. 224 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:32.039 After they've been really sidelined through the year. 225 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:39.840 They get good strong roles and it's nice to see Jan Chappell out on location. practically the last time ever. 226 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:43.440 That is so not true. 227 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:45.840 She's out on the location much more next year. 228 00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:47.100 Yes. 229 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:52.919 I think it's only sort of the 3rd or 4th time this year that she's outside. 230 00:16:52.980 --> 00:17:03.120 So that's, yeah, that's that's really good, and it's nice to see that, and she gets a good role and she gets, she gets some good lines and some good close-ups and things like that. 231 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:11.460 So yeah, it's a good episode for Callie and I do like her calling Blake out and keeping an eye on him all the way through. 232 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:14.579 Blake 7 is always better with Jen or Callie on location. 233 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:15.119 Fight me. 234 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:17.039 No, I don't think we're going to fight. 235 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:19.559 No, I'm not going to. no fighting here. 236 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:20.759 There will be no fighting here. 237 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:23.519 From like from her very 1st episode. 238 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:25.140 Kelly is brilliant on location. 239 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.099 Yeah. 240 00:17:26.099 --> 00:17:29.400 In red, kicking, kicking Blake's ass. 241 00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:29.819 Come on. 242 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:31.500 That's not too low. 243 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:34.079 And she does look superb in that green costume. 244 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:36.299 That is just a magnificent. 245 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:39.119 You know who did the costumes for this episode and half the season? 246 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:40.619 Barbra Kids? 247 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:41.220 Yes. 248 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:42.720 I wonder what happened to her. 249 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.119 She grew up. 250 00:17:51.539 --> 00:17:56.759 We've talked about Blake's justifications here, and is he justified? 251 00:17:56.819 --> 00:18:00.299 But what motivates his arch enemy, Travis? 252 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:07.680 Because this is also quite a pivotal Travis episode for many obvious reasons because they finally get rid of him. 253 00:18:07.740 --> 00:18:15.299 But also he has an interesting story right at the end where he betrays the whole of the human race to Andromedons. 254 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:19.740 I like to think that he's just really butt hurt by the way that Servolans treated him. 255 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:21.660 So he just decides to... 256 00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:23.880 Oh, she's, I'm really pissed off at her. 257 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:26.099 I'm going to destroy the entire human race. 258 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.400 It's good in a way that he isn't in it that much. 259 00:18:29.460 --> 00:18:31.740 You didn't want another of him sort of turning out. 260 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:33.000 Oh, brother or whatever, you know? 261 00:18:33.059 --> 00:18:34.680 Don't start that. 262 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:36.359 I'm sorry. 263 00:18:36.420 --> 00:18:37.740 You've had a different costume. 264 00:18:38.579 --> 00:18:49.019 But it kind of short and sweet, and I think the way he appears out of that doorway and shoots Blake is a genuine kind of, oh, shit moment. 265 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:50.279 I think that's really well done. 266 00:18:50.339 --> 00:18:51.480 Yeah, yeah. 267 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:55.920 Finally, you've learned how to shoot your arch image after all this. 268 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.299 And he's back to his old self. 269 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:05.940 He's in his almost original costume after being new romantic and wearing big hats and capes all most of this year. including 5 minutes previously. 270 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:10.259 Suddenly he's back as the brutal leather cloud hen killer. 271 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:10.500 Yeah. 272 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:29.640 Yeah, no, the best the best part of Travis's appearance, this episode is when Laverna and Avon are outside the morgue, which, of course, has its own logo, Travis appears, and instead of shooting them with his finger, throws his coat at them. runs away with him. 273 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:34.799 That was the same trick that the master pulled on Sergeant Benton in Doctor Who's the demons. 274 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:37.500 He just threw his cape over him and caused him to collapse the ground. 275 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:41.400 It was the static electricity in that case that got him, I think. 276 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:44.099 So I have a question. 277 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:53.880 How much time has passed between the keeper and Star one because unless Travis had already made contact with the Star one pizza monsters earlier in the season. 278 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:56.039 Which seems unlikely. 279 00:19:56.099 --> 00:19:58.380 A lot has happened in the interim. 280 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:04.259 It's not really clear and Travis's motives aren't that well explained or supported. 281 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:07.559 You just kind of assume that he's gone off the deep end and wants everyone to die. 282 00:20:07.619 --> 00:20:08.519 What do we think? 283 00:20:08.579 --> 00:20:19.380 This is one of the things that I have a small problem with the end of series B. I think, because we lose the big Terry Nation 3 parter, they're scrambling round for scripts. 284 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:24.119 And so nothing quite comes together as neatly as it might have done. 285 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:31.619 So all the ideas are there and they know sort of the beats of the plot, but the timings are all very weird and strange. 286 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:37.559 So Travis leaves the keeper early and goes off to star one. 287 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:41.579 But Blake is only seemingly hours behind him. 288 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:44.160 So there's not a lot of time for this plot. 289 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:54.660 And yet, in the meantime, the Andromedans have taken over Star one and all the crew and are going forward with their plat. 290 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:58.619 Yeah, it doesn't quite work when you stop and think about it. 291 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:00.299 No, I completely agree. 292 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:01.920 It does seem like there's 2 timelines going on. 293 00:21:01.980 --> 00:21:06.539 But it's okay that that can still be a twist, you know, or just part of the plot. 294 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.119 It's still, it doesn't not work. 295 00:21:09.180 --> 00:21:11.220 It's just like, well, we didn't know this was happening. 296 00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:15.599 Or, you know, if they had dropped a hint a bit a few episodes earlier. 297 00:21:15.660 --> 00:21:17.339 Well, just a couple of lines of dialogue. 298 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:18.000 Yeah. 299 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:20.579 Oh, we've been searching for weeks. 300 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:21.779 Yes. 301 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:25.740 So do we think that maybe the cremos in hostage were pizza monsters? 302 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:36.420 That's why they look so scared running away from the boulder. could see that run you just did. 303 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:38.400 I was wonderful. 304 00:21:38.460 --> 00:21:44.099 You encapsulate a dull spirit. to be about 4 of me pushed together to make that one cremo. 305 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:52.799 I think the whole thing might be a relic, like you were saying, psy, of the original two-part finale that Terry Nation was going to write. 306 00:21:52.859 --> 00:22:01.380 It's impossible not to think that Travis's story would have been sort of brought to an end in a more fulsome way, which sort of things more set up. 307 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:04.380 Whereas in this episode, even though he does play a role. 308 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:05.579 It's not really about him. 309 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:14.099 So somewhere along the line, the end of his character arc has kind of been lost or glossed over, but, you know, like Cole says, it's not really that important. 310 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:14.759 It still works. 311 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:24.960 Although these last few episodes have a lot pressed so many of the buttons of a modern box set or 456 part story, but they're really not. 312 00:22:25.019 --> 00:22:40.019 They are just being a 45 minute standalone play, but that is picking up stuff that happened previously, but you don't have cliffhangers running into the next week's episode through them, even though it almost, it almost feels like there is because it's got that momentum going through the episodes. 313 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:42.180 But yeah, I'm happy to think. 314 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:45.000 Yeah, it's been a while, but not to bits and bobs between the episodes. 315 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:54.779 It would have been great at the end of the keeper, if Blake had said onwards with luck to Star one, and then they'd all just gone and, you know, had a holiday and visited Space City. 316 00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:59.400 Well, they all, they're probably suffering from space fatigue again. 317 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:04.079 Jenna's got to come down after all those drugs she took in the keeper. 318 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:05.759 So... 319 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:09.059 Jenna's destined for several years on the Emmerdale farm, isn't she? 320 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:10.619 So that's the next step in her career. 321 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:12.240 So that's a comedown. 322 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:17.460 And a lot more location for Jen, but hey, that's where the other Jenna started. 323 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:19.079 Jenna Coleman. 324 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:19.680 Oh, yeah. 325 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:21.240 Oh, Cycle of Jenner's. 326 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:26.160 And Jenny Twigg, who is what's her face? 327 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:27.240 Larina. 328 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:27.900 Thank you. 329 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:30.059 I really should have write character's names, Animal Oates. 330 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:33.000 She ends up in Grange Hill and then Biker Grove. 331 00:23:33.059 --> 00:23:33.299 Yeah. 332 00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:34.500 She does. 333 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:35.759 Yeah, she's Samo's mum. 334 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:36.359 Yeah. 335 00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:37.140 Oh, nice. 336 00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:38.819 It's also in the Anedum line. 337 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:40.680 Of course, they've got the same hairstyle. 338 00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:42.660 She is so brilliant, by the way. 339 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:44.039 Her performance is so nervy. 340 00:23:44.099 --> 00:23:54.420 Yeah, she, you could, she's really on the edge of breaking, and you can feel it in every line she's saying, especially the out there, out there, they're still alive. 341 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:55.500 They're still walking around. 342 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:58.319 Yeah, the whole invasion of the body snatchers. 343 00:23:58.380 --> 00:23:58.740 Yes. 344 00:23:58.740 --> 00:23:59.400 Yes. 345 00:23:59.460 --> 00:24:08.400 Actually, that was that came out not too far before that, I think, the Donald Sutherland version, which is... 346 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:10.440 It does feel very invasion of the body snatches. 347 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:20.400 At that moment, which you, that moment you referenced earlier, where they opened the door and those 4 Star one crew members kind of strung up with the white eyeballs. 348 00:24:20.460 --> 00:24:25.319 I think that's that's the foremost moment of horror in the series. 349 00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:28.140 Yeah, yes, I think so. 350 00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:33.299 And then it's quickly followed by Avon shooting one of them and there's blood. 351 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:35.099 It doesn't you don't normally get that, right? 352 00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:38.880 Because that bumps you up from a U to a PG, you know, doing it like that. 353 00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:41.759 And a giant car mutant on the floor as well. 354 00:24:41.819 --> 00:24:43.079 Yeah, yeah. 355 00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:46.799 Made out of Swafiga and bubble wrap. 356 00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:50.519 Oh, I mean, those pizza monsters are just brilliant. 357 00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:55.619 They're just, they're icky with their, their pulsating and they're welching and they're bubbling. 358 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:59.039 There is no logical reason why aliens should be pepperoni. 359 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:10.619 It's that, it's that squelchy sound effect that Elizabeth Parker gives to them when they're, whenever they're on screen, their duplicates are on screen as well. 360 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:15.480 So you sense something is not quite right, but you don't know exactly what it is 1st thing. 361 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:17.039 That's really well done. 362 00:25:17.099 --> 00:25:25.019 The other thing Elizabeth Parker does brilliantly in this episode is that there's often a very low kind of siren sound throughout it. 363 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:33.539 It's this constant feeling of unnervingness and, you know, discomfort with that low edged siren sound throughout. 364 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:37.019 The soundscape always helps Blake 7 so much. 365 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:38.279 You get it in this episode. 366 00:25:38.339 --> 00:25:39.720 It plays such a key role. 367 00:25:39.779 --> 00:25:43.380 We'll get it in terminal again next year where... 368 00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:45.539 Oh my god, the soundtrack is just... 369 00:25:45.539 --> 00:25:50.640 That's probably the reason that's my favourite episode. is just that heartbeat. is fucking awesome. 370 00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:54.960 It's incredible And I mean, like you said earlier, Dudley Simpson as well. 371 00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:59.400 This is his most striking score for the series and the whole thing feels epic. 372 00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:02.160 He gives it a grandeur, doesn't he? 373 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:15.599 Especially when you've got lots of slow model shots of the liberator and space command and coming into orbit and then against the fleet, he makes those scenes tense when they could look. 374 00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:19.079 I mean, they don't look brilliant, as we will probably talk about shortly. 375 00:26:19.319 --> 00:26:21.000 Oh, we will. 376 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:29.279 You feel the threat because the music makes you feel the threat of them and the tension rising. 377 00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:31.980 Yeah, he's magnificent here. 378 00:26:32.099 --> 00:26:32.880 Yeah. 379 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:34.140 No, I have a question. 380 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:40.019 How many anti-grav mines would you need to protect the entire galaxy? 381 00:26:40.019 --> 00:26:43.079 And how long would it take you to make them? 382 00:26:43.140 --> 00:26:50.160 I, it's just like, they're talking about the, I love the whole concept of Star one, that it's outside just outside the galaxy. 383 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:58.859 It's almost totally dark, it's cold all the time, which I think is ridiculous because there's no, there shouldn't be any sunlight because it's outside the galaxy, but there you go. 384 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:01.259 But it's an opening a star. 385 00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:02.460 A dead star. 386 00:27:02.460 --> 00:27:03.059 A white door. 387 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:03.900 Star one. 388 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:05.339 Yep, yes. 389 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:05.700 Okay. 390 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:07.200 Which should be red light. 391 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:07.859 Oh, fuck. 392 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:16.740 It's a complete lift of the motif in it from a war movie of they've got one bridge to cross or something like that. 393 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:18.000 And it's like, but why? 394 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:18.960 Oh, there's mines or something. 395 00:27:19.019 --> 00:27:28.019 It's thinking in 2D space rather than 3D space, like a lot of sort of space battles where they're not thinking, we can move in any direction. 396 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:30.779 You'd very rarely get, particularly at this time. 397 00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:37.140 It's confrontational straight on head-on stuff, isn't it, rather than thinking in all 3 dimensions? 398 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:45.000 Probably, if it was being done now, they would just bung in a bit of techno dialogue about there being a vortex blood blue that only has one window or something. 399 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:50.640 So, yeah, to make it more because viewers are more familiar with space science-y, stuff like that, I suppose. 400 00:27:50.700 --> 00:27:54.359 Yeah, that at that point, I guess they felt they didn't really need to cover their asses on that front. 401 00:27:54.420 --> 00:27:56.519 They could just say, there's a moment field, there's anyone. 402 00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:57.839 Well, they were just running out of time and money. 403 00:27:57.900 --> 00:27:59.160 That too. 404 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:07.559 It does do a good job of having, we often have episodes where they're going from one place to another or zooming off through an asteroid field and coming back again in late seven. 405 00:28:07.619 --> 00:28:10.319 There's often interstellar or interplanetary movement in episodes. 406 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:21.960 But in this one, it does, it just felt to me like a really good, big dramatic field of drama with the liberator in one place and star one in another, and then you've got Servlan over in back at her donut base. 407 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:23.759 Talking urgently in a control room. 408 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:25.140 Talking very urgently. 409 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:30.960 Actually, well, not be president of a ruined empire, which is one of her best lines, and I forgot to mention that when we talked about her earlier, because that's an amazing line. 410 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:38.460 Just the whole, everywhere feels in play at the same time, rather than there just being a place where things are happening and then we'll have to go somewhere else later. 411 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:40.559 I've worded that badly. 412 00:28:40.980 --> 00:28:43.079 No, no, I think you've, I think, no, I think you've cracked it. 413 00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:43.500 Yeah, yeah. 414 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:46.380 Everything is in play. everyone's got stuff to do. 415 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:53.099 Stuff is happening to everyone, wherever they, wherever they are, whether or not they're on the base or on Star one or on the Liberator. 416 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:54.059 Apart from Villa. 417 00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:57.599 You know, he just gets to worry this week. 418 00:28:59.819 --> 00:29:03.839 Yes, worried comedy lines for most of the season. 419 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:05.880 Sorry, for most of the series and that's fine. 420 00:29:05.940 --> 00:29:06.720 That's fine. 421 00:29:06.779 --> 00:29:08.880 He doesn't so well. let's run for it. 422 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:11.880 I've got a question. 423 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:14.460 What was what was the Federation's plan? 424 00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:18.779 If Star one hadn't been invaded by Andromedans and destroyed. 425 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:22.859 What were they going to do when the original crew got old and died? 426 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:24.599 How are they going to replace the staff? 427 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:26.759 How were they going to run the interviews? 428 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:28.740 Yeah. 429 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:30.539 Oh, they just fire up star two. 430 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:32.039 Didn't actually go. 431 00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:33.119 We got that on the standpoint. 432 00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:36.839 Parton with the black hair. 433 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:40.500 He was actually the child of Stott and Lorena. you know that? 434 00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:48.000 No, it could become a breeding colony. 435 00:29:48.660 --> 00:29:52.559 You're one woman, but that's what she's there for. 436 00:29:52.619 --> 00:29:54.660 I mean, you know who Parton is, though. 437 00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:58.980 He's Juliano from Mask of Mandragora. 438 00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:00.599 Oh, yeah, he is. 439 00:30:00.660 --> 00:30:01.140 Yes. 440 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:07.079 In a fairly in a fairly small role, actually, which shows you how good the cast is for this episode. 441 00:30:07.140 --> 00:30:09.299 Yeah, because he doesn't have a masses to do. 442 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:13.319 It's interesting as well talking about the minefield as we were. 443 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:24.960 The debt that 90 Star Trek pays to this episode because not only do we have that brilliant cliffhanger at the end of the best of both worlds, which is just the cliffhanger from Star one in a different context. 444 00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:33.660 We also have the whole Deep Space 9 thing of seeding the mouth of the wormhole with mines to prevent the alien force from getting through. 445 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:41.940 And in that case, we've moved on by 10 or 15 years, and so they've got some technobabble to cover it, and the mines are self-replicating. 446 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:49.740 So you can actually believe that there is like an endless swarm of them rather than some kind of wall of mines that's being set up in 3 dimensional space. 447 00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:51.539 That is a terrific point. 448 00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:55.980 It also helps that it's the late 90s. 449 00:30:56.039 --> 00:31:02.819 So they actually have a budget, and they didn't have to raid the BBC canteen to make all the spaceships. 450 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:05.039 All right, we just talk about this now. 451 00:31:05.700 --> 00:31:07.079 Okay. 452 00:31:07.140 --> 00:31:07.799 Yes, we can. 453 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:16.079 The reason I don't think this is a perfect episode is and look, it's not anyone's fault or anything, but the ships are terrible. 454 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:19.380 It's like the fucking Fisher Price invasion force. 455 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:20.279 It's terrible. 456 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:24.240 It's like, bless them for trying. 457 00:31:24.299 --> 00:31:30.960 It's such a shame that what should have been a like an awe struck kind of thing. 458 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:35.700 It's just like, well, you see that last shot of the liberator and all of these sort of plastic spoons painted. 459 00:31:35.700 --> 00:31:38.880 And the liberator could just go, well, I'll just go left a bit and I'll be fine. 460 00:31:38.940 --> 00:31:41.039 You know, it's really unfortunate. 461 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:43.259 It really, it's, it lets it down. 462 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:45.119 They just don't look like anything. 463 00:31:45.180 --> 00:31:50.700 It's like, hi, we're an invasion force, Andromeda, and everyone of our ships is completely different for no reason, you know? 464 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:55.019 You just get one ship and mirror it, do you know? 465 00:31:55.079 --> 00:32:00.900 But of course, I'm not, you know, criticising the creative work of the people that had no money to work with. 466 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:02.519 I'm just saying that... 467 00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:03.900 Just imagined their faces. 468 00:32:03.960 --> 00:32:06.839 Their faces today, that script landed on their desk. 469 00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:09.900 And it's warm of a 1000 spaceships. 470 00:32:11.640 --> 00:32:13.380 Could they be blogs of light, maybe? 471 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:16.259 No, we want proper spaceships. 472 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:23.579 They have lobs on the scanner. for quite a while I think this is known as the end of season invasion fleet. 473 00:32:24.539 --> 00:32:26.279 No money at all. 474 00:32:26.339 --> 00:32:36.240 However, with that one saying that, that one lamentable exception, I don't think anyone will claim that it's a very good model shot, the bespoke model work otherwise is tremendous. 475 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:38.640 The shot of the liberator. 476 00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:46.920 Yeah, Nova Queen's good, the liberator leaving the galaxy behind and then flying through the darkness. suddenly it in black. 477 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:49.980 Yeah, just a plain black background. 478 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:51.420 I think those shots are iconic. 479 00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:55.319 I mean, Dudley Simpson, like we said, obviously helps, but I think those shots are amazing. 480 00:32:55.380 --> 00:33:04.920 Yeah, it's just a shame about the fleet because we know the visual effects department can come up with really great spaceship models, particularly at this time. 481 00:33:04.980 --> 00:33:08.880 They're doing good work in, and a lot of Blake 7 and a lot of Doctor Who. 482 00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:15.900 But it just doesn't, doesn't quite... the point is that, you know, they can do like the London, right? 483 00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:19.920 The London taking off in the 2nd episode is terrific model work. 484 00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:27.299 It's just, sadly, they just didn't have the budget to realise what they could have and what they're capable of. and that's not. 485 00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:33.420 Do you think it would be better if they'd created one big, big, space cruiser? 486 00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:40.619 and sort of just shown that sort of coming towards it with sort of the hints in sort of lights or so many, many ways. 487 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:42.599 Yeah, in other ways. 488 00:33:42.660 --> 00:33:49.019 Yeah, foreground a good model and then have lots of duplicate sort of tiny little things in the background. 489 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:57.180 What this episode and the rest of the series needs is a good special, you know, special edition with, you know, like, like... 490 00:33:57.240 --> 00:33:57.599 Yeah. 491 00:33:57.660 --> 00:33:58.799 Yeah, just imagine. 492 00:33:58.859 --> 00:34:00.359 It would date. 493 00:34:00.420 --> 00:34:02.279 Oh, it would. 494 00:34:02.339 --> 00:34:10.619 On the Federation side, I love that the Cruiser Beagle is part of the flotilla because the Federation names its prison ships after cities and its warships after puppies. 495 00:34:13.619 --> 00:34:19.739 We could maybe have a tenuous girl at saying that, well, the Andromedans actually. are established, they're a bit thick. 496 00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:26.280 I mean, they don't realise that Blake isn't Travis, even when they're like, oh, your hand seems like, oh, what's happened to your eye? 497 00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:31.440 So maybe they're just crap at designing spaceships and that's the only reason we're able to actually defeat them. 498 00:34:34.500 --> 00:34:45.179 That's unfortunate, but it does lead us to the magnificent and beautifully written and beautifully played ending where everything is ramping up. 499 00:34:45.239 --> 00:34:58.500 So Servoland has sent the fleet out, and you're getting all the communications between the ships coming through with the times and Durkim and Servoland, there are at space commands, sort of saying, well, what happens in the meantime? 500 00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:14.940 So you've got this really feeling of tension right from the start of that that scene, and you know something big is happening and they're all ready, but no one is there in time, and there's only one ship that is there to hold it all off, and it's the best ship in the universe. 501 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:20.039 And all the ship that's been trying to destroy the federation the entire time is forced. 502 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:20.340 Yes. 503 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:21.119 Exactly. 504 00:35:21.179 --> 00:35:27.960 So you're, yeah, you've suddenly have a bigger enemy than your enemy to, and you're in a loose truce. 505 00:35:28.139 --> 00:35:34.500 And God Survland had that big red button installed to press in the event of aliens from another galaxy swarming over Star one, which is supposed to be impossible. 506 00:35:34.619 --> 00:35:38.519 It's a it's a send in cruiser beagle button. 507 00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:48.659 And Blake, they both, I think, at some point say, Blake, Blake definitely says, we've got a final act of our own to arrange. 508 00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:51.960 It's like, yes, we might as well say we're on the last few pages of the script. 509 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:54.300 It metaphorically speaking. 510 00:35:54.360 --> 00:35:57.480 I mean, the stakes couldn't be any higher, could they? 511 00:35:57.539 --> 00:35:58.559 Not really. 512 00:35:58.619 --> 00:36:01.199 Yeah, and putting the universe in peril or the galaxy in peril. 513 00:36:01.320 --> 00:36:06.840 Is a difficult thing to sell and a difficult thing to land, as other series have learnt quite recently, I think. 514 00:36:06.900 --> 00:36:08.159 I mean, this does it. 515 00:36:08.219 --> 00:36:10.739 Yeah, because it's just the focus. 516 00:36:10.800 --> 00:36:19.860 And what we've got also is we've got the de facto leader, the named leader of the series is really injured. 517 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:24.239 So there's just that moment of doubt with, well, who is going to take command here. 518 00:36:24.300 --> 00:36:37.500 We know who's going to take command here, but we don't know because it's Avon, whether he will do what he, what needs to be done or whether he will, just that little moment of doubt, I think, will Avon do the right thing. 519 00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:38.400 Get us out of here. 520 00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:48.659 And yeah, and that's Paul Darrow is absolutely at his height in this episode. and it all ties back to that, the scene at the beginning where he shifts and his anger about Blake all comes out. 521 00:36:48.719 --> 00:37:02.699 That could have just seemed blunt and coming from nowhere, but because of the way it's directed, like you guys were saying earlier, with the camera work, we follow him in that 1st scene on the Liberator to see how angry and passionate he is about how much he hates Blake, which makes the stakes at the end. 522 00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:04.380 Yes. just lands it perfectly. 523 00:37:04.440 --> 00:37:09.840 Does that line at the end, which I love, which is Avon, for what it's worth. 524 00:37:09.900 --> 00:37:12.360 I have always trusted you from the very beginning. 525 00:37:12.480 --> 00:37:17.400 Just think that's just a terrific way for them to sort of sign off. 526 00:37:17.460 --> 00:37:19.980 And you know, for me, it's not even the line. 527 00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:23.639 It's as brilliant as it is, it's Paul Darrow's reaction. which just makes it. 528 00:37:23.699 --> 00:37:25.980 Yes, he's sort of like... 529 00:37:26.099 --> 00:37:27.780 Yeah, he's so he's so halfway between. 530 00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:32.639 Oh, all right, and that's odd, you know, it's such a great reaction. 531 00:37:32.699 --> 00:37:33.119 You're right. 532 00:37:33.179 --> 00:37:48.360 But brilliantly, what it also does is seeds Avon's ultimate descent because this is, he can't almost process that this man who, he doesn't particularly like, has always trusted him. 533 00:37:48.360 --> 00:37:54.420 And I think this sort of sets him on the path, sort of his downward spiral for the next 2 seasons in a lot of ways. 534 00:37:54.539 --> 00:37:56.340 So identity crisis triggered, isn't it? 535 00:37:56.400 --> 00:38:09.059 yeah Yeah, it's like, it's almost like Blake is putting the knife into him and because he knows Avon so well that he knows this might be the one thing that sort of pushes him over the edge. 536 00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:11.880 I don't know. that you could read it that way. 537 00:38:11.940 --> 00:38:15.179 But also you can read it as a very heartfelt. 538 00:38:15.239 --> 00:38:16.619 This is your show now. 539 00:38:16.679 --> 00:38:17.639 Here you go. 540 00:38:17.699 --> 00:38:18.659 Run with it. 541 00:38:18.719 --> 00:38:19.199 It's okay. 542 00:38:19.260 --> 00:38:23.340 I trust you to do the right thing here with my ship. 543 00:38:23.400 --> 00:38:31.440 Yeah, it's very interesting that Blake is not on the on the flight deck with the rest of the crew at the end of the episode. 544 00:38:31.559 --> 00:38:33.659 Yes, they're they're carrying on. 545 00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:37.079 He's gone and they're just carrying... carrying on with... he's done. 546 00:38:37.139 --> 00:38:42.599 His story is done and they're carrying on without him there. but he's finished. finished with. 547 00:38:42.659 --> 00:38:46.619 It's a shame that, like, I mean, this is Jenna's last episode as well. 548 00:38:46.679 --> 00:38:54.900 She doesn't have as much to do as, like, well, she has the same amount to do with Villa, who's staying on for another 2 years, but, you know, Callie is foregrounded. 549 00:38:54.960 --> 00:38:55.679 Absolutely, absolutely. 550 00:38:55.739 --> 00:39:04.260 But all she turns, all she really has is that scene where she's using Aurax faster 56 K modem to serve man. 551 00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:10.739 And she delivers it straight to camera, which is kind of interesting, which does, I think, fluff her lines kind of twice. 552 00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:11.760 She does. 553 00:39:11.820 --> 00:39:13.500 She stumbles over it, doesn't she? 554 00:39:13.559 --> 00:39:14.820 I think she's reading off cue cards. 555 00:39:14.940 --> 00:39:16.980 Seriously, I think she is. 556 00:39:17.400 --> 00:39:19.860 There's a lot to deliver at that point. 557 00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:28.139 I like how we've got used to Avon sort of having him playing word games with Aurac and being like, I shall trick you into dementiarising yourself and all that. 558 00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:31.019 And she just switches it on as like, send this bloody message. 559 00:39:31.559 --> 00:39:33.420 Just do it. 560 00:39:33.480 --> 00:39:35.940 Not having any of his crap, shit. 561 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:45.059 I think within the fiction of the series, Avon is lucky that Jenna didn't stay because I think she would have given him a run for his money as leader of the remaining crew. 562 00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:47.340 Yeah, well, she's been there as long as he has. 563 00:39:47.400 --> 00:39:51.840 And you see in this episode that she doesn't take any rubbish from Blake, she's probably standing up to him. 564 00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:54.059 And that would have just been such an interesting dynamic. 565 00:39:54.119 --> 00:39:55.139 I'm sad it didn't happen. 566 00:39:55.199 --> 00:39:56.639 But you know, then we wouldn't have had Dana. 567 00:39:56.699 --> 00:40:00.539 Didn't she leave to go and do a university degree? 568 00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:01.380 She did. 569 00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:04.019 She talked it over with Bruce Purchase, apparently. 570 00:40:04.079 --> 00:40:08.940 And after the keeper and said he convinced her to go off and study. 571 00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:11.940 He said, you must go and do a university. 572 00:40:13.260 --> 00:40:15.300 Just... 573 00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:20.699 Calliant. 574 00:40:20.760 --> 00:40:26.159 Oh, shut up, Villa. is one of my favourite little moments of this is easily tossed aside. 575 00:40:26.219 --> 00:40:28.980 She's had enough of his comic relief nonsense this week. 576 00:40:29.039 --> 00:40:32.340 But still, he's the audience, identification person, isn't he? 577 00:40:32.400 --> 00:40:36.900 Yeah, and he's the one who questions what they're doing right at the end, isn't he? 578 00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:46.139 With the fabulous exchange, which I just love, where he just turns around, says, Avon, this is stupid, and then just Paul Darrow's brilliant. 579 00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:48.480 When did that ever stop us? 580 00:40:49.019 --> 00:40:57.420 And then you get the wonderful close-ups of each of the crew react, just ready for action and then the amazing fire. 581 00:40:57.539 --> 00:41:05.579 And just see the finger going down to, to blast, and you don't see anything after that, and that is, and it's just magnificent. 582 00:41:05.639 --> 00:41:08.519 The tension there is absolutely palpable. 583 00:41:08.579 --> 00:41:09.119 You're right. 584 00:41:09.179 --> 00:41:11.880 And there's so many great lines in this episode, like all those. 585 00:41:11.940 --> 00:41:14.219 Oh, we are so lucky it's a Chris Boucher script. 586 00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:19.739 But I think my favourite is. still and it still makes me laugh is she is my mother. 587 00:41:22.860 --> 00:41:24.780 Oh, I don't know. 588 00:41:24.840 --> 00:41:27.719 I quite like unfriendly, which is fortunate, really. 589 00:41:27.780 --> 00:41:29.460 They'd be difficult enough. 590 00:41:29.579 --> 00:41:34.980 I like, they are trying to kill me, and Avon says they have a novel approach to the job. 591 00:41:38.280 --> 00:41:41.400 I like the simplicity of is Travis dead? 592 00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:42.179 He is now. 593 00:41:42.300 --> 00:41:43.559 Yeah, yeah. 594 00:41:44.219 --> 00:41:49.559 It's the beauty of Boucher, screwdetting Boucher, really, isn't it? 595 00:41:49.619 --> 00:41:51.659 It's like, oh, I'll put a joke in. 596 00:41:51.719 --> 00:41:53.159 Oh, actually, I could make that joke better. 597 00:41:53.519 --> 00:41:56.039 Yeah, double vouchered. 598 00:41:56.099 --> 00:42:01.679 Yeah, it does feel like he's been unleashed this episode and he can do what he wants with this show. 599 00:42:01.739 --> 00:42:10.199 And he's got such a great handle on how everyone talks and reacts and would play in any situation. 600 00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:14.579 And I think he gives them really great stuff to work with all the way through. 601 00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:20.460 And you can see the actors are raising their game because they've got a really good script to work from. 602 00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:26.519 And every character in a scene, especially on the flight deck contributes and has an important role to play. 603 00:42:26.579 --> 00:42:28.860 Some writers just aren't that good. 604 00:42:28.920 --> 00:42:31.019 They can't they can't multitask like that. 605 00:42:35.699 --> 00:42:37.679 I will survive. 606 00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:40.139 It's still the UK's number one hit single. 607 00:42:41.579 --> 00:42:49.980 That could be the theme music for the only thing Dudley Simpson could have done to take it even higher was to segue into that during the closing credits. 608 00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:56.519 And this is the last episode of Blake 7 to be transmitted in pre- Thatcherite Britain. 609 00:42:56.579 --> 00:42:58.920 She will be prime minister next time it comes back. 610 00:42:59.099 --> 00:43:02.760 Wow, that puts it in its place in history. 611 00:43:02.820 --> 00:43:10.679 That explains series D. Also explains why the next 2 episodes are called aftermath and power play. 612 00:43:13.500 --> 00:43:16.019 I just think this is magnificent. 613 00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:23.340 This is so, this is as far from the 0 drama pantomime of voice from the past as it's possible to get. 614 00:43:23.340 --> 00:43:24.900 It's just brilliant. 615 00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:31.559 And I think the moral of the story is when you're on a solitary planet orbiting an isolated star, don't order out for pizza. 616 00:43:45.719 --> 00:43:51.599 Right, well, thank you very much for joining us to talk about Star One. 617 00:43:51.659 --> 00:43:54.360 The best episode of Blake 7. 618 00:43:54.480 --> 00:43:58.500 If actually no one's a favourite episode of Blake 7. 619 00:43:58.559 --> 00:44:01.139 Well, certainly amongst the 5 of us here anyway. 620 00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:07.980 We'll be back next week with our series B retrospective, which should be fun. 621 00:44:08.039 --> 00:44:12.539 I don't know if it's going to be fun yet because we haven't recorded it, but we will do it by the time we get. 622 00:44:12.659 --> 00:44:14.099 Don't overpromise or anything, sir. 623 00:44:14.159 --> 00:44:14.699 Yeah exactly. 624 00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:17.579 Right, you all bring in your... 625 00:44:19.559 --> 00:44:20.340 Oh, seriously, game. 626 00:44:20.400 --> 00:44:23.639 Yeah, we get it worse as it goes on. 627 00:44:23.699 --> 00:44:25.739 So, is it over? 628 00:44:25.800 --> 00:44:27.000 It is now. 629 00:44:36.059 --> 00:44:37.739 Switching to manual. 630 00:44:37.800 --> 00:44:39.840 Maximum power on all drives. 631 00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:44.820 Maximal power.