WEBVTT

NOTE
This transcript was created on 2026-06-07 at 22:07:53

1
00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:06.000
Maximum power.

2
00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:14.220
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Maximum Power, the Blake 7 podcast.

3
00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:19.679
Now, today it's time to raise the curtain, it's time to light the lights.

4
00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:24.239
It's time to meet the Muppets on the Moloch show tonight.

5
00:00:24.300 --> 00:00:26.579
Hello, I'm Cy.

6
00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:28.260
I'm Brendan.

7
00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:30.480
I'm Pete.

8
00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:31.440
I'm sorry.

9
00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:43.380
Well, here we are at the tail end of series C and someone has decided it's a really good idea to bring Ben Steed back to write a 2nd script for this series after the absolute...

10
00:00:43.859 --> 00:00:47.579
Well, I don't think there are words to describe Harbest of Kyros.

11
00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:52.140
So, obviously, Chris Boucher is scrabbling around for some scripts at this point.

12
00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:54.600
So here we are with Moloch.

13
00:00:54.659 --> 00:01:05.400
Now, I'm going to throw this over straight away to Zoe because I think there are some issues in this episode that we might have to deal with and you might be the best placed to deal with those.

14
00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:13.019
Uh, yes, uh, scantily clad glamorous swimming and violence and rate uses a plot point.

15
00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:13.980
Is it a Ben Steed?

16
00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:15.000
It is a Ben Steed.

17
00:01:15.180 --> 00:01:17.280
Join the dots, yes.

18
00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:27.599
It's deeply uncomfortable in many ways, and I don't think any of the women, except possibly Servoland, have anything to do.

19
00:01:27.659 --> 00:01:29.939
It's the whole sexy lamp trope.

20
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:40.379
Absolutely, dressed in very tight denim that doesn't quite fit, that shows off far too much, and then they are treated abominably.

21
00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:46.620
Even our main characters, and I think will come onto it later, are not served well by the script.

22
00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:47.640
Callie and Dana.

23
00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:50.340
It's not good for them either.

24
00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:57.000
It's a, yeah, it's a bit of a, um, the listeners don't get bored of us saying this so often, but why don't they give the women more things to do?

25
00:01:57.060 --> 00:01:58.200
They're really good at their jobs.

26
00:01:58.260 --> 00:01:59.159
They could do it really good.

27
00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:01.019
And like, yeah, Dana.

28
00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:03.180
I mean, I mean, Kelly, literally nothing.

29
00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:04.140
She presses 2 buttons.

30
00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:18.300
Dana, as Avon's sidekick, has worked out interestingly and sometimes, and I get that she's sort of meant to be his apprentice, but that does mean she ends up being written like a Doctor Who companion on a bad day.

31
00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:19.199
What's that, Avon?

32
00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:20.159
What should we do, Avon?

33
00:02:20.219 --> 00:02:24.840
You know, there's the bit where he says, have you, have you scanned for monitoring devices?

34
00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:25.740
And she's good, no.

35
00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:26.580
He goes, well, do it then.

36
00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:28.259
Yeah.

37
00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:34.919
And even when they when they go down to the planet and they come across a locked door and Avon's like, basically, oh, maybe we'll have to blow it up.

38
00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:37.919
I just sat there going, okay, cool, Dana's going to know.

39
00:02:37.979 --> 00:02:39.419
Okay, it's just going to open.

40
00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:42.659
And then Dana's like, ooh, a dead mouse.

41
00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.419
And it's like when we met you, you had a bow and arrow.

42
00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:47.460
Like, you hunt for all your own food.

43
00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:51.120
That is, you know, and you can sort of see Gisette is just like, really?

44
00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:53.460
reacting to this mouse.

45
00:02:53.639 --> 00:03:03.360
But wouldn't it be brilliant if Callie and Dana had gone down and they're taken down this civilisation that's misogynistic and awful.

46
00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:08.219
That would have been a really great piece of plotting, but of course, because it's Ben Steed.

47
00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:11.159
This doesn't fit with his sexual politics whatsoever.

48
00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:13.740
No, no, not at all.

49
00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:26.879
And I think Dana was really badly served in a scene that maybe we'll talk about a bit more later, where she actually does something really stupid, purely to give Avon the chance to do some exposition.

50
00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:33.240
And it's so out of character and makes it look ridiculous that I struggle to understand it.

51
00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:35.099
It's like, what was that about?

52
00:03:35.159 --> 00:04:09.180
It's just reductive, and it's kind of weird in that, we've had series B where Jenna and Callie were often left behind on the ship, but sort of still written in character, and now here we get, as you say, Zoe and Pete, Dana just sort of written generically and without, without sort of personality and intelligence, which she, she's had in spades up until now, you know, it's, it's, bizarre And it's such a shame because Josette is so brilliant.

53
00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:14.879
She's such a great actress, even at this very, very early young stage in her career.

54
00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:20.040
She is absolutely brilliant and she's just not getting the material that she deserves that she could work with.

55
00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:23.220
Yeah, it's an episode with a lot of problems.

56
00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:26.699
I mean, we haven't even got onto the absolute worst one.

57
00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:28.980
We'll come to him later.

58
00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:39.180
On the plus, well, what have we got on its plus its columns before all of our listeners...

59
00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:49.259
The Serverland and Villa Show, which is a pairing that has never happened before and never happens again, but just for this episode is absolutely its saving grace.

60
00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:53.220
Yeah, it's like I was watching that thinking, I want a show of these two.

61
00:04:53.279 --> 00:05:00.420
I would happily, he could happily be, he's much, he's funnier than Travis, for so long.

62
00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:01.139
I've forgotten his name.

63
00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:01.860
It's funny.

64
00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:03.000
He's even funnier than Travis.

65
00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:04.860
He's like her perfect comedy sidekick.

66
00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:16.139
And this episode does give us the greatest Servolan eye roll of them all, I think, which has existed as a gift on the internet for a very long time, and I promise our dear listeners, it will be in high quality by the time we put this episode out.

67
00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:20.459
Because it is just the greatest eye roll committed to cellulord.

68
00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:21.240
Yeah, it was celluloid.

69
00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:21.839
They on vacation.

70
00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:28.439
I do also think that David Harry's hardened criminal character.

71
00:05:28.500 --> 00:05:34.620
Give me him over the crimos of hostage any day.

72
00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:40.319
And, you know, we do get it's Ben Steed, so we get Villa saying, oh, do you like women?

73
00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:41.399
He's like, no.

74
00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:44.579
But then, you know, he meets Sabina Franklin.

75
00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:47.459
And they're quite fun together, you know?

76
00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:50.759
Is there a hint of a redemption arc going on with them?

77
00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:55.139
I mean, the minimalist hint of, um, maybe not.

78
00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:55.439
No.

79
00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:57.000
I'm touching at straws.

80
00:05:57.060 --> 00:05:58.439
Well, I don't know.

81
00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:01.800
Maybe there was a harsher scene written that Chris Boucher went.

82
00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:03.660
Actually, no, Ben, that's enough, mate.

83
00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:15.540
Can we, you know, Yeah, I think given it's a Ben Steed episode, then a man treating a woman as a person probably counts as as much redemption as we're going to get.

84
00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:20.160
Yeah, that's the that's the benchmark that, unfortunately, we've got here.

85
00:06:20.220 --> 00:06:24.720
Because he and he's in this strange sort of, almost at moments, he's like Terry Scott from Terry and June.

86
00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:34.379
But violently misogynistic, but it's presented as a comedic character tweak, which is just weird.

87
00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:34.800
Yeah.

88
00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:38.579
It's weird because he's opposite, because he's not long done.

89
00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:46.019
His Doctor Who story, the Armageddon factor at this and he's taken his comedy performance to another level for Blake 7.

90
00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:49.800
So I wonder if this is how he just decides that, oh, it's just science fiction.

91
00:06:49.860 --> 00:06:57.360
That's how we do it. or whether it's a conscious decision to try and brighten this poorly written episode up.

92
00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:04.019
I think he's just doing his Peter O'Toole, you know, he's just drunk throughout.

93
00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:09.120
That might be the only way to have got through.

94
00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:10.800
Yeah, yeah.

95
00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:12.660
And 5 years before Supergirl.

96
00:07:14.220 --> 00:07:19.740
I mean, I think I'll try it if I watch this episode again and just see if it's any better at that point.

97
00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:25.439
But yeah, when it all sets out.

98
00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:34.379
So when we kick off, they're in hot pursuit of Serverland, which feels it's quite exciting, it's quite pacy. 27 days.

99
00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:36.120
They've been chasing this.

100
00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:37.439
Okay, well, not that hot.

101
00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:40.019
Yeah. pursuit is the wrong phrase, isn't it?

102
00:07:40.500 --> 00:07:43.199
Because we've not seen her for a week or so.

103
00:07:43.259 --> 00:07:56.639
We get that lovely, that effect of her ship disappearing, but noticeably disappearing behind a black thing that was matting out the other stars as well. which I think is a clue to the audience rather than them just accidentally matting out the stars as well.

104
00:07:57.480 --> 00:08:08.819
And you get the hint that it's going to be a villa centric episode with him being so kind of whiny and doing his usual, but he's doing his usual stuff that entertains everyone and it's not entertaining them.

105
00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:14.339
And that's, that's, that's, that's the, the core of a really interesting episode.

106
00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:15.899
But of it potentially.

107
00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:23.160
And he gets to do that amazing comedy somersault when the, uh, when the, which I missed the 1st time I watched, it's barely half a second.

108
00:08:23.220 --> 00:08:23.699
Yeah.

109
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.339
So it's like, okay, yeah, we're getting a villa episode this week.

110
00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:29.040
Even Callie's had enough in moaning at this point.

111
00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:30.540
I think that's the real point.

112
00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:34.440
She's always been the nicest to everybody and even she's sick of him.

113
00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:45.840
You know, I guess if you've been, if you've been in pursuit of a ship for nothing else for 27 days, everyone, everything anyone does is going to stop getting on your nerves, isn't it?

114
00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:50.340
So, let alone someone trying to be comedic and funny at that point.

115
00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.840
You're going to be tired and grumpy and just you're not going to be at your best by that point.

116
00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:58.679
You can only play so much space chess before you start.

117
00:08:58.740 --> 00:09:00.480
It's not even 3D space chess.

118
00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:02.700
It's triangular space chess, isn't it?

119
00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:03.779
Or is it more like Ludo?

120
00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:16.259
I'm not sure So we've got an interesting dynamic, as we saw earlier in the season in City at the Edge of the World, between Tarrant and Villa, and Tarrant is in his full on arsehole mode this week.

121
00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:22.679
Yeah, which we've done before and been forgiven and then just switches it on again.

122
00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:24.360
It works as a conflict between those two.

123
00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:28.679
We kind of, we saw that conflict, that type of conflict plenty of times in the past between Blake and Avon.

124
00:09:28.740 --> 00:09:37.320
And it doesn't work between, I don't think it works between Avon and Tarrant because Avon is just in a league of his own and there's no equality.

125
00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:41.039
He just heads head and shoulders above above him as a character.

126
00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:44.100
Whereas these 2 are both kind of shown as, you know, flawed.

127
00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.299
Neither of them are perfect heroes. neither of them are perfect. antiheroes either.

128
00:09:48.419 --> 00:09:50.580
So when there's conflict between these two.

129
00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:56.820
It is a bit, there's such opposites as well, that it does give a good bit of dramatic mileage to it, I think.

130
00:09:57.179 --> 00:10:08.100
But I think that I think Tarant and Villa have some similarities that in some ways set them against Avon because neither of them are very good at thinking before they act.

131
00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:10.860
They can be quite impulsive and make silly mistakes.

132
00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:13.799
Whereas Avon is a lot less like that.

133
00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:17.100
And he really values thinking his moves out a long way ahead.

134
00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:24.299
So in some ways there's this kind of triangle effect of Villa and Tarrant being against each other, but also both against Avon.

135
00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:27.360
Yeah, hey, maybe that's what the triangular chessboard represents.

136
00:10:28.019 --> 00:10:32.159
Or maybe it was just a plot they had knocking around or prop their head looking around.

137
00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:46.620
I think another reason the Tarrant Villa thing works so well in this early setup is we've had the tension built by, you know, Aurek explaining, you know, here's how we do the whole heist, and it's like, well, when do we have to do this?

138
00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:50.399
And it's like, you've got 70 seconds to do it.

139
00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:58.259
That's a really interesting presentation of space travel and how the teleport system works.

140
00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:08.340
And it at least gives a reason for Travis to be a bit of a prick because, you know, there isn't time to have a 5 minute discussion about this.

141
00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:10.259
Addie Dragsvilla along.

142
00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:16.500
And then we get the really interesting teleport where they are put down because it's, you know, it's a complex thing to do.

143
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:19.440
They are put down either side of the wall.

144
00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:24.779
We don't particularly do anything with that, but it is at least an interesting concept.

145
00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.360
It's a bit of extra jeopardy, isn't it?

146
00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:29.220
Yeah, it's an eventful script.

147
00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:30.000
You've got to give it that.

148
00:11:30.059 --> 00:11:31.620
Plenty of stuff keeps happening.

149
00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:33.659
And it is all driving in one direction.

150
00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:40.679
You can sort of see how, because is it right that this was a pretty much last minute commission because another script fell through, Robert Holmes script.

151
00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:42.600
I read somewhere that I think so, yeah.

152
00:11:42.659 --> 00:11:47.220
Yeah, I don't know how far it had got, but yeah, he was at least pencilled in to be doing this episode.

153
00:11:48.600 --> 00:12:01.980
I think that Zen's in a bit of a funny mood in some ways anyway, you know, going back to that, where you've only got a minute to do this, because they find this screen that doesn't let radiation through.

154
00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:06.659
So Zen just shows them a black screen and they're like, we can't see anything.

155
00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:09.779
And Zen's reaction is basically, LOL, I know.

156
00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:14.700
I love it when he's a bit mischievous like that.

157
00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:18.539
So it doesn't surprise me.

158
00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:22.500
He's also like, by the way, you know, you got less than a minute and a half to do this thing I've told you about.

159
00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:23.100
Good luck with that.

160
00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:28.980
Liberator is employing malicious compliance this week.

161
00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:33.779
You have not been keeping clean bedrooms.

162
00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:52.740
They're thinking back to Harvest of Chiros, because I had skipped over that one previously, but I decided to watch it for this one to just, you know, enhance the steedness of it all.

163
00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:58.259
It's kind of like at least in that, you know, as much of a pig as Jarvik is.

164
00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:08.100
There is an attempt to do something with sort of class structure with the fact that he was an officer and decided to give that life up, et cetera.

165
00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:11.220
And also that he gets killed at the end.

166
00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:20.399
But yeah, there's there's no subtlety to gross hello and and Lecter.

167
00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:23.700
Oh, Lector looks like evil John Craven.

168
00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:26.039
Yeah, yeah.

169
00:13:26.820 --> 00:13:30.720
Sardos, the plant of sadisticness, yeah.

170
00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:33.840
Yeah, the only one who picked up on Gross and Lecter.

171
00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:35.879
Yeah, yeah.

172
00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:37.019
Even Sardos.

173
00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:40.200
Like, what, is there a giant head floating around spewing out guns?

174
00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:46.919
Sean Connery is going to turn up in like a red leather...

175
00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:50.460
It turns out, it's a tiny little head that it's dishing out of garden.

176
00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:57.120
Oh my god, Ben Steed, you faturist.

177
00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:09.960
Well, actually, come to think of it, Zardoz is a play on Wizard of Oz, and we're not meant to look at the man behind the curtain, and when we finally do, we wish we hadn't.

178
00:14:10.019 --> 00:14:12.179
Oh, yeah, hang on.

179
00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:18.960
This features Avon saying the line.

180
00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:25.259
Tarrant is always precipitous, which would just remind me that when I was a kid, I'd heard that somewhere, possibly even in this, possibly in something else.

181
00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:28.080
And I assumed precipitation, rain.

182
00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:29.879
Is it a way of saying that someone's wet?

183
00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:32.759
And I was some something years old.

184
00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:39.960
You know, when you've figured out what you think a word means, and then at some point, you know, a few years older, someone else uses it and you think, oh, that doesn't mean what I thought it means.

185
00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:43.679
So educational.

186
00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:56.700
I like the way Servolan is the way that she has to pivot multiple times in this story, at least.

187
00:14:56.759 --> 00:15:06.299
She goes storming into what we find out later is a trap and it all looks like she is, as usual, completely just going to wrap rings around these people.

188
00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:08.820
And when that starts to drip away from her.

189
00:15:08.940 --> 00:15:14.399
It is a, it is a nice plot twist to have, to have a, on the back foot.

190
00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:20.220
And I think Jack and Piss enjoys those scenes because, you know, she likes having a bit of variety to play.

191
00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:24.059
I think you can see her getting her teeth into it and then she gets comedy moments later, of course.

192
00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:33.899
So for her, she gets to do more than just be on the bridge of her ship issuing orders and vaporising her crew, which I guess is why she's now quite short of staffed, to be honest.

193
00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:35.820
It's not many, has she?

194
00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:37.799
She's down to mutoids now.

195
00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:43.019
She's got a couple of mutoids and then she's got her pilots who we can't afford to actually hire this week.

196
00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:51.299
So the scene the scene at the end towards the end where I say, oh, yes. literally Stephen Pacey has to say, Servoland has gone back to her own planet.

197
00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:55.740
Because he can't afford a model.

198
00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:56.639
Yeah.

199
00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:58.559
I mean, she became...

200
00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:01.860
The fit at the end when she says, it's me, Servolan.

201
00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:04.019
I'm just calling you up.

202
00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.440
Surfland really doesn't need to do it with that lot.

203
00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:22.559
I mean, she does get one of my favourite lines when she marches in to see Gross and she says, I've come a long way section leader, and it wasn't out of concern for your peccadillos. she delivers it beautifully.

204
00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:24.059
Yes.

205
00:16:24.059 --> 00:16:28.139
Yeah, I just particularly lost even paste. like, yeah, it was great.

206
00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:29.580
She came in, she did bullet time.

207
00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.519
She did a backflip, you know, she was really, really, really cool.

208
00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:38.220
And then she took off in her spaceship over there.

209
00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:39.419
Just off the street.

210
00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:41.279
We can't turn the camera.

211
00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:42.299
It's over there.

212
00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:45.360
I've been watching a lot of French and Saunders.

213
00:16:45.419 --> 00:16:48.480
This wasn't the high budget episode, was it?

214
00:16:48.779 --> 00:16:50.159
No.

215
00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:55.860
And even we didn't even get a proper door in a rock face, which is, you know, I would think is 101.

216
00:16:56.039 --> 00:17:03.179
But is this the 1st time, certainly the 1st time I've really noticed that when we see the establishing shot, a painting of the colony?

217
00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:08.819
And as the camera zooms in, you can see the brush strokes of the painting, even on Powell video.

218
00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:16.380
Yeah, and the model work, a lot of the model work is done on videotape, which doesn't happen very often in the show at this point.

219
00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:19.019
Usually the model work is all film.

220
00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:21.539
So it feels cheaper than normal.

221
00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:33.720
But we do get a nice a couple of nice sets with lots of drapes and a bit of wind machine going on so that they move so that you get the possibility that this is actually a bigger place than you're actually seeing.

222
00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:35.220
So that's that's not bad.

223
00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:37.319
It's not great, but it's not bad.

224
00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:40.079
Look, I'm hanging on to any positives here.

225
00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:43.259
Is that the best you can say about it?

226
00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:44.700
We've got gently moving drapes.

227
00:17:44.819 --> 00:17:46.200
Yes, absolutely.

228
00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:49.319
The lighting is good.

229
00:17:49.380 --> 00:17:50.339
Yeah.

230
00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:58.920
And it's, we've come down to this planet and it's the planet, there's magical device, otherwise known as a 3D printer, which they've basically printed.

231
00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:07.920
Which is kind of like, oh, the most my favourite film, which I've forgotten the name of, 1950s science fiction, impossible planet, planet.

232
00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:09.000
Oh, this islander?

233
00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:10.440
Forbidden Planet.

234
00:18:10.500 --> 00:18:10.799
Thank you.

235
00:18:10.859 --> 00:18:12.779
It's like the Impossible Planet.

236
00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:14.160
That's Doctor Who.

237
00:18:14.220 --> 00:18:15.480
I'm editing.

238
00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:17.700
I'll edit this episode.

239
00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:21.660
So it's not exactly...

240
00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:25.019
It's got Leslie Nielsen in a straight rock.

241
00:18:25.619 --> 00:18:26.339
Absolutely.

242
00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:26.819
Yeah, yeah.

243
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:31.380
It's like one of my favourite things ever has got me into science fiction, I think, when I was little seeing that a couple of times.

244
00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:42.000
So this isn't quite Forbidden Planet, but yeah, whereas on Forbidden Planet. an ancient civilisation who've developed a machine that can unleash the power of the ear to spoiler.

245
00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:45.180
Here, it's basically a 3D printer that can make dead mice.

246
00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.539
And, but also it can make teleport. it can make teleporter bracelets.

247
00:18:48.539 --> 00:18:49.619
Oh, yes.

248
00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:52.500
And thank God, they've now got a good stock of them, they'll last them for years.

249
00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:59.160
It can also produce golden delicious apples.

250
00:18:59.220 --> 00:18:59.819
So there we go.

251
00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:12.420
Yeah, and at least at least the script resisted the opportunity of doing something with something Garden of Edeni with the apple and Dana eating the apple or something, which would have been a bit obvious.

252
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:17.339
You know, even as I'm saying it, I'm wondering if the original script did and they improvised that out of it.

253
00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:20.819
But, um, looks like he enjoys that apple.

254
00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:22.500
He does, doesn't he?

255
00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:30.839
Paul Darrow is not going to undereat an apple. drinks an asshole. threw a paling fence.

256
00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:34.380
Yeah, he gets some quite nice dramatic moments, though.

257
00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:40.799
I mean, we have another nice shot of Avon dramatically appearing at the end of a corridor, like, da.

258
00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:47.460
Just zooms in, stands there, closes for a minute and then runs up the corridor, which is it's a very Avon thing, I think.

259
00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:50.400
And it gets tortured as well, doesn't it?

260
00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:59.940
So we get a lot of violence, just, again, slightly offscreen, but you get to see Darrow sweating and in pain acting, which is always great.

261
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:07.259
Yeah, it's not a Daryocentric episode, but any scene with him in is a Daryocentric scene, and he is actually doing important stuff.

262
00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:08.640
Yeah, stuff that it hinges on.

263
00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:16.500
But I think he, in interviews, didn't he often cite this as being the worst episode or his least favourite, mainly because of the VFX.

264
00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:19.140
And yeah, we haven't yet talked about our Colonel.

265
00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:19.859
What's his name?

266
00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:23.759
Colonel Astrid. in his flotation tank.

267
00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:27.299
Why didn't they just put an extra, well, maybe health and safety?

268
00:20:27.299 --> 00:20:29.640
Why didn't they just put an extra in there?

269
00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:36.180
Also, it seems like Via Lorimer's like, we don't actually need to see anyone teleport, do we?

270
00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:40.500
We can, we can just, we can just do the sound effects and then they walk on from off camera.

271
00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:44.400
Because I don't, I don't, I don't think we see any wibbly. don't see any outlines.

272
00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:52.079
It's just kind of the sound effect and like, particularly when Avon and Data, um, are put down.

273
00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:55.619
We get a shot of a corridor with the sound effect.

274
00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:58.319
And then they walk on a few seconds later.

275
00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:01.799
It's the power of suggestion.

276
00:21:01.980 --> 00:21:05.880
And he's probably kicking himself thinking, do you know what?

277
00:21:05.940 --> 00:21:08.400
I've directed more episodes of this show than anyone else.

278
00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:16.740
And this is my last time I'm directing an episode, and I've only just thought that we could do it like this, and it would have saved a whole lot of time and energy.

279
00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:21.599
Yeah, but it's like the springboard for George Reeves Superman.

280
00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:25.680
Like they would just put a springboard underneath the camera and it would just run onto it and jump.

281
00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:28.619
Like, we don't need wires.

282
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:39.240
In some of the later Wonder Woman episodes, they stopped bothering to show her doing the spin round and changing clothes because it took too long to set up and they were, and it's like, that's the show. rest is padding.

283
00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:47.220
Maybe my commitment to liberated beaming down effect isn't quite that passionate, but still, it's a shame to not have it.

284
00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:53.759
I mean, the horrible thought occurs that the whole of the budget for this show did actually go on Moloch himself.

285
00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:56.880
It's entirely possible.

286
00:21:57.059 --> 00:22:17.099
Yeah We should probably come on to Moloch, really, and Paul Darrow always cited that line, as the moment that no one could get through in the whole of the show, the one time that they all cracked up and had to do it again and again and again is that is how I reasoned you would look.

287
00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:24.960
But I mean, yeah, to be fair, he has travelled around in this place, heaven universe quite a lot.

288
00:22:25.019 --> 00:22:28.140
You could argue within that reality.

289
00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:33.180
That is exactly the kind of crappy effect that Avon might have learned to expect.

290
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:36.359
It's one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life.

291
00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:38.460
It truly is.

292
00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:42.000
I cannot. sit here and go, oh, well, it's dreadful.

293
00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:44.519
And somehow it gets worse when it moves.

294
00:22:45.539 --> 00:22:48.839
It's more of a finger puppet.

295
00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:50.519
It's like, has it even got somebody's hand in it?

296
00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:58.920
They haven't even made up Deep Roy to sit in that thing, just or just his head or something, you know?

297
00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:00.240
Yep.

298
00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:06.779
And it's this whole thing of like the Sardoans. they realised what this life form would be.

299
00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:12.299
So decided to stop evolving is sort of the reasoning that's given early on.

300
00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:26.339
But it's also like, why would a binocular creature evolve into a cyclops, a mono, a mono optical, and I'm not sure if that's the right scientific term, creature.

301
00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:29.279
You know, it no longer has stereoscopic vision.

302
00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:31.079
So it has giant ears instead.

303
00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:34.859
Oh, and by the way, it can't live outside a life support machine.

304
00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:37.200
It's like evolution's meant to go forward.

305
00:23:37.619 --> 00:23:40.799
Generally, generally speaking.

306
00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:41.819
But yeah.

307
00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:46.440
And Avon's like, yeah, I reasoned you'd be completely useless.

308
00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:52.440
The only thing I can think of is that they've got quite a small population.

309
00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:54.119
They don't let insiders in.

310
00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:57.180
This is the result actually of 2000000 years of inbreeding.

311
00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:02.039
And actually they neglected to allow for that.

312
00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:04.079
They were like, this is the pinnacle of evolution.

313
00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:09.059
No, this is the computer projection of what happens if you just inbreed a small population for this long.

314
00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.940
You've given you've already given that far more thought.

315
00:24:13.140 --> 00:24:16.859
And it's creators did, yeah, because that works.

316
00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:18.000
I like it.

317
00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:21.720
That's my huge head, tiny body, big ears, head cannon now.

318
00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:36.539
But it's also the fact that he is really stupid and doesn't realise that he needs the, despite being ultra intelligent, he forgets that he needs a life support system to survive.

319
00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:40.079
So the moment he leaves, of course he's going to die.

320
00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:49.079
And just that forlorn shot of the puppet sat on the liberator floor with the telephone bracelet around it.

321
00:24:49.140 --> 00:24:50.759
It's just...

322
00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:55.019
If I could edit one, if I could edit one swear into every episode of Blake Session.

323
00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:58.079
It would definitely Callie, looking at that, just going, fuck this.

324
00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:03.960
I'll be...

325
00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:10.680
The look on her face, I think, mirrored my own at that point. horrified, disgusted.

326
00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:11.940
Is this what we've come to?

327
00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:15.660
This is Jan Chapel just breaking the 4th wall of Baking No.

328
00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:21.660
I've made my decision in harvest of Chiros, but now I'm really, really, definitely going.

329
00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:31.259
I've had enough of this Sorry, I've been sat there looking after everybody's coats again while you've got out to have the adventure and this is how they repay me.

330
00:25:31.319 --> 00:25:38.220
I always think of Nathan, observing that Doctor Who fans often save a really bad story.

331
00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:39.420
If only it had been longer.

332
00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:40.259
It could have been better.

333
00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.119
And he was like, why do you want more of that crap?

334
00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:52.319
But with this, is there a problem, you know, that whole, that whole final sequence of it, of it being meeting, dying because of that, needed a setup needed, I don't know.

335
00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:52.980
Yeah.

336
00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:55.380
But if it does, but they said you had time to do it.

337
00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:56.819
That still doesn't mean they would have done it well.

338
00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:02.099
But to have it just suddenly plonked over and then everybody just chuckling on the bridge.

339
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.619
So that's an episode in the can.

340
00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:15.420
It's just kind of weird that we kind of have 4 plots here.

341
00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:24.119
So we have this section leader who wants to take over the federation, so he's importing criminals to crew his ships.

342
00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:27.180
We've got the duplicating machine.

343
00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:35.519
We've got Serverland, who wants the duplicating machine to rebuild the forces of the Federation, and we've got what Moloch wants as well.

344
00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:49.319
And of course, David Harry's character too has his own, has his own plot and presumably Pula and Sabina Franklin's character, Sardowens, who, you know, are slaves, basically.

345
00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:51.599
So they've got a little bit of a story as well.

346
00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:54.599
But none of the stories really come to a satisfactory end.

347
00:26:54.660 --> 00:26:55.440
Like they end.

348
00:26:55.500 --> 00:27:01.920
But it, yeah, it's kind of like, is Sabina Franklin's character killed by that flash of light?

349
00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:05.519
I certainly hope not, but it looks like it.

350
00:27:06.119 --> 00:27:07.200
I mean, and this is...

351
00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:11.880
Yeah, I mean, this is a story, as we said, that writes Servlan out, but I said, she's gone.

352
00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:19.740
So, yeah, it looks like, yeah, Doran and Chisel end up fried together by that light.

353
00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:22.440
But it, yeah, it's just so perfunctory.

354
00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:28.019
So when Eric Saywood does that sort of thing later with killing characters off.

355
00:27:28.140 --> 00:27:30.359
Yeah, he sort of says later in interviews.

356
00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:40.440
No, the, you know, the idea of that is you got to know them and you care about them and it has, therefore it has an effect on you and it sort of shows how evil the villains are.

357
00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:52.259
And it's just kind of like they're, if they are, if Dora and Chesam Arkill, they're killed in the background just after they've discovered they might possibly be free of all this.

358
00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:54.420
No one comments on it.

359
00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:55.980
And that's the thing.

360
00:27:56.099 --> 00:28:00.420
I know Blake 7 can be dark, but it feels sort of uncharacteristically unfocused.

361
00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:07.859
Like usually when Blake 7 is going to kill a character, you are left in no doubt as to what's happened. absolutely.

362
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:12.359
He was just like, well, we've shot the bits on the liberator already and they're not there.

363
00:28:12.420 --> 00:28:13.980
So...

364
00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:18.059
Yeah, you're not in the next filming block, you're dead.

365
00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:26.279
But it feels like there's the scene missing where the 2 of them are there saying, oh, let's restructure this whole civilisation.

366
00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:42.059
We can make things better and they walk off into the sunset together to make things right, which we've seen in other episodes like Weapon and things like that where the 2 characters who are left that we have seen all the way through get their their moment at the end.

367
00:28:42.119 --> 00:28:44.519
But here we're just sort of denied that.

368
00:28:44.579 --> 00:28:52.559
Yeah, of course, Brendan just cited Eric Haywood would have done this better, which is something that I have not heard on a podcast.

369
00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:58.200
And the fight back on that front is going to come one day, but I'm keeping my powder dry until the right era comes along to start doing that more often.

370
00:28:58.259 --> 00:28:59.099
It's not here.

371
00:28:59.160 --> 00:28:59.880
I can see.

372
00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:06.599
Coming round to this idea of bits being cut out of the episode.

373
00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:20.460
I thought there were several bits in this episode where it felt like bits were cut out where we didn't see stuff that was then later just explained to us or we were supposed to just kind of guess, like, how did Tarrant escape his capture?

374
00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:22.740
How did he know there was a computer that knew about him?

375
00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:26.759
How did Moloch get the transport bracelet on himself?

376
00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:30.420
He's suddenly wearing it.

377
00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:31.140
Well, how did you do that?

378
00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.220
I'm picturing that now.

379
00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:34.920
With his tiny hands.

380
00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:47.940
It's like, it feels like there are a good 15 minutes that got cut out and were needed and we're left to go so did, did this happen or was it something else?

381
00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:54.299
It just feels in some ways like they had some odds and ends, like Brendan said, 4 plots.

382
00:29:54.359 --> 00:29:57.420
They kind of had a few odds and ends that they just smushed together.

383
00:29:58.259 --> 00:30:05.160
And it's a that'll do episode rather that we've made 50 minutes of television.

384
00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:06.180
Go us.

385
00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:06.779
That's it.

386
00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:07.619
That's all.

387
00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:13.019
It's the old Terrence Dix and Barry Letts of, it's better than the test card being on.

388
00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:18.599
Although we haven't mentioned a fun little drinking song.

389
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:34.859
Oh, no, which was written, I found out, by Via Lorimer himself, who wrote the music and wrote the lyrics for that, because it said in the script, they're singing a song, and he said, oh, I'll write something, and he put that all together and played the harmonica.

390
00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:37.500
And 10.400000 people watched it.

391
00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:44.400
And I think this possibly became the definitive like 7 episode for a lot of them.

392
00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:52.500
I mean, you know, the studios could end the rider strike right now by just playing that endlessly and going, do you think they deserve royalties?

393
00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:54.359
Yes they do.

394
00:30:57.420 --> 00:30:58.319
That was hyperfect.

395
00:30:59.220 --> 00:31:05.519
God, aren't we glad that we don't get the lyrics that he writes for the theme tune?

396
00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:06.720
Oh yes.

397
00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:08.759
Oh, yes.

398
00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:13.859
I'm expecting someone to come along and sing that for us next season.

399
00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:16.140
I'll have to sort something out.

400
00:31:16.200 --> 00:31:17.700
Maybe AI can do it for it.

401
00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:21.839
See, the style of Stephen Pacing.

402
00:31:25.259 --> 00:31:28.920
There might finally be a decent use for AI.

403
00:31:31.980 --> 00:31:34.019
Zen might have other ideas.

404
00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:39.599
That theme tune remix is not available.

405
00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:48.839
I got to the credits with watching it with Rod, and he's like, what have you taken down in your notes?

406
00:31:48.900 --> 00:31:50.099
And at the time, I didn't.

407
00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:52.079
I didn't take down anything during the episode?

408
00:31:52.140 --> 00:31:56.339
I just turned to him that I said, everything cancels each other out.

409
00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:57.839
It's just...

410
00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:00.299
Anytime something good happens.

411
00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:16.140
Villas, um, little moments are the saving, the saving grace of this episode for me, I think. to the point where I was, as soon as it was on, I was looking forward to those bits because I remembered them.

412
00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:17.220
It had been a while since I'd seen it.

413
00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:26.940
Her mouth go on to Villa when she's about to hit someone with a rock and it's just that, oh, I'll do it.

414
00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:31.680
And then she goes, doing heavy rock acting, smash on the...

415
00:32:31.740 --> 00:32:38.460
You could almost say, together they are beautiful. because just like the number one single of the UK that week by Vern Kinney.

416
00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:42.359
Together we are beautiful. is not very well remembered.

417
00:32:42.420 --> 00:32:43.980
I know that one popular at his time.

418
00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:45.359
I do know that one.

419
00:32:47.819 --> 00:32:51.480
That's my hardest shoehorn yet, I'm going to say.

420
00:32:57.539 --> 00:32:59.339
Oh God, it's dreadful.

421
00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:00.000
Is that it?

422
00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:03.299
We've run out of words.

423
00:33:03.420 --> 00:33:09.420
Joe, I actually, I had to go on Wikipedia to look something else up, which I thought was interesting about this. episode.

424
00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:21.240
We've got this computer system that can scan something and then replicate it as a replicator and ignoring Lecture's very dramatic reveal of the mouse with the little cloth.

425
00:33:21.299 --> 00:33:22.980
He almost does a ta-da, you know.

426
00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:26.339
You'd think he conjured it the way you introduce it, ignoring that.

427
00:33:26.460 --> 00:33:38.400
These little computer punch card type things they're using, which are another badly made prop, that you can see that they've been glued together by the work experience kid, you know?

428
00:33:38.460 --> 00:33:43.740
But I did think it was interesting that they were used because at the time this episode were made.

429
00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:49.740
Computer punch cards were in standard use for programming and data entry.

430
00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:53.400
This is a little bit before my time, but they were a thing.

431
00:33:53.460 --> 00:34:02.220
It wasn't until a few years after this was broadcast, that they were made obsolete by magnetic storage disc and that kind of thing.

432
00:34:02.279 --> 00:34:09.780
So this idea of the computer punch cards, would have looked very recognisable to viewers at the time, and I just thought that was really interesting.

433
00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:20.940
Yeah, it's like we've moved on from the days of big spinning reels, I suppose, that the 60s idea of computers was reels that spun backwards and forwards. which nobody would actually have seen in real life.

434
00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:27.900
And yeah, I wonder how many, probably even if you hadn't ever actually used a computer punch card, you'd sort of would have seen it on the news or on, yeah.

435
00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:29.880
Yeah, you would know what it was.

436
00:34:29.940 --> 00:34:30.539
Yeah.

437
00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:39.000
And it sort of makes a difference from like late 60s, early 70s representations of those kind of punch cards.

438
00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:46.139
And I'm thinking there were a couple of later episodes of The Avengers, and I think the new Avengers as well, which had them.

439
00:34:46.199 --> 00:35:09.179
You know, the villain would stop to explain to the henchman that this card contains all the data of our target, and the computer reads the holes, da da da, whereas here, they just sort of hold it up and say, this is the data, and it goes in here and is reassembled, and it's kind of that, that explanation has become streamlined, because as you say, Zoe, they are in, they're in the public consciousness.

440
00:35:09.239 --> 00:35:25.920
And because we get that verbal explanation, when Avon goes to use it and he finds Terrence card and he goes to put it in the in like the output in the assembler and sees the dead mouse, there's no dialogue there where he goes, ah, of course, it can't sustain life, blah, blah, blah.

441
00:35:25.980 --> 00:35:28.920
But he just kind of goes, oh, okay.

442
00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:31.139
And it's, it's all, it's all physical.

443
00:35:31.139 --> 00:35:33.900
And possibly because it's Darrow.

444
00:35:33.960 --> 00:35:37.019
It a highlight of the episode. that we don't get that explanation twice.

445
00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:41.940
And of course, Avon, there's supposed to be a computer genius.

446
00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:51.179
So he would know this kind of thing, and although this technology is slightly ahead of him, he would know the basic principles at least.

447
00:35:51.239 --> 00:36:09.960
So I did make a note to say that I thought actually the exposition scenes of him working that out were actually quite entertaining for exposition scenes because it's Paul Darrow talking basically to himself with little interjections from Josette Simon.

448
00:36:10.019 --> 00:36:18.840
So you could see Avon putting it all together, which is really nice character work, surprisingly, for an episode that doesn't have a lot in it.

449
00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:19.800
That's not bad.

450
00:36:21.480 --> 00:36:24.900
As I said, cling to the few positives there are.

451
00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:26.099
Yeah, yeah.

452
00:36:26.159 --> 00:36:32.940
But yeah, I don't know if it's me noticing it, but I'm sure our thugs get progressively more South African sounding as the episode progresses.

453
00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:38.099
It's just that because that's a bit of 80s shorthand.

454
00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:39.840
Just do the accent a little bit.

455
00:36:39.900 --> 00:36:44.280
I think that Avon does get a fair amount of exposition in this episode.

456
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:48.000
It seems like in this episode, he is the explainer.

457
00:36:48.119 --> 00:36:52.139
It's like, oh, there's a computer involved in the major plot point.

458
00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:54.780
So Avon's going to have to explain everything to us.

459
00:36:54.840 --> 00:37:10.500
But he's also explaining the business with the shielding around the planet when Zen's like, well, no, you can't see through it and apparently Avon already knows and understands this and how it all works and how they're tracking systems of work because he says, oh, they'll have seen us go in.

460
00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:11.760
They'll have seen us leave again.

461
00:37:11.820 --> 00:37:14.039
So he's explaining all this as well.

462
00:37:14.099 --> 00:37:29.880
But the bit that really did get to me is when Dana is looking at the image and going, I can't see the ship and Avon basically says you stupid, you know, and it's like, why?

463
00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:32.159
She's not. she's not stupid.

464
00:37:32.219 --> 00:37:40.860
Dana is an intelligent character, but for some reason in this script, she's been made to be and make this mistake because everyone says, well, of course not.

465
00:37:40.920 --> 00:37:44.460
That's a photograph from before when we were in the screen.

466
00:37:44.519 --> 00:37:45.960
Now we're out the screen, can't see it.

467
00:37:46.019 --> 00:37:46.920
Have you forgotten this?

468
00:37:46.980 --> 00:37:57.239
And I don't understand the purpose of that except to give Avon the exposition to say, but I know well that they'll landed.

469
00:37:57.360 --> 00:37:59.880
That feels more like it should have been a villa line.

470
00:38:00.119 --> 00:38:05.519
Because although Villa's not stupid, but that is the kind of thing he says, he's there for the audience.

471
00:38:05.579 --> 00:38:13.500
He's the audience person who's asking the questions a lot of the time because he's quite often written as if he's a bit bit thick, but he's not.

472
00:38:13.559 --> 00:38:17.639
But that felt more like that's the kind of thing he would normally...

473
00:38:17.699 --> 00:38:19.260
Why is there, why can we still see it?

474
00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:26.880
It's not whether it was just a reallocate the line because Josette hasn't had anything to say for 10 minutes or whatever.

475
00:38:26.940 --> 00:38:27.659
Who knows?

476
00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:30.000
I think Villa's already off the ship by that time as well.

477
00:38:30.059 --> 00:38:31.260
Oh, yes, or that's true.

478
00:38:31.320 --> 00:38:32.699
Yeah, that's true.

479
00:38:32.760 --> 00:38:33.780
Yeah.

480
00:38:33.840 --> 00:38:34.440
Yeah.

481
00:38:34.440 --> 00:38:36.420
And even then there was no need for it.

482
00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:38.760
No, no, you're absolutely right.

483
00:38:38.820 --> 00:38:50.940
Like thinking thinking about it as you were describing it, you could still have that discussion and it could just be they've found a way to look through and Dana's like, but where's the transport gone?

484
00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:59.159
And Avon says, well, it won't have landed there because X, Y, Z. And that way she's not lacking an understanding of how VCRs work, you know what I mean?

485
00:38:59.219 --> 00:39:06.719
I mean, it also struck me as weird because Avon's not particularly nasty about it, but it just makes her look foolish.

486
00:39:06.780 --> 00:39:09.000
Yeah, yeah, like a child.

487
00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:10.559
She's written as a child. isn't she?

488
00:39:10.619 --> 00:39:11.039
Yeah, yeah.

489
00:39:11.159 --> 00:39:13.380
And a child who's never been on a spaceship before.

490
00:39:13.440 --> 00:39:14.880
Yeah.

491
00:39:14.880 --> 00:39:25.139
But she's consistently shown, you know, in episodes beforehand that she is intelligent and strategic and tactical and all this, and I, she just seems so jarring.

492
00:39:25.260 --> 00:39:26.639
Yeah.

493
00:39:26.639 --> 00:39:28.559
And like, I do that to her.

494
00:39:28.679 --> 00:39:31.679
Yeah, why would Ben Steed make a woman look stupid?

495
00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:33.659
Yeah.

496
00:39:33.719 --> 00:39:41.519
But, you know, the weird thing is a few weeks ago in Harvest of Chiros, Bensteed is like, I'm going to have Dana kick Jarvik's arse.

497
00:39:41.579 --> 00:39:42.539
Yeah.

498
00:39:42.599 --> 00:39:53.159
As maybe as you say, Zoe, like his gut instinct is to write women like women like that, and then later on someone says, well, actually, and maybe there was no well actually this time. unfortunately.

499
00:39:53.219 --> 00:40:01.380
No, well, maybe Chris Boucher is off writing next week's episode, so his eye is not quite on this script as much as usual.

500
00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:01.920
Who knows?

501
00:40:05.579 --> 00:40:21.719
Speaking of a future episode, one titbit, I did find out about this one with all the laughing at the hand puppet, rather annoyed Deep Roy, who was behind the thing and nursing a broken collarbone from stunt work on terminal.

502
00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:23.639
Oh yes.

503
00:40:23.699 --> 00:40:27.960
He's like, guys, can we just finish so I can go live now, huh?

504
00:40:28.019 --> 00:40:30.900
Oh, poor deep.

505
00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:34.860
Wasn't he just in a chair offset?

506
00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:35.699
Was he just doing a voice?

507
00:40:35.699 --> 00:40:37.139
Was he actually operating it?

508
00:40:37.860 --> 00:40:43.139
I don't I don't know if he was operating it, but I think, yeah, he was probably in a chair obviously.

509
00:40:44.340 --> 00:40:45.239
He just wanted to get home.

510
00:40:45.300 --> 00:40:46.559
I want to go home.

511
00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:46.980
Yeah.

512
00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:49.619
And he's still very cross with Stephen Pacey.

513
00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:55.139
To this day, I think he's still very cross with Stephen Pacey for what happened on Terminal.

514
00:40:55.199 --> 00:40:56.579
Because he throws him, doesn't he?

515
00:40:56.639 --> 00:40:58.860
Yeah, and he, yeah, really gets hurt.

516
00:40:58.920 --> 00:40:59.159
Yeah.

517
00:40:59.219 --> 00:41:01.500
It's like, yeah, let's not do that.

518
00:41:01.559 --> 00:41:02.159
No.

519
00:41:02.159 --> 00:41:16.980
Yeah, I mean, I think I think one of the saving graces, there are a few good lines in this, which are like, um, Duran recognising filler because he dropped his gun is hilarious.

520
00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:23.760
Silverlands, Silverlands.

521
00:41:23.820 --> 00:41:26.639
I am not grovelling, you fool. is a great one as well.

522
00:41:26.699 --> 00:41:27.420
You are grovelling.

523
00:41:27.480 --> 00:41:29.039
They're just bickering like brother and sister.

524
00:41:29.219 --> 00:41:31.139
Yeah, yeah.

525
00:41:31.199 --> 00:41:35.400
And I also liked, oh, the Liberator, that's Blake's ship.

526
00:41:35.460 --> 00:41:36.599
Well, he likes to think so.

527
00:41:36.719 --> 00:41:38.519
It was nice.

528
00:41:41.579 --> 00:41:46.079
Yeah, and I wonder if that was deliberate, was that deliberate or at the point where this was written?

529
00:41:46.139 --> 00:41:47.519
Had they not yet?

530
00:41:47.639 --> 00:41:48.719
Oh, yeah.

531
00:41:48.780 --> 00:41:49.920
Just remind people.

532
00:41:51.300 --> 00:41:53.940
Just remind them about Blake.

533
00:41:57.659 --> 00:41:58.500
Yeah, yeah.

534
00:41:58.920 --> 00:42:00.300
Yeah.

535
00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:09.000
Yeah, people that was added, whether it was added for that purpose, or whether it was always there because it was written at a point where you'd only...

536
00:42:09.059 --> 00:42:09.960
Yeah, no, no.

537
00:42:10.019 --> 00:42:11.699
Sorry, I'll mend myself out.

538
00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:12.239
I'll leave it.

539
00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:12.539
Okay.

540
00:42:12.659 --> 00:42:23.159
I do. one question actually about one of the lines that I did note down was right at the beginning, they're trying to work out why Servlan is heading where she's heading.

541
00:42:23.219 --> 00:42:31.380
And Avon says, perhaps she wants to compare notes with other genocidal maniacs or take a refresher course in basic brutality.

542
00:42:31.440 --> 00:42:34.739
Okay, basic brutality, yeah.

543
00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:43.860
I don't think that Servolan is guilty of genocide at any point she's guilty of a lot, but I just wanted to check in with where did that come from?

544
00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:49.619
Going through the episodes one by one in our heads now.

545
00:42:49.800 --> 00:42:54.239
Is it just, yeah, is it just a cool, a cool thing to say?

546
00:42:54.300 --> 00:42:56.579
Could we argue our on?

547
00:42:56.639 --> 00:42:58.320
Oh yeah, we could do.

548
00:42:58.380 --> 00:42:59.159
Yes.

549
00:42:59.219 --> 00:43:00.659
Yes, that must be it.

550
00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:04.440
Now, of course, they do get their gene bank away, but yeah.

551
00:43:04.500 --> 00:43:08.519
Yes, she was still genocidal, even if she didn't succeed entirely.

552
00:43:08.579 --> 00:43:10.139
Yeah, that must be it.

553
00:43:10.199 --> 00:43:10.619
Yeah.

554
00:43:10.679 --> 00:43:12.539
Okay, just way to check.

555
00:43:13.380 --> 00:43:24.300
But yeah, I think that's the only sort of instance because, you know, she's she's not the aggressor in the Galactic War, for instance, so she's not trying to wipe out the Andromedans or whatever.

556
00:43:24.360 --> 00:43:37.980
It's funny that this, on the way there, right, at the beginning, they're saying, this is a terrible place ruled by terrible people, and then they get there and they discover that the terrible people have been overthrown, and then they put them back in charge again and leave at the end and say, oh, well, it'll probably turn out all right now.

557
00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:39.119
Now he's out of his tank.

558
00:43:39.179 --> 00:43:42.300
He'll probably, we've got rid of the baddies.

559
00:43:42.360 --> 00:43:44.699
He's like, hang on, you said he was the baddie when you were on the way there.

560
00:43:45.599 --> 00:43:51.539
Yeah, it's just like even by the end of the episode, the leads are like, we just don't.

561
00:43:51.659 --> 00:43:52.500
Let's just go.

562
00:43:52.679 --> 00:43:54.239
Go now.

563
00:43:54.300 --> 00:43:54.780
Yeah.

564
00:43:54.780 --> 00:43:55.980
Yeah.

565
00:43:56.039 --> 00:43:58.920
Villa Villa at the end is saying that...

566
00:43:59.280 --> 00:44:06.659
Oh, well, you know, the people down there, I can't remember how he describes them, but up themselves or whatever it is, he says at this point.

567
00:44:06.719 --> 00:44:15.119
It's like, They've been enslaved and systematically brutalised and raped.

568
00:44:15.179 --> 00:44:21.780
So I think it's fair enough that they're actually not all that happy. and fighting back.

569
00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:27.599
It seems like, you know, apart from creating bizarre puppets.

570
00:44:27.840 --> 00:44:34.079
They're okay until Gross and his little band of merry misogynists turned up.

571
00:44:34.860 --> 00:44:37.440
It's, yeah, better the devil, you know?

572
00:44:37.500 --> 00:44:39.420
Yeah, where are we?

573
00:44:39.480 --> 00:44:43.139
Yeah, I mean, I like the fact that Servoland is disgusted by gross as we are.

574
00:44:43.199 --> 00:44:44.519
I mean, that really helps.

575
00:44:44.579 --> 00:44:46.380
Even she's got standards.

576
00:44:46.440 --> 00:44:58.559
Yes And, you know, one of the things she is disgusted by is how he treats the woman who's waiting on them, who I don't think is Pula or Chessam.

577
00:44:58.860 --> 00:45:01.800
But I think I think she's only in that scene.

578
00:45:01.860 --> 00:45:02.519
Yeah.

579
00:45:02.579 --> 00:45:26.760
And it's just strange how we've kind of had this relationship of an indigenous people shown on the show before in episodes like Horizon and City on the Edge of the World, each of which take care to say, no, things are going to change here now and kind of demonstrate that and we just get...

580
00:45:26.820 --> 00:45:29.039
Yeah, I think I think we've all said it a few times before.

581
00:45:29.099 --> 00:45:34.019
Something that just fills the 50 minute slot that gets us from Ultraworld to Death Watch.

582
00:45:34.199 --> 00:45:35.880
Yeah, that's all it is.

583
00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:37.920
It's a little bridge episode.

584
00:45:37.980 --> 00:45:41.460
I think that if you rewatch the whole series and didn't watch this one.

585
00:45:41.519 --> 00:45:45.960
You wouldn't actually miss any important overarching plot points at all, would you?

586
00:45:46.019 --> 00:45:46.920
No.

587
00:45:46.980 --> 00:45:48.480
No, yeah.

588
00:45:48.599 --> 00:45:58.619
You know, the equivalent last season would be, I suppose, the keeper, and even the keeper has a lot of fun stuff in there and it's got a strong role for Jenna.

589
00:45:58.679 --> 00:46:03.000
Um, you know, we get Jenna versus Serverland, which doesn't happen anywhere else.

590
00:46:03.059 --> 00:46:04.860
But yeah.

591
00:46:04.920 --> 00:46:08.760
And that seems like it's silly.

592
00:46:08.880 --> 00:46:10.500
And then at the end it is about something.

593
00:46:10.559 --> 00:46:13.860
Whereas this is not about anything.

594
00:46:14.519 --> 00:46:17.400
Yeah, it is like they're just brainstormed.

595
00:46:17.460 --> 00:46:19.619
What's the kind of stuff that happens in a good Blake Sapp episode.

596
00:46:19.739 --> 00:46:21.000
Well, there'll be a bit of brutality.

597
00:46:21.059 --> 00:46:22.199
There'll be a bit of blah, blah, blah.

598
00:46:22.260 --> 00:46:23.039
And then off you go.

599
00:46:23.099 --> 00:46:24.599
It's never dull or boring.

600
00:46:24.659 --> 00:46:25.980
It does keep trundle.

601
00:46:26.039 --> 00:46:39.059
I won't say charging forward, but it keeps up its momentum, which is what stops it from just being completely grown to a hole, but it doesn't, yeah, it doesn't actually contribute much apart from the most hilarious puppet on screen, which let's face it.

602
00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:42.059
I mean, this is this is Blake Seven's murka moment, isn't it, basically?

603
00:46:42.119 --> 00:46:43.380
basically, yeah.

604
00:46:43.440 --> 00:46:44.579
Yeah.

605
00:46:44.639 --> 00:46:50.820
I have to say for me, it's not boring because you're constantly going, oh God, what now?

606
00:46:54.179 --> 00:46:56.579
Is that enough to get you through?

607
00:46:56.639 --> 00:46:57.900
Yeah, I think it is.

608
00:47:00.179 --> 00:47:04.920
But you know what, I'm with you, Zoe, because I actually hadn't watched this episode before.

609
00:47:05.159 --> 00:47:06.719
Oh, wow.

610
00:47:06.780 --> 00:47:09.719
And I think I won't again.

611
00:47:12.420 --> 00:47:14.579
Good life will be better for that.

612
00:47:17.699 --> 00:47:20.940
It begins with them pursuing Serviland and it ends with Serviland pursuing them.

613
00:47:21.059 --> 00:47:24.119
So the whole thing could just be deliberated, goes past and then turns around and comes back again.

614
00:47:24.480 --> 00:47:30.059
About 49 minutes and 30 seconds and that's all you need, really.

615
00:47:30.119 --> 00:47:34.199
Although I'm a bit confused about why she reintroduces herself at the end.

616
00:47:34.260 --> 00:47:38.340
It was a little bit like Harriet Jones MP moment.

617
00:47:38.400 --> 00:47:39.960
Yes, we know.

618
00:47:44.159 --> 00:47:46.860
And it's a great little exchange of them.

619
00:47:46.920 --> 00:47:48.599
You know, Dana, do we fight?

620
00:47:48.659 --> 00:47:49.019
certainly not.

621
00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:49.500
We run.

622
00:47:49.559 --> 00:47:51.300
But then he says, get us out of here.

623
00:47:51.360 --> 00:47:52.619
Standard by six.

624
00:47:52.679 --> 00:47:56.519
Which is like 3rd gear. much faster than that.

625
00:47:59.579 --> 00:48:03.719
See, they just can't even be asked to go in full speed.

626
00:48:03.900 --> 00:48:08.159
Well, petrol price, it's the 1970s. having a petrol crisis.

627
00:48:08.219 --> 00:48:10.679
No, nobody's allowed to go fast.

628
00:48:10.739 --> 00:48:21.000
The Mark Gatas radio comedy nebulous has an episode where they infiltrate infiltrate a rival scientific institution and someone says, what do we do if we're caught?

629
00:48:21.059 --> 00:48:21.360
Run?

630
00:48:21.420 --> 00:48:24.900
No, that will attract far too much attention, and then you hear a guard, hey, you.

631
00:48:24.960 --> 00:48:26.400
Right, saunter.

632
00:48:28.920 --> 00:48:33.300
That is one of the, that is the, one of the funniest things Mark Gutters has ever done.

633
00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:34.440
I love that.

634
00:48:35.699 --> 00:48:37.739
Oh my god.

635
00:48:38.639 --> 00:48:41.099
Kent versus Loughborough.

636
00:48:43.139 --> 00:48:47.099
They went extinct like pigeons and the gays.

637
00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:47.760
Yeah.

638
00:48:48.059 --> 00:48:50.820
They built a statue of me of gold.

639
00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:51.900
It rotated.

640
00:48:52.320 --> 00:48:55.139
But then you destroy the Isle of White ones.

641
00:48:55.199 --> 00:48:58.800
Anyway, let's just go listen to nebulous.

642
00:48:58.860 --> 00:49:01.559
I've got to know my own...

643
00:49:02.099 --> 00:49:03.599
No, we're doing it now.

644
00:49:03.659 --> 00:49:06.420
My beautiful corporeal form.

645
00:49:06.480 --> 00:49:07.019
Sorry.

646
00:49:08.639 --> 00:49:10.679
Said Mullock.

647
00:49:12.780 --> 00:49:15.179
It's a puppet.

648
00:49:16.199 --> 00:49:19.320
Oh, it was...

649
00:49:19.320 --> 00:49:20.880
It was so bad.

650
00:49:20.940 --> 00:49:28.440
I wonder, I wonder if thinking about Deep Roy's injury, I wonder if they hired him, intending to make him up.

651
00:49:28.500 --> 00:49:30.599
You spent all the budget on him.

652
00:49:30.659 --> 00:49:32.579
He was injured, couldn't do it.

653
00:49:32.639 --> 00:49:38.820
So they had 5 minutes in like Blue Peter style or like the crystal mace.

654
00:49:38.880 --> 00:49:42.300
You've got 2 minutes to make an alien puppet.

655
00:49:42.539 --> 00:49:44.639
Okay, give me a couple of eyes.

656
00:49:44.699 --> 00:49:46.559
Oh, we've only got one.

657
00:49:46.619 --> 00:49:48.420
We've got lots of hair.

658
00:49:48.480 --> 00:49:49.139
Lots of hair.

659
00:49:50.579 --> 00:49:58.739
Your challenge on this week's episode of Drag Race UK is to make an adversary for Blake 7.

660
00:49:58.800 --> 00:50:02.519
Series C at the end of the inflationary year.

661
00:50:03.119 --> 00:50:09.059
It could be the ultimate mashup of Drag Race, sewing bee, and task force.

662
00:50:09.780 --> 00:50:11.519
At last.

663
00:50:11.579 --> 00:50:13.619
This is what the universe has been waiting for.

664
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:17.940
And maybe that is the ultimate evolution.

665
00:50:18.659 --> 00:50:21.599
This time next year will be millionaires.

666
00:50:31.619 --> 00:50:36.059
So that was Moloch, another episode of Blake 7.

667
00:50:36.119 --> 00:50:53.519
And that's all we've got Join us next week when we will be travelling to see what's happening at the convention of Teel and Vandor, which is obviously the greatest convention name that Blake 7 fandom has never used, unless they have, which they probably have.

668
00:50:53.579 --> 00:50:54.840
I would if it was me.

669
00:50:54.900 --> 00:50:55.860
There we go.

670
00:50:55.920 --> 00:51:00.719
But anyway, if you've enjoyed this episode, remember, please give it to your men.

671
00:51:00.780 --> 00:51:02.519
Thank you and goodbye.

672
00:51:02.579 --> 00:51:05.400
All those Teal and Vandor film posters.

673
00:51:05.460 --> 00:51:05.699
Goodbye.

674
00:51:08.820 --> 00:51:09.360
Goodbye.

675
00:51:09.420 --> 00:51:10.619
Goodbye.

676
00:51:13.679 --> 00:51:15.659
Switching to manual.

677
00:51:15.719 --> 00:51:17.639
Maximum power on all drives.

678
00:51:20.699 --> 00:51:22.619
Maximum power.