The Roll-Back-and-Mix Virus

[00:06]

Max Welcome to Maximum Power, the podcast that never approves of anything until it's an undisputed success, because this week we watched Blake 7 Project Avalon, episode 9 of series one.

We're off to Ricky Hole.

I am Pete.

I'm Colin.

I'm James And I'm Cy.

I was running away there.

I want to get down in those caves straight away because this is an episode where we do go to that treasured British location of the holes of Wookie to get things started.

How does Chewy feel about that?

I know, yeah, there's no scenery to be chewed, which is unusual in Blake 7.

How do we feel then?

James, how do you feel about seeing this wonderful British iconography of rock in your screen again?

I was...

Desperately disappointed that there wasn't an almost drowning Elizabeth Sladen in this episode.

[01:10]

But apart from that, I loved it.

It's a tradition, isn't it?

I think this is one of my favourite Blake 7 episodes of the entire 4 series.

Oh, me too.

Definitely.

I love this one.

I think it's got everything.

It's got a bit of everything.

It's got a deadly virus.

It's got mining for minerals to create ice crystals for weapons.

It's got the, you know, Inspector Clousone, Pink Panther kind of chase ramping up.

It's got Serverland, it's got Travis.

It's got rebels, it's got a massacre.

It's got everything.

Robot in the snow.

Yeah, no, that could be toothed robot is good on its own, but robot in the snow, that's even better.

And then he caves.

It doesn't look any better though, really, does it?

Even Michael Lee Bryant can't make the robot look better.

Is this the last time we see terrible over budget spending robot?

Yes, never again.

Really?

So that final moment that it spits flame out of its crop.

[02:11]

I'm being.

What a way to go.

I want to go.

I wrote in my notes, jizzes fire.

Because that's what it looks like.

It is, different distant Elmo's fire.

The 2 can never be confused.

It'd sting.

I love that we meet the sub-Tirons.

I wonder where they live.

It's off ground, momentary nation.

And this is, I think this is, this is, it feels like a terry nation firing on all cylinders script to me, just purely picking up the, picking up the vibe of it from what we've seen so far through, through the series.

And there's just lots of stuff like, there's a bit where Blake radios up to Gan and says, Gan, any space activity?

And Gan replies, well, we've seen a spaceship, but it couldn't have come from Federation space headquarters.

It's like, what do you learn space doing in either of those sentences, really. other than just upping the space of it.

Maybe we should call this podcast space action.

Oh, I'm actually Nathan right now to tell him about space action.

[03:13]

What category would we call it?

Is it heist?

It's a sort of heist, isn't it?

where Avalon herself is the heist, to be hoisted. interesting, isn't it?

Apart from her frock.

That's very true.

It's interesting, isn't it?

Because Travis has come up with this plan to trap Blake before, and he's got it all set out ready, and it's all sort of almost like to the minute he knows what Blake's going to be doing.

He knows how this is all going to play out.

And it's really cleverly done because you don't, you know Travis is up to something, but you don't know exactly what it is that he's done.

And I really like the I really like the twists and turns of this plot because the viewer doesn't know, but Travis and Servoland know, and Blake doesn't know.

So you're finding out with Blake what it is that Travis has done.

And yeah, it just keeps you on the edge of your seat all the time.

It's one of the best plots.

It really is.

[04:14]

There's so many different pieces that make it up.

Like Travis thinks he's got it nailed, but then, you know, they start to notice, you know, the gun's not working properly and that it was all a bit of a setup and and, you know, they go, right, let's go back in.

And it's like, what, Blake is waiting for you.

No, really he is.

You know, they don't they don't expect that the tables to have been turned.

It's terrific.

It really is.

I doubt Avon could have reprogrammed Avalon necessarily in like 5 minutes, you know.

You went on space YouTube, because so that is the greatest piece of robotic technology he's ever seen. that it's wearing with cogs, clerks, climbing round inside the head.

This is the worst use of CSO I've ever seen.

I kind of wanted them to reuse the like the the Sarah Jane Smith.

Android invasion face.

That would have been fantastic.

[05:15]

That would have been far better, and it was still around at that point because they just used it in stones of blood, hadn't they?

I've been, was it in, I've been, it's in, in one of the cells in the, in the spaceship.

Yeah, of course.

So they could easily have done a face cast of Avalon and taken that off.

That would have been far better.

Yeah, yeah.

But I guess someone on their teams said, no, that's right.

I make you one of them.

Oh, it's okay.

Just stick a blue bandage on the side of our head.

So we arrive on this, like, planet of 120 degrees centigrade, presumably.

And they just need to put on a couple of like jester outfits with thermostats.

And they're fine, apparently.

Um, but there's this really great sort of, you know, classic termination intro of, you know, another mutoid, event.

Um, what do we think of that?

[06:15]

Well, I mean, that mutoid, obviously, is super cool for being played by Glynis Barber, who we will be seeing a long time in the future, of course.

Yeah, she makes a good impression, doesn't she?

Yeah, she's she's really cool.

She looks great and she plays it really well and the stunt work with the female mutoids.

Jumping from the rocks is really brilliant as well, isn't it?

Yeah, definitely not her.

No.

You can tell, you can tell that they thought that the cyber, you know, the cyber battle scenes looked fantastic because they're basically recreating that with women in silly hats.

That's the one thing that was missing when Michael Lee Bryant was last down in these caves directing.

It's like, this is going really well, this battle, but in his women in silly leather, rubber hats.

Let's be back in time.

When I was for the Australian listeners, when I was watching this in preparation for the podcast, my husband walked in through and asked me, what the hell the goth gumnut babies were?

[07:28]

And I was like, oh, oh my god.

No I can't unsee it.

You won't get that.

No idea.

But we've got a mental image, but I don't know if it's...

No, this is like classic Australian children's books.

Snuggle pot and cuddle pie about these babies who little gum nuts from a gumtree.

And their heads kind of look like the mutoids hats.

All right.

Well, we can just edit all that shit out.

Thank you.

That's fine.

I'll put it in the show notes.

No.

Yeah, and a packet will be available to any listener who sends a stamps addressed envelope to James, Australia, and YouTube can munch on a mutoid head. whenever you like.

I read, I read that, um, that, um, Jenna only got so involved in this particular plot because Sally Nevette complained that she'd had bugger all to do for the past few weeks. and so, uh, they, so they stuck Callie on the Liberator instead and gave, gave Jenna her bits, uh, because it is good to see.

[08:40]

I mean, it's a shame that it was treated as an either or situation.

I don't think that was probably her intent.

But it's nice to see her getting down and getting into the shootout at the end as well, and sort of noticing that something is awry in that shootout.

There is definitely something Ryan, that shootout, uh, which I only notice yesterday, um, and that is where they make the guard sort of walk ahead of them, and they go, don't worry, there'll be 2 guns behind you, and I'm like, okay, 2 of them are going ahead, and it's only Jenna.

Oh, wait, hang on.

Jenna's holding 2 guns that can't be held more.

You could only hold one according to episode 3 or something like that.

Great. done it again.

Just call her 2 guns Stannis.

She hacked it.

She's hacked that giant wine rack that they keep all the guns in on the floor and found a way to let it have more than one gun at a time.

I'm going to say how she's going to fire those guns when she's got 2 guns and the cool box as well.

Yeah, she's going to struggle a bit there. multi-jasking, yes.

But only one girl is allowed on an away mission at a time.

[09:43]

So Callie just cannot come with her to carry something else.

Union rules, apparently.

I believe they call that gender parity.

Or Jenna parity.

So it does feel like a lot of time has passed between dual and and this because, you know, they mention, oh, Servolan's like going, oh, there's been a few assassination attempts after me.

Do you know it's actually nice to Calais?

Uh, you know, she, that's like smile at each other when they're, when Jenna's leaving the ship or like be careful or something like that.

You know, maybe they should have put another episode in between here to sort of, so it isn't like a Travis versus Blake and then another Travis versus Blake.

I don't mind, but it's good.

It feels like a bit of time has passed without them having to spell it out.

Yeah, I think they've used that time in the crew for Avon to get a bit more snarky with everyone.

[10:43]

He's definitely more sarcastic and quippy now after all these months, and there's also just little things I noticed, like, um, Avon and Callie sharing a smile after they've teleported Villa down to the planet, and there's just little warmth between all the members of the crew, which is really lovely to see.

Yeah, everyone's got their role.

Now, you know, Villa is the comedy character who's going to complain about having to go and do anything.

And then, you know, they're all sort of forming into what they'll be going forward.

Yeah, it's like, you know, cut to villa for a quip moment.

You just know that it's, you know that it's coming and they can, they can start setting them up and, yeah, especially with him and Avon.

I think by this point they know what the, um, they really know what the cast can deliver and they're writing to them by this point.

Yeah, I think that's, yeah, I think that's very true.

It certainly feels like all the characters are very clearly delineated now and everyone knows what they're doing and Terry Nation and Chris Boucher know what they're doing as well with their characters.

[11:44]

So off we go and we can have this fantastic adventure now knowing what everyone's roles are and wow, yeah, there we are.

And you get it, I think, with Travis and Servland as well.

I think there's a real sort of clear sense of who they are and what their roles are, and it's almost like the tables have turned between Travis and Serverland a bit, because whereas in Cyclocate Destroy, Travis is very brusque and not taking any of her nonsense and any of that.

And yet here, she is definitely in command.

She's in charge completely, isn't she?

Yeah, that moment of her swishing down that corridor, draped in, probably, um, probably endangered Arctic species made into her lovely goat, fake uh, endangered Arctic species made into her amazing uh, coat as she strolls into the ice face.

Do we think, by the way, I think there's a few, um, Star Wars vibes going on in here, particularly, so obviously it's about rescuing Avalon, who could...

[12:49]

Rebel princess.

The rescue.

Yeah, the rescuing of Princess Lia.

That makes server, that definitely makes serverland the Darth Vader.

We're several years ahead away still from the Empire Strikes Back.

So it's not the ice base setting, isn't it?

No, exactly.

They land on Hoff.

It's freezing cold.

It is almost the Empire Strikes back because they try and strike back.

I guess the difference being in the Empire Strikes back, the empire kind of gets the upper hand, really.

Uh, whereas this one, it's kind of the empire strikes back.

But Blake is too clever.

So, yeah, no, he is a little bit Star Wars.

I mean, it's got so many so many good things going for it.

What do we think about the character of Avalon and the performance?

of that?

It's very strange because she doesn't get very much to do in this episode.

She's, I think she seems super cool in those scenes where her band of rebels are being captured by Travis.

[13:50]

And it's almost, it struck me this time and it's something I'd not noticed before.

It's almost played like it's supposed to be a surprise that she's a woman because it's not stated that she's a woman before the reveal.

So I wondered if that was supposed to be a, oh, it's a female version of Blake.

Oh, we weren't expecting that.

Aren't all rebels men kind of thing, but she doesn't actually get a great deal of character or anything to do, really, because she's replaced by the Android for most of the episode.

So we don't get to find out what she stands for, what she's doing other than what other people have said about her.

She could be a computer.

Yeah exactly.

Yeah, she could be a computer or a box with some flashing lights on it.

Ultimately.

She is a prize to be rescued to be rescued that's going to help them in their efforts, isn't she?

She does get a reasonably decent interaction with Travis whilst they're, you know, making the copy of her brain.

Oh, yeah, that's true.

Oh, yeah, when she's in the little machine, yes.

[14:51]

Yeah, being with the lights going off.

It's a strange choice to give the central, this character, external character that the episode revolves around, a name that's only 2 letters different from Avon.

Not quite sure why that wasn't seen as an issue, but I mean, it isn't an issue, really, is it?

It's just something that they tend not to do.

It just, it does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.

She should have been, I get, I get, or does it?

I mean, it feels like she doesn't have anything strong to say or do particularly, but for most of it, you know, when we see her, she's an Android, so she hasn't gotten that much more programming.

It's um, I mean, it might be a missed opportunity, but that's not going to stop big finish coming back to it in 40 years time.

Oh, Yeah.

Who's managed to listen to that because I have not.

Not yet.

So I do like Olivia Poulet.

So this is a new, a brand new range, the big finish have just launched, yeah?

Yes, they've used Abalon already.

They used her in the 40th anniversary story the way ahead. and recast her brilliantly and she was very, very good in that.

[16:00]

Olivia Poulet plays Avalon brilliantly, gives us real steel, and she's very different to Blake, which is good.

So you get a contrast of different types of freedom fighter.

Yes.

Yeah, I see with different.

I think she she does need to pick slightly better rebels to help her because that bit at the start where Travis says, which one of you is Avalon?

And this guy just stands up and like moves in front of her going, it's not her.

It's not...

I'm just standing here, really, obviously.

Hello, I'm still at fell and I'm about to fall over, so there's probably a slun.

Oh, yeah, at least if you're in a battle if you've got Stuart Fell standing in front of you, you've got a better chance of surviving because it's likely he's going to be the one who goes down first, isn't it?

And then, of course, you've got David Bailey in it as well.

Yes, a Shedna.

Yeah, he's really cool.

Yeah, and I always get him mixed up with Michael Jason. don't they look a little bit alike?

They do.

They do, especially like craggy and covered in sort of furs and things.

It's, um, I, I did for on 1st viewing as a keep going.

[17:02]

Is that the Val yard?

Oh no, it's Taryn Capel.

And he hit the big time, didn't he?

Most of the pirates of the Caribbean movies.

He's one of the bad pirates. he was, wasn't he?

He died.

He died in March this year.

So what do we think about the sort of wider world issues?

So, Serbaland sort of mentions that Blake is becoming a legend and hope is very dangerous.

Is that something that the show should have done a bit more of, do we think?

That is the sort of dialogue that you'd put in episode one if you were rebooting it, isn't it?

Probably, or episode 2 maybe?

Yeah, because it's like, oh, they've just spotted this extra direction to go in.

I think coming from her is what makes it.

I think it's a restatement of of their kind of worldview as well.

[18:04]

Yeah.

Yeah, I quite like the fact that you get this idea that despite them trying to keep everything quiet and every all news of it's suppressed that all these sort of almost like urban legends are creeping up around Blake and he's going off destroying things and creating his own sort of myth almost that would become very dangerous for the federation going forward.

Yeah, and we us seeing Servoland becoming concerned about that is a great way of depicting it to us when they haven't got the budget to show us rebellions happening on multiple planets, and also that wouldn't be as exciting a form of storytelling as just having this icy commander visibly being unsettled by the fact that they haven't managed to immediately snuff him out is a really a really good turn, yeah.

And talking of stuffings out.

The effect of that, the sparkly poison thing.

CGI virus.

It's got a space name, hasn't it, that I'm eluding me.

It's based on the phobon plague.

[19:06]

Is it?

Yes.

Well, there we go.

They're the worst types.

When it, when, you know, the young guy gets, gets exposed to it as she, as she sort of gloats and just do what, she just enjoys the show, doesn't she, basically?

That's a really, really scary, gruesome bit.

I think 2 things on that.

One, the way that Travis says to the mutoid, you know, just go and find a dissident, you know, just if there aren't, if there isn't anyone in detention, just grab someone off the street, you know, um, which, you know, just reinforces the way the federation is run.

And then this person comes in and he sort of goes, all right, yeah, he'll do, and then punches him in the stomach and goes, yeah, yeah, he's all right.

Yeah, he seems healthy enough.

I just love.

He's healthy enough to kill.

Yeah.

But then they've got this, you know, the CGI fringe virus and they and they give it to this guy.

He doesn't seem at all bothered.

[20:07]

Well, yeah, he's probably seen on basic rates probably.

They're not paying me enough to be...

But also, it's all going to be done with an effect, darling.

You just sit there.

We'll make it turn into a skeleton.

It's not a terrifying virus.

It's, you know, or space plague.

It's just a, there's a bit of, um, uh, rollback and mix going on, you know, the virus, the virus should be good to roll back and mix virus.

The rollback of mixed plague.

I thought it was really, it was quite disturbing, but the effect is quite disturbing, but because he has to remain completely still for it.

It just, it kind of robs of any sort of urgency or or real horror.

If only, yes, the 1970s, if only they could have done that with some motion or screaming or shown the horror of him having his flesh eaten off.

Yeah, you don't get any of that, do you?

You don't get any sense that the guy's in pain.

It just seems to happen to him and it's done.

[21:08]

Well, look, he's probably dope to his eyeballs anyway.

He is a, um, like a labour grade in the Federation.

Yeah, basic equity.

What I find interesting though, what sort of watching it was Travis is so enthralled by the works of the poison, and you can see almost like glee in his eyes as he watches this guy sort of be consumed and die in 30 seconds.

He looks like he's getting some kind of thrill out of watching that.

Oh, there's also that great line from Servoland.

You know, the labs have come up with something for you.

It's very, very lethal and very expensive or something along those lines.

I wonder if we get, there's a, Avon gets to say, let's get the hell out of here at one point.

Is that the 1st is that our 1st swear?

Is that count as a swear?

I don't know if you're allowed to say get.

I think that's as close as we're going to come.

Yeah.

[22:09]

And then Callie gets a job at Flying the Liberator, which I guess links back to it originally her and Jenna's roles having been swapped around.

But she gets to fly the liberator with the little Wii controllers that they've got, you know, I really like the way that they do it with their hands in gloves in the air.

Hey, at least they're attached to something so you don't end up breaking your TV screen.

No, right.

We're really moving into the liberators attacked, so they can't be teleported up when they desperately need it cliche now.

I think this is now the 2nd time this season and we'll have that a lot going forward.

So I always love those scenes where they turn on the communicator when they're back on station and it's Blake screaming, get me out of here.

Where are you?

And off we go.

Yeah, last minute, desperate, rushing in and there you are, because, and that, that's a really Blake 70 bit of tension, isn't it?

Because they don't still don't quite trust each other.

Why isn't one of them in the teleport control room?

[23:11]

Why are they all there when they have to get somebody up quickly?

Oh shit, we're all in. on the flight deck.

Run.

Everybody run down the corridor.

It's almost like it's a bit of false tension, isn't it?

Yeah.

There was definitely no time and motion study done on the workplace layout of the Liberator by whoever built it.

Right, because it's like whenever the phone rings.

Gown, we're 5 minutes from the planet.

Maybe you could just start ambling to the teleport now, just in case we need to bring anyone up.

Whenever anyone comes in on the communicator, it beeps and someone has to get up from whatever desk they're in and go round the sofa and down to where the like the phone is and press the button to hear the call coming in.

Well, you know, they solve a lot of those problems with Aurak later, though, of course, don't they?

You know, putting him in charge of the of the teleport.

Except when he decides not to use it.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

But yeah, artificial intelligence.

What thorac?

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[24:11]

Yeah, or what or who.

Yeah.

I remember Sally Nevette giving an anecdote when she was being interviewed ages ago about how when she 1st started in Blake 7, she got the Mickey taken out of her because they said to her in rehearsals, you run down the corridor, pull out your laser and go pew pew.

And then the cameras rolled and she ran out, ran down the corridor, pulled out Helaser, and said, pew, pew.

That was her standard anecdote, which she used to do, if she ever turned up on TV in the 80s being in tune about her time was Blake 7.

And I did wonder if it came from this, that corridor shootout where she stands there in bright pink, going pew pew in a narrow corridor at some people who all keep missing her.

That's, uh, could well be the moment, I think.

I love the sound of the liberator guns, though.

I think there's such a brilliant sound effect.

One of my favourite things in Blake 7.

Yeah, yeah, and yeah, just for distinct. such a tough call on a special sound team.

Come up with a really distinctive laser gun that's obviously a laser gun, but not quite the same as the others.

[25:13]

Who is the special sound?

So Richard Yeoman Clark still at this point.

So he does the 1st he does the 1st season and half of series B, and Elizabeth Parker then takes over for the rest of the series from hostage, I think.

Cool.

So yeah, he's done a great job, I think, with the special sounds so far because the teleport is a great sound effect as well.

Um, So, yeah, he's he's doing good work.

Um, the the sound effect is certainly better than the uh, the visual effect.

I mean, I like the outline, but that being teleported down.

Yeah, we don't we get a clue.

I we get clear in the next episode, someone specifically mentions that it doesn't feel, you don't feel anything, because otherwise your imagination is going to think.

I hope they've got travel bands on or there's some kind of...

I mean, I get a half hour on a ferry, does it for me.

Never mind being shaken about like that.

Imagine the DVT you'd get from DSV too.

[26:14]

Decoding your acronyms.

But I like that Gareth Thomas is still doing his little wobble every time he materialises.

That's great.

Yeah, yeah, he's not just standing there.

He's already begun acting before the camera rolls.

Now that's a real professional, isn't it?

That's what Shakespeare teaches you.

I want to talk a little bit about Stephen Grief, is it?

Grief or Grief?

Grief.

Is it grife?

Okay, okay.

I'm sure it's grief.

Yeah.

I've got grief.

I've got a gripe with your pronunciation of Stephen Grief.

How do you say that?

Sorry. all right.

So I want to talk a little bit about Stephen Griff.

I think in this episode, he's by far the most valued player, he's like he's got a great story for his character and he plays it brilliantly.

He is, you know, you get you get the impression he's been planning and planning and and like he's impatient to get this done.

[27:21]

He wants this sorted, um, and right at the end, where he's got to catch the CGI space plague.

His demeanour having changed completely after being double crossed himself.

I'm a bit, you know, it doesn't quite get there in the series that this becomes a cat and mouse, Pink Panther, Inspector Cluseau forever and every episode.

It could have become really tiresome like that.

But in certainly in this case, it is a terrific performance, you know, by him.

And I think he really carries that final...

I don't know about you, but that final moment.

Yeah, when he catches the thing and stops them all from being died.

You feel sorry for him?

You feel, phew, he did it.

He saved them all.

I do.

I do like how he catches it even though she was supposed to crush it. dialogue disaster.

I was like, what?

Oh, Avon's just really shit at reprogramming it.

Exactly.

No, I think, I think they, it could just be, what they managed to achieve in the time was, Avon, can you just get her to hold the thing, and that's all we need to do before we beam out?

[28:33]

We just need to bluff and make them aware, we're going to do this.

But actually, you know, we don't need to do, you know, we don't need to respond to Alexa, what's the weather like, you know, just do these.

Yeah, you do really feel sorry for Travis in that scene.

Uh, especially, you know, um, the way he's treated by Servoland.

He's got a shitty boss. hasn't he?

That's basically how this is being portrayed at the moment.

She's bit toxic.

It is a toxic, well, literally toxic and also, like pathogenical.

There's that great scene where it cuts back to, they're both just sitting on a space sofa together and she's got her little glasses on.

She's playing a game or something on her, on her, on her iPad.

And they're just waiting for, for updates.

And then he stands up off the sofa and there's this almighty creak as the leather of his costume and the leather of the sofa to catch themselves.

They rock on with that at this point in the end credits.

He's still getting top bullying over her.

[29:33]

They share a caption card and it's him as the main guy and her as the person who he has to answer to occasionally. have to do something about that.

I am fascinated to see how long that lasts.

Not for much longer.

There's a there's a great moment that I always love where Travis is sort of almost gleefully saying, a couple of hours.

It'll all be over.

And Serviland just shoots him a look like, no, you're gonna fuck this up.

I'm good Travis.

No.

He knows that this is not going to work.

However much Travis thinks it is.

And that's why we love her so much.

He's trying so hard. just wants to be evil.

Where's the leather and everything?

I have all the, I have about 3 giant iPads that I press the same button on.

What more, what more can you do to try and prove?

And yeah, and I really love the way that Servoland takes charge at sort of in the final confrontation.

[30:39]

She knows that Travis is going to blow up and make this situation even worse.

But just the way that she turns around and says, he is demanding. phenomenal.

He is not having any of this.

Yeah, and she just, and that is just Jacqueline Fierce just taking this script and just putting everything into it, even when she's doing, when she's doing a lot, or when she's doing a little, or when she walks in at the start and she just lets her coat fall to the floor and a mutoid has to rush and pick it up.

That's right.

She's got this male mutoid who is obviously just employed to hold her furs for her.

He just stands there in the background holding her jacket the whole time.

The direction of that is, is, is really, like, they zoom in on the coat falling and the mutoid coming over and picking it up.

It's not like just happens in the background.

I think it's just the moment that she arrives, really, isn't it?

Like, in her 1st episode, you kind of get an inkling of of her sort of conniving sort of intelligence.

[31:46]

But in this, it's just fabulous.

They're sort of strutting down corridors and like throwing her clothes off on the floor and arched eyebrows every so often at people and.

Yeah, because pre- pre-serviland, the Federation is sort of more of the evil bureaucracy kind of thing, which is a terrination thing as well.

But then, but once she comes along and just starts, Yeah, then it's got it's got Hutzpah as well as just being an awful monolith.

Yeah.

Yeah, and I love the way she's played sort of in these very early stories where she's just quiet and she's calm all the time.

And she's so commanding without having to be over the top.

She is really, she's just wonderfully cool.

Yeah, yeah, I see.

You could say.

Yeah, you could.

And James, doesn't she have a fantastic costume this week?

[32:47]

Yes, I mean, especially, look, I mean, I love that fur coat.

Um, like the the, uh, multiple mink stole, um, But when she takes it off and you, You get that wonderful silk slash Saturn kind of ribbed, like stretched.

Sorry, what are you describing?

Well, it's ripped for our pleasure.

But it's, it's, it's so form fitting and and structural and that collar.

Yeah, that colour is awesome.

Yes, no, I mean, look, we could do a entire podcast on...

On Serverland's outfits and probably will.

Oh, the rest, I'm just thinking about the, who haven't we mentioned?

Have we mentioned, has Gan had a look in this week?

Oh, he's top... this one.

[33:48]

I can't remember what he says, but it's he's not a liberator.

He sort of could tell about it.

He'd say something like the deliberator, the badant of the desseria.

Very...

It just looks sort of kind of creepy way.

He kind of, the creepy way.

He guides the Avalon Android to the couch while sort of gripping her waist.

Just like...

Yeah, and and he really is being looked, made to look like it quite simple with the, when it's really obvious that there's something wrong with Avalon and he's like, oh, I'll go get your tunic.

But I guess that is setting us up for next week without getting ahead of ourselves.

Maybe they are, they are for line, frontlining the idea of him as the gentle giant, so that if that should for some unexpected reason get revoked, it would be more shocking.

So maybe that's why he's like ultra placid in this episode, but he's fairly placid most of the time.

So it's kind of...

Yeah, he does the most be just the most amazed face you'll ever see on TV when he realises that Avalon is an Android and she's pushing his arms and his whole face just sort of goes, his mouth goes into almost the perfect Oh!

[34:57]

What is happening?

That's one for the GIF archive.

I see what I can do.

But yeah, he doesn't really have a great deal to do.

And I don't think anyone who's on the Liberator has masses to do, do they, really?

No, it's just, it's, whereas in some weeks you get a parallel plot, don't you, up on the liberator whilst other things are happening down on the planet.

This week it's action on the planet, then back to deliberate on the, hmm, that was way too easy and we've still got 12 minutes of the episode left.

I wonder if there's going to be an unexpected twist. moment.

And that, that sort of, it's not a B plot because it's part of the A plot.

But, um, that it's really quite, it's brief and, And just like there's not much to it.

It's it's almost that like that part of the plot's almost too easy as well.

Oh, oh, she's an Android.

Okay, let's catch it.

Okay, and let's sit back and get the real one.

Here we are.

Yeah.

Yeah, it is, it is.

But I mean, but it's, but then you can just say that, that was, it's fast paced and climactic.

[35:59]

I suppose it depends which way you're coming at it, doesn't it?

But yeah, it could almost, that could almost have been a two-parter.

But it wouldn't be a good two-parter.

It would be too slow.

But yeah, but there's that whole 2nd half of the story is the last 10 minutes sort of thing.

I'm going to say, wouldn't it have been a bit more interesting if we'd actually seen the Abalon robot attacking everyone.

So smashing Cali and killing Chevna because it doesn't matter that that's the reveal.

It would have been enough of a reveal to see it in action rather than um, just see Shevna looking puzzled.

And then next scene, he's dead.

Actually, getting a bit of a payoff of that and giving him his hero moment where he realises this is not Avalon because he knows Avalon so well.

You could have you could have done that.

Yeah, in a similar way to the way that they used Callie and the web.

Where, you know, there's quite a lot of her stalking around the ship kicking the shit out of people. before, you know, before they work out what's going on.

[37:04]

And maybe that's why they didn't do it here.

Maybe they were like, oh, we've done this before.

Let's just kind of get to get to the dinner more.

And it is quite a good shock moment where suddenly Chevna turns around and his face is all smashed up.

Because you know, you know it's sort of something like that is coming. suddenly.

So a good treat there.

She's a robot of death.

I just realised that.

Yeah, and again, there's another, there's a nice bit where Avon finds Callie who's been knocked out and obviously hurt, and he's, he's really tender towards her, and he obviously picks her up and puts her in the chair because she wakes up in the chair a bit later on, and this, but I really love the Callie Avon dynamic, and you only get these tiny little hints all the way through.

[38:05]

Sorry, I will keep banging on about this as the series goes on.

But, uh, Yeah, it's just really lovely.

Like, possibly it's also because those, like, apart from Villa, those are the 2 characters who work to, you know, like, sorry, those are the 2 actors and characters who are together on the show the most, because by, you know, by the time she leaves, practically everybody else, apart from Villa is gone.

That's true.

And they've had, yeah, time to build up that nice relationship between them.

Yeah, yeah.

Shall we talk about the ending?

Yeah, yeah.

So what do we think about the ending, yeah.

Look, I think it's fabulous.

I love it.

I'm...

Well, wouldn't the dream of their dreams.

That's fine.

That will do.

[39:06]

There we go.

Like that wonderful moment at the very end after Servolan has dismissed Travis for his shitty failed plan.

And and then...

Yes.

And then she does that wonderful kind of spin around to camera and orders, orders the pursuit ships to follow the liberator, and then it crashes into the entitles, is fantastically camped.

And it's a good proper dot, dot, dot.

I'll get you Penelope to stop or whatever, except the server land saying it. yeah.

Yeah.

And you get, yeah, you get Travis's, um, if it takes all my life, I will destroy you, Blake.

I will destroy you and just think, this is a man who's just becoming completely and utterly obsessed by his work.

And this is not going to end well for for him or Blake, possibly.

But yeah, it's great how the tables have turned and this is the moment where I think Servland is going to become sort of ascendent and Travis's role is going to descend.

[40:18]

Yeah, he becomes emasculator, doesn't he?

Yeah.

Like, he becomes the sidekick.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He's muttley.

Yes.

When you, yeah, when you see him in deliverance, it's the dynamic between Silverland and Travis is very, very different at that point.

Could you say it's subserviland?

Sorry.

Oh, I think I think he definitely could, yes.

But it is like server line.

Like, take this man away.

I shall have top bulling by the end of this series.

Top baddie billing anyway.

But have you noticed?

I don't know if it's a thing that is, is it a thing that no one mentions or is it just that the, um, the end credits, the Starfield is different, slightly differently done each week as the end credits role?

Like in this one, it's a long, slow zoom out from a picture of a starfill.

And I noticed the other week the camera was sideways panning across it.

And in another week, the camera zooms in slowly on the starfield.

I don't know if that's like, you know, Wurzel Gummidge used to at the end of the end credits, he would get up on his, on his, on his, well, it's not crucifixes the wrong word. you know, wasn't coming...

[41:27]

Well, there are thematic there are thematic layers to it, but that's another podcast.

And that's what we do with the Mortal Rummage podcast.

When do we take the worst old drumage down under podcast?

That's the spinoff that everyone will be waiting for.

They made it.

But, yeah, they did?

Yeah.

But, um, but he, um, and at the end of every episode, he gets up on his stick and then he falls forward or backwards or sideways.

And when you're a kid, you can cheer which way he's going to go.

Well, and guess, because they'd run a different version each episode randomly.

And that seems to be what they're doing with the Blake 7 credits just on a slightly more low-key variety, because, yes, you just watch that Starfield. sometimes it zooms in.

Do you think it's whatever they had left on the cutting room floor after putting together the liberator cut out flying across Starfield shots?

That is odd, isn't it?

Because there are some, there are so many magnificent shots of the liberator and then you get the little cartoon cutout version just popped in. as if public will never notice the difference.

And it's like, I mean, it's very, it's all right. a perfectly nice 2D cardboard cutout version, but it's strange that they... weirdly yellow as well, isn't it?

[42:32]

Is that why some liberated toys ended up being different colours?

Because I had a white one and a silver one.

Oh, no, the silver one was just a, um, it was a special edition for the 25th anniversary of Corgi or something.

Fact has returned to my brain.

That's why I had a silver liberator.

I found that out.

I didn't, for a while I thought the liberator maybe got repainted between 2 between seasons at some time.

This is the kind of fact that you extrapolate from your toy collection when you're 7.

What did you do with the five-sided...

Dapoltatis console?

Oh, I wish I'd had one.

My parents bought one for me, but it was broken and they returned it without giving it to me.

I saw it in the cupboard for Christmas.

I was so disappointed.

Wow.

You saw the present and then took it away again.

And I've never forgiven them.

And how much is it affected?

Yeah, how does this affect your trust issues going forward in life?

But it wasn't good enough.

It had the wrong number of sides.

I wish that had been the reason.

Oh, it's missing.

[43:34]

It's not hexagonal.

We saw how he kicked off when he got that green J 9.

We can't give him there.

They do their best, our parents, don't they, when they realise they've got a geek in the nest.

So, thank you for joining us for Project Avalon.

It's been a fantastic episode.

We've enjoyed your company, and next up, it will be a breakdown, but don't worry, Aber is still at number one with Take a Chance on the Union.

Everything's getting too stressful for you in 1978.

So, thanks for joining us.

Goodbye.

Ta-ta.

Bye.

Bye bye.

Switching to Manny.

Maximum power on all drives.

[44:35]

Yeah, Sydney, I mean, yeah, you do feel, you do feel good.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sorry.

I fuck that lineup.

Um, We missed out.

I've just realised that I forgot to quote Travis's amazing line, expect him to penetrate within the next 12 hours.

Yeah, I think we actually, we're getting we're getting a lot tighter.

Yeah, thanks, thanks.

Yeah, I realised as I said it.

Oh, we'll just sort out in post, darling.

All right, I'll press stop.