Blake's 7 #2: Space Fall

"I've got a problem with confined spaces. There's a medical name for it." "Cowardice?"

IN THIS ONE... Blake tries to hijack the London, but settles for a strange alien ship.

REVIEW: In the more action-filled second episode, Blake and other prisoners attempt to take over the London, but surprisingly, fail. The series is to date so dank, you would expect them to succeed and spend the series aboard a prison ship (ironic!) that Jenna estimates should be scrapped. It does seem to justify the rattiness of the sets here, and even the cheap model effects (the London flies by virtue of a firecracker up its butt, its airlock tunnel is unfortunately rude, etc.), but no, I should have remembered the opening sequence. They'll end up on a weird alien ship (sufficiently alien especially in contrast to the functional grays of the London), after they disarm its telepathic defense system, ironically thanks to Blake having been brainwashed one time too many already by the Federation. That thing is HUGE and it looks better flying through space.

But at this point, there still aren't 7 members of the team, and they'll follow the prison ship to the prison world to recover the other prisoners and staff up. But that's an 8-month journey?! Seems a long time to complete the task. But it does tell us that this universe has relatively slow space travel (which the new ship might beat) and aliens are rare-to-never-seen, given everyone's reaction to the ship. Humanity is just starting out, but on the wrong foot, it seems.

So who IS part of the 7? The episode almost plays like a cruel reality TV audition process where characters step up and get killed. The boyish Nova, for example, is trapped inside the walls of the London when it gets punctured by battle debris and fills up with solidifying foam. I like this low-tech alternative to Star Trek's force fields, but what a terrible way to go. When the ship's wicked First Officer Raiker gets an itchy trigger finger, he also kills a few more prisoners without provocation. Surviving to fight another day, in addition to Blake, Vila and Jenna are Gan, a mountain of a man who will likely act as the crew's muscle - he's fun - and Kerr Avon, played by Paul Darrow, perhaps the character/actor most associated with Blake's 7. He's a computer expert/hacker who appears to be completely amoral, as cold and pragmatic as the machines he manipulates. As the show takes shape, characters are starting to fill roles and positions. Jenna is to be the pilot, etc.

As for Blake himself, it seems like he has all his memories back, or else he's doing all this on instinct (which indeed makes him dangerous), but he's quite to defy the screws and stage a take-over. On the opposite side is Raiker, the London's ruthless First Officer who tries to force himself on Jenna and even blackmails his own captain by lording it over him that he gave him carte blanche to do what was necessary during the uprising. But he certainly did some unnecessary things too. The captain doesn't really back down from his threat, but Blake does, rather than see the other prisoners executed. Avon would call this a weakness, but there's a reason people want to follow Blake, and Jenna gives that voice after Blake makes a speech about his own idealism. A smaller part for Vila in this one, but he's the comic relief, here dropping his gun when the bad guys are ordered to. It's a little silly, but it plays. Raiker gets thrown out into space, which couldn't have happened to a better guy.

NOT MY FEDERATION: As the London prepares to activate its hyperdrive, they set "time distort" to 5. I'm reminded of how in very early Original Series Star Trek, warp was referred to without abbreviations as "time warp". Warp | Distort... yeah, we get it. Unlike Starfleet ships, Federation ships are equipped with seat belts. The space inside the walls act as a kind of Jeffries tube, but more dangerous.

BUT MIGHT BE MY EMPIRE: Nothing too overt - hyperdrive aside - but the idea that living under an evil regime breeds evil is present in the character of Raiker, and how little power his captain has to punish him. You can just about believe these ships DO jettison prisoners before they get to port, getting paid either way. And with Jenna stepping up as pilot, this smuggler is looking more and more like she could complete the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs...

WHO?: Noooo, not the miiiinnnd proooooobe! Space Fall was directed by Pennant Roberts, who also directed episodes of Doctor Who, including The Pirate Planet and Shada, but much more importantly for us here, Leela's introduction in The Face of Evil, which was written by Blakes' 7 script editor Chris Boucher and also starred Leslie Schofield (Raiker; he had also had a role in The War Games), Brett Forrest (a guard), and Tom Kelly (Nova). Kelly also had small roles in The Sun Makers (Penannt Roberts again) and The Invasion of Time. Roberts would also direct Who's worst story ever, Timelash, which prominently guest-starred Paul Darrow (Avon). The ship captain is played by Glyn Owen, who was Rohm-Dutt in The Power of Kroll. Norman Tipton (navigator Alix) was in Underworld. The computer technician whose ass Avon kicks was played by Bill Weston, who was an uncredited stuntman way back in The Smugglers. Some of the uncredited crew and prisoners aboard the London are stuntmen who also worked on Doctor Who. Just how complete do you want these notes to be?!

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - Still setting up the board, but this chapter has some excitement and key introductions.