"Blake's an idealist, he cannot afford to think."
REVIEW: Finally, Star One! But it seems the Seven needn't have bothered because someone has already sabotaged it, causing all sorts of problems for the Federation - ships crash into each other, weather control destroys crops and floods entire planets, etc. Travis is in on it, though just how he came in contact with the Andromedan invaders is something musty... I'm not sure I see a direct link between him finding the location of Star One and these guys who have line of sight on a station that is ALSO serving as a first line of defense against anyone coming from their galaxy. Travis is here so that Blake can be taken for him initially, and then to die by falling down a well (after being shot by Avon, one of two ambitions he sees fulfilled in this episode). There seems to be a mad rush to upset the status quo of the show, and it makes for exciting television. Seeing Servalan scramble back on the space wheel makes me wonder if the enemy of our enemy will become our friend, and shelving the mission to destroy the Federation become a necessity while this new threat is dealt with.
Not to say the Federation isn't problematic here. Servalan uses the crisis to stage a military coup! And she won't be president to a ruined empire, so watch out! We do wonder what's happening on Star One, which is manned by conditioned volunteers who could never betray the Federation. Since the Feds killed or mind-wiped everyone who knew the location of the facility, they can't exactly go check it out themselves. Seems like a big design flaw! So it's a good thing Blake's 7 have just found out where it is. Pretty epic location too - just outside the galaxy, on a dead(ish) planet (sorry, Gloucestershire), orbiting a dying star on the edge of the abyss between galaxies. But is that one woman on Star One really insane and gumming up the works, or is she the last not to have been replaced by aliens? The show keeps it ambiguous as long as it can. The baddies' plan is to deactivate the mine field that extends towards Andromeda so their ships can pass - a weird collection of bric-a-brac, but perhaps the dim lighting is at fault. Otherwise, they spent a lot of money on models this episode. Seems SOMEone learned a lesson from working on Doctor Who that you should keep money for the finale, instead of ending your season on shoestring budgets.
As for our heroes, like Star One, they're on edge. Cally tells Vila to shut up. Vila nervously handles explosive charges and jumps at loud voices. Avon wrings a promise from Blake that once Star One is dealt with, this'll all stop and he'll get the ship. Cally wonders if sabotaging the computer facility and probably killing or hurting millions as a result makes them fanatics. Cally also gets to do more, this time around, even use her telepathy to do some good. Some great dialog throughout, and ultimately, Blake aborts the mission (though we'll have to see if that one explosion did any permanent damage). Blake also gets shot in a way that makes you wonder if they actually killed him off, but survives in a weakened condition and Avon takes the con. There's a nice exchange where Blake tells him he trusted him all along, which is also worrying because that's the kind of thing fictional characters tell each other before one of them dies. And we end on a button-pushing cliffhanger wondering if the Liberator can win this fight against the Adromedan fleet (with the help of the minefield, obviously). I expect the next season to be very different from what we've seen to date...
NOT MY FEDERATION: In "By Any Other Name", Andromedan aliens ALSO take human form in a bid to invade the Milky Way, with action occurring in the void between galaxies.
BUT MIGHT BE MY EMPIRE: Oh look! A galaxy far, far away.
WHO?: Terry Nation originally wanted the invading alien force to be The Daleks from Doctor Who, which he had created. Tom Baker and Gareth Thomas actually wanted to have a crossover between the two series, but Chris Boucher and David Maloney weren't in favour of this. David Webb (Stot) was also Eric Leeson in Colony in Space. Gareth Armstrong (Parton) was Giuliano in The Masque of Mandragora. John Bown (Durkim) was Antodus in the film Dr. Who and the Daleks. Keldon City is devastated in that first accident, but it's a near miss in terms of Doctor Who - it's not KALDOR City.
REWATCHABILITY: High - An exciting game changer, but I don't think I'll know how much until I start on Series C.
Comments
Love Blake and Avon’s interactions in this one. And you are right, the show feels like it’s on the cusp of up-ending the status quo.
Once you see the first few episodes of season C, I highly recommend checking out the Big Finish audio “Warship”. It takes place between the Season B finale and the Season C premier. Great stuff.
How and when did Travis make contact with the Andromedans?
The sabotaged computer problems appear to have been going on for at least two months ("hasn't stop raining for 60 days") and yet Travis left Goth only hours before the Liberator, and the Liberator crew at the start of this episode have clearly only just started debating the information they got from the fool, suggesting that only a very, very short time has passed since Jenna said, "And on, with luck, to Star One."
If Control was moved to Star One 30 years ago, and the technical crew there are the only ones who have ever been there, how come Lurena doesn't appear to be a day older than 30 herself, probably younger?
On that note, the long-term maintenance of Star One does not appear to have been considered at all by the Federation; what can possibly be done about replacing the technicians when they grow old and die? If no one knows where Star One is, how can replacement technicians ever be sent there?
Why can't the Andromedan fleet just fly AROUND the defence zone?
The mine-zone, and Servalan's completely unskeptical reaction to the news of an alien fleet entering Federal space via the 11th sector, indicate that the Federation must have known for many years about the threat from Andromeda. (It's also probably what the monopasium-239 fuel was all about in 'Horizon'; the Federation was probably planning to invade Andromeda and attempt to destroy the aliens before they could ever cross intergalactic space.) So why have they never built a fleet to remain permanently stationed on that galactic frontier to guard against it?
Why is there no antimatter minefield surrounding Star One itself, to guard against attacks from the other galaxy, or from rebels like Blake?
Why has Star One been selected as the location for Control, given it is more or less exactly on the route the Andromedans would always have to take to invade the Federation? Surely having the most critical nerve-centre of your entire society exposed on the front line of a potentially existential war is about the most brainless strategic decision the Federation could ever have made?
Why don't the aliens just blow the Control centre up as soon as they have command of it, instead of spending ages messing around with the computers, conveniently giving the Liberator crew and the Federation fleet 'just enough' time to arrive and save the day?
Why doesn't Travis make certain he's killed Blake after shooting him? Or at the very least have him disarmed and put in restraints of some kind?
On that point, there's no doubt someone moved Blake after he was shot, as he had fallen on his face, and yet when he shoots Travis and Stot, he is sat propped up against the wall. So why did whoever moved him leave his gun on him, and not think to tie him up?
I admit I do still enjoy the episode, as it has some great character moments, especially Avon's resentment of Blake finally breaking to the surface, and Cally for perhaps the first time in her life starting to question the cause she has spent so long fighting for. The irony at the end of the Liberator crew having to defend the Federation after spending several years trying to destroy it is undoubtedly delicious. And thank goodness they quickly shut down Terry Nation's cheesy idea of having the Daleks be the alien invaders.
It's just a shame you have to take your brain so far off the hook in order to really enjoy the story.