"Do you want to resign now, or shall we go through the motions?"
REVIEW: Games presents an interesting villain in Belkov and his weaponized gaming computer Gambit, but everyone plays both sides to such a degree that the episode collapses in on itself in the confusion, with characters beaming to and fro between locations at a furious pace and an ending undercut by missing scenes. But the premise is good. The Seven want to get their hands on crystals that amplify the power of the stars, creating an unlimited power source, and Avon has secretly been running agents in the background. One of them, a geologist, has informed him of a possible stash he can steal. But Belkov also seems aware that they're coming for it and tries to broker a rescue in exchange for crystals before Servalan and the Feds do away with him. But he's also ready to sell out the Seven if SHE'LL give him what he wants. Okay episode, stop jerking us around.
What makes him interesting is 1) how affable he is, and 2) his obsession with games and therefore a security system based ON games. We wait a long time for that last element to arrive (10 minutes from the end), and our group of anti-heroes are uniquely placed to win. Soolin can outshoot her own shadow in the deadly marksmanship game. Tarrant can handle the flight simulator (cool effects!). Vila can open the fingerprint-sensitive lock. Avon and Orac calculate everything else. But while we wait on that, there's all the back and forth between the planet (a quarry actually playing a quarry!), the religious natives who use throwing triangles on Federation forces, Dayna looking cool with a gun, Vila actually shooting someone (it's only his second kill in the series), Servalan being Servalan, and Vila convincing Gambit to help him.
And that can be exciting even if it's just one element too many (the natives serve little purpose). I would have traded one of these for a properly developed ending. The final few minutes go by faster than Avon's dialogue. As it turns out, there are no crystals in the Orbiter, so it's a game you can't win. Even the necklace of crystals proves a fake, refusing to give Vila a victory. Fine, but if it has nothing to offer, how are crystals used against the black hole threat that suddenly comes up? The science here is pure bafflegab anyway. By the time you're done rubbing your eyes, it's over. Gambit's final betrayal of Belkov likewise asks more questions than it answers and feels unresolved. Just WHAT was her revenge? It's not clear (a missing scene would have shown his ship destroyed). No final reaction from Servalan either.
NOT MY FEDERATION: The game Belkov and Gambit play looks like chess, but is played on four levels/platforms, much like 3D chess is played on three + 3 more sub-platforms.
WHO?: Stratford Johns (Belkov) will soon play Monarch on Four to Doomsday. David Neal (geologist Garren) will play the President in The Caves of Androzani. Long before he wrote this episode, Bill Lyons was an actor and had featured as a guard on The Enemy of the World.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low: Plenty of good bits, but the twists and turns create a muddled plot.
Comments