Trial (206)

[vilakins]

And now for some catching up with the old episode reviews. This brings us to...

The one with the oceans of spit.

Blake
I think I agree with Avon about Blake's self pity here: his message certainly sounds that way. He must have expected that he'd lose a crewmember at some point--he is in effect at war--but perhaps there's also a guilt component because if he'd pulled out when he'd promised he would, Gan would still be alive. [ducks and covers] Even so, teleporting to what he thought was an uninhabited planet and giving the crew a chance to maroon him there seems somewhat excessive. He risks a lot--for himself and his cause.

The Crew
Jenna remains loyal to Blake, Cally seems to be reserving judgement until she knows more, and Avon and Vila talk about leaving but I'm not sure how serious they were. Vila is eager to believe that Blake really cares about them, and Avon and Cally immediately work together to save Blake as soon as they realise that he's in danger. Blake matters to them and they matter to him (even if Avon professes not to believe either).

Zil
I think she's very well portrayed, both with costume (for the era) and by the actor. I'd assume that she's telepathic as she doesn't seen to have any speech till she meets Blake, and then she picks it up very quickly.
I still can't help but see spacefall in the Japanese Gardens (where it was filmed) with a banana on her nose though. :-)

Travis
I think this and 'Gambit' are Travis 2's best episodes. Here he glowers and conveys a sense of brooding power and danger whereas in Pressure Point he comes off as sulky and petulant. He is obviously highly regarded by the troops who served under him, and we do see a glimpse of that in 'Project Avalon' when he chats easily to the guards issued with the new (deliberately ineffective) guns.
To me there a connection between plots: although Servalan wants to be rid of him, Travis is being punished for defying the oneness of his host, Space Fleet.

Servalan
Why does Servalan do it this way? She could easily disappear him while on a mission, or she could have shot him at Central Control and claimed the rebels had done it. Yes, she's having a court martial with a respected and principled arbiter, but surely that's not really to her credit: Travis was widely known to have committed genocide when she employed him, so that doesn't make her look too good to have him tried for it at a year or so later.

Miscellaneous
Is old Star-Killer a relative of Egrorian?
I loved seeing Bercol and Rontane again and Bercol's " I wish I'd known that this was going to drag on so. I'd have brought my own chef. As I recall, Space Command's cuisine is appalling," is wonderful.
Avon's gadget is proof of his brilliance as no one else appears to have one, but of course it doesn't last long. The rebels are never allowed much of an advantage except for the Liberator's speed.
It's Vila on the main blasters who frees Travis. I wonder how he felt about that when he heard.

The tinkly bit
I hate the tinkly bit at the end. I know it's Boucher and therefore Vila is stupid, the means of explaining what's going on for the slow viewer, and a butt for jokes, but having two Alphas sneer at him and him too thick to understand it is just tasteless and low.

Comments

[the-summoning-d.livejournal.com]

I do like Travis 2 in this Ep. And Parr. I always really liked Parr.

I also think it's interesting to see the change from Cygnus Alpha, where Jenna was willing to abandon Blake and run off with Avon. Whereas now she won't even entertain the possibility.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Jenna and Blake have a lot of affection and respect for each other. I see it as friendship but it's possible to see it as more.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Still one of my favorite episodes ever, this one. And I definitely think it's Travis 2's best episode. If he'd been more like this for the rest of his run, I'd have liked him a heck of a lot more than I do.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

[nods] Me too.

[babel.livejournal.com]

I really do need to rewatch this one, because it was hard for me to see past how much better Greif would be in it and how angry I was at Blake the first time through.

I do find it very interesting that Servalan goes through legit channels to get Travis. She doesn't seem like she's being rational about it at all. But, of course, I've always thought she was a bit fonder of him than she let on, which explains it just find in my mind. XD

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

This is Travis 2's best showing and it reveals more about him than many other eps.

I don't see much fondness unless she thinks of him as a dog. She talks down to him, and I always laugh at the bit in 'Pressure Point' where she hits him as if he's a naughty boy. Of course that's very demeaning, which brings me to suspect that she wanted to humiliate him and strip him of his pride in his profession and status, and have him executed by the organisation he had served. Hmm.

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the ending!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It's not even the worst one; I think that honour goes to 'Children of Auron'.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

I have no time for re-watching at the moment however going on my old memories.
I hated Brian Croucher as Travis and didn't see the point of continuing the character with a different actor even if he was half-covered with the eye-patch it's clearly two different people.
I wonder how a canonical explanation accounts for this? Did Servalan replace Travis after killing him in a fit of pique when they lost Orac?

As for the Trial it was purely for political reasons and for propaganda after all how can the Federation be "evil" if it is prosecuting its officers if they step beyond the line.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I've read a few fictional explanations for the change: Travis's younger brother, or a criminal, mind-wiped and altered to look like Travis (though why?)--and I gave him a new face from Chenga in one story.

But if it was for propaganda, why employ the guy as right-hand-sidekick up till then? Doesn't it make her look bad that she used him when his crimes were so well known? I'm now leaning towards deliberate humiliation of Travis after my reply to babel above.

[executrix.livejournal.com]

On the propaganda value of the trial: maybe they were trying to assimilate sign up a new planet with delusions of democracy and due process, so they had to pick someone who was in trouble anyway and fit him up for something he'd actually done?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. Though knowing Space Fleet has bent nutters in black leather who work for the very top echelon might not help.

[executrix.livejournal.com]

I don't think there's any depth of cynicism they wouldn't sink to--I can easily see them saying "Gosh! Thank you for bringing to our attention that we had genocidal nutters in positions of trust! We'll deal with them! Just don't expect us to give up the proceeds of their crimes!"

[hafren.livejournal.com]

I always hate tinkly bits at the end - Boucher does it again in Death Watch which is annoying - but if you wanted to, you could see this one in the context of the constant ironic parallels which run through this ep. Travis, whatever his horrendous faults, treats Par with rather more respect than Blake and Avon often treat their underlings. I still don't like it though. I do love Par and he produces good fic - Predatrix had a lovely one.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Par--and Bercol and Rontane--are wonderful characters (though of course Terry Nation created B&E). Par admired Travis for looking after his troops, though I doubt he would have given them a lot less freedom of action than Blake did, or sais he did. Blake has real affection and respect for Jenna and treats Cally as an equal (as the only other rebel) as does Avon later, but Vila consistently gets dumped on. It gradually gets nastier from now on.

I loathe tinkly bits. I first named them that for the cringe-worth Star Trek ones which had bright tinkly music to tell the viewer that this was comedy.

Avon's expression in your icon is perfect!

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Blake has real affection and respect for Jenna and treats Cally as an equal (as the only other rebel) as does Avon later, but Vila consistently gets dumped on. It gradually gets nastier from now on.

I see it as a class thing. Cally is outside the Federation class system and we know from Servalan that Jenna was high up in it. Vila isn't, and I think that does affect Blake's attitude to him, though Blake would probably hate to think so (Avon's attitude is more complex and I'd bet derives from not being an alpha himself). Blake can, from the start, be awfully high-handed with Vila.

I love Avon's face on that icon too!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I see Avon as a Beta too, promoted to Alpha; it explains so much. The class attitude is very much what I think--and had Soolin tell Vila once, to his surprise, in a story. I don't think Vila cares as much about it as the others: I see him as was used to respect and independence as a self-employed thief and being accepted on his own terms. He's quite confident and secure in himself at the start, and it's truly sad how they manage to beat him down so that his opinion of himself matches theirs by season 3.