Killer (207)
Killer trousers and a chiller ending.
This is one of the few episodes I can remember something of from when I first saw the series: Bellfriar's last words which sent a chill of horror down my spine. And it's a great episode for all sorts of reasons, very few of them related to...
The Costumes
What was the costume designer thinking? The horrible brown cockroach capes one of which Avon shoves at the appalled Vila are bad enough, but there are also Bellfriar and Gambrill's stiff white things with the protruding tails and embarrassing random creaks, the Michelin Men, and the Headbands of Mysterious Rank. White seems to be medical, and black communications; is Tynus's pus yellow for management?
It's not all bad though. We do get Vila's killer trousers, displayed most to advantage in that orange chair. Why don't we see them again? Were they considered too sexy for Vila's character? :-(
Blake and Jenna
This is one of the episodes that shows a certain affection and respect between Blake and Jenna that I usually construe as friendship, but this comes the closest to suggesting a relationship when Jenna is concerned about Blake teleporting down to Fosforon. As for Blake explaining the history of space flight to her, in my personal fanon Jenna can list all the current spacecraft and how to evade or attack them, but was just never interested in history. She's very practical. She wouldn't see the point.
Bellfriar and Gambrill
I love these two. Bellfriar is so dry and faintly amused, and Gambrill is eager and enthusiastic and I wish he'd lived to collect a pension. They make a great team, and I love that they immediately 'forget' Blake's name. Which leads to an interesting question: the Federations blackening of said name appears not to have worked.
Like Tynus, I wonder why a scientist of his eminence should choose to bury himself on Fosforon. Was he also a dissident who agreed to serve the Federation in a remote in unpleasant place to protect is family?
Avon and Tynus
Tynus seems so glad to see 'Kerr' that I can for once see the slash. I’d say the attraction was one-sided, at least in the present, because Avon is quite cold towards him. However he did once protect Tynus, and I suspect that the fraud they were involved in was the one Avon was sent to Cygnus Alpha for. Avon does tell him that "you would be sweating out the rest of your life on a convict planet" and that was what he was himself sentenced to.
Vila
I choose to believe him about being a vegetarian, not just because most don't. but because otherwise Avon would have made a sarcastic remark about the big steak he ate the other night, but he let it pass.
The darkling zone plague
I wish we'd learned more about the Bermuda Triangle in Space and the aliens there who decided to wipe out all space-going Terrans and confine them to their own planet. It's a very nasty and clever idea with a very long implementation time which shows an interestingly alien point of view.
How was the plague passed though? Not through air circulation as Blake thought, because Vila and Avon would have died too. I think it's touch. Zombie Wardin touches Wiler when it strangles him, then the three observers rush in and two of them touch Wiler. Gambrill doesn't, but later he tries to stop Tak and others spreading the contagion. Perhaps Bellfriar got it from touching the test tubes.
An excellent and still chilling episode; pity about the Fosforoners' costumes.

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I like the idea that perhaps Tynus was involved with Avon's fraud that sent him to Cygnus Alpha; would make an interesting fic. I got the impression though that it had been longer since they had seen each other than that. Of course, I could be wrong. I definitely think there's more there than we see, and I find it interesting Vila's the one on the job with Avon when he doesn't open any doors or locks or steal anything. Avon just wants to bring Vila down to meet his old ex, eh? Haha.
I love the idea that Vila is a vegetarian. I would have never guessed most people don't believe that. It makes so much sense for his character!
And of course there's the whole opening sequence of them in the flowers. Why didn't they just teleport inside? I love when sometmes they can and sometimes they can't for no reason other than some technobabble, hahaha. I wish Tynus hadn't died. In fact, it's really a shame so many die in this serial. Are Avon and Vila the only ones that get out? I think they are. That's pretty horrific, even if it would have happened without Blake's involvement. I do feel the B-Plot with the plague was a bit wasted. It would have been nice to see some repercussions from that. Although I guess it does lend some credence later to Star One when Blake warns Servalan about the invading aliens..
Anyway. One of my favorites. :)
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It would, yet I don't think I've ever come across one.
I got the impression though that it had been longer since they had seen each other than that.
Me too, but Avon mentions exile to a penal colony and as far as we know, Cygnus Alpha was his first. I can't see him being accepted back into Federation society enough that he was in a position to embezzle if he was convicted before that--they're an unforgiving lot.
Why didn't they just teleport inside?
They didn't want to end up in a reactor as Blake said later? Or in the middle of a crowd of troopers? I think some places were described as shielded too, presumably against eavesdropping and comms beams. They do seem to always teleport to the outside and then break in.
Yep, Avon and Vila are the only survivors. If anyone wasn't infected and got outside, I doubt they survived long in such a bleak place.
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I do like to see the side of Blake which cares about what happens to people, rather than destroying the Federation at all costs.
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I think Blake's rather like Vila: it's easy to kill those you can't see (on a base, ship, or space station) but when they have a face, it's different.
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Vila's trousers are wonderful. I always love Avon's costumes (yes even the red lobster suit)
It does seem like Tynus was involved in Avon's embezzling scheme, but it also seems like it's been longer than that since they saw each other.
I really like Blake in this episode. He has a mystery to solve and he's not hellbent on destroying the Federation at all costs.
They could have done a lot more with the plague storyline.
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Blake is great! I often wonder if he thought about the bases he blew up before that and whether they were full of Bellfriars and Gambrills.
I'd like them to have met the darkling zone aliens in a later ep. SO many interesting things get raised and just dropped.
Camp
Pity the cast denied it. The series would make a lot more sense if the characters were meant to be seen that way. I do wonder what they thought viewers would think? Or if they thought at all. Continuity...it would have been nice if someone was paying attention. However it seems that sometimes in regards to that, they were asleep at the wheel.
Re: Camp
I heard about PD and the slash kerfuffle. I don't see Avon or Blake (and definitely non of the other crew) as gay, but OTOH I'm not sure how much we can go by what PD thought of Avon, because his interpretation is a cold-hearted psychopath who despised everyone. He was allowed to portray that in S4, but other aspects of Avon still slipped through, like the look on his face when he realises he will have to kill Vila.
Tynus just comes across that way, though Avon's response to him certainly doesn't. I'd say that if he was attracted to Avon, it was completely unrequited.
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But I think that Avon's idea of the obligations of a gentleman would require him to try to keep Tynus out of harm's way--and then it would be only human to resent Tynus for, so to speak, being kept out of it.
On the other hand, if Avon was at least a semi-professional criminal (...and his having known Keiller rather suggests this...) then, whether or not Tynus was an Accomplice With Benefits, then Avon had more reason to believe he could manage the bank job, because he'd already committed other crimes with some degree of success.
I'm not too crazy about Tynus/Avon (although I've written it several times) because it doesn't say much for Avon's taste to have a boyfriend who is not only funny-looking but kind of creepy, but Tynus may have other good qualities that we don't get to see.
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The way I see it, Avon was doing it for himself and Anna, and Tynus was an accomplice whom Avon trained with and presumably had some expertise or contacts Avon needed. I can see him being attracted to Avon who didn't feel the same way, but was not above using it to draw Tynus into the scheme.
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The initial bank job Avon tried, the one which he also planned to bring down Federation Banking (this could be the 500 million one which the Ultras were referring to) was the one which Anna was originally brought to investigate him for.
Anna said that she had let him go. And Avon didn't leave until a week later, after he found out she was dead. It could be that she really had decided to let him go and had it leaked that she was dead, knowing that he would never leave as long as he thinks she is still alive.
So after that, Avon is a hunted man and would have to assume a new identity and operate more on the fringes of society, dealing with people like Keiller. And perhaps in one of his later jobs (the 5 million which got him caught and he ended being exiled to Cygnus Alpha) is when he met up with an old school buddy, Tynus again and they both tried to fraud together.
Don't think much of an Avon/Tynus pairing. But it may be that Avon, during his time in school with Tynus, it was a time in his life before he became paranoid and stopped trusting people. And seeing Tynus again, that old association still held.
PD and Avon
Ah, to only travel back in time and tell the B7 people: skip the psychology, it is not your strong point!
They didn't even know the difference between psychotic and psychopath.
If you've ever read the 1981 Sidgewick interview with PD, it was Vere who thought that Avon was a psychopath. Wish Vere had cracked open an encyclopedia and looked up the disorder. It seems Paul went along with at the time. However in later interviews he back peddles.
One story I'd like to strike from canon (besides Animals) is Orbit.
Orbit creates a paradox, because it's highly unlikely that anyone but a psychopath could do what Avon did. Yet psychopaths can not love. They lack fear, basically have no emotions.
So that sets up a paradox for "Blake." Avon acting horrified and shocked after he kills him. A psychopath can't do that. So, I wish somebody had just looked it up. Then we think, why should we feel sorry that Avon is killed too? Psychopath or not, Orbit makes Avon a monster.
Some fans and fanfic writers have it where Avon was stressed, he was insane. Paul Darrow says something to that effect too, that Avon was not mad, but stressed. However, all the characters were most likely stressed, and did not go about trying to toss their fellow crew members overboard. And I've noticed that one of the stories in fanfic that is rewritten frequently, is Orbit.
Avon's actions on the shuttle seem very deliberate. As if Avon lacked a conscience. There is no disorder or madness that causes this, save psychopathy aka sociopathy. And it's fixed, not on again off again.
Unless Avon was hallucinating, and thought Vila was a spider from Kairos...well that would be psychosis.
Plus, that late in the game, it's a slap in the face. Never mind the numerous plot holes in the story. I noticed that Hafren pointed out the one about: why did Avon bring a gun he can't use? Why? Just so we can have those sickening last 8 minutes. I can think of several more plot holes. This was not one of Robert Holmes better stories.
So, for me, I have to pretend that Orbit never happened. I would like to start a meme in the fanfic community: Orbit never happened. Don't need it for the last story: Blake.
And oh, toss Animals in there too if you like.
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Yet psychopaths can not love. They lack fear, basically have no emotions
This is why I totally reject the idea that Gan and Avon are psychopaths. However I don't think that Avon behaves like a psychopath in 'Orbit'.
1) It is Avon's sort of logic to kill Vila rather than let them both die--but he doesn't even think of it till Orac suggests it
2) He hesitates and looks shocked when Orac tells him how much Vila weighs
3) He calls out in an odd voice, in effect telling Vila where he was (so he was in two minds about killing him
However both Avon and Vila are very out of character in 'Orbit'. Avon does not take teleport bracelets but a gun he leaves inthe shuttle, he acts all chummy and manic with Vila, Vila acts like an absolute idiot with the girls and doesn't object to Egrorian's treatment of Pinder or his pawing of Vila's knee.
So, for me, I have to pretend that Orbit never happened.
Me, I'd rather pretend that 'Blake' never happened. Or all of S4 for that matter. Still, my rejection of wholesale death and the despicable message that fighting for right and justice is doomed to failure did drive me to write fan fiction.
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Yes, the look on Avon's face when ORAC tells him how much Vila weighs. It had not even occurred to Avon to think of that before ORAC mentioned it. And it does make me wonder about ORAC making that suggestion. ORAC is not simply relaying information. ORAC is not a simple computer, it had to have known the implications of what it was telling Avon.
It sort of reminds me of ORAC's appeal to Avon in Headhunter, when it suggested to him that they should leave Vila and Tarrant in danger, because it would be too dangerous to bring them up, something which Avon at that point instantly rejects and insists on bringing them back up.
There are several things I do like about the episode though in terms of Avon and Vila's relationship, but only a very few.
1) Near the beginning, Avon actually asks Vila if he wants to volunteer to go with Tarrant and Dayna and when Vila refuses, Avon doesn't press it.
2) The two of them seem very much in synch in that episode until the final minutes, they even walk in synch together.
3) The interaction between the two of them on the way to Malador is actually quite nice. They are almost speaking to each other like equals with Avon even asking Vila for his idea and not ridiculing it or making a snarky remark when Vila gives one that is not that helpful.
4) People have said how Avon's voice is a conning, conniving one when he hunts Vila so that is not unnusual. But the thing is that this is completely different from Avon's normal character and voice. Anyone hearing this voice would know that Avon is either up to something, has been taken over by aliens or something is very wrong with him. Who in his right mind, when trying to persuade someone to do something, would use a voice which does not sound normal for them?
One thing which I noticed, which I'm not sure if is of significance is the way Avon acts afterwards back on the Scorpio. Now everyone remembers the line he says to Vila. But do you notice Avon's manner before that? When he is giving an account of what happened? The positions they are all sitting/standing is very similar to where they were in earlier scenes in the episode. But this time it is very different. For most of this time, when Avon is giving the account of what happened, he is very subdued, almost not moving, he sits in a way that he avoids direct eye contact with any of them (and especially Vila who is standing directly in front of him) until Tarrant asks him the question and he responds that he couldn't find Vila and then Vila makes that remark that he is glad that he didn't. Then when Avon says his line, it may be my imagination, but he seems to give a little shake of his head to Vila, which I don't understand. Has anyone noticed it or is it my imagination?
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They both seem pointless though: it can't be hard for the crew to figure out what happened from Avon and Vila's comments and the shuttle's trajectory, and Vila knows he isn't safe.
I'll have to look out for that when I watch 'Orbit' again.
Re: PD and Avon
Sorry the previous post was off topic
On the episode at hand...yes, the cockroach capes, ick! However within the plot of that story, here we have another conundrum with Blake's character. Blake doesn't want the plague to spread, he doesn't want to take that responsibility of causing that many deaths. (I wish the writers had remembered that.) Yet blowing up Star One is okay I guess (lol). I wish the writers had tied this episode into Star One. Implied that some aliens had set that craft adrift, in the hopes of wiping out humanity.
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I don't like his intention to destroy Star One either, but it's a very contentious issue in fandom.
Yes, I'm with you
Also, I read a lot of your fanfic, yours, Entropy's, Kalinda's the whole gang.
I see challenges and the like. Some of the stories are way better than what we got in the actual series. Too bad you guys weren't the writers back then. Imagination is the only limit, and it seemed lacking in the series sometimes . Terry Nation even said he ran out of ideas early on.
So, I thought of this. Remix the whole series. It could be a group project.
I've read where you've said that Vila could have used a better friend, I agree.
And there were so many things that the series missed the boat on. And where do I read better versions of what might have been? Fanfic, mainly right here on LJ.
So, what if we borrowed a bit from dialog tried to make the characters sound in character, remixed the whole thing and made our own version that makes some sort of sense?
As for Avon, well I go to the Horizon site and a lot of male fans there seem like a psycho Avon. These guys, complain when a fanfic story makes Avon more human. However, I've only seen that complaint out of a handful of males. Yet it seems most fanfic is written by women, and a huge chunk of PD fandom is comprised of women.
I'm guessing with Paul, he misinterpreted what fans wanted to see. Or he was out of touch, or ignored it or was given his information by demented 12 year old boys (who might be members of Horizon now...lol). Well, at least in the end, Paul can sing: I did it may way.
Perhaps they ignored female fans, thought dressing the men in leather would do it for us. If Ben Steed is anything to go by, the sensibilities of women were ignored. Kids watched that show and they knew it. What does "Power" tell little boys? What does it say to we girls? Forget Women's Lib boys and girls, men are just better or something like that, it's unfair but true. Sigh.
Some fans don't know, although you probably do, that Terry Nation was not happy about the final episode. I saw an old interview with him on Youtube. He said he was angry, for a long time.
And that "they" kept it from him, until after the fact. I suppose they would be: Chris Boucher and Vere Lorrimer.
And so we know that Terry tried to bring it back.
Too bad this idea wasn't thought of: The crew never got off Terminal, they've been under that dream machine. And for the actors who did not or could not come back, they were eaten by Links. Problem solved.
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'Power', like the other sexist episodes 'Harvest of Kairos' and 'Moloch' was written by Ben Steed otherwise known as Ben Stud and B Stard.
A good place to post this sort of thing might be
Re: Yes, I'm with you
At a minimum that would most likely have been Darrow and Keating. (Without Blake *or* Avon, I don't think the BBC would have thought it feasible and Avon desperately needs at least one foil.) I don't know if the other three in Avon's crew would have wanted to continue or not, but if they were willing, I'm sure the writers would have saved them. The only one who definitely wouldn't have come back was Blake because Gareth Thomas insisted he was coming back only to have Blake killed off and he certainly wouldn't have wanted to soften his death scene by resurrecting the character.
Re: Yes, I'm with you
One thing I don't like about GT is that from the beginning it was clear that he never intended to continue with the Blake character. From what Croucher (the Travis one) said, Blake went into B7 solely to use it as a stepping stone for his own theatre career and once he did that, he would leave. And after he left, it bothered him because the show kept the name B7, people thought he wasn't available for other work and this interfered with his career and that is why he insisted that the Blake character be completely killed off.
It is also interesting that GT has done audios since reprising the Blake character, but he steadfastly refuses to do any PGP ones. In his mind Blake is dead and will always stay dead.
Re: Yes, I'm with you
Re: Yes, I'm with you
Mark of Kane
Logic of Empire
Travis: The Final Act (no new material, only some of Blake's orig dialogue from the series used)
Re: Yes, I'm with you
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I suspect that if the capes were made in a material that draped well, they would have been far less ridiculous.
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Well presumably they were good friends and Avon did save him by taking the fall himself rather than implicating his friend. And I don't think that you have to be in a slash relationship to do that for another person. There are quite a few friends I love enough to do that for (both male and female) and I assure you that none of them hint at any physical intimacy of any variety, other than a hug or two.
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Two things
Two: fanon and canon. Sure have it slash in your fanon if you want. However, in canon and in reality the actors have vehemently denied that their characters were gay. B7E got rather stroppy about slash fiction. Also, does anyone know for sure if Paul Darrow did not like slash? I've read conflicting things on the subject. If he did not like slash, does anyone know if he's since changed his mind?
If they were going to bring B7 back, having an implied m/m relationship might have been clever. Make out that the Federation is homophobic or whatever.
I also would go for a more moral human Avon. I do notice a difference between fanfic stories that women write, and it seems women write most of them. I see a trend with female writers in humanizing Avon and making him moral instead of amoral. I wish the TV series had done that.
Compare that to the authors of Logic of the Empire, written by males.
It seems to me that the desires of female fans were ignored and B7E has continued the trend. I really wish women were in charge. I bet B7 would be so much better.
Re: Two things
Yes, I know about the actors not liking slash, and I you made a similar comment further up the page. I actually go for friendship and write gen fiction myself. I said "I can for once see the slash" - note the words "for once" - and even then I said it looked one-sided.
Avon is quite moral/human underneath it all in S1 and S2, as 'Countdown show well: he risks his life for the Albians, and has done so several times before for the crew. Perhaps fanfic writers are trying to see erqaly Avon in the later, colder one.
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Was that much thought put into Tynus's character? I think what we see is more due to accident rather than design.
I do agree that Avon seemed more human and moral underneath it all in S1 and S2 and for that reason I prefer those series more.
As fans we try to glue the inconsistencies together. If Avon was possessed by evil alien spirits, that would explain a lot. It would be a reasonable explanation, at least for me. They should have summoned an old priest and a young priest. LOL
I've thought about getting Paul's book, You're Him, Aren't You?
If anyone has it, does Paul go into detail about his character inconsistencies? Is the book worth purchasing?
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Oh, definitely, but we still have to 'play the game' and make sense of what we see in terms of the B7 universe. I prefer S1 and S2 as well. I've seen a few possessed Avon stories: Cally and he were swapped on Ultraworld, he was an Andromedan who got taken over more and more with copied Avon memories in S3 and S4 and couldn't handle it...
For questions about the series or books, you're better off making a post of your own. In this case I suggest the community