vilakins | Countdown (209)

Entry tags:

blake's 7 - episode reviews

Countdown (209)

Ice-cold in Albian! A much better episode than last week's, and one that shows Avon at his best.

Rebels!
The early fight sequences are well done, and they must have blown half the season's budget on explosives (which certainly shows in the next episode). One gets a sense of the extent of the uprising and why the Federation force had to retreat. I also thought the bomb was a good device to keep a planet in line, and would be much more efficient than the later Pylene 50 as the Federation would still have a working population.

Avon
When I was a kid, I was devastated by the final episode and furious that the character I most hated was the one left standing. I fully expected to loathe Avon when I watched reruns in 2001, but was surprised to find that I liked him.
Here, Avon shows all the qualities I like so much in him in seasons 1 and 2: he is brave, selfless (even taking his bracelet off to give himself and Grant the best chance of saving the Albians) and he obviously cared very much about Anna. He may talk about selling his gadget to the Federation, but, like Vila, it's what he does, not what he says, that counts. OK, he's a criminal, but he has a set of ethics and morals that are higher than the law of the land, or in this case, Federation.
I wonder why he thought Blake wouldn't understand about Anna, having lost his own family. Perhaps it was just an excuse not to tell him; Avon is after all a very private person.

Blake
Wow, he's packed on the weight since season 1. Greg thought he looked big in 'Hostage', but I can certainly see it here. That's a real muffin-top over those tight trousers, or possible, as Greg suspects, corset.
OK, that aside, he was once again the Blake of S1, helper of the oppressed, and I can quite see why he'd stay as long as possible while Avon was in danger but I'm not sure why he demanded that Vila stay too. An expectation that everyone else shares his views, or that all have to take the same risks?

Vila
Because this is Terry Nation, Vila doesn't turn into a quivering wreck when Blake forces him to stay when he tries to teleport, but stands there beside him, obviously trusting that it will be all right, very much as he does in 'Time Squad'. He doesn't just like Blake, he trusts him.
I have no idea in terms of the plot why he had to go and find Blake to tell him about Provine as it served no purpose: he got there after Blake had already found out and shot him. And why have him immediately forget the location? He's very competent otherwise, finding the bomb by using Orac, and opening the safe.

Solium radiation and rocket propulsion
I suppose if the stuff dissipates within a day, it's not wind-borne but kills directly by radiation right through the planet. OK, I'll accept that.
But not that anyone could survive in a room where a rocket is being fired. And having the controls just under a light? I bet Health and Safety would have something to say about that. :-P

Tronos
He's not keen on the idea of killing millions, but once he's shot and knows he's dying, it doesn't seem to matter any more. I'm fairly certain none of our crew would do that. And sorry, but I cracked up when his bloody face appeared and he set off the bomb because all I could think of was that scene in the wonderful "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" B7 Monty Python video; bwahahaha! If you haven't already, do go and watch it.

Del Grant
He obviously became a mercenary after Anna 'died' and can't have had any other family or they'd be sold into slavery or killed after his desertion or treason. Like Avon, even if he's doing it ostensibly for the money, he cares enough to risk death to stay and defuse the bomb. I think they're very alike in many ways.

The bomb
Despite the lack of visible breath, I got a real feeling of cold, claustrophobia, and danger in those scenes. When Grant said that he'd lost the last pin, I thought (like many others) that Avon would just leave the drill bit in, but no. I suppose it added to the tension and the usual last-second disarming that is de rigueur. ;-)

All in all an excellent episode which told us more about Avon's past and the bravery and altruism he would vehemently deny he possesses. And I do love Vila's exchange with Grant at the end, so very him.

GRANT: Goodbye Cally, goodbye Vila. And thank you.
VILA [expansively]: Any time.
GRANT: I'll remember that.
VILA [disconcerted]: Oh. Will you?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I was almost expecting Sinofar and Giroc to turn up and chant, "Leave in the drill bit, schmuck." Either that, or Mensa!John from SGA to say he failed the test.

LOL! I would pay to see that, and Avon's reaction.

I remember watching this when it was first aired, and being gripped by it. The whole story was new and unfolding week by week. Avon and Grant being sent off together, and learning that Avon had once been in love, and the tension of the bomb defusing. It was terrific.

It's an excellent ep: character insight, tension, and well-drawn guest characters. I wish Terry Nation had stayed on.

I'm pretty sure Selson isn't the one who arms the bomb. Selson went along with Provine and got killed by the rockfall--it's the other guy (does he ever get a name?) who does it.

I love the Avon backstory in this episode. One of the things that I find interesting is the implied timeline, which seems to be that Avon wasn't arrested immediately after Anna's death. Avon describes Del Grant as someone he knew "a long time ago," which suggests more than a year and a half, plus we know that Del Grant planned revolutions on several worlds before the Albians hired him, which again suggests a longer span of time. And Avon did use the visa to get out of whatever city he and Anna were in. So I'm inclined to believe that Avon got away for a while--possibly even a couple of years--under a false identity before he was arrested and tried.

Another interesting thing is that if Del Grant's new career is planning revolutions, it suggests certain pre-existing anti-Federation sympathies. It would explain Anna being willing to let him believe she was dead.

On the other hand, no amount of explaining can make sense of Del Grant having a completely different accent from what Anna has once she turns up. Does Del sound vaguely Australian to anybody else, or is it just me?

I'm always slightly weirded out by the way the script and blocking maximize the physical contact between Avon and Grant. Since I presume homoeroticism wasn't the intention, I'm left wondering what was. Discomfort, perhaps--enemies forced into proximity. But the breathlessness and the touching really highlight the inadvertent (?) suggestiveness of some of the dialogue--"get your hand in here" and all that stuff about rods.

Blake's reaction to Grant is interesting. I love his line, "If anything happens to Avon, I'll come looking for you," of course, and Blake does come over as both protective of Avon and as desperately wanting to know what could be between Avon and the mysterious stranger. It reads very like jealousy, especially the way Blake keeps pushing to get the story.

ETA: I'm seldom nitpicky about the skience in shows like this, but the claim that Albion's polar temperatures are "close to absolute zero" bugged the hell out of me. That's the temperature of deep space. There's no way a planet with an atmosphere is going to be that cold.

You're right: it was Tronos who armed the bomb. I've corrected that. :-P

The timing is interesting. I just assumed that "a long time ago" was because Grant had been part of another life, and Avon preferred not to talk about it to Blake. Hmm. Grant could have managed several revolutions in the 2 years or so since Avon left Earth; if he's an expensive consultant, he might not spend long in each place. But that's a very interesting point: perhaps Avon was at large for a while. I don't think I've ever read a fic in which that was so.

if Del Grant's new career is planning revolutions, it suggests certain pre-existing anti-Federation sympathies. It would explain Anna being willing to let him believe she was dead.

Good point! Or she loved him anyway and decided that being dead was a good way to allow him to leave without endangering anyone else.

I'm afraid I've never noticed the difference between her and Del's accent because I've never watched the episodes close together. He didn't sound Australian to me, but then if he'd overlaid it with a British accent, I might only notice that. It might be something to query on

b7discussion so that a native speaker can answer. :-)

I think that crowding Avon and Grant together (and yes, it's very noticeable) is to heighten the sense of claustrophobia and urgency. LOL at the hands and rods though!

Absolute zero--whoa, I didn't notice that or I'd have picked at that nit! Any atmosphere would be frozen solid except for hydrogen and helium flowing gently about the landscape. [shakes head at Avon's gaffe]

Regarding the timelines, much also depends on how long we think the B7 crew have been at large. I tend to assume that one series of the show more or less equals one year of internal time, but there's no reason to think that. There could be lots of events we don't see, or there could be long gaps between events, which would fit the occasional suggestions that they spend a lot of time cruising around being bored. (On the other hand, in S2 there are frequent mentions of how they're pushing themselves too hard and they need a break . . .)

Del Grant's accent, to my ears, has just a hint of Australian in some of the vowels, but it's mostly British. I should find out about the actor's background. In any case, I think his accent is noticeably less upper-class-British than Anna's.

ETA: I just checked Wikipedia and Tom Chadbon, the actor, is British born. So my ears are imagining things.

I tend to assume it's a year or so per season, plus 8 months for S1 because of the London balls-up, so maybe 5 years overall. I'm sure there were lots of events between eps, and Vila mentions in 'Weapon' that they'd got into similar places before.

I like to think they got their break on Del 10 (a planet named for one of the many Dels in Federation history; they're the future Jacks).

Oddly enough, I've seen someone say that Grant sounded extremely upper class to them. I've never noticed either way; Rashel struck me more as having an inappropriately posh accent.

kindkit said: I think his accent is noticeably less upper-class-British than Anna's.

It makes sense to me that Anna would either teach herself to talk posh to get into Central Security, or they'd have coaches as part of tradecraft.

I do tend to wonder where the rebellions get the money to hire mercenaries (or buy silly uniforms with flap fronts, for that matter).

I do tend to wonder where the rebellions get the money to hire mercenaries

*nods* And really, you'd think the last thing a guerrilla force would want is a uniform.

I really like this episode, for all the reasons you've listed.

Blake was great. Even though he was there to find Provine, he didn't let it consume him until he didn't care what happened to the planet or the people on the planet.

Vila was intelligent (most of the time) and capable.

Avon...well, this really is Avon at his best. I don't really believe that Avon meant it when he told Blake that he wouldn't understand about Anna. Avon would have realized that Blake, maybe more than anyone, would have understood. I think Avon just didn't want to talk about it.

Yes, I think so too; Avon is a very private person. It's interesting that later he's not only willing to tell the crew but gets them to help set up his revenge against Shrinker, and tells Vila enough that he can set up the Anna cave. In fact he relies heavily on others to carry it through. I wonder what changed.

Cute icon!

Well in my personal fanon (remember that I am a B/A shipper) Avon does tell Blake about Anna, a bit later and behind closed doors. ;)

As for what changed...I think he had to tell them so they would go along with his revenge scheme. Other than Vila, none of them like the idea of going to Earth. In order for the rest of the crew to be willing to take that kind of risk they would need to know the reason. And unlike in Terminal when Avon is trying to find Blake, he doesn't completely loose his mind and take control of the ship and force the rest of them to do as he wishes.

This is one of my favorite icons. :) It was made especially for me by the lovely

jinxed_wood

I forgot to mention in my earlier comment something I find very interesting: Avon calls Del Grant by his first name. (He does when they first meet, anyway--I can't remember if he switches to "Grant" after that or just stops using a name.) Del Grant is the only man Avon uses a first name for (except Vila, and everybody uses Vila's first name). They must have been very close, which would add to Grant's bitterness at Avon's perceived betrayal.

[looks at transcript] Avon calls him Del when he meets him, introduces him to Jenna as Del Grant, and calls him Grant once in the bomb chamber.

I'm not sure if they were close, but Grant may have asked Avon to call him Del; Cauder calls him Del, so it might be a habit of Grant's. Also, Avon calls Anna 'Anna' so it sort of makes sense that he'd call Grant 'Del'.

The whole name thing is a minefield. Why is Jenna always Jenna (because women don't use surnames like most men seem to? Because she prefers it?) Why is Vila Vila? I say it's because he likes it, and Restal is the name on all the wanted posters so he'd rather not use it. All the same, there's not a lot of consistency. I'm assuming Cauder was his surname and Ralli was hers, but none of the writers seem to have thought that through.

I did once read an interview with some crewmember who said that the name thing was because it was the 1970s, and the way Britain was at the time was that people were generally known by one name, either first or last, depending on preference. Which makes a lot of sense; I would honestly find it a bit less believable if everyone in the show were going around by all first names, or all last names. Not even my group of friends is entirely consistent on that point. Some are known by first names, some by last names, and some get called by other things altogether.

some by last names

Really? Here you might get last names at a private boys' school (which may well have been phased out by now), but nowhere else. Perhaps it just seems odd to me because everyone uses first names here, unless someone has a nickname based on their surname like Jonesy or Mac.

Excellent review and great comments!

Thank you! :-)

All this talk about 'Countdown' made me go and re-watch it. :) Here are a few things I noticed:
1.)In a few scenes it sounds like Paul Darrow had a cold while they were filming this episode.
2.)I can see why

kindkit says Del sounds Australian. I can hear it too when he says certain words. 3.)I love what Vila is wearing in this episode. :)

quarryquest did a cold register for B7 (http://www.geocities.com/ruthhelenkenyon/Coldscale.html). [goes to look] You're right. Avon rates a 2/3 for this ep, and Blake a 1/2, and Vila a 1. (see the link for numbers and the progression of colds through seasons).

2) I'd have to listen again. I didn't notice that at all. :-P

3) Vila suits suede, and he seems very fond of it. I think he had that top on in 'Killer' with his killer trousers. :-) Yep, he wore it in Redemption, Pressure Point, Killer, Countdown, and the appalling VftP which I just laughed my way through.

A cold register. God, I love fandom.

I'm glad it wasn't just me hearing the Australian-ness.

The gizmo they have to disarm is just so bloody silly, it rather detracts from the tension. But plenty else to like. The end is what I find the most interesting, viz:

I wonder why he thought Blake wouldn't understand about Anna

1. Why does Blake even know her name? He didn't hear it from Avon so he must have ben talking to Grant already.

2. which might be one reason Avon doesn't want to discuss it, but I suspect another is that what he told Grant was not the complete truth. I think he had more to feel guilty about than he admitted.

3. Blake has a track record of inviting newcomers to join up without asking the existing crew what they think - Jenna has resented that before, quite justifiably. But his invitation to Grant, who he already knows represents a very painful memory to Avon, is breathtaking in its thoughtlessness, unless he has already cleared it with Avon, which I think is possible. It's interesting that the others leave but Avon stays.

I can quite see why he'd stay as long as possible while Avon was in danger but I'm not sure why he demanded that Vila stay too.

I've seen a theory that he doesn't want to risk the teleport being tied up in case Avon and Grant need it in a hurry?

But his invitation to Grant, who he already knows represents a very painful memory to Avon, is breathtaking in its thoughtlessness

I don't think Blake knows how painful, although I'd have to rewatch to be sure which parts of the conversation Blake ~~eavesdrops on~~ overhears. And, given that Avon and Grant had just worked together successfully, I think Blake, being an optimist, might well have thought that everything was okay.

Regarding Blake making Vila stay, I think it's also significant that when Vila tries to teleport up, he tries to take Blake with him too--he grabs Blake's arm and tries to speak into Blake's teleport bracelet. So I don't know if Blake is so much forcing Vila to stay as just refusing to go himself.

1. Good point. I hadn't noticed that. Avon would be very annoyed about that--and about point 3.

2. And that is another very interesting point. I like that. Perhaps removing his bracelet and trying to save Grant were--in part--atonements.

If they were keeping the teleport open for Avon and Grant, then the sensible thing would have been to teleport earlier and monitor from the ship. Otherwise Blake and Vila risk being the ones left behind and killed because they can't use the teleport. If the radiation dissipates in a day, I imagine the effect is almost instantaneous, but perhaps they had a few seconds grace that they didn't tell us about.

I think this is a crucial episode for fanfic in general, because until this point there was no indication whatsoever that Avon had any attachments to anyone, much less of the intensity that we can infer from "Rumours." Which, in turn, allows any fanwriter in an ongoing series to say that something of the sort might turn up in *that* series.

Within B7, adding "Countdown" to "Rumours" shows the amount of emotion Avon *isn't* displaying (...which could explain why they go to so many ice planets, bit of the old Pathetic Fallacy there...) and also does a lot to explain "Blake."

Moving to the narrower confines of B/A shipperdom, well, "Let me tell you about my girlfriend...fancy a tumble, Blake?" is not necessarily a predictably useful strategy.

As for knowing the Grants "a long time ago," time drags when you're having absolutely no fun!

And Blake has a very limited track record (Cally) of getting people to actually join--I bet he thinks the invitation is pro forma.

Yes, the polite thing to do in rebel company: "We do hope you can stay" while rather hoping the opposite. And besides, Grant would want a salary, decent working conditions, and some respect and consideration from management.

Though he did get Vila and Gan too; an attractive offer considering their situation at the time.

"Let me tell you about my girlfriend...

That explains very neatly why he doesn't tell anyone about Anna till S3.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Countdown (209)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject