vilakins: Vila with stars superimposed (tab)
Nico ([personal profile] vilakins) wrote2008-07-27 03:44 pm

Volcano (303)

Not with a whimper, but a bang!

Yes, I'm way behind. Is anyone still interested in these reviews?

And the second prize for the most gratuitous and lame use of not very special ordinary effects goes to Volcano for the running Pyroans. WTH? The first time I saw this, I thought they had limited teleport. What was that about?

A Pyroan victory
I can't stand the Pyroans. Hower is a sanctimonious bastard who is quite happy to raise his son as a potential weapon, and to kill him when he actually fulfils that role--though of course he wouldn't dirty his hands. No, that's what the drinks robot is for. As for the rest of them, they seem to have had any intelligence and sense of self-preservation (or maybe even self) conditioned out of them. And killing all your people (at least Hower does actually push the button) is hardly a peaceful act. Mind you, they seem to have been rather incompetent planet-busters since their bomb was leaking radiation and slowly killing them all. Bit of an own goal there, Hower. I'm surprised that Cally, who objected to restraining a rampaging Gan, could regard suicide as winning. I'm with Vila.

So explain already!
I'm also with Vila in not understanding this little exchange:
AVON : Zen was picking up a signal from the ground. It could have been some kind of beam approach detector.
CALLY: You didn't say anything at the time.
AVON: No, I didn't.
CALLY: Why was that?
AVON: Because I wasn't sure.
CALLY: That wasn't the reason, Avon.
AVON: No, it wasn't.
VILA: You gonna let me in on the secret?
AVON: You wouldn't understand it if we did.
If it was just that Blake might have been there, what wouldn't Vila understand?

The crew
Vila questions Tarrant's background, and I have to wonder whether Avon checked it out. Hower thinks he still sounds like a Space Fleet captain.
I wonder why Vila put a bracelet on Cally. If he hadn't, she wouldn't have teleported. Did he really think she'd be safer on the surface because the ship was being attacked? Not with that lot, she wouldn't.
I do like how Vila bluffed Servalan out of range. I thought he ought to have actually fired on her, but I suppose it was safer to scare her off then have the rest of the ships return fire with just him to deal with it.
And I love Avon and Vila's little scene after Vila's set Avon's arm. They seem easy in each other's company despite how bad things look.

The enemy
Mori and Servalan are fairly predictable, but I did like the matter-of-fact Battle Commander. Not out of the Alpha drawer by his accent, but a competent, tough old warrior.
So Servalan hasn't yet named her successor as Supreme Commander. She seems to continue in that role throughout this season.

Pull to open (see icon)
I confess to noticing that Vila appears to be wearing nothing under his laced-up tunic. Not only that, but Tarrant is using the same fastening system (I do like his padded jerkin though). What possessed them both?
Tarrant laughed. "Going for provocative, Vila?"
"Well, a man can live in hope. Just one tug on each to unwrap the package. Right, Cally?"
Cally did not even look up from her station. "What was that?" she said distractedly.
"'Hope' is the operative word in your case. In mine however," Tarrant said with a blinding grin, "it would be 'certainty'."
"Want to put money on it?"
"One hundred credits. Are any of those bootlaces left?"
Not a bad ep apart from the Pyroans.

[identity profile] redstarrobot.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
I'm surprised that Cally, who objected to restraining a rampaging Gan, could regard suicide as winning.

This is the woman who spent her entire first episode trying to commit suicide in order to win. :)

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
Suicide is only worth it if you're taking a lot of others with you, which Cally intended to. The Pyroans didn't IIRC.

[identity profile] redstarrobot.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, but it was symbolic. She wasn't going to accomplish anything on Saurian Major, it was just on principle. Same for the Pyroans.

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
Still not an idea I'd subscribe to. I'm a survivor. Mind you, once the radiation sickness set in...
arenee1999: (B7)

[personal profile] arenee1999 2008-07-27 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
It's been a while since I watched this episode. I'll have to try to watch it tomorrow to refresh my memory.

I didn't much care for the pyroans either.

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
They seemed to be cattle led by a git.

I'm working my way through S3 if you're interested. :-)
arenee1999: (Avon Geek)

[personal profile] arenee1999 2008-07-28 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
I'll have to try to remember to watch the episodes. :)

I did watch Volcano a couple hours ago. Aside from a few scenes here and there I don't really care for the episode much. There wasn't really a point to it. Except of course Servalan luring the Liberator into a trap.

I didn't hate Tarrant as much as I normally do. Although I think that may have something to do with [livejournal.com profile] vandonovan's fic. ;) The scene with Vila and Avon is great. I love this exchange: CALLY: Avon, repeat that. Message indistinct. Repeat that.
VILA: Communications blind spot. Or maybe he landed in the volcano.
CALLY: No, I think he's all right.
VILA: Yes, of course he is. There isn't a volcano alive that would dare to swallow Avon.
CALLY: Be quiet Vila.
VILA: He's cold enough to put out the fire anyway.

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-28 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
It's probably true. Avon would intimidate a mere volcano.

[identity profile] popcorn-oracle.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
Aha, I'm far enough(finished now) to read your review this time!

Yeah, Hower was a pretty serious hypocrite. I mean the concept of Volcano was kind of interesting, though I found the EP a bit on the slow side in parts.

I don't know what's up with Avon's "You wouldn't understand" to Vila either. All I can figure is not wanting Vila to think he's sentimental about Blake/being concerned about Vila's opinion of him? Even that seems a little weird. Does Cally know what he's going down there for? I'd have to rewatch that scene to see what they were inferring with that.

Avon and Vila interaction in Volcano was so adorable! I have a lot of screencaps from that episode with the two of them together, working on the ship and everything. They seem to work together without needing words, and Vila being all "You did pretty well, I must say/ Must you?" was pretty cute too.

And yeeah, can't mention Volcano without talking about his outfit in it. Definitely one of my favorites. I'm bad and don't really recall Tarrant's though!

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
That Vila and Avon scene is all kinds of cool. Even though they're dejected, they have hope and each other. :-) And Vila wasn't useless! This is a plus post Nation.

Tarrant looked very fetching in his tunic (which I've seen in in RL at Star One) and has a shirt underneath with the same laces (http://www.framecaplib.com/b7lib/html/chars/images/volcano/group/volca109.htm?subj=512)! Hee.

[identity profile] popcorn-oracle.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
(Vila and Avon hope is <3)

Oh! With all the awful outfits poor Tarrant gets put into, that's definitely one of his better ones. He looks pretty good in it, I agree~.

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
That's my favourite of his. Many costumes have names (esp Avon's) and that one's the Prince Charming. :-)

[identity profile] sallymn.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
Tarrant at this stage - IIRC - was still wearing Blake's old Robin Hood castoffs...

[identity profile] sallymn.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 06:47 am (UTC)(link)
I have to admit, early-mid Series 3 is the part I'm weakest on, since it's rather boring (I liked Kairos - yes truly and for real! - and I know Powerplay, 'cause I've rewritten it) and Volcano seemed the epitome of the muddle-and-go-nowhere that turned me off...

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
It was good in parts (like the curate's egg?), but I did say "not bad" which it isn't compared to some yet to come. [steels self] They will get commentaries, not reviews, and that includes HoK.

[identity profile] thetisonline.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
The running Pyroans was pure art-ty. LOL

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2008-07-27 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I suppose it was to show elapsed time, but it... doesn't really.