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Death-Watch (312)
I like this episode, and that Star Trek is canonical in the B7 universe.
I wonder if it was part of their past, or just that the Federation was based on a popular and inspiring old vid series. After all, they pretty much turned the Star Trek insignia on its side.
Del Tarrant has a brother called Deeta as well as some unspecified relative (I go for uncle in my fanon) called Dev. To me this implies that all Tarrants may have names beginning with De. Was their father Derek and their sister Delia? I'm also betting that the name Del is the Jack of the future, what with Del Grant and at least 10 planets.
OK, Star Trek and Tarrant naming conventions aside, this really is a good episode. Champions meeting in single combat isn't a new idea, but it's updated for SF with sensor nets in the combatants' brains that allow spectators to experience death or killing. It's reality TV taken to the extremes it would love to go to (and probably will). I'm surprised that Vila went for it, but I'm also intrigued about Vinni, the android who thought he was human, and was such a good copy of one that the only oddness Dayna detected was his inhuman speed. He certainly can't have the mechanical relays the Avalon android had. I'd like to know more about Vinni and how he was created. Perhaps they implanted personality in a similar way to that of clone Blake.
I don't see Avon and Vila going for the whole idea of a fight to the death being entertainment. Vila might enjoy the festivities surrounding it--they have drink and nibbles on the flight deck, and he teleported back when there was nothing going on--but I really can't see what Avon would enjoy about it.
Cally is all sanctimonious again, but yay, she uses her telepathy at the end in a way that should have happened more.
I like the media people and Max the diplomat and friend. The whole idea of the duel is very well done without any clunky exposition. The only weak spots are the crew's reaction being rather out of character, the arena chosen being disappointingly boring (for me anyway), and the set at the end being the same as at the beginning. Passenger ships might have a standard layout, but they're big.
Costumes: You know what I'm going to say about The Matador, so I won't. Apart from Dayna's green, which suits her, the rest of the crew's weren't great either.
But awww, nibbles and drinks on the flight deck! I hope they did that more often than we saw.
Nice title too, considering the sensor nets.
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B7 doesn't seem to go in for emotional responses, so I think that's all you get from Tarrant. They're probably all as repressed emotionally as Victorians, growing up in a society where anyone could betray you or use your weakness.
I do think the crew could have reacted a lot more in character: Vila repelled by the actual duel but eager for peripheral fun, Dayna fascinated by being able to experience the technique of another warrior, Avon not interested at all. Early Cally might have been interested too, but she's so cold and detached and superior this season.
I agree the ball was dropped in S3 (though not as badly as S4) and it made me miss Blake greatly for the direction he gave them. This was a series whose time had come, and they shouldn't have changed their minds and continued.
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Oooh yes, that's a good way of describing it. One thing that was always clear in B7 is that these people have joined together out of necessity, not choice. So there is rarely anyone willing to share confidences. What I got from Deeta's death was that Dayna was expecting Tarrant to be grieving but he pushed emotion (and her) aside. Doesn't mean the grief isn't there, though -- and he's not the only character who automatically goes into denial.
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As for their reactions to the "entertainment," Vila looks visibly disappointed to me that it isn't about wine, women and song. Avon's reaction I see as a smug sort of satisfaction that his opinion of the wretchedness of human nature is, again, confirmed.
You missed the weird Avon-Servalan "rule violation." I remember watching that the first time and thinking, wtf? And it's at that point when I start to see Avon dropping his marbles on the floor, so that S4 didn't really come as a big shocker to me.
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The rule that there's no violence and all that? They made it fairly clear, and if Avon or Dayna had killed Servalan, the Federation fleet would have legitimately moved in which was what they were trying to avoid. I do think Servalan had something when she called Avon a future friend; they might have worked very well together.
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Yes, he hadn't wanted to say goodbye in such a public situation. When I first saw this episode in the 80's there was very little reality TV, so it always seemed a bit of an over-reaction when shows warned about extreme death/killing/etc experiences. These days? With the obscenely voyeuristic "big brother" stuff that gets broadcast around the planet, it makes much more of a chilling impact. I agree, reality TV would love to go there.
P.S. Yay for drinks and nibbles on the flight deck. :D It was always fun to see the crew eating together because it was (worryingly) rare.
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We rarely see them doing ordinary things. I think in "Moloch" (which I refused to rewatch) they're playing games and Vila is serving drinks. It would have been nice to have a few glimpses, like a meal interrupted by an attack.
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I wonder if it was part of their past, or just that the Federation was based on a popular and inspiring old vid series. After all, they pretty much turned the Star Trek insignia on its side.
Haha, it would be fantastic if they were referencing ST! I was of the Next Generation generation, but that show aired the year after I'd seen the final episode of B7. Every time TNG mentioned the Federation I would shudder in fear! *lol*
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It's one of my favourite eps, and certainly the one that's sparked most fic for me! But one thing I can't figure is Avon's strange reaction to Max's handshake. He isn't that averse to being touched, he takes part in normal social courtesies often enough but here he looks as if it's downright distasteful to him.
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I meant to comment on the handshake! Perhaps handshakes aren't a Federation custom, and it's an invasion of Avon's personal space. Avon has a very odd relationship with his hands though. He often looks at them as if examining or checking them, or as if they're not quite part of him. He does touch others a lot, but not their skin (though now I think of it, he touches Vila's face in 'Orbit', and maybe that's another sign of his slipping control).
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It showed that Avon was already fighting the Federation by this point and the crew was very focused in taking down Federation targets at the beginning of the episode. This is the first time they call themselves, warriors.
To me it showed that Blake was superfluous and the ship under Avon was far better organized and managed in terms of fighting the Federation. No more randomly going around blowing up things without much thought or planning.
Apart from that, more reasons why I love this episode:
1) Avon shows he cares about the crew far more than Blake ever did. When he realizes the crew is tired and one of them points out that they need rest, Avon actually does something about it immediately rather than a) giving lame excuses that there is nowhere for them to rest, without even pretending to look for any places to rest, and b) trying to fill the crew up with more drugs so they can continue working.
2) Avon doesn't work his crew to death to the point where they need drugs just to stay standing because of severe stress-induced pain.
3) Avon shows that he is a far better man and more sensitive than either Tarrant or Vila. When Tarrant and Vila act boorish and gung-ho about this barbaric entertainment, it is Avon who shows sensitivity and understanding about the views of the female crew members.
4) Through the actions of Avon and the crew, they save two worlds and thwart Servalan's plans, no luck involved. Unlike most of Blake's which usually required dumb luck to succeed and usually at the end of the day, didn't even meet the objectives other than barely escaping with their lives.
5) Another reason why I love this episode is that Avon actually listens to Vila and takes him seriously when Vila points out they are tired and shows that he has been doing research (yeah, Vila knows how to look for places to rest, he asks ORAC...what was Blake's problem? Couldn't spare ORAC because it was far more important to look for information on Control than the health of the crew who was physically falling apart?). This is Avon listening to Vila and respecting what he was saying as a human being, apart from his role as thief and lock-picker, something which Blake never did for Vila.
For me, this was an episode to make me feel that the show was much better, and far better focused and the crew more successful after Blake left.
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Some of the crew are out of character though. Vila's not normally keen on violence, and Dayna is, yet they seem to have swapped opinions here. OK, Vila fancies the chance of some side festivities, but Dayna's never shown much feminine delicacy before; I think she's just annoyed that she didn't know what it was all about.