Blake's 7 season 3 review

[altariel]

I was enjoying this review of the season 3 DVDs - it's fun and well-written - and then it handed me one of the best short reviews of 'Blake' I've ever read:

"[I]n Series 4 ... the whole thing will work up to a wonderful episode, again by Chris Boucher, in which almost every line is quoteable. It will all end up uncannily like Act V of Hamlet, duel scene, misunderstandings and all. Go, bid the soldiers shoot."

This, on our beloved Man of Iron:

"In being-annoyed scenes, he is frequently reminiscent of Rowan Atkinson as Blackadder, especially when dressed in preposterous black outfits: though he never actually says 'Fortune vomits on my eiderdown again', that is pretty often his gist."

Then this is just joyous:

"Jacqueline Pearce pretty well glories in her badness as Servalan, too, and yet that is the genius of it, because I have a feeling that the whole thing would have fallen flat if acted by - how can I put this? - actors."

I have tears running down my cheeks. Great start to the week. Go and have a read.

Comments

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

I managed to keep from laughing out loud until I came to the picture with the tally card. Ouch.

It really was a very good review, actually. Entirely apart from being funny.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

The tally card is hilarious and, yes, ouch! I laughed out loud around the caption "Paul Darrow acts" (darling, sweetheart, we were sooo much better!).

[hafren.livejournal.com]

I also very much liked this analysis of season 3:

Gareth Thomas had by this point quit as Blake, leaving the character of Avon centre stage. Now Avon is great fun, but he has no real motive to do anything in particular, and this is the problem that series 3 has

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I wish he'd reviewed the other seasons. There's one of I, Claudius.

[hafren.livejournal.com]

of course what they should have done with S3 was concentrate more on the one thing he did have a motive to do, ie find Blake.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's a shame they lose that thread so early on. It's a weird season, has no internal consistency at all. It manages to have some of what I think are the dullest episodes, and some of my very favourites.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

... yes! and this bit - the Federation has fallen to pieces, and our heroes - no longer revolutionaries - are reduced to playing tourist in the remnants.

So true...

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

>"In being-annoyed scenes, he is frequently reminiscent of Rowan Atkinson as Blackadder, especially when dressed in preposterous black outfits: though he never actually says 'Fortune vomits on my eiderdown again', that is pretty often his gist."

Priceless. This has set me up for the day.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

"Run away from the Feds, run away!"

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's brilliant, esp the description of PD's acting.

When I saw the series a few years ago, it took me a few eps to get used to the 'declaiming Shakespeare from a stage' style. I think he was a bit mean claiming that SP and JS were better than MK; quite apart from my liking for Vila, I always considered him the most natural of the regulars.

I love the tally sheet. Darling!

But... Harvest of Kairos one of the best? [boggles] That undermines everything he said.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

MK is the best throughout, no shadow of a doubt about it. JS is too mannered for me.

Harvest of Kairos one of the best? [boggles] That undermines everything he said.

I let my eye slide over that, because he'd been so funny. Perhaps he had similarly just let his eye slide over Jarvik and Brian.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

'Mannered' is just the right description.

At least he didn't praise any more B STard eps. [shudder] Or your beloved Animals. :-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

'Animals' is up soon on my season 4 viewing schedule - woo hoo! Only 'Stardrive' to get through first *gags*

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Chacune a son gout. [fast forwards]

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Both evil and affectionate, well done :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Evil and affectionate, that's perfect!

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

I also liked his review of The Two Doctors:

When I say that The Two Doctors is without merit as drama, I also urge you to buy the DVD at once.

Who could argue with that?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

A true telefantasy fan.

[julesjones]

[giggle]

That's a classic "but it's *good* bad!" review. :-) Made my day, that. Thanks.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed :-) I have been smiling on and off about it all day.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was terrific. Heh. My personal favorite bit was: "Darrow is an awful, awful, awful actor. I say this as someone who loves his performance to bits." There is, indeed, a profound and paradoxical truth in there which possible provides the key to understanding the entire series. :)

I'm kind of hoping the inclusion of "Kairos" among the best eps of the season was tongue-in-cheek, though...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Maybe 'Kairos' seemed good because he'd just had to watch 'Volcano' and 'Dawn of the Gods'.

[hafren.livejournal.com]

There's nothing wrong with Volcano! And Dawn of the Gods does at least have the Trousers.

I suspect he thought the whole Jarvik character was meant ironically, as it would have been if, say, Boucher had written it. In which case quite a lot of the ep would just have been glorious camp. I don't think it ever crossed his mind that Steed meant the character to be taken seriously.

Actually, funny and often accurate as his take on B7 is, I do think he overdoes the fun and underestimates the dark side. He talks, for instance, of joky Star Trek-type endings - to my memory, admittedly growing rapidly senile, it only happened three times, which is one reason they jar so badly.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Nothing wrong with 'Volcano' other than, well, yaaaaaawn!


I do think he overdoes the fun and underestimates the dark side. He talks, for instance, of joky Star Trek-type endings - to my memory, admittedly growing rapidly senile, it only happened three times, which is one reason they jar so badly.

'Children of Auron' comes to mind (*wince*), as well as the one about the gag about the intelligent flea (that's 'Trial', IIRC) but you're right - surely if there's one thing that makes B7 memorable it's the bloody depressing endings!

[hafren.livejournal.com]

The other one, which isn't quite so bad, is the end of Death Watch.

Volcano has my fave Avon-Vila scene, when they're alone on the ship and it becomes clear that without anyone else to impress or act for, (a) Vila isn't remotely intimidated by Avon and (b) Avon doesn't snipe at or patronise Vila. That struck me as a real insight, and I also like the bit at the start when it becomes clear how much looking for Blake they've been doing and how despondent Avon is getting about it. There's also Cally, groping for the telepath equivalent of LISTEN, YOU CLOTH-EARED PRATS!!!

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

The dog barks and everyone laughs!

The close of Death Watch isn't too painful; the third (well, chronologically the first) joky ending, which is excruciating, is when they tease Gan at the end of Breakdown.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

when they tease Gan at the end of Breakdown

*scrubs brain*

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

That was probably why he threw himself under a collapsing doorway a season later. Note that the second joky ending happened the week after Gan's death; they'd been holding themselves in all that time because of his pained expression, but once he was gone they couldn't resist doing it just once more.

[hafren.livejournal.com]

when they tease Gan at the end of Breakdown

I didn't see it quite like that. He is effectively being welcomed back among them, which is more than Avon is. That's one ep when Avon actually behaves quite decently and gets sod all thanks for it, and it's his exclusion from the group I recall from the ending. (Ditto the end of Horizon).

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love the Avon bits in Breakdown, and even more the Vila bits, when he sighs and goes for a gun because he doesn't think anyone else will do the job.

I don't think the teasing is malicious in any way, just embarrassingly stupid and unamusing.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

'Death Watch' is successful all round, I think.

That is a very good Avon-Vila scene - I guess I would think of that as a success of the script-writing across the show rather than a success of 'Volcano' as an episode. But then I'm always ready for a spot of Boucher-worship! :-D

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Fantastic, brilliant review, thanks for the link. And look *points up*, we even have some actual discussion about Blake's 7!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

we even have some actual discussion about Blake's 7!

I know! Haven't done that in ages!