Bounty starts off with quite a compelling premise, but unfortunately peters out towards the end.
WRITTEN BY
Our boy Terry Nation of course.
PLOT
In order to revitalise negotiations for an anti-Federation alliance, Blake retrieves the melancholy ex-president Sarkoff from his exile. At the same time, the Liberator is boarded by bounty hunters seeking to trade the crew to the Federation.
ANALYSIS
About two-thirds of this episode was quite good. The touch of contemporary(and historical) Earth on Sarkoff's planet immediately made it visually distinctive, and T.P. McKenna's theatrical portrayal of the character means he's easy to root for in spite of his defeatism.
The concurrent storyline of the Liberator's takeover is also quite good. It's well directed, and I like the initial implication that Jenna may have turned against the crew. However, as the episode goes on, these promising plot points are wasted. Sarkoff's redemption is far too rushed - rather than keep him confined to the flight deck, the script should've emphasized his returning ambition and determination, and have him take control of the situation or at least attempt to do so. As it is, Sarkoff almost disappears from the episode after he goes to the Liberator. In fact, there's never any explanation for why he even remains with Tarvin.
Jenna's treachery is also largely forgotten after she helps Blake escape, and she never has to explain her actions to the crew. Nor does she have any sort of final encounter with Tarvin to prove how much she's changed since joining Blake's crew.
It's not overly egregious and I still had fun watching Bounty, but one gets the feeling that it could've been much more than the runaround it ultimately was.
CHARACTERS
The main reason to see this episode would be T. P. McKenna's Sarkoff. He is such an idiosyncratic and eloquently depressed person, and McKenna's sheer talent as an actor makes his arguments with the more down-to-earth Blake a joy to watch. Him and Thomas, as complete opposites, have a great chemistry.
It's nice to see Blake and Cally on a mission together. As an experienced freedom fighter, Cally would be closest to Blake in terms of motivation, and the two work together very well. Indeed, it's when she's acting alongside Thomas that I find Chappell to be most charming, as Blake and Cally both lack the cynical edge of their fellow crewmembers and manage to communicate without witticisms(which, as well written as they are, do demand the occasional respite).
Sally Knyvette slips back into the role of a self-serving vixen with ease(see: The Way Back), and one gets the impression that she thrived in the more shady side of Jenna, as we see her keep Tarvin's attention with calculated sensuous behaviour. As a smuggler, one would would have to use every tool available, including sexuality. However, clearly Jenna prefers the blunt honesty on the Liberator.
Carinthia West's Tyce seems to exist mostly as a plot device to compel Sarkoff. I also get the impression that her character changed from loyal bodyguard to his daughter somewhere amongst redrafting, as it's implied early on that the Federation or at least somebody installed her to look after the man. West isn't a great actress, and her line deliveries are very unsubtle, though to be fair, so is her character.
I'm not sure how I feel about the Amagons - the decision to hire Indian actors in eastern garb as sci-fi villains feels very offkey, though at least they don't do anything excessive. Let's just... leave it at that.
NOTES
*Cally has replaced her anorak with a jacket made from leopard fur.
*Gan displays stronger moral fiber than Avon, Vila or Jenna by offering to teleport across to the Star Queen. Perhaps an attempt to prove himself after the events of Breakdown?
*The direction is quite inept this episode - the guards all lack peripheral vision and drop unconscious at the slightest thing, Avon somehow fails to hear Vila's warning over the intercom, the guards don't bother running after the slow-ass car which keeps driving despite nobody pressing the pedal.
*How does Sarkoff guess that Cally isn't human?
*Why did Blake have two teleport bracelets on him if he was only expecting to take Sarkoff?
*Was Sarkoff's vinyl player broken? It made an awful lot of noise that wasn't music.
*Why would Tyce accompany the Liberator crew without Sarkoff, and why would they let her? Or was it just a ploy to get Sarkoff to come?
*Why didn't Tarvin and his men simply disarm Blake and Cally the moment that they teleported up by holding someone at gunpoint?
*I know it's Terry Nation writing, but is the microwave transmitter that fries people's heads for real? It sounds like it could be.
*I love the little touch of Avon licking his lockpick before using it on electronics.
*How did none of the crew notice Jenna very pointedly kicking the cuffs they took off from themselves? It seemed like a very obvious "I'm on your side because I'm not telling anyone" moment.
*Vila getting to tell Avon to shut up was very satisfying.
*Sarkoff's appearance, manners and car are very reminiscent of Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor from Doctor Who.
INFORMATION!
*Auron is mentioned several times, as part of Sarkoff's anti-Federation alliance.
*Like Cally(who explained her reasons in Time Squad), Ambassador Lehan is exiled from Auron due to his failure. Blake also later compares Sarkoff's exile with Cally's to gain her sympathy.
*Blake claims to have learned about Sarkoff's situation from information captured via the cipher machine that he stole from the Federation in Seek-Locate-Destroy.
VILA: "I'm entitled to my opinion!"
AVON: "It is your assumption that we are entitled to it as well that is irritating."
CONCLUSION
It's an entertaining yarn, just needs a quick rewrite.
No comments:
Post a Comment