Countdown (1979) Review

Countdown is a pretty swell execution of the old ticking clock formula, and a good character development episode for Avon.

WRITTEN BY

Terry Nation. Yep, it's got his pulpy feel alright.

PLOT

Blake, Avon and Vila travel to the planet Albian to find Major Provine, whom they suspect has information on Federation Central Control's current whereabouts. There, they discover the planet's Federation government has been overrun and a doomsday machine has been activated...

ANALYSIS

It's not a particularly innovative story, but the action-adventure aspect of it is well executed, the story moves at a brisk pace with enough twists to keep the viewer engaged all the way through and Avon's backstory, although cliched, is made fascinating thanks to Darrow's performance.

Once again, Nation brings his pragmatic touch and delivers an entertaining 45 minutes.

CHARACTERS

Giving the cynical character a heartfelt backstory is nothing we haven't seen before, but it works because it's such a deep contrast to Darrow's monotone style of acting. Having him show a more passionate side to Avon immediately instils a sense of extreme importance into his reunion with Grant and gives the episode its emotional core.

As another "friend from Avon's past", Tom Chadbon's Del Grant immediately makes a much stronger impression than the weaselly Tynus. Like Avon, he's a skilled fighter and engineer who tries to make money off of doing the right thing, but he has a more everyman quality to him. Perhaps he is what Avon would have been if Anna's loss hadn't made him a misanthrope? Or maybe that type of person is what Avon would aspire to be? After all, Grant and Blake seem to hit it off very well. Grant come across as the best of both worlds - cynical enough to survive, but caring enough to fit in well with others.

Paul Shelley is a bit hammy as Major Provine, but he makes for a surprisingly intelligent villain, blending in with the rebels and even reasoning with one of them to try to escape the situation. He's one of the more memorable non-Travis Federation officers.

NOTES

*Blake's a bit nosy, isn't he? I'm surprised Avon had the patience to deal with the unwarranted investigation into his private affairs.

*Having a terrible sense of direction, I really felt bad for Vila when he got lost in the Federation base.

*This is the second time I've noticed in Terry Nation scripts that Blake tells people to get "kitted up". It was an oft-used phrase in Series A, when they still had their color-coded parkas so I'm just wondering if Nation was unaware of the change in costume design.

*"Space hours". What the hell are space hours?

*Apparently, Nation forgot how long the bomb countdown was at some point, because he went from "a little over an hour" to "within hours".

*Why does Blake insist on hanging around on Albian when the countdown goes below 50? There's literally no reason for it.

*Why did Jenna and Cally try to teleport Avon and Grant up before they went over the safety margin?

*There's a number of too-obvious production errors - Grant and Avon do not exhale steam in below-zero temperatures. Avon takes his gloves off and touches frozen barrels without reacting to the cold. Most noticeably, the plastic tubes have inexplicably already been drilled full of holes.

*Shouldn't Grant and Avon be wearing hats or something if they're at the polar region? I know the suits can keep them warm, but the ears would still freeze off.

*Paul Shelley's brother Francis Matthews was a notable Hammer horror star.

INFORMATION!

*Blake notes Albian's situation(the population being slaves on their own planet) as a familiar pattern. He recently dealt with the same issue on Horizon.

*Grant and Avon wear the same surface suits seen in Hostage.

*They also take with them the thermos box used throughout Series A to hold equipment.

*Blake has resumed the hunt for Federation Central Control after failing to destroy it in Pressure Point.

*Avon confesses to murdering the person trying to blackmail money from him in exchange for the visas, marking his first chronological kill in the series.

BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE

"Doesn't it make you feel good to be wanted?" CONCLUSION Rather riveting stuff.