Drones pops with exciting concepts, even if it's only one part of a bigger puzzle.
WRITTEN BY
Marc Platt, late 80s Doctor Who scribe. Known for, what else, exciting concepts.
PLOT
A severely wrecked Liberator crashes onto Straxis, the Federation war games planet. Whilst Blake, Cally and Vila desperately seek out Abel Garmon's help, Avon and Jenna have to protect the sunken ship from intruders.
ANALYSIS
I think where Drones excels most is at the emotional side of things, specifically the terror experienced by Vila and Orac, two characters who are usually the most reliably predictable in any story. But for once, they're not played for comic effect and it gives the episode a sober feel. Orac's storyline in particular is possibly the best usage of the character in any Blake's 7 media I've seen thus far. The brutality of Straxis also has much more impact as Platt delves into the nitty-gritty of everyday survival there, and quite rightly points out how relatively comfortable Blake and his crew are on their fantastic cruiser.
The first half of the story is wrought with tension as the Liberator is battered like never before, and then submerged on top of all that! I appreciate writing that's willing to go the extra mile, so to speak, and really make us think about how our heroes are even going to get out of this one. It's a unique and memorable crisis.
CHARACTERS
Gareth Thomas really seemed to enjoy this script. He's practically foaming at the mouth when dealing with Renderson's excesses and proudly defends his own point of view, like the good idealist that he is.
Jan Chappell is also at her compassionate best, insisting on respect towards the freedom fighters' funeral and looking after Vila like a mother hen. Their relationship has always been one of the sweeter ones in Blake's 7 and I couldn't help, but feel bad for her as she had to watch Vila deteriorate.
Michael Keating gives his most melancholy performance here is as Vila truly believes that for once, he has no hope. He's reduced to a childlike state, simply wanting to go home. The fact that he sees the Liberator as such is very touching.
I think I've grown used to Alistair Lock now. The fact that they gave Orac such an impressive, HAL 9000-esque storyline certainly helps to cement him as a legitimate portrayer of the character. Computers developing neuroses is always a frightening prospect and Drones both handles it very well and manages to stay away from the obvious course of turning him into a villain(probably more for the sake of continuity than art, but it's neat nonetheless).
Tim Treloar's Renderson is an interesting figure, and came across as a pastiche of young science fiction fans who would expect more from a TV series with this premise. Although Renderson appears as a tough military figure, his petulant obsession with Blake seems to suggest that he used to have a bit of a hero worship of the guy back in the days when he was still a sous chef. Perhaps Blake inspired him to fight in the first place, resulting in him being stranded? It's an interesting take on the idea of Blake's adventures becoming legend in-universe.
NOTES
*Orac's sarcastic imitation of Zen is hilarious.
*This may just be an inherent problem with the format, but sometimes I really struggle to figure out what the characters are exactly supposed to be doing and where based on nothing but sound effects.
*"Ultra chess" is such an authentic Terry Nation name.
*The jolly score during a bombing was an odd choice.
*I love that Vila is used as a serious asset, and gets to drive a tank!
*Did Avon talk to Jenna about her fascination with "major" engines? I must've misheard that.
*Also, the Liberator randomly has an obsevation deck now.
*Nice to see a Gamma grade for once.
*From what I gathered, Renderson used to live on "Mars West"? Might have to check my ears...
*Some vestige of the Orthodox religion exists on Straxis. Between that and Vargas's cult on Cygnus Alpha, I suspect that deep underground, religion never fully died out.
*Cara's decision to stay on Straxis continues the trend of characters inexplicably staying behind in a hellhole out of the kindness of their hearts.
INFORMATION!
*The episode continues directly after Battleground, with several plot points being carried over.
*It's established that on a fundamental level, the Liberator values its own existence over the crew's. I feel like this is something of a holdover from the reboot series, because in Terminal, Zen was completely focused on keeping Vila and Dayna alive. Of course, this could be attributed to some reprogramming of Avon's.
*Vila compares the war zone on Straxis with the penal colony on Cygnus Alpha, where he was sent in the episode Cygnus Alpha.
*Avon queries Orac over his inability to re-access the same records he did in Fractures to locate Alexa Mikhailov.
*Renderson briefly references Blake's accomplishments on Centero(in Seek-Locate-Destroy) and Horizon(in Horizon). I'm impressed anyone heard about Horizon.
*Cally recalls a saying from her home planet Auron, and also relates how her meeting with Blake in Time Squad set her life into focus.
*During his morbid speech, Vila mentions that he never planned on dying(which he originally told Cally when they first met in Time Squad).
JENNA: "This is one hell of a clever ship. Even now, I don't think we understand 1/10th of what it can do."
AVON: "Even I feel humbled. A bit."
CONCLUSION
With its themes of fear and an innovative story, Drones made quite an impression.
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