The Harvest Of Kairos (1980) Review

 

The Harvest Of Kairos is something of a camp classic, but I think there's genuinely some great storytelling there. 

WRITTEN BY

Ben Steed, who's built up quite a reputation in the fandom for his awkward fixation on gender and misogyny. 

PLOT

The Liberator crew's heist goes terribly wrong when Servalan appoints a man driven largely by instincts to capture the ship. Now stranded on the deadly planet Kairos, they have to survive long enough to escape and find a way home.

ANALYSIS

The story of Ben Steed is that of a man who constantly seems to trip over his own opinionated shortcomings. Kairos displays plenty of imagination - there's thought put into the planet's ecology, the sopron rock is a fascinating sci-fi concept. The abandoned NASA-style landing module is an especially lovely touch of genius, showing that the Blake's 7 universe does have a long and colorful history, even if we're not privy to all of it. 

Steed's focus on the conflict between computers and people also gives some indication about the fears of the era in which the episode was written. It's a multifaceted subject to talk about, and still holds up to some extent today given the ever-increasing prevalence of AI. The point is that Ben Steed is clearly not an idiot, so it's frustrating to see him shoot himself in the foot with the ridiculously exaggerated and obviously sexist gender stereotypes that have come to define his writing. 

I mean, yes, it's very entertainingly bad, mostly because everyone in the production from the cast to the crew are clearly aware of the stupidity of it all and are just having fun with the script, but it feels like a waste of talent to me.

CHARACTERS

Oh, Andrew. Poor Andrew. Jarvik is a role that you just can't save, so why even try? Why not embrace the madness and go for it full force? There's no doubt in my mind that Andrew Burt is a good actor. It takes one to make Jarvik at least likably dumb. You might even say he's a special sort of man...

Another strong positive of the writing that doesn't often go mentioned is the chemistry between the crew. Little details like them cheerfully hugging after destroying a pursuit ship and Tarrant winking playfully at an exasperated Vila(an ad-lib by Steven Pacey?) add a lot to give you the sense that they've become a dysfunctional family. But most of all, they just work together like an oiled machine and the bantering is clearly friendly and born out of experience from being in each other's company. 

Probably my favourite aspect of the entire episode is Paul Darrow, whose role is reinterpreted as "mad scientist". Avon is played for laughs here even more than in Gambit, it's adorable. I love his awkward little stare as his experiment accidentally interrupts the crew's attack and the way he casually deflects all of Tarrant's incredulous criticism. I think the reason why their conflict works here and not in other episodes is because for once, we're actually on Tarrant's side. There's no clear logic to what Avon is doing until the end of the episode and it gives us an oppurtunity to root for the newcomer. 

Since this is Ben Steed writing, I can't say anything positive about any of the female characters. Cally is a complete non-presence, who actually gets manhandled by both Avon and Tarrant at one point. Dayna's attempts at attacking Jarvik are treated as a joke. But worst of all is Servalan, who pretty much gets a complete personality makeover. I know I praised Steed for the computer angle, but I hate that it's directed at Servalan, who until now has hardly been known for depending on what her machines tell her. In fact, the past two seasons have shown her consistently relying on Travis, and that guy pretty much did whatever the hell he wanted. The fact that she just leaves the Liberator without asking any questions or even taking Orac with her is a character betrayal, no other way to put it. 

NOTES

*Maybe I was a bit too hard on Series C. We actually get to see the crew try to steal some valuables here, which is what I wanted them to do all along!

*Tarrant appears to have built up some kind of reputation during his smuggler days, as it's the only explanation I can think of for why Servalan considers him the primary threat amongst the Liberator crew. 

*This episode marks the final appearance of Space Command. And yes, in spite of the different sets, it is actually supposed to be Space Command as Servalan calls it "Command HQ" at one point. 

*Jarvik claimed he could've taken the Liberator even with one pursuit ship. Given that he sacrificed the three he was given, I wonder how. Also, his suggestion that "any fool with three pursuit ships" could do it ties in nicely to Horizon, where we find out it takes three to beat the Liberator in a direct battle.

*The lakeside on "Gardenos"? Steed's clearly been taking notes from Terry Nation.

*Yet another rubbish redesign of the Federation trooper outfit. Bring back the classics!

*I like how Jarvik knows both Tarrant and Captain Shad from his previous service. It's another little detail that makes the universe feel lived-in.

*How could the Kairopan possibly make it to Vila's boot?? Those things are knee-high!

*I'll choose to believe that sending Jarvik down to Kairos was Servalan's way of trying to get rid of him when he became too ambitious.

*Vila gives this weird creepy smile to Dayna right before he wanders into the complex with the landing module. I don't like it.

*The editing from Avon working on the artificial sopron to the next morning is horrendous. It's like a scene in-between got cut out at the last minute.

*How could Servalan possibly be aware of Zen's "impudence"? Who could have passed that information onto her?

INFORMATION

*Tarrant was assigned to the Kairopan escort shuttle as a young lieutenant, and received his brief from Captain Jarvik. 

*The crew reiterate that the Federation is effectively non-existent now, due to the recent Intergalactic War. 

*According to Avon, Cally's parents are deceased.

*Servalan is amused to see Cally again, after their recent confrontation in Powerplay. 

BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE TARRANT QUOTE

VILA: Just one pocketful... I suppose I could retire to the lakeside of Gardenos and be waited on by those cute, little-
TARRANT: Yes, well, what you do with your booty is up to you. 

CONCLUSION

Episode, you're beautiful!