Sarcophagus (1980) Review

Sarcophagus is an episode that I can never quite pin down. I don't think about it too often, so I thought there must be something wrong. Yet when I watch it, I can tell how lovingly crafted it is. Let's take a closer look...

WRITTEN BY

Newcomer Tanith Lee, who was a fan of the show. You can very much tell. 

PLOT

The Liberator crew visit a floating tomb in space and extract a mysterious device from it. Soon afterwards, the ship becomes plagued by poltergeist activity and a powerful entity with the face of Cally lurks in the corridors... 

ANALYSIS

There's a subject I haven't covered often on this blog, and that is lighting. Lighting is very important in a visual medium to help set the mood and convey time and/or space, and usually it's not in the forefront of our minds. I can best describe the lighting in most Blake's 7 episodes as "fine". The lighting in Sarcophagus though... is something else. As the power on the Liberator is drained, I can only assume that the most flamboyant type of emergency lights kick in and suddenly the ship is bathed in poison green, rich purple and warm orange. It's the kind of gorgeous mood lighting you expect to see in the original Star Trek, not the usual beige-grey universe our heroes inhabit. But it does a wonder to help make the episode feel distinct and herald the royalty of the antagonist Queen. 

But it's not just the lights - the crew themselves are color-coded as a subtle bit of foreshadowing to the Queen's attempt to typecast them into traditional roles for her court. Much of the script is spent on establishing the characters into these roles - we see Cally as the center of attention, Vila plays games, Dayna sings a song, Tarrant bickers and Avon skulks about, keeping to himself.
It's left open to interpretation how much of this is up to their own personalities and how much the Queen is influencing them, but I welcomed this attempt to at least try better defining the regular dynamics(this is where Tanith's role as a fan comes to play). 

It's clear from this and the striking set design that there are scarcely any faults with the direction. It's Fiona Cumming again, fresh off of Rumours Of Death and here to make a mark. The script is snappy, layered and includes all the characters equally. Both combined create an atmosphere of absolute isolation. The episode opens with the characters as laidback as we've ever seen them. There's no threat, no initiative to go anywhere or do much of anything. When you have Avon arguing for mining some obscure minerals, you know that space is empty. In her own way, the Queen offers them the safety of defined purpose, a superior who can tell them what to live and die for. Perhaps at an earlier point in the series, they might've succumbed. Avon was willing enough to be sent to Cygnus Alpha. 

So if everything works beautifully... what is the problem?

Well, fancy looks and good characterisation are one thing. And the other... is the story. To put it simply, Sarcophagus isn't really about anything. The crew don't learn anything. Nothing is gained. Nothing is even lost, besides the Queen. And don't get me wrong, she is an intriguing person, but her presence and sad demise alone don't constitute a story. Is Sarcophagus about death, then? I don't really think it focuses on the fear of dying for very long. There is some time devoted to Cally's loneliness and mourning for Auron, but given that Cally is comatose for half of the episode, I can't say it's about that either. 

It's surprising that an episode so delicately built up forgot the main thing - to have a point. Now, it's not absolutely essential for every story to have some deeper meaning or lesson-of-the-day or anything. I mean, I doubt the crew were fundamentally changed by the events of Project Avalon for example. But I think in this case, it hurts the episode, because the possession horror genre is so different from the action-adventure one. Episodes where people are constantly on the move and fighting to get to and fro don't necessarily need to be personal, because the goal is material and our interest is in seeing the characters get to it whilst being as entertaining as possible along the way. 

But possession horror doesn't have that momentum. It relies on two things to be interesting - how scary it can be - which, on teatime television, is not that much - and how much impact it can have on the characters. When we see the actors play up the tension and terror, that's when we as an audience can experience it. Yet the Queen is a pitiable figure not that keen to harm the main characters. 

So what's left? This collision between the tomb and the Liberator is just something that happens, a problem that Avon outwits and the crew moves on from with a shrug like going through a spooky, yet toothless Halloween carnival ride. 

CHARACTERS

The Queen: Jan Chappell is stunningly good. On Cally's part, it was good to see a proper emotional reaction to the destruction of Auron, and though I've never been a huge Avon/Cally shipper, the two seem to have naturally bonded over their recent losses. One of the things I really liked about the early scenes was how it showed them behaving outside of the context of a mission, during the lonely hours between destinations. It's the most introspective that either of them have ever openly been, very heartwarming.
But let's talk about the Queen. Chappell is able to spin both of Cally's most likable qualities around with her - the icy fierceness is there, as well as the subtle motherly care. She's so charismatic and reasonable that in their place, I probably would've ended up following her. Even though she threatens to murder everyone without a care, it's genuinely heartbreaking when Avon has to let her die. 

The Trickster: "He has a very high IQ, yet he acts like an imbecile." One line is all it took to make Vila about a million times more interesting than most other writers care to bother. Keating carries one of the best scenes of the episode, when the lyre comes to life on the flight deck. The way he completely breaks down in terror is disturbing. It's neat that, even though Vila is primarily a thief, the show had already set him up in a "fool" role in Space Fall and especially The Keeper. So he fitted in here quite naturally. 

The Musician: The same cannot be said for Dayna, though, whose newfound talent comes and goes without ever being heard from again. Which is a shame, too, cause Josette Simon has good pipes and I would have liked to have seen her entertain the crew or even herself with songs in a few other episodes. But yeah, if anyone's the weak link in this episode, it's her. What is with that goofy karate pose and all the hopping around on high heels? 

The Warrior: Tarrant is at his most aggravating ever. I mean, it's obvious that his resentment of Avon and general egoism are his own feelings even without the Queen's influence. I must admire their patience - I would have booted the blighter off the ship ages ago with the way he's throwing his weight around. At least we get to enjoy the scene where Avon effortlessly deflates his pompous attitude(Darrow's bemused expression throughout is priceless). 

The Man In Black: The King? The Traitor? The Rogue? Yeah, I'm not really sure what role Avon is supposed to represent. Paul Darrow is very understated throughout this episode, which works very well to combat the somewhat lofty ambitions of the script. His resolute denial of the Queen's offer is a proper punch-the-air moment, and one of the character's highlights in the whole series. 

NOTES

*This is the fourth time Cally has been possessed by an alien - the previous occasions were in The Web, Shadow and Dawn Of The Gods).

*I have so many questions about the alien burial ritual - first of all, if death is an interim state, why a tomb at all? Why is the tomb sent so far away from her homeworld? What's the deal with the court? Do the personalities of the court accompany the Queen or do the aliens actually predict the Liberator crew? If they do, how come the Queen isn't able to plan properly for Avon's interference? Also, why does this thing open the episode and last for five minutes with no context? 

*Why is Vila the only one aching from the electrical charge in the atmosphere? Nobody else seems to get pins and needles, but Vila kept bringing it up as if it had some significance.

*Seems like Orac lended its brain to Dayna for the episode, given that it's completely useless in deciphering the alien artefact whilst the latter basically figures out the Queen's modus operandi all on her own.

*Why does the Queen render Dayna and Vila unconscious, but not Tarrant?

*How did Zen detect an intruder if she's within Cally? I mean, the only time he's ever detected a possession before was when it was Orac, another computer. The Queen even makes a point of saying later that Zen will obey Cally's voiceprint. 

*I know it's technically been months or maybe even years since they joined the crew, but I'm still weirded out whenever Avon leaves Tarrant and Dayna to do something vital on their own. In this case, on the Liberator. 

*I love the touch of the alien artefact crumbling of old age as soon as the alien leaves it. 

INFORMATION!

*Cally draws a picture of Auron to cope with her recent loss in Children Of Auron. 

*Tarrant berates Avon for failing to pull off his famous computer swindle(Space Fall) and reminds him that without Blake's help, he'd still be rotting on Cygnus Alpha(Cygnus Alpha). He also talks about his own arrival to the ship in Powerplay.

BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE

The confrontation with Tarrant is stuffed with great Avon zingers, but I think I'll go with his very first line.

CALLY: "What is it?"
AVON: "Well, it looks like a door. And it's closed."

CONCLUSION

One of the more dissectable episodes of the show. But just not my cup of tea, exactly.