Death-Watch (1980) Review

Death-Watch is a witty, cynical little episode. But it was so close to being so much better.

WRITTEN BY

Chris Boucher, script editor. His touch is immediately felt - the crew feel more like themselves than they have in a while and there's a fascinating political aspect to the story. 

PLOT

When the United Planets Of Teal and the Vandor Confederacy go into war, it's up to Tarrant's brother Deeta to champion Teal in a single duel to judge the outcome. Suspicious over Servalan's role as arbiter, Avon has the crew monitor the proceedings intently, waiting for the inevitable betrayal... 

ANALYSIS

What I'd like to praise first is the dynamic direction. Death-Watch brims with creative flair - the entire duelling sequence is phenomenal. I love the POV shots, and the dramatic way Deeta kicks the bucket. A decaying industrial building as the choice of location is also spot-on, plenty of places to hide and ambush. I'm surprised they haven't thought of something like this before. 

I also love how much fun they have with the idea of the crew watching TV. From the narrator speaking directly to the camera to the intentional boom in shot to the nod towards Star Trek, it's clear that the production team are tremendously enjoying themselves and riffing on sports broadcasting. 

However, I feel like Boucher could've done a lot more with this. As Cally put it - "no joyous multitudes". We should've seen the kids all hyped up to watch a man die, with colorful balloons of each side. The people of Teal and Vandor should have a totally malformed sense of morality. What if they actually want to go to war to have fun? Instead, the attempt at satire and thought-provoking ideas seem to die out when the duel begins, which leads to my second problem - Deeta. 

Boucher hints at what the relationship between the two brothers was like, but keeps it mostly enigmatic beyond making clear that they were fond of each other. And I think that's my main fault with Death-Watch. We know so little about Del and his relationship to Deeta that when Deeta dies, our only reaction is "his brother died, that's sad because it's his brother". That's hugely annoying when the entire episode pivots on this moment. Nobody else(except Max I guess) is even impacted by the loss. Or rather, nobody else is seen to be impacted by the loss. Why not go back to the dark comedy here and show us how the Vandor people actually enjoyed seeing Deeta die? Maybe have their reactions on the view screen, embittering Del? 

Instead, whatever message Boucher is going for regarding bloody sports is relegated to light comedy early on and Deeta's death inspires a boring revenge plot that's used to tie up the loose ends of Servalan's scheme. But by that point, who cares? 

CHARACTERS

I wonder if there's anyone who has watched Death-Watch and hasn't wondered at least once if the show would've been better if they'd axed Del and kept Deeta onboard? Steven Pacey's acting thrives with the more thoughtful, worldwise Tarrant. If nothing else, his existence does help to contextualise Del's personality a little bit more than the vague smuggler/Federation captain backstory. 

The best thing this season did was introduce the intellectual and sexual tension between Avon and Servalan. The sequence where Avon visits her is a highlight of the whole series, and possibly my favourite confrontation between the two. What makes it so fascinating to me is that they didn't have to meet. There's nothing in that scene that we didn't already know, yet we see Avon almost magnetically drawn to her(the Series D mania has begun), and Servalan clearly enjoying the attention that she elicits. His paranoid obsession with her plans and post-Anna Grant hatred seems to feed her ego. 

NOTES

*The Teal Star bears a striking resemblance to a Star Destroyer. I wonder if they actually reused the design for Scorpio. 

*Why would Karla bother to chat with Deeta? There have to be safer ways to attempt an assassination.

*It's amusing to see Orac work as a therapist. Especially since he never seems to comment on Avon's mental health. 

*Shouldn't Tarrant know better than to plan his attack strategies via computer? It's not the way of the MAN. When was the last time he felt the warmth of the Earth's sun on his naked back? Or lifted his face to the heavens, and laughed with the joy of being alive?

*"Wine, women and song!" holds a limited appeal to Cally? RIP lesbian fanfics. 

*I love that the actors are forced to spend several minutes staring at a CSO effect emulating the TV.

*How can Max not recognise his own visage? Does being in Deeta's mind confuse him that much?

*I adore the little schoolkids' chase between Vila and Cally. 

*The demand Avon gives to Orac - to assume the role of a hostile arbiter 'expecting' a violation of the Convention doesn't make much sense to me. Shouldn't he pretend to be an arbiter planning a violation? Don't all arbiters expect a violation? That's, like, their job.

*Vila trying to get Dayna drunk for sex is reaaaally iffy. 

*I'm surprised the sensor net works on an android. How can nobody notice they're in the mind of a robot with no emotions or real thoughts?

*Maybe I'm a bit thick, but I don't quite follow how Del is able to assume the Teal championship from his brother, or use the combat grounds? I thought he was only duelling Vinni as a blood feud thing. Why would that affect the Teal-Vandor politics after the decisive duel was finished? Shouldn't Teal just pick a new champion on their own?

*I love how insulted Paul Darrow looks after Stewart Bevan shakes his hand.

INFORMATION!

*Tarrant has spent a considerable amount of time recently trying to catch Servalan's ore ships. 

*Both Avon and Vila heard about the Teal-Vandor Convention due to its popularity on Earth. 

*Vila accidentally references the death of Dayna's blind father, which occurred in Aftermath. Dayna later bullies Servalan for it.

*Avon briefly references Servalan's negotiations with Ensor over Orac(which were discussed in detail in Deliverance). He does so incorrectly, by implying that Servalan would've actually paid money for it despite being aware that she murdered Ensor Jr to avoid that. He also, surprisingly, mentions pennies. Are... pennies still in use?

*Deeta and Del grew up on Earth. Deeta left before his younger brother. 

BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE

AVON: "Put it on the main screen."
ORAC: "I must point out that this is a gross misuse and an absurd waste of my capabilities."
AVON: "Put it on the main screen."
ORAC: "I will do it only under protest."
AVON: "You can do it any way you like, so long as you put it on the main screen."

CONCLUSION

It's a good time. I don't particularly love it or hate it.