Rescue (1981) Review

 

The actual story of Rescue is a bit crap, but the introduction of the show's new trappings is impeccably handled.

WRITTEN BY

Chris Boucher. I'm starting to notice a trend of slightly incoherent scripts bolstered by visual flair. 

PLOT

Avon and his crew hijack the spacecraft Scorpio, that appeared on Terminal just as their situation was getting dismal. Due to the flight computer's programming, they're forced to travel back to its home base with the ship's owner, Dorian, whose carefree attitude belies an ancient madness... 

ANALYSIS

Although Mary Ridge recreates the setting of Terminal with admirable attention to detail(even bringing back the thunk-THUNK), going from that to this can give one whiplash. The pace of Rescue is much more hurried, owing to the amount of plot points that Boucher had to include - namely Cally's death, wrapping up the loose end of Servalan's ship, introducing the new ship and its reason for being there and why it should end up with our heroes. I'm not sure why he felt he had to get all of this done in this episode, given how the previous season handled a similar transition more smoothly by spreading it out over two. 

That, and cribbing from The Picture Of Dorian Gray is just... weird. I know the show has featured supernatural elements, but this one in particular doesn't work for me, perhaps because the concept is so esoteric, and rooted in the Victorian perception of good and evil, which is completely alien to the morally grey Blake's 7. 

Despite these complaints, I found Rescue to be an enjoyable watch overall. I'm a huge fan of the prevalent theme of survivalism: seeing how the crew cling on, if only out of spite alone. One of the drawbacks of the Liberator was that it had an answer for nearly every problem. And if it didn't, Orac did. With both resources(the second temporarily) gone, the situation feels that much more immediate and relatable. 

We are all affected by material problems on a daily basis, so the fact that our heroes now have to fight for every scrap, and find themselves owning a "scruffy bag of bolts" to fly with and a homely hole in the ground to live in makes me care for them in a way I couldn't beforehand, particularly Avon and Vila, whom I've been with all the way. It helps that the new aesthetic is clearly inspired by Star Wars, the archetype of the space western. It's all just very romantic.

CHARACTERS

Cally's death seems cheap and unfair at first, but her significance is clear from the crew's behaviour later on. There's a much frostier atmosphere between them and no sense of camaraderie, except maybe between Tarrant and Dayna. We're sharply reminded that aside from the empathetic Cally, all of the current crew are miscreants and/or professional killers. And without her comforting presence to unite them as a family, they really are just people who use each other for their own means, with a power dynamic based solely on skillsets. At least consciously. It's ironic, given her militaristic introduction back in Time Squad. 

In case you're not aware, Paul Darrow was concerned over the increasingly heroic depictions of Avon, as he believed the audience responded better to the character's enigmatic and self-serving qualities. After losing an argument with David Maloney(producer of the first three seasons), he compensated by shifting his performance to a more elaborate, demented style to make the moments he didn't agree with part of the character's unpredictability. If Avon was losing his mind, wouldn't it make sense for him to do things he wouldn't before? 

Regardless of the behind-the-scenes stuff, I find it adds a lot of rewatch value. Darrow's overdramatic reactions are hilarious, and Avon's mental state is one of the few indications that the show's events actually have an accumulating effect on the characters. It's my interpretation that the recent string of losses and defeats has left him numb to the reality around him. The old Avon might've tried to appeal to Dorian's sanity by arguing against his illogical claims. However, the new one is clearly just humored by the fact that he's in the room with a potential psychotic. He no longer bothers with logic, because life itself doesn't seem logical to him. 

In an interesting twist of fate, Tarrant has now settled into the role of the voice of reason. And I think it really suits Pacey and his calm, slightly wry demeanour. Tarrant's likable in a shallow sort of way, and with his tiresome headbutting gone, he can serve as the straight man of the group, the dependable one that gets things done. 

Dayna, ugh. I never liked her warmongering attitude much, but at least she had some enthusiasm in Series C. Now she just seems like a passive-aggressive cow. You could argue that she blames Vila for not managing to save Cally's life and Avon for getting them to Terminal to begin with, but Josette Simon just doesn't make the character seem any fun at all, unlike the rest. 

Vila's not particularly involved this time around, as he's too busy descending into rampant alcoholism, but I do love that he has enough brains to keep the reliable Federation rifle around, and his irritated eyeroll at realising that yes, the shiny new handguns are useless to the crew. 

Geoffrey Burridge is very enjoyable as the mischievous Dorian. He's got such a charm and folksy presence to him at first that it almost seems like he's set to join the crew. I don't find him very intimidating as a villain, but his flamboyant, self-confident attitude and great chemistry with Darrow keep him entertaining to the end.

Oh, and Slave? Slave's adorable. 

NOTES

*The special effects in this episode are a very mixed bag. I think the Scorpio landing sequence is one of - if not *the* best model work in the series. However, the CSO sequences have all dated horribly. 

*The new title sequence(amazing logo aside) took a while to grow on me, but I now appreciate its more detached, scientific feel, keeping in with the more grounded aesthetic. That being said, I really hate that it freezes when the titles come up. 

*I have so, so many questions about the costumes in this episodes. I assume that the crew adopt Dorian's(and Soolin's, in the case of Dayna) wardrobe, but still. 

1. Did the costume department lose Michael Keating's outfit from Terminal? Why is he the only one who's randomly changed clothes?

2. Why do we never see the crew's surviving Liberator clothing again?

3. Why is everybody wearing drab outfits when Dorian seems to have more expensive ones too? Was that his only one?

4. Where does Dorian's outfit disappear to after he dies?

5. How does Dorian have an outfit of the same design that Avon's wearing? 

*Did the crew spend the whole night sitting on their butts against the snow?? I know they had a fire and all, but how'd they not freeze?

*I liked the enigma over whether or not Soolin was in on Dorian's plan. She picks out exactly the required amount of glasses for the entire crew + herself and Dorian as if foreshadowing the trap, but only fills two, presumably only expecting him. 

*Nobody seems to bother replicating Geoffrey Burridge's little hand gesture to open the doors. 

*Why does the Creature give Dorian advice? I mean, even if it's part of Dorian's consciousness now, wouldn't it be pissed off at being trapped down there?

*It seems like the convincing wine earlier on later gets swapped for something that looks bright, like powdered wine. It could just be the foggy bottles, though. 

*Why does the door shut Dayna into the room? Did Dorian preprogram it?

*When he leads Avon out of the lounge at gunpoint, Dorian has his hand clasped behind his back. It may just be a random thing, but it reminded me a lot of elderly people. It could be a nice little reminder of his age. 

*If people don't necessarily all have to be together to join the gestalt as Dorian suggests, why didn't the Creature just absorb Dayna there and then? We'd be spared of her gibbering later... 

*Dorian's reaction to being reminded of his former partner's quite interesting... he starts stammering, losing his characteristic swagger. Perhaps a touch of guilt? Could Burridge's acting have been influenced by his own relationship(he was gay, hence why 'partner' might've meant more to him)?

*You gotta love the classic horror film 'wind gust' blowing the disintegrated dust of the corpse away. Even though they're underground in a sealed room. 

INFORMATION!

*The episode is a direct sequel to Terminal. 

*Tarrant identifies Scorpio as a "Wanderer class planet hopper". Planet hoppers were previously mentioned in Gambit. Another ship was referenced as being Wanderer-class in Killer, but those were the first Earth ships to ever reach deep space. Since Blake called them "Wanderer class One", it's possible that the Scorpio's design is a successor. 

*Dayna worked for nearly a year to build something similar to Dorian's handgun design. 

*The Intergalactic War is briefly mentioned in relation to the Federation's closeness to Xenon Base. 

*The Auron proverb that Avon quotes is from Mission To Destiny. 

*Dorian claims to have met Orac's creator Ensor. Avon mentions his 'bequathement' of Orac to Blake(seen in Orac) and Blake's similar bequathement of Orac to him in Aftermath. 

*Dorian is more than 200 years old, which potentially means he lived before the Federation's existence.

*Soolin killed her teacher, who was also one of the murderers of her parents. She killed the rest of them too. 

BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE DORIAN QUOTE

"One of the group was killed before I got there. But the group remains. Bound together by time and pain and the need to survive."

CONCLUSION

Solid groundwork.