Risk Management (2013) Review

 

Risk Management comes off more as a rambling anecdote than an episode. 

WRITTEN BY

Una McCormack. She's not terrible per se, but so far, I've not been impressed with her writing. It's all very throwaway.

PLOT

Blake and Jenna are hired as security consultants by the government of Sutska, who hope to salvage their newly liberated planet's economy by selling priceless gems at the marketplace of Hotel XK-Delux. Unexpectedly, however, their Federation owner returns to claim the merchandise.

ANALYSIS

I've previously criticised Chronicles for forcing a framing story into the narrative as some sort of 'explanation' for its unusual format. Most of the time, it just takes away from the feeling of listening to a Blake's 7 episode, and overcomplicates matters. But Risk Management is so vague and flaky that it actually makes me wish we did have scenes of Avon snoring at Blake's drivel. The vast majority of the runtime is dedicated to a neverending tangent where we hear about his opinion on Amagons, space hotels, dotty old ladies, administrators, jewelry. I'd say there's about six or seven actual real scenes in this story. The rest of it is just dedicated to long-winded descriptions and internal pondering.

Maybe this would be acceptable if it was at least funny or meant to be comedic, but strangely, despite the extravagant setting and a few ironic quips, it isn't. An entire planet's livelihood is at stake, so there's not much room to have fun. Some of the characters are vaguely amusing, but without real actors or anything resembling good dialogue, they don't come to life. It's all quite boring, actually. Even Blake sounds like he's only doing this out of moral obligation, and isn't all that invested. It's one of the most lowkey adventures I think they've ever had. 

CHARACTERS

Gareth Thomas is one of my favourite narrators for the Chronicles. So although I didn't really care for anything that was going on, his cheerful monologuing kept me somewhat engaged. 

I find it hilarious that most male Big Finish writers try to give Jenna a more mature and capable personality than the show provided, to deliver on the promise of a badass space smuggler. Yet when there's a female writer, suddenly Jenna is fawning over jewelry and acknowledging that she likes to leave the thinking to Blake. I think there's a good balance somewhere in-between, but this just cracks me up. 

Ironically, even though Vila is completely absent from the story, he might have the best moments of it. The advice he gave to Blake regarding who might steal the jewels is genuinely clever, as are the tricks he teaches. Why couldn't we have seen Vila educate Blake on the fine art of thieving!? Shameful. Just shameful. But a good showcase of Vila's intelligence and skill at what he does nonetheless.

NOTES

• It's always, always, always some crystals, isn't it? Feldon, sydneton, galvaston... what's the deal with that?
• The fact that the villain's defeat is covered in a single line of monologue should let you know how rubbish this all is. Same goes for the plot twist that the jewels were stolen. It's just something that happens, and there's no thought put into it whatsoever.
• I don't get Blake's justification for not bringing Vila along for this mission. If he thinks that Vila couldn't resist stealing the jewels, why not simply threaten to put him off the ship if he does?
• Lol at the orgasming concierge. "We hope your stay has been.... beaaaautiful."
• "Gaia LeGrey" is the most Paul Darrow name I've heard in a while. As for his bodyguard, Svenson, well, I suspect that he can only be an assassin working for the Swedish Federation.
• Why must there always be one dull Liberator Chronicle in a set? I keep thinking to myself: "Sure, I'll buy one of these, if they're stories I'm likely to relisten to". And yet, in each one, there's at least one dud keeping me away from making a full purchase. It drives me up a wall. 

INFORMATION!

• The crew encounter Amagons, whom they previously fought off in Bounty. Blake recounts the events of that episode. He also later sends Madame LeGrey to exile on the planet Lindor, with the agreement of its president Sarkoff, who also featured in that episode. 
• The space station XK-17 is part of the same series as XK-72, which the Liberator visited in Breakdown. 
• XK-17 is situated in Sector 6, the same general area as Terminal, Obsidian and Xenon(right beyond the edge of Federation-controlled space). 
• Central Information Bureau suppressed information about the Federation on Sutska. The Bureau is led by Senator Bercol, who appeared in Seek-Locate-Destroy and Trial. 
• The strongbox containing the jewels is locked with a magnalock, a type utilised by the System in Redemption. 
• At the end of the story, Surjack tries to flee to the Vandor Confederacy, a coalition of planets featured in the episode Death-Watch.

BEST QUOTE

"It can be difficult to say no to me. Unless you're Avon, then it seems to be remarkably difficult to say yes."

CONCLUSION

Even Allan Prior had more to his episodes.