Mind Over Matter is thrilling high-octane action that brings the series to life in vivid detail.
WRITTEN BY
No specific credit.
PLOT
Desperate to retain the failing Orac, Avon takes the crew to the abandoned mines on Romulo III in the hopes of acquiring the rare substance caldumite, which Ensor once used to power his supercomputer. But the mines are far from empty...
ANALYSIS
I had such great fun with this one. A Federation mine(complete with railroad tracks!), the most valuable substance in the universe, a desperate chase for the prize, a fearsome terrain, gunslinging, Avon at his most deranged. It's classic Series D, and clearly the product of someone who paid close attention to this era of the show. Add to that a quickfire pace and razor-sharp verbal sparring... yeah, there was never any chance of me getting bored by this. I have a passion for B7's particular brand of "theatrical pulp", especially when it's executed as well as it is here.
There's a nice theme going through the story about Vila's value as a member of the crew. It's a question that cropped up a few times in the TV show, most notably in City at the Edge of the World. Fortunately, this isn't just retreading old ground, because Vila isn't really being bullied into action(well, not entirely at least - this is still Blake's 7, after all), but he is personally trying to prove a point and being a contributing member for once. It's always good to see the characters being given more initiative to stand out as personalities and this is a fine example of almost everyone having something to add, or a moment to shine. Vila saves the day with Soolin as a sidekick, Avon leads the mission, Dayna blows s**t up. In the limited word count of a short story, it's great that everyone are treated fairly.
CHARACTERS
Avon is perhaps more insane in this than we've ever seen him before or since. Obviously, the cue was taken from Darrow's increasingly demented performances, with the writer perhaps coming to the conclusion that Avon was crazier than he actually was. Here, we see Avon become so consumed by his fear of losing Orac that he declares his intent to spend the rest of his(and his shipmates') lives searching for a way to fix him, if necessary. It's mesmerising to say the least.
There's also his brilliant encounter with Servalan which, if it had been filmed, might have been one of their best scenes together. Servalan is defenseless, her guards dead. Avon has the shot. And then, he... can't bring himself to do it. Instead, he laughs himself silly and runs away. Quite a far cry from "I need to kill her myself", isn't it? There's so many implications running through my mind. Perhaps too many. We already had the implied co-dependency between Avon and Blake. This might've been one step too far. But what a tantalizing step, though.
Speaking of Servalan, it's slightly odd to see her head mining operations. I don't think it quite befits her rank as commissioner. In Sand, we had Reeve criticise her involvement in the exploration of Virn, and this is quite a similar situation, except there's no real reason given for Servalan's presence beyond her being the antagonist. Her slapping Soolin for lying was interesting. We don't often see emotional outbursts from Servalan. A subtle indication perhaps, that Avon is never far from her thoughts?
Vila's on top form today! Outwitting the enemy, outwitting Orac, outwitting tentacles...
It's a shame that Dayna and Soolin are reduced to sidekicks, mainly there to banter with Avon and Vila. They still get to show off their own skills, don't get me wrong, but they don't seem to make any decisions of their own. In particular, I was a bit astounded when Dayna - who is supposedly with Avon when he lets Servalan live - doesn't take the chance to kill her mortal enemy. Still, it's better than poor old Tarrant, who's left to mind the ship this entire time.
NOTES
- This story was originally published in the 1982 Blake's 7 Marvel Monthly summer special.
- Vila and Orac play 3D-chess, a game popularised by Star Trek. It's also implied they've played many matches since their first meeting.
- I adore Avon's demand of "what the devil is going on?!". Something about people shouting "what the devil" is etched into my mind as the respectable, golden era of science fiction.
- I know the crew losing their teleport bracelets is almost a running gag, but having both Vila and Soolin accidentally drop theirs at the same time is a bit much, surely?
- How did Avon know that he can use his caldumite derivative to track greater sources of caldumite? I feel like we're owed an explanation here, because it surely isn't his field of science.
- And speaking of caldumite, yes, we have another most valuable mineral in the universe. It's not quite Feldon powahhh crystals, but it's pretty cool. Has a better name at any rate.
- Today I learned a new word - tannoy. I'm just mentioning it because the educational value of Blake's 7 should not be overlooked.
- Vila references his original meeting with Orac, as seen in the episode of the same name.
- Ensor discovered the properties of caldumite, and used it as a vital component in building Orac's power source.
- It's revealed that (alongside dynamon crystals) the teleport bracelets are fuelled by a derivative of caldumite. This is actually quite clever, as we know from the show that much of Dorian's research was based off of Ensor's.
- Avon threatens Vila with a gun. He would do this again (albeit more seriously) in Orbit.
- I could have sworn that Vila's insult to Orac ("scabby electronic rat!") was lifted directly from the series, but it is in fact reused from Cranpax Core. Vila does refer to Orac as a being scabby, electronic and a rat in separate episodes, however.
oooh I actually have this one! (it's in one of the specials isn't it?)
ReplyDeleteMust give it a read!