Heroes: Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission (2017) Review

 

Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission is entertainingly daft, though suffers from being only a short story.

WRITTEN BY

Gary Russell, obviously a passionate fan judging by his pitch-perfect recreation of the era. 

PLOT

Put under pressure by Servalan to end Blake's terrorism, Travis hires a crew of renegade experts to commandeer the Liberator. 

ANALYSIS

This is a wonderful premise brimming with western flair, and indeed the early scenes with Travis travelling to various scummy locales to introduce himself to each member of his new crew are the highlight. It's something right out of a 1950s movie. The problem is that Gary Russell promises too much. When I was halfway through and they still hadn't kicked off with the main storyline, I could just tell that there was no way this was going to be satisfying, and it wasn't, because you can't have seven new characters shine within such a limited time. Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission practically demands to be a full episode, or even a novel to really get the most out of its setup. 

It doesn't help that the second half basically devolves into a pastiche of Space Fall, as Travis and his cronies taking the place of Blake, Jenna and Avon during their first trip to the Liberator. It's a fun sequence, but as Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission was drawing to a close, I wanted something more fun and exciting, and despite a few plot twists to close things off on a high, I really don't feel like I got it. I was never bored, but I was disappointed. It should've been better planned out. 

The best thing about Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission that I can say is that Gary really nailed the dynamics of Servalan, Travis, Bercol and Rontane, not just in dialogue, but also in behavioural tics and the way he describes them. I could practically see them as if I was watching an episode, and that's not an easy thing to accomplish as a writer, so full credit to him for that. I just wish it was in a stronger story at the end of the day.

CHARACTERS

Who doesn't love to see Vila get the girl? Her and Jan Kendo had enough chemistry to where I was wondering why Vila didn't just leave the ship and go with her, lol. She certainly seemed able to protect him and probably would have enabled his thieving skills. But I suppose the Liberator is what it is. 

One of the things I really enjoyed about Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission(besides the title) was the sense of history that Gary was able to give Travis. We don't hear about any of his previous exploits, but the fact that he has so many different contacts in the criminal underworld speaks volumes of the length and quality of his military career. It's great to be reminded that Travis is actually a very skilled and intelligent soldier despite his poor luck with Blake. 

Speaking of Blake, I found his irreverent manner when confronting Travis slightly peculiar. Not that Blake ever took him too seriously, but given that this takes place so soon after Seek-Locate-Destroy, where their hatred for one another is at its dramatic peak, you'd think Blake would show a more vengeful side. Still, it was a good scene and Avon's offscreen remarks made me laugh out loud. The best moment in Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission.

NOTES

• I don't agree with the confirmation that Rai and Servalan have a sexual relationship. It was more interesting to leave that side of their relationship ambiguous. 
• I'm surprised Travis was less formal than more, given his recent failure. I suppose he had to show double the cojones in Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission to keep Servalan's confidence. 
• The twist that cancer will inevitably kill the disposable scientific colony that Dagg Rev was caring for is a lovely bit of Nation-style cynicism. 
• The Liberator being the closest thing Travis can have to the concept of beauty was pretty sweet too. 
• It only just occurred to me that the System must have programmed Zen's defences to focus on people's emotions because they themselves are completely unemotional. 
• Travis killing the Mutoid for failure whilst the mission was still ongoing was a phenomenal lapse in judgment. It's something I'd expect Brian Croucher's version to do, not Stephen Greif's. After all, he did keep Keyeira alive throughout Duel. 
• Why did Blake bother with the trap in the first place if he wasn't going to kill Travis? He somehow realised the message about Tarrant was a fake, so he could have simply not responded. The entire thing seems to have been staged as some kind of April Fool's prank on Travis. 
• I love that Hoss became a Mutoid. What a demented fate. 
• The nod towards the cheesy sitcom endings that Blake's 7 occasionally indulged in was appreciated. 

INFORMATION!

• The story is set between Seek-Locate-Destroy and Mission to Destiny. Rai, Senator Bercol and Secretary Rontane all appeared previously in Seek-Locate-Destroy. 
• According to Rontane, the President of the Federation made a public negative comment about Travis's massacre on Auros. A similar massacre on Zircaster(which would later form the basis of Trial) is also referenced.
• Rontane expresses hope that Servalan isn't trying to set herself up as a higher authority than the President, foreshadowing her coup in Star One. 
• Barg briefly encountered Blake at one of his rebel meetings during the Freedom Party days.
• Kendo was sent by the Federation to work with the Clonemasters for six years, during which she developed an unsociable attitude. 
• Travis has had dealings with Crag Shev in the past, and it is implied that he used to be a Federation soldier.
• Travis's information about the Liberator crew is based on reports from the London(the prison ship seen in Space Fall), automated recorders at the Cygnus Alpha spaceport and long-range holograms from Centero base(seen in Seek-Locate-Destroy). 
• The trap to capture Blake involves setting up a pretense that a rebel faction has captured Dev Tarrant, the Federation spy who betrayed him in The Way Back. 
• Kendo implies that the Federation are doing "something" with Central Control. Blake would later launch an attack against the place in Pressure Point. 

BEST QUOTE

BERCOL: "You do have to admit, Supreme Commander, the Centero incident was... awkward. Wouldn’t you agree?"
RONTANE: "One might almost say embarrassing. Shameful. Dis-aster-ous."

CONCLUSION

Seven Magnificent Dirty Expendables On An Impossible Mission is fun, but incomplete.