Stranded (1982) Review

 

Stranded is an idea that I would have love to have seen expanded into a full episode. It's something new for Series D that isn't mined here quite as much as it could have been.

WRITTEN BY

Ken Armstrong, the unsung legend of the franchise. 

PLOT

The Scorpio comes across a wrecked Federation space station. The crew boards it to investigate. Once there, the crew find themselves under attack by mysterious castaways and face the potential that they may never be able to leave... 

ANALYSIS

I'll be the first to admit that I often complain about Series C and its predilection towards standalone sci-fi stories over the longrunning feud against the Federation that defines the rest of the series. You get episodes like Dawn of the Gods, Sarcophagus and Ultraworld, which are literally about the crew doing nothing and then bumping into some strange phenomena in space. Unless they somehow manage to make that idea really interesting (which in all fairness, they do in Dawn and Sarcophagus), it'll just seem like filler. 

So you'd think that transplanting that idea into Series D, which I hugely admire for its more utilitarian storytelling, wouldn't go down well with me. But you'd be mistaken. Amidst all the comics and short tales about alliances, Servalan, crystals, fuel, superweapons and Servalan, this is a nice breath of fresh air. 

The Scorpio crew is in infinitely greater need than the Liberator crew, so when they found the wreck, I immediately began thinking about how this could benefit them, what they could find, what strategic value it might have. It's immediately more interesting than the mild scientific curiosity they exhibit in the Series C episodes (since the Liberator already provides everything they need). 

But there's more. The space station happens to be Federation (even more intriguing, since it ties into the main plot) and it happens to be a trap and there happen to be scavengers living on the station. A perfect setup for a moody and dramatic episode. Perhaps the Federation presence onboard the station degenerated after it became clear that no one would rescue them. Perhaps these are some space vagrants who need the supplies as urgently as the Scorpio crew. Perhaps it's another alien invasion. All perfectly good ideas that a full-length episode might have utilised for a compelling 45 minutes of television.

Even with the story beats that this comic goes with, I can imagine the TV version being quite good. There's no real villains (besides the obligatory attacking pursuit ships) and the reason behind the conflict is quite clever. The main flaw really is that there's very little in the way of memorable banter or character-building, though that's something I've come to expect. That, and I dislike the art style. Apparently something happened to mr Kennedy (who was responsible for drawing the previous comics), and Marvel Monthly was forced to get someone else. The drop in quality is very apparent. It's more sketch than art at this point, and there was even a moment where I couldn't understand what was going on (though that might have possibly been a script error). 

CHARACTERS

There's not much to say here. We get a glimpse of both Avon's scientific curiosity and pragmatism in his desire to investigate the station. Soolin proves herself useful by saving his life from the scavengers. 

I do really like that the antagonists, despite being Federation, are not depicted as evil and Avon chooses to not kill them over a simple mistake. Or rather, he "permits them to live this time". A nicely antiheroic sentiment. 

NOTES

• This comic was published in the Blake's 7 Marvel Monthly issue 14. 
• No one seems to have taught Vila about artificial gravity produced by the constant movement of a space station, as he seems to consider the Federation wheel dangerous due it still turning (although on second thought, he may have been thinking of the Federation troopers onboard). 
• "Is there a method of trying to open those doors from here?" might be grammatically correct, but it sounds incredibly awkward. 
• I like the brief suggestion from Avon that the space station could be their new home. I would love that. 
• For some reason, Avon asks Soolin if she saw whom she just shot, despite the fact that the body is right there and they could... you know, check? They do that straight after, so the whole exchange is very redundant. 
• The confusing moment I was talking about earlier is when Avon and Soolin are evidently blasted with something, then one of the scavengers throws a grenade (the effect of which is unknown). The next we see of them, Avon and Soolin are simply unconscious. All the doors are suddenly locked. I think what happened was that they were hit with some kind of flashbang (or a stun-set blaster) and then smoke grenade, but it genuinely is hard to tell with this art. 
• Vila notes that there's an electronic circuit keeping them trapped. Bravo. Genius. You know, there's technobabble and then there's... dumb babble. This is the latter variant. If you're stuck in a prison that uses electricity, then by definition there is an electronic circuit keeping you trapped.
• The fact that the survivors assume the crew are Federation purely because Avon is wearing black leather is hilarious. 

INFORMATION!

• Orac notes that the space station was partially destroyed during the Atomic Wars. Given that the Federation hadn't destroyed it yet and the survivors seemed to be in relatively good shape, it would suggest that the Atomic Wars took place not too long ago (rather than being the nuclear holocaust that gave birth to the Federation as is generally thought). I can't help but feel that Armstrong may have confused the Atomic Wars with the Intergalactic War. 

BEST QUOTE

FATHER: "Time's running out..."
AVON: "You never said a truer word, friend. Start explaining... or you die!

CONCLUSION

I'll give them points for bold ideas. It's better to try something different than recycle the same shite.