Ghost Ship is an example of the 'subversion of expectations' trope pulled off successfully.
WRITTEN BY
Iain McLaughlin. Well, he can do a good horror, that's something.
PLOT
The Liberator goes to meet representatives of the crime syndicate Shifkin for information regarding Dayna. After the crew teleports down, Vila finds himself alone and haunted by ghosts from ancient legends...
ANALYSIS
What I really enjoyed about this one is how much it kept me guessing. At no point could I decide where Ghost Ship was heading. Was it a horror story, or some mysterious scheme? Was Vila having a mental breakdown? That last one might seem silly in retrospect, but I was becoming so confused and intrigued that every possibility (no matter how surreal) seemed reasonable.
Finally, the carpet was pulled out from underneath my feet in a most satisfying way, as McLaughlin went back to an element introduced at the beginning of the story and made me think "a-HA! I should have thought of that!" And even when I had the answers, I wasn't entirely sure what the endgame was. It's also worth noting that having the mystery solved doesn't make everything that came before any less interesting. A huge issue I have with Fractures (a similar Liberator-based horror story) is that knowing what's going on makes it impossible to listen to again, because there's nothing else to it. Here, it's obvious that what Vila goes through leaves a psychological impact on him, and it also furthers the overall development of his and Avon's relationship.
My only personal issue with the story (and this isn't really a criticism, just a nitpick) is that the main antagonist's plan feels like it was written to justify all of the madness that occurs. It doesn't come across like a plan someone would actually come up with, but rather that the writer had all these cool ideas he wanted to do and then the plan had to support everything for the story to make sense. And it does, but the logic is strained.
CHARACTERS
Michael Keating has the limelight this time, and for the most part carries himself well. He's alone and this is the audio format, so there's a lot of Vila talking to Vila. Almost too much of it. Blake's 7 can be theatrical at times, and this is definitely one of those times. But it's nice to hear him take charge in something outside of a comedy (City at the Edge of the World, Spy) or a brooding character drama (Solitary, Secrets). This feels like a story that could have anyone as its lead, and they simply chose Vila. Which, ironically, is what allows his particular traits to stand out more. Vila's paranoia and cowardice is brought to the forefront as we watch him be driven into a frenzy by malfunctioning lights and strange noises. It's a great performance, but the real highlight is his discovery of Avon's involvement. The sense of betrayal is obviously meant to harken to (and foreshadow) Orbit. It's a bitter, cruel moment and really wonderfully played by Keating.
The same praise goes to Paul Darrow, who brings shades of his unhinged and utterly ruthless Series D incarnation to Avon here. I've enjoyed finding justifications for what the character became in that season and the things he did. But even I found myself questioning Avon here, and whether he really has a heart left inside of him after Anna Grant. Maybe he really is just an insane cutthroat mercenary. The fact that I feel this conflicted about Avon is a testament to both the writer and Darrow.
The Revenants made for an interesting villain, but as I mentioned above, all of their attributes seem designed to service the story. They're not characters, but a plot device to explore Avon and Vila's dynamic. Unfortunately, the same goes for the crew, who are largely sidelined in this one. I'm particularly frustrated about Grant's continued irrelevance, since we're about to lose Chadbon. Grant had such potential as a member of the crew, but he hasn't really been challenged or emotionally affected since Defector, and that was back in the Chronicles!
NOTES
- You can tell that this story was made before Big Finish acquired the rights to the Terra Nostra, since they are obviously the biggest crime syndicate in the galaxy, not the Shifkin (lol at the name). Or did the destruction of Star One cripple them like it did the Federation?
- Avon's justification for finding Dayna - that she knows too much about the Liberator - doesn't really hold water. What could she possibly know? She's not an engineer. This need to get her back made much more sense in Animals, when they actually risked losing Xenon Base. The sheer amount of effort Avon puts into finding Dayna (who clearly has no interest in returning) is becoming increasingly ridiculous.
- I've rarely had cause to comment on Alistair Lock, as he usually does a good job at playing Orac and Zen. But the choice to play Orac as very overexcited at the start of this was a bit odd. Unless we're meant to gather that Orac loves playing pranks, and is just really giddy at the idea of fooling Vila.
- I think we could have gathered that Vila is dreaming without the half minute of Keating moaning in an unseemly fashion.
- Not sure whether this is intentional or not, but I've noticed that the crew's general behaviour throughout this series is very close to how they acted in Death-Watch. As if that episode was a template for their characterisation now.
- Grant uses "10 o'clock" as a direction, meaning that the clockface is still used in the far future.
- It was nice to see Zen tasked with doing some logical thinking, not just answering questions all the time. People think Gan's underused, but he's been a superstar compared to post-Series A Zen.
- Dayna has been in contact with the Shifkin, for unexplained reasons.
- Avon reminds Tarrant that he should know Avon always has a plan. This is probably in reference to Avon manipulating him into helping a rebel spy escape in Defector. Tarrant also mentions the alien Chitinoid encountered in that story.
- Avon justifies leaving Vila on the Liberator by reminding Grant of his recent disappearance, which occurred in the previous story Mindset.
- Vila accuses Orac of not knowing any good jokes. I'd argue that means this (and by extension all the Grant era stories) takes place before Ultraworld.
- According to Vila, Gan used to volunteer to get whatever was needed from the supply room.
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