A complete ranking of all of Vila's appearances in the original run of Blake's 7 - judging the performance by Michael Keating, the use of the character and the way he's written.
#45. Space Fall (1x02)
Vila dropping his gun when Gan orders the Federation guards to do it is my least favourite Vila moment. It makes him out to be a complete idiot and is basically the reason Blake's mutiny fails. Totally unforgivable. But the rest of his appearance isn't much better, as he spends most of the episode doing parlour tricks, which isn't really a part of the character I'm all too fond of. I prefer him as a cunning thief, not as a clown.
#44. Aftermath (3x01)
Putting this one near the bottom by default, because Vila only has a few minutes of screentime. He just shows up to remind the audience that Michael Keating is still in the show.
#43. The Web (1x05)
He's barely in this one too. Wears a dumb outfit. Gets knocked on the head for a bit.
#42. Children of Auron (3x07)
The one where Vila gets scared of COVID-19. (This blog post is timeless and will never be dated)
#41. Powerplay (3x02)
Episodes that rely on Vila being thick for the plot to progress are no good. Him reuniting with Cally is a lovely, though, as is Avon's quip about him being at his best when he's unconscious.
#40. Voice from the Past (2x10)
For a man with a high IQ, he sure is gullible. Then again, Avon and Cally hooking up doesn't sound entirely beyond reason...
Vila becoming Blake's "Deputy Leader" is an amusing moment.
#39. Star One (2x13)
Stop crying about the alien fleet and do something interesting. Go teleport to an alien ship and steal some Andromedan tech. He's so boringly onenote.
#42. Mission to Destiny (1x07)
This is the one where Vila moans about asteroids like one of them killed his mother.
#38. Animals (4x05)
I don't actively dislike Vila's subplot here, but it's the most pointless his character ever got. I mean, he spends half the episode basically cleaning Scorpio's septic tank. It's pure padding. I do really like the bit where he and Avon haggle over how much wine Vila gets for doing it, though. They come off as being really comfortable with each other.
#37. Stardrive (4x04)
It's frustrating to see them write him as dimwitted when it actively puts the group in danger. He's above this sort of material.
#36. Ultraworld (3x10)
Probably the most puerile depiction of Vila ever, but it's salvaged somewhat by the great Vila/Orac interactions and the fact that he ends up saving the day. Plus, I do have a soft spot for riddles.
#35. Weapon (2x03)
I barely recall him. I definitely recall all the verbal skewering Avon does to him.
#34. The Keeper (2x12)
Vila being a court jester isn't all that fun to me, but I respect that they at least set it up in a previous episode. Keating has some funny interactions with Bruce Purchase, and the rivalry with Gola's previous jester isn't too bad (although I wish they'd done more with that, it just kinda stops).
Vila chills out with some cocktails and watches football. Has some great lines in both of these episodes, though.
#32. Trial (2x06)
I like that Vila is the one to show the most insight into what kind of person Gan was, because they were friends. And it makes sense for him to agree with Avon about leaving Blake. That is the only reasonable assumption we can make.
#31. Assassin (4x07)
I love the banter between him and Avon when they teleport to Caspar. But Vila was barely in the episode after that. Same goes for the director.
#30. Horizon (2x04)
'lol work bad' is Allan Prior's one and only joke for Vila. Some fans may appreciate shirtless Keating.
Keating puts a good amount of effort into the interrogation scene. Brian Croucher completely steals that scene from him, but it's still worth noting.
#28. Rumours of Death (3x08)
Although Vila's role is limited, I like that Avon had him to set up the caves for Shrinker. I think that's quite revealing of Avon's character, even if the writer may not have intended it to be. His other scenes are pretty entertaining, so overall it's good showing.
#27. Countdown (2x09)
This is that weird period of the show where every episode had the Blake/Avon/Vila dream team. So Vila gets to break a few locks and is around for most of the runtime, but still isn't very relevant. That scene where his sense of direction fails is relatable as hell, though.
#26. Volcano (3x03) / The Harvest of Kairos (3x05)
I love the scene of him and Avon sitting alone in the messed up flight deck so much. By this point, Keating and the writers had fully developed the character to the point where he's super enjoyable to watch even when he's on the sidelines.
#25. Bounty (1x11)
Vila gathering his courage to investigate the invaders in the teleport room is a good, strong moment for his character. I also appreciate how useful he is in breaking everybody out and standing up to Avon for criticising him. He once again isn't integral to the story, but everything he does is written well.
#24. Sand (4x09)
The (belated) mourning for Cally allows Keating to deal with heavyweight material, which is rare for him in this show. He rises to the challenge, though, and it's quite tough to watch him be so vulnerable and bitter. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, he again isn't in the episode all that much.
#23. Rescue (4x01) / Power (4x02)
Narratively, Vila's role in these two episodes is identical - he is to stand outside of Dorian's door and remind Tarrant and Dayna that he indeed cannot open it. Again and again and again. However, the reason I've ranked this so highly is because I find the reboot in Vila's personality interesting. His attraction towards Dayna, his drinking and his complaints all feel more real in a way. What used to be endearing quirks are now portrayed as genuine flaws, and it helps to set a more uncomfortable mood for Series D. I'm not sure if Boucher just began to flanderize Vila or if his promotion to second lead behind Darrow had anything to do with this or if either of them wanted to change Vila to reflect the events on Terminal, but it stands out to me.
#22. Project Avalon (1x09) / Redemption (2x01) / Pressure Point (2x05)
I don't have much to say. Vila tags along on the mission and gets to be fairly useful without standing out too much. For some, that's the sum of their ambition in life. Good job, Vila.
#21. Headhunter (4x06)
I really enjoy Vila in this episode. At first, we get to see how much his dynamic with Tarrant has evolved since they butted heads in Series C. They actually make a pretty good team now. Later on, he gets some truly great moments when he and the team are fighting Muller's robot on Xenon. 'It'll be Vila or it'll be me.' 'It'll be you!' Classic stuff.
#20. Shadow (2x02)
Horny Vila
#19. Deliverance (1x12)
This is one of my favourite episodes for Avon/Vila interactions. Keating's dry reactions to Meegat are absolutely priceless.
#18. Cygnus Alpha (1x03)
The early scenes with Arco are a bit annoying, and it feels like they haven't worked the character out yet. But I had to rank this episode high for the scene towards the end, where Vila kills someone for the first time. It's a powerful moment of shock and vulnerability, and Keating plays it so well. Vila at his most human. Extra points for the 'architectural design is early maniac' line.
#17. Orac (1x13)
I love how annoyed he becomes when Avon drags him out of his deathbed. The bit where he hits his head on the door is perfectly timed. It's kind of morbid, but also really funny. Blake's 7 had a knack for mixing broad humour with gallows humour, and this is a good example of that.
#16. Blake (4x13)
Vila is surprisingly underused and lowkey in the last episode, but there are some moments that reflect back to the events of 'Orbit' which I really liked, namely his glee at the idea of finding Blake and of course his panic about what happened to Tarrant when he and Avon were alone. Good character development.
#15. Seek-Locate-Destroy (1x06)
It's mostly just that one moment when he distracts the guards by cheerfully explaining how he's going to sabotage the base. I really enjoy the pairing of Blake and Vila early in the episode.
#14. Time Squad (1x04)
This is one of those episodes where you can tell Keating is still working out how he's going to play Vila. But there's some important beats here. The line "I plan to live forever, or die trying!" pretty much goes on to define him. He's vital in the attack against the transceiver complex. Love the smugness with which he shows off his skillset in front of Avon, Blake and Cally. I think this is the first time he and Avon properly interact, so there's that. A solid story for Vila.
#13. Breakdown (1x10)
Vila threatening the doctor with a gun is a top tier moment. He's rarely so ruthless or loyal, and I wish we had seen much more of this during the show's run.
#12. Dawn of the Gods (3x04)
This story always comes to mind whenever I think of Vila. It's not his best, but it's the one where he is the most Vila-like if that makes any sense. The way he's written and presented is perfect. Even the moments of him being dumb and staring at the Thaarn's weapon for too long feel so natural. I wish I had a better description, but it's just the most 'classic' depiction of Vila in my mind.
#11. Moloch (3x11)
Memorable for an iconic interaction between Vila and Servalan. It'd be difficult to find two characters so completely unlike each other, both usually existing far away in their own storylines. But putting them together like this produced utter magic, and was the highlight of an otherwise dismal episode.
#10. Warlord (4x12)
After Orbit, Keating (or the writer) seems to have realised that Vila could be a lot more dynamic when played a certain way, and so the character now has a lot more grit and spite than before. Sure, the collapse of the base is a rough situation, but Vila acts so terrified and bitter over it that it feels real. His comic relief days have come and gone.
#9. Sarcophagus (3x09)
A lot of Vila's credibility as a character comes from the alien queen's definition of him as having "a high IQ yet he acts like an imbecile". Tanith Lee was a fan of the series and did her best to bolster its continuity whenever she was writing. I like how Keating gets a lot of scenes where he's just on his own and has to hold a scene by talking to himself. He's very good at that. Vila becoming so freaked out that he shuts down mentally is memorably disturbing.
#8. Traitor (4x03) / Gold (4x10)
Vila never leaves the Scorpio in these episodes, but his attitude left a huge impression. Suddenly the man has balls of steel. He verbally eviscerates Tarrant (admittedly in his absence), interrogates Keiller as if he was the captain and refuses to involve himself on a heist because he's too good for it. Vila is so effortlessly cool for no apparent reason. And I love it. He should be like this all the time.
#7. Killer (2x07)
I love how aloof he is. At this point, Vila still trusts Avon so he genuinely doesn't care whether he or Blake gets the Liberator. But for once, he gets to be the one addressing the elephant in the room, forcing Avon to ignore him rather than go on the defensive side of an argument. It's a great troll move on Vila's part. For the rest of the time, it's just fun watching the two team up.
#6. Gambit (2x11)
Vila's jaunt to the casino with Avon is one of the best storylines of the entire series. It's comedy gold, and good development for their characters too. For criminals, we rarely see them actually involved in criminal activity so it's a chance to finally have them be in their element. It's great fun. I love how Holmes writes them as almost stereotypical cowboys. "Got everything a man dreams of, they say." "Space City pales in comparison, they say."
#5. Orbit (4x11)
Vila's banter with Avon is on point throughout this entire episode, but of course what puts this performance in the top 5 is the famous sequence where Avon tries to hunt Vila down like an animal. Keating looks so brutally terrified in these scenes. Objectively speaking, it's probably his best acting in the series, maybe even his best acting on TV. And I love the final death glare that he gives Avon. You can tell that if it wasn't for the others and for Avon's skillset keeping him safe on a daily basis, he might have actually murdered the guy.
#4. City at the Edge of the World (3x06)
I'm not altogether too fond of this episode, but since it's literally written to be a Vila-centric story, it kinda has to be this high by default. We get some real insight into how he approaches thieving, which is really original and well written by Boucher. Keating's chemistry with Colin Baker is great and the comedy between them is very entertaining to watch. I also like Avon's breakdown about why their relationship works and why he keeps Vila around.
#3. The Way Back (1x01)
Vila is almost intimidating in this first appearance, probably so the viewer would get an impression of the kind of world/people that Blake will be dealing with as he fights the Federation. There's a lot of potential in a darker Vila and I'd be curious to see a version of the show where they kept him this way, where maybe the tension wouldn't be all about whether just Avon would leave or betray the crew. This Vila is much more believable as a professional scoundrel and the tease about him having psychological issues could have been exploited a million different ways. Keating can sound really sly and sadistic if he wants to, and brings a real edge to Vila that's never seen again.
#2. Terminal (3x13)
I really enjoy seeing Vila be so capable and able to take charge of a situation when it's called for. Especially with Dayna around. Dayna is generally a take-charge person herself and Vila tends to follow her (and anyone else's) lead. But in a situation where she can't shoot the enemy, it makes sense to rely on Vila's age and experience. It was a nice twist on their usual dynamic, which sadly didn't stick for long. To me, it's a window into the kind of person Vila is supposed to be underneath all the antics. It's ironic that even though Terry supposedly hated Keating's acting, he still wrote some of Vila's best episodes and dialogue.
#1. Games (4x08)
This is my favourite Michael Keating performance, because you get every aspect of Vila at its absolute peak. The almost Darrow-esque arrogance when he guns down the troopers, the playful intellect when he's dealing with Gambit, the cowardice played to the hilt in other scenes. Vila saves the group's necks down on the planet, and completes the final game on the Orbiter. He almost carries the whole episode!
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