Outpost is... weird. For a while there, it was the good kind. Then it turned into the bad kind. At least it held my attention?
WRITTEN BY
Christopher Cooper. I am gonna be scared of anything else he writes!
PLOT
Following an SOS message intended for Blake, Tarrant and Vila find themselves on a formerly Federation-controlled asteroid base. Shortly after making contact, they're captured by Roska, a devious mercenary who's got a passionate history with Vila. And she's far too eager to see him again...
ANALYSIS
I guess it's nice to have a more lighthearted and comic tone to a Big Finish story. Aside from odd examples like Fortuitas and Poison, most of them tend to go for a modernized space opera approach. And that's great and all, but I always enjoy seeing the stories where the writer's particular idiosyncrasies shine out. You can so easily tell a Robert Holmes story from a Chris Boucher story from a Terry Nation story. With Big Finish, I think there's a greater deal of script editing going on (plus, I imagine the writers approach the material with more respect than workman writers of the 1980s), so it gets a little bit samey. Boy, is that not the case today.
I'm just gonna grab it by the jugular and ask who the heck thought Vila getting raped is funny? This had to go through multiple people, all of whom thought it was okay? In fairness, this probably would have been seen as funny back in the 1970s (I remember the first Blackadder series having poor Baldrick being put through the wringer too), but it's just very odd to see in 2017. It's outdated. The joke about Vila being lusted after would've worked infinitely better without going there.
Fortunately, Outpost goes by at a quick pace, the dialogue's pretty good and there's enough twists and turns for the story to remain engaging, so it's not entirely a lost cause. But all that is overshadowed by the sheer oddness of the main antagonist and her dynamic with Vila. Cooper was writing their scenes in a comedic way so I was actually quite onboard with it for a while. There wasn't any indication they'd actually physically hooked up in the past. So why'd he have to go there? I think if he hadn't done that, this could've been a 7 or 8 out of 10. Instead, it's just... awkward.
CHARACTERS
One of the reasons I'm really glad to have these audios is because it gives the actors an oppurtunity to improve on certain aspects of their original performances. With age comes wisdom, as they say. And the dynamic between Steven Pacey and Michael Keating is absolutely improved. I never really liked seeing Tarrant and Vila together in the show. Tarrant was too much of a bully and Vila seemed to genuinely despise him. In the audios, though, they really play up Tarrant's paternal side, with Vila coming off like a child that he's stuck babysitting, and Vila trying desperately to prove himself but being grateful for Tarrant's protection.
Let's talk about Tracy Wiles as Roska. She is hawt. Let's move on.
I really enjoyed Sophia Hannides' character Shuuna Rel. The way she kept flip-flopping between sides depending on what she felt would keep her alive was very realistic. I couldn't hate her, because if I was caught between terrorists and a crumbling government, I'd probably do the same! I found myself actually wishing she'd get away with it. They could've done more with the idea of a Federation 'nobody' just trying to live her life in the madness of the Blake's 7 world. Logic kinda touched on it, but I mean someone who isn't brainwashed.
No idea why Servalan is in this. It's her most pointless appearance ever. Even the weird end scene in Ministry of Peace at least tried to develop Avon's character. Here, she just shows up to tell Shuuna off and execute her. But it wasn't played for laughs or anything, so it just felt like a waste of Servalan. Why would the President be doing this sort of thing personally? They imply that she was interested in the outpost because of the report of Blake's appearance, but then immediately contradict that by having her say that Blake seems to be everywhere. Why would this particular report interest her more than the other ones? And again, why bother having her show up if she isn't gonna do anything?
NOTES
- Finally someone points out the similarity in Blake and Tarrant's hairstyles. Just think, they could've compared curlers if they ever managed to become friends.
- Vila mentions a pirate named "Bongan Duggan" (?), which might be a veiled in-joke about Tom Chadbon's character on Doctor Who.
- Vila not knowing why he follows Blake and Avon or thinking he'd be safer going against a mob than with Tarrant feels like Vila being written to be dumber than he actually is. Maybe he's just playing stupid, but the rest of the script never really implies that.
- The modern night club music felt painfully out of place in a recreation of 1970s TV.
- Vila is served synthehol, which is an alcohol substitute borrowed from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- The references to BDSM culture (Roska's fondness for black rubber and habit of calling Shuuna "kitten") only further attest to Cooper being incredibly horny when he wrote this.
- I really like that Shuuna is genuinely confused about why anyone would want to go against the Federation. She seems either totally oblivious about the oppression or just accepts it as a natural part of life. It's another aspect of her character that could've been explored more.
- The implication that the events of this story convinced the crew to become even less involved with fighting the Federation is neat.
- At one point, Tarrant refers to the Liberator flight deck as 'the bridge'.
- I love the cold matter-of-factness of everyone at the outpost being executed off-screen after Tarrant and Vila leave. Servalan's appearance might've been pointless, but she's still awesome.
INFORMATION!
- Vila references Tarrant's Federation training.
- The effects of the Intergalactic War have left the Clivian outpost largely undefended.
- This story seems to take place a few adventures after Liberation, as Tarrant mentions a time when Vila fell asleep at the teleport desk, which was never shown onscreen (as far as I recall, it only happened in Duel).
- Tarrant mentions the possibility of taking up bounty hunting as well as meeting Blake, which obviously foreshadow the events of Blake.
- The Liberator's role in the Intergalactic War and the crew's temporary departure from it (as seen in Aftermath) are discussed.
- Vila claims to have met several people in juvenile detention who'd go on to be the biggest names in crime. One of them is Roska, who had a delusional crush on him. Vila sold Roska out in order to be sent to a more comfortable prison.
- Tarrant claims to have joined the Liberator crew because he was tired of "fighting the wrong battles". Maybe I'm reaching, but it feels like this would set Incentive between this story and Liberation, as that is when he really seemed to embrace being part of the crew.
- At this point, Servalan has never heard of Tarrant.
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