Funeral on Kalion (2018) Review

 

Funeral on Kalion is a little too formulaic for my tastes, at least at this point in the franchise.

WRITTEN BY

Trevor Baxendale. He's generally a reliable writer, which might be at the heart of the problem here.

PLOT

The ruler of the shipyard planet Kalion is dead, leaving the world vulnerable to annexation from the Federation. This has thus far been only prevented by a special key that would destroy the shipyards instantly. Avon, Servalan and the President all seek the key to shift the balance of power in the galaxy in their favor... 

ANALYSIS

I enjoyed the experience of listening to Kalion and I can't think of any grievous error with it... beyond the overwhelming feeling that I've just been here before, so many times. Avon and Servalan are chasing after a MacGuffin, again. There's a comedy heist with Avon/Vila bickering, again. There's an ironic twist at the end and nobody wins, again. It's not like it's badly done, and it is stories like these that made the original episodes and even the earlier audios good, but at this point, we need to move on somehow. I know the series can't evolve too much due to the original's very definitive finale, but I wish there was at least some more experimentation with the format. 

True Believers in the previous box set was a great example of a story that pushed the boundaries. You can say what you like about its quality (personally, I enjoyed it), but it felt like a path that the franchise hadn't gone down yet. And I think there's still room for original storytelling like that in Blake's 7.

The situation on Kalion was vaguely interesting, but the script never really delves into the intrigue. At first, I suspected Maldor may have murdered Sorron for the greater good, but apparently he really was sincere. Or was he? He does take power illegally, after all, when surely there could've been someone he could eventually pass the key onto. There's a lot more that could've been explored there, but the story lacks time due to its multitude of subplots.  Between Avon & Vila trying to steal the key, Tarrant & Dayna fussing about with spaceport security, Servalan & the President bickering with each other (which was the best part, to be fair), there's not much room left for worldbuilding. It's only adequate. 

CHARACTERS

As I said, I did adore the banter between Hugh Fraser and Jacqueline Pearce, especially when Servalan gets tetchy at the length of the funeral proceedings and the President has to calm her down. It's almost as if they bond a little over their mutual impatience! That being said, this is definitely not the kind of dynamic I imagined they'd have. President set up a massively complex relationship between them, with both sides employing innuendos and double meanings when interacting with each other, like two circling lions. None of that is present here, and the President in particular is boiled down mostly to an annoyed bureaucrat who wants his big chair back, a far cry from that original story (and even series 1). I know he's lost control, isn't the hardened military officer that Servalan is and they probably felt the need to distinguish him from Servalan to some extent, but this sort of behaviour does diminish him as an antagonist. His totally political-almost-friendly approach already set him apart from Servalan's gangster behaviour. 

I don't have much to say about the rest of the cast. They all give predictably solid performances. Trevor Littledale is theatrical and compelling as Maldor, and gives him as much depth as possible in a small amount of time. But we never learn that much about him. 

NOTES

• This story takes place on day 523 of the 3rd century of the 2nd calendar. 
• I love Darrow's line delivery of "I WANT that key!". Greedy bastard. 
• The President elaborating on this long history between him and Sorron only to be gently reminded that they only met once was very funny. 
• I found it interesting that burial is seen as archaic by the crew (to the point of disgust). They have used the term 'burial' as a euphemism for death before, but perhaps that's just language not moving on yet.
• The Auronar apparently cremate all their dead. Which makes Cally's death oddly fitting.
• I love the President calling Servalan a 'power-mad witch'. I mean, nobody really swears in the Blake's 7 universe, but they have at least used the word 'bitch' a few times. The President is too dignified even for that.

INFORMATION!

• Tarrant refers to the Federation news networks as the 'mediasphere', a term originating from the Blake's 7 novel of the same name.
• The Intergalactic War and Servalan's coup d'etat are briefly discussed.
• Ambassadors arrive from Teal and Vandor (both worlds were featured in Death-Watch), and sympathies are sent from the planet Horizon.

BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE

"Dayna, get back to Tarrant. He's liable to try something heroic if he's left on his own too long."

CONCLUSION

It's perfectly serviceable Blake's 7, I'm just tired of all the reheated tropes.