Erebus (2018) Review

 

Erebus is a charming homage to film noir. 

WRITTEN BY

Paul Darrow, who is as idiosyncratic as ever. He's also the only Big Finish writer who worked in the 1970s, which gives his version of Blake's 7 a certain kind of authenticity that's become increasingly lacking in these audio dramas. 

PLOT

Avon's former lover Eve Adams hacks into Orac with the purpose of drawing the Liberator into a trap at the President's base on Erebus. Suspecting Eve's involvement, Avon teleports to the planet to confront her. Meanwhile, the President takes advantage of the situation to try to rid himself of both. 

ANALYSIS

The thing I enjoyed most about listening to Erebus was that it didn't feel like it was trying to replicate the show's highlights. I greatly appreciate the effort that Big Finish has put into giving the world of Blake's 7 some cohesion. In most cases, it's elevated the characters and the overall arc. But lately, it's as if the series has been in a rut, constantly recycling all the beloved tropes and not really experimenting anymore with the tone or format (the Liberator Chronicles were much better at keeping things fresh, even though they could be hit and miss). 

So having a story that feels completely removed from that style and is just doing its own thing comes as a welcome change of pace. Of course, anyone familiar with Darrow's writing knows exactly what to expect here. Cowboys and Indians, unabashed love for melodrama, Game of Thrones-style political scheming, science fiction so wonderfully bad it would burst Isaac Asimov's forehead vein, your typical of-the-times misogyny. It's all back. 

The downside is that if you can't jive with Darrow's particular sense of humour, it's unlikely that Erebus will appeal to you. His dialogue is full of stilted exposition, suspension of disbelief is stretched to the limit and nobody really acts the way they normally do. The narrative is beyond convoluted and you have to pay close attention to keep track of what's actually going on and why. 

CHARACTERS

Darrow has clearly taken Chris Boucher's rule of always giving Avon multiple motivations to heart, as his true intentions are almost indecipherable in this. This can be frustrating and makes his behaviour seem illogical at times (it took me three listens to be content with how the ending plays out), but I think Paul was writing the script with cinematic visuals in mind, and the subtleties he imagined got a little lost in editing.

He takes the oppurtunity to subvert expectations in regards to Avon's dynamics with the crew. Vila finds himself is suddenly treated with an abnormally high level of respect by Avon, who flatters him into participating in a risky venture (instead of employing the usual repertoire of patronising insults). In another scene, Avon deliberately (and pointlessly) trolls Cally and Dayna into thinking he'll do the pragmatic thing and abandon the others. It's not exactly Marvel levels of self-awareness, but there is a deliberate playfulness there in regards to how Avon is depicted. It's as cozy and funny as Avon could ever plausibly get. 

Dayna is written with the same cool detachment and insight that normally belongs to Soolin, but it makes her a lot more interesting. The recurring joke of her only speaking when it's absolutely necessary helps to give all of her lines more weight. 

Jan Chappell seems to embrace the silliness of Darrow's writing and gives an incredibly camp performance, acting like the crew's eccentric aunt all of a sudden. A shame that she doesn't get much to do. 

Vila and Tarrant are the least interesting, trapped in an inane subplot of their own. They don't have much chemistry at the best of times, and here most of the banter between them falls flat as well. 

Hugh Fraser is back as the President, although his role is quite peripheral. I have a personal theory that his role was originally been intended for Servalan. It seems unlikely that Darrow would not want to write an audio featuring Jacqueline Pearce. The President's gay robot sidekick would've been funnier alongside Pearce. 

Issy van Randwyck is the standout, giving a dual performance as Eve Adams and her computer Nada. As Eve, she's your classic femme fatale. Vengeful over being scorned by a past love, confident and exotic in her demeanour. She does come uncomfortably close to being a ripoff of Anna Grant (a treacherous Federation agent who got too close to Avon and was crucial in getting him arrested), but I must admit I actually like Eve a lot more. Anna's character only worked for me because Darrow gave such a sincere performance and sold Anna as being his one true love. But we never really learn why that was. Maybe he lost his virginity to her, who knows. To me, Eve makes more sense for Avon. They worked in the same field, share a similar sense of humour. One could argue it was precisely Anna's apparent purity that appealed to Avon, but that's never made adequately clear in that episode. 

NOTES

• I love the unexplained lightning storm in space at the start. Maybe Darrow saw Star Trek 2009 before he wrote this?
• The President advising his officer to commit seppuku is such a Paul Darrow thing. I don't know why he loves honor suicide so much. It happens in practically all of his stories. 
• Eve having to remind the President of their evil plan because he had such good sex that he forgot has to be the funniest excuse for an exposition dump.
• "It just happens to be the military base from which are issued the instructions for the disposition of the former President's forces throughout Federation space." I swear it took me an hour to figure out what Darrow said here. First I had to translate the audio to text and then I had to piece together the meaning. 
• Eve gives the President a disc with information she downloaded from Orac. At first I thought this was related to the same disc the crew were supposed to steal from Erebus, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I wonder if this comes back to play in later audios? 
• There's a reference to Tarrant trying to override Avon's instructions to Zen and Orac in the past, which I think might be a nod to Powerplay (where Zen wouldn't work until a crewmember spoke to it). I can't recall anything similar in any other story. Incidentally, Darrow was somewhat obsessed with how easily Avon gave Tarrant and Dayna access to the computers, and frequently mentioned that development in interviews as one of the show's low points.
• I like that the existence of Erebus Base provides some insight into how the Federation's military operates. I feel like writers have a tendency to dumb these details down somewhat, even back in the original show. It's nice to see all the cogs in the machine. 
• "But me no buts!" - is this a saying?
• Cally suggesting that Vila is hotter than Tarrant blows my mind. Must be pure spite. 
• Apparently the communication bracelets cannot penetrate iron. Suuuuure. 
• The notion that Cally and Dayna can do nothing to stop Avon from taking the Liberator away is hilarious to me. It's not like Avon has forbidden Zen and Orac from obeying them. Just knock him out!
• There's really no obvious reason why Eve Adams doesn't get Avon arrested instead of personally confronting him... and then letting him accompany her to her apartment... and then having him examine Nada (!?). This is the part of the story where I really have to assume Darrow felt the tension between the characters alone could compel the story forward, rather than rational thinking. At least Avon addresses it.
• I like the idea of the President letting the crew leave so they'd bother Servalan, but you'd think he'd give them a nudge in that direction. It feels a bit weird for him to release the Liberator just because. Should have handed them that disc he got. 

INFORMATION!

• The Liberator is mentioned to be travelling through "Mordovan territories". Mordova is a known misspelling of Mordovia, a republic of Russia. This seems to imply that Darrow considers the 'Federation of Russia' (a spacefaring faction in his Blake's 7 sequel novels) canon to this story.
• Several aspects of Erebus as recycled from previous Paul Darrow stories:

1) The Liberator being drawn to a Federation world by the famed number one computer genius who wants a rematch with Avon/Vila and Tarrant teleporting down only to be prevented from returning is taken from Rock Star.

2) The notion of ships entering 'stealth mode' (aka becoming invisible) was invented by Orac in the Lucifer novels, but now exists as part of the Liberator's design. 

3) The Federation using robots that can be easily destroyed by water is taken from Man of Iron. 

4) Erebus Base - a minor rest and recuperation planet that secretly serves as an HQ for the Federation - is basically just Iphigenia from Lucifer under a different name. Even the name is from Greek mythology.

• Vila jokingly asks Cally if she's having one of her 'funny turns' again, an amusing callback to Sarcophagus, Ultraworld and other stories.
• A passing reference is made to the ongoing conflict between Servalan and the President.
• Dayna quotes Murphy's Law, contradicting Stardrive where she's unfamiliar with it.
• The President mentions having past personal history with Tarrant, a reference to Devil's Advocate. 
• Blake is briefly discussed. It's suggested that the crew are still looking for him. 

BEST QUOTE

PRESIDENT: "How did you achieve this infiltration of Orac?"

EVE: "I caught the terrorist known as Avon unawares. Also... I'm a computer genius!"

PRESIDENT: "You're also good in bed. Is there anything you can't do?"

EVE: "I can't snuff out my need for vengeance!"

CONCLUSION

I thought it was good fun. It's not one of my favourite Darrow stories (that would be Lucifer: Revelation and the unrelated-to-B7 "Queen: the eYe" novel), but it's a fine sendoff for his all-too-brief side career as a writer.