Refuge (2018) Review

 

Refuge is a comfortably casual little adventure, although it could've used a script edit or two. 

WRITTEN BY

Reliable hand Trevor Baxendable.

PLOT

En route to assist Servalan in destroying the President once and for all, the Liberator stumbles on a cargo ship manned by Gev Galon, a former associate of Vila's who is escorting a shipment of humans in cryogenic stasis. The crew task Vila with finding out why. 

ANALYSIS

'Refuge' is an apt word, because after a deluge of very disappointing audios, it's nice to get one that's at least fun to listen to. This isn't a nailbiting adventure or a powerful drama. It's more like the audio equivalent of a bottle episode. In fact, barely anything happens at all. But it's okay, because we're familiar with these characters and we know they can easily carry an hour of conversation and intrigue. And certainly it's more believable than Big Finish's attempts at having 75-year old actors imitate action sequences and gunfights. 

The central concept isn't exactly original. By this point, 'what if Vila was really cool and intelligent' is as old hat as having him be a drunken coward and it's starting to feel like his characterisation is yo-yoing a bit. In fact, you could make the same argument for every crewmember. It's like there's two versions of them - the standard 'official' one, and the one that gets used when the writer wants to feel clever. 

So Vila is either a drunken coward or a slightly disturbed criminal. Avon's a self-serving maniac or he's got a heart of gold. Cally's a calm pacifist or a tough as nails freedom fighter. Tarrant's an annoying prick or the sanest man onboard. 

Blake's 7 has always thrived on the crew dynamics, but maybe that's also its Achilles heel in a way. All the Big Finish writers want to tap into that goldmine and as a result, they've totally exhausted it. So now, I'm much more intrigued by the rare episodes that actually bother with the worldbuilding and guest stars, because all the cool stuff with the main cast has been done to death. 

That's why I like the relatively unpopular True Believers a lot. Whatever you think about its weird religious angle, you can't deny it was something original. And it's also why I like Refuge. Even though the setup is something we've seen a million times, at least they're using it to peel back the layers of a person we haven't met before. Pretty much the entire audio is just the crew trying to solve little mysteries about Gev Galon, confirming his lies and truths and sorting out where his loyalties truly lie. It's almost Liberator Chronicles-esque in that regard. It's something new. And with Galon being seemingly amiable and charismatic (like a cooler version of Keiller from Gold), there's an unusually minimal threat level. But through the whole story, my brain was ticking away, thinking 'surely it can't be that simple'. So I was always hooked. 

The ending was a little difficult for me to take seriously. It's based on the crew making a lot of assumptions on how characters will behave, and taking things on trust, which is just not how a man like Avon would operate. Even (or especially) with thousands of lives at stake. I'm genuinely surprised he didn't just shoot everyone. 

CHARACTERS

With the exception of the President being a major player, it seems like the previous audio seasons have been forgotten, as all the development Avon made to become a freedom fighter has disappeared and he's gone back to hiding. They once made a big deal about him becoming a more dictatorial leader (which is in continuity with how the show developed from Terminal onwards), but that's suddenly gone away as well. See what I mean about the yo-yoing of characters?

Vila is the main focus today and I do think Baxendale writes him very well. It helps that while Michael Keating's voice is visibly aged now, he's still one of the few performers to inject real energy into it. I thought the idea of Vila having a Federation trooper for a friend was pretty neat, and a little more inventive than another thief girlfriend. It also feels more in line with how Vila was like in the show. His explanation that he has to feel like he earns his riches is a nice explanation for why he never touched the Liberator's wealth. 

Bruce Alexander is perfectly cast as the enigmatic yet affable ex-trooper Galon. Alexander being a contemporary of the original Blake's 7 cast, he fits in so well that's as if he was always here. He just nailed that vibe of being cuddly yet also believable as someone who used to bark orders when he was younger. As I mentioned above, there's a bit of the old Keiller/Belkov magic about him, a shady yet likeable antihero who's trying to outwit the crew but not in a mean way. Vila stealing his jewels is a nice riff on the ending to Games. 

NOTES

• I liked hearing Cally push Avon into using the Liberator for charitable purposes. And of course he immediately has a plan prepared and everything. Cally's right, Avon's just deluding himself about not being involved. Dayna's line about Avon himself not really knowing what he's about anymore was spot on. 
• The "clear space!" salute was a lovely touch. Just broadening the world of Blake's 7 a little.
• I hope the plan to ally with Servalan comes up again in future stories. A VERY delicious prospect for drama... yes, I know I said the characters were exhausted, but I am a whore for Avon/Servalan interaction.
• I'm not sure how I feel about Tarrant pointing out Avon's repeated failures to kill Servalan. It's not wise to draw attention to tropes like that.
• Fun fact - I was totally convinced that Bruce Alexander was Michael Keating putting on a voice. 
• The mention of hyperspace helps to unite this continuity with that of the Barry Letts audios. 
• Is the mention about the Liberator guns looking heavy supposed to be an in-joke towards the props?
• I'm surprised they trusted Vila to guard an ex-trooper, regardless of how nice he seemed. 
• Avon chastising Cally about underestimating Vila's paranoia was a good reminder how well he and Vila understand each other. 
• The music (by David Roocroft and Simon Power) is unusually good in this. 
• The Liberator suddenly has tractor beams (gravitational pulse beams) now.
• Blake's exile is a lot funnier in the context of a presidential Civil War. In the show, there was just general chaos in the galaxy and it was believable that he would be biding his time. Now, it's a little bit silly that there's all this conflict happening and he's just puttering away on Gauda Prime, cooking chicken!

INFORMATION!

• The war between the Presidents continues. Avon compares it with the Andromedan war we saw in Star One, Warship and Aftermath. 
• Cally references Auron's destruction in Children of Auron, and her motives for joining the resistance on Saurian Major (seen in Time Squad).
• Blake and Jenna are mentioned.
• Galon talks about how Vila is not really a delta grade. Vila claimed to be a delta grade in Shadow, and admitted to purchasing his 'grade four ignorant' classification in Volcano. 
• Galon owes money to a Terra Nostra loan shark in Space City. The Terra Nostra were featured in Shadow.
• Cally's hatred of cryogenic stasis harkens back to Warship.
• It's the first time Avon's anti-detection screen has been mentioned in the audios. He invented it in Trial.

BEST QUOTE

VILA: "I thought Orac was supposed to be helping us to think of a way to end the war!"
DAYNA: "The quest for intergalactic peace is probably beneath him, Vila."

CONCLUSION

Good enough for now. Bruce Alexander really carries it.