TV Review - Blake's 7: S04E10 Gold

Chris Boucher has stated in interviews that the Scorpio format might have worked better with another season before the finale so it could really stretch its' legs. Now, I like Boucher and the season does finish strongly but "Gold" is probably a case in point for it not being the case. In the first and only B7 script from Colin Davis (who had a short career as a TV writer, this apparently being his first work since contributing to a Cliff Richards series in 1974) sees the crew get involved in a heist that features an untrustworthy charismatic middle man played by someone quite famous. Which is the same plot as "Games" a fortnight before.

It's not that "Gold" is bad; it's actually rather good. But the broad strokes are the same, with the crew ending up with nothing from the deal the real pain - a longer cycle of these sorts of raids where they win and lose everything in a few late twists would get seriously repetitive and while the second half of the season makes the scripts better it's still the same format of possible ally or resource slips through the Scorpio crew's fingers and leaving them still with the same problems - again, only actually getting the photonic drive breaks the format all season. Yes, the lack of any arc progress was down to the hectic production schedule but it's B7 and that would always be likely, even if the seismic events of the last couple of episodes were pushed back to the end of a theoretical Season 5 (or Season E; what is the letters thing about anyway? If it's production codes why are they used so much in general fan chat, I don't call my favourite Doctor Who story 7E...).

However, what "Gold" does have is a nicely twisting plot. It's unclear where Keiller's loyalties lie and where he stands with the crew; neither party is overly friendly to the other and it's good fun trying to guess who's screwing who over. Throw in the super idea of the gold processing (the metal still being highly valued on some more backwater worlds) and the drugged out space cruises and there are plenty of rogue elements. Of course Avon and Soolin aren't killed in the fight at the processing centre and of course Avon is going to get teleported out of the docking corridor in the nick of time but it's good fun trying to work out what's going where and who's playing who.

Roy Kinnear wasn't a bad catch for the show as Keiller; he was about at the height of his fame at the time shortly before his film profile began to fade and he's a good fit for the character, if still very Roy Kinnear. The sort of mix of avuncular stupidity and underlying cunning is good for a guy were inherently distrust as an outsider but who often seems to get the shit end of the stick from Avon and the crew despite outwardly seeming helpful and cuddly. Kinnear's actually very good for the role, given a bigger focus that most guest stars and very much staying in his comfort zone without distorting everything around him. It is a bit harsh that they leave Keiller to be murdered, though.

It's actually a fine episode for everyone in the cast. Avon gets to be dynamic and think on his feet; getting off the Scorpio bridge and not having to talk to a camera the whole time cuts down on Paul Darrow's ham. Okay, "I'll cover" is a bit hammy but he looks like he's having fun so let's indulge him, and for once the events merit an ironic laugh at the end. Tarrant gets to be a general man of action and Steven Pacey gets a couple of good moments; his near-slip trying to maintain the drugged-out behaviour of a Space Princess cruise passenger and his chastened look when Avon slaps him down about Servalan's nature - his indiscretion seems to have been forgiven but not forgotten. Great moment when he guesses it's her behind the whole thing as well. 

The characters' one direct scene together of the year is great, shame the actors seemingly couldn't get over each other so we had a few more - but maybe it's that it's been a while that it works so well. Mind, while the crew are probably used to this sort of thing (considering Soolin seems to watch vis-tapes of past adventures) the scene must make for the most awkward five minutes of those Federation guards' careers. And running the whole show while keeping the others in the shadows is a good look - though note that by now none of them are particularly up to taking him to task, even when it inevitably goes wrong. Plus watch for him checking out the blonde hostess on the liner, pervy old sod. If there's a fault it's that he's actually sane and rational here when we've had a series intimating he's slipping off the chain.

Soolin has a decent episode as well, paired up with Avon for a couple of scenes (how pointlessly cool is the pair of them scoping out that room in synch? What? Why? Who cares!), getting her shooting skills bigged up, showing barely veiled contempt for Keiller's "pretty one" flirting, and for once her line delivery doesn't sound like that of a spunky orphan trying to out-tough other kids on the playground. There's a nice straight role for Vila too; he shows his smart side early on and once again enjoys there being someone further down the pecking order than him, menacing Keiller after Avon and Soolin have seemingly been killed and settling on his price later on. And Dayna... well, Dayna doesn't go anything particularly wrong, though she's clearly been eclipsed as action chick by Soolin. Though she does nearly fuck up by grasping for the antidote to a poison which wouldn't apparently do her any harm.

There's real zap and style to the thing as well, if you accept that the Space Princess is meant to be in bad taste. The model work is better than you'd expect, there's some solid gunplay and lots of mixed-up groupings to keep things guessing, with the rapid movement of action from one location to another and back helping tie in with the script. The muzak on the ship is annoying of course but then that's the idea of it all and it does make for a nicely surreal accompaniment when things get a bit more frantic.

"Gold" is a very fast 50 minute watch, with even the languid opening docking shots serving to build anticipation rather than feeling like padding. The general feeling of energy is a welcome jolt after so much stodgy trash this year, and while it's not one of the show's big concept stories it's one of the more fun action-thriller installments, continuing the recent upturn in form in a confident, entertaining fashion.