Blake's 7 on Blu-ray!

[Christopher]

I suppose at the end of the day Cygnus Alpha isn't the most salubrious of places, especially for Vila (nothing to steal) plus Gan is very clearly going with Blake and he is the closest thing to a friend Vila has and, perhaps more importantly from Vila's perspective, a protector.

Well, everyone knows it's not salubrious, but they've been tricked into thinking they'll die if they don't stay and get regular pills from BRIAN BLESSED! So deciding to trust Blake and risk escaping meant being brave enough to risk the possibility of death if Blake was wrong.

But you could be right about the other parts. "Nothing to steal" would certainly be an incentive; I imagine stealing is to Vila like deduction is to Sherlock Holmes, in that in its absence, with nothing to stimulate his mind, he gets depressed and retreats into drugs/alcohol. Also, as Boucher later established, Vila's smarter than he lets on, so maybe he saw through BRIAN BLESSED!'s scam and realized he was better off with Blake.

As for Gan, it's possible they were friends, given that they spent four months together on the London. But it's hard to know, since Gan hardly had any lines in "Space Fall." Though whether they were friends or not, I agree that "I want to stick with the big guy so I can hide behind him" could well have been part of his thought process.

@diankra may correct me here, but I think Vila is the first main cast member to directly kill anyone in the show (you could argue Jenna kills Raiker by moving Liberator but it's an indirect consequence rather than a conscious act).

Also in "Cygnus Alpha," you have that conversation between Jenna and Avon where the latter says he doesn't know if he could kill someone face to face. That conflicts with what we later learned about the Anna backstory, where Avon killed the guy with the exit visas (I can't resist imagining he looked like Peter Lorre). But of course, Avon is cagey about his past, particularly that part of it, so he was probably just misleading Jenna.

 

[diankra]

I suppose at the end of the day Cygnus Alpha isn't the most salubrious of places, especially for Vila (nothing to steal) plus Gan is very clearly going with Blake and he is the closest thing to a friend Vila has and, perhaps more importantly from Vila's perspective, a protector.

@diankra may correct me here, but I think Vila is the first main cast member to directly kill anyone in the show (you could argue Jenna kills Raiker by moving Liberator but it's an indirect consequence rather than a conscious act).

Furthermore I'm pretty sure that's the last person Vila actively kills until the Federation guard he shoots in Games? When he tells Arlen "I'm completely harmless" he isn't completely lying.

I suppose at the end of the day Cygnus Alpha isn't the most salubrious of places, especially for Vila (nothing to steal) plus Gan is very clearly going with Blake and he is the closest thing to a friend Vila has and, perhaps more importantly from Vila's perspective, a protector.

@diankra may correct me here, but I think Vila is the first main cast member to directly kill anyone in the show (you could argue Jenna kills Raiker by moving Liberator but it's an indirect consequence rather than a conscious act).

Furthermore I'm pretty sure that's the last person Vila actively kills until the Federation guard he shoots in Games? When he tells Arlen "I'm completely harmless" he isn't completely lying.

In Cygnus Alpha Jenna asks Avon if he could kill someone, and they both seems uncertain (later episodes suggested Avon already had, and Jenna does in Time Squad). Vila rarely kills, but in Gold it's pretty clear that Dayna and Tarrant will kill Keiller if he gives the nod.

 

[diankra]

Well, everyone knows it's not salubrious, but they've been tricked into thinking they'll die if they don't stay and get regular pills from BRIAN BLESSED! So deciding to trust Blake and risk escaping meant being brave enough to risk the possibility of death if Blake was wrong.

But you could be right about the other parts. "Nothing to steal" would certainly be an incentive; I imagine stealing is to Vila like deduction is to Sherlock Holmes, in that in its absence, with nothing to stimulate his mind, he gets depressed and retreats into drugs/alcohol. Also, as Boucher later established, Vila's smarter than he lets on, so maybe he saw through BRIAN BLESSED!'s scam and realized he was better off with Blake.

As for Gan, it's possible they were friends, given that they spent four months together on the London. But it's hard to know, since Gan hardly had any lines in "Space Fall." Though whether they were friends or not, I agree that "I want to stick with the big guy so I can hide behind him" could well have been part of his thought process.




Also in "Cygnus Alpha," you have that conversation between Jenna and Avon where the latter says he doesn't know if he could kill someone face to face. That conflicts with what we later learned about the Anna backstory, where Avon killed the guy with the exit visas (I can't resist imagining he looked like Peter Lorre). But of course, Avon is cagey about his past, particularly that part of it, so he was probably just misleading Jenna.

There is the theory that Gan was a woman-hating serial killer without the limiter. It's not definite, but it's plausible, given his behaviour in Breakdown.
As a side note, the Limiter was invented in an attempt to make Gan more interesting, in episodes commissioned at roughly the same time (Time Squad and Breakdown). There is a one-line reference in Duel, probably added by Boucher.

 

[Christopher]

There is the theory that Gan was a woman-hating serial killer without the limiter. It's not definite, but it's plausible, given his behaviour in Breakdown.

That's impossible. That's misunderstanding the way the limiter works, which is that it incapacitates Gan if he gets angry enough to kill. From Gan's reaction, it appears that it subjects him to debilitating pain if he gets violent, just the kind of sadistic punishment the Federation would use. If his natural mental state were homicidal rage, then the limiter would be torturing him constantly and he wouldn't be able to function at all.

In "Breakdown," Avon explained that the malfunctioning limiter was "feeding scrambled impulses into his brain." It wasn't just deactivated; it was causing his uncharacteristically violent behavior by disrupting his mental state.

 

[Starkers]

To be clear I wasn't saying Vila was the first of the cast members to have killed someone, but he is the first character we see kill someone. As has been said Avon killed the man who he was buying the vias from (there is some wriggle room here because Jenna asks if he could kill someone "Face to face" I mean, and you could argue his gunfight with the visa guy wasn't face to face- it's think I know. Gan clearly killed at least one person, and whilst it turns out he hadn't killed him, up until Seek-Locate-Destroy Blake believed he'd killed Travis.

Vila and Gan have some scenes in Space Fall ti indicate a friendship, but more pertinently at the start of Cygnus Alpha when Arco (I think) threatens Vila, Gan steps in very obviously and warns him off hurting Vila.

Gan of course is less interesting, or at least less useful, because of the limiter. I've heard the Gan wasn't the nice guy you think he is theory several times. Didn't The Invaders, the original episode that became Breakdown, suggest this?

 

[Christopher]

(there is some wriggle room here because Jenna asks if he could kill someone "Face to face" I mean, and you could argue his gunfight with the visa guy wasn't face to face- it's think I know.

As I said, it's more likely that Avon was just lying to Jenna, since he didn't want to talk about that part of his past, and probably wanted her to underestimate him in case they ended up in opposition.

Gan of course is less interesting, or at least less useful, because of the limiter.

I don't agree. Gan's conscience and decency made him a worthwhile contrast to the rest of them. I felt the show lost something once he was gone.

I think "Pressure Point" showed that Gan could be very useful when the writers bothered to use him. The problem is that, as with Tasha Yar in TNG, they didn't really make much effort to feature him until the episode where they killed him off.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Vila and Cally were both considered in Pressure Point.
Chris Boucher overruled Terry Nation and suggested Gan.
When told his character was going to be written out of the series, David Jackson was actually relieved because he felt the character of Gan wasn't adding anything to the show, and he could pursue stage work.

 

[Marc]

There is the theory that Gan was a woman-hating serial killer without the limiter. It's not definite, but it's plausible, given his behaviour in Breakdown.
As a side note, the Limiter was invented in an attempt to make Gan more interesting, in episodes commissioned at roughly the same time (Time Squad and Breakdown). There is a one-line reference in Duel, probably added by Boucher.

I'm not sure that having Gan as a woman hating serial killer would have worked for the show. Yes they're all criminals but some-one with those attributes would be pretty irredeemable.

When told his character was going to be written out of the series, David Jackson was actually relieved because he felt the character of Gan wasn't adding anything to the show, and he could pursue stage work.

Only other thing I've seen David Jackson is was pre-B7 in an episode of Lord Peter Wymsey - 9 Bells. Paul Darrow appeared in an earlier episode of the same series.

 

[diankra]

I'm not sure that having Gan as a woman hating serial killer would have worked for the show. Yes they're all criminals but some-one with those attributes would be pretty irredeemable.



Only other thing I've seen David Jackson is was pre-B7 in an episode of Lord Peter Wymsey - 9 Bells. Paul Darrow appeared in an earlier episode of the same series.

Jackson was also in Z Cars, last season run between B7 1 & 2. as a side note, Colm Meaney also did an episode of that run.

 

[Marc]

Jackson was also in Z Cars, last season run between B7 1 & 2.

Not sure if Z Cars ever made it to Australia (no mention in the wiki entry, imdb or thetvdb) or whether I was too young to be aware of it.

 

[diankra]

Not sure if Z Cars ever made it to Australia (no mention in the wiki entry, imdb or thetvdb) or whether I was too young to be aware of it.

Probably didn't as lots of episodes from the late 60s are missing, so probably never shown overseas. The Z Cars canon is...
Z Cars (1962-1965): Inspector Charlie Barlow (Stratford Johns) and Sgt John Watt (Frank Windsor) oversee four police officers assigned to two patrol cars (initially Brian Blessed and Jeremy Kemp among others). The idea came when the creator was ill in bed and listened to police radio, and thought someone ought to make a series of it (BBC police drama of the time being the relatively gentle Dixon of Dock Green "So I gave him a clip on the ear and he's behaved since. So it all worked out well." whereas Z Cars had a constable who would have been a teddy boy thug if not hired, and another who was beating his wife. Massively flawed, but tolerated if they were good on the job).
Softly Softly (1966-69): Barlow and Watt are promoted to a new detective unit.
Z Cars (1967-78): New policemen take over, initially in 25m two-parters run two days a week.
Softly Softly Taskforce (1969-76): Barlow and Watt are again promoted and moved to a new Taskforce in Thamesmead, as the series moves into colour.
Barlow at Large/Barlow (1971-75): Barlow is given a roving brief, initially to investigate political corruption in Wales.
Jack the Ripper (1973): Barlow and Watt investigate the Ripper cold case.
Second Verdict (1976): Barlow and Watt investigate six more historic cold cases, including the Lindbergh Baby, the Princes in the Tower, and the Lizzie Borden killings.

 

[Marc]

Probably didn't as lots of episodes from the late 60s are missing, so probably never shown overseas. The Z Cars canon is...
Z Cars (1962-1965): Inspector Charlie Barlow (Stratford Johns) and Sgt John Watt (Frank Windsor) oversee four police officers assigned to two patrol cars (initially Brian Blessed and Jeremy Kemp among others)
Softly Softly (1966-69): Barlow and Watt are promoted to a new detective unit.
Z Cars (1967-78): New policemen take over, initially in 25m two-parters run two days a week.
Softly Softly Taskforce (1969-75): Barlow and Watt are again promoted and moved to a new Taskforce in Thamesmead, as the series moves into colour.
Barlow at Large/Barlow (1971-75): Barlow is given a roving brief, initially to investigate political corruption in Wales.
Jack the Ripper (1973): Barlow and Watt investigate the Ripper cold case.
Second Verdict (1976): Barlow and Watt investigate six more historic cold cases, including the Lindbergh Baby, the Princes in the Tower, and the Lizzie Borden killings.

And Statford Johns takes us right back to Games

 

[diankra]

If your can find it online, the first episode of Z Cars (Four of a Kind) is well worth watching.
If you can't spoilers follow... can't find the spoiler code, so will gap...
.


.



They don't as you might expect, find the killer. He is found by routine policework. But we do see why they will make a good team.

 

[Starkers]

As I said, it's more likely that Avon was just lying to Jenna, since he didn't want to talk about that part of his past, and probably wanted her to underestimate him in case they ended up in opposition.




I don't agree. Gan's conscience and decency made him a worthwhile contrast to the rest of them. I felt the show lost something once he was gone.

I think "Pressure Point" showed that Gan could be very useful when the writers bothered to use him. The problem is that, as with Tasha Yar in TNG, they didn't really make much effort to feature him until the episode where they killed him off.

The comment about the limiter limiting the character was first uttered by Jackson himself I think. They just didn't know what to do with him half the time. Reading the production diaries you get a real sense that in many episodes where he had sparse lines or little to do, sometimes the original scripts were worse, and directors would take a line from another character or give him something physical to do.

He could have been the conscience of the crew. Boucher gives him some nice lines in Shadow, he is the only one who feels dirty dealing with the Terra Nostra, the one who challenges Blake. He could have done that more.

Of course if you don't lose Gan you probably wind up losing Vila, Cally or Jenna, and while Sally would leave eventually, the show would have been lessoned without her, even though she got little to do in Series B until The Keeper.

It's telling that they never replaced Gan with a new character. Clearly five (human) characters worked in a way six didn't and of all of them Gan was the most expendable. Vila or Cally dying in Pressure Point doesn't bear thinking about.

 

[Starkers]

I'm not sure that having Gan as a woman hating serial killer would have worked for the show. Yes they're all criminals but some-one with those attributes would be pretty irredeemable.

It could have been interesting. I mean look at Angel and Spike in Buffy. Something in Gan's head made him a monster but the Federation fixed it. Is he the same person or a different person?

 

[Steve Roby]

Something in Gan's head made him a monster but the Federation fixed it. Is he the same person or a different person?

For that matter, if the Federation's mind control tech can rehabilitate the vilest criminals, is it entirely a bad thing? Yes, probabky, but they could have had a good episode on the subject.

 

[Christopher]

The comment about the limiter limiting the character was first uttered by Jackson himself I think.

That doesn't make sense to me at all. Since when was the ability to kill the only attribute that made a character interesting? To me, it's the other way around. Besides, art is enhanced by working within limits, and the same can go for characters. A lot of character writing is about people struggling with their limitations.

They just didn't know what to do with him half the time.

Which is a failing of the writers, not of the character.

He could have been the conscience of the crew. Boucher gives him some nice lines in Shadow, he is the only one who feels dirty dealing with the Terra Nostra, the one who challenges Blake. He could have done that more.

Exactly. The fact that Gan was the gentlest member of the crew was what made him interesting, because it made him a contrast, an alternative voice. (Not to mention the contrast with his intimidating size and strength, which made it even more interesting.) He was the heart of the crew, not because of the limiter, but because of his inherent good nature. Once he was gone, the crew had less diversity of viewpoints and it felt less balanced.

Of course if you don't lose Gan you probably wind up losing Vila, Cally or Jenna, and while Sally would leave eventually, the show would have been lessoned without her, even though she got little to do in Series B until The Keeper.

Or, they could've just kept everyone. And actually used them. Other shows have managed to balance larger casts and do justice to all their members. It's not the characters' fault that the writers failed to do them justice.

It's telling that they never replaced Gan with a new character. Clearly five (human) characters worked in a way six didn't and of all of them Gan was the most expendable.

On the contrary, I felt the smaller cast didn't work as well. I think having five regulars rather than six was more about saving money than anything else.

For that matter, if the Federation's mind control tech can rehabilitate the vilest criminals, is it entirely a bad thing? Yes, probabky, but they could have had a good episode on the subject.

Sticking a chip in someone's head that incapacitates them with agony if they have violent thoughts isn't rehabilitation, it's just a subtler form of imprisonment and torture. And Gan wasn't a "vile criminal" -- he was a loving man who snapped and took revenge when a Federation guard killed the woman he loved.

 

[diankra]

The comment about the limiter limiting the character was first uttered by Jackson himself I think. They just didn't know what to do with him half the time. Reading the production diaries you get a real sense that in many episodes where he had sparse lines or little to do, sometimes the original scripts were worse, and directors would take a line from another character or give him something physical to do.

He could have been the conscience of the crew. Boucher gives him some nice lines in Shadow, he is the only one who feels dirty dealing with the Terra Nostra, the one who challenges Blake. He could have done that more.

Of course if you don't lose Gan you probably wind up losing Vila, Cally or Jenna, and while Sally would leave eventually, the show would have been lessoned without her, even though she got little to do in Series B until The Keeper.

It's telling that they never replaced Gan with a new character. Clearly five (human) characters worked in a way six didn't and of all of them Gan was the most expendable. Vila or Cally dying in Pressure Point doesn't bear thinking about.

If Nation hadn't dropped out of writing the two-part season two conclusion, he planned to kill Vila and Jenna in ep 12.

 

[Christopher]

Incidentally, I borrowed the first volume of The Liberator Chronicles from Hoopla, thinking I might extend my Patreon review series to cover the available audios. But I found it underwhelming and I don't feel motivated to continue.

Elderly Gareth Thomas sounds less like Blake than like Winnie-the-Pooh.

 

[Marc]

If Nation hadn't dropped out of writing the two-part season two conclusion, he planned to kill Vila and Jenna in ep 12.

So it’s a good thing he stopped writing for the show.