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Avon is definitely more unhinged in Series D and I think there are multiple reasons, as has been stated. The loss of the Liberator for sure, and the discovery of Blake's (apparent) death and the fact of Cally's death, plus the fact that he's responsible for two of those events, even if only indirectly.
This isn't really a serious consideration, but he also does get hit a lot on the head in Power
It is strange not only that he becomes more of a leader in Series D, but that the others let him, especially given the events of Terminal/Rescue.
As for Avon wanting to destroy the Federation, it's mostly pragmatism. As has been said, with the rate the Federation is expanding soon there'll be nowhere left to hide, and as Avon himself says "In the end, winning is the only safety."
There may also be a psychological element. A desire to become Blake in some way, plenty of characters in fiction wind up becoming the thing they love/hate, and given Avon clearly loves and hates Blake that's even more relevant!
Maybe the loss of the Liberator was the motivating factor. With the Liberator being the most powerful ship, Avon could afford to be cautious, knowing that he had the advantage in terms of speed and firepower against Federation pursuit ships.
Without the Liberator, Avon would possibly be more desperate - even with its star drive and teleport, Scorpio would be on the back foot in any engagement with Federation pursuit ships.
But that doesn't explain why he was so preoccupied with Servalan's activities in Series C's "Moloch" that he had the Liberator trail her ship for 27 days just to find out what she was after. Or why it mattered to him so much to stymie her plans in "Death-Watch" right after that.
It was mentioned early in Series C, that the crew of the Liberator was looking for a base from which to launch a more coordinated resistance against the Federation. Xenon base gave them that.
Not quite. That was in "Volcano," and they said nothing there about resistance. Tarrant referred to the Liberator crew as mercenaries when making his case to the Pyroans, and offered them a portion of the crew's spoils in exchange for a base. At that point, they weren't interested in being rebels; without Blake, they were simply a band of criminals out for their own gain.
Nothing the Liberator crew did in the majority of Series C was about trying to overthrow the Federation. "Aftermath" and "Powerplay" were purely about taking back control of the Liberator. "Volcano" was an attempt to find a safe hideout for a gang of criminals. In "Dawn of the Gods," they were literally just playing Space Monopoly when they got dragged into the crisis. In "The Harvest of Kairos," they attempted a heist of a valuable shipment, and Servalan tried to catch them. In "City at the Edge of the World," Vila was hired to do a break-in job. In "Children of Auron," Avon was suddenly on a revenge mission against the murderer of his lost love (or so he thought), when they were diverted by a distress call from Auron. In "Rumours of Death," Avon was solely interested in that personal revenge mission, and the crew's activities were entirely unrelated to the resistance coup that was happening simultaneously. And in both "Sarcophagus" and "Ultraworld," the Liberator simply happened to stumble across something weird in space and the crew decided to take a look.
So for most of Series C, the crew were simply a band of outlaws alternating between attempting crimes, pursuing personal missions, and just wandering around aimlessly and having things happen to them. Servalan was hunting them down, but they were just trying to escape her and survive, like any criminals on the run from the law. It wasn't until "Moloch" and "Death-Watch" that Avon suddenly showed an interest in actively pursuing Servalan and interfering in her plans rather than simply evading her, and it wasn't until Series D that he was explicitly established as seeking to destroy the Federation. But it was never explained why his goals changed between "Rumours" and "Moloch."
Was it revenge after learning that Anna was actually a Federation agent who betrayed him? But when he encountered her in “Rumours of Death,” she’d apparently renounced that allegiance and was leading a rebellion against the Federation. So did Avon take up that rebellion to honor her? But he’s the one who killed her! Was it revenge against Servalan for almost killing him in that basement? But it was hardly the first time she'd tried to kill him. Was it guilt for not killing her when he had the chance? It's all very unclear.
However, the Federation was rapidly expanding again in Series D. It was mentioned at one point, that given their current rate of expansion, the Federation would soon be knocking on Xenon base's door.
Fighting back and organizing a resistance was probably the only option left for Avon if he wanted to remain free.
I wonder if the loss of Cally was also a motivating factor? By Series D, Avon and Vila are the only two remaining of the original seven. I also think Servalan saying that Blake was dead at the end of 'Terminal', could have been a reason? Avon never wanted to lead the rebellion, he only wanted the Liberator. Without Blake or the Liberator, Avon knows he has to take up the cause.
But yes there’s nothing inherently problematic in anything that happens in Animals itself but, and I remember having a similar conversation regarding Reed Richards and Sue Storm, there are way more factors involved in a healthy relationship than merely the age of the parties. There's the power disparity, a younger inexperienced party dazzled by an older more experienced man (or woman) and I know several people who were in such relationships which, at the time, they felt were consensual and equal but with hindsight realise they were anything but.
True, back then the culture would've been less aware of those risks, and it was generally considered normal for women to be submissive to men in any case. Still, in this case, I don't think it was that bad. Justin probably didn't take the teenage Dayna's crush on him very seriously at the time, and there's no indication that he pursued it then. It's only now, when she's a grown adult and he's desperately lonely, that his feelings for her intensify.
Besides, it's Dayna. Any man who tried to hurt or dominate her would live to regret it, if he lived at all.
14.5 years older, rather. Chappell was born in June 1945, Simon on New Year's Day 1960. (Well, according to IMDb; Wikipedia just says "1959/1960." Maybe she was born at midnight on New Year's Eve? Or maybe Wikipedia is taking time zone differences into account.)
But yes, the story clearly would've been an easier fit for Cally.
Even if it had starred Jan I don’t think it would have worked much better, and likely still would have ended up my least favourite episode. There are only two redeeming features, one intentional one not. Vila’s adventures in the bilge tanks are funny, and Darrow almost going arse over tit as they storm into the lab but just managing to stay upright is a sight to behold
The most ridiculous part for me (well, at least one of them) is that Justin's bunker is supposedly impregnable, which is why Servalan needs to capture and brainwash Dayna to open it from within, but then Avon's crew just blasts in through the side door without difficulty -- and then spot the wide-open front door they would've spotted if they'd just circled a little more to their right. Which all could've been avoided if the director had just had them come in through the open front door instead.
I found it out of character how bad Avon was at watching his back in that episode. All three of Ben Steed's episodes had conceptual problems and out-of-character behavior, even aside from their pervasive misogyny.
Yes. In Series C, the other debated with him all the time and he was frequently outvoted. So the way they all meekly fall in line behind him in D is incongrous. Tarrant claims in "Assassin" that they're still free agents who only follow Avon when they agree with him, but it's not usually written that way in D. Dayna explicitly calls Avon their leader in "Animals," and in "Stardrive," Tarrant and Soolin do disagree with Avon callously using Vila and Dayna as bait without their knowledge, but still passively allow it to happen.
I think Death Watch is easier to explain than Moloch. They headed for the combat grounds before realising Servalan was there, even when they do spot her they don't immediately take any action, in fact Tarrant warns Dayna off when she threatens to remind Servalan about her father, suggesting there'll be another time for that. Once Deeta appears I think everyone's views shift slightly, and certainly later on there's a desire to thwart Servalan's plan but it's motivated to some degree by a desire for vengeance. There's mention early on of chasing Servalan's ore ships but this, like Kairos, might be a case of good honest privateering rather than a strategic objective.
Moloch though? I can see there's some level of curiosity that Servalan has taken a ship and ventured into unknown territory, but is it really worth following her for 27 days when they could just zap her into tiny pieces, or cripple the ship and take her hostage. There's a vague notion of wanting to know where she's going in case its to something valuable or something that could be used against them, but it doesn't really hold up.
I have a sneaking memory that suggests Moloch was a late replacement for another episode, which might explain why it makes little sense. @diankra may know for sure.
Steed isn't a terrible writer per se, but once you add his misogyny into the mix he becomes a terrible writer. There's some campy fun to be had with Kairos but Moloch just plain nasty and Power isn't much better.
Moloch's one saving grace is that it gives us the first and only team up of Servalan and Vila, which is worth the price of admission alone, just fast forward everything before and after it. Power annoys me, because there's the seed of something there. A better writer who didn't have a huge chip on their shoulder about women could have done something very interesting.
14.5 years older, rather. Chappell was born in June 1945, Simon on New Year's Day 1960. (Well, according to IMDb; Wikipedia just says "1959/1960." Maybe she was born at midnight on New Year's Eve? Or maybe Wikipedia is taking time zone differences into account.)
But yes, the story clearly would've been an easier fit for Cally.
I think Death Watch is easier to explain than Moloch. They headed for the combat grounds before realising Servalan was there, even when they do spot her they don't immediately take any action, in fact Tarrant warns Dayna off when she threatens to remind Servalan about her father, suggesting there'll be another time for that. Once Deeta appears I think everyone's views shift slightly, and certainly later on there's a desire to thwart Servalan's plan but it's motivated to some degree by a desire for vengeance. There's mention early on of chasing Servalan's ore ships but this, like Kairos, might be a case of good honest privateering rather than a strategic objective.
That's reasonable, but I'm not sure what reason Avon would have for wanting vengeance on Servalan. Sure, she almost killed him in "Rumours," but it wasn't the first time she'd tried it. And the person Avon ended up taking vengeance on in "Rumours" was an enemy of Servalan's. (It struck me that she actually seemed to feel sympathy for Avon when that scene played out.)
And just in general, if privateering were their only interest, it would make more sense to go after anyone else's ore ships rather than specifically inviting conflict with the person actively hunting them down. It would've made far more sense to stay out of Servalan's way as much as possible.
Moloch though? I can see there's some level of curiosity that Servalan has taken a ship and ventured into unknown territory, but is it really worth following her for 27 days when they could just zap her into tiny pieces, or cripple the ship and take her hostage. There's a vague notion of wanting to know where she's going in case its to something valuable or something that could be used against them, but it doesn't really hold up.
Yeah, the same principle applies. They chase after her for a month out of the vague suspicion that she might be after something dangerous to them. If they're so concerned about the danger she poses to them, wouldn't it make more sense just to stay the hell away from her?
Steed isn't a terrible writer per se, but once you add his misogyny into the mix he becomes a terrible writer. There's some campy fun to be had with Kairos but Moloch just plain nasty and Power isn't much better.
I'd say "Kairos" is worse, because it wants us to admire the abusive misogynist as a paragon of noble masculinity. At least in "Moloch," the abusers are the bad guys, although the script shrugs off the fate of the women they victimize and treats Doran as an endearing comedy character even after implying that his crimes entail violence against women. "Power" is ambiguous about it; on the one hand, Avon stops Gunn Sar from beating his wife, but then Avon gets that speech about how it's “biologically unavoidable” that a man’s strength will always be greater than a woman’s, and then he forces a kiss on Pella as a pure dominance gesture. And then you have Gunn Sar's wife choosing to stay with her abuser because that makes her a true woman. Uggghhh.
Ben Steed doesn't have a lot of other credits listed on IMDb. Apparently he wrote a book that was the basis of a children's sci-fi comedy show called Kappatoo about a 23rd-century boy swapping places with a 20th-century counterpart. I shudder to think what attitudes Steed thought young boys should learn.
Moloch's one saving grace is that it gives us the first and only team up of Servalan and Vila, which is worth the price of admission alone, just fast forward everything before and after it.
Power annoys me, because there's the seed of something there. A better writer who didn't have a huge chip on their shoulder about women could have done something very interesting.
I found the whole episode rather pointless, because it was basically just a bunch of running around to drag out the business of opening a door to fill fifty minutes. They could've gotten the door open and the teleporter working between episodes and just gotten on with the new status quo.
I think Death Watch is easier to explain than Moloch. They headed for the combat grounds before realising Servalan was there, even when they do spot her they don't immediately take any action, in fact Tarrant warns Dayna off when she threatens to remind Servalan about her father, suggesting there'll be another time for that. Once Deeta appears I think everyone's views shift slightly, and certainly later on there's a desire to thwart Servalan's plan but it's motivated to some degree by a desire for vengeance. There's mention early on of chasing Servalan's ore ships but this, like Kairos, might be a case of good honest privateering rather than a strategic objective.
Moloch though? I can see there's some level of curiosity that Servalan has taken a ship and ventured into unknown territory, but is it really worth following her for 27 days when they could just zap her into tiny pieces, or cripple the ship and take her hostage. There's a vague notion of wanting to know where she's going in case its to something valuable or something that could be used against them, but it doesn't really hold up.
I have a sneaking memory that suggests Moloch was a late replacement for another episode, which might explain why it makes little sense. @diankra may know for sure.
Steed isn't a terrible writer per se, but once you add his misogyny into the mix he becomes a terrible writer. There's some campy fun to be had with Kairos but Moloch just plain nasty and Power isn't much better.
Moloch's one saving grace is that it gives us the first and only team up of Servalan and Vila, which is worth the price of admission alone, just fast forward everything before and after it. Power annoys me, because there's the seed of something there. A better writer who didn't have a huge chip on their shoulder about women could have done something very interesting.
Yep, Moloch was. Well, not so much a last minute replacement, as the least worst option of several troubled scripts. The John Fletcher one had people winding down the window of their spaceship to throw grenades (yes!) and Chris Boucher told me of Sweetly Dreaming Slowly Dying "I don't recall ever rejecting a script by Bob Holmes, but if Moloch seemed preferable it must have had major problems."
Well, "Gold" is a fun heist story, though it's weird how much Vila is marginalized in a story that revolves around his specialty. Some really nice miniature shots too. It's striking how much the show's miniature work has improved this past season or so, starting in the otherwise forgettable "Ultraworld." Series C's new ship miniatures were mostly terrible, but the ships and models in Series D have been excellent.
"Gold" has a clever idea about the gold being processed to be black during shipping and therefore pointless to steal unless you have the code to change it back. But I have to wonder, would gold really lose its value if its color changed? As long as it could be chemically assayed and proven to be gold, wouldn't it still have value? I mean, silver can tarnish, but it's still silver.
But that doesn't explain why he was so preoccupied with Servalan's activities in Series C's "Moloch" that he had the Liberator trail her ship for 27 days just to find out what she was after. Or why it mattered to him so much to stymie her plans in "Death-Watch" right after that.
Not quite. That was in "Volcano," and they said nothing there about resistance. Tarrant referred to the Liberator crew as mercenaries when making his case to the Pyroans, and offered them a portion of the crew's spoils in exchange for a base. At that point, they weren't interested in being rebels; without Blake, they were simply a band of criminals out for their own gain.
Nothing the Liberator crew did in the majority of Series C was about trying to overthrow the Federation. "Aftermath" and "Powerplay" were purely about taking back control of the Liberator. "Volcano" was an attempt to find a safe hideout for a gang of criminals. In "Dawn of the Gods," they were literally just playing Space Monopoly when they got dragged into the crisis. In "The Harvest of Kairos," they attempted a heist of a valuable shipment, and Servalan tried to catch them. In "City at the Edge of the World," Vila was hired to do a break-in job. In "Children of Auron," Avon was suddenly on a revenge mission against the murderer of his lost love (or so he thought), when they were diverted by a distress call from Auron. In "Rumours of Death," Avon was solely interested in that personal revenge mission, and the crew's activities were entirely unrelated to the resistance coup that was happening simultaneously. And in both "Sarcophagus" and "Ultraworld," the Liberator simply happened to stumble across something weird in space and the crew decided to take a look.
So for most of Series C, the crew were simply a band of outlaws alternating between attempting crimes, pursuing personal missions, and just wandering around aimlessly and having things happen to them. Servalan was hunting them down, but they were just trying to escape her and survive, like any criminals on the run from the law. It wasn't until "Moloch" and "Death-Watch" that Avon suddenly showed an interest in actively pursuing Servalan and interfering in her plans rather than simply evading her, and it wasn't until Series D that he was explicitly established as seeking to destroy the Federation. But it was never explained why his goals changed between "Rumours" and "Moloch."
Was it revenge after learning that Anna was actually a Federation agent who betrayed him? But when he encountered her in “Rumours of Death,” she’d apparently renounced that allegiance and was leading a rebellion against the Federation. So did Avon take up that rebellion to honor her? But he’s the one who killed her! Was it revenge against Servalan for almost killing him in that basement? But it was hardly the first time she'd tried to kill him. Was it guilt for not killing her when he had the chance? It's all very unclear.
I could possibly buy that if not for "Moloch" and "Death-Watch."
True, back then the culture would've been less aware of those risks, and it was generally considered normal for women to be submissive to men in any case. Still, in this case, I don't think it was that bad. Justin probably didn't take the teenage Dayna's crush on him very seriously at the time, and there's no indication that he pursued it then. It's only now, when she's a grown adult and he's desperately lonely, that his feelings for her intensify.
Besides, it's Dayna. Any man who tried to hurt or dominate her would live to regret it, if he lived at all.
14.5 years older, rather. Chappell was born in June 1945, Simon on New Year's Day 1960. (Well, according to IMDb; Wikipedia just says "1959/1960." Maybe she was born at midnight on New Year's Eve? Or maybe Wikipedia is taking time zone differences into account.)
But yes, the story clearly would've been an easier fit for Cally.
The most ridiculous part for me (well, at least one of them) is that Justin's bunker is supposedly impregnable, which is why Servalan needs to capture and brainwash Dayna to open it from within, but then Avon's crew just blasts in through the side door without difficulty -- and then spot the wide-open front door they would've spotted if they'd just circled a little more to their right. Which all could've been avoided if the director had just had them come in through the open front door instead.
I found it out of character how bad Avon was at watching his back in that episode. All three of Ben Steed's episodes had conceptual problems and out-of-character behavior, even aside from their pervasive misogyny.
Yes. In Series C, the other debated with him all the time and he was frequently outvoted. So the way they all meekly fall in line behind him in D is incongrous. Tarrant claims in "Assassin" that they're still free agents who only follow Avon when they agree with him, but it's not usually written that way in D. Dayna explicitly calls Avon their leader in "Animals," and in "Stardrive," Tarrant and Soolin do disagree with Avon callously using Vila and Dayna as bait without their knowledge, but still passively allow it to happen.
It's also worth noting that in Orbit Tarrant seems to be the only one Avon has let in on his plan. And of course in Blake Avon seems to trust Tarrant over Blake.
It's also worth noting that in Orbit Tarrant seems to be the only one Avon has let in on his plan. And of course in Blake Avon seems to trust Tarrant over Blake.
I was thinking on the drive home from work, if 'Animals' might have worked better if it were Soolin that was tutored by Justin and not Dayna.
The only thing we knew of Soolin up to that point was her parents were murdered when she was eight and, later, she killed the men who taught her how to draw a firearm.
Justin could have been someone who came along later and gave her an education on subjects other than firearms.
Certainly, the age difference wouldn't have been so weird; Glynis Barber being a few years older than Josette Simon
Yep, Moloch was. Well, not so much a last minute replacement, as the least worst option of several troubled scripts. The John Fletcher one had people winding down the window of their spaceship to throw grenades (yes!) and Chris Boucher told me of Sweetly Dreaming Slowly Dying "I don't recall ever rejecting a script by Bob Holmes, but if Moloch seemed preferable it must have had major problems."
I was thinking on the drive home from work, if 'Animals' might have worked better if it were Soolin that was tutored by Justin and not Dayna.
The only thing we knew of Soolin up to that point was her parents were murdered when she was eight and, later, she killed the men who taught her how to draw a firearm.
Justin could have been someone who came along later and gave her an education on subjects other than firearms.
Certainly, the age difference wouldn't have been so weird; Glynis Barber being a few years older than Josette Simon
John Fletcher wrote excellent political Bergeracs (Avenge O Lord and particularly A Man of Sorrows) but as Chris said didn't have an SF clue.
But his grasp of SF, made the space rats seem convincing.(I think the villains were throwing the grenades. Rockers on space motorbikes, or something like that).
Yep, Moloch was. Well, not so much a last minute replacement, as the least worst option of several troubled scripts. The John Fletcher one had people winding down the window of their spaceship to throw grenades (yes!) and Chris Boucher told me of Sweetly Dreaming Slowly Dying "I don't recall ever rejecting a script by Bob Holmes, but if Moloch seemed preferable it must have had major problems."
Well, "Gold" is a fun heist story, though it's weird how much Vila is marginalized in a story that revolves around his specialty. Some really nice miniature shots too. It's striking how much the show's miniature work has improved this past season or so, starting in the otherwise forgettable "Ultraworld." Series C's new ship miniatures were mostly terrible, but the ships and models in Series D have been excellent.
"Gold" has a clever idea about the gold being processed to be black during shipping and therefore pointless to steal unless you have the code to change it back. But I have to wonder, would gold really lose its value if its color changed? As long as it could be chemically assayed and proven to be gold, wouldn't it still have value? I mean, silver can tarnish, but it's still silver.
Thing is I think Gold would have worked better if it and Orbit had swapped places. Firstly you wouldn't have had two heist episodes in close proximity Games >> Sand >> Gold, but secondly Vila's reticence would have made a bit more sense after Orbit (you'll understand why once you see Orbit!)
Actually my one real issue with Orbit is that it comes so late in the season,
it would have been nice to see more of a new Vila/Avon dynamic.
It's also worth noting that in Orbit Tarrant seems to be the only one Avon has let in on his plan. And of course in Blake Avon seems to trust Tarrant over Blake.
I was thinking on the drive home from work, if 'Animals' might have worked better if it were Soolin that was tutored by Justin and not Dayna.
The only thing we knew of Soolin up to that point was her parents were murdered when she was eight and, later, she killed the men who taught her how to draw a firearm.
Justin could have been someone who came along later and gave her an education on subjects other than firearms.
Certainly, the age difference wouldn't have been so weird; Glynis Barber being a few years older than Josette Simon
I think the difficulty is that it's hard to imagine Soolin loving anyone that much, but also she doesn't strike me as an animal lover, which is one of many issues with using Dayna. It's so clearly written with Cally in mind.
Of course if you were making the show today it's eminently possible that Justin's old flame could have been Tarrant...
John Fletcher wrote excellent political Bergeracs (Avenge O Lord and particularly A Man of Sorrows) but as Chris said didn't have an SF clue.
But his grasp of SF, made the space rats seem convincing.(I think the villains were throwing the grenades. Rockers on space motorbikes, or something like that).
There's a version of that that could work, but not on a 1980s budget and not with 1980s special effects technology. (had he been watching Galactica 1980 by chance?)
And just my opinion obviously, but I think there's an argument that Games>> Sand>> Gold>> Orbit is perhaps the most consistent run of good episodes in the series. The only challenger for me is Shadow through to Trial, but that's kinda let down by Weapon (which isn't awful but isn't in the same league as the others)
Thing is I think Gold would have worked better if it and Orbit had swapped places. Firstly you wouldn't have had two heist episodes in close proximity Games >> Sand >> Gold, but secondly Vila's reticence would have made a bit more sense after Orbit (you'll understand why once you see Orbit!)
But it's not just about making in-story sense of how it was done, it's about wondering why the writers chose to do it that way in the first place, and recognizing that there was a better option. A classic caper story like this demands to center on Vila. It shortchanges him as a character to leave him out of it, so it shouldn't have been done that way. Keiller should've been Vila's old partner drawing him into the big score they always dreamed of, and Vila should've been the one who convinced the others to go along with it. Or better yet, instead of Keiller, make it an old flame of Vila's, the woman who got away and that he thinks he has another chance with. And then when it turns out to be a trap, he has to choose between his old flame and his teammates. And it's his expertise as a thief that lets them ultimately escape with the loot (at least until the twist ending).
It just seems that this was a case of centering a story around Avon because he was the lead character rather than because it made sense as an Avon story.
I think the difficulty is that it's hard to imagine Soolin loving anyone that much, but also she doesn't strike me as an animal lover, which is one of many issues with using Dayna. It's so clearly written with Cally in mind.
Although one thing that bugs me about "Animals" is the strangeness of characterizing the experimental subjects as "animals" at all. As I understood it, they're human deserters who were forcibly subjected to Dr. Moreau-like experiments in hybridization. How does that make them animals? They're mutilated, lobotomized people. That's plenty of reason for either Dayna or Soolin to be disgusted by what was done to them, and to resent Justin for it until he explains that he regrets what he was forced to be part of and is trying to improve the victims' lot.
They could've done it with Tarrant and a female scientist. But I guess they went with a male scientist because the episode was an Island of Doctor Moreau riff in much the same way "Rescue" was a Picture of Dorian Gray riff.
I only heard about the series by Linkara and watched a couple of reviews by SFDebris. But the show seems to be awesome - hopefully, Germany gets wise and we get a full dubbed version, or at least the Blu Ray comes with english subtitles. ^^
But it's not just about making in-story sense of how it was done, it's about wondering why the writers chose to do it that way in the first place, and recognizing that there was a better option. A classic caper story like this demands to center on Vila. It shortchanges him as a character to leave him out of it, so it shouldn't have been done that way. Keiller should've been Vila's old partner drawing him into the big score they always dreamed of, and Vila should've been the one who convinced the others to go along with it. Or better yet, instead of Keiller, make it an old flame of Vila's, the woman who got away and that he thinks he has another chance with. And then when it turns out to be a trap, he has to choose between his old flame and his teammates. And it's his expertise as a thief that lets them ultimately escape with the loot (at least until the twist ending).
It just seems that this was a case of centering a story around Avon because he was the lead character rather than because it made sense as an Avon story.
Aside from lying about being a Federation captain in his debut episode...
Although one thing that bugs me about "Animals" is the strangeness of characterizing the experimental subjects as "animals" at all. As I understood it, they're human deserters who were forcibly subjected to Dr. Moreau-like experiments in hybridization. How does that make them animals? They're mutilated, lobotomized people. That's plenty of reason for either Dayna or Soolin to be disgusted by what was done to them, and to resent Justin for it until he explains that he regrets what he was forced to be part of and is trying to improve the victims' lot.
They could've done it with Tarrant and a female scientist. But I guess they went with a male scientist because the episode was an Island of Doctor Moreau riff in much the same way "Rescue" was a Picture of Dorian Gray riff.
I think it was very definitely a case of centring it around Avon, although his relationship with Keiller doesn't have that much to do with things. I'm not sure if there were production reasons and whether Keating's heavy involvement in Games and Orbit had anything to do with it.
And actually I kinda like that Vila is the reticent one. As the only natural criminal amongst them it's quite telling that he smells a rat (I mean Vila always smells a rat, but still!)
It is very weird that they call them animals, I agree. Perhaps the best word they could come up with once they decided, for some reason, to only have single word episode titles in Series D. There's a brief mention of deserters but it isn't clear whether Og and co are, as you say, humans modified, or whether Justin used the genetic material of the deserters in the initial phase to create crossbreeds (which is what Daya suggests). Given the very obvious riff on Dr Moreau you'd imagine the former.
The timeline is a tad squiffy as well, Justin's project started six years before the Andromedans invaded, yet the galactic war gets mentioned as a driving force behind the project yet, as far as we can determine, the war lasted hours, at most days.
