Blake's 7 on Blu-ray!

[Christopher]

I'd read that Darrow and Pearce definitely thought she was miscast. She definitely overdid it both ways. Just checked the blog I did last time I did a run through of episodes and I wrote that she's too annoying as Piri and too arch as Cancer. I did argue that her performance is so camp it almost works. Almost is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She does get the most hilarious death scene in all of Blakes 7 mind you.

I didn't mind her too much as Piri -- she was whiny and useless, but the character was supposed to be whiny and useless -- but she was unwatchably dreadful as Cancer. Didn't they audition her for both parts beforehand? Why did they even cast her?

Also, if her poisonous brooch-creature thing is meant to be a crab (Cancer), why does it look like a toy spider? For that matter, why is a super-secret anonymous assassin so invested in branding? Although maybe it's specifically so that she can use the Cancer facade as a decoy, as she did here. But then, presumably she would've had a decoy Cancer already instead of having to buy one from the slavers. (And does her black ship have weird black controls which are labeled in black on a black background with a small black light that lights up black to let you know you’ve done it? What is this, some kind of intergalactic hyper-hearse?)

Still, I think "Assassin" mostly works aside from her. It's the first episode that lets Soolin shine as a character in her own right rather than just a stand-in reading Cally's lines, and it's got Richard Hurndall as a character that you can easily imagine is the First Doctor undercover (presuming he used respiratory cutoff to feign death and for some reason had the TARDIS stowed in the hold so he could escape before the ship blew up). I also like it that Avon proves capable of altruism after all. I prefer that nuanced portrayal to the ruthless caricature of "Stardrive."

It has a lot of Star Wars style screen wipe transitions as well.

I always find it ironic when people use "Star Wars style" to describe something that Star Wars did as an homage to the style of something decades older, in this case 1930s movie serials.

 

[diankra]

I didn't mind her too much as Piri -- she was whiny and useless, but the character was supposed to be whiny and useless -- but she was unwatchably dreadful as Cancer. Didn't they audition her for both parts beforehand? Why did they even cast her?

Also, if her poisonous brooch-creature thing is meant to be a crab (Cancer), why does it look like a toy spider? For that matter, why is a super-secret anonymous assassin so invested in branding? Although maybe it's specifically so that she can use the Cancer facade as a decoy, as she did here. But then, presumably she would've had a decoy Cancer already instead of having to buy one from the slavers. (And does her black ship have weird black controls which are labeled in black on a black background with a small black light that lights up black to let you know you’ve done it? What is this, some kind of intergalactic hyper-hearse?)

Still, I think "Assassin" mostly works aside from her. It's the first episode that lets Soolin shine as a character in her own right rather than just a stand-in reading Cally's lines, and it's got Richard Hurndall as a character that you can easily imagine is the First Doctor undercover (presuming he used respiratory cutoff to feign death and for some reason had the TARDIS stowed in the hold so he could escape before the ship blew up). I also like it that Avon proves capable of altruism after all. I prefer that nuanced portrayal to the ruthless caricature of "Stardrive."




I always find it ironic when people use "Star Wars style" to describe something that Star Wars did as an homage to the style of something decades older, in this case 1930s movie serials.

That episode has a troubled history. Director David Sullivan Proudfoot did the casting and location work, but he was then taken ill and replaced for studio by Vere Lorrimer (I think, could be the other way round, location and studio). For ill, probably drunk: DSP was once a great director (Adam Adamant, etc), but was openly gay when it was still illegal, and maybe was a regular of private clubs where, among other things, afternoon drinking was licenced.

 

[Marc]

That episode has a troubled history. Director David Sullivan Proudfoot did the casting and location work, but he was then taken ill and replaced for studio by Vere Lorrimer (I think, could be the other way round, location and studio). For ill, probably drunk: DSP was once a great director (Adam Adamant, etc), but was openly gay when it was still illegal, and maybe was a regular of private clubs where, among other things, afternoon drinking was licenced.

From retrospective for Series 1-3 on Youbtube it seems Lorimer was very well liked by the cast (jan Chappell refered to him as "dear Vere" and directed 12 credited eps across the series which was the most by far (Mary Ridge was next at 12).

IMDB doesn't show any directring credits for Lorimer in Season 4 so if he had to take over from Proudfoot it was wearing his producer's hat

 

[Christopher]

Lorimer... directed 12 credited eps across the series which was the most by far (Mary Ridge was next at 12).

You mean Ridge was next at 6 (5 of which were in Series D). Followed by Michael E. Briant at 5, then Pennant Roberts and George Spenton-Foster at 4 each.

 

[diankra]

IIRC, Lorrimer was credited for 13 across the first three seasons (and was to have directed two more at the end of season two, until he went on sick leave, due to nervous stress possibly caused by salvaging Hostage when cast deaths caused problems), but as with David Maloney and Graham Williams wasn't credited when he stepped in for the credited director.

 

[diankra]

What sometimes happened at the BBC in the late 70s or early 80s was that producers gave a director job to people who'd helped them at the start, thinking they had just fallen out of fashion, only to find there were other reasons why they didn't get much work now (sometimes it was just an attitude of 'If it worked in the 50s, then...")

 

[Christopher]

IIRC, Lorrimer was credited for 13 across the first three seasons

Both the B7 wiki and IMDb list only 12 episodes credited to Lorrimer as director. https://blakes7.fandom.com/wiki/Vere_Lorrimer

 

[diankra]

S1: Cygnus Alpha, SLD, Breakdown and Orac.
S2: Redemption, Killer, Hostage, Countdown
S3: Aftermath, City, Ultraworld, Moloch.
I think.... so only 12, thought it was 13, but seems not!
Weird, for decades I thought he directed Volcano, but seems not. Which means McCarthy is not guilty of Kairos.

 

[Christopher]

Incidentally, diankra, I always assumed your signature quote had to be an exchange between Vila and Avon, so I was surprised to discover it was between two guest-star security officers -- a couple of the Shakespearean-chorus soldier characters that Chris Boucher liked to toss in from time to time.

 

[diankra]

Incidentally, diankra, I always assumed your signature quote had to be an exchange between Vila and Avon, so I was surprised to discover it was between two guest-star security officers -- a couple of the Shakespearean-chorus soldier characters that Chris Boucher liked to toss in from time to time.

Yes, it's Major Grenlee and the Section Leader IDavid Haig before he went bald, grew a moustache and did lots of stuff before the good season of Killing Eve).

 

[DarrenTR1970]

That episode has a troubled history. Director David Sullivan Proudfoot did the casting and location work, but he was then taken ill and replaced for studio by Vere Lorrimer (I think, could be the other way round, location and studio). For ill, probably drunk: DSP was once a great director (Adam Adamant, etc), but was openly gay when it was still illegal, and maybe was a regular of private clubs where, among other things, afternoon drinking was licenced.

Vere corroborates the story - he had to do all the location filming after Proudfoot came back from the holiday weekend ill.
There's another story regarding the story 'Hostage', where the guest actor had to be recast three times - once where the actor who played Ushton, Duncan Lamont, passed away after location filming had been completed. Then, the actor hired to replace Duncan, showed up to the studio drunk and had to be sacked. Filming was postponed a day while Vere called up his friend, actor John Abineri, who drove overnight to London, picked up the script at his son's house where it had been delivered, had his son drive him to the studio while he memorized the script, showed up at the studio at nine thirty and knew his lines.

 

[Marc]

Filming was postponed a day while Vere called up his friend, actor John Abineri, who drove overnight to London, picked up the script at his son's house where it had been delivered, had his son drive him to the studio while he memorized the script, showed up at the studio at nine thirty and knew his lines.

Very professional by Abineri, but I think it's probably safe to say it was deliberate choice by Lorimer as he knew the actor would deliver.

Just a pity the episode it's self wasn't worth the effort for a story point of view.

 

[Starkers]

IIRC, Lorrimer was credited for 13 across the first three seasons (and was to have directed two more at the end of season two, until he went on sick leave, due to nervous stress possibly caused by salvaging Hostage when cast deaths caused problems), but as with David Maloney and Graham Williams wasn't credited when he stepped in for the credited director.

I'm right in thinking the BBC had some weird rules about producers directing, similarly with script editors writing scrips which is why Maloney and Boucher had to get special dispensation on occasion? Certainly I think there was a limit on how many episodes Boucher could write.

Very professional by Abineri, but I think it's probably safe to say it was deliberate choice by Lorimer as he knew the actor would deliver.

Just a pity the episode it's self wasn't worth the effort for a story point of view.

It was amazing what he did, a true professional, but no, Hostage wasn't great. That is the one (I think) where Cally and Jenna literally sit at the teleport controls for most of the episode (art imitating life unfortunately)

 

[Christopher]

It was amazing what he did, a true professional, but no, Hostage wasn't great. That is the one (I think) where Cally and Jenna literally sit at the teleport controls for most of the episode (art imitating life unfortunately)

Yes. That was the one where the sexism was most obvious. In other cases, there was some reason why it made sense to bring a lockpick/thief on the mission instead of the seasoned pilot/smuggler or the hardened resistance fighter with telepathy, but in this case, Avon only brought Vila down to be a lookout, a job at which he failed miserably and which Jenna or Cally could certainly have done better.

 

[diankra]

I'm right in thinking the BBC had some weird rules about producers directing, similarly with script editors writing scrips which is why Maloney and Boucher had to get special dispensation on occasion? Certainly I think there was a limit on how many episodes Boucher could write.



It was amazing what he did, a true professional, but no, Hostage wasn't great. That is the one (I think) where Cally and Jenna literally sit at the teleport controls for most of the episode (art imitating life unfortunately)

Yep. A lot of companies have guidelines about what's sometimes called self-commissioning.
In Maloney's case, he got to do Star one as it was an emergency replacement for an ill Lorrimer, and for Powerplay he argued (perhaps after the Travis II experience) that as he'd be casting the two new regulars, it was unfair to the other director to have his major characters chosen for him.

There are two problems with self-commissioning that I'm aware of...
1) Conflict of interest. Does someone self-commission because they'd be the best person for the job, or because they want the money?
2) Anytime an editor or producer self-commissions that's one less job for freelancers.

As for Hostage, remember that even before Lamont's death, it was a fast write, filling the slot left vacant when Horizon was pulled forward to replace Death Squad (or possibly the original version of Voice from the Past).

 

[Starkers]

Yep. A lot of companies have guidelines about what's sometimes called self-commissioning.
In Maloney's case, he got to do Star one as it was an emergency replacement for an ill Lorrimer, and for Powerplay he argued (perhaps after the Travis II experience) that as he'd be casting the two new regulars, it was unfair to the other director to have his major characters chosen for him.

There are two problems with self-commissioning that I'm aware of...
1) Conflict of interest. Does someone self-commission because they'd be the best person for the job, or because they want the money?
2) Anytime an editor or producer self-commissions that's one less job for freelancers.

As for Hostage, remember that even before Lamont's death, it was a fast write, filling the slot left vacant when Horizon was pulled forward to replace Death Squad (or possibly the original version of Voice from the Past).

Talking of Star One wasn't Boucher given special dispensation to write that because Nation was struggling to deliver the two parter that was supposed to finish the series? That's why Allan Prior was drafted in at fairly short notice to do The Keeper as well right?

He may not have had the time obviously, but it is a real shame we only got two Boucher scripts in Series D

 

[Starkers]

Feel free to ignore this if people aren't interested, but I recently posted on my blog a bit of a deep dive into actors who had parts in Blakes 7 and James Bond. Something I'd been meaning to do for ages!

 

[Marc]

Feel free to ignore this if people aren't interested, but I recently posted on my blog a bit of a deep dive into actors who had parts in Blakes 7 and James Bond. Something I'd been meaning to do for ages!

without even looking at your list, Julian Glover (Breakdown /For Your Eyes Only) comes to mind.

Glover might also be unique in being the only guest star to appear in B7 after their wife.

 

[Starkers]

without even looking at your list, Julian Glover (Breakdown /For Your Eyes Only) comes to mind.

Glover might also be unique in being the only guest star to appear in B7 after their wife.

Of course there's only one actor to kill his own wife in the show

 

[Set Harth]

damn... this guy was in Bond, Blake's 7, Indiana Jones, Doctor Who and Star Wars