More B7 - Hostage, Countdown, Voice From The Past, Gambit

[fangrrl_squees]

Hostage
I see that, even on the run as a hunted man, Travis has plenty of access to hair-care products.

What, erm, interesting taste in accessories Travis has.

(and who else was giggling "Safeword!" during Vila's interrogation? Come on, admit it!)

The combat in this one is like watching Stormtroopers get macked on by Ewoks - awful and inadvertantly hilarious. Bouncy rocks!

The episode's a bit weak, given a pretty nifty setup. It was all a bit of a collapsed soufflé, really.

Countdown

Y'know, one costume I'll never make fun of is that of the generic Federation soldier. It's an excellent bit of design, really - quite the contrast to all the stuf that makes me want to claw my eyes out, such as the Federation officers (Provine, et al). Somebody want to tell me the justification for the electrical-tape bordered bib thing?

HEY! IT'S DUGGAN!! *ahem* I mean, I see Tom Chadbon's in this. Always nice to see a fellow working. (I know, I know, Chadbon is hardly short of work). The fact that I completely forgot that he played Del Grant just highlights how long it's been since I watched this one...

I see Avon's back in the red vinyl. I think Darrow's just showing off that he's skinnier than Gareth Roberts at this point. :)

I can only imagine that Jenna and Cally are getting cheerfully drunk whenever the boys are beaming off hither and yon because, god knows, they've had sod all to do for the past few episodes. *sigh* No wonder the actors quit.

Oh dear god, what was with Nation's fixation for preceding everything with "space"? "Space hours", "space commander". It's already well-established that we're watching a sci-fi show, y'know?

Kerr Avon, bombmaking spokesmodel! (sorry, I couldn't help remembering SanDeE from LA Story - "I've always liked pointing")

I should lighten up, it's a good episode, really. Well-paced, relatively subtle and with some great character interaction. And plastic icicles.

The scene with Avon and Del as they're defusing the bomb is moderately fabulous. Yay for backstory and fraught snarlings. (Can someone past the DDT? I seem to have had a sudden outbreak of slashy subtext pixies...)

Voice From The Past

Bloody hell, Cally's got the crew doing yoga? Ahh, so that's how she's getting her revenge for being left behind!

*bites tongue during Blake's first flashback and Avon's pouty concern*

(And Darrow still hits like a girl. Really. My brain-damaged cat has more martial grace.)

*Madluv for manipulative Blake.*

Blimey, they're making the most of that Liberator changing course footage, ain't they?

Oh dear, bad step backwards for Servalan's wardrobe, there. She looks like a chef. Meanwhile, the exchange twist her and Gov. LeGrand crossed the line from painstakingly deliberate to wincingly melodramatic. Ow. Ow. Ow.

Damn, the pacing grinds to a halt in the middle. *Yawn*

Good lord, that's one expensive-looking f/x shot (the shuttle landing at, er, wherever it was...).

Travis, dearheart, dump the death-ray ring thingummy. It's tacky, unimpressive, extremely silly and besides, that shade of yellow just doesn't do a thing for you, luv.

Alas, not a terribly memorable episode, this one, for all of the delicious promise of PTSD-riddled Blake.

Gambit

Bloody hell? Is that Deep Roy playing The Klute? It is! *boggles* (and, duh, I didn't realize how much Doctor Who he'd done).

Servalan's in red? And the dress was apparently borrowed from a Vegas showgirl - and how is she able to keep her eyes open under the weight of those false eyelashes? Meanwhile, all the costuming for the rest of Freedom City seems to have been pinched off the sets of whatever was being filmed in adjacent studios.

(cue awful furniture and shrieks of "MY EYES!!!" The universe will never, ever be ready for gold lamé sheets. Or any sort of lamé bed linens.)

Okay and, erm, Krantor and his (apparent) boytoy, Toise? They go beyond camp and into creepy. I rather hope that was the point.

I see Avon's back in the silver lurex binbag thing. *shudders*

I do, however, love the fact that, left to their own devices, Vila and Avon cheerfully revert to their criminal impulses. (tangent: What a cute widdle Orac!)

I'm sure if Terry Nation had written it, it would be "Space Vitazade". *sigh*

The first speed-chess match? Most. Annoying. Incidental. Music. Evar.

Hm. The Sergio-Leone-inspired cowboy look also fails to do anything for Travis. *sighs mournfully* Quitcher whining, anyways, you big baby.

Apparently, futuristic cybernetics are indistinguishable from a pile of shampoo bottles.

Cally, you're adding too much sugar to your absinthe. (Is there any non-green liquor in this 'verse?)

*laughs helplessly at the Jenna/Cally catfight* Methinks the fanboys would have gladly accepted 45 minutes of just that.

Nigh-endless exposition (Servalan and Jarriere) is just about acceptable when the screen is full of Pearce's amazing eye-makeup. Jarriere is, btw, a completely boring and un-engaging character. Thank god we won't be seeing any more of him.

"Oh great. You're back. Terrific." Watching Avon and Vila trying to keep a straight face is far funnier than it probably should be.



And, apropos of nothing, a gorgeous picture of John Simm. Pure eye-candy.

Comments

[kshandra]

And, apropos of nothing, a gorgeous picture of John Simm. Pure eye-candy.

Um. Guh. I may be changing my mind about him....

[fangrrl-squees.livejournal.com]

He was a hard sell to me, at first, too. Now, however, the man reduces me to a pile of wibbling squee at the least provocation. And that pic is a pretty significant provocation!

(I found the pic on someone else's LJ. She captioned it as Simm "pulling The Master face". *giggles madly*)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Jarriere??? Boring????? Does not compute...

Ah well, I always knew the darling man was an acquired taste (took me a whole seven-and-a-half seconds, but what the hell) He's the only guest character to have had his own (albeit small) ficathon too (the Jarriere fan club - the Jarriegoths - is small but loud. I'm the Antipodean section)

Now Inga - Blake's cousin in Hostage - puts one strongly in mind of a fretful young goat...

[fangrrl-squees.livejournal.com]

Sorry we don't agree on Jarriere. I can't really put my finger on why I don't care for him, but I just don't. But I'll never mock another fan's personal faves because, god knows, I've been into some right clangers, over the course of the years... (and am *still* mad for some of them, all logic to the contrary)

Inga: boring character, terrible acting, and an outfit reminiscent of an aerobics instructor of the period. *shudders* I noticed that far too many characters are wearing headbands in S2...

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

{grin} Oh don't worry, I would never deny anyone their right to loathe detest and abominate any fictional character on sight, nor get upset about it (goodness knows, given the way I reacted to the Love of Avon's Life Anna Grant - or James T Kirk - or Stargate's Armybarbie Carter - or a lowering number of others, I can't talk :)

[fangrrl-squees.livejournal.com]

given the way I reacted to the Love of Avon's Life Anna Grant

Oh, I'm with you on that one! I haven't gotten around to it on the viewing marathon yet (probably later today) but I remember - even tho' this was about 20 years ago - watching that eps and thinking "She's what Avon's been angsting about for the past three seasons? Bah!"

I wish I could find the 'zine (long lost, alas - the downside of paper 'zines) but I remember reading a moderately excellent fic that re-interpreted the Avon/Anna backstory - essentially making Anna bigger crook than Avon ever was and, in fact, he had been lying about his feelings and was actually out for revenge. I liked that version *much* more. ;)

[praedestinatio.livejournal.com]

Mmm yeah, been ogling that pic since it was released 8D