New Blakes 7 Audio - Rebel
Aug. 1st, 2007 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fangrrl_squeesI've just listened to the first Blakes 7 audio from B7 Media, Rebel, by Ben Aaronovitch, Marc Platt and Mark Swallow. So far, so good.
Rebel is pretty much a straight retelling of the first three eps of the original series (The Way Back, Spacefall, Cygnus Alpha), with a few tweaks for current tastes, and a whole lot of chaff cut out. The scenery (so to speak) is littered with little homages and a few direct lifts - I squealed in fannish glee at one particular musical break that I won't spoil for you. However, it's hardly the "radical re-imagining" that B7 Media has been bragging up. Then again, I can understand not wanting to have the longtime fans feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them. Caution might well prove the best path, when setting out.
Overall, the acting is pretty good. There are a few moments where things fall flat - clunky dialogue, too obvious an homage to the source material or simply pedestrian editing where one can hear the cut. That last was particularly painful when it's a high-paced dialogue between two characters, but I doubt I would have noticed it if I hadn't been listening on headphones in a quiet office. It's a mere technical quibble. The performances were quite solid, throughout and when I caught myself wincing at one or two moments - such as the characterization of Vlia - I can still say that it's far, far better than most of the Kaldor City series (my personal bottom-of-the-heap for SF audio, despite the fact that I love it the same way I can't help loving something that's bad for me)
The characterizations are largely unchanged from the old series. The most significant divergence from the original setup is the apparent switching out of Tarrant with Mezin. As I was never particularly fond of Tarrant (too pretty!), that change isn't going to keep me awake at nights. The similarities between Mezin's and Tarrant's backstories are similar enough to have me thinking that Mezin will be sticking around for a while, rather than being killed out in the second reel, so to speak. Amusingly enough, Mezin is played by India Fisher, so I keep expecting her to break out in a rash of "What's happening, Doctor?" at any moment...
There's been a tangible effort to make Jenna more useful and a bit more interesting. Unfortunately, part of that involves making her just a wee bit nutty which strikes me as a bit of a copout. Reaching for the Can of Psychosis to make a character "interesting" is so overused as to come across as lazy writing. Then again, I know quite a few folks who firmly believe that most pilots are certifiably insane, so I could be way off-base, here. As I'm a forgiving soul, and it's early days, yet, my opinon of Jenna is neutral, pending further evidence.
Speaking of Jenna, who on earth is that playing her? *Wikis* Hm, Carrie Dobro. Not ringing a bell. I think I've heard her on some BFA thing, but I can't remember which one. She was on Crusade, apparently, but heaven knows I never watched an episode of that.
Meanwhile, Roj Blake (Derek Riddell) with a Scottish accent is throwing me for a loop more than I expected. Ditto Servalan (Daniela Nardini). Great voices, great actors, the pair of them - just a bit of readjustment in my ol' noggin is required, that's all. No variance from what you expect in terms of character motiviation and, honestly, I'd be really surprised if there was. They've been set up exactly as one would expect them to be: Idealistic Rebel Leader, meet Ambitious Power-Hungry Establishment. Add plot elements, stir vigorously and brace for further developments.
Hang on. Wait a mo'. Craig Kelly is playing Travis? Oh man, that just sent my head into a whole slew of weird places. The only other thing I've seen him in is Queer as Folk. Oh dear god, there go the plotbunnies. *Ahem* Anyways... Travis had a small part in this story, so I haven't formed an opinon of him, either way. He's is one of those characters that's riddled with potential - bashing heads against Servalan and Blake - so it would be great to see that opportunity picked up, this time around. At the moment? He's just there, uttering dire warnings to Servalan as needed. Again, my opinion's is neutral, pending further input.
Unfortunately, It's going to take me a while to warm up to Vila (Dean Harris). The comic-relief bit was played a bit broader than I like - particularly in combination with the apparent belief that audiences can't help but love a Cockney ne'er-do-well - a characterization so archtypical as to be skirting on the verge of a cliche, which is a bit worrying. However, they're also allowing him to have demonstrable smarts, too, and not just in thievery, so it might prove to be an acceptable tradeoff.
Gan is, well... he's Gan. Big, strong, well-meaning. No mention of a limiter, and I hope there never is, as even when I was a six year old we'en watching the show the first time out, I thought that was a hellishly lame plot device. But I digress... If they simply set Gan up as a big ol' boy scout ready to back Blake up against the more morally, er, flexible characters, I'll be satisifed. And, as Gan was so underutilized the last time 'round, the writers have got a lot of room for 'reinterpretation' without alienating the fans too much - should the writers choose to do so. If it's going to be a true ensemble cast, he might get some good moments. Or he might end up working the transporter for half the season. We'll see.
Much like Gan Avon is, for the moment, exactly what you expect. A lot of snark, a fair whack of brains, and already banging the drums of paranoia. I'll miss Paul Darrow's hilariously shameless scenery chewing, but Colin Salmon seems to be filling the bill nicely. Great voice, good performance and easy on the eyes, to boot. Makes me wish I'd taken the time for the B7 Media panel at G1, earlier this year. Rawr. *ahem*
On a much more frivolous note, Michael Praed's cheerfully chomp on the scenery during his guest shot as Soris gets my vote for most amusing line, uttered when reassuring Gan about his intentions regarding a female character: Relax. I'm a sociopath, not a sadist.
God knows, bad tech can sink a project, no matter how noteworthy. My minor quibble about some editing, aside, the production values were excellent. Sound effects, music, general sound mixing all came together very well. Some audio productions out there have sounded like they were recorded in someone's garage, with foley provided by the contents of a tool box, but that's not the case, here.
Overall, I think that Rebel was a good first-outing. B7 Media is pushing the notion of 'bold new re-imagining', but even if it wasn't apparent in this particular project, there's the entire rest of the run for them to muck about and have fun. Of course, the creators have their work cut out for them, with a fandom that has emotional baggage comparable to Doctor Who and Star Trek, so they've got to tread carefully. I can understand that, I'm glad that they've eased the fandom into the new phase of the show's existence and so I'm willing to cut the PR crew a break - for the moment.
For many reasons (budget, said emotional baggage, etc) I think going the audio route was a good idea. I know that B7 Media are still talking about a live-action revival, the notion of which I have some severe misgivings about - I'll discuss those in another entry - but for now, I think that the audio series will make a lot of fans very happy.
Rebel is pretty much a straight retelling of the first three eps of the original series (The Way Back, Spacefall, Cygnus Alpha), with a few tweaks for current tastes, and a whole lot of chaff cut out. The scenery (so to speak) is littered with little homages and a few direct lifts - I squealed in fannish glee at one particular musical break that I won't spoil for you. However, it's hardly the "radical re-imagining" that B7 Media has been bragging up. Then again, I can understand not wanting to have the longtime fans feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them. Caution might well prove the best path, when setting out.
Overall, the acting is pretty good. There are a few moments where things fall flat - clunky dialogue, too obvious an homage to the source material or simply pedestrian editing where one can hear the cut. That last was particularly painful when it's a high-paced dialogue between two characters, but I doubt I would have noticed it if I hadn't been listening on headphones in a quiet office. It's a mere technical quibble. The performances were quite solid, throughout and when I caught myself wincing at one or two moments - such as the characterization of Vlia - I can still say that it's far, far better than most of the Kaldor City series (my personal bottom-of-the-heap for SF audio, despite the fact that I love it the same way I can't help loving something that's bad for me)
The characterizations are largely unchanged from the old series. The most significant divergence from the original setup is the apparent switching out of Tarrant with Mezin. As I was never particularly fond of Tarrant (too pretty!), that change isn't going to keep me awake at nights. The similarities between Mezin's and Tarrant's backstories are similar enough to have me thinking that Mezin will be sticking around for a while, rather than being killed out in the second reel, so to speak. Amusingly enough, Mezin is played by India Fisher, so I keep expecting her to break out in a rash of "What's happening, Doctor?" at any moment...
There's been a tangible effort to make Jenna more useful and a bit more interesting. Unfortunately, part of that involves making her just a wee bit nutty which strikes me as a bit of a copout. Reaching for the Can of Psychosis to make a character "interesting" is so overused as to come across as lazy writing. Then again, I know quite a few folks who firmly believe that most pilots are certifiably insane, so I could be way off-base, here. As I'm a forgiving soul, and it's early days, yet, my opinon of Jenna is neutral, pending further evidence.
Speaking of Jenna, who on earth is that playing her? *Wikis* Hm, Carrie Dobro. Not ringing a bell. I think I've heard her on some BFA thing, but I can't remember which one. She was on Crusade, apparently, but heaven knows I never watched an episode of that.
Meanwhile, Roj Blake (Derek Riddell) with a Scottish accent is throwing me for a loop more than I expected. Ditto Servalan (Daniela Nardini). Great voices, great actors, the pair of them - just a bit of readjustment in my ol' noggin is required, that's all. No variance from what you expect in terms of character motiviation and, honestly, I'd be really surprised if there was. They've been set up exactly as one would expect them to be: Idealistic Rebel Leader, meet Ambitious Power-Hungry Establishment. Add plot elements, stir vigorously and brace for further developments.
Hang on. Wait a mo'. Craig Kelly is playing Travis? Oh man, that just sent my head into a whole slew of weird places. The only other thing I've seen him in is Queer as Folk. Oh dear god, there go the plotbunnies. *Ahem* Anyways... Travis had a small part in this story, so I haven't formed an opinon of him, either way. He's is one of those characters that's riddled with potential - bashing heads against Servalan and Blake - so it would be great to see that opportunity picked up, this time around. At the moment? He's just there, uttering dire warnings to Servalan as needed. Again, my opinion's is neutral, pending further input.
Unfortunately, It's going to take me a while to warm up to Vila (Dean Harris). The comic-relief bit was played a bit broader than I like - particularly in combination with the apparent belief that audiences can't help but love a Cockney ne'er-do-well - a characterization so archtypical as to be skirting on the verge of a cliche, which is a bit worrying. However, they're also allowing him to have demonstrable smarts, too, and not just in thievery, so it might prove to be an acceptable tradeoff.
Gan is, well... he's Gan. Big, strong, well-meaning. No mention of a limiter, and I hope there never is, as even when I was a six year old we'en watching the show the first time out, I thought that was a hellishly lame plot device. But I digress... If they simply set Gan up as a big ol' boy scout ready to back Blake up against the more morally, er, flexible characters, I'll be satisifed. And, as Gan was so underutilized the last time 'round, the writers have got a lot of room for 'reinterpretation' without alienating the fans too much - should the writers choose to do so. If it's going to be a true ensemble cast, he might get some good moments. Or he might end up working the transporter for half the season. We'll see.
Much like Gan Avon is, for the moment, exactly what you expect. A lot of snark, a fair whack of brains, and already banging the drums of paranoia. I'll miss Paul Darrow's hilariously shameless scenery chewing, but Colin Salmon seems to be filling the bill nicely. Great voice, good performance and easy on the eyes, to boot. Makes me wish I'd taken the time for the B7 Media panel at G1, earlier this year. Rawr. *ahem*
On a much more frivolous note, Michael Praed's cheerfully chomp on the scenery during his guest shot as Soris gets my vote for most amusing line, uttered when reassuring Gan about his intentions regarding a female character: Relax. I'm a sociopath, not a sadist.
God knows, bad tech can sink a project, no matter how noteworthy. My minor quibble about some editing, aside, the production values were excellent. Sound effects, music, general sound mixing all came together very well. Some audio productions out there have sounded like they were recorded in someone's garage, with foley provided by the contents of a tool box, but that's not the case, here.
Overall, I think that Rebel was a good first-outing. B7 Media is pushing the notion of 'bold new re-imagining', but even if it wasn't apparent in this particular project, there's the entire rest of the run for them to muck about and have fun. Of course, the creators have their work cut out for them, with a fandom that has emotional baggage comparable to Doctor Who and Star Trek, so they've got to tread carefully. I can understand that, I'm glad that they've eased the fandom into the new phase of the show's existence and so I'm willing to cut the PR crew a break - for the moment.
For many reasons (budget, said emotional baggage, etc) I think going the audio route was a good idea. I know that B7 Media are still talking about a live-action revival, the notion of which I have some severe misgivings about - I'll discuss those in another entry - but for now, I think that the audio series will make a lot of fans very happy.
