Line #67 Recap/BlakesSevenS2E7Killer


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blakes_7_killer.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Avon has one friend. [[HeKnowsTooMuch He'll have to kill him]].]]
3	[[AC:Written by Creator/RobertHolmes.\
4	Directed by Vere Lorrimer.\
5	Airdate: 20 February 1979.]]
6
7	The ''Liberator'' arrives at a Federation base on the planet Fosforon, where Avon hopes to 'persuade' a former partner-in-crime to help them steal a TP crystal that will decode classified transmissions. When a derelict spacecraft from 700 years ago appears near the planet, the scientists on the base investigate the derelict and unleash a deadly plague.
8	----
9	!!This episode has the following tropes:
10
11	* AirVentPassageway: Avon and Vila enter the base via a sewer pipe.
12	* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Avon insists that [[YouOweMe Tynus owes him]] for keeping his mouth shut after his capture, and that refusal to help could see Tynus sent to a penal planet if Avon decided to reveal his role in the computer fraud.
13	-->'''Vila:''' When Avon holds out the hand of friendship, watch his other hand. That’s the one with the hammer.
14	* AsYouKnow: Justified; exposition on the TP crystal is provided by Tynus thinking up excuses why he can't help and Avon shooting them down.
15	* BatmanGambit: The cyborg corpse was programmed to attack the person doing the autopsy so that others would break quarantine while rushing to his rescue.
16	* BBCQuarry: Averted; Fosforon resembles marshland outside the [[HeyItsThatPlace Oldbury Nuclear Power Station]].
17	* BlatantLies: [[CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker Tannoy speakers]] announce that the situation is under control and everyone is to remain at their post, after a scene where people are fleeing in panic and dying in the corridors.
18	* BodyHorror: The final symptom is large blisters breaking out on the hands and face.
19	* TheCaper: Albeit a two-man job, plus an [[InsideJob inside man]] blackmailed into the role.
20	* ChekhovsGun:
21	** As Avon and Vila are in the next room, Tynus writes out the message he wants Tak to send to Servalan on a pad -- see WritingIndentationClue.
22	** Avon warns of the dangers of being electrocuted by the converter. Tynus demonstrates.
23	* {{Chickification}}: Jenna and Cally spend the entire episode up on the ''Liberator'' [[CostumePorn looking gorgeous]] and smiling in approval at the male characters. Even Jenna's pilot skills are now unnecessary with Blake just giving verbal orders to Zen.[[note]]This is partly a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot; After "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E1Redemption Redemption]]" Creator/JanChappell had it written into her contract that she wouldn't perform in a nuclear power station because she was still breast-feeding her son at the time.[[/note]]
24	* ChromosomeCasting: Almost every line of dialogue in this episode is spoken by a male character: Jenna and Cally barely feature in the episode, the guest cast is entirely male, and Servalan is mentioned but not seen.
25	* ContinuityNod: The ''Liberator'' is [[StealthInSpace hiding in orbit]] thanks to Avon's deflector screen.
26	* CreatorThumbprint: ThoseTwoGuys and EverybodysDeadDave for scriptwriter Creator/RobertHolmes. Also Vila mentions being a vegetarian (just [[WriterOnBoard like Holmes]]).
27	* DataCrystal: The TP crystal. Also Dr Bellfriar gives Blake data blocks (transparent cubes) that he can take up to Orac to be analysed.
28	* DomedCity: Q-Base
29	* DressingAsTheEnemy: The clumsy 'bug suits' and large dark visors ensure that Avon and Vila can easily hide their presence.
30	* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness: Orac will have no problem breaking codes in the future without the help of stolen Federation tech.
31	* EverybodysDeadDave: The virus kills everyone [[PlotArmor except the main characters]], and it's implied that it will kill everyone on the planet.
32	* {{Foil}}: ThoseTwoGuys show a nuanced side to the Federation -- Tynus is corrupt and treacherous, resorting to petty snarking at Bellfriar when all is lost; Bellfriar is dedicated and keeps his dignity. Tak flees his post while Gambrill stays till his death.
33	* ForbiddenZone: The Darkling Zone is an uncharted region where ships disappear (TheBermudaTriangle InSpace), suspected to be the "centre of a [[HollywoodScience meteor storm]]". Blake theorises that it contains an advanced alien race [[AbsoluteXenophobe distrustful of outsiders]] who destroy any intruder, and sent the virus to prevent humanity becoming a threat to them.
34	* {{Foreshadowing}}: For "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E13StarOne Star One]]" [[spoiler:when Blake chooses to warn the Federation of a threat to humanity.]]
35	* GasMaskMooks: Despite this, a soldier collapses from smoke inhalation (though it could have been through heat stroke, or clogged filters in his mask).
36	* GirlyRun: At least Vila and Avon have an excuse as they're picking their way across a rocky beach.
37	* GhostShip: Wanderer Class K47, albeit downplayed as we don't see inside the vessel, the action taking place on Q-Base.
38	* GodzillaThreshold:
39	** Bellfriar orders the guards to [[QuarantineWithExtremePrejudice shoot if necessary]] to enforce the LockDown, though Gambrill dies before he has a chance to pass on the order.
40	** Blake chooses to warn the Federation, even though Avon points out that Servalan is on her way to Fosforon and will likely be killed by the virus.
41	* GoryDiscretionShot: Tynus' death is shown via Vila's horrified ReactionShot, and his body isn't the charred sandwich filler that Avon warned about.
42	* HaveAGayOldTime
43	** Blake uses the now politically-incorrect word "redskins". He also asks Orac to tap (instead of hack) into the Central Spacecraft Register.
44	** "What about the online console?" In this case "online" means switched on, not connected to a network.
45	* HeKnowsTooMuch: Having alerted Servalan to the ''Liberator'''s presence, Tynus then tries to kill Avon to prevent him revealing their past association. It's NothingPersonal.
46	* HellBentForLeather: Avon wears black leather with silver studs. Why he doesn't keel over from heat stroke once they turn the air circulation off is a mystery.
47	* HesDeadJim: Averted; the doctor formally consults the EEG before doing the autopsy, which is required by law. He sees a flatline, and refuses to believe his colleagues that the monitor is suddenly showing signs of life [[NotQuiteDead before he's choked to death by a zombie corpse]].
48	* HopeSpot: Bellfriar identifies the anti-virus and contacts the ''Liberator'', but then he loses his ability to read as the virus attacks his central nervous system and he [[HisNameIs dies in mid-transmission]].
49	* IllPretendIDidntHearThat: When Blake introduces himself as the Federation's most notorious political criminal, the two Federation scientists point out that as {{Absent Minded Professor}}s, they can't be expected to remember people's names.
50	* InterserviceRivalry: The science and technical department heads making snide comments about each other.
51	* InvisibilityCloak: The anti-detection screen invented by Avon.
52	-->'''Vila:''' We're expecting it to break down any time.
53	* IWasJustPassingThrough: Avon is definitely not suffering from Blake's hero complex. He's just risking death to steal the cypher key for self-preservation reasons. From the expression on his face, Vila doesn't believe a word.
54	* KillAllHumans: Averted; the virus was just meant to confine humanity to their planet of origin, only affecting those who have gone out into deep space.
55	* MacGuffin: Avon and Vila intend to steal a TP Crystal that will help to "[[CodeBreaking break the new pulse codes]] of the Federation's transmitted A-Line messages". Got that?
56	* MissedHimByThatMuch: Blake teleports into an area where a line of Federation mooks were standing just a few seconds before.
57	* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Cally warns of something malignant on board the GhostShip. Blake takes the warning seriously and sends an anonymous warning to the Q-Base, later following it up in person.
58	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
59	** The electrical fire our heroes use as a distraction knocks out the computer that could have been used to analyse the samples from the corpse.
60	** Bellfriar is about to transmit the cure for the plague when Blake interrupts him to discuss the reasons the aliens sent it. By the time they get back to the subject, the disease has affected Bellfriar’s nervous system and he can no longer read the formula.
61	* NoHonourAmongThieves: Avon blackmails Tynus who tries to betray them in turn.
62	* NoodleIncident:
63	** Vila mentions the Casarus swamp fever that killed millions.
64	** A snarky comment by Tynus implies that Dr Bellfriar is on Fosforon because he was ReassignedToAntarctica.
65	* OutOfFocus: Jenna and Cally barely feature in the episode; they stay on the Liberator the entire time while Avon, Villa and (later) Blake travel down to Fosforon. After Blake teleports down, the women are not seen again until they are all reunited on the Liberator at the end of the episode.
66	* PhlebotinumPills: Blake mentions [[SleeperStarship hibernation pills]] being used by the crew of a Wanderer Class.
67	* PlagueZombie: Blake compares the corpse to those blankets used to spread smallpox among rebellious tribes of Native Americans.
68	* PlotArmour: Blake, Avon and Vila are entirely unaffected by the virus.
69	* ProperlyParanoid: Vila and Avon refuse the drink packs that Tynus offers after discovering he intends to betray them.
70	* PunchClockVillains: Despite working for the Federation, Bellfriar and Gambrill are likeable characters who aren't willing to give Blake away, unlike the double-dealing Tynus.
71	* RewatchBonus: Although not stated, decoding Federation transmissions would be an essential first step in gathering intelligence on the secret location of Central. The upcoming episode "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E9Countdown Countdown]]" shows that Blake has not given up his search for the Federation MasterComputer.
72	* SaveTheVillain: Justified as the risk that one of Servalan's cruisers might carry the virus elsewhere is too great.
73	* ShipTease: Blake and Jenna get quite close to each other while talking.
74	* SkewedPriorities: Tynus threatens to report Bellfriar to the Medical Council for his failure to cope with the virus. Bellfriar calmly responds that as they'll likely be dead soon, it's really not something he concerned about.
75	* SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality: There are [[ChromosomeCasting no women seen]] on the Q-Base, and the two female characters have a [[OutOfFocus minimal role in the episode]].
76	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Between [[VitriolicBestBuds Avon and Vila]].
77	-->'''Vila:''' I always knew you had a friend. I used to say to people, "I bet Avon's got a friend, somewhere in the galaxy."\
78	'''Avon:''' And you were right. That must be a novel experience for you.
79	* SpaceClothes from the WTHCostumingDepartment: The squeaky brown vinyl 'bug suits', the Michelin Man {{Hazmat Suit}}s, and the firefighters who look like silver fried eggs with legs.
80	* SyntheticPlague: Paratype 926.
81	* StockFootage: The ''London'' landing on [[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E3CygnusAlpha Cygnus Alpha]] is used for the recovery vessel landing at Q-Base. In a StockFootageFailure the final shot of the ''Liberator'' has a tiny model ''London'' docked to it, apparently footage from "Space Fall".
82	* TechnicallyLivingZombie: The corpse has been preserved with embalming fluid and given [[HollywoodCyborg cybernetic implants]]. Once it carries out its mission to breach quarantine, it deactivates.
83	* ThisIsNoTimeToPanic: Panic overtakes the base with people deserting their posts and fleeing, breaking quarantine and spreading the virus.
84	* ThoseTwoGuys: Running the technical division -- Tynus and his underling Tak. On the science side -- Dr. Bellfriar and Gambrill. Writer Creator/RobertHolmes was also the first to realise the dramatic potential of [[OddCouple pairing up Avon and Vila]].
85	* WalkieTalkieStatic: Quindar tones are heard in the transmissions from the BoardingParty sent to investigate the derelict.
86	* WeNeedADistraction: In order to steal the TP crystal without the Federation knowing (as they'd just change their codes) Avon needs to program a fault in the converter so it will be replaced and thrown in the garbage where it can be easily stolen. To give him time to do this an electrical fire is started so the men will go to their fire-drill stations, leaving the room unattended. When the base falls into chaos, Avon realises they can just steal it directly and start a [[FieryCoverup fire in the room]] that will seem like random damage or vandalism.
87	* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Averted when we see one of the FacelessGoons collapse from smoke inhalation, forcing the audience to empathise with him.
88	* WritingIndentationClue: Tynus crumples up the charred remains of the thermal bomb so Security won't realise the fire was deliberate. As Vila is disposing of the soot, he notices the pad Tynus used earlier and covers it with the soot to read the message Tynus sent to Servalan.

Context Recap / BlakesSevenS2E7Killer