Discussion Post for 4.04 - Stardrive - General

[emmzzi]

This is the general discussion post for the episode 4.04 - Stardrive. Spoilers for the whole series are allowed here.

Comments

[emmzzi]

I'm watching this with visiting fen this morning

[corvuscornix]

I'm conflicted by Vila; cunning, and cowardly
You're right that he seems unusually inept down on the planet. I wonder if it could be another instance of how sometimes having company (i.e. Dayna in this case) actually seems to make him less competent and more fretful in dangerous situations than when he is on his own - perhaps because he either relies to heavily on the other person or subconsciously assimilates their judgement of him? (or, well, inconsistent characterisation, obviously. But trying to translate that into Watsonian explanations...)

But is the entirety of season 4 about Avon showing off badly to impress a girl he likes
Ha! It certainly looks like it often enough... But my guess would be that it's a more generalised case of Avon trying very hard to be something that he is not (Fearless Leader, basically) and having only very vague ideas about what that thing actually looks like ...

Question: if Plaxton hadn't spent 10 seconds staring out the window vapidly at ships, would she be alive today?For a moment I thought she was

[awdureslf]

To be fair to Vila, neither of them especially shine on the planet - Dayna tells Vila to check the choppers while she "covers him" then proceeds to watch him instead of any of the doors until they're both caught!

Vila is much more on form on the ship, he's got ideas and ways to minimise his own risk from those ideas!

I couldn't work out Paxton staring into space at the end either. I wondered if we were supposed to think she suspected something was up. Or maybe she'd just had a sudden moment of "Did I really connect those in the right order".

In any case she must have been racing team pit crew as well as scientist to get the engine changed that fast - I can't swap out the tiny 2-stroke on the microlight in less than two hours with all three of us working on it..

[corvuscornix]

I like the asteroid-racing sequence. It really makes a point of how vulnerable they are without the Liberator. They can't run and they can't fight, so have to take crazy risks to avoid detection. Avon's line about even the most cynical having to trust in luck sometimes, and the look on his his face when luck promptly fails is rather tragic

[awdureslf]

I like how Tarrant for the most part is too busy with the practicalities to argue about it. Right up until the point he DOEs wander away from the controls to argue just before they, in fact, get hit!

Tarrant is more on side with Avon in this than most episodes. Inconsistent on the idea of using Dayna and Tarrant - I'd have expected lots more protest about that from him. I did wonder why those two as the decoy, but Avon answers it - Vila is likely to tell them what he thinks he knows very properly and make it that much more convincing. Dayna of course doesn't object being volunteers because she's generally in favour of a fight! I wonderif Avon really thinks he needs both her and Soolin, as well as fulfilling a very similar narrative role they're pretty similar in skills in terms of the crew makeup too.

Vila is very convincing fake drunk! In fact the stumble is so realistic I half wondered if it was a happy accident that got left in! Interesting that Dayna and Soolin apparently choose not to give him away.

[corvuscornix]

he DOEs wander away from the controls to argue just before they, in fact, get hit
...None of them act particularly competent in this ep, do they... *g*

Vila is very convincing fake drunk!
He is! It's a joy to watch him in that scene, not least for his silent reactions as Slave first rejects, then amends his suggestion. And when you know that he's faking it, that "Hooray!" at the end takes on a note of real sarcasm that I find rather satisfying, coming from Vila.

Interesting that Dayna and Soolin apparently choose not to give him away.That would have been very unkind of them - surely they don't dislike Vila that much? Also I'm guessing that they probably enjoyed seeing Avon secretly outsmarted like that, and wouldn't mind knowing something that he (and Tarrant) doesn't. I was more surprised that Vila trusted them enough to be willing to give his trick away in the first place - even though I suppose it raised their opinions of him. Just the need for acknowledgement getting the better of him, or a calculated risk trying to gain

[emmzzi]

Maybe it's a wee test Dayna is giving Soolin... they haven't quite accepted her yet

[awdureslf]

There's the odd bit of good dialogue "Don't be sorry, be quiet!"

They've been playing with effects - very Star Wars -esque wipe from one scene to another in places!

The Space Rats are utterly ridiculous...

Dayna manages "excitable girly student" quite well!

I like how very resigned Avon looks when it all turns into a fight in the lab with Tarrant getting tripped.

Interesting that Soolin considers Dayna to have had a "sheltered upbringing" So apart from the planet full of savages, exiled then killed weapons developer, dad and strung up sister then. Soolin has an odd definition of sheltered - or we're meant to take it as a hint that her backstory is worse?

[emmzzi]

Having watched Animals today I'm with you on excitable student!