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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2021 4:53:30 GMT
Great reviews, this series along with The Robots sound right up my street. Thank you! The two series have certain similarities; perhaps that's why I like them so much. A thought just occurred. You know what Doctor Who and Blake's 7 also share beyond a wink about production codes and a Colin Baker? Writers. Chris Boucher wrote The Robots of Death and Bayban's debut, City at the Edge of the World. He's sort of the hidden third figure for the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era as his storytelling was very deliberately about showing ambiguity in his characters. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Human or robot. Freedom fighter or Federation. Coming into Bayban's Bounty, I'm getting the impression that Avalon is almost a pseudo-anthology series linked by a central lead and her offsider. It's just as much about the figures she meets as her own escapades and this episode is no exception. Today, we meet Bayban. A funny occurrence, in a way, because the style of the story is very much riffing on its "Series A" kith and kin. We're not too long from the London, Cygnus Alpha and the Web. The Federation is still very much at the height of its power, so seeing Bayban in its midst makes for this unusual sense of the "heyday" of his butchery and pillaging. A man in his element. Chomping at the bit.
Fitting then, that Avalon's strike force meet an appropriate foil for the Beserker to sink his teeth into -- the prison controller, Winter. A plausible grotesque in the vein of Travis or Servalan, but tailored just for Bayban. Their rapport makes for some of the best moments in the episode. The two of them are just so... bloodthirsty. In the classical sense. Colin Baker is clearly having a whale of the time playing the role. Enough for a particular character moment, at the end, to catch me off-guard. I was not expecting that from Bayban. Still... He remains very much as we "first" encountered him in City. Enough that I was wondering the same thing as our outlaws at the story's end -- Was it really such a good idea to let him walk away alive?
(Well, for us, in the audience, absolutely -- things are on the move for this character as we'll eventually see...) Loads of fun with, as @davros1 has noted, a riveting soundscape to make every cackle and crack of blaster fire really pop.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2021 11:32:55 GMT
Thank you! The two series have certain similarities; perhaps that's why I like them so much. A thought just occurred. You know what Doctor Who and Blake's 7 also share beyond a wink about production codes and a Colin Baker? Writers. Chris Boucher wrote The Robots of Death and Bayban's debut, City at the Edge of the World. He's sort of the hidden third figure for the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era as his storytelling was very deliberately about showing ambiguity in his characters. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Human or robot. Freedom fighter or Federation. Coming into Bayban's Bounty, I'm getting the impression that Avalon is almost a pseudo-anthology series linked by a central lead and her offsider. It's just as much about the figures she meets as her own escapades and this episode is no exception. Today, we meet Bayban. A funny occurrence, in a way, because the style of the story is very much riffing on its "Series A" kith and kin. We're not too long from the London, Cygnus Alpha and the Web. The Federation is still very much at the height of its power, so seeing Bayban in its midst makes for this unusual sense of the "heyday" of his butchery and pillaging. A man in his element. Chomping at the bit.
Fitting then, that Avalon's strike force meet an appropriate foil for the Beserker to sink his teeth into -- the prison controller, Winter. A plausible grotesque in the vein of Travis or Servalan, but tailored just for Bayban. Their rapport makes for some of the best moments in the episode. The two of them are just so... bloodthirsty. In the classical sense. Colin Baker is clearly having a whale of the time playing the role. Enough for a particular character moment, at the end, to catch me off-guard. I was not expecting that from Bayban. Still... He remains very much as we "first" encountered him in City. Enough that I was wondering the same thing as our outlaws at the story's end -- Was it really such a good idea to let him walk away alive?
(Well, for us, in the audience, absolutely -- things are on the move for this character as we'll eventually see...) Loads of fun with, as @davros1 has noted, a riveting soundscape to make every cackle and crack of blaster fire really pop.
Absolutely agree with the pseudo-analogy thoughts here - we really do only get to know Avalon through the people she meets. I like her enigmatic presence, and had assumed she would be in all these Blake's 7 spin-off sets. Although I would like that to have been the case, with her as our guide through this fresh examination of life under the Federation, I also like that John Ainsworth is not being that predictable. The future Bayban the Berserker release has the distinction of being (it seems) a sin-off from Avalon, rather than a continuation.
I've enjoyed a great many BF releases of late, but none that I'm tempted to go right back and re-listen to as much as Avalon.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2021 22:18:54 GMT
A thought just occurred. You know what Doctor Who and Blake's 7 also share beyond a wink about production codes and a Colin Baker? Writers. Chris Boucher wrote The Robots of Death and Bayban's debut, City at the Edge of the World. He's sort of the hidden third figure for the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era as his storytelling was very deliberately about showing ambiguity in his characters. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Human or robot. Freedom fighter or Federation. Coming into Bayban's Bounty, I'm getting the impression that Avalon is almost a pseudo-anthology series linked by a central lead and her offsider. It's just as much about the figures she meets as her own escapades and this episode is no exception. Today, we meet Bayban. A funny occurrence, in a way, because the style of the story is very much riffing on its "Series A" kith and kin. We're not too long from the London, Cygnus Alpha and the Web. The Federation is still very much at the height of its power, so seeing Bayban in its midst makes for this unusual sense of the "heyday" of his butchery and pillaging. A man in his element. Chomping at the bit.
Fitting then, that Avalon's strike force meet an appropriate foil for the Beserker to sink his teeth into -- the prison controller, Winter. A plausible grotesque in the vein of Travis or Servalan, but tailored just for Bayban. Their rapport makes for some of the best moments in the episode. The two of them are just so... bloodthirsty. In the classical sense. Colin Baker is clearly having a whale of the time playing the role. Enough for a particular character moment, at the end, to catch me off-guard. I was not expecting that from Bayban. Still... He remains very much as we "first" encountered him in City. Enough that I was wondering the same thing as our outlaws at the story's end -- Was it really such a good idea to let him walk away alive?
(Well, for us, in the audience, absolutely -- things are on the move for this character as we'll eventually see...) Loads of fun with, as @davros1 has noted, a riveting soundscape to make every cackle and crack of blaster fire really pop.
Absolutely agree with the pseudo-analogy thoughts here - we really do only get to know Avalon through the people she meets. I like her enigmatic presence, and had assumed she would be in all these Blake's 7 spin-off sets. Although I would like that to have been the case, with her as our guide through this fresh examination of life under the Federation, I also like that John Ainsworth is not being that predictable. The future Bayban the Berserker release has the distinction of being (it seems) a sin-off from Avalon, rather than a continuation.
I've enjoyed a great many BF releases of late, but none that I'm tempted to go right back and re-listen to as much as Avalon.
They're like potato crisps. Just one more... Juuuust one more. ... One more.  I'm enjoying the slow burn of it. Ainsworth has a fair number of heavy-hitters he can use straight off the bat, but there's a deliberate sense of restraint in how they're each being used. Quite logical, as if Avalon caused too much open fuss on a regular basis, the Federation would just make her disappear. It'll be great to see how that changes as we get closer to certain milestones in the main series. It's almost like listening to a historical drama and waiting for D-Day or Waterloo. |
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Post by IndieMacUser on Jun 27, 2021 11:39:11 GMT
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Post by michaeljkevans on Jul 5, 2021 3:45:58 GMT
Finished Volume 2 of Avalon today. Enjoyed immensely! Sincerely hope they’ve lined up Olivia Poulet to do Volumes 3-6 already.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2021 6:34:08 GMT
I had forgotten about this one completely so will have to listen to it before Clone Masters enjoyed the first set.
Going through the CDs i have piled in the corner of the room am pretty spoiled for choice at moment
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Post by nottenst on Jan 10, 2022 19:18:12 GMT
Just listened to this set over the last week. Another side trip in the B7 universe. This time apparently leading towards the events of Project Avalon (which I had completely forgotten, but went off to read a summary just now). I am guessing we could easily have more adventures of Avalon taking place between Mercenary and Heart of Ice. I wonder if we'll hear more of Madison in another line.
I need to listen to the music suite. Glad I went back to check my account and noticed that.
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Post by bonehead on Jan 10, 2022 21:09:30 GMT
Just listened to this set over the last week. Another side trip in the B7 universe. This time apparently leading towards the events of Project Avalon (which I had completely forgotten, but went off to read a summary just now). I am guessing we could easily have more adventures of Avalon taking place between Mercenary and Heart of Ice. I wonder if we'll hear more of Madison in another line. I need to listen to the music suite. Glad I went back to check my account and noticed that. Thank you so much for posting this. I wouldn't have noticed the bonus music suite otherwise. Was it clear we were getting this? I don't remember hearing anything. Anyway - much appreciated! |
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