Sally wrote:
Cygnus Alpha - Brian Blessed's outfit needs a couple more touches, like non-giggle-worthy shoes. And a gag. A large one. Oh, and maybe touch on the fact that Blake - having just gone through what is heavily implied to be medieval style torture - could have taken more than fifteen minutes (if that?) to recover?
You're right, it's totally unconvincing. Besides, how long did it last, anyway? Didn't Jenna say, 'An hour, we'll wait an hour'? Within that hour, Blake finds the 'early maniac' building, listens to the conversation between Vargas and Kara, talks to Gan, gets a knock on the head, recovers from the said knock, has a chat with Vargas, pays a visit to the dungeons, snarls at prisoners, fights with the priests, manages to snatch a bracelet and leave the building with Gan and Vila before he contacts the Liberator. It follows that he couldn't have been tortured for more than ten minutes. My dentist takes longer than that. How badly does Vargas want that ship?
My suggestion to the scriptwriter: add a scene in which Avon gets the Liberator started, and after a short argument, Jenna manages to convince him to return. Vargas notices that the ship has changed orbit, he is worried that it will leave, so he decides to give up maltreating Blake and look for a faster way to get the ship.
I would also enjoy a scene in which Kara comes to warn Gan about the sacrifice, and perhaps tries to persuade him to run away with her and desert the others. It could add some complexity to his character.
N.