SAS: Rogue Heroes

by Ben Macintyre

In 1941 at the height of the desert conflict, a bored and eccentric soldier named David Stirling had an idea for a new kind of war, one that involved small groups of men hitting behind enemy lines where the German and Italians least expected it. He was joined in this endeavour by fellow officers Jock Lewes and Robert ‘Paddy’ Mayne. Things get off to a terrible start when Stirling’s first parachute jump into the desert ends with him hospitalised. He recovered to sneak into general headquarters to present his plan to the senior staff and was granted permission to form a special operations unit given the name “L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade” to reinforce disinformation that British Intelligence had been sowing that there was a new British parachute regiment. Stirling, Lewes and Mayne set about recruiting the right kind of soldiers for their outfit; born fighters who weren’t afraid to break the rules and be unconventional.

Their first mission is a disaster, when they parachute behind enemy lines terrible weather disperses the men and a third of the raiding force ends up killed or captured.

This wasn’t the end of the nascent battalion though, and when they changed tack from parachuting behind enemy lines to allowing the Long Range Desert Group to transport them by truck, they proved much more successful, appearing like ghosts from the desert to cause havoc on enemy airfields. There are many battles to be fought, at first in North Africa, then Italy, and finally the invasion of France on D-Day and the onward march into Germany.

I’d really enjoyed the BBC series and so asked for the book for Christmas, but purposefully set it aside as I wanted to forget at least some of the details of this show before I read it. In hindsight I wish I’d read it earlier because it is a jolly good read. Much like the show itself Macintyre’s book is a curious mixture of boys own adventure and the grim realities of war, albeit at least in the first part of the SAS’ existence there was more romanticism, perhaps because of the desert setting, perhaps because neither side was quite so brutal (although Macintyre never shies away from the horrors of war, in particular the occasion when SAS soldiers opened fire on a canteen full of unarmed Axis soldiers which is far from the Geneva Convention), still the early years of the SAS are more open to an adventurous flourish than later. Things would become truly horrible in Europe, culminating in SAS soldiers liberating a concentration camp.

Macintyre’s writing is very good, and I got a much better feel for several characters who blurred into one another in the TV show, whose focus had by necessity been on Stirling, Lewes and Mayne. Macintyre was given access to the regimental archives, and though there’s some inference that some things may have been exaggerated, it’s clear that most of what’s described took place in some shape or form, and that the work of the SAS in World War 2 was as grimly heroic as it was ludicrous, and a swathe of eccentrics weave in and out of the story. The SAS were unconventional warriors, and they attracted unconventional individuals, not only to their ranks, but also comrades from other areas, and even their enemies on occasion.

I’ve read things that suggest Stirling wasn’t quite the leading light that he appears to be, and that in fact it was Mayne who was the true driving force behind the SAS, and I have to say that in many ways in both the book and TV series, Mayne is far more intriguing. Stirling appears to be an easily bored man who struggled to find a place in the world and failed at most things he tried before (and after) his time with the SAS and to some extent self-promotion was his main talent, for example there’s the story of his discarding his crutches to sneak into headquarters, which I’ve read elsewhere was something of a fabrication.

One should always have a degree of wariness about any history text and this is no exception, but all in all it’s a hugely enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

Blakes 7. Series C, Episode 4: Dawn of the Gods

Liberator is deep in space and (almost) everyone is relaxing by playing space monopoly (hey it’s an improvement on the visual Walkman). Vila is doing badly and Orac is on course to win when Tarrant becomes a killjoy by pointing out the ship is veering off course. Orac says there’s nothing wrong with the ship but as is pointed out, Orac has one weakness, a thirst for knowledge and maybe he wants Liberator to go wherever the course deviation is sending them?

For some reason Tarrant suspects Cally, or rather than it’s the Auron, until Avon points out they’re nowhere near Auron. They soon realise they’re falling towards something. Something big and black and round…

“I’ll give you three guesses,” says Avon. “If you need them.”

Plummeting into the black hole it looks like the ship is going to be torn apart. Avon finds a space suit but Tarrant says they all go together. The two tussle and Avon says there is a faint chance “for one of us” obviously Kerr Avon expects that one of us to be Kerr Avon.

Improbably they survive, and find themselves in a curious void. They’ll soon find that they aren’t the first ship to find its way here, and they’ll also discover that their predicament does have a link to Cally after all.

“I’m in hell and it’s full of Avons.”

Dawn of the Gods isn’t without merit, but for the first time in a while an episode falls into the series-A trap of spending half the run time getting to the plot. Yes space monopoly is funny, and Orac desperately trying to win at space monopoly is even funnier, but it takes forever for our brave heroes (and Vila*) to find themselves in the realm of the Tharn.

*And you know that’s a trifle unfair, Vila isn’t a complete coward in this, and hey, he isn’t the one trying to get into a space suit to escape and leave everyone else to die.

Tarrant’s response to Avon’s selfishness is interesting. Saying they should all go down with the ship. It feels a little like they don’t quite know how to play Tarrant at this point, is he a hero or as self-serving as Avon, it feels like it might take them a while to pin things down. Tarrant’s remark to Avon that “one day I may have to kill you” is interesting given they haven’t known each other very long.

“It’s been tried,” replies Kerr. I wonder if he’s regretting letting Del on board?    

The Thaarn is an interesting concept, and the way Cally talks increasingly reinforces the idea that the people of Auron are alien rather than an early human colony who developed in a different way. My head canon is being rewritten as I watch. Is the Thaarn an actual God however, or a mutant of some kind? A super evolved Auron? For all his power he’s somewhat easily outwitted by Cally. It’s a shame the latter half of the episode is rushed, there’s interesting material to be mined in the premise of a person coming face to face with a creature from myth, an actual god. Some might chortle at the Thaarn but I think it’s quite well realised, possibly more realistic than Moloch (sorry jumping ahead of myself again.)

Cally isn’t the only smart cookie here. Both Dayna and Tarrant use semantic trickery to outwit the Caliph (who seemed to have wandered out of a Dickens adaptation, or possibly Freedom City) and the way they tell the truth whilst obscuring Orac’s true nature is very nicely done. “So Orac is a dwarf?” “We don’t like to think of him like that,” says Tarrant before further implying Orac is also bald. It’s nice to see Orac and Zen team up to help our heroes escape from the Thaarn’s realm, and the use of Liberator’s self defence mechanism, first seen in Space Fall, is great to see. Of course, it was Orac who got them into this position in the first place so it’s the least he could do.

If the Caliph had determined Orac’s true nature they’d have likely smashed him to bits given the Thaarn hates computers.

The crew taken as maths slaves is different, but graphite writing stick? It’s a pencil Tarrant just call it a pencil!

Not sure about the dragon painted tank sent to catch them. One of those curious things that probably wasn’t cheap yet doesn’t look very threatening, more than a hint of Dr No here. The crew outside the ship ready to fend off an attack brought to mind Forbidden Planet.

There’s a lot that feels familiar here. The super powerful being trying to manipulate the crew, something contacting Cally telepathically (though at least the Thaarn doesn’t possess her) and the random guest star who saves them all at the cost of his own life, unlike the nameless slave in Redemption Groff does at least have a name, and a back story, although it feels like he’s been there years, yet he’s aware of Liberator so maybe time works differently in the Thaarn’s realm? He asks the crew to visit his home planet and tell his family what happened to him, and for once our heroes aren’t complete gits, Tarrant makes it clear they’re going to do just that.

All in al a fairly average episode. Like I say it takes too long to get going then rushes the ending, and it feels a little more Dr Who/Star Trek than Blakes 7, but everyone gets something to do, even Orac and Zen, there’s some nice dialogue and though it misses the mark, it does try to deal with epic concepts on a budget.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go directly to Cygnus Alpha, I can’t pass go and I can’t collect 200 credits.

Next time on Blakes 7, possibly the single greatest line of dialogue in the show’s history…

Blakes 7. Series C, Episode 3: Volcano

We get stock footage of volcanos erupting before Tarrant and Dayna appear in the English countryside. They make a good stab of acting like those volcanos are close by and Daya explains that someone here knew her father. Tarrant immediately impresses everyone by pointing out that he doesn’t trust anyone, and that’s why he’d stayed alive so long.

They’re secretly being monitored via CCTV by Alfred…er I mean Michael Gogh’s Hower.

Up on Liberator Cally is relaxed enough to let Orac monitor Dayna and Tarrant and bring them up if needed.

There’s some nice Cally/Vila banter and it’s explained that the planet they’re in orbit of is Obsidian and it’s somehow managed to remain neutral, neither the Federation nor the aliens landed here during the war (and the Federation had steadfastly not colonised it before the war either.) For Avon this makes it useful as a potential base, for Vila is suggests danger, but as usual no one listens to Vila. There’s also the small matter of a rumour that said Blake was seen here.

Tarrant and Daya are tranquilised by the locals and when they wake up their guns and bracelets are gone and Hower introduces himself, and the inhabitants of the planet, the Pyroans (I see what they did there.) Hower knew Hal Mellanby, they studied together. He explains to Dayna that the Pyroans have outlawed war. They are total pacifists, their peaceful nature reinforced by drugs and psychological conditioning from birth. Meanwhile Hower’s son Bershar shows Tarrant around.

Another ship is approaching Obsidian however. On board Servalan briefs her commander and explains that Liberator is in orbit, and it’s his job to seize control of it, but not to worry because he’ll have help…

And Series C settles into its groove. We know who’s left of the original crew and we’ve met our new arrivals, now it’s time to test them in action. Not for the first time Tarrant and Dayna will team up. Yes it’s because they’re both new kids on the block, and I like the idea that Avon is maybe testing them out, but I do think they work well as a double act (and always will).

Still there’s a new world order out there. The Federation is smashed but Avon and co don’t seem to have any plans to help a revolution to take advantage, instead they’ve gone to Obsidian looking for a base, and maybe even recruits to bulk out the crew (stop laughing!). Now I adore Series C, and in the past have called it my favourite season, but even I have to admit that without Blake the crew have lost some of their drive. It isn’t about freedom anymore, now apparently it’s about privateering to score some booty (and not for the first time I will point out that the Liberator’s strongroom contains an absolute fortune which no one ever wants to spend!).

Of course the Federation isn’t completely gone, and Servalan is still in charge, and she’d still like Orac and Liberator, and the presence of Pearce in the opening three episodes of the season suggests that she will play a more central role than perhaps she had before. Travis is gone, madame president is the only threat now, supported by a succession of henchmen who’ll vary in competence, and her loyal mutoids of course. This week it’s a grunt named Mori; spoiler alert don’t expect to see him again. Cool, if ropey death however.

Volcano is another one of those episodes that’s better than I remembered, though as always this comes with the caveat that it’s still really flawed.

On the upside the cast all get something to do, even if Cally’s role is as hostage. There’s some nice ship to ship combat and the way Avon nonchalantly orders Zen to start shooting before Mori realises what he’s doing is a joy, and exactly the sort of clever trick the character would come up with. It’s closely matched by seeing Vila take command and threaten Servalan, and when he tells Avon that at least he still has him Darrow gets to do some of his best pained acting.

The Pyroans are a rum lot, so conditioned to be non-threatening that two of them just stand there and let Mori gun them down. Michael Gogh was, I suspect, born looking old, but he convinces as Hower, even if much of his plan makes no sense, it’s never explained why the Pyroans are dying. The volcano? The nuclear bomb in the volcano? Some reaction to their pacificist conditioning? Who knows. It’s also debatable quite how peaceful some of them are, Hower has little compunction in killing his own son (he did kinda deserve it, but still) or does getting your robot to do it for you somehow mitigate your cold bloodedness? It’s also debatable whether the Pyroan’s vow would really deter all comers? Even the Andromedans?

Servalan fails but doesn’t seem too concerned. Without Blake she isn’t sure Liberator will be a threat, it’s just a ship full of criminals (I mean factually only Avon and Vila are convicted felons though you imagine Tarrant’s irritatingly handsome mug is all over lots of wanted posters.)

Cally muses that they lost, and the Federation lost, only the Pyroans won.

Which leaves Vila to provide the capstone for this episode. “If that’s winning I’ll take losing every week.”

A bang average episode, which because this is Blakes 7 means it’s still highly enjoyable.

Blakes 7. Series C, Episode 2: Powerplay

For the first time since Space Fall (and I’m going to say the last time ever?) we pick up exactly where we left off as Avon and Dayna are greeted, at gunpoint, by a Federation officer who identifies himself as Captain Del Tarrant. He isn’t alone, there’s some gruff squaddies with him, led by Mr Bronson…er, I mean Section Leader Klegg. It soon becomes apparent that Tarrant boarded the ship before Avon and Dayna, but after Klegg and his men, a fact which is causing some tension.

Avon gives a false name and says he and his wife are survivors from the war whose life capsules docked with Liberator. Tarrant and Kelgg don’t seem convinced. They know exactly whose ship this was, and are expecting Blake or one of the others to return. With this in mind they take Avon and Dayna to the flight deck with the intention of seeing if Zen recognises them. Avon gets all uppity to try and stall them. In the end Dayna speaks and of course Zen doesn’t know her from Adam. Before Avon can give himself way Tarrant clocks him on the pretence of Avon reaching for a gun. He then has to save Klegg from Dayna.

We shift to Vila who’s alone in a forest. His arm’s broken (and the rest of him isn’t that great, boom boom) and he thinks he’s being watched. He tries to pretend he has a squad of men with him, but the barbarian Lom who sneaks up on him isn’t as foolish as he appears.

Cally meanwhile is on a hospital ship that’s just touched down on the planet Sarran (which looks very different from last week) to pick up a survivor. Three guesses…

Avon and Daya escape from the room the Federation locked them in and Avon intends to take back control. “This is my ship.” Outside they find a guard with a knife in his back (cue some gags worthy of Roger Moore) and realise that there’s someone else on board who’s intent on killing off the Federation troopers. But who could it possibly be?

I’ve always loved Powerplay, along with Aftermath it’s one of my favourite episodes of series C (although there are many Series C episodes I love) but let’s get the most disturbing element out of the way first.

As a child the notion of healthy people being killed so their organs could be harvested scared the bejesus out of me, and while it perhaps doesn’t pack quite the impact it did to nine year old me, it’s still incredibly unsettling, and this is your regular reminder that this show went out at 7pm. Thankfully our heroes are ok. Does this count as the most nick of time’est teleport ever though?

The horror is immediately undercut by Avon of course.

“That’s Cally, I’ll introduce you when she wakes up. That’s Vila, I should really introduce you now, he’s at his best when he’s unconscious.”

Getting slightly ahead of myself.

Avon and Dayna playing Die Hard on the Liberator is fun, with lots of neat scenes; the inspection ducts, Avon being too clever by half in suggesting the last place anyone will look is the room they escaped from, and the life capsule decoy.

Of course, Avon and Dayna have an ally, in the shape of…spoiler alert…Del Tarrant, who may have once been a Federation space captain, but isn’t any longer. Smuggler, mercenary, freedom fighter? It’s never quite clear what Tarrant’s been up to, likely a mix of all three, and the person he most evokes is another Del, Grant that is. Maybe if Pacey wasn’t quite so young and handsome there might have been some genuine mystery over who’s killing the troopers off, but as it is given we know it’s neither Cally or Vila, and we know Blake and Jenna are gone, who can it be? Orac and Zen aren’t really the stabby types. I have no recollection if nine year old me either knew that Tarrant was a new cast member, or whether I figured it out, but I think right from the off I quite liked him. I still like the character now, but maybe for differing reasons, back then he came across as dashing and heroic, now I understand that in many ways he’s as cynical as Avon. The surprise on Avon’s face when Tarrant admits he’s been the one doing the killing, and then gives Avon a gun is priceless.

Despite his huge filmography it’s hard to disassociate Michael Sheard from the character of Mr Bronson, though of course he didn’t show up in Grange Hill until 1985, so likely Klegg was the first time I saw him, a few months later I’d see him in The Empire Strikes Back, though whether at that age I put two and two together is anyone’s guess. He makes for an effective villain, and when Tarrant tells Avon that Klegg and his men are the Federations death squad you believe him. The only part of Sheard’s performance you don’t believe is his death. Josette Simon is great in this, and with a gun in her hand she looks dangerous, but she doesn’t convince when she’s breaking Klegg’s neck, though Tarrant and Avon standing back and admiring her handywork is a nice progressive touch.

Oddly Sheard isn’t the only Empire connection. John Hollis as Vila’s new best friend Lom will show up as Lando’s assistant Lobot! It’s truly a small universe. Lom’s interesting, as I say he’s more switched on that you think, as he quickly explains to Vila that he understands about communicators. He tries to keep Vila safe but sadly fails. Given he’s such a coward Vila has a terrible sixth sense when it comes to danger sometimes, but then again we know he’s a sucker for a pretty face, and here he’s mesmerised by two of them in the form of bounty hunters Zee and Barr. Small universe time again. Julia (Barr) Vidler played Avalon in Series A!

Vila’s reunion with Cally is lovely, there’s genuine affection there on both sides and I’ve always loved the sister/annoying brother vibe Keating and Chappell give off. When she tells him she thinks Avon’s alive Vila’s reaction is perfect. “He would be.”

President Servalan pops up again and it’s always nice to see her interact with members of the crew other than Blake and Avon, and her conversations with Cally, and then Cally and Vila are nicely handled. In truth she doesn’t have much to do other than bark orders at complete strangers and then gloat when she thinks Cally and Vila are done for, but Jacqui being Jacqui she does it so well you’re just glad to see her.

All in all it’s a great episode that switches seamlessly between the three distinct stories before drawing them together. I have been a trifle hard on Terry Nation on occasion, but Aftermath and Powerplay are top notch episodes. Incredible to think that after this we only have one more episode written by the man who created the show.

Powerplay ends with Dayna and Tarrant being formally inducted into the crew. We’ve come across character like them before who for whatever reason haven’t wound up joining the crew (Tyce, Del Grant etc.) but here they’re welcomed with open arms. Dayna makes sense but in the real world one suspects Avon might have baulked at inviting another alpha male on board, but of course the show’s called Blakes 7, and while we might be Blakeless we can’t be sevenless so our new arrivals handily replace Blake and Jenna.

There’s just time for Avon to make fun of Vila yet again ending and we’re off. The look Tarrant and Dayna exchange is wonderful. What have we let ourselves in for?