Episode 53
Don’t You Feel Every Single Centimetre?
Sunday 15 November 2015
This week, we head off into the far future of the distant planet Pluto (yes, we know, shut up), to liberate humanity from the Company, in The Sun Makers. Hey Cordo, don’t bogart the pentocyleinicmethylhydrane, man.
Buy the story!
The Sun Makers was released on DVD in 2009. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
Notes and links
William Simons, who plays sub-Blakean rebel leader Mandrell in this story, is more famous for his role in ITV period police drama series Heartbeat, playing Alf Ventress.
The Company takes Marx’s phrase “opiate of the masses” quite literally, drugging its oppressed population to keep them compliant. The Federation will adopt a similar tactic in Season 4 of Blakes 7, using the drug Pylene 50.
Hooray! It’s the long-awaited return of German Expressionism.
Richard points out the similarities between this story and The Space Merchants, a 1952 novel by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. It’s still in print. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
Richard also points out the story’s many visual references to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927).
How long since we last referenced Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay Notes on Camp? Far too long, if you ask me.
Henry Woolf, the Collector in this story, had already appeared in Eric Idle’s sketch comedy show Rutland Weekend Television. You can see him with Idle in this sketch, called Gibberish. He also appeared in BBC children’s programme Words and Pictures. Watch him here, he’s delightful.
After the credits, we chat briefly about the Big Finish Blakes 7 audio series, The Liberator Chronicles.
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Bondfinger
The Bondfinger team are off to watch SPECTRE this afternoon, in preparation for our commentary track on it, expected some time in late 2017. In the meantime, you can enjoy our previous commentaries: Thunderball (1965), Goldfinger (1964), From Russia With Love (1963), and Dr. No (1962). You can keep up with the Bondfinger news on our website, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.