This BBC sci fi show shall inevitably compared with Doctor Who for a variety of reasons. For one, most of the crew is the same, the same producers, directors, writer, Dudley Simpson on music (which really shines here) and costumers. Even a lot of the guest actors and extras are familiar "Who" veterans... and the special effects and set design are all quite similarly low-quality but still imaginatively constructed.
Overall though this film is much more sharply-written and consistent than Doctor Who ever was, besides maybe a time earlier in the 1970's when Hinchcliffe was in charge. Although characters like Villa are presented semi-comically, this series is much more serious and usually a lot more action-packed (almost every episode works in an amusing slow motion miniature explosion) and even with some surprisingly deep, cerebral scripting now and then. The acting from the main players is top-notch as well with Paul Darrow totally stealing ever scene he's in as the supremely uncharismatic character "Avon".
While I'm on it - I'll have you know that I love the characterization on this show. Everyone has plenty of strengths and weaknesses. A few of the characters came off as weak overall - such as Dayna and Soolin from underdevelopment... Gan was a bit too simplistic... and Tarrant underused, but overall the character interplay was quite entertaining... particularly when Avon would butt heads with Blake (the leader in seasons 1-2) and later Tarrant.
This series certainly undergoes a transformation from season 1 to the final season 4, but always maintains a good continuity and a certain level of quality though the standards certainly waiver in a few of the episodes. It's certainly nowhere near the drop in quality as seen in season 2 of SPACE 1999 or season 3 of STAR TREK. This show is in a class of its own - imaginative sci fi which plays things straight and manages to tell a good story, and reasonably efficiently at that.
Overall though this film is much more sharply-written and consistent than Doctor Who ever was, besides maybe a time earlier in the 1970's when Hinchcliffe was in charge. Although characters like Villa are presented semi-comically, this series is much more serious and usually a lot more action-packed (almost every episode works in an amusing slow motion miniature explosion) and even with some surprisingly deep, cerebral scripting now and then. The acting from the main players is top-notch as well with Paul Darrow totally stealing ever scene he's in as the supremely uncharismatic character "Avon".
While I'm on it - I'll have you know that I love the characterization on this show. Everyone has plenty of strengths and weaknesses. A few of the characters came off as weak overall - such as Dayna and Soolin from underdevelopment... Gan was a bit too simplistic... and Tarrant underused, but overall the character interplay was quite entertaining... particularly when Avon would butt heads with Blake (the leader in seasons 1-2) and later Tarrant.
This series certainly undergoes a transformation from season 1 to the final season 4, but always maintains a good continuity and a certain level of quality though the standards certainly waiver in a few of the episodes. It's certainly nowhere near the drop in quality as seen in season 2 of SPACE 1999 or season 3 of STAR TREK. This show is in a class of its own - imaginative sci fi which plays things straight and manages to tell a good story, and reasonably efficiently at that.