Finding himself outmaneuvered Blake tries to evade a Federation fleet led by Space Commander Travis by hiding behind a planet . Having no option other than to fight the fleet both Blake and Travis discover the planet is resident to all powerful aliens who are opposed to war
This is one of those episodes that has " STAR TREK plagiarism " written all over it in luminous paint . It's very much an obvious reworking of the ST episode Areana where Captain Kirk find himself transported to an alien planet to fight a reptilian alien and the only way Kirk can get off the planet is if he defeats the humanoid reptile . You remember that ST episode now don't you ? Set in a desert environment with big budget filming the BBC could never recreate that type of location so don't try which means studio interiors of plastic rocks and location filming confined to some woodland which even then is intercut with actors standing in front of a CSO background
That's the bad points but they're outnumbered by the good points . Duel is directed by Douglas Camfield who in the 1960s directed some of the greatest DOCTOR WHO stories from the 1960s and 70s and does his very best with a very limited budget . One thing that really helps this episode is the use of stock amorphous music which gives the entire episode an unsettling atmosphere
The episode also sees the debut of the Mutoids . It'd be easy for Nation to invent a clichéd android but he's done something different . Mutoids are reanimated corpses with their memories wiped and need blood plasma to survive . In effect they're a combination of zombies and vampires , a very disturbing concept in a show that's perceived to be a camp affair usually be people who've never watched the show
The episode also contains some bitchy dialogue which the show should perhaps be better known for as the Liberator crew watch Blake and Jenna fight for their lives against Travis and a Mutoid . Avon spouts " Blake is up a tree , Travis is up another tree . Unless they're planning on throwing nuts at each other I don't see much of a fight happening before daylight " all done in an idiosyncratic tone by Paul Darrow
This is one of those episodes that has " STAR TREK plagiarism " written all over it in luminous paint . It's very much an obvious reworking of the ST episode Areana where Captain Kirk find himself transported to an alien planet to fight a reptilian alien and the only way Kirk can get off the planet is if he defeats the humanoid reptile . You remember that ST episode now don't you ? Set in a desert environment with big budget filming the BBC could never recreate that type of location so don't try which means studio interiors of plastic rocks and location filming confined to some woodland which even then is intercut with actors standing in front of a CSO background
That's the bad points but they're outnumbered by the good points . Duel is directed by Douglas Camfield who in the 1960s directed some of the greatest DOCTOR WHO stories from the 1960s and 70s and does his very best with a very limited budget . One thing that really helps this episode is the use of stock amorphous music which gives the entire episode an unsettling atmosphere
The episode also sees the debut of the Mutoids . It'd be easy for Nation to invent a clichéd android but he's done something different . Mutoids are reanimated corpses with their memories wiped and need blood plasma to survive . In effect they're a combination of zombies and vampires , a very disturbing concept in a show that's perceived to be a camp affair usually be people who've never watched the show
The episode also contains some bitchy dialogue which the show should perhaps be better known for as the Liberator crew watch Blake and Jenna fight for their lives against Travis and a Mutoid . Avon spouts " Blake is up a tree , Travis is up another tree . Unless they're planning on throwing nuts at each other I don't see much of a fight happening before daylight " all done in an idiosyncratic tone by Paul Darrow
