Fireball XL5 Ep 12: The Last of the ZanadusRating out of 10: 7.2
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807595/?ref_=ttep_ep12Review (SPOILERS AHEAD):This story had some reasonable elements – it was very straight-down-the-line classic Fireball, with the hammed-up-ness set to full power. The core of the plot is a maniacal plan by the last of a dying race to wipe out the Lazoun species. These are semi-sentient animals usually kept as pets, but apparently destroyed the Zanadu empire many years ago (as well as being the only thing feared by the
Lilispatian species) – they seem to be surprisingly good at wreaking galactic havoc. I’d like to think that all this points to some much more interesting origin story for the species but I fear I may be disappointed there; a man can dream, though.
The plot was executed fine - everything was played fairly well, the mind control wasn’t a bad idea though the rules of how that manifested itself weren’t made properly clear. One thing I will say is that the set design in this episode stood out – the characters’ black tie dinner was fun, and much more importantly the decoration of the villain’s hall was genuinely really quite creepy, which added an awful lot to the character. My usual comments about Fireball villains nonetheless still apply – the success at creating a creepy atmosphere was propping up rather than genuinely working with the villain, whose introduction with a rant about wiping out small furry Lazouns and lack of major successes meant that the creepy and somewhat sorcerous vibe he was given never quite hit home.
All in all, not a stand-out episode but a pretty workmanlike job which had some very nice individual elements – unfortunately a few of Fireball’s classic tropes stopped them seeing their full potential.
