Fireball XL5 Episode 28 Review: Whistle For Danger

[Jubal]

Fireball XL5 Ep 28: Whistle For Danger

Rating out of 10: 8.9
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807585/?ref_=ttep_ep24

So, whistle for danger. Interesting planet to visit? Check. Inhabitants with interesting motivations? Check. Lack of any really horrendous plot elements? Check. Result, a very high score for a very nice episode indeed.

There were a few downsides to this episode. I'd have liked more of a look at the planet and its inhabitants (as usual) and less time watching an annoying Lazoun muck about with the episode's eponymous whistle, though the whistle subplot was quite well played. In general the episode was a little rushed, and although I was pleased with how much good stuff was packed into the rushed-ness it felt like we missed out on some good scenes (in particular the local Florians defeating their, well, Flora).

Good stuff? It's a decent length list. The Space City end of the episode is really very nice. Commander Zero as a practical joker is slightly out of character, but it works fairly well in context, and the planning meetings and character interactions are all smoothly done. The even better thing is that we get some very nice "space city in operation" sequences, including the detoxification sequence which is good supermarionation "look at the cool machinery" fun, and the fire alarm section, with the gorgeous cameo for the hovercar fire engine which I was very happy about.

As for the crew on the mission: why they just leave Zounie mucking around on a spaceship (or indeed in Space City) all the time I have no idea, but given that it's all fairly well played out. Venus stamping her authority on shooing Steve out of her lab is nice, and his response to it predictable enough to be amusing. In general the Fireball crew have their interactions all pretty well set out in this episode. The Zounie/Robert plotline works as both a threat and a relief plot without being too suspension-breakingly silly, and provides a useful extra time clamp on events down on the planet.

I've said in other reviews that I like Odyssey-style Fireball episodes, and this is one of the best of them; the planet's features provide a good deal of interest in themselves, and whilst it's a pity more time couldn't have been spent looking round the place (I'd have been happy to have this spun out into a two-parter, honestly) it's got just the right level of magic about it as a setting. The inhabitants and their end of the plot are even better, with their completely reasonable (or at least mostly reasonable) but ultimately wrong supposition that detonating a huge bomb in their atmosphere wasn't meant to be friendly. Characters with this sort of complexity are not as common as they should be in the series, but these ones I was definitely happy with and they and their planet deserve all the score points this episode is being given.

Given that the main thing I have to say negatively about this one is "it really should've been a two parter", I think I have to give this one of the higher scores in the series, and its 8.9 is well deserved.