Fireball XL5 Ep 17: Space VacationRating out of 10: 8.5
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807592/?ref_=tt_ep_nxI like Space Vacation - it's got a lot of similarities to Planet of Platonia (probably my favourite episode), and whilst it's a slightly weaker episode overall there are a lot of good things to say and a very good score as a result.
Fireball actually is pretty good when it tries to do extraterrestrial politics, something it doesn't do enough; it's a good way of providing character motivations that aren't just cackling-villain in style, and whilst both villains in this piece do get some literal cackling opportunities, the Fireball crew getting caught up in what's fundamentally a "domestic" intrigue around the planets of Olympus and Kembel is great, fitting the "Odyssey" style that tends to mean Fireball is at its best. The Olympus-Kembel dynamic, represented by the two planets' leaders (Jankel on Olympus and Kanerik on Kembel), gives a good impression of depth in the Fireball universe that's too often lacking in other episodes, and having two antagonists who are opposed to one another is a good way of adding extra complexity. The dichotomy between unpleasant Kembel and beautiful Olympus - but the way that isn't reflected in the two leaders, who are as bad as one another, is nice. The shaping of Kanerik as a ruthless and implied-demagogic (given he starts the episode giving some sort of mass radio broadcast) leader seeking to turn his downtrodden folk into conquerors, versus the outwardly opulent but fundamentally xenophobic and avaricious Jankel, means that the secondary characters all get enough motivation and background to drive them believably through the plot. The positioning of Irgon as a younger idealist ruler whilst also wrapping him up in the plots works very well indeed.
The plot development is also well handled, with the leaders' plans and failures drawing the Fireball crew in convincingly, every character actually has an explained motivation; the old rivalry, the assassination attempts, the kidnapping and even Jankel snapping under the strain all fundamentally make sense in context. Even the lightning blast that hits Fireball is actually foreshadowed earlier in the episode, which is excellent. The time-limitation plot device adds suitable pressure onto the ending and means that the later segments of the episode get a good buildup of tension towards the climax.
Are there downsides? Of course, but not many. The biggest plot-wtf moment is the fact that Steve managed to literally walk into the Kembellian leader's base and knock him out with a rock feels a bit bizarre for the lack of guards or any other similar devices. These planets are supposed to have been having frequent wars, and one guy on a hoverbike can walk through the automatic doors and knock out the supreme leader of Kembel? It's not a strong plot point, and nor is Jankel's apparent lack of any resources other than Steve - he's the leader of a planet and has to resort to sending one earth-man in with no mention of declaring war? This could be explained somehow (perhaps Fireball can get onto Kembel where Olympian ships would be shot down), but it isn't. The ending is alright but a little under-explained as to why and how Irgon is able to quietly threaten the argumentative parties with earth's intervention (but OK, that's me being pernickety). Some time could have been freed up to give us a little more on this by cutting out some of the rather lame cracks about Venus (in her usual role as stand-in for all womankind) and her holiday packing, though even in that scene the fact that the crew borrowing Fireball for a holiday is actually directly addressed is unusually good attention to plot detail.
All in all, a very nice episode of Fireball, one which adds quite a bit to the universe and has some very good sustained tertiary-character development. An 8.5, one of the higher scores of the series.
