Vila Restal
Encyclopedia
Vila Restal is a fictional character
from the British
science fiction
television
series Blake's 7
, played by Michael Keating. The only character to appear in all 52 episodes of the series, Vila was particularly known for his humorous lines and his banter with Kerr Avon
.
In the new audio series, Vila is played by Dean Harris
; however Michael Keating returned to the role for the story When Vila Met Gan. According to the Big Finish
website, Michael Keating will reprise his role as "Vila" in Solitary, the first volume of the upcoming Liberator Chronicles (a series of enhanced audiobooks is being released in a licence deal with B7 Enterprises).
's Brave New World
), Vila is a petty thief who meets Blake in the detention cell awaiting transport to Cygnus Alpha. Whilst Blake is asleep, Vila was picking Blake's pockets.
Vila later participates in a prisoner mutiny aboard the transport ship London. He remains on the London when Blake, Avon and Jenna escape in the Liberator
, finally leaving the penal planet Cygnus Alpha with Blake.
Vila is more intelligent than his Delta grade rating suggests, claiming to have bought that designation to avoid being drafted as a spaceship captain. Vila is a talented thief who can break into the most sophisticated security systems. This ability makes him useful to Blake's crew; in the episode City At the Edge of the World, Avon
tells Del Tarrant
that "...we can find a pilot anywhere, but a talented thief is rare."
Vila is often lazy and cowardly, preferring to evade danger. He claims he wants "...to live forever, or die trying." Actor Michael Keating described the character as "...a survivor", doing what was necessary to stay alive and not caring as much about the ideals of Blake or the ambitions of Avon. Vila is a poor fighter - his confusion costs the rebels the battle in Spacefall, and he is momentarily shocked after stabbing a fanatical monk in Cygnus Alpha.
Vila greatly enjoys drinking and gambling, making the Liberator crew keep him away from situations where his vices could compromise the mission (Shadow, Killer, Gambit). However, he demonstrates courage and resourcefulness when needed, choosing to join with Blake instead of staying on Cygnus Alpha, grabbing Orac before being teleported off the Liberator in Terminal and re-entering the Terminal complex to save Tarrant (Rescue). He demonstrates immense skill and heroism in City at the Edge of the World, where he develops a short-lived but intense romance with Kerril, a female gunfighter.
Vila admires Blake, but possibly his closest friend is Gan
, whose honesty he trusts. His relationship with Avon is considered by many fans to be a highlight of the series. It is a mixture of respect and loathing. They share a common cynicism and focus on material success as demonstrated in Gambit. They clearly respect each other's skills and work together effectively (Killer). They often sparred over Avon's ruthlessness and Vila's cowardice. In Spacefall, Vila suggests killing Avon, anticipating that Avon would scheme to have other prisoners thrown out of an airlock. During the fourth series episode Orbit, Avon tries to throw Vila out of the airlock of a spaceship that cannot reach its escape velocity
. Although another solution is found and they survived the ordeal, the incident created a cooling of their relationship.
Vila is fond of attractive women; during Cally's first episode, he calls out to her "Don't shoot, pretty lady!" He sometimes engages in playful, and sometimes more serious, bantering with Cally, Dayna and Soolin. While Cally treated Vila's jokes as playful remarks from a friend, both Dayna and Soolin considered him to be quite lecherous. The rest of the crew are aware of this; during the episode "Headhunter", Vila remarks that he was a "...perfect gentleman" to Muller's female partner, to which Tarrant replied "That's what bothered us." However, Vila was capable of genuine affection and concern for his female friends; despite his lecherous comments and flirtations with her at the outset, his relationship with Kerril developed quickly into love, with Vila offering to sacrifice himself so that Kerril would escape. Similarly, during the episode Sand he was shown to be very upset with Soolin when she mentions Cally's death.
Along with rest of the Scorpio crew, Vila is gunned down during the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. He is presumed to have died, although there has been much speculation that he pretended to fall to avoid getting killed. In the non-canonical novel "Afterlife" by Tony Attwood
, this is what happened and Vila stays with Avon to continue their adventures—although bitterly resentful of Avon's killing of Blake.
and producer David Maloney
. Terry Nation
originally wanted Vila to be killed in Pressure Point but was over-ruled by the other producers. Later, it was briefly suggested killing off Vila and Jenna in 'Star One'; he remained because a survey showed Vila to be the series' second most popular character.
In an interview with Tony Attwood
, Keating said that he was watching the series with his daughter when she said, "Daddy, you're stupid!" Keating related this to Boucher, inspiring the latter to write City at the Edge of the World in which Vila becomes a hero.
During the production of Orbit, while Avon looks for Vila to throw from the airlock, Keating was filmed hiding, shaking and in tears. These few seconds were not broadcast because the director considered the scene "...too real". Following this episode, Vila becomes very wary of Avon's motives.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
, played by Michael Keating. The only character to appear in all 52 episodes of the series, Vila was particularly known for his humorous lines and his banter with Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow...
.
In the new audio series, Vila is played by Dean Harris
Dean Harris
Dean Harris is a British actor, noted for his roles on television.His credits include: Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Softly, Softly, The Sweeney, Shoestring, Blake's 7, The Fourth Arm, Howards' Way, Bergerac, EastEnders, Casualty, London's Burning, As Time Goes By, Drop the Dead Donkey, Love Hurts,...
; however Michael Keating returned to the role for the story When Vila Met Gan. According to the Big Finish
Big Finish
Big Finish may refer to:* Big Finish Productions, a British company that produces books and audio plays based on science fiction properties* Big Finish Games, the production company behind the Three Cards to Midnight adventure game...
website, Michael Keating will reprise his role as "Vila" in Solitary, the first volume of the upcoming Liberator Chronicles (a series of enhanced audiobooks is being released in a licence deal with B7 Enterprises).
Character biography
A native of Earth and a member of the lowly Delta grade criminal underclass (similar to the classes established in Aldous HuxleyAldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
's Brave New World
Brave New World
Brave New World is Aldous Huxley's fifth novel, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 , the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future society is an embodiment of the ideals that form the basis of...
), Vila is a petty thief who meets Blake in the detention cell awaiting transport to Cygnus Alpha. Whilst Blake is asleep, Vila was picking Blake's pockets.
Vila later participates in a prisoner mutiny aboard the transport ship London. He remains on the London when Blake, Avon and Jenna escape in the Liberator
Liberator (Blake's 7)
The spaceship Liberator is a fictional starship featured in the first three seasons of the BBC television series Blake's 7.-Background:...
, finally leaving the penal planet Cygnus Alpha with Blake.
Vila is more intelligent than his Delta grade rating suggests, claiming to have bought that designation to avoid being drafted as a spaceship captain. Vila is a talented thief who can break into the most sophisticated security systems. This ability makes him useful to Blake's crew; in the episode City At the Edge of the World, Avon
Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow...
tells Del Tarrant
Del Tarrant
Del Tarrant is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Steven Pacey.Del Tarrant was a skilled pilot, trained in the Federation Space Academy, who stole a pursuit ship and began running contraband in the outer planets and getting involved in...
that "...we can find a pilot anywhere, but a talented thief is rare."
Vila is often lazy and cowardly, preferring to evade danger. He claims he wants "...to live forever, or die trying." Actor Michael Keating described the character as "...a survivor", doing what was necessary to stay alive and not caring as much about the ideals of Blake or the ambitions of Avon. Vila is a poor fighter - his confusion costs the rebels the battle in Spacefall, and he is momentarily shocked after stabbing a fanatical monk in Cygnus Alpha.
Vila greatly enjoys drinking and gambling, making the Liberator crew keep him away from situations where his vices could compromise the mission (Shadow, Killer, Gambit). However, he demonstrates courage and resourcefulness when needed, choosing to join with Blake instead of staying on Cygnus Alpha, grabbing Orac before being teleported off the Liberator in Terminal and re-entering the Terminal complex to save Tarrant (Rescue). He demonstrates immense skill and heroism in City at the Edge of the World, where he develops a short-lived but intense romance with Kerril, a female gunfighter.
Vila admires Blake, but possibly his closest friend is Gan
Olag Gan
Olag Gan is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by David Jackson ....
, whose honesty he trusts. His relationship with Avon is considered by many fans to be a highlight of the series. It is a mixture of respect and loathing. They share a common cynicism and focus on material success as demonstrated in Gambit. They clearly respect each other's skills and work together effectively (Killer). They often sparred over Avon's ruthlessness and Vila's cowardice. In Spacefall, Vila suggests killing Avon, anticipating that Avon would scheme to have other prisoners thrown out of an airlock. During the fourth series episode Orbit, Avon tries to throw Vila out of the airlock of a spaceship that cannot reach its escape velocity
Escape velocity
In physics, escape velocity is the speed at which the kinetic energy plus the gravitational potential energy of an object is zero gravitational potential energy is negative since gravity is an attractive force and the potential is defined to be zero at infinity...
. Although another solution is found and they survived the ordeal, the incident created a cooling of their relationship.
Vila is fond of attractive women; during Cally's first episode, he calls out to her "Don't shoot, pretty lady!" He sometimes engages in playful, and sometimes more serious, bantering with Cally, Dayna and Soolin. While Cally treated Vila's jokes as playful remarks from a friend, both Dayna and Soolin considered him to be quite lecherous. The rest of the crew are aware of this; during the episode "Headhunter", Vila remarks that he was a "...perfect gentleman" to Muller's female partner, to which Tarrant replied "That's what bothered us." However, Vila was capable of genuine affection and concern for his female friends; despite his lecherous comments and flirtations with her at the outset, his relationship with Kerril developed quickly into love, with Vila offering to sacrifice himself so that Kerril would escape. Similarly, during the episode Sand he was shown to be very upset with Soolin when she mentions Cally's death.
Along with rest of the Scorpio crew, Vila is gunned down during the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. He is presumed to have died, although there has been much speculation that he pretended to fall to avoid getting killed. In the non-canonical novel "Afterlife" by Tony Attwood
Tony Attwood (writer)
Tony Attwood is an expert in direct mail, who previously worked as a teacher and lecturer, and has written over 80 books on education...
, this is what happened and Vila stays with Avon to continue their adventures—although bitterly resentful of Avon's killing of Blake.
Character development
The character was twice considered for removal from the series, according to the DVD commentaries of script editor Chris BoucherChris Boucher
Chris Boucher is a British television writer, best known for his frequent contributions to two genres, science fiction and crime dramas.-Biography:...
and producer David Maloney
David Maloney
David John Lee Maloney was a British television director and producer. He was born in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, was educated at King Edward VI Five Ways and served in the Royal Air Force before becoming an actor in the theatre...
. Terry Nation
Terry Nation
Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
originally wanted Vila to be killed in Pressure Point but was over-ruled by the other producers. Later, it was briefly suggested killing off Vila and Jenna in 'Star One'; he remained because a survey showed Vila to be the series' second most popular character.
In an interview with Tony Attwood
Tony Attwood (writer)
Tony Attwood is an expert in direct mail, who previously worked as a teacher and lecturer, and has written over 80 books on education...
, Keating said that he was watching the series with his daughter when she said, "Daddy, you're stupid!" Keating related this to Boucher, inspiring the latter to write City at the Edge of the World in which Vila becomes a hero.
During the production of Orbit, while Avon looks for Vila to throw from the airlock, Keating was filmed hiding, shaking and in tears. These few seconds were not broadcast because the director considered the scene "...too real". Following this episode, Vila becomes very wary of Avon's motives.