I’m so glad you ‘enjoyed’ Orbit and made it to the episode without knowing what was going to happen. It’s probably a shocking moment on its own, if you never saw any other episodes, but the intensity is magnified when you have lived through the series and really come to know the characters.

There is so much humour at the start, with Avon as jolly as anything. In a heartbeat, the rug is pulled from under the viewer and it becomes deadly serious.

I love the out-the-window views we get from the shuttle. Scorpio departing and the overland flight show the VFX crew were really getting to grips with what they could do in this new-look series. It’s one of the many reasons I wish there had been at least one more series. Egrorian is another loony scientist trapped on a base; perhaps the deadly shadow of Professor Ensor, and there’s some points where Robert Holmes seems to be making a comparison between Avon & Vila and Egrorian & Pinder.

The moment where Orac plays the Speak Your Weight machine is astonishing. The timing of the remark, the perfect sliding door and Vila’s reaction as he just catches Orac’s comment is absolutely brilliant.

In a way, Avon’s attempt to find Vila is Dr Plaxton all over again – “(S)he’s dead, either way.” I like to think that the strange wheedling voice Avon uses to call Vila is a subconcious attempt to warn Vila. There’s not many places Vila could hide, and Avon finds the little red trolley Vila was carrying when he left the flight deck.

Other interesting ‘solutions’ proposed to save the day include having Avon & Vila try to land the shuttle, or even using the Tachyon Funnel to destroy Malodaar, thus removing the source of the gravity trapping them.

Two more episodes to go. Looking forward to your thoughts and reactions.

Merry Christmas!

Joe.