Reviewing the Situation

Vid
Title:	Reviewing the Situation
Creator:	Katharine Scarritt
Date:	before 1992
Format:	VCR
Length:
Music:	"Reviewing the Situation" from the musical Oliver Twist
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake's 7
Footage:
URL:	Streaming at the Internet Archive
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Reviewing the Situation is a VCR era Blake's 7 vid by Katharine Scarritt.

In his book Textual Poachers, Henry Jenkins explains that the vidder:

found "Reviewing the Situation," a song performed by Fagin in Oliver!, an appropriate expression of the aspirations and reservations of Vila (Blake's 7), another thief similarly trapped by circumstances he neither understands nor controls. A remarkable summary of his character, the video shows Vila reflecting on. his friendships and working relationships ("All my dearest companions have always been villains and thieves"), his romances, his dreams of escape, and hopes for financial success. Each reprise returns to an ever more demoralized figure, drinking himself further into a stupor, unable to imagine a viable future that involves leaving his comrades. Each lyric prompts a flood ofimages, drawn from across the entire series: "I wonder who the boss will be," for example, shows Vila receiving instructions from Blake, taking orders from Avon, and being bullied by Tarrant, each leader encroaching further and further upon his self-respect. As the song continues, the selected scenes progress toward the dark events of the fourth season. K.S. ends the video just seconds before the character's death, at a moment when there are no more options to consider. Much like Fagin, Vila has spent so much time "reviewing the situation" that he has been unable to act to change his fate.