|
Summary
Skills:
As Dayna grew up, she was taught both by computers and by visiting tutors.
She is quite skilled in weapons design. She is also experienced with
"ancient weapons" such as the bow, spear, sword, and knife. In
"Sarcophagus" she is shown playing a lyre-like harp and singing "I left my
world to wander in this endless midnight sky, for space is just a starry
night where no suns ever rise." She is not immune to Federation
conditioning: she was conditioned using
aversion therapy in "Animals."
Trivia:
Along with Avon, she is the only regular cast member to have kissed two
other regular cast members--she kisses Avon in "Aftermath," and Tarrant in
"Ultraworld."(Actually, if you don't count the alien in "Sarcophagus" as
being Cally, Avon was only kissed by Dayna. However, you could substitute
Servalan if you wished. )
"Aftermath"
Dayna's first meeting with Avon is entertaining enough that I will quote it in its entirety.
DAYNA: Are you feeling better?
AVON: Not really. But at least I'm still alive. If I were dead I
don't think I'd have this blinding headache. [Dayna kisses him]
AVON: What was that for?
DAYNA: Curiosity.
AVON: I'm all in favor of healthy curiosity. I hope yours isn't satisfied
too easily. I think you've cured my headache.
DAYNA: What's your name?
AVON: Avon.
DAYNA: You are very beautiful, Avon.
AVON: So are you.
DAYNA: Dayna.
AVON: Are you a native of this planet?
DAYNA: The ones who tried to kill you are the natives. Do I look like them?
AVON: So where do you come from?
DAYNA: I was born on Earth. My father brought me here when I was a baby.
AVON: Are there many Earth people here?
DAYNA: Just father and myself.
AVON: Just the two of you?
DAYNA: And Lauren. She's of this planet, but she's lived with us since she
was a child.
AVON: Three of you. How do you survive? The natives, what do you call
them?
DAYNA: The Sarrans.
AVON: The Sarrans don't seem exactly friendly.
DAYNA: They don't trouble us much. Father says they were a problem when we
first arrived, now they leave us alone. They're afraid of us.
They're afraid of me, particularly.
AVON: Presumably, it's the bow and arrow.
DAYNA: I like the ancient weapons--the spear, the sword, the knife. They
demand more skill. When you fight with them conflict becomes more
personal. More exciting.
AVON: More dangerous.
DAYNA: Of course. Without danger there's no pleasure.
AVON: That must limit your range of pleasures a bit.
We are not told how Hal ended up with Lauren, or exactly how old she was.
MELLANBY: Avon, this is Lauren, my adopted daughter. She and Dayna grew up together.
The Mellanby household on Sarran is housed in their downed spacecraft, hidden under the sea:
AVON: Oh, I can see the sea.
DAYNA: That is our base.
AVON: You live underneath it?
DAYNA: In it.
AVON: In it? Listen, I'm not very keen on water sports even at the best
of times.
DAYNA: Don't worry.
AVON: This is not the best of times.
DAYNA: You won't even get your feet wet. Wait here. I'll check it's safe
to go on. [Leaves]
AVON: Well, I hope she's not totally insane. Under these circumstances
that could be a little bit embarrassing.
and
AVON: A space vehicle grounded on the sea bed.
DAYNA: It was designed as a fixed orbit station. My father landed it here
more than twenty years ago. Putting it under the surface gave it
the best possible camouflage. And it worked. They looked for us,
but they never found us.
SERVALAN: Until now.
Incidentally, Avon's line "This is not the best of times" provides some
support for my hypothesis that Avon spent this episode and possibly the
next feeling the effects of his injuries from his crashed lifecapsule.
Hal Mellanby
All of the information on Hal comes from "Aftermath." I think it's interesting that Hal appears in the first episode without Blake, because he is a very Blake-like character in that he rebelled, survived a massacre by Federation troops after surrendering, lost a family member to and was personally tortured by the Federation, and subsequently escaped, though experiencing guilt at not being able to do more. This is all hardly surprising, as Terry Nation wrote this episode. His story begs the question: what if Blake had had a child he wanted to protect?What would have happened?
We know from "Volcano" that Hal graduated from the Federation Central Science complex.
AVON: What was your crime?
MELLANBY: It wasn't a crime. But there's still a price on my head: three
million credits.
AVON: You must be very special.
MELLANBY: I constituted a threat to them.
And like Blake, Hal is a tough cookie:
MELLANBY: If it comes to the point, I shall take whatever actions are
necessary to protect my freedom. For [Servalan's] sake, it
would be better that she doesn't remember.
Dayna's father, aside from being a fugitive from the Federation, harbored rebel sympathies which he may have passed on to Dayna:
MELLANBY: Blake and the Liberator? I've been hearing reports for the last couple of years. You were magnificent.
and
MELLANBY: ...Before I left Earth, I was taken in for questioning by Federation Security. They suspected me of supplying weapons to resistance groups. And they were right. Anyway, in persuading me to talk they were slightly overzealous. They destroyed my optic nerves. This thing gives me partial vision.
More of his story comes out in his final confrontation with Servalan, making Hal's parallel to Blake more obvious:
SERVALAN: ...You see, I finally remembered who you are.
MELLANBY: That was all a long time ago.
SERVALAN: But not forgotten. You led a revolt that took more than three
weeks to suppress. It cost a lot of Federation lives.
MELLANBY: And the lives of virtually everyone who followed me.
SERVALAN: You knew the consequences of what you were attempting.
MELLANBY: Yes, and when we failed we made an honorable surrender. We were
promised fair trial. Instead, the security forces massacred everyone, men,
women, and children. That night I watched them all die. My own wife, my
friends, everybody.
SERVALAN: Everybody but you. Hasn't that ever made you feel guilty,
Mellanby?
MELLANBY: Of course it has. I've lived with guilt most of my life. I should
have died with them, but I had a chance of saving Dayna. I took it.
SERVALAN: They branded you a coward. Your name was universally despised.
MELLANBY: Might have been true. I've never been sure.
However, Dayna's story is slightly different:
DAYNA: Is it a crime to be independent? Father wanted independence. The Federation refused him permission to leave Earth so he had to leave secretly.
It is not clear if she believed this or if this was the story given to strangers. It is possible from Dayna's tone of voice that she had at least believed this at one time. Supporting that she did not know much about the rebellion, she did not seem to have heard of Avon, but then, neither had her father. She did know that he had contacts of some sort; in "Volcano" she says about the non-Federated world Obsidian, "...one of the people here knew my father."
Dayna's education:
"Aftermath"
DAYNA: ...I have my tutorials with the computers....
"Animals"
TARRANT: I only hope your mad scientist is going to be worth the trouble.
DAYNA: Nothing mad about Justin. At least there wasn't, the last time I
saw him.
TARRANT: Oh? And when was that?
DAYNA: Oh, he was a friend of my father's, and one of the specialist
tutors who visited us for a while to help educate me.
It seems to me that in "Aftermath" Dayna gives the impression that outsiders do not visit them on Sarran, which would seem to preclude tutors from off-planet. This can be reconciled with her mention of tutors in "Animals": 1) she had not had any tutors in a long time; 2) she did not want to mention the tutors to Servalan in "Aftermath," knowing it would be dangerous. The Real Life reason, of course, is that "Animals" was to be a Cally episode and was restructured for Dayna when Jan Chappell did not sign for a fourth series.
Speculation: Some of the tutors may have been associated with the rebellion, if Hal trusted them enough to reveal his hiding place to them. Possible support for this idea: Justin says, "Most of my pupils of [Dayna's] time...are dead, perished in the Galactic War. That war was a terrible, terrible mistake."Against this theory is Justin's statement that he was "head of a Federation scientific warfare team" before the Galactic War ended. Was he a scientist who believed Science is above politics?
It is unclear what Justin taught Dayna. He was "a genetic engineer, among other things."
Dayna's technical skills
"Aftermath"
DAYNA: ...I have my tutorials with the computers. I like hunting and
walking, and I work with my father.
SERVALAN: Doing what?
DAYNA: We design and develop defense systems.
SERVALAN: Really? That must be fascinating. For whom do you develop these
systems? Other exiles, like yourselves?
Apparently Lauren does not design and develop anything, though in this
episode she seems to know how to use a weapon. Dayna never answers
Servalan's question about for whom the systems are designed. Speculation:
Given Hal's sympathies, it is possible he sold defense systems to the
rebellion, especially as he had done it before.
AVON: Impressive. It seemed to aim itself. I felt it pulling my hand
around to the target.
MELLANBY: The weapon has programmable memory. You preset an image of the
target, and it automatically lines up on it.
AVON: Remarkable.
MELLANBY: A useful piece of equipment.
AVON: How long did it take you to develop this?
MELLANBY: I didn't. That one was Dayna's project. She has a genius with
weaponry systems, and that isn't just a father's pride.
AVON: And yet with all this to choose from, she still goes around with
a bow and arrows.
MELLANBY: She takes absurd risks. I try to discourage her, but I think
she's trying to prove to herself that there's no weapon, ancient
or modern, that she can't master.
Weapons of Dayna's creation are seen in "City at the Edge of the World" (little gun she gives to Cally, remote control bomb) and "Ultraworld" (remote-control bomb, exploding tooth). In "Death Watch," Tarrant uses a gun of her design to kill/deactivate Vinni.
Also in "Aftermath," Dayna is shown helping Avon to repair a teleport bracelet, though she could not have seen one before, implying that she can pick up technical knowledge quickly.
She is not good with locks, but could have become so after meeting
Vila:
"Powerplay"
AVON: Are you any good with locks?
DAYNA: No....
She is able to figure out that a defense system has been activated from a
verbal report:
"Sarcophagus"
DAYNA: That ship must have an anti-intruder device rigged. You've
activated it. Avon, I think you're now inside a live bomb.
Combat skills
Good examples of Dayna's hand-to-hand abilities are shown in
"Powerplay, "Harvest of Kairos,"and "Power."She is obviously
confident of her skill.
"Powerplay"
DAYNA: I'm sorry, I let you down.
AVON: Let me down?
DAYNA: There were only two, I should have been able to kill them both.
AVON: We all have our off days. Anyway there were four other guards
hanging around.
DAYNA: I could have dealt with them.
AVON: I'm sure you could, but it's not all bad....
In "City at the Edge of the World," Avon entrusts her with guarding Bayban the Butcher, though he manages to escape from her. Speculation: she inhaled some plot-devicium gas?
Dayna's opinions/ethics
Aggression:
"Aftermath"
AVON: [Dayna draws the bow on the downed Sarran] What are you doing?
DAYNA: He's your enemy.
AVON: He's no danger now. Leave him.
DAYNA: If the situation was reversed, he would have killed you.
AVON: His friends might still manage it. Leave him.
DAYNA: I should have killed him.
In this case, she wants to kill the Sarran to prevent him from
coming after them again, not out of bloodthirstiness. The same is
true of this incident:
"City at the Edge of the World"
DAYNA: Are you sure those three guards can't give the alarm?
AVON: Not unless they can do it in their sleep.
DAYNA: You should have killed them.
AVON: Probably.
"Volcano"
DAYNA: ...But as the galactic war has just demonstrated, aggression seems
to be programmed into the human psyche.
HOWER: It can be programmed out, perhaps.
DAYNA: Would that be wise, even if it could?Would homo sapians be able
to live without conflict? Wouldn't they just die from lack of
excitement?
"Aftermath"
MELLANBY: You see that Dayna and I don't agree on some issues.
DAYNA: How can I agree? It contradicts everything I've done all my
life. We've made the most sophisticated weapons ever known.
They are designed to kill.
MELLANBY: No, Dayna!
DAYNA: They have no other purpose. Yet you tell me they should never
be used? Does that make sense, Avon?
AVON: I seldom comment on other people's ethics.
Speculation: Eventually, due to these conflicts, Dayna would have left Sarran anyway. The loss of her family and the easy availability of a way off with Avon simply provided the final push. Her father seemed to think she needed to leave, as well:
"Aftermath"
MELLANBY: But no matter what I do, I think it would be good for Dayna to
get away from here. She should experience other worlds, other
people.
AVON: She could have some surprises coming.
MELLANBY: She's an intelligent girl. She'll adapt quickly.
Revenge:
After her father is killed by Servalan, Dayna swears vengeance:
"Aftermath"
DAYNA: I'm going nowhere until Servalan is dead.
After this, she always wears her father's gold starburst medallion. In "Volcano" we learn its significance: Dayna says to Hower, "You studied with him at the Federation Central Science complex. This is his graduate medallion."
Her belief in revenge is not limited to herself:
"City at the Edge of the World"
TARRANT: Thanks for your support, Dayna.
DAYNA: Well, they were right. If Vila saw you, who knows what he might do.
Run away, give the alarm--
TARRANT: I doubt that.
DAYNA: So do I. I think he'd try and kill you. [Smiles] That's what I'd do.
"Rumours of Death"
SHRINKER: What are you going to do with me?
DAYNA: [Smiles] He's going to kill you.
Moral Qualms
"Animals."
DAYNA: You are making a new race of animals--or humans. Why?
JUSTIN: Ah well, I can't tell you all my secrets, can I, Dayna?...Admiring
the work?
DAYNA: I thinks it's disgusting.
JUSTIN: ...I could offer you a job here helping me, but I don't think you
would take it, would you?
DAYNA: No, I wouldn't.
and
DAYNA: How could I admire you doing this?
JUSTIN: You came here expecting more, a young love resurrected. Ah, well,
perhaps I better tell you one or two things, then I might not seem
an ogre to you.
DAYNA: I don't think anything you could tell me would change my mind.
JUSTIN: I think it could. You don't think I built this laboratory complex
on my own, do you? I was the head of a Federation scientific
warfare team. When the galactic war was nearly over, the work was
abandoned and all my fellow scientists left. I didn't go with them,
which was just as well, since they were blasted by an enemy gunship
minutes within taking off.
However:
JUSTIN: [The experimental subjects] were deserters, and the decision was
not mine, and it was war. Just the same, I bitterly regret it.
I'm trying in a way to make sense of it all, try to get something
good out of it all. Don't you see that? If this discovery simply
goes for war purposes, to kill, then it's all been in vain.
DAYNA: Well, that makes me feel better about you anyway.
JUSTIN: Still trying to think well of me.
DAYNA: Perhaps you are right to do what you are doing. If these animals
can save human lives without any risk to themselves.
And she apparently cares about Justin, despite her opinion of his
work:
SERVALAN: ...Why do you lie for him? Why do you suffer pain for him? [Long
pause] Do you love him?
DAYNA: Of course not. [The truth chair reacts.]
SERVALAN: So, you do love him. Very much. Obviously.
Relationships with other characters
"Powerplay"
AVON: Her name is Dayna, she's not one of us. Where is she, by the way?
TARRANT: Do you care?
AVON: She did save my life.
"Volcano"
[after Dayna has handily disposed of two Fed troopers]
TARRANT: She's very good.
AVON: Promising, quite promising.
CALLY: And what about Dayna?Don't you trust her either?
VILA: Dayna's a different case entirely.
CALLY: Well, she's pretty, for one thing.
VILA: Pretty?Yes, I suppose she is. I hadn't really noticed.
AVON: We've seen you not really noticing, frequently.
"Children of Auron"
VILA: ...Disarming, isn't she?
"Harvest of Kairos"
JARVIK: You fight well. But you're still a woman. [They struggle;
she tries to strike him in the groin. ] If not quite a lady.
"Death Watch"
DAYNA: The electronic warriors strike again. That'll be four of
Servalan's ore ships we've let through without a fight.
AVON: To FIGHT them we have to catch them.
DAYNA: To CATCH them we have to chase them, or hadn't that occurred to you?
TARRANT: Yes, well, it's a little more sophisticated than fighting hairy
primitives with a bow and arrow, Dayna.
DAYNA: The machines are more sophisticated, Tarrant, that's all, but the
principle isn't, and the people certainly aren't.
AVON: [looks at Vila] You know, she could be right.
A Rough Guide to Relationships
Dayna demonstrates concern for Cally in "Children of Auron," "Sarcophagus," and "Ultraworld." She seems to be the only one who knows Cally has an identical sibling before Cally mentions it in "Children of Auron."
Dayna's relationship with Avon is particularly interesting, as he never insults her and openly shows affection for her. In "Moloch," Dayna gives information because Avon is being tortured, an argument for her being fond of him. In "Rescue," Avon shields Dayna from explosion debris. In my opinion, he feels it is safe to do so, as she is so much younger than he that she is not a threat. And she so obviously trusts him that he does not think she would betray him, though he might not admit that consciously.
"Rumours of Death"
DAYNA: ...Are you really going through with it?
AVON: I made a promise.
DAYNA: To Anna?
AVON: To me.
DAYNA: So what are you going to do? Stick a gun in Servalan's ear and say,
"Give me Bartolomew or I'll blow the top of your head off"?
AVON: Something like that.
DAYNA: And if she doesn't?
AVON: I'll blow the top of her head off.
DAYNA: [Smiles] Yes, I believe you would.
One of my favorite moments with Dayna and Avon involves very little
dialogue:
"Moloch"
AVON: If this is what I think it is, it's incredible.
DAYNA: This room's creepy.
AVON: What?
DAYNA: [holding up the dead mouse]Creepy. [She hands the mouse to Avon.
Avon looks at the mouse for a moment, then walks over to the
left-hand box, inserts a card, and presses a button. Avon opens the
left-hand box and removes a golden apple. He examines it carefully,
polishes it on his shirt-front, and then starts to eat it. ]
DAYNA: Avon![Dayna takes the apple from him. ]Be careful! [Looking
offended, Avon takes the apple back, and bites into it. ]
Avon seems concerned for Dayna after the android has knocked her unconscious in "Headhunter."
"Terminal"
AVON: This happens to be my problem. None of you are involved.
DAYNA: But we are involved. However much you like to pretend you're a
loner, you're not really. We depend on each other. I wouldn't
be alive now if it wasn't for you, and I'm sure that's true of
everybody else. So why not trust us?
Dayna's relationship with Vila often includes teasing:
"Sarcophagus"
DAYNA: Vila didn't win again.
VILA: It was your fault. You put me off.
DAYNA: With pleasure. On the first planet we come to.
and
VILA: [V. O. ] You're always getting at me.
DAYNA: [V. O. ] Your helplessness brings out my sadistic streak.
and
DAYNA: What a revolting thought!
VILA: You should be used to those.
"Ultraworld"
DAYNA: You sure you won't be lonely?
VILA: I've got Orac for company.
DAYNA: Oh, I hope the two of you will be very happy.
"Death Watch"
ORAC: Do you wish me to continue relaying the viscast?
VILA: Yes, we do. It's not exactly thrilling, but it's all there is.
DAYNA: And you came a long way to be thrilled, didn't you, Vila?
VILA: Damn right I did. And I'm going to be thrilled one way or another.
Have a drink, Dayna.
DAYNA: Do you know your most attractive quality, Vila?
VILA: [Eagerly] No. What?
DAYNA: Your subtlety. [His face falls.]
"Stardrive"
VILA: ...I'm stuck.
DAYNA: So am I, Vila. With you.
Their relationship is not all barbs:
"Death Watch"
VILA: [Servalan's] idea of chivalry is never to shoot a blind man in the
back.
DAYNA: That's very true, Vila.
VILA: Wonderful. And for my next trick, I shall swallow my other foot. I
completely forgot about your father.
DAYNA: I expect Servalan has, too.
VILA: I'm sorry, Dayna.
DAYNA: One of these days it will be my pleasure to remind her.
In "Terminal," it is Vila and Dayna who watch Zen die; Vila takes charge of the situation and Dayna allows him to.
Dayna holds Vila's arm in a tense moment in "Warlord."In "Blake," after
he has been hit on the head, she ruffles his hair, affectionately smiling
along with her teasing.
"Blake"
VILA: What hit me?
DAYNA: Don't worry, Vila, they went for your least vulnerable spot.
VILA: Oh, my head.
DAYNA: Exactly.
Dayna and Tarrant often work together as a team. Some examples are "Volcano," "Rumours of Death," "Rescue," "Traitor," and "Gold."This scene is particularly noteworthy:
"Ultraworld"
Dayna: No. We won't do it.
Ultra 1: (v. o. ) Do you speak for both?
Tarrant: Yes, she does.
Dayna: That is one thing you can't make us do.
Ultra 1: (v. o. ) Perhaps not. Though we might offer an inducement.
Tarrant: Such as?
[Diamond shaped view screen shows Ultra 1]
Ultra 1: Your fellow crew members are still alive. Whether they remain so
is up to you. We require the human bonding ceremony.
Tarrant: Why?
Ultra 1: The accumulation of data is our sole function and purpose, as we
have said.
Dayna: For your cosmic encyclopedia?
Ultra 1: We have collected a great deal of information about earth and its
dominant species, with one important omission. We intend to
rectify that deficiency.
Dayna: And if we agree?
Ultra 1: We shall reconsider the fate of your friends. And, of course,
yourselves.
Tarrant: Is that the best you can do?No deal.
Dayna: Tarrant, just a minute. Could you give Cally her memory back?
Ultra 1: Perhaps.
Dayna: So it is possible to reverse the process.
Ultra 1: It is possible.
Dayna: And would you release us, all four and allow us to return to our
ship?
Ultra 1: That decision must be referred to the core.
Dayna: The core will decide?
Ultra 1: Of course. The core is the living consciousness of the planet.
We are its servants. We obey without question.
Dayna: Tarrant, I think we should accept the offer. Then we can return
to the Liberator.
Tarrant: You can't be serious. You don't believe what they say.
Dayna: We have to believe if we hope to survive. Kiss me.
Tarrant: What?
Dayna: I said, kiss me. Come on. I can't be all that repulsive.
Dayna shows concern for Tarrant when he is in danger in "Moloch," and when his brother Deeta is killed in "Death Watch."He comforts her after a terrifying experience.
"Rescue"
Dayna: Tarrant. Tarrant. There's something there. (He holds her.
She sobs. )Something there in the dark.
Tarrant: It's all right. It's all right. You're not alone any more.
Earlier in that episode, Dayna and Tarrant banter:
Tarrant: Wherever this leads, it isn't to an under floor access tunnel.
Dayna: Probably not. But aren't you curious to find out where it does
lead?
Tarrant: In a word...no.
Dayna: Well, I am.
Tarrant: I was afraid of that.
Dayna: Look, you can always stay here. Or I could carry you.
Tarrant: Listen, you'll be old yourself one day. Then you'll be sorry.
Dayna: I don't know what you're moaning about. Vila's probably got the
other door open by now.
Tarrant: There's an irritating thought.
Dayna: Thought you'd like it.
Dayna's relationship with Soolin appears to be a good one. Like Dayna, Soolin lost her family, though at a younger age, and she is a very good shot, which indicates knowledge of weaponry. For these reasons, it is often speculated that they became close friends. Dayna and Soolin do not have any major "relationship moments."
Soolin does not join the crew until the end of "Power":
TARRANT: You want to join us, is that it?
DAYNA: Why?
SOOLIN: Why not? Dorian's dead.
Dayna and Soolin seem to be of one mind here in
"Stardrive":
AVON: ...we have to check every frame.
DAYNA: What, at ten thousand frames per second? It'll take us hours.
AVON: So?
SOOLIN: So let's at least patch through a link to the crewroom.
DAYNA: And do it in comfort.
Additional Speculation
Harriet Monkhouse
Justin says, "Most of my pupils of [Dayna's] time...are dead, perished in the Galactic War. That war was a terrible, terrible mistake."
That line puzzled me greatly at the time; assuming he means the war following the Andromedan invasion, why was it a terrible, terrible mistake?
Did he think the Andromedans would be enlightened conquerors, and much nicer than the Federation?Or does he refer to successful rebellions in the aftermath of the war, and mean that it would have been better not to have rebelled? Andrew Williams
I think the line is just due to continuity error. The writer of this episode seems to be under the impression that the war went on for a long period of time (enough time that Justin could be set up on a planet with a team and facilities to do development work). He probably also assumed that the Andromedans were just another war between the Federation and some long-standing, well-known, and probably human adversaries; hence like all wars it would be a "terrible, terrible mistake."
Unfortunately, it is the writer's assumption that is the "terrible, terrible mistake" in this instance.
Regarding relationships, having joined the Liberator at the same
time, the support Tarrant and Dayna give each other probably deserves a
greater mention. For example, when Tarrant suspects what has happened to
Zeeona in "Warlord," it is Dayna who shows great concern and runs to go
with him.
|