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LIBERATOR--WHAT WE SAW IN EACH EPISODE
compiled by AAF, Misha, Judith Proctor, Sandy R. Stein, and Andrew Williams.
See also the essay, What is the Liberator Like Inside?
"Space Fall"
Boarding--Liberator is initially boarded through a "transfer tube" sent over from the prison ship London, with airlocks at both ends. We see the flight deck of Liberator for the first time. Autodefenses--Zen's autodefenses operate on the flight deck, possibly from a round object we see; when Blake shoots it, it deactivates. Autodefenses might have operated in a corridor near the flight deck, where one of the bodies is found--we cannot be sure, as the first two boarders, Teague and Wallace, die offscreen (the third, Krell, is driven insane, for those trivia nuts among you).
"Cygnus Alpha"
Armory--There is a gun rack against a bulkhead on the flight deck; the slots with guns in them light up and an outer cover disappears when they begin to look at it--perhaps Zen was listening in. If any one person tries to take more than one, subsequent guns they touch feel hot. This idea fell into disuse in later episodes.
Zen--Zen links with Jenna mentally through a touchpad at the flight controls. This function is never shown again; perhaps Zen never needed it again. Zen designates a hexagon shape on the bulkhead as a "reference point" for the crew.
Liberator--Jenna presses a random button on the flight controls, leading to extreme acceleration, another effect that is never referred to again. The ship's course can be programmed by telling Zen the desired course and speed. The ship's technology has an "organic feel" to Avon, and is described by Blake as "conceptually alien."
Teleport--The teleport room is identified by Avon, based on the aquatar alloy in the rack of bracelets near the teleport console. A teleport area is across from the console, where the teleportees stand. When Blake teleports down to Cygnus Alpha, the process is initiated by pressing buttons. The teleport burned out in "Time Squad." In later episodes, moving levers are used as well as buttons.
Speculation: use of the buttons alone draws more power than using the levers; perhaps they are indicated for emergency pickups, and not for everyday use.
When Vargas teleports up to the ship, a second teleport area, next to the console apparently, is shown. The secondary area is never shown again, though attackers from the System might have used it in "Redemption," as they manage to surprise Gan.
The teleport bracelets are both recall devices and communicators.
Jenna finds the Wardrobe Room and the Treasure Room, neither of which are ever shown.
Wardrobe Room--Presumably most of the costumes worn by the characters after this point came from the Wardrobe Room; it is unclear if the clothing came from the System or not. Given what we see of the System in "Redemption," this is unlikely.
Treasure Room--Avon says, "Do you know how much is in there? Millions. Millions. And this is just a sample. There must be almost as much wealth in that single room as there is in the entire Federation banking system." Jenna says this room is located at "the far end," prsumably from the Wardrobe Room. Jewels from the Treasure Room are seen in this episode and in "Shadow." In "Powerplay," Avon says, "This ship carries considerable sums of various currencies, rare metals, precious stones and the like." We see some stones: one of the troopers in "Powerplay" stole a bag of jewels from the treasure room. Avon watches him pocket the bag, and later the bag is emptied over the guy's chest, by either Avon or Tarrant, revealing the jewels. Avon refers to this room as the "strong room."
Laboratory--Blake says to Gan that there are medicines and a laboratory on the Liberator. He might have meant the medical area that is shown later.
Incidentally, Liberator sounds different when moving at high speeds from when it is in orbit. Jenna notices this when the ship reaches Cygnus Alpha.
Misha:
Is it specifically a change in sound that Jenna notices? I don't recall if she asks the others, "Did you hear that?", or says or does something specifying what alerted her.
"Time Squad"
We are shown a large hold when the alien projectile is placed there. Due to the size of the ship, and the fact it is designated with a five (Arabic numeral!) it is probably safe to assume there were several such holds on Liberator.
Speculation: Perhaps all the labels adjust when a new species touches the touchpad?
Speculation: This is interesting, because in one of the Series A episodes, ("Mission" or "Bounty" are my bets), Zen puts up a grid on the main view screen, and the two axes are marked off A-B-C etc. and 1-2-3.
However, in "Terminal," when Avon has the read-out directed to his console, it is gibberish.
Is this because it is as close to Terran as Avon can coax from the Liberators notational system (unlikely, given the above), or is it in some encoded state that Avon can read and knows that a lingering Tarrant cannot? Someone once suggested it was 'wingdings.'
It looks a lot like the lens-lock stuff used by the
8-bit Spectrum computers as copy protection [heh heh].
There is a communications device on a bulkhead, so people in the hold can communicate with other parts of the ship. From the hold one can also use cable to draw from Liberator's main power systems.
"The Web"
Blake is shown sleeping in what looks like a lounge chair taken from someone's lawn, presumably in his own room. I assume it's his room or a designated rest area because Jenna knows to call him there. Hold 3 is shown, when Cally sabotages the "PN overrides" from there. Apparently you can reach the "forward detector links" from the teleport console. I assume this is because the teleport area was a "tech" set that was already available.
Autorepair is demonstrated for the first time as a reaction to Cally's sabotage.
The neutron blasters are used for the first time, and we learn that they cannot be fired unless the neutron flare shield is activated.
When Zen reports on power status, we learn that Liberator has at least two "power banks."
"Project Avalon"
Blake, Jenna, and Vila wear heated suits, which might have come from the Wardrobe room. The suits appear again in "Hostage," worn by Blake, Vila, and Avon, and in "Countdown," worn by Avon and Del Grant.
A room is shown after the Avalon android and Chevner are brought on board, but it is fairly anonymous and is not named.
"Breakdown"
The medical unit is shown; it is equipped with a "diagnostic analyzer." Blake also refers to "surgical units," plural. No indication if these are devices or actual rooms. Restraints aided by some kind of invisible force field can be switched on to keep a patient in bed. We see a computer room which Gan is inexplicably sabotaging.
"Bounty"
The crew are held prisoner by the Amagons in a room that has some kind of equipment in it.
"Deliverance"
Ensor is treated in a surgical area. The set dressing is different from that of "Breakdown."
"Orac"
One or possibly two cabins are shown, furnished with chairs. There is a viewscreen on a bulkhead of the second room, if there are two different ones.
"Redemption"
Judith Proctor:
When we hear the Altas speak, they are speaking the same language as the crew. So, either the Altas speak English (which is no problem for me, as I just make them a lost Earth colony from the first phase of exploration 800 or so years ago) or else Zen in some way acts as a telepathic translator.
The Altas do not seem to use English as a written script, though. The markings on the side of Liberator are in no known language.
"Harvest of Kairos" and "Sarcophagus"
We see Cally's cabin, but it does not appear to have been personalized.
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