Buried Treasure

DVD, BUGS S3 (Buried Treasure)

For once in their lives our hero team don't have high stakes with which to contend: sparing the government's blushes again and saving works of art. No lives at stake or anything that would affect the common citizen so I couldn't help feeling things weren't all that dire. The story remains strong, however, both visually, with a strong sense of direction and place, and in motivating the characters. It's Ed's turn to have a story revolve around him and his mysterious past. We don't know a great deal about any of the characters, in spite of Season 3's approach towards more characterisation and personal lives, but out of the original trio Ed was always the least developed, there to be the action man and quip and banter to the maximum. There isn't a lot more we're privy to in this episode, but we do get a small insight into him and his past: he was connected with Sasha, this woman who comes out of the blue having not had anything to do with him for ten years, and as Alex jealously points out, he drops everything in order to help her. It seems a bit hard to believe Sasha couldn't find anyone else who had access to a helicopter, but she's playing cards close to the chest with all the associates she brings on board her money-making plot. Through this we learn that Ed plays squash, he'd known her ten years before, and she dumped him, and by the way he's so ready to meet her again it's clear there's unfinished business there. We rarely see Ed in anything less than high spirits, though it's obvious through this and his off-balance position with Alex through the season that girlfriends are a weak point.

If we don't find out all that much about Ed, we learn even less about Sasha, the mystery woman, the type who's never happy standing still, always looking for a rush, playing games, leading her victims on, a nefarious female version of Ed you could say. The only real flaw of the episode, which is quite tightly put together and succeeds in its scope and variety of locations, as well as its realistic approach to the characters (even down to how it was filmed, with scenes like Ed and Sasha talking in a restaurant or bar, being interrupted for their order while the conversation keeps flowing - and example quite far from the usual style of the series), and how they're thinking and feeling, is a lack of backstory on Sasha - she's this programming genius, like Elverson in 'All Under Control,' has this ability to interfere with important computer systems, like Elverson, and even adopts a Greek goddess as her persona. Just like Elverson! The only difference (other than she doesn't have a big white beard and is a lot more striking than the old man in his cardigan!), is she doesn't seem to have any origin for her motivation. Elverson, as Icarus, was all about proving his software to the world, while Sasha, as Athena, is merely interested in money, murder and… muddling up Ed. He never reveals anything about her, why she might have gone down this path of extreme criminality, how she could have such an aptitude for computers and why she's suddenly decided to pull off this heist. She dies in a blaze of glory, too, so we never get to find out anything more.

Blaze of glory? Artwork and killing? Are we regressing back to the season's opening two-parter? In a very nice use of continuity, the situation is indeed recalled, Alex specifically mentioning Ed's troubles with Kitty McHaig, asking if he hasn't had enough of all that (when Ed's bought the line he'll be helping a struggling artist). The episode deals neatly with the series' continuity as seems to be quite common across the season, as not only is the situation with Channing resolved more fully, Ros making it quite clear he's out of the picture, but we also play into the background and skills of the characters: Beckett's quite happy going undercover, so it's convenient when James Flood, the third prisoner to be granted early release by Athena, looks remarkably like our man, allowing him to take his place (I wonder how long it took them to find an actor that resembled Jesse Birdsall?). Then there's Ed's role as helicopter aficionado and pilot, as well as Sasha asking about his Tae Kwon Do, before playfully engaging in mock fight which was quite unique for the series. I can't remember if the exact form of Ed's martial arts discipline had actually been established on screen in 'A Sporting Chance' or whether it had been left vague back then, but he's had a bumpy career in that regard, sometimes remembering he's this great expert, other times just wading in with fists, or even simply running like a scared rabbit (as he and Julia did in 'Happy Ever After?'), so there hasn't been consistency, but in episodes like this we can at least pretend there was!

As it's Ed's episode it's only fitting that he actually got to win one of these hand-to-hand fights, too, which had become something of a rarity unless it was by chance (such as when he pushes Hex onto electrified equipment in 'A Sporting Chance'). He fights with prisoner number two, Ben Kennedy, the man who takes his chances in being the one to survive after Sasha has demonstrated a predilection for murdering the other associates, James Flood and Gordon Johns, in cold blood once their usefulness was at an end. He ends up as the only survivor of the motley gang - if he'd gone with Sasha in the helicopter he'd have ended up 'sploded, too. He probably went straight back to prison where many more years were added to his sentence. When we see a car draw up for each of the phonily released prisoners outside their prisons, and you see a chauffeur at the wheel, I couldn't help thinking of Jean-Daniel. It's become a habit in this series, since chauffeuring isn't that common, especially when you look at the high-tech world they tend to inhabit, it's almost an anachronism compared to the general style, and because JD made such an impression it's only natural to bend the mind down that route, especially as he got a mention only a couple of episodes ago that threw doubt on his death in Technopolis Tower. Was it deliberate to make a connection or purely coincidental?

The writers certainly seemed to be harking back to Icarus in 'All Under Control,' so who knows? That bank of computing power, the screens, the mysterious operator whose face we never see, operating under a mythic calling card, it all seems so similar. And you can tell from the way they write the characters and reference the lore, these writers know the series very well. In fact it's just a shame we didn't get to go back to the prison JD had been incarcerated in. Ed and Ros (with the Channing stuff), aren't the only ones to get callbacks, as Beckett mentions his 'vindictive ex-girlfriend' as the cause of his money troubles (a good shout because the situation is being repeated, this time for Ed, though money isn't the trouble). Does he still have the troubles, even after this long of working for the Bureau and when Jan said she could make them go away? Or is he just after sympathy and it's more that he doesn't have a permanent place to live after he lost all his savings? You'd think the role of Bureau Chief would pay very well… He certainly seems to be in a very good mood, but then that's probably because he won the battle with Channing, even if he's too close to see that Ros would reciprocate his fragile affections.

The episode continues the season's preference for naturalistic environments rather than high-tech or glossiness, with more stately homes full of expensive art, or country locations. I don't remember if Canary Wharf Tower has even been seen once this year! I certainly didn't remember how much they got away from the London Docklands, probably because Season 4 used the familiar sights a lot. It does bring variety, and the location they found for the vault containing the stolen art was really quite impressive, this tall, patchwork tower in the middle of fields which they approach by helicopter. Then you've got the uncertain atmosphere of Roger Delamere's residence which Sasha uses to meet Ed - there's such a strong feeling of being where they shouldn't, mixed in with Sasha's coy and difficult-to-read role and motivations turning it into a strangely unsettling sequence. Is that where Athena based herself? And for how long? Was she originally working with Delamere or had she set up shop without him knowing, perhaps in some attic? We know she blackmailed him, but that was after the prison releases… It's all so unexplained. She must have set up the perimeter alarm (to which Ed has what must be his slowest moment ever: 'is that an alarm?'), to alert her to intruders, and Ros traces the Athena signal there, but there's no explanation about any of it that I noticed.

It's not so easy to pin things down in terms of colours and costumes, either, as they all wear multiple outfits, but there's still plenty of colour to be had: Ros is the brightest in her red suit jacket and the return of the swirly, pearlescent earrings, while Beckett is sometimes formal in his usual kind of suit, plus green shirt and very dark green tie, and sometimes casual in his role as Flood. Ed gets to dress up smartly for once in a nice suit, although it's actually two episodes in a row he'd done that as he was dressed in a suit for Julia's wedding - loved his acrobatics to save the priceless vase Sasha chucked at him, that was a great roll, especially in such formal clothing! He's back to his usual casual wardrobe as Sasha's assistant, and Alex doesn't feature enough for her outfit to be particularly noticeable (no All-Stars jacket this week). One accessory that is rather cool, even though it was probably nicked from the first 'Mission: Impossible' film (which would have come out before or around the time they'd have been writing Season 3 in late-1996 or early '97), was the pair of glasses worn by Beckett which have the ability to transmit video and sound, as well as providing two-way communication. I love the way it's not just thrown in there as some great tech, but has a specific purpose for the professing of Beckett's sentiments toward Ros when he thinks she can't hear him. Which leads to the tag scene at the end which is weirdly neither sinister nor comedic to the extent it's difficult to know how to take it in such an action-based series: Ros fishes for Beckett to finish his thoughts only to be interrupted by Ed and Alex whose own uncertainty around each other deflects the moment, Ros saying it's nothing that can't wait.

It's not often that we see a character truly injured and coming quite so close to death, but Sasha's malevolent attempt to blast Beckett into little bits is thwarted by his experience and quick-wittedness, allowing him vital seconds to put some distance between himself and the explosion, which was quite spectacular. This was the moment I felt Ed should have stepped out of character as this new and 'improved' out for himself styled guy whom Sasha is impressed with, because I don't care how much those painting and sculptures are worth, they aren't worth Beckett's life. Not to Ed, anyway! He'd normally be the first to think of practical things before the mission, especially as it wasn't like any other lives were in danger. We can put it down to him being so out of step because of this whirlwind woman, having to deal with someone he was so close to in his past has messed with his mind. On the subject of explosions it's always appeared to me that they reused the, admittedly fabulous, explosion from 'Out of The Hive' and that was the reason they used the same kind of helicopter in that first ever episode. At least the demise of the villain isn't any of the team's fault this time - Kennedy fires off some rounds at the chopper himself when Ros is snooping around it (this may be the only episode ever where all three of the heroes do a roll: Ed catching the vase and dodging Sasha's gunfire; Ros escaping Kennedy's bullets; and… I can't remember if we actually see Beckett roll when he's running from the explosion, but I like to think he did!), and then Sasha's overconfidence, believing she can fly it, is what does her in.

Beckett's well-beloved old Jeep doesn't appear for once, though the Grand Cherokee version Ros favours does, and this time it's definitely the same shade of green as the old favourite, so perhaps Ros took that dark blue model back to the dealers wanting something closer to what she'd been used to? Ed's Land Cruiser is used (by him when he arrives at Delamere's and the moment Ros and Alex show up desperately looking for Beckett in the rubble of Sasha's base camp). And Alex, though not featuring much, gets to do more role-playing, this time as Madeline the Maid, who delivers a trolley of champagne to Flood's hotel. That's when you realise it's not going to have anything to do with JD (if you ever entertained the notion), because the car sent for the prisoners obviously drops them off at a hotel from which they receive instructions - convenient they weren't brought directly to Athena, but then the car and driver must have been hired by her as she doesn't seem to have anyone else in on the plot at all. Not sure what Flood's goal was when he comes charging at Alex, I presume he thought he'd push her off the car park, but he was running so fast he might not have been able to stop himself going over! And while there really weren't any solid nits to pick, Ros and Beckett could have done a bit better than standing behind the ex-offender saying they wanted a word while leaving the door wide open. But it seems they often have to make mistakes in order to allow the action to precipitate which might be a slight flaw in the series' makeup for those who are going to be pedantic. I just accept it in the childlike way I first saw the series and that probably makes all the difference. I'd love to know how it's faring on BritBox - who knows, if it got enough watches they might make some more. I can dream.

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