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DISENTASTRA

(C-13: TERMINAL)

Populated planet mentioned by Zen during Liberator's journey to Terminal.

DISORIENTER

(B-4: HORIZON)

Interrogation device, used on Blake and Jenna, and probably Cally, on Horizon. From comments made by Ro, intensive, protracted experience to the effects of a disorienter could be fatal.

DISRUPTION BOMB

(B-2: SHADOW)

Explosive device, apparently of small burst radius, fitted to Orac by Avon. It was primed to detonate if Orac's energy levels ever deviated from very precise limits, preventing Orac being utilised by an alien force such as the Darkness.

DISTAR

(A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

A prisoner held on UP-Project Avalon, in cell A12.

DOCHOLLI

(B-9: COUNTDOWN/B-11: GAMBIT)

First mentioned by a dying Provine on Albian as the only man who knew where Star One was located. A Federation cybersurgeon, Docholli operated on the technicians who built Star One, removing all trace of its whereabouts from their memories. Realising that he would in turn be operated on in case he had found out the location for himself, he faked the operation on another cybersurgeon (Lurgen) and fled. He finally arrived on Freedom City in the company of Travis, having risked his life to save people trapped by the explosion on the Bari. An habitual drinker, he was hidden by Chenie, who arranged for him to be shipped off planet by a Trantinian planet hopper. Travis persuaded him to repair his prosthetic arm, booby-trapped by Servalan, after which Blake appeared. Docholli was last seen leaving for the planet hopper with its pilot.

Zee called him a "drunken butcher", Blake said that he had had "Servalan on his heels since he escaped", and Travis mentioned not having seen him for two years. This is somewhat at odds with his earlier claim (in Pressure Point) that Control had been moved from Earth thirty years previously. For his own part, Docholli claimed that he tried "to keep out of politics", and considered the thirty technicians he had operated on had every right to want to kill him.

DOCKING

(various episodes)

Written By Murray Smith

The joining of a space vehicle to another in space. The first docking operation between two space vehicles seperately launched from Earth happened on 16 March 1966, between Gemini 8 and Agena 8 of the United States. Ten docking operations were wholly or partly shown during the series:

  • Space Fall: The London with the Liberator.
  • Time Squad: The Liberator with a space projectile, the most elaborate and painstaking docking operation shown.
  • Redemption: The Liberator with Space World.
  • The Harvest of Kairos: The Liberator with the Kairopan transporter.
  • Children of Auron: A disabled Auron C-type patrol vessel with Servalan's cruiser.
  • Animals: The scout ship carrying Ardus with Servalans ship.
  • Gold: The Scorpio with the pleasure cruiser Space Princess twice.
  • Orbit: Egrorians shuttle with the Scorpio.
  • Warlord: Servalan's ship with Zukan's.


The Liberator with the Kairopan transporter
See also DOCKING CRADLES.

DOCKING CRADLES

(B-11: GAMBIT)

A feature of Freedom City and doubtless many other places as well. The docking cradles were very close to the loading bays: Chenie referred to a fifty yard walk for Docholli.

See also DOCKING.

DOME

(A-1: THE WAY BACK)

An unidentified domed city on Earth, within and near to which the events in The Way Back happened. While not explicitly stated, the tone of the episode presumed that it is one of a number of cities within which the majority of Earth's population live and are controlled by the Terran Federation's administration.

No information is given to us about the dome's size. There are references to a 'Level 38' by the public address system; we see 'L/37' and 'SL/34', perhaps Level 37 and Sub-Level 34, and are told that Blake left the dome by 'Sub 43', perhaps short for Sub-Level 43; but no indication is given as to the size of a level or how many sub-levels it contains.

From the information given to us, a tight and repressive control is kept on the inhabitants of the dome. The first thing we see is a sterile white corridor monitored by a security camera. There are references to the closure of the Level 38 walkways for an hour; 'Level 38 cardholders' have to report to Central 'immediately'; the food and water are treated with suppressants; a 'Limited supplies of protien cultures' from Ganymede are said to be available from the 'sorbet section of the food dispensing unit'; while Dev Tarrant outlines his plan to cause ration cuts by making as much disruption as possible in the food manufacturing division.

Also, we see that leaving the dome is forbidden, except presumably on official business; Tel Varon, a loyal Federation citizen, only went outside once. Otherwise, going outside is a Category Four crime; and it is illegal for inhabitants of the city to have contact with those living outside, the 'Outsiders'.

The dome acts as a backdrop to The Way Back, and to the entire Blake's 7 series, setting the entire scene; so when we, the viewers, learn about how the Federation 'treated' Blake, and see its massacre of the rebel meeting called by Bran Foster, we are not surprised. It is the symbolic apologia for the future actions of Blake and his crew against the Federation.

The enclosed city, with movement outside forbidden or severely restricted by state repression or conditioning or both, has been frequently used in science fiction, beginning with E.M.Forster's "The Machine Stops" (1909). A few more recent examples of this are in Isaac Asimov's "The Caves of Steel" (1954), Arthur C. Clarke's "The City and the Stars" (1956), and in the film "Logan's Run" (1976). The reasons for such cities were various; but whatever the reasons, they are portrayed as being, in the end, repressive environments for their inhabitants.

See also ADMINISTRATION, FEDERATION.

DOMO

(D-7: ASSASSIN)

A planet on the edge of the 6th Quadrant. Ten years prior to Scorpio's visit it was colonised by a band of pirates who auctioned their prisoners off as slaves. Servalan used the planet for her rendezvous with Cancer, timing her visit to coincide with one of the slave auctions held every three months. Avon, Vila and Dayna also landed on the surface.

DORAN

(C-11: MOLOCH)

One of at least six convicts on Kalkos taken to Sardos on a T-16 troop transporter. Doran had been imprisoned for fifteen years, in all of which time he had never seen the sun since he had been locked in his cell. He was told he would never see the sun again, so was presumably sentenced to life imprisonment. His problem, so he claimed, was women, and when Vila asked him if he liked women he replied with an emphatic "No!". He also said that he dreamed of committing "every crime in the book", though this lost some of its appeal when he was actually told to break them. He adopted Vila as his "pal", and went with Chesil to meet Vila and Tarrant as they penetrated the Sardoans" city. He casually killed two of Grose's men before he was himself killed, together with Chesil, by Moloch.


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