A Question of Priorities - Part 1

WARNING: I indulge in shameless interpretation (or
over-interpretation) of this episode below, so if you
are bothered by this sort of thing, please delete this
post now. ;-)


I think that “A Question of Priorities” is one of the
best episodes of any TV show I’ve ever seen. When I
saw this episode for the first time all of those years
ago, it was the first time I found myself shocked at
the ending of a show. That doesn’t happen very often.
I’d never expected they would have Straker’s son die.
As I watched the DVDs, I found that I didn’t remember
a lot of details from most of the episodes of UFO.
Oh, I remembered bits and pieces, but generally not
the whole plot. This was the one that stayed with me.


This is also the episode that really changed my
opinion of Straker. Up to this point we’d seen
Straker in different modes, but he was still basically
an unlikable SOB, at least to me. This episode made
him more human. By the time this episode was over, I
liked him. And I felt very sorry for him. Before,
he’d been always in control and the heroic figure.
Here we see him fail at the most basic of human
relationships. The drama is not overplayed, but is
instead generally subtle, but emotionally painful to
watch.

“A Question of Priorities” starts with Straker in what
is a very unfamiliar frame of mind to us – he’s happy
and having fun. In a couple of scenes we see him with
his young son goofing off at the studio. What we see
is a loving father with his adored son. Very soon ,
though, the serpent in the Garden of Eden appears, a
UFO on approach. A competent Alec Freeman is filling
in at SHADO as Straker gets his visit with his son.

It appears to me that John fiddling with the things in
the car was a game they played, with Dad being
mock-severe and stopping John with a fond look. I
find it very charming. It’s followed by one of those
things that I find I quite like about Straker, the
fact that he could be quite perceptive. He tells John
he’s almost home, then picks up on the change in mood
the comment causes. Straker asks about the model boat
he sent to distract John from thoughts of going home.
It’s a fatal mistake. Alec interrupts with a phone
call. To bring Dad back from distraction, John asks
if he wants to see the boat.

When they arrive at the house, we get the first
glimpse of the lovely ex-Mrs. Straker. Here’s Straker
in another unfamiliar situation – he is ill at ease
and not in charge. I love the way the scene is
played. When he spots her, he draws backwards and
hesitates a moment. There is just a twitch at the
corners of his mouth to show how ill at ease he is
before he gets out of the car and tugs self-conciously
on his jacket. The first thing Mary does after saying
hello is complain he’s late. Then, right after
husband Number 2 calls out to her, Mary wants Straker
to make his visit with John later next month. Straker
is accommodating. Then he tries to talk to Mary about
John. I think it is because of the reaction he got
when he told John he was almost home. But Straker,
who always before seemed to know just what he wanted,
is at a loss for words and she cuts him off with “He’s
fine. We’re both fine.” You think there were
communication problems in their marriage? Of course,
we find that out for sure later.

Next Rutland comes out the door to establish his
“ownership” of Mary. Of course he hates Straker’s
guts. There was enough chemistry going on between
Mary and Ed to melt down a nuclear reactor. Caught
between the 2 men, Mary tells Straker he’d better go,
even though he’d told her John wanted to show him
something. She’ll explain to Johnny about him
leaving. Straker leaves, again without a fight, just
the twitch in the corner of his mouth to show his
reaction. Mary gives him what seems like a kind
goodbye. Rutland must have loved that.

John comes out of the house carrying the boat and runs
right by Mary and she doesn’t even try to stop him.
He runs out into the road and is hit by a car. And,
oh, if anyone was at fault for John being hit by the
car, it wasn’t Straker. He was trying to NOT cause
problems. As noted many times by others, Mary tells Ed
to do something, not her worthless current husband.
We see Straker’s stricken face as he takes a gulp.
And, hey, we’re just to the title.

It's the episode that swung it for me - sheer class. :)

Mark
http://www.eagletransporter.com/forum/
Classic British Sci Fi Hardware Forum
--------------------------------------