Vila Restal

Blake's 7 Character


caption = Michael Keating as Vila
bgcolor = #fc0
fgcolor = #000
name = Vila Restal
race = Human
gender = Male
affiliation = Resistance
portrayed = Michael Keating
firstappearance = The Way Back
lastappearance = Blake

Vila Restal is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series "Blake's 7", played by Michael Keating.

A native of Earth and a member of the lowly Delta grade criminal underclass, Vila was a petty thief who met Blake in the detention cell awaiting transport to Cygnus Alpha - he was picking Blake's pocket while the latter was unconscious. He later participated in the rebellion aboard the transport ship "London" but was left behind when Blake escaped in the "Liberator". When Blake returned to Cygnus Alpha, Vila joined the crew.

Vila was smarter than his Delta grade rating would indicate. He claimed he bought the designation to avoid being drafted as a spaceship captain. He was an extremely talented thief who could break into the most sophisticated security systems. This ability made him extremely useful to Blake's crew. At one point, Avon told Del Tarrant that "we can find a pilot anywhere, but a talented thief is rare."

Vila was notoriously lazy and cowardly, preferring to evade danger, claiming he wanted "to live forever, or die trying." He was terrible at fighting - his confusion cost the rebels the battle in "Spacefall". He was also very fond of drinking and gambling, which made the Liberator crew keep him out of situations where his vices could compromise the mission ("Shadow", "Gambit"). On the other hand, he demonstrated courage and resourcefulness when needed, choosing to join with Blake instead of staying on Cygnus Alpha, grabbing Orac before being teleported off the "Liberator" to Terminal, going into the blazing Terminal complex to save Tarrant ("Rescue") and demonstrating immense skill and heroism in "City at the Edge of the World" (in this episode, he also succeeded at "getting the girl", as he developed a short-lived but intense romance with a female gunfighter named Kerril). It was never clear how much of his complaining and evasion of missions was an act. He once devised a brilliant plot to repair Scorpio's hull but pretended to be drunk to avoid the dangerous repair job ("Stardrive"). Michael Keating described the character as "a survivor", doing what was necessary to stay alive and not caring as much about the ideals of Blake or the ambitions of Avon.

Vila admired Blake, but possibly his closest friend was Gan, whose honesty he trusted. His relationship with Avon, the other long-running member of the crew, is considered by many fans to be a highlight of the series. It was a mixture of respect and loathing. They shared a common cynicism and focus on more material success (as demonstrated in "Gambit"). They clearly respected each other's skills and could work together very effectively ("Killer"). But they often sparred over Avon's ruthlessness and Vila's cowardice. During the fourth series episode "Orbit", Avon tried to throw Vila out of the airlock of a spaceship that was sinking due to the heavy load. Although they survived the ordeal, it created a definite chill in their relationship.

Vila was known for having an eye for the ladies; as far back as Cally's first episode, he called out to her "Don't shoot, pretty lady!" He was seen to engage in playful (and not-so-playful) bantering with Cally, Dayna and Soolin. While Cally treated Vila's jokes as playful remarks from a friend, both Dayna and Soolin considered him to be quite lecherous. Indeed, this was not lost on the rest of the crew; during the episode "Headhunter", Vila remarked that he was a "perfect gentleman" to Muller's female partner, to which Tarrant replied "That's what bothered us." However, Vila was capable of genuine affection and concern for his female friends; despite his lecherous comments and flirtations with her at the outset, his relationship with the previously-mentioned Kerril developed quickly into love, with Vila offering to sacrifice himself so that Kerril would escape. Similarly, during the episode "Sand" he was shown to be very upset with Soolin when she mentioned Cally's death (this may also have been a case of survivor's guilt on Vila's part, as he was forced to abandon his attempt to rescue her in "Terminal").

Like the rest of the "Scorpio" crew, Vila was gunned down during the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. His fate is unknown although there has been much speculation that he pretended to fall to avoid getting killed. In the non-canonical novel "Afterlife" by Tony Attwood, this is precisely what happened and Vila stays with Avon to continue their adventures -- although bitterly resentful of Avon's killing of Blake.

Vila was, behind Avon, the most popular character in the series. He was particularly known for his humorous lines and his banter with Avon.

Trivia

Vila is the only character to appear in all 52 episodes of the series.

Vila was twice considered for removal from the series, according to the DVD commentaries of script editor Chris Boucher and producer David Maloney. Terry Nation originally wanted Vila to be the one killed in "Pressure Point" but was over-ruled by the other producers. Later,it was briefly suggested killing off Vila - and Jenna - in 'Star One', but due to a survey showing Vila as the second most popular character, he was kept alive.

At one point, Michael Keating was watching the series with his daughter, who turned to him and said, "Daddy, you're stupid!". This incident prompted scriptwriter Chris Boucher to write "City at the Edge of the World" in which Vila got to be the hero.

For the episode "Orbit", while Avon is looking for Vila to throw out of the airlock, a few seconds of the scene were cut out where Vila was hiding and in tears, shaking. Michael Keating recalls that these few seconds were cut because the director thought that it was too intense.