Varunastra (webcast)
Varunastra was a video diary webcast released by BBV Productions on their YouTube channel in 2021. It was later incorporated into the P.R.O.B.E. Case Files - Volume 1 DVD release.
Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
Giles contends with a mythological weapon in this new PROBE adventure from BBV Productions.
Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]
After "several days of hoaxes and minor alien incursions", P.R.O.B.E. director Giles receives an phone call parcel from Michael, a member of P.R.O.B.E.'s American counterparts the J.D.S., with a request to look after a parcel he'll be sending along, so as to keep it out of the clutches of the J.D.S.'s rivals, Control's branch of the C.I.A..
What seemed to be a routine favour instantly takes on a grisly turn as soon as Tasha tries to collect the mysterious package from the airport, as the plane delivering the parcel lands with a dead co-pilot on board, the man having apparently cracked the parcel open during the journey and, for his trouble, wound up drowning from within as his body filled with water on their own accord. Opening the package with considerable trepidation, they find it contains an ornate silver dagger. However, when Maxie tries to lift it out of the box, it turns into water in her hands, "ending up in a puddle at the bottom of the box". Tasha reaches into the box, only for the water to turn into a "sphere of diamonds". She drops it in surprise, causing it to fires an energy beam that destroys Giles's CD collection and parts of the ceiling. Maxie uses her scanner on it, finding the readings to be "off the charts".
Leaving the weapon to sit, they begin researching its possible origins, Giles looking through his books while the younger generation scours the Internet. Going through the old LONGBOW files, Giles winds up finding records of the dagger, actually a shape-shifting called Varunastra and last seen in Barko, India during the Second World War. Said to have been handed down from Rama, it was used during the War, reportedly "drown[ing] 16 Japanese Fortunately, the weapon overhears Giles telling Sir Bedevere that "the pen is mightier than the sword" (which Giles stated in an unsuccessful attempt to convince the ghostly knight to cease wandering around the place with a broadsword), and respons by turning into a literal ballpoint pen.
Although Giles considers placing Varunastra on the Dr Smith shelf so that it could be used in an emergency, he ultimately decides that the examples of the drowned co-pilot and the exploded ceiling prove it is too dangerous to be trusted. After sealing it in a container built by Maxie and intended to stabilise its shapeshifting, he locks it in the P.R.O.B.E. Archive, attaching the present video diary case file to the electronic component of the container so as to make sure no one will ever open it by mistak.
Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Mentioned only[[edit] | [edit source]]
Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Writer - James Hornby
- Script editor - Lucy Wood-Ives
- Art - Warren Lewis
- Theme - Mark Ayres
- Logo - Lucas Kovacs
- Editing and Post-production - Callum Brown and Bill Baggs
- With special thanks to Hunter O'Connell and James Wylder at Arcbeatle Press & Quinton Hoover of Quinton Reviews
- Control used with the kind permission of Keith Topping
- LONGBOW used with the kind permission of Lance Parkin
- Doctor X used with kind permission of Iain McLaughlin
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Giles's shelf of VHS tapes include a tape of Doctor X, with a BBV logo on the bottom of the spine, labelled as "The Original 1950s TV Series", as well as Marco Polo, P.R.O.B.E., another BBV thing labeled "The Classic Sci-Fi Show 1953-1958", two cassettes marked "Top Secret!" and "Classified", and a hand-labeled tape of Giles's own case files.
- The Dr Smith shelf's contents include a Cyberon head, a vial of the Cyberon drug, and Box.
Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Varunastra, or "water weapon", indeed originates in Hindu myths. Notably, it is therein described as having been wielded by a variety of heroes and deities, while the webcast only mentions it as Rama's weapon.
- The presence of the Cyberon head from The Blue Scream of Death [+]Loading...["The Blue Scream of Death (short story)"] on the Dr Smith shelf causes a slight timeline issue, as Blue Scream of Death actually dates its events to 2020, a year after the events of Varunastra. However, P.R.O.B.E. have often dealt with time travel, with later sources specifically stating some of the items on the Dr Smith shelf had been donated to P.R.O.B.E. by time-travellers, meaning the contradiction is by no means insoluble.
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Control of the C.I.A. originated in PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune [+]Loading...["The Devil Goblins from Neptune (novel)"].
- The Dr Smith shelf was previously referenced in HOMEVID: When to Die [+]Loading...["When to Die (home video)"], which was also Box's debut. The visual seen here would reappear in WC: P.R.O.B.E. CASE FILES - TRAILER [+]Loading...["P.R.O.B.E. CASE FILES - TRAILER (webcast)"].
- One of the items on the shelf is a Cyberon head. This is a reference to the events of PROSE: The Blue Scream of Death [+]Loading...["The Blue Scream of Death (short story)"]. The head would later be seen as a physical prop in HOMEVID: The Only Cure [+]Loading...["The Only Cure (home video)"].
- The ghost of Sir Bedevere was shown to reside in P.R.O.B.E. HQ in PROSE: The Door We Forgot [+]Loading...["The Door We Forgot (short story)"].
- A brief clip of Varunastra within its containment unit in the P.R.O.B.E. Archive was reused in WC: P.R.O.B.E. CASE FILES - TRAILER [+]Loading...["P.R.O.B.E. CASE FILES - TRAILER (webcast)"].
- Images of Varunastra and Maxie Masters's scanner are seen in HOMEVID: A Message From Sir Andrew [+]Loading...["A Message From Sir Andrew (home video)"].
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Official Varunastra page at bbvproductions.co.uk
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