Blake’s 7: Liberator
In the wake of the Liberator’s attack on a Federation fuel refinery, and with no idea who is aboard other than Mezin, Travis is given more authority by Servalan to find the ship and protect Federation interests. But Travis’ idea of containing the threat is very different from that of his superior: Servalan wants the Liberator captured so she can use it as her personal flagship, ruling the Federation with an iron first. Travis simply wants the ship and its crew destroyed - a more effective way of dealing with the threat, and one that won’t involve the loss of men and equipment that a boarding party and a running firefight with an unknown crew armed with unknown weaponry would entail. But in Travis’ next attack on the alien ship, Liberator’s true commander is revealed - and by default, his mission can be nothing less than toppling the Federation. Aboard the Liberator, Blake has problems of his own as Avon and Vila put a plan in motion to mutiny against him, angry that they’ve effectively been branded for life as members of Blake’s revolt. Jenna quashes the mutiny just in time, and Avon and Vila are given the opportunity to leave Liberator with no questions asked…though now that their names are linked with Blake and his ship, they know there’s nowhere to run. Travis mounts a surprise attack with devastating results, but both he and Blake are surprised when new ships join the battle - alien ships, just like the Liberator. And they’ve come to recover their lost property.
written by James Swallow
directed by Andrew Mark Sewell
music by Alistair LockCast: Derek Riddell (Roj Blake), Colin Salmon (Kerr Avon), Carrie Dobro (Jenna Stannis), Dean Harris (Vila Restal), Owen Aaronovitch (Oleg Gan), India Fisher (Lora Mezin), Daniela Nardini (Servalan), Craig Kelly (Travis), Doug Bradley (Nico Ballantine), Jake Maskall (Lt. Jorge Garcia), Alistair Lock (Zen), Daniel J. Geduld (Councillor Adrius Singh), Evangelo Kioussis (Lt. Rix), Barbara Joslyn (Security Monitor voice), Robert Maloney (Operator)
Review: In the concluding chapter of the first “season” of Blake’s 7 audio adventures, we effectively skip past much of the remainder of the story from the first season of TV B7, and wind up with a cliffhanger that seems like a love child of the original series episodes Duel and Redemption. There are really only two major new wrinkles in the story - other than that, we’ve gone back to retelling the original series with a new cast at lightning speed (or “standard by twelve,” to use vintage B7 jargon). (more…)
Now with Vila and Gan aboard the ship, Blake turns his attention once more to gaining control of his new transport - which means he has to trust Avon, who may or may not be trying to gain control of the alien ship for himself. As Gan and Vila explore the depths of the ship, no doubt seeking treasures worthy of plundering, they stumble upon one of the control core areas for the ship’s computer, and Gan is ensnared in the ship’s organic machinery. The ship, which is seeking candidates for a replacement crew, scans Gan’s mind to learn the identities of Blake, Jenna and the others, but still finds only sketchy information and sets itself on a course to collide with a star. Avon tries to reason with the computer, while Mezin takes advantage of the chaos to try to signal a Federation ship for help, an act of desperation which instantly loses her crewmates’ trust. The alien ship blows the Federation scout away - but not before forcibly extracting information on Blake and the others from the scout ship’s database. Even as the ship’s sentient computer repeatedly demands that Blake and his fellow fugitives must submit themselves to an initiation procedure, Avon warns that they may be dealing with an unstable mind at the heart of the ship. Jenna suggests an old smuggling haven of hers for a temporary hideout, but when they arrive, they discover that the Federation has razed the planet’s entire civlization to the ground. Blake decides to drop Mezin off there, but when she sees what has been done by the government to whom she has pledged her loyalty, the Federation officer starts to come around. Christened the Liberator, Blake’s alien ship decides that it needs to refuel - and the supply depot at a heavily populated Federation colony becomes its first target, despite the crew’s wishes. The resulting “attack” now puts the ship and its crew somewhat higher on the priority list for Supreme Commander Servalan and Travis.