Pointless Witterings

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Derek Smith, Karl Howman, Adrienne Burgess, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham  Written by Chris Boucher  Directed by Jonathan Wright Miller  The Terra Nostra are the greatest criminal force in the galaxy. They have information on everything and everyone - and are in control of the lethal drug Shadow... And Blake wants to make a deal with them... When the deal fails, however, Blake goes instead to Zondar, where Shadow's supply is controlled from. There, however, both Orac and Cally begin acting strangely. As Blake, Avon and Jenna discover the dark secret at the heart of the Terra Nostra, Cally battles against Orac in the realms of the mind, and Gan, Villa and Zen face the very real consequences of that battle... The first thing one notes about Shadow is that it instantly feels more original than anything that Terry Nation came up with in the latter half of series 1 or Redemption. And...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham  Written by Terry Nation  Directed by Vere Lorrimer  "There taking back what's there's. Redemption..."  The Liberator is attacked by unidentified ships. Despite Jenna's skills, the ship turns against it's former crew, and locks them out of it's systems. There can only be one explanation: the people who built the Liberator are reclaiming there property... And all the time, Orac's prophecy hangs over the crew. Is this journey's end? Well, I'm sorry to say it, but Redemption makes a poor second season opener for Blake's 7, filled with stilited moments and poor plotting. Remember The Way Back? Well, that feels like a age away from Redemption, which is so poor, it's merely a parody of Blake's 7 as it once was. And it's a shame, because there are some really strong ideas , but these are lost beneath a cheesy and chil...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Derek Farr, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham, with Stephen Grief & Jacqueline Pearce  Written by Terry Nation  Directed by Vere Lorrimer  The Liberator is on it's way to Aristo. However Avon, Jenna, Gan and Villa have all absorbed a lethal dose of radiation, and the Liberator crew now have a very personal reason as to why they need to get to Ensor.  Meanwhile, Travis and Servalan are also looking for Ensor, in the hope they can get Orac. Very soon, Blake and Cally are in a race against time to try and find both the drugs and Orac... After the disaster that was Deliverance, Orac redeems Blake's 7's first series's concluding two parter and provides the best episode that Blake's 7 has put out in quite some time. While it's not the most gripping episode that has ever been made, it certainly ends the series in a stylish fashion. Everything that makes the show special is exempli...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow,  Jacqueline Pearce, Stephen Grief,   Tony Caunter, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham  Written by Terry Nation  Directed by Michael E Briant  The Liberator tracks a spacecraft falling through the atmosphere of the planet  Cephlon, where Avon, Jenna, Gan and Villa discover that one member of it's two man crew survived. But before they can leave, Jenna is attacked by primitive scavengers.  Gan, Villa and Avon go back down to the planet to find her. But the survivor of the pod landing demands Blake takes him to Aristo, where his father's life is dependent upon power cells that only he has. Blake has no choice, with Cally held at gunpoint, but to obey... And at Federation Space Command, Servalan plots to get her hands on the mysterious Orac.... Deliverance is dull. That's my main point. Certainly there are interesting ideas, but it's become plainly clear that Terry Nation ...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow,  T.P. McKenna,  Carinthia West,  Mark Zuber, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham  Written by Terry Nation  Directed by Pennant Roberts     President  Sarkoff has been deposed as president of  Lindor, but finally Blake has managed to track him down. He needs him to return to his home planet, to protect them from the onset of the Federation. However the Sarkoff that Blake meets is very different to the man who once lead his people. Can Blake convince him of the danger Lindor faces? Or will he have to admit defeat and leave without him?  Meanwhile, on the Liberator, Zen picks up a signal from a drifting craft. Is it a trap or a genuine call for help? And why has Jenna turned traitor?  Bounty once more is a strong story squandered by the writing fatigue that Terry Nation was going through and the massive cast that has been imposed upon the show. It's cer...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Julian Glover, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham  Written by Terry Nation  Directed by Vere Lorrimer  "In the unlikely event that we survive this - I'm finished..."  Gan's limiter has malfunctioned. And with no one on board the Liberator to fix it, the crew are placed in the desperate position of having to find outside help... Avon suggests Station XK72 as a place where the limiter can be repaired. However, first the ship has to pass through a unknown sector of space that even Zen has no data for. At first all goes well - until Zen goes offline and the Liberator starts to become affected by a gravitational wormhole. This is the final straw for Avon, who vows to leave if they get through the wormhole. And while the crew battle with the ship, Gan's life hangs in the balance... Breakdown is an episode of two halves: the first (and infinitely superior) half is a tense, claustrophobic...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham, with Jacqueline Pearce & Stephen Greif  Written by Terry Nation Directed by Michael E Briant  Blake gets a communication from resistance leader Avalon, who needs safe transport off planet. Before the Liberator arrives, however, Avalon is captured by Federation security, and detained in 'The Centre' by Travis. He has a devastating plan to capture the Liberator once and for all... Can Blake free Avalon and stop the traitor in there midst, or will the Liberator crew succumb to the most lethal virus since the Black Death? Project Avalon is very much like Seek-Locate-Destroy. It's a story, which, on paper, doesn't look very exciting, however it quickly becomes one of the most interesting episodes of the first season. There's something undefinably good about Project Avalon, because it's a story that is so simple, but it's something so obviou...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Stephan Greif, Isla Blair, Michael Keating, Sally Kvyette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham  Written by Terry Nation  Directed by Douglas Camfield  The Liberator is running low on power, but just as the crew think there safe, Travis and his squad of pusuit ships attack, leaving the Liberator pinned down with no chance of escape... Meanwhile, on the unknown planet below them, two individuals watch this duel. They have a lesson for Blake and Travis to learn, and are intent for there conflict to end...even if that means one of them has to die... I've seen reviews where people call this one of the best Blake's 7 episodes that there is. In a way, those views aren't unfounded. However, this episode leaves me with very mixed feelings, more so than possibly any other Blake's 7 episode. On the one hand, it's wonderfully acted, with some brilliant direction and really strong film work and use of computer graphics, but on t...

Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Barry Jackson, Beth Morris, Stephan Tate, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham  Written by Terry Nation  Directed by Pennant Roberts   When Zen picks up a drifting spacecraft close to the Liberator's position, Blake, Cally and Avon teleport across to discover the craft damaged and the pilot murdered. The crew were all knocked out by gas, and the ship's vital cargo, a Neutrotope,  hasn't been touched. Blake agrees to transport the cargo to Destiny, while Avon and Cally help to fix the Ortaga.  However, the murderer continues to strike, and Avon and Cally are cast as investigators in an increasingly desperate situation. The Liberator crew, on the other hand, become trapped in a belt of meteorites, with there power running low. And, resting on both crew's minds, is that the fate of a whole world depends upon them... Mission To Destiny continues the precedent of Blake's 7 episodes lik...