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 exemplified in this episode, with lots of lovely moments and strong action sequences.
Certainly my age old comment about the size of the crew rears it's head here, however to expected everyone to have an equal slice of the action, when four of them had been infected by radiation is outlandish. However, I certainly like the fact that both Travis and Servalan are being better used in this story. In fact, this is proberbly been the most Servalan's been used all season. Certainly, there kept running around in circles, however when there as well written as they are, that's no real complaint. There's some lovely little moments between them, and we especially gets to see flashes of the character that Servalan will become, especially now that she's stepping out of Travis' shadow. But both put in really strong showings here, so it's no real complaint that one is more interesting than the other. I certainly think that story wise, Orac's a little more pedestrian than some of this year's episodes, however a simple storyline works in the stories favour. Because it's so simple, the pace does begin to flag in the middle, however, it still works very well, providing a thrilling story to end the series on. However, Orac quickly becomes quite a predictable episode, with very few twists and turns to make the episode interesting. While this isn't a huge issue, it would have been nice, had, in a series finale, there been a few twists and turns. Certainly, there is the cliffhanger (which I didn't see coming), but that's merely to bring the viewers back next year. In and of itself, there are not many suprises.
The cast in this one really give there all as the series hurtles towards it's end. David Jackson, Sally Knyvette, Paul Darrow and Michael Keating get the chance to take it relatively easy, but never let up this week, while Jan Chappell and Gareth Thomas get the chance to prove why there proberly the most technically skilled of all the regulars on the Liberator. Everytime we see them, there a delight to watch. Stephen Greif and Jacqueline Pearce are also fantastic, with some really strong moments between them. It's a real shame that Orac is the last episode to feature Greif (but not the last for Travis), because a lot of the reason why he's character has been so good has been his wonderful performance. Even Zen has some little moments to himself, and Orac will, hopefully, make a very interesting addition to the Liberator crew. His snotty nosed attitude to life and the crew of the Liberator could provide an interesting dynamic.
Orac isn't going to set the world on fire, but it does make a very good finale. Certainly there are things which could be improved, but Orac makes a strong finale for series 1 with a gripping cliffhanger leading into series 2.
Liberator Rating - 7/10
Series Overview:
In total, series 1 of Blake's 7 has been really strong. It started to fizzle out in it's second half, with some inconsistent episodes, but there's been a general feeling of goodwill. All the work that has gone into the series had paid off with some really good costume, design and practical effects work. The massive Liberator crew, however, is starting to become a massive problem, and it is something that will need to be adressed in the second series. But in total, this first series has been really strong, and I'll be excited to get through series 2 in the future.
Here are all my ratings for Blake's 7 - series 1:
The Way Back - 9/10
Space Fall - 8/10
Cygnus Alpha - 6/10
Time Squad - 7/10
The Web - 5/10
Seek-Locate-Destroy - 8/10
Mission To Destiny - 7/10
Duel - 6/10
Project Avalon - 8/10
Breakdown - 6/10
Bounty - 5/10
Deliverance - 4/10
Orac - 7/10
List Of Series 1 Episodes (Best To Worst):
The Way Back
Project Avalon
Seek-Locate-Destroy
Mission To Destiny
Orac
Time Squad
Breakdown
Cygnus Alpha
Duel
Bounty
The Web
Deliverance
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