Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Jacqueline Pearce, Brian Croucher, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by George Spenton-Foster
"It's time we really hurt the Federation..."
Finally, Blake has gathered enough data to justify his attack on Central Control, and sets the Liberator on course for Earth. However, already plans are afoot against them...
Travis also has a final plan. A final plan to destroy Blake and the Liberator crew. With his neck on the block, he makes one final gamble...
A final reckoning is due...And a sacrifice will be made that will change everything - forever.
Pressure Point is a game-changer. It's a story that changes the whole dynamic of the show, and it finally solves the problem of the crowded Liberator by drastically reducing the team. It's certainly one of the strongest Blake's 7 episodes so far, and it's 50 minutes of nail biting tension, as, slowly, we start to realise that Blake's attack is hopeless.
Straight from the start, we get to see that this episode is going to be something special. The location is not some far off planet or a spaceship, it's Earth. And, knowing that we haven't seen Earth since episode 1, The Way Back, we realise that Blake's plan this week must be monumental. This isn't regular Blake's 7: this isn't another Horizon or Bounty: this is huge, almost season finale stakes. The best episodes of any show are the ones that dare to be different, those that play with the highest of stakes. And this one is massive: it concerns the whole future of the rebellion that the Liberator crew have tried to build. Everything in the past 17 episodes has been building to this point, and plenty is lost here. It's in a way the beginning of a tougher, harder Blake's 7, where the heroes are psychotic and the villains not much worse. And this episode is very grim: there's barely any music, and there little colour anywhere. The whole story has a gritty feeling, and I suppose, considering what happens in the final five minutes, that's to be expected. There some wonderful scenes on the Liberator in the beginning, where Blake has no intention of convincing the others to join him, but they decide to do so anyway. And in the end, that's the total heartbreak: Blake vowed to keep them safe, but he can't. Because of the rapidly burgeoning Liberator crew, someone had to go. And Gan's death really is a shocker, because in a way it's so sudden. There's certainly a doom-laden feel throughout the story, but it goes to astronomical levels when Gan finally snuffs it. Really, however, it makes sense for Gan to go, because, to me at least, he's been used pretty poorly. And the Liberator crew were all starting to look a little invulnerable anyway.
David Jackson gives the performance of his life in this epsiode, really sending Gan out with resounding success. Sadly Gan isn't given great revelations or even loads to do, but that was a staple of his time on the show. Gareth Thomas and Paul Darrow are also fantastic, really giving it there all. Gareth's face when he discovers central control is a fake is brilliant, it's that of a man who rose to his greatest level and then fell completely. It must have been a great scene to record, because the tension is electric. In all honesty, there not a single cast member at fault, from Brian Croucher, desperate to stop Blake, knowing he's running out of time, to Jacqueline Pearce really starting to come out the shadows and take some real action, to Michael Keating's very humerous one liners. The cast don't let the story down, but some of the characters are badly treated, particularly Cally, who is trapped up on the Liberator all episode. George Spenton-Foster's direction may not be like Michael E Briant's or Douglas Camfield's, but he really give it all he's got, keeping the pace just right for the story that he's trying to tell. After all, camera trickery can ruin a perfectly good episode (just look at Doctor Who's 50th anniversairy episode), but Pressure Point strikes a good balance between artistic flair and allowing the story chance to breath.
There's little more I can write about Pressure Point. It's one of the best ever Blake's 7 episodes, with a pace and tension that is relatively unmatched, and a gripping ending. Yes, there are a couple of flaws, but the episode is so good that these are barely noticeable. Pressure Point is, so far, my favourite episode of Blake's 7.
Terry Nation. You are a bloody genius. A real return to form.
Liberator Rating - 9/10
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