Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Jacqueline Pearce, Brian Croucher, Jenny Twigge, David Webb, Gareth Armstrong, John Bown, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham
Written by Chris Boucher
Directed by David Maloney
"I want it over and done with. I want to be free..."
At long last, Blake has found Star One.
His crusade is over...
But today, everything is going to be ripped away from him...
Nothing will be the same again.
This is it. This is where the first two series has been leading us to. Star One sits right in the middle of the Blake's 7 story, homaging the first two years of the show, but also looking at how the show is going to work when it returns for series 3. Obviously, this is the final episode for Jenna and Travis, and Blake's last episode as a regular. And Star One is an absolutely fantastic episode. In fact you can forget The Way Back or Countdown or even the brilliant Pressure Point (essentially the dry run of this episode), because this is, by far, the best episode of Blake's 7 so far. It's epic. And it's rare that you can say that about British 70's sci-fi, but it's like Star Wars' Revenge Of The Sith or Tom Baker's final Doctor Who, Logopolis. It slowly builds up to it's dramatic conclusion.
After the rather more mundane plotting of The Keeper, the camp excesses of Gambit and the down right weirdness of Voice From The Past, Star One steers Blake's 7 back into the serious buisness of, as Gareth Thomas puts it, us against them. Or, what's probably better for this story, us against them against them. Because Star One, hands down, is the best example of aliens in the show. They look and sound like us, but, underneath the surface, they are utterly, utterly alien. A cynic could say that there merely ripping off Doctor Who's Terror Of The Zygons, but it's such a classic idea that it would seem a shame not to use it. And Blake's 7 really go for it, with exploding alien chests and even blood spurting out of them. It's just a nice remainder that this isn't a show for children, but it's a gripping piece of hard SF. One complaint I would have with this story is that, at times, I'm not sure how this matches up with the end of The Keeper. However, that episode had it's own continuity issues, so I suppose that's not too much of a problem. And finally, we get someone who stops and thinks out of the Liberator crew, and it's a suprise when it's Cally who piques up. Now Cally is a character who hasn't really had much to do this year, so it's nice to see that, at long last, Jan Chappell gets something to do. It's a complaint of mine that, this year especially, Cally and Jenna have been relegated to almost second class roles abord the Liberator, Cally especially. It's nice that Chris Boucher has finally decided to end this, and, while all Cally really does in the second half of the story is plant a few charges, shoot some people and then get rid of the charges, at least she's actually doing something. And even Jenna gets more than usual to do, despite the fact that she's stuck on the ship. Her betrayal of Blake is especially interesting. Since she's developed such an obvious attachment to Blake, it's really interesting to see her betray Blake here. In fact, all the characters get there moments to shine. The scene with Avon and Blake on the flight deck at the beginning of the story is proberbly there best, with Avon finally letting Blake know what he thinks. He doesn't dislike Blake, he loaths him. And to counterpoint that with Avon's actions later in the story, with him fighting off the alien fleet is really, really gripping. It's really true that even after so long in the presence of these characters, we really know nothing about them. Now that's Star One's real magic.
And this is also Travis' final story, and it's nice to see him go out in a blaze of glory. Ever since Trial, I've felt that Travis' threat has been diminished, but here, it's completely restored. He's vicious, ruthless and now completely insane. But unlike some of the shouting fits that he's had previously, Brian Croucher plays it with a subtle menace that really chills the bones. It reminded me of Stephen Grief's performances in series 1. But Croucher is part of a really strong ensemble here, with everyone giving there A-game. Even Gareth Thomas, who has visibly showed that he's not enjoyed some of the scripts recently, gives a wonderful performance as Blake is pushed to the limit. Sally Knvyette is also brilliant in her final ever episode, and Paul Darrow, Jan Chappell and Michael Keating are also fantastic. And while she may not do as much as usual, Jacqueline Pearce masterfully convinces as a Servalan who is now taking control of the whole Federation. Her ascension is a real suprise, but to be expected. After all, she has been President in all but name, and with Travis now out the door, no wonder Servalan's decided to give herself a raise. The guest cast are good, especially Gareth Armstrong, but they simply don't compete with the regulars who really know how strong this story is. Special kudos must also go to David Maloney and Dudley Simpson, who really inject all they've got into Boucher's magnificent script. Maloney's direction is taught and really injects some energy into the piece, while Simpson keeps the tension rammed up with one of the best scores we've had from him in ages. Everyone really gives there all here.
Star One is bloody brilliant. Everything is right, and everybody gives everything to make it work. The gripping second season finale resolves the Star One/Computer Control arc, is a great send off for Blake, Travis and Jenna and beautifully leaves the audience wanting more with that gripping cliffhanger. Rarely does Blake's 7 come close to perfection, and this is one of those times. It's truly electric.
Liberator Rating - 10/10
Series Overview:
Series 2 has been, on the whole, much better than series 1. While certain episodes have been really bad (Redemption, Hostage, Voice From The Past, The Keeper), some have been really, really good (Pressure Point, Killer, Countdown, Gambit, Star One). However, the show has started to neglect it's female characters, despite the drastic cast cutting back early on in the season. Gan's death was a turning point in the show, but was quickly forgotten about. The female characters have been often neglected and Travis has suffered from a change of actor, however, in general, series 2 has built upon the successes of the first year, and now, with Avon seemingly in charge of the Liberator, it will be interesting to see where the show goes next.
Here are all my ratings for Blake's 7 - series 2:
Redemption - 4/10
Shadow - 7/10
Weapon - 6/10
Horizon - 7/10
Pressure Point - 9/10Trial - 7/10
Killer - 8/10
Hostage - 3/10
Countdown - 9/10
Voice From The Past - 1/10
Gambit - 8/10
The Keeper - 5/10
Star One - 10/10
List Of Series 1&2 Episodes (Best To Worst):
Star One
Pressure Point
Countdown
The Way Back
Project Avalon
Seek-Locate-Destroy
Killer
Gambit
Shadow
Mission To Destiny
Trial
Orac
Horizon
Time Squad
Breakdown
Weapon
Cygnus Alpha
Duel
Bounty
The Keeper
The Web
Redemption
Deliverance
Hostage
Voice From The Past
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