AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: FTN reviews Blake’s 7: Warship from Big Finish

February 19th, 2013 by Irwin Fletcher Comments


Big Finish have done several series as well as Doctor Who and the newest release is from the brilliant Blake’s 7 and this one is rather special because it reunites the original cast for a story that falls neatly in between seasons two and three.

At the end of the original season two Blake and his crew had discovered the location of Star One, the heart of the Federation’s security and with its destruction will come a new dawn of peace. Or at least that was the plan. Star One has been invaded by aliens intent on destroying the Federation along with mankind. Blake and his friends end up on a massive cliffhanger that saw the Liberator facing down an entire alien fleet about to invade our galaxy.

When we next saw them in season three, the aliens had been defeated by the Liberator and Federation forces. Blake and Jenna had disappeared and the crew were scattered to the corners of the galaxy in life pods. But what happened in the battle? Well Warship answers all that.

Blake is wounded but discovers an even older threat than Star One and its aliens, a counter measure should Star One fail and one Servalan has arrived to take back. Aliens in the meantime have done a Borg and locked onto the hull of the Liberator turning it into a flying bomb. We also see it wasn’t only the Liberator and federation that helped save our galaxy when a fleet of human ships arrive to join the battle. But the clock is ticking and the battle is far from over.

All the originals are back. Blake (Gareth Thomas), Avon (Paul Darrow), Vila (Michael Keating), Jenna(Sally Kynvette), Cally ( Jan Chappell) and Servalan herself (Jacqueline Pearce) all return to their original roles and they almost sound as if they never left. And each acts just as they did when they were in the show. These actors know their characters like the back of their hands and it shows. Vila gets to be the reluctant hero when he and Jenna must venture out on to the hull and remove the limpet mines before they blow. Cally is the strong woman we have come to love who takes no crap from Avon and is loyal to Blake. Avon is just Avon and he and Blake are still at it. But while this fills the gap between the show adding to the mythos, it is Blake’s final line as the Liberator explodes around him and he is forced to leave in an escape pod that brings the biggest thrill and chill.

I loved this. And it once more proves that this show is sorely missed and went before its time.

More please, much more.

4 out of 5 Nerds

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