Blakes 7: The Liberator Chronicles Volume 4

Ha! I've just listened to Volume 4 of The Liberator Chronicles!



Promises by Nigel Fairs
Starring Jan Chappell as Cally and Stephen Greif as Travis
It has to be said that the "long secret link from the past" that links Cally to Travis was extremely well hidden throughout the first two series of Blakes 7. I can't even recall the two of them sharing much screen-time. Perhaps the writer thought it was time to rectify that, but Travis and Cally hardly make the most scintillating pairing. If you've got Stephen Greif on board, surely it's the law that he has to have an episode with Blake? The two characters almost defined each other!

It also bugs me that Cally survived her lengthy encounter with Travis. Although Cally is a hardened Space-Mercenary, Travis is a million times more calculating and brutal. So we have to have an oh-so-convenient accident that robs Travis of his built-in gun hand.

There's some interesting moments when it seems that Cally is about to sacrifice the Liberator and throw in her whole lot with Travis, but the overall story was pretty weak. A bit of a missed opportunity.


Why did millions tune in to Blakes 7 every week at the dawn of the eighties? I can tell you that the answer was not to see Jenna show off her Space Piloting skills. This goes down the 'long-lost relative' route of the Blakes 7 Chronicles, something which is already starting to become a bore. And I can only really think of this story that's done it.

It's nice to hear Sally Knyvette back as Jenna, although Michael Keating gets more fun things to do as Villa impersonating a Federation Official.

The script is appalling though. The list of cliches goes on and on as Jenna and her brother Tomak go on a quest to kill Major Kade, the man responsible for doing some nasty things to Jenna's father. We're supposed not to like Tomak and we can tell because he kills people indiscriminately, even civillians!!! Heavens, we even get the line 'It was the oldest trick in the smuggler's book and I walked straight into it'.

I really hope Jenna gets a more interesting story than this because her character deserves to be fleshed out. There's loads of potential that still remains untapped.


Look, do I have to say anything about this? Servalan clones Avon in an attempt to get an edge on the Liberator crew. After that, the story almost writes itself. There's the standard 'Old Acquaintance' of Avon who serves as a catalyst for the action.

There's the psycho-sexual tension between Servalan and her new pet, yet she never quite gets under his skin. Kerr is quite literally too calculating and emotionally shielded for her to break through. This is what Blakes 7 is all about!

Overall this is a box set with one disappointment, one unforgivable travesty (The BF Specialty) and one must-hear story.



Buy it... for Kerr.