A:04 Time Squad: Blake's First Strike!

Garry: 00:00:21

Hello and welcome to another episode of Federation Strike. This is episode four. My name's Garry.

Adam: 00:00:27

My name's Adam.

Garry: 00:00:28

And welcome aboard for another journey into Blake's 7.

Adam: 00:00:31

Yeah.

Garry: 00:00:43

Thank you very much for coming back and listening to another episode of Federation Strike, A journey through Blake's 7, where we revisit the entire show from. From start to finish. We're up to episode four this week for our views on Time Squad. Thank you very much to those of you that have listened to the.

To the first three episodes thus far, and thank you very much for your. For your chat and bants and comments and feedback and everything on the socials over at Twitter and Blue sky and that stuff. It's. It's been great to.

To chat to all of the. The new listeners that we've got.

So we have those of you that don't know, we've run a Doctor who podcast called the Big Blue Box Podcast for many years now, and we've built up a really good community of Doctor who fans over there.

But where it concerns Blake's 7, this is all very fresh and new to us, and we know some of you already from that Doctor who side of things, but most of you are brand new. So welcome aboard and it's great to chat to all of you and. And all that stuff, and we've made some great friends already. So, yeah, it's good time.

So, mate, episode four is upon us.

Adam: 00:01:52

Yeah, you're already four episodes in now. How does that feel?

Garry: 00:01:56

Yeah. So I think you and some of our listeners, a couple of people have commented this already to say, when's. When's the.

When's the ball gonna drop for Garry? When's. When are we gonna get to a clanger? Garry just says, actually, I've changed my mind and I don't want to do this Blake7 thing anym.

You'll find out in.

In the next hour what my thoughts are on this one moving forward, but generally speaking, I'm very much loving the journey going through Blake's 7, mate. Yeah.

Adam: 00:02:27

Yeah, I mean, that's.

That's one of the things I've been worried about because like any show, there are good and bad episodes, and Blake's 7 certainly has a couple of episodes that are of lesser quality. They don't stand up as well as some of it, but as a.

As someone like myself who loves this show, I was saying to Garry that now that I know that he's got this far in four episodes in and he's enjoying it, well, we'll see if he enjoyed Times Squad, but he's enjoyed the first Three. It's kind of taken the heat off a bit because I feel like even if we get an episode which is.

Isn't that great, I said to him, there will be stuff in it that you'll still love. So I think there's an episode coming up which is a bit divisive.

Some fans love it, some don't, but I know that there'll be something in it that will make Garry laugh in terms of visually quite funny. So there's going to be something in there for him. Now, I know that he's into the characters and the show itself.

I think even when we get an episode that perhaps isn't quite hitting all the right marks, I think he'll still find stuff to enjoy in it. So, yeah, I mean, we're gonna. We're gonna do series one. Whatever he will, he will push through whether, you know, whether he's loving it or not.

But we've certainly got off to a good start with you, so that's great.

Garry: 00:03:42

Indeed. Yes. And before we crack on with our review of.

Of this episode, just a friendly reminder and a nudge to make sure that if you are listening to this on your favorite podcast app, make sure we hit the follow button so you don't miss notifications when new episodes drop. Every Wednesday as we go through series A, we're going to call it that, aren't we? Yes.

As we go through series A, you won't miss an episode when that drops into your app every Wednesday morning. And you can also find us over on the socials we're on, mainly Twitter OR X and BlueSky under the name Blake7podcast.

So give us a like and a follow and join in a conversation with some of the. The other very cool Blake's 7 fans who I mentioned who have given us some really nice and constructive feedback thus far.

So, dude, without further ado, we're gonna fly into our next episode. So what is it this week?

Adam: 00:04:35

Yeah, let's see if. If your enjoyment of the show continues with episode four. Time Squad.

Trailer: 00:04:42

Cally, how do we contact the resistance force? There is no resistance force. They're all dead. All of them.

We were getting stronger. The security forces kept hunting us, but we knew the hills and jungles too well.

We made an attack on the main generating plant, and for the first time, they saw us as a real threat. What happened? They released poison from the sky. All the fighters died except me. Perhaps because I'm alien to this planet. You've been working alone ever since.

My work was in communications, but there will be companions for my Death. I plan to raid the complex to destroy until I am destroyed. Well, our aim's the same, but I. Wasn'T planning a suicide mission. I should hope not. He fears death. I plan to live forever. Or die trying.

Garry: 00:05:47

Old Villa.

Adam: 00:05:48

Oh, Villa. He's a funny one, isn't he?

Garry: 00:05:53

rd January: 1978

It was written by Tory Nation, of course, directed by Pennant Roberts and overseen by Chris Boucher. And the synopsis again, back off the old VHS's ears. On their way back. Sorry.

On their way to attack the Federation communications complex on the planet Soria, Major Blake answers the distress call of a mysterious projectile drifting in space and takes it on board the Liberator. Can his crew simultaneously blow up the Federation's nervous system and face the consequences of returning bodies frozen in time to life?

Hmm, I would say that this one is in very similar kind of ilk to the previous episode, Cygnus Alpha. We once again have this story narrative where the team essentially splits up like they did last time.

So we have Blake, Villa and Avon go down to the planet surface. Their objective is to.

Because Blake has got all this kind of insider knowledge right at the start of the episode we hear him talk about we'll go on to, we'll get onto it in a second, but, you know, this kind of little scuffle and to. And throw between him and Avon.

Blake sort of puts that to bed quickly and says, look, we need to go to Saurian Major because he knows that there's a Federation sort of major comms complex that oversees all of the communication in and out of the Federation.

So he knows if he takes that out it will be a lot harder for them to track them down and it will just also cause, you know, it'll be a nice, a nice lot of problems for them on their part. And so that's the first sort of side of it.

They go off to do that and then the other part of it, Jenna and Gan, they stay behind because they've, they've got this little capsule that's had a distress beacon that they take on board and find out these, these guys are in suspended animation essentially. And we have this sort of suspense build up throughout the episode of what are these guys going to be like when they thaw out?

Are they going to be hostile? Are they, they need help, whatever. So that obviously comes to a head later on.

So yeah, I think as a, as a story it's got this nice kind of enough going on, but not too complex that you're struggling to follow along, you know, with what's happening. It's got a very cool. I mean, the. The two story threads that we do have are reasonably simplistic.

Adam: 00:08:28

Yes.

Garry: 00:08:29

You know, it's.

You know, the only sort of thing that gets thrown into the mix would be the kind of a little narrative and backstory that we get for Gan, which then sort of inhibits his ability to take somebody out, essentially. He can't kill anybody because of this implant he's got.

Adam: 00:08:46

Limiter.

Garry: 00:08:47

The limiter, yeah. That affects, you know, the couple of fight scenes.

And because of that, you know, Jenna nearly gets her sort of early comeuppance and things like that.

And then on the other side of it, the only other thing on that end is the introduction of Cally, which could have thrown a spanner in the works for Blake, but, you know, he uses his. His straight talking forward information, a little bit of charm there brings around and. And I managed to get that done.

So I would say I'm still, you know, I don't want to. I don't want to make this a thing on the podcast. Right. I don't want it to go along every episode, like, am I going to drop out or.

Or anything like that. I am thoroughly loving it so far, this episode included. I thought it was a very good watch.

The only thing I would say is that there is a little bit of padding, I think, in the middle of the episode. Yeah, you know, it does. Yeah, it does pad slightly. Yeah. As we go to and fro these two different story threads on.

You know, there's a few scenes where we have a lot of, you know, sneaking down corridors to see what's going on. That takes a while looking around things and on the planet's surface. So there's a little bit of, you know, oh, there's the.

There's the comms place down there. And then it takes ages for them to run down the hill, run round the, you know, the mezzanine bit and do all that stuff.

So it's not too bad, but it does. I feel like it just did plot just a wee bit in the middle.

Adam: 00:10:17

Yeah.

Garry: 00:10:18

But bookended very nicely with. With. With two cool, cool areas. So, as a longtime fan, dude, is this one that you.

You watch on a regular, or is it one that you skip when you're doing a rewatch? Not that you would skip them. Of course not.

Adam: 00:10:32

No, it's. It's a bit in the middle, this one, for me, in terms of it's it's not one that I. It's not a go to. It's not one of my. Up there.

It's one of my favorite episodes, but it's certainly not one that I don't enjoy sitting and watching. I think there's sort of two, like you said, the two plots that we've got going on in this.

The main plot of Blake making his first strike against the Federation is really good. And we get introduced to Cally in quite an interesting way. We don't know, you know, she's sort of. Her and Blake have a bit of a scuffle.

So it's quite an interesting first way to meet a new character. And then you've got the sort of subplot of this. This capsule that they've rescued and these, well, they turn out to be aliens, don't they?

Coming alive and trying to kill them. So two, like you said, very simple plots. For me, the main plot of Blake making this, you know, his first blow against the Federation is.

Is the more interesting one. I do feel. Stuff with the aliens is just.

It feels to me like it's just there to fill a bit of time and also to give Gan and Jenna something to do because it doesn't really go anywhere, you know, even when the.

I think there's a nice bit of tension where you think, well, they're going to wake up in a minute and this is all going to kick off, which is kind of what happens. But we don't even really get to see the aliens or.

Or really know what they're about until right to the very end where it's kind of explained away in a line of dialogue by Zen, so that it feels a little bit unsatisfying, the whole alien thing. I think Zen calls them programmed guardians who are just there to kill anything they feel is a threat. So it's a nice idea.

I just don't think it's developed that well in. Throughout the episode. So I'm sort of more interested in the stuff going on with Blake.

But overall, though, the two sort of come together and it makes for a very enjoyable watch. I wouldn't say it's one of the stronger episodes, but I do think there's quite a lot in. Quite a lot going on in there to. In. To enjoy.

I think the only thing that Terry Nation is sort of, you know, the only sort of problem he's given himself by making a show called Blake's 7 and having seven characters is he then has to try and find stuff for seven characters to do. Well, yeah, I'm Going to include Zen in that. Because I think at the end of this.

At the end of this episode, isn't it that Blake actually says something like the seven of us can control the ship properly and Avon's like, seven, and surely you mean six. He's like, don't forget Zen. So Zen's number seven, which I. I really like that. I'm not sure Avon did. He looked a little bit.

Because him and Zen are not still. They still haven't sort of, quote, you know, made friends yet, have they? Avon and Zen. There's some fun, fun banter between those two.

So, yeah, overall, mate, I think it's a. I think it's a good watch. I enjoy it. I don't think it's the strongest episode. It does, like you said, get a bit ploddy in the middle.

But overall, I quite enjoy this one as well.

Garry: 00:13:31

Cool. Yeah, I think you nailed it there, dude. I think there's.

The episode as a whole is probably not strong as ones we've seen so far, but there is some very cool little moments in there and some really cool elements. I really like this. What's the way to describe it? This not uneasiness, but this awkwardness between Avon and Zen.

Adam: 00:13:56

Yeah. Oh, it's funny. I may have to reprogram that machine, he says, or something. Doesn't he? He's getting really fed up with Zen already.

Garry: 00:14:03

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. You can tell that he's already sort of lost patience with. Whereas Blake seems a lot more chill with Zen.

It's almost like he quite likes this kind of sassiness that Zen's got with Avon. He doesn't mind it. He's got a little grin on his face. And especially at the end. I mean, you asked me this a few episodes ago.

You're like, so who do you think is gonna end up being Blake's 7? Because as the name of the show suggests, it's Blake and then. And then seven other characters.

So that I had a little grin on my face as I got to the end of this episode when Blake corrects Avon and says, you know, Zen is the seventh. So I'm assuming, dude, that moving forward, this is always going to be referred to as Blake Seven. The original seven, I suppose.

Adam: 00:14:52

Yes. Yes, I guess so. I mean, yeah, I'm not going to say too much. Things change. But, yeah, this is the Blake's 7.

Garry: 00:14:59

Yeah. Yeah.

So that's one of the things that's cool for me as a new person watching it, you know, someone that's somehow, you know, not watched Blake's 7 before, it's. These are the little things that nicely fall into place because I've only heard, like, little whispers and seen little things of. Of.

Of how Blake's 7 progresses.

And most of them was just like, you know, years ago at sort of comic Cons when I've chatted to people about sci fi in general and Blake's 7's come up and, you know, that kind of thing. But I can't really remember any details about that stuff.

So for me, watching it through, this is a bit of a milestone for me, because we've got to this point where, as you said, this is Blake's first strike against the Federation. This is not any. This is not.

The show's transitioned from Escape and trying to get away from the Federation, and now we're at the point where he's got a crew together, and now he can start to start to sort of make inroads against taking the Federation down. And this is the first example of that, I guess.

Adam: 00:16:00

Yeah, yeah.

Garry: 00:16:02

And then the other milestone is at the end when we see all seven of the crew together, and it's like, right, okay, now. Now he's got the people on board that he needed or he wanted. Where do we go from here? So I'm really excited from that point of view, like, where.

What's the next thing against the Federation? Like, what do we do next? What's Blake's plan going to be? And so on. So. So we're four episodes down and we've got. Is it 13 in this series?

Adam: 00:16:30

One has got 13 episodes. Yeah.

Garry: 00:16:32

Yeah. So we're about a third of the way in, and now we're starting to give the Federation some problems.

So from that point of view, that's why I say I still.

I'm still really loving watching the show because we've got this very, very cool transition from what the characters are about and what their motives are, and that's happened in a reasonably quick amount of time. So, you know, as I said, we're already episode four, so that's kind of cool.

Adam: 00:16:58

Yeah, I love the fact that our, you know, our crew is built, you know, like you said. So if you think about it, it was only at the episode two that we had just Avon, Jenner and Blake or the Liberator.

Now, sort of two episodes in, we've got our seven together, and even at the start of this one, the crew are still trying to work out how to fly the Liberator together. They're trying to suss each other out. There's all these little sideward glances that I love.

There's this underlying bubble of tension between all of the crew that they kind of. I think they kind of getting to like each other, but there is this distrust between, you know, between them of, like, who they can actually trust.

And there's a great line at the end, actually, and it does tie in with the alien storyline, which I did like, is when, I don't know, Jenna seems a bit put out that Cally has joined. I don't know if it's a jealousy thing with Blake, I don't know.

But there is a line, isn't there, when Jenna says at the end something about bringing aliens on board. We'll find out if that was a good idea or not or something.

And it's very much directed at Cali, although they're talking about the aliens that have tried to kill them, they tried to rescue.

You know, Jenna's comment right at the end, there is very much directed at the fact that Cally has joined them and, you know, should we be bringing on other aliens? You know, this sort of thing. So again, I think that adds another dynamic of not mistrust so much, but of caution between the cast.

And again, it's great because it's not just like, you know, it's not just seven cast members that have come together, seven characters. Sorry, that, you know, oh, we're all jolly and happy and things. I just love all this tension between the crew.

It has such a great dynamic to the series that you just don't know from one moment to the next, you know, what one of the crew might do, you know, and you. So, yeah.

But anyway, I'll talk about the, the rest later because obviously we got Gan with his limiter, which is another element, the story, which to me feels a bit of an afterthought on Terry nations, you know, like we haven't heard anything about a limiter before.

And Gan was fighting in the last episode, so he suddenly got this limiter in his head, which presumably has been there a while because he talks about having killed someone that killed his woman, which is a really strange line. Just. I don't know, it just seems a bit of an old fashioned way of talking. Sagan as a character seems quite sort of, I don't know, old fashioned.

I don't know what the word is. You know, he's quite a sweet character. But. Yeah, so we've got the limiter in.

Gan said there's plenty going on in this, this episode, isn't there, to sort of. To take in and dissect, if you like.

Garry: 00:19:41

Yes, yeah.

And it's one of the, it, it kind of links into what you're saying earlier about while you might not reach for this episode on a regular basis to watch it, when you do watch it, there are some cool nuggets there. And so the, the, the tension and the impatience that Avon's got with Zen is one of those cool things.

Just a couple of moments where it's almost like if we fast forward today apply that same logic to the tools that we might use today for AI and so on. So I use ChatGPT in a couple of AI tools quite frequently, mainly for work.

And I would be very put out if I said, you know, here's a prompt, you know, go and do this thing. If it returned to me and just said, no, I don't feel like it.

If the answer was, you know, or if the answer was very, very, just 50, 50, you know, quite, quite ambiguous and didn't give me the information I needed. And that's exactly what Zen is like with Avon and some of the other crew to an extent. So there's a, there's a.

When they ask about the capsule that they find and Zen is, he's answering them, but he's not giving them the whole picture.

Adam: 00:20:58

I'm still not sure why, to be honest. Even watching this again last night, it's not really explained why Zen is being. Is he just being a bit stubborn? I don't know.

Is there an explanation to what? Because there's a bit where his voice goes weird as if he's been taken over.

So I don't know if that was the aliens doing that or was it very clear source.

Garry: 00:21:17

It was. The aliens had plugged in their ship into the Liberator's power source and was draining all the power to charge their own ship.

So, yeah, Zen was a bit like, you know, running out of juice a little bit. Yeah. But the. So that whole thing with Zen, it's.

even more relatable in today,: 2025

They're, they're answering, asking fairly simple questions and Zen's just like, I'm not gonna, you know, a bit reluctant with this stuff. So, like You. I'm unsure as to why Xen is. Is this way, especially with Avon. And I'm.

I guess you can't give me any spoilers, but I guess we might find out in the future why the Liberator and Xen is like this. I'm not sure. I haven't really got any thoughts on that as a newbie, but I.

Adam: 00:22:32

Cut.

Yeah, I mean, I'm not gonna say anything, but all I would say is if I was the crew or the Liberator at this point, I'd be a little bit scared because Zen has the power to do anything. I mean, if he just wants to shut the ship down and crash it or whatever, I don't know. He's very. A bit like the rest of the crew, I suppose.

He's a bit unpredictable, Zen, isn't he? But he has the power over them. He controls that ship if he wants to.

Even though they are slowly working together to learn how to fly it and operate the teleport, you know, Zen's kind of in control, so that as a crew member, I might find a little bit unnerving, I think.

Garry: 00:23:07

Yeah, same. Let's talk about the. The first part of the story, sorry, one half of the story then, which is the. The capsule that they come across in space.

And so Blake and Jenna teleport over there initially and have a look around. No, sorry, not Blake and Jenna. Blake and Avon.

Adam: 00:23:28

Blake and Jenna that go onto the. Onto the ship because the air cuts out and Avon has to fly the Liberator, doesn't he?

Garry: 00:23:34

Of course.

Adam: 00:23:35

Rescue them. Yeah.

Garry: 00:23:36

Sorry.

Adam: 00:23:36

It's quite a moment, actually.

Garry: 00:23:37

Yeah, yeah, I corrected myself incorrectly, but yeah. So Jake and Blen.

Adam: 00:23:43

Oh, my God, who's Jake? Spoilers.

Garry: 00:23:47

So Blake and Jenna, they. They teleport over there and find these pods and so on. I thought the way that the. When they try and find out what's going on.

I really like that kind of unknowingness to what. What it is. Is this a. It's just some kind of hostile ship where, you know, things are going to go south very quickly.

Or could it be viewed as some kind of salvage? You know, is there stuff that they could. They could get off there and it's not until.

And I love that scene, by the way, with Avon having to manually fly the ship and dock with the capsule and do all that? Because Zen's just like, yeah, you can, you know, whatever. I'm not getting involved. And so that was all. That was very cool.

And a bit later on when they were. They they have the insulation pods and they see these, these bodies there. The thing that I would say is that it would. The game was.

Was up pretty quickly in terms of would these guys be sort of dangerous or not just because of the makeup that was used in the pods and the way that these guys were styled and stuff.

Yeah, it was almost like, you know, if you're going to, if you're going to have some ambiguity there as to are these baddies or goodies friendly or non friendly whatever, then you wouldn't sort of style them that way. You'd kind of have a middle ground.

But when you saw, like the leather, the leather guards around their chest and on their forearms and stuff, and then all that kind of weird alien stuff on their face and the beards and everything, when I saw that, immediately I thought, well, these guys are going to be trouble.

Adam: 00:25:24

Yeah, exactly.

Garry: 00:25:25

You know what I mean? There's no. So that kind of was at odds with the, with the narrative at that point. To me, it was like, these guys are.

They've started the, the process of reanimation to bring them back to life. And even the, the Jenna and Gan and. And so on are still questioning.

It's like, you know, we'll find out what's going on with these guys when they wake up. We'll have a chat, you know, we'll see what's going to go on.

And I was thinking, well, no, you know, when these guys wake up, it's going to be bad news.

Adam: 00:25:55

Yeah. Narratively, I agree with you. I think it is slightly frustrating because I don't know as the viewer. You just know, don't you?

They're gonna wake up and it's gonna kick off. So it's slightly frustrating that Blake and the rest of the crew don't take a little bit more precautions with them.

Like at least take a gun with you to, you know. So, yeah, I got what you mean because it's almost a bit obvious what's gonna happen. I mean, it does create a bit of tension.

And I do love the, the initial scene where Blake and Jenna are on that ship. I mean, that set seems really cramped that I know it's meant to be. And they actually make a point of saying, like, there's no room in this spaceship.

But it feels like that set was incredibly hard to film on, like they can barely stand up in it. But I love that big, that bit because you've got the ship, they've teleported over to the ship, but it's running out of air.

And then Avon can't teleport them back. And again, there's a bit of a. Is he doing. Is Avon doing this on purpose? Because we're still not sure at this point. Is he trying to get rid of Blake?

Like, again, he almost takes a little bit of delight in the fact that, well, that, you know, the teleport's not working. It's. It's on auto repair, he says. And as you know, what's happened? Has Avon done this? Is he's sabotaging the crew, what's going on?

So I love all that. It's kind of all unspoken, but it's all there to see in the performances from the cast.

And then, yeah, you get a great scene of Avon having to fly the Liberator and save them. So you think, well, you know, come on, credit where it's due. Avon has just saved him. He could have just.

He could have said, nah, sorry, I can't quite work out. He could have got rid of Blake if he'd wanted to. So it's a great scene.

And the geek in me, and this is a recurring theme to me, I'm always trying to work out where things are on the Liberator. You know, when we see outside shots and. And this is no exception, when we see that.

That cap, that sort of hold opening up to take the spaceship, I'm like, well, where's that meant to be on the Liberator? Is that the side of it? Is that the end?

I know it's a geeky, silly thing, but it's like I always try and work out where the flight deck is, the Liberator.

I mean, every time we have anything to do with the Liberator docking with another spaceship or them getting off it or walking off it or whatever, I always try and work out where they are, which is impossible because I think if you look at that model shot, which isn't that bad, actually. I always say the model shots in black 7 are. Are often ridiculed. Actually, I'm.

What now I'm watching it even in series one, that they're actually not that bad for the time, considering the budget. There will be some bad models, don't get me wrong. But yeah, it was quite a good shot, wasn't it, of the.

The spaceship being, you know, docked onto Liberator and stuff. But I. I meant to go and have a look at the new effects to see if.

What they've done with that scene, if you actually see the Liberator, I think you actually do see it docking with the spaceship. So you could sort of see it better, but in this we just have like a. Don't know, like an open dock that swallows it could be anywhere.

Yeah, but, yeah, I need to check out the new effects, but obviously we're watching it with the original, so it was a bit unclear, but good scene. Good, good start, isn't it? A bit of tension there.

Garry: 00:29:03

No, it's very cool. Yes. And yeah, I was also going to say as a reminder, we're watching this with the original effects.

I did go back and watch some scenes with the new effects. I didn't see that scene though with the docking and so on. It was mainly like the teleportation effects and.

Adam: 00:29:18

Oh yeah.

Garry: 00:29:19

And that kind of stuff. Yeah. I actually don't mind the original. Come on to it in a second.

I don't when we speak about the other story thread, but I just, I really don't mind that original effect of when they teleport and it's got that white outline stroke of.

Adam: 00:29:31

Yeah.

Garry: 00:29:31

Where they. Yeah. Anyway, this capsule. Yeah. The model work and stuff. It's like. It's just a giant sort of bleach bottle top at the back, isn't it?

And whatever it's. Don't get me wrong, I think it's absolutely wonderful. The, the whole sort of classic sci fi with no budget having to. To make do with stuff.

It feel on one hand, if you didn't appreciate this sort of stuff, you'd look at it and think it's a bit Blue Peter and a little bit it. Whatever. You know, you've got an empty, an empty washing up bottle and you know, a couple of bits of plastic and stuff like that.

But I love that stuff. You and I both love this stuff, right? This old.

Adam: 00:30:07

Yeah. I can't wait for you to see the, the spaceship made out of a hair dryer, which is coming up. It's always my favorite.

I remember speaking to Matt Irvine about that and he was, he didn't seem very happy actually, but, but I do, I love it.

It's, you know, it's absolutely part of the charm and, and then, you know, to counterbalance that when we get into the studio, you know, considering the, the budget that Blake said had then, which was minimal. You've, you know, they've gone to the trouble of building a full size version of the spaceship.

So it's actually physically there, which I, which I like. You know, I mean, it's very basic, you know, in design, but it's there. It's a proper, you know, they're working with a real Spaceship.

So I like that, you know.

Garry: 00:30:46

Yeah, same. Yes. And then that thread culminates with, as we've said, the dudes get.

Thought there was one of them that didn't survive when Jenna opens the pod, the first one as she climbed.

Adam: 00:30:57

Wish we'd got a better shot of that because that looked like quite a good model to me. Or person in makeup. I'm not sure which it was, but it's like a sort of ghostly face. That's the one you mean, isn't it?

Garry: 00:31:05

Yeah. So that person didn't survive and then two other dudes are out and about. Well, one of them is, and then the other one's still in the animation pod.

But then later on, as a bit of a twist, old bloody Zen just comes to life at the last minute and just says, oh, by the way, there's four. There's four.

Adam: 00:31:23

There's four people.

Garry: 00:31:24

Yeah.

Adam: 00:31:24

Oh, by the way.

Garry: 00:31:25

Yeah, yeah. Just as a side note, there's actually four people in that. That came in that capsule.

So that's sort of the twist in that thread where Jenna and Gan think that they've sorted out the problem. The two other capsules with those guys who are thawed out and causing some trouble, they've dealt with them. But then later on there's a.

There's a fourth one and there's a nice little fight scene and. Etc. So, yeah, it culminates with those guys being killed, essentially. So they were, you know, Zen again explains later on in the episode that the.

The sort of tribe or the planet that they were from, you know, it's there. They're. They're not friendly at all. You know, they. They'll kill anyone. That, that sort of gets, in a way sort of thing.

So it's killed or be killed for Blake and his lot in that. In that sense. So, yeah, fairly simplistic. That thread culminates with those guys being. Being killed.

Adam: 00:32:19

I did have to, I did have to laugh a little bit that Jenna has like a, you know, a plastic bottle thrown at her. And then, then the next scene she's like saying to Gan, I think it's broke my arm. I'm like, really? That little bottle that hit you?

Anyway, but yeah, I mean, that's just, you know, again, it's part of the charm and that we overlook stuff like that.

Garry: 00:32:40

I was gonna say, yeah, that is another little charming moment where it's, it's. It's quintessential sci fi because Gango and gets the little healing device.

Adam: 00:32:50

Yes. She's like, amazing.

Garry: 00:32:52

Yeah, Gets Rid of the bruise immediately and she's all good. That kind of stuff is. Is just lovely. Sort of old school sci fi.

Adam: 00:33:00

Absolutely. I wish I had one of those little healing devices be handy, wouldn't it? Next time someone throws a bottle at me.

Garry: 00:33:07

Yeah, that felt very Star Trek Y to me.

Adam: 00:33:10

Yeah, you can imagine McCoy doing that, can't you? Yeah, yeah.

Garry: 00:33:14

Which is not a bad thing. That just reminded me of like a little Trek influence there. Yeah. So that's that thread.

And then the other thread, of course, is with a bit later on, Blake, Avon and Villa teleport down to the planet surface with a view to rounding up some resistance fighters who are already there. And then all of them taking down the. Taking down the communication center. But they bump into. They bump into Cali and she informs them that due to.

I'm a.

I guess some sort of biological warfare, because it sounds the way she described it was like some sort of nerve agent attack or a gas attack has wiped out all the resistance fighters. But she was somehow immune to that, probably because she was a. An alien. Not, you know, and just is immune to the whatever gas they use.

She was from the planet Oron.

Adam: 00:34:02

That's it.

Garry: 00:34:02

Yes. And she's a telepath as well. So that's a. That was an interesting little scene there between when we first see Cally and Blake, because he's.

Blake wants to let the. The resistance fighters come to them instead of just going off and wasting a load of time and energy trying to find him.

He's like, yeah, let's set up a fire, a bit of a camp. They'll notice, they'll come over, we'll get it sorted. But it's only Cali that. That finds him. And there's that. Really cool.

I love that scene, you know, when we first have that conversation with Cali talking to Blake telepathically. He can't obviously do that, so he answers back out loud.

And you think that Villa and Avon are off doing whatever, but it turns out that, you know, they're very much in control.

I love that confidence from Avon where he's like, you know, basically, I had a gun on you the whole time, like, you know, you were dead the moment that you broke cover, sort of thing. And then bless him, you know, in the second episode, Spacefall, where Gan says to the guards, drop your weapons. And Villa lobs his gun on the floor.

Villa's got that same kind of. Same kind of vibe, hasn't he? In this scene where he's like, oh, bloody hell.

You know, he's got that, say, you know, that sort of way about him where he's. He's not. You can tell that he's not in some scenes where it involves violence or intimidation.

He's not quite in there as much as, say, Blake or Avon would be or Gan. Whatever.

Adam: 00:35:31

Yeah.

Garry: 00:35:32

Or Jenna. And so he's like, oh, well, well, I want to live forever, don't I? You know, and all that stuff. He's got that sort of happy go lucky.

Adam: 00:35:41

I don't think Villa wanted to go down on the planet. His reaction when Blake picks him, he's like, oh, really? Me? You sure he doesn't really want to go down?

Because I realized as well, that's the first time that we see, like, Avon and Villa, like, Blake's tested the teleport and Avon's happy for him to. To risk his life doing that. But it's the first time Blake's like, come on, then, let's all go. And they.

They have to go down and they're thinking, oh, God, this teleport works.

So, yeah, Villa wasn't keen to go down, but he does come into his own when they actually get to the base and he's like, they need to open that big chunky door. And he does say, like, step aside, this is my area, doesn't he? So he does. Again, this is what I like about Villa, you know, he's a bit of a coward.

He just wants an easy life. But, you know, when he. When he needs to step up and do things and he knows he can do it, his confidence comes out, doesn't.

He's like, leave this to me, lads. I've got this door. And he opens it within, you know, minutes. That's a big old door as well, isn't it, in that nuclear plant? I. On the.

I think it's on the commentary, or it might be on the making of I Can't remember. Jan Chapel, who plays Cali, talks about filming in that location and she says it was like a proper, you know, nuclear waste plant or something.

She said, there's no way you'd be allowed to film there now.

You know, she says, you know, when we're running down to the bottom of that gantry and stuff inside it, she said it was just full of all this really toxic smell and nuclear waste.

She goes, we were so close to it, you know, it was like, thinking back now, surprised we're not sort of glowing green, you know, because, you know, it was a proper Nicholas station, I think. I can't remember where they filmed it. So I'm sure some of the Blake's 7 fans listening will know.

But yeah, so again, it's, it makes for a great location. Looks great on screen, doesn't it? I love it when they go to real locations like that.

But yeah, probably a bit scary for the actual cast having to be in it.

Garry: 00:37:36

Yeah, I mean that was TV back in the day.

Adam: 00:37:38

Exactly. Yeah.

Garry: 00:37:40

Yeah, I think we had. So, so this was the, the, this was the Batchworth quarry in Surrey for a lot of the stuff.

And then it was the, the England and Albury Nuclear Power Station in Gloucester.

Adam: 00:37:53

Wow. Nuclear power station, man.

Garry: 00:37:56

A full on nuclear station. Yeah.

Adam: 00:37:57

Would have loved to have heard the phone call. Hello, it's the BBC here. Any chance we could just come and film this little sci fi show we're making? Yeah, come on in.

Garry: 00:38:06

You know what though? Even like some simple stunts in the quarry and you know when, you know when Cali first fires at Blake and he goes tumbling down the quarry.

Anyone that's ever been to a quarry, those, the, the top surface, which is all like the loose stones and, and all that stuff, some of them are quite sharp and if you're just tumbling down that, it looks on screen it looks just like, you know, we, you know, sort of roly poly down the hill. But that's actually quite painful.

Adam: 00:38:34

Yeah.

Garry: 00:38:35

You know, so even just doing simple stuff in the quarry, let alone just being in a nuclear power station is like you said you did never. It would all be a set or green screen these days, but you'd never get away with that.

Adam: 00:38:49

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. No, it's, that's again, it's, yeah, it's of its time, isn't it? But in a good way. Well, yeah, in a good way.

Garry: 00:38:55

In a good way. Yeah. So the, so that scene with Cally progresses a little bit.

Avon turns up, gives her, brings her down to earth, so to speak, in a sort of non earth like pun. She like realizes that, okay, right, these guys have got my number. Not really able to do much here.

And then as I said earlier, Blake's charm a little bit and he's straight talking, brings her around. She agrees to show them to the, to the, to the comm station and how to get in and, and all that stuff.

And then it progresses a little bit where the guards notice, then they're under the. Under pressure.

You know, there's the guards are trying to get through the door and as you said, Villa steps up, gets a door open and then we've got that tension as the, a really nice kind of ramp up tension to the end of the episode where over on the Liberator, Jen, Jenna and Gan are trying to deal with this last guy that's causing them trouble because Blake knows that the guards are going to come through the door anytime soon. So he's like, you know, teleport now, Teleport now.

He's getting quite impatient and you think, is it going to happen or is it going to be a cliffhanger into the next episode, they're going to be captured, whatever. But then, you know, they just reach the button.

Adam: 00:40:09

Doesn't he bless him.

Garry: 00:40:10

Just about, yeah. And then they come on to Liberator and then, yeah, that last fourth. That last fourth guy is sorted out.

And then Blake says, you know, just get rid of the capsule, just jettison into space and off we go sort of thing. And then Cally agrees to join and become one of Blake's seven. As the.

As we mentioned earlier, much of the chagrin of Jenna, but yeah, so both story threads culminate nicely into a very cool ending. And, and, and that's that. So story wise, reasonably simplistic. I do want to pick back up on something you mentioned earlier about Avon.

And I'll be honest with you, mate, I think out of all the characters, I think I'm liking Avon the best at the moment.

Adam: 00:40:54

Oh, okay. Interesting.

Garry: 00:40:55

Just, yeah, just because of the gravitas that he brings to every scene, he's really got this.

So it's hard to put my finger on, but Paul Darrow has this way of being quite ruthless and quite intimidating, but without shouting and without being sort of aggressive physically or anything like that. He's got this wonderful way of having this firmness but quiet at the same time.

Adam: 00:41:26

Yes, I know exactly. What.

Garry: 00:41:27

Do you know what I mean? Yeah.

And it's really cool that he kind of walks this line of kind of understanding what Blake's about and understanding completely why Blake's doing what he's doing, but at the same time, not really 100% buying into it yet. He's still at that point where I think, given the chance, at this point in the series anyway, given the chance, he'd be off.

And we've seen that in the last couple of episodes and it's still there now in this one. And it was really cool that he.

He does this thing where he's not intimidated by Blake so he won't be like when Blake gives an order, which he has done a couple of times in this episode, he really has assumed the position of the leader of the group sort of thing. When he gives an order. Everyone else just kind of follows in line, especially Gan. Villa will do it, but he'll have like a snarky comment or.

Or whatever, but he'll eventually do it. And same with Jenna, but definitely Gan will do it, but Avon's not having it. You know, he's always pushing back.

He's always questioning Blake's decision, questioning his motive and all that stuff. I just love that. And then there's the other part of him where you think to yourself, is he. Is he serious here? You know, that we mentioned in the.

In episode two, sorry, the last one, space for where he points the gun at. At Blake and Jenna and you think, is he going to. Off them? Is he. Is this it? You know, and then he sort of smiles and walks away.

There's a similar thing that happens in this episode where he. Blake basically radios back and says, you know, we need to teleport back. The air supply is running out.

And Avon, very calmly, I can't remember word for word, basically just says, can't, mate. Yeah, can't do it.

And he's got this almost little grin on his face where he's like, you know, basically Zen's playing silly buggers, so, you know, we can't do any of this. And he's like, well, you have to do it manually then, won't you? And he's like, oh, I could do it. You know what I mean? He's got this one.

Paul Darrow's got this wonderful way of being part of the crew, but not being part of the crew, I think is the best way to put it. So in terms of characters for this episode and probably the last two, I think for me, Avon is. Is. Is really up there for me, dude.

Adam: 00:43:53

He's coming through strong. I gotta say, I love the. I love the bit at the beginning as well, you know, when, like you said, they.

Blake gives an order and he tells them his plan and Villa says something like, oh, I don't really follow you. And Avon's like, oh, but you do. And that's the problem, isn't it? He's almost like saying to them all, look at you all following him like sheep.

You don't question anything. And that's the thing with Avon. He'll do it if he, you know, but he wants them to know that I'm doing you a favor a bit.

Like you said, when he's trying to.

When he's saving Blake's life, you know, he'll do it, but, you know, you need to appreciate I'm saving your Life or I'm just gonna sit here and let you die, you know, so. He's quite cold, isn't he? In one sense, but he can be a team player when he wants to be.

He just wants it to be recognized by the rest of the cast, by the rest of the crew, I mean. But yes, I mean, I, you know, I love Avon as a character and yeah, not to skip ahead. We've got some great stuff to come from him, so.

Yeah, but it'd be interesting to. Again, I'm not going to give anything away, but there is definitely a progression to Avon.

There's definitely stuff coming up and it will be very interesting to see how you react to. To some of the stuff from Avon. But. Yes, brilliant. He's brilliant. Paul Darrow, absolutely brilliant.

Garry: 00:45:06

Yeah, yeah, agreed. Some great stuff. I really liked Gareth Thomas. His performance in this one. It was.

I love this sort of coolness to him and this quiet confidence to him as a character. He's not losing his rag every five minutes and he's not. He's not panicking under pressure. Even that scene where.

Where Cally confronts him and they have this kind of almost mini sort of fight scene and he disarms a weapon and stuff like that, he just walks off, you know, I mean, there's. He's finished saying what he needs to say. In the back of his mind, he kind of knows that. That she is going to follow him. She's.

He can tell that there's a. There's a kinship there. There's a common ground between the two of them.

Adam: 00:45:51

Yeah.

Garry: 00:45:52

You know, so he knows that, you know, ultimately she's going to help. So he just walks off. He's like, yeah, well, you know, this is. This is why I'm here. This is what I need to do. You know, come along. You know, we'll.

We'll both. It's the same objective for both of us. And he just wanders off. You know, he's got this very calmness to him.

The only time you don't see that is when there's like an immediate threat, you know, when, when they come back aboard the Liberator and, you know, and all that last sort of 10 minutes of the episode. And when they're in the. The. They have to open the vault and to start the chain reaction and stuff like that.

He's getting a bit sort of itchy, itchy bum time there and you can tell. But yeah, I'm just. I bit like Paul Darrow. I love the fact that Gareth Thomas has settled into the part. Of Blake just so quickly, like there's no.

There's no warm up of get. To me, it feels like there's no warm up of getting series A out the way until you find, like, Gareth Thomas finding his feet as Blake.

He's like, he is Blake straight out the gate. And it's. It's another good episode for him. He's very cool.

Adam: 00:46:53

Yeah. I think that's the benefit of the way they used to rehearse before recording. You know, I feel like.

And again, I don't know why they don't do that anymore in the way they make television, but back in the day, they. The cast would rehearse in an old hall somewhere and get to know each other.

And I feel like that's why the sort of chemistry between the cast is so good in, you know, older TV shows like Doctor who and Blake's 7. Because of the rehearsal time they had and the fact they got to bond, you know, as people, because it definitely shows on screen.

Like you said, Blake is Blake from the word go from the very first episode, he is Blake. And yeah, Gareth Thomas plays it great. He's got such a lovely warmth to him, isn't he? He's a he. He wants to be a leader.

He wants to do all the right things and you feel for him. And he's also a good diplomat, isn't he? Like when he. Like you said, he's quite cool when he's, you know, in danger. He'll sort of keep his head.

But also he. He can. He can be a bit shouty when he wants to be. You know, when he wants to get his point across, he. He can sort of go off for one, but it's.

Normally it takes a lot to push Blake's buttons. He's. Yeah, and he's very happy. He's made this, you know, this is what I love. You're sort of almost rooting for Blake.

He wanted to go down there and blow up this complex, and they all nearly blew up with it in the process. But they make it back and he's made his first, you know, strike. And this is why we call it Federation strike.

He's made his first strike against the Federation. And he's really pleased with himself, isn't. He's like, yeah, that's one, you know, that's one for the team. Let's, you know, let's do some more.

So he's. He's off now, isn't he? You know, he's off. He's ready to sort of try and take him down. Yeah.

Garry: 00:48:27

Now that he's got the crew together that he needs and, yeah, he's ready to rock and roll. Yes, I agree, mate. Yeah, very much so. We've spoken about Gan and I do.

Adam: 00:48:38

Want to know what you think about his limiter though, because as I said, that storyline to me feels a bit sort of out of nowhere. Like, what, how come Gant suddenly got a limiter in his head? I, when I first watched this was really confused.

I thought when I first watched this, oh, it's almost like, did the aliens put that limiter in him? Because he comes out and he's like, I can't kill now. It's like as if he could before.

But then I'm thinking, no, because you see him earlier on in a scene, don't you, where he leans forward and you can sort of see the camera zooms in on his head. So the limit has presumably been there for a while. Ever, you know, way before he met Blake and that. But yeah, I don't know.

To me it feels a little bit like Terry Nation. And this comes back to what I was saying about.

I don't know how much Terry Nation plotted out the series before he wrote it and how much he sort of made up as he went along. But to me, the limiter seems to come out of nowhere and I'm not sure what the reason for it is.

Like, because they don't remove the limiter going forward, is Gan not going to be able to shoot or kill anyone? So I'm a little bit confused about where that idea came from and why it was put in there.

I obviously know the answer because I know what's coming, but yeah. Did you just feel like, what's this limiter thing about when he said it?

Garry: 00:49:56

Not particularly, mate. I think when I when that.

Because the camera zooms in a little bit on it before he tells us the audience about the limiter in one scene and you think, oh, what's that in his head? You know, what's, what's that all about? And then a little while later it does.

He explains to Jenna, doesn't he, about it was fitted because didn't he kill, Didn't. Didn't the Federation kill his, his, his wife or his girlfriend previously?

Adam: 00:50:23

Yes.

Garry: 00:50:24

So he went off on one a little bit and then they put that in so he can't kill.

Adam: 00:50:28

Yeah, it's just. It felt to me like Terry Nation was like, I've created all these characters, they've all got good characterizations.

Like, you know, Call is a telepath. Blake's the leader, Avon's the computer experts, and he's like Gan. He's just like, you know, a big, gentle giant. Quite good in the fight.

What can I give him? And it's, oh, I put a limiter in that square.

I don't know, it just feels a little bit out the blue to me in this episode because, like, he was fighting in the last one, wasn't he? In Cygnus Alpha, he was getting stuck in.

Garry: 00:50:58

He was. But he didn't kill anybody, though.

Adam: 00:51:00

No, that's true. No, he didn't. Yeah. So I guess it's a limiter, so you can have a good old fight. He just can't quite go to the length of killing someone, I guess.

Garry: 00:51:08

Yes, that's exactly how I took it.

And, yeah, I mean, for me, as a newbie, it didn't come out of nowhere for me, because I just assumed that due to screen time, just hadn't had a chance to explain a bit about Gan's backstory before this point.

Adam: 00:51:25

Yeah, okay. Yeah, I guess so.

Garry: 00:51:27

You know, so it's. At the moment, up to this point, it's been very, very much focused on Blake, Avon and Jenna.

Those are the three, for me, that we've really had to focus on in terms, of course, Blake's backstory for the whole show. But then Jenna and Avon seem to be the ones that have got their hands dirty the most up to this point.

So there literally just hasn't been enough screen time to say. And also, this is a bit about Ganon and so on. So for me, it was just a.

It felt like while there was a little bit of additional screen time in this, you know, now we can dive into a little bit more of the other characters. So, yeah, it didn't quite pop out of nowhere for me. I didn't quite feel like, oh, this is a rushed. You know, let's just get this in there.

I don't know, I just. It felt okay to me.

Adam: 00:52:13

That's cool. That's good to know.

Garry: 00:52:14

Yeah.

Adam: 00:52:14

I just wondered because I.

To be clear, I do like the idea, you know, I think it's quite an interesting concept to have this person who's got a limiter that they can't kill, but.

And obviously I know the answer to what I'm about to say, but I wonder how that'll affect Gan going forward if they're gonna be, you know, having to have fights and presumably we'll have to stand up for ourselves and kill people. So, yeah, it's. It's an interesting idea. And all I'LL say is. I guess we'll see how that plays out.

Garry: 00:52:41

Indeed. Yeah. And we've spoken about Villa a little bit.

He's reasonably quiet in this episode, but does come up and, you know, step up, as you said, towards the end with getting the vault door open, etc.

Adam: 00:52:53

I love Villa, mate. I'm just gonna say off the bat, I just love him.

Garry: 00:52:57

Just want to. Oh, yeah, Villa, dude, he's so cool. A very cool character.

Adam: 00:53:02

Yeah, he's fun, isn't it?

Garry: 00:53:04

He's the. He's like the comic relief in situations where even if it's not called for, he's the comic relief.

It feels like, you know, when there's a serious, strong conversation going on, he will always have the little quip and the little. The little. Not. Not like a joke that's got, like a gag with a punchline, but he's the one that injects a little bit of a smile in the proceedings.

So I like that about Terry Nation. That's like, well, we can't.

Although this is quite a dark story with dark moments and it's very serious, we do need a little bit of comic relief in here somehow. And Villa's the one for that.

Adam: 00:53:41

Yeah, Yeah.

Garry: 00:53:42

I do want to finish on. On Cally, but before that, I can't discount, obviously, Sally Kavett as Jenna. She had a. She had a great story in this one. I thought she was.

She was really strong. And it plays on what we spoke about earlier with.

With her strength that we've seen so far, especially in the last couple of episodes, and this one was no different. She has no fear, it seems. You know, when Gan's knocked out or whatever, she even volunteers to go and see what's going on in the. In the.

In the hold where they've got the capsule. She goes by herself. You can see, as the viewer, it's like, you know, this is bad news, because we know, we kind of clocked early on that these.

These guys, the aliens, they're not. They're probably not going to be friendly. So you're kind of saying to yourself, shouting at the screen, like, you know, don't go by yourself.

This is bad news. But she goes anyway. And these programmed guardians are. They give her some trouble, like you said.

They launch the thing at her arm, and she's, you know, she's injured for a little while, then she's back on her feet, but then she wises up a little bit. She grabs one of the weapons, goes back down there and.

Yeah, so I'm really loving her strength as a female character in the, in a, in the male dominated group. I know we've got Cali now, but up to this point it was just her.

Adam: 00:55:02

Yeah.

Garry: 00:55:02

As the only woman. And I'm loving the fact that Terry Nation didn't just bench her as, you know, somebody that just screams now and then.

Like I think Doctor who was guilty of that back in the, the classic years with some companions just screaming a lot and running around after the Doctor and a few stories where they don't contribute that much. They're just there to, you know, you and I spoke about that for, for many moons now.

But so, but I like the fact that she's very much not that type of female character and, and she's very strong. So. Yeah, I thought she had a good one.

Adam: 00:55:34

Yeah. I was gonna say I like, I like Jenna as a character.

I think it's going to be interesting to see whether her and, and Cally get on like what their dynamics gonna be because again, they're very different characters. You know, Cally is this sort of almost strange telepath. So. Yeah, I don't know that's going to be interesting I think as we go through.

But yes, she is a good, a good character. And yeah, I, I, without giving anything away, I think you'll see that we get some very strong female characters in, in Blake's 7.

I'm thinking of one in particular that's.

I don't think you could get a stronger female character if you tried and listeners will know exactly who I'm talking about and she'll be coming up in, in a couple of episodes time. So. Yeah, yeah, in that sense, definitely.

Garry: 00:56:23

Yeah.

Adam: 00:56:24

I will just say what you're saying about Doctor who as well because there might be some people out there. Like when you say about screaming characters, Doctor who as well, and I always say this, yes.

In the early sort of, you know, you say, when I, when you say screaming companions, I think of people like Victoria and, and Mel, you know, they, they did, they, you know, they just were companions that screamed. But I will say as well, to count and balance that we also got very strong female character too like Sarah Jane, Ace, you know, Leela.

So we're not saying, you know, I don't want to go down that route of saying bashing classic who for, for having female characters that just screamed all time. Because I, I would say there was also some very strong female characters in classic Doctor who as well.

So I just want to say that because I think I just, I don't want to go down that whole bandwagon of, oh, to stop writing classic. Who offers this or that, you know?

Garry: 00:57:15

Yes, no. 100% agree with, with that. Yeah.

So anyone that's not listened to the Big Blue Box podcast, our other podcast about Doctor who, we very, very much just throw lots of praise on. On many female companions from the classic years and even modern Doctor who, etc. So, yes, that's a good point, dude.

We're not saying that all of the female companions in Doctor who are just, you know, shrieking violets, shrinking violets, and just scream all the time and, and all that stuff. There's some. Some very strong characters and Jenna's in the same ilk as those strong characters from Doctor who.

She's in that same kind of sort of league, I guess, you know, not waiting to be told by a male character to go and do something. Not just sitting around and as eye candy or anything like that. Jenna is very much a.

A go getter and I go and get stuff done, which is why I like her character. She's even, like I said, even when Gan was down and out, you know, and there's no one else on the ship didn't stop her. She's get stuck in. So.

Adam: 00:58:18

And I don't know about you, mate, obviously you've only just met her, but I'm getting a similar vibe from Cali that she's not going to take any nonsense. I mean, she had that gun in Blake's face like, within seconds, didn't she? So, yeah, I think, I think another good character to come.

Garry: 00:58:34

Yes. Yeah. And I did, I did enjoy Cally's. What's a good adjective here? I don't know.

The way that she was with Blake immediately, like straight out the gate, you could tell that, I guess. Yeah. Like you said, she's not going to take any nonsense from anybody, you know, Blake or anyone else. And, and that was.

That was a good setup, I think. So I'm really interested to see. So for me, I obviously not have seen the Web, which is the next episode.

I'm really interesting to see in that episode how Cally fits into this little group that's been brought together by Blake so far, but how she gets on with Jenna and if there's any, if there's any tension there, whatever, because it's not a case of Jenna's been written as this kind of, you know, flirty character all over Blake and now there's this new female on board and there's jealousy there because it's a love thing or anything like that. But it will be interesting to see. Because Jenna has kind of ruled the roost in terms of female characters so far.

So be interesting to see how those two get. And also, more than anything, just to see how Cally gets on with everybody else now that she's agreed to join, to join Blake's. Blake's band of.

He's all. He's almost like a shirt. Like a Robin Hood character at this.

Adam: 00:59:56

Freedom fighter, isn't he?

Garry: 00:59:57

Yeah. So he's like Robin Hood and, And, and the merry men and women. It's very much that vibe for me at the moment.

Adam: 01:00:04

Yeah, well, she's a very different character, isn't she? So I think it'd be interesting to see what you make of how she fits in with the rest of them. Yeah.

Garry: 01:00:11

Yes. And very quickly, just want to mention. So first of all, huge props, as always, I think, to Terry Nation's early scripts here for Blake's 7.

It's so many, so many times where it could have been a very simple, linear thing in these episodes, but he's. He's in. He's putting things in here that give you a little. A little twist along the path is the best way to put it, I think.

It's just not an A to B thing. There's always something. There's a hurdle to overcome, there's a problem, there's something going on that needs to. Needs to happen.

It's not just a Blake goes to planet blows up thing, comes back to the Liberator. You know, there's like other things in the way. And also with the capsule and the program guardians, it's not just capsule on board.

Reanimate them, have a chat. See you later. You know, there's. There's other things that are. That he throws in there. So I'm, I'm. I'm really liking the. This Terry nations work.

Adam: 01:01:08

Yeah.

Garry: 01:01:09

You work on this stuff. Yeah.

Adam: 01:01:10

Although I felt like the. The sort of B plot of the aliens, for one of a better word, could feel like a bit of filler.

I do love the fact that, like you said, it's, you know, it does play into the whole building up the tension of the fact that. That Gan and Jenna aren't there to transport Blake and Avon and Villa up when they need to get out of there.

You know, it does build up the tension of the episode, so it does serve a purpose. Um, so, yes, again, I thought it was a pretty fairly decent script for Intonation.

And like I said, I love the fact that he does manage to write into the script things that don't always go in the Way direction. You expect them to. He does throw things in there to curve balls, if you like. So, yeah, it's a good script from him again, I think.

Garry: 01:01:51

Indeed, yes. And then just lastly, I know we're going to probably mention this guy every time, but. Yeah, old Dudders. Dudley Simpson's music, it's still.

Still very, very cool. You and I had a.

We had a quick chat, didn't we, outside of recording, and we were saying that it's kind of crazy that the soundtrack, the incidental score and everything from Dudley Simpson has not been released anywhere. That's because I'd love to see. Because I. I work from home as a.

As a web designer and developer and so on, so I've always got my preferences to listen to film scores and TV soundtracks and stuff like that. I'd love to have this on in the background as I'm working.

Adam: 01:02:28

So would I. I'll tell you, I would Love a Blake's 7 soundtrack, mate. I don't know if the original tape survive. Maybe I'll have a chat with Marquez next time.

We'll go to BFI if I can pin him down. Because I'd love to know if the original music survives somewhere. I've got this nasty feeling that perhaps they don't.

But I don't know if today's technology, they could find a way to do it. Probably too much effort for the cost or whatever.

But yes, we probably will mention Dudley every episode because I'm telling you, I love his music in this series and even in this one, there's even just the littlest thing from him, like the, you know, the bit where Jenna's in the capsule and there's a bit of tension building up and he's got just. All it is is this little. Is it a maraca or a shaker or what is it that. Yeah, you know, it's just so simple, but it just builds the. You like.

Oh, my God. So it's gonna happen. You know, I love. Does his music and. And I'm not going to apologize if I mention him every episode because I think it.

It really adds to the atmosphere of. Of Blake's 7. And it's. It's a huge part of what I love about this show is that this music.

So I probably will mention him every episode apart from the one. Well, I think there's one episode that he doesn't do the music for. Baby two. I don't know. I'm not sure in this series.

I mean, so I might still mention him anyway. But yeah, he's great. Love It.

Garry: 01:03:53

Yeah.

Just because he's worthy of mentioning, of course, in terms of why we haven't had a soundtrack and that kind of thing, this is a bit of a spoiler for listeners, but once our first season has. Has gone out the door, we've got some.

A series of bonus episodes that are going to go out after this, where we've got some really cool interviews lined up with some of the people who are involved in the production of the Blu Ray set. So I will be sure to. To bring that subject up with at least one of them who I. I think would know the answer to that question. We will.

We will try and reveal all as for a Blake's 7 soundtrack, as to why it's not been done or if it's in future plans or whatever, but. So stay tuned for some cool bonus stuff we've got coming up after we finished episode 13.

Adam: 01:04:39

Let's get the petition started, mate. Blake's 7 soundtrack, never mind series 10 of Doctor who, that's a long goal, but never getting that. Let's get the Blake's 7 soundtrack out. Be fantastic.

Garry: 01:04:50

Yeah, no, I'd love that. Yeah. Alrighty, let's put a score on this, then. I think it's my turn to go.

Adam: 01:04:55

It is.

Garry: 01:04:56

I'm gonna give this a 6.5.

Adam: 01:05:00

6.5?

Garry: 01:05:01

Yeah. I think it's. I think it's another good watch. I really.

I'm really enjoying the show overall as we go forward the same way in this as the last three episodes. I just found it a little bit ploddy. A little. A little bit. I wouldn't say it's a filler episode.

It's certainly not, but I just found it a bit ploddy in some places around the middle. I think the. The first quarter and the last quarter of the episode are really good.

And then in between that, it injects some very cool moments and some very cool little scenes and stuff like that. But yeah, overall, not quite as strong as the other episodes, but still. Still a good watch. What about you?

Adam: 01:05:39

Yeah, I'm not going to be swayed by you this week, but I am going to agree with you. So I am actually giving it a 6.5.

I wanted to give it a 7 because I'd enjoyed it, but I wrote 6.5 and for once I'm going to stick with what I put on my pad. And the reason is very similar to you, mate. And I think it's a very enjoyable watch. I think there's some great stuff in it, but it is.

I don't know, it. It doesn't Quite hit the mark. I feel like the payoff with the aliens isn't quite there, so it's not up there.

As one of those episodes I would sort of say is, is great, but it's a good one. So I'm going to agree with you. A 6.5 coolio.

Garry: 01:06:17

6.5S all around for this one then.

Adam: 01:06:19

So far we're on the same page on every episode, mate. Which is surprising to me, to be honest.

Garry: 01:06:25

We are. It's good, isn't it? Yeah. I'm also surprised. I, I, I thought, I imagine you thought as well that my scores would be lower than what they were.

Adam: 01:06:33

Yes, I, I did. To be honest. I thought, yeah. I'm not sure how this will go, but.

Garry: 01:06:37

Yeah, but just to, just to give you a little sort of when near the, near the mid part of the series, aren't we? Series A, we've got another, another couple before we get to the midpoint.

I'll give you and listeners a bit of what I'm feeling about the show overall at the end of episode six in a couple of weeks time.

Adam: 01:06:58

Yeah, I think that's a good shout actually.

Garry: 01:06:59

Yes.

Adam: 01:07:00

Yeah.

Garry: 01:07:00

Yeah. So for now though, on, on the 6.5, I think we'll wrap it there, dude, for episode, Episode four.

Adam: 01:07:06

Alrighty.

Garry: 01:07:21

Thank you very much, Blake seven listeners, for coming back and listening to another episode of Federation Strike as we journey through every episode of Blake's 7 from the very beginning. And, and that was our episode four, reviewing episode four of series A, Time Squad. Next week, dude, it's episode five, the web without any spoilers.

Anything you want to say about the web without spoilers?

Adam: 01:07:48

Okay, without spoilers. Only that when Brian Blessed came on, I mentioned turning the volume down.

You may need to turn the volume down on this one, but for very different reasons. That's all I'm gonna say.

Garry: 01:07:59

Right. Yeah. Okay, Sounds interesting. Thank you very much, you, the, the ever present listener, for giving us a shot basically with our Blake's 7 podcast.

It's something that we've wanted to do for, for a few years now.

We're finally getting around to it and we're aware we're amongst a company of very other knowledgeable and very cool other podcasters for, for Blake's 7. And I personally have listened to a whole bunch of of other Blake's 7 stuff over the last month as we've ramped up into doing our own show.

So a big thank you to you guys as well, the other Blake's 7 content creators. It's been great to chat with you and meet you on socials. And listen to your stuff. So that's very cool.

In terms of our podcast, though, of course, make sure you are following or subscribing to the show and whatever podcast app you listen to your podcasts on. That way you actually miss an episode notification on when it drops every Wednesday as we go through Series A. And you can find us on the socials too.

We're on Twitter and Blue Sky. Just do a search for Lake 7 podcast, give us a follow there and chat Blake's 7 with us in between all the episodes going out.

In terms of other podcasts, you can also listen to our sister podcast at the moment, which is the Big Blue Box podcast, which is all about Doctor who. We've been doing that for many years now. Loads of content over there about Doctor who. There's a link in the show notes to that and.

Or just do a search for the Big Blue Box. You'll find us on all the usual apps and socials and whatnot. So if Dr. Who's your thing, then go and check us out over there as well.

And also don't forget to check out my co host channel over on YouTube. He does his own geekery stuff over there. It's called the Geek's Handbag.

Adam: 01:09:38

The Geek's Handbag. Yeah. Go check out my YouTube YouTube channel. Lots of Doctor who stuff on there. A couple of Blake's 7 things I think I did early on.

There's a couple of Blake Seven things, but yeah, the geek sandbag on YouTube indeed.

Garry: 01:09:50

And with all that being said, we will see you next time. My name's Garry.

Adam: 01:09:54

My name's Adam.

Garry: 01:09:55

And thank you for listening to another episode of Federation Strike, a journey through Blake's 7 SA.