From Redemption to Star One: Our Series B Wrap-Up

Garry: 00:00:17

Hello there and welcome to Federation Strike: A Journey Through Blake's 7. My name's Garry.

Adam: 00:00:21

My name's Adam.

Garry: 00:00:22

And welcome to our series B wrap up episode.

Adam: 00:00:27

Indeed.

Garry: 00:00:43

For the last time in series B, we hum along to the theme tune. What a sad thought, but a great thought, that we've gone through it, but what sad thought? That there's no more.

Adam: 00:00:54

You sound like we've got to the end of the show. You've still got two more series and you said season, that word you hate. I've got two more series yet, mate. It's not the end.

It's not yet, but I know what you mean. It's. It's a halfway point. It's a milestone for sure.

Garry: 00:01:11

Yeah. I don't mean to get the, the funeral flowers out.

Adam: 00:01:14

It's getting all morbid and all that.

Garry: 00:01:17

Well, that's it then, I guess. No more Blake in old series B. But no, it's. I mean, it's sad as in I've enjoyed it so much that there's no more to enjoy. It's.

This was back in the day, I guess, before we had the US TV explode and we get like 25 episodes or something in some of the TV shows. I've been rewatching some of the US stuff over the last year, I guess.

I've rewatched a program called Grim and if anyone's heard of that, recognize that name. Yeah, it was.

And I've watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Classic, Some Other Bits and yeah, it's amazing to, to see those shows that literally went on for what felt like forever. Because if you had four or five seasons of a, of a US show back then, it had like 20, 23 episodes a season. That's a lot of television.

Adam: 00:02:11

Yeah, yeah. So a lot of the US ones, they do go on too long, mate, I'm afraid. I hate to say it, you know, Lost under you.

You get a great concept and you don't know what to do with yourself, so you drag it on for however many seasons. Whereas Blake, you got four nice lovely little seasons. Four lovely seasons. Although, mate, jumping ahead a bit. Season C. No, D. Sorry, season four.

Series D. Yeah. Kind of gets very confusing done it Series Season A1. So the last series of Blake's 7 was, was not meant to be.

I don't know if you know this and obviously I am jumping ahead, but yeah, series three was supposed to be it and there was someone at the BBC was watching it go out live and said, oh, I like that, we'll have some more, and commissioned a new series like that. So. So yes, that's why series four is slightly different to the rest. But yeah, as I said, jumping ahead a bit. So we'll get to that when we get to it.

Garry: 00:03:10

Yes, so we had to.

Sounds really weird, isn't it to say this, but we, we have to put up with 13 episodes of series B which to be fair is not that bad going, is it, when you consider that there are a reasonable amount of TV shows, both mainly in the UK over this side of the pond, but you get kind of five or six per series. They do these longer episodes, don't they? Like 45 minutes long, but you get fewer amounts. So I guess it all evens out. I guess.

But we've had a, we've had a decent one. I'll sound like it, sound negative again. We've had a decent one, you and I.

Adam: 00:03:50

Hey, BBC, please get that series three blue air out because I know I've seen it all. But he sounds like he needs new fix.

Garry: 00:03:59

I do.

Adam: 00:03:59

He needs another fix of Blake. I don't know the mate. We'll get onto this I'm sure at some point during this little wrap up show.

But I don't know how much of the extras you've watched because obviously now you finish the series. There's loads of great extras on the, on the Blu Ray sets.

You know, I think anyone who's like me as treble and quadruple dipped over the years and bought various VHS releases and then the DVD releases and then the new dvd, you know, anyone that's done that who was thinking, oh, I don't know if I need to buy it again again. I have to tell you that the extra is a bit like with the Doctor who Blu Ray sets, they are so good.

So I don't know how much of that you've dipped into now. You finished the series, have you? If you dipped your toe in or are you saving that to bridge the gap till series C comes out?

Garry: 00:04:46

You nailed it. Yeah, I'm saving, I'm saving the special features. Yeah, that's got my, my weekend after next we're recording this at the end of June.

We're recording this on 22 June so not this week, coming the weekend after. I have a very relaxed chilled weekend plan. So the heat wave will be over then by that time in the, in the UK we should cool down a bit.

So I'm saving them. But I know that you've dive into, into plenty of them, right?

Adam: 00:05:13

Yeah, yeah, I have. But even there is still some that I Haven't watched.

So I think there's a tribute to David Jackson on there, which I realized today that I haven't got around to watching yet. But I have watched some of them I may as well talk about now, actually, just very brief. They are superb.

I watched the documentary about Jacqueline Pearce just the other day, which is the one that I've sort of been saving because I really wanted to watch that. When I had the house to myself, no one was around to see me crying because I knew it was going to be an emotional journey. I know.

I read her biography many years ago. So I have been really looking forward to that documentary. And, mate, it is fantastic. Fantastic.

And you will need some tissues to hand at the end of it because it is a Moshe Collins on there. Colin Baker's on there. And there was a bit at the end where he's getting all teary and I'm like, no, Colin, don't. Because I'll.

If you go, I'll go, Mate, it's brilliant. It's such a beautiful documentary. It's Moon Balloon. Who do them, isn't it? I think that's the name. That's correct. Yes, they do. The Doctor who won.

Such a great production and they're even.

I mean, I've read a biography and I knew quite, quite a bit about Jacqueline, but just seeing it go through her career and she, she was such a character off screen as well as on screen. But seeing the stuff that she happened to her through her life, it's an amazing journey and she had a very interesting life, personal life.

Mate, you're going to really enjoy that documentary, I'll tell you. But, yeah, so I've watched that.

I've watched those interviews with Brian Croucher, which is again, fascinating to hear him talk about his experience on the show and his career. Roger Murray Leach.

There's an interview of him which is fascinating where he talks about, you know, behind the scenes and designing the Liberator and how it upset the designers at the BBC at the time because they said they should be designing it. He was, you know, a different department, you know, all that drama. So it's fascinating, mate. The features on it are brilliant.

And as I said, I've only really scratching the surface by with the ones I'm talking about. There's loads of other stuff on the convention footage. New, there's a new making of.

And you know, as well as the old making of the new documentaries, loads of great stuff, mate. Very much worth buying if you already own it. These, these extras are wonderful, honestly.

And Obviously, the new effects, and that's probably the bit we'll get to talking to later because, yeah, that was the thing I wasn't really that excited about, but I've really eaten my words on this set. I've thought the new effects are great. We'll talk a little bit more as we go through for it. But, yeah, fantastic extras, mate.

Now you finished the series, you've got some absolute gems to watch on there.

Garry: 00:08:01

Yeah, they sound really cool from what you've said. And, yeah, I can't wait to dive into those. And thanks for the heads up on getting the tissues ready for the sad.

Adam: 00:08:12

Well, it's not all sad. It's just the end, obviously, because, you know, she obviously is the past a few years back now.

So obviously it goes right up to when Jacqueline passed and people reflect on their memories of her and it's. Yeah, it's obviously emotional, but it's such a great documentary and you'll laugh a lot as well. I mean, she. She was something else, mate.

Really funny, really. Just bonkers and wonderful and just lovable and. But she had a. She had a. Like, a lot of people, mate.

She had a pretty tough life as well, and she masked a lot of that with. With being this very outgoing personality. So you're gonna love it when you watch it.

I know you'll be texting me immediately afterwards just to say, dude, that was amazing. You're gonna love that one.

Garry: 00:08:53

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that one. And also, yeah, we'll touch on the. On the visual effects stuff as well in a bit. So before. Yeah, before we crack into our.

Our chat and our waffle about series B, I would like to say a huge thank you to all of our listeners who have either started listening at the very beginning when last year when we started this back to go through series A and all that stuff, or if you've jumped on at this point and you joined us for series B and you've watched through series B. A massive thank you to all of you that have listened along and chatted to us over on Xor Blue Sky. It's been wonderful to.

Not just for Adam and I to go through this with this sort of two, two pronged view on Blake's 7.

One being Adam, who's a lifelong fan of Blake's 7, as you guys who have listened to us for a while will know now, this Adam's favorite show and he's watched it many, many times, whereas I'm coming in it, into it completely fresh and trying to stay spoiler free as possible. As we go through it. So it's been great to do that from our side. We love podcasting. We've done it for many years now, so it's been really cool.

But a huge thank you and it's been great to have you along for the journey. So if you've listened to an episode and you've jumped over to X or Blue sky and you're oh guys, that was a great episode.

It made me want to get the, the Blu Ray set. So that's a thumbs up, that's a win.

Or if you've dug out your DVDs, whatever it is, it's just been great to have you watching along with us and also doing that stuff. So if you'd like to be notified when we come back. So this is the, this is the, the end of our second season as a podcast.

We have got one more episode to come next week, which is an interview with Chris Thompson, who did all the new visual effects or one of the guys who sort of spearheaded the visual effects and all the model work, etc. That's coming next week. And then that will be the end of our, our second series.

We will be back, with any luck, towards the end of the year once series C lands on Blu Ray. So if you'd like to get notified when all the new stuff lands and we start podcasting again, then make sure you follow or subscribe.

If you in your preferred podcast app of choice, just hit the whatever button it is, subscribe, follow, anything like that.

Then you'll get a notification and thank you to those of you that have left a review or a rating on your app as well, whether that's Apple podcasts or Spotify something or podchaser.com, anything like that.

I've had some wonderful reviews, some lovely words, so thank you, thank you, thank you so much to all of you who have joined us thus far on the journey.

And as I mentioned, we're on the social, so if you do want to come and chat Blake7 with us and we're on the same name over on X and Bluesky, just do a Search for Lake 7 podcast or there's links in the show notes. Come and give us a like and a follow and chat all the Blake's 7 things. We'll be chatting throughout the period when we're not podcasting as well.

So we'll still be active on there and chatting with all you guys and stuff. So yeah, thank you very much. Alrighty, dude. Series B. Kind of a tale of two halves, I would say.

This one in Terms of the, the kind of fluctuation in how some of the episodes came across and our scores and so on. Because I think we, for the most part we reviewed, I would say about half of the episodes quite highly.

Adam: 00:12:19

Yeah.

Garry: 00:12:20

Or two thirds of them quite highly.

And then a third of them didn't quite be up there with the, you know, I wouldn't say they missed the mark completely, but there was a little bit of a fluctuation in the quality and stuff. But in terms of the narrative across the whole series, it's. Yeah, a bit of a two halved tale.

I think the, the, the first batch of episodes were very much sort of Blake not having any clue or any idea or didn't even know the name Star One or anything. So in his mind he's after something just called Control.

Adam: 00:12:59

Oh yeah.

Garry: 00:12:59

And which he believes is the, the nerve center for the Federation. And he wasn't wrong. It was just the, the location that was a bit, a bit off.

So up to the episode pressure points, that's when there was a bit of an inflection point. And then Blake finds out about something called Star One, obviously finds out that Control was a, was a bit of a red herring, etc.

And then the remainder of the series is about him trying to find this new bit of information that he's, that he's been given to him about Star One, which he very much has got a bit of a. Like a dog with a bone, isn't he?

Adam: 00:13:34

I was just gonna say that. Yeah.

Garry: 00:13:36

Yeah. So he gets very, gets very emotional when he. Yeah, there was a, there was a scene where. Oh, I think it was. Was it the Keeper?

Oh, Gambit can't remember. There was. What's the one where they go after Docholli and they corner him and Travis at the end. Was that the Keeper?

Adam: 00:13:54

No, that's Gambit.

Garry: 00:13:55

Oh, that is Gambit, yeah. They call him at the end and Jenna's like, you know, surely you must know the location and everything. And you know, they've.

Everyone's kind of cool, but Blake is like the location to Star One and it's like every time Star One's mentioned he just goes into this kind of like almost sort of psychotic state almost. It's like this is life's work, is life's mission. And so, yeah, he's like a dog with a bone.

So that last, those last batch of eps is really about, you know, the hunt for Star One. So from that perspective it really was a really great narrative. Sort of cat and mouse on a couple of levels really. And that was.

That's the great thing about. I think I mentioned this when we did our series. A wrap up was that Blake's 7 as a show is nicely layered. You know, it's got these.

On the surface, it's got this old kind of classic dystopian sort of science fiction show from back in the day. But once you start to watch, watch it properly and get into it, it's. It operates on a few different layers.

And the thing that was cool about this series for me was you had the series layers, which is this cat and mouse thing where you've got him and Travis playing cat and mouse. You've got Servalan and Travis doing cat and mouse at certain points.

You've got Blake and the crew going on these wild goose chases sometimes trying to find out the location of either Control or Star One. And. Yeah, and you've. And then you. All these little subtle subtleties as well, like with Jenna and Blake, you know, there was some.

You and I cracked up an episode where he was in the doghouse for a little bit and. Yeah, you know, so there's a little bit of this kind of.

I guess the right word to describe narratively would be like this push and pull as you go through the series.

It really was a wonderful way to follow Blake and Avon and the rest of the crew as they go on this sort of roller coaster to try and get to the truth of. Of everything. So, yeah, for me, mate, I. I think I enjoyed this more than series A, even though. Even though the.

Some episodes didn't quite land and, you know, there was a. There was a couple of them that had sort of plot holes for days and, you know, and things like that.

But I think just narratively, I thought this was a slight step up from series A. What are your. What are your thoughts, mate, on series B?

Adam: 00:16:26

Yeah, I think just slightly I prefer this series. I think they're very much. It's very close.

For me, mate, I think they're very much on par because I think series B has more episodes where they kind of take a step outside the sort of main arc of what's going on. So we have these sort of. I wouldn't say standalone episodes, but little sort of deviations from the main goal of the series, if you like.

Whereas I think series one, maybe because it was all written by Terry Nation, it does have a. It builds. They introduce characters as the show goes along. You know, Cally comes into it in episode whatever, three, four, whatever. I forget now.

But, you know, I mean, it builds, the crew builds and it Ends with them getting all rack. Who's like the seventh member. So there's a.

Maybe series one has more of a connecting flow, but I think series B, although it still has a nice flow, does have these little sort of stepping out of the main narrative episodes, which are quite enjoyable. You know, you look at Countdown, you know, when you get introduced to Del Run and all that sort of thing.

So I think if I'd sort of look at the episodes overall, there is a couple of, like you said, clangers in there, I guess. But even those I think we found enjoyable to an extent.

I don't think there was any episode where we were like, never, you know, I won't be watching that one again. I think even, like the worst episode, which I think we both agreed was Voices from the Past, or Voice from the Past.

I think even that if it was on Teddy, you know, you'd sit and watch it because it still has really enjoyable moments and there's enough in it to enjoy, even though it's not very good as a sort of overall episode. So, yeah, it's a difficult one. I think I'm going to put them on par, I think, watching them again back to back.

I think they're both very strong and they've both got their own strengths, but they also do feel a bit different, I think, having other writers come in to do episodes and they've got to then write the characters that Terry Nation has created, you know, that's probably harder than it sounds, I would think. You know, you got to get the characterization right.

And I think that's one of the things that the other writers managed to do brilliantly, like Chris Boucher and. Is it Allan Prior? Yeah, yeah. You know, the dialogue is sparkling in. In the episodes that are not written by Terry Nation.

In fact, how many episodes are written by Terry in the series? Not. Not as many as I thought, I don't think. Because I thought he wrote the finale. And then I.

Of course, watching him again, I'm reminded that he, for whatever reason, he was supposed to write them, but didn't. So.

Garry: 00:19:06

On holiday. Yeah, just three of them.

Adam: 00:19:09

Yeah, he wrote just three. Yeah. Of the. Of the 13. So that's, you know, that's a big difference from series one, where he wrote them all with a bit of uncredit help, admittedly.

But, yeah, to me, mate, they're very much on par. I think both series are very strong, even in their weaker moments. I think they're fun.

So I can't really divide these two, which is why it's going to be interesting when we get to series three because I think series three is my favorite. But I said to you, I know there's a couple of episodes in there that may bring it down.

Ones that I don't watch that often because they're not that good. Whereas the ones that I absolutely love in series three I've watched again and again and again because they're that good.

So it's going to be interesting to see if that sort of overshadowed my thinking into thinking it's the best series. Like I cannot wait to get onto something series three.

But you know, I think series one and two are really strong and, and watching them again back to back, it's reinforced that view. I still think they stand up incredibly well.

Garry: 00:20:13

Yes, no, I would agree. I think one of the cool things that. And they could have gone a different way with this, of course, but I think one of the.

Even though you and I had a break from recording when we finished series A to whenever it was. When did we start?

This March when we started series B, even though there was a break, it was really nice to have the episode redemption at the beginning just pretty much pick up where, you know, where series A left off.

Adam: 00:20:45

Yeah, yeah.

Garry: 00:20:46

So that was cool because it, it just puts you straight back in the, in the, in the, in the chair and you feel like you just finished series A yesterday. It was a really nicely nicely done episode where everybody just seems to have got back into their characters very, very quickly.

There wasn't this sort of re. Warm up period where the actors have gone off or production have gone off and coming back and then.

Because ultimately, however, however much things stay the same in terms of what crew are employed across both series or who else was. Was different and all the actors obviously being the same and all that stuff, apart from of course Travis with. Oh yeah, you know, Stephen Greif and.

And then later on our friend Brian Croucher. Brian Croucher, with the exception of that.

Even though everybody's in the same, you know, and the Liberator looks the same, I don't think I could be wrong. There's probably are some small details that have changed. But to me the set of the Liberator looked pretty much the same.

Adam: 00:21:50

Yeah, yeah, I think it is.

Garry: 00:21:51

Yeah, yeah. And they wore very similar things. I think some of the costumes carried over.

So even though you have all this stuff that's the same, I think when you as just as a human being, when you're coming back to something, there is an inevitably a bit of a, A different feeling towards things, whether that's. They're just more comfortable now because, you know, that's that thing where you start high school, I guess, is a potentially bad example.

But when you start high school and you first year you're nervous and you know, and then you go through it and I mean, when you come back in the next year, you've got this sort of upgraded level of confidence about you because you've gone through all of the nervousness and you look back on it and you think, why was I nervous? You know, it was, you know, for the majority of people, hopefully, anyway, it's like, you know, there's nothing to. To worry about.

So I think with the actors and so on, surely there must have been some bit of that, you know, when they come back to like, okay, we've done all that, we know the drill now. We know the camera set up, we know the set like, you know, the back of our hands, we know the characters a lot more and so on. So.

But you know, that still it doesn't come across on screen that way. It just comes across like it was just filmed yesterday or, you know, the week before the. The newer episodes came out.

So I think that was a good shout. And they could have gone a different way with that.

They could have opened up the episode and there was some text on screen that said like, you know, previously on Blake's 7.

Adam: 00:23:17

Yeah.

Garry: 00:23:18

And. And then they show like a 30 second recap trailer and then some text appears. It's like, you know, three years later or something like that.

So, yeah, it's an interesting call, but I think a good one. And yeah, I think when I do a re. Watch in the future, I'm just gonna. Yeah, just binge through it all.

And it's gonna be so cool going from series A to B because the two series combined are like one long, really nice sort of story arc really. So I'm not obviously clued up on series C onwards, so I might have the same opinion when we get to the very end.

I might just sit there and think, oh, I can BINGE Watch all four series of Blake's 7. Or I don't know if it feels very different in the next series. I'm not sure. I don't want to fast forward and waste away keeping my, you know, trying.

Adam: 00:24:06

To keep my lips sealed as tight as I can see. Yeah, it is very difficult to keep away from spoilers, you know, even little details which I don't want to ruin for you. Yeah.

Things naturally will change over the next two series, but keep going to say Season if Garry was here, he'd be slapping my hand, he'd be like serious. But yeah, I think series one and two, they do flow very nicely from one to the other.

And I think there is a nice consistency in not only the characters but also in the actors performance. Like you said, I think sometimes when you get a series and it's.

It's popular, you and then it gets another series and it's like at the height of its sort of peak, if you like. You do notice a sort of confidence in the actors where you feel like they're a bit self aware, like they know that they're loved.

So it's suddenly, do you know what I mean?

There is a bit of an overconfidence that sometimes comes through with a popular show or a popular actor that you sort of feel like they know that what they're doing is. Is great and everybody loves them and, and it's a, you know, being watched by 15 million viewers or whatever.

Whereas I feel with Blake, I don't get that sort of ego from any of the actors. I just feel like when you watch series A, you know, and re watching it confirm this, they kind of hit their mark straight away.

You know, one of the phrases you often use is they got the memo. Blake feels pretty much the same.

You know, he's a bit hard and jaded by the end of series B, but you know what I mean, that there's a consistency to that. And Avon as well, you know, again, I feel like I know Avon, he's still very much that same character that.

Remember the scene in the Way Back where they're trying to convince him. Is it the Way Back or the second one?

Anyway, Avon's first episode at the start of the series, you know, when they're trying to convince him to help because they've heard he's like, you know, really good and he's very reluctant to join them and help them.

It's only because he realizes it's the only way it's going to help him to escape if he helps these guys that you know, again, it's the calculation in Avon's head of always looking out for himself first. And that I think again follows right the way through to the end of this series.

So consistently the actors I think are very good and I think the way they've written and again what I said about other writers coming in as well and having to write them like consistently like they were in the other episodes, I think that is done very well in series two as well. So they, yeah, they flow great, I think, from one to the other.

Garry: 00:26:48

Yeah, agreed. And that's a real testament to the group of writers that they had on board with this because it feels like they've put their own.

Their own talent into creating these stories, these individual stories throughout the series. But at the same time, I guess they have to. What's the word? I guess I have to adhere to all the foundations that Terry Nation had laid.

Yeah, I'm talking about character. Not.

Not necessarily, you know, individual story plots or lines or anything like that, but certainly as the characters progress across the two series, they've. You're right, they're really consistent and going way back to. I think you mentioned Avon. Avon's.

Which is Space Fall, isn't it the second episode where space for. We get introduced to Avon and Gan and so on, right back then all the way to now, right up until Star One, they've been this. This very much.

They've had this consistency across the entire series. They've been like. I think they flex their muscles a little bit here and there with these characters to a degree.

I think especially with Avon, I think him. Him as. As a character.

No doubt he has been consistent across this and the previous series, but there have been little moments with him where you feel like the writers have. Have sort of let their hair down a bit. And the best example would be probably Gambit, I would say. Would it be Gambit the Keeper.

Adam: 00:28:26

Oh, when he goes to go. Goes gambling.

Garry: 00:28:29

When you're gambling with Vila.

Adam: 00:28:30

Yes, Gambit.

Garry: 00:28:31

Yeah, he's Gambit, isn't it? Yeah, sorry.

Adam: 00:28:33

He always puts a smile on my face just thinking of that episode.

Garry: 00:28:37

So there's a few moments in that where Avon is a bit cheeky is the best way to describe him.

You know, Blake and the others have gone off on this seemingly important quest to go and find Docholli, etc, but Avon's stuck with Vila, which normally he would just be rolling his eyes all over the place and, you know, would be annoyed by Vila's, you know, quips and so on. But in this episode it's like, nah, well, we'll let Avon have a bit of fun in this one.

So, you know, the pair of them are like this cheeky couple of school kids who are, you know, the parents have gone or the teachers are not there, so they're going to play up a little bit. And so, yeah, there. There are little moments where they tried little bits with these characters, mainly Avon. But yeah, you're right, mate. The.

So that's real and it's.

You have to really say it's just such a massive achievement for these group of writers in series two, just because, like you said earlier, Terry Nation just blitzed through the first series on his own, mostly that we know about, a lot of uncredited help and so on. However, it would have been Terry Nation's baby, right, for that.

Adam: 00:29:47

Oh, absolutely.

Garry: 00:29:49

Creating it and getting that first series going and so on. So when you start to introduce new writers, you have to come up with creative ways to move the story forward across the series.

You have to keep the audience engaged.

It has to be exciting, has to be interesting and insightful and all those things which must be difficult in itself as a writer to do, just on that regard.

But then, like I said, on top of that, you also need to stay true to this universe and with world that Terry Nation had created, because if you start to drift too far, of course, you start to lose the audience a bit, because, you know, there's a sort of. Sort of expectation. I guess it certainly was for me, as I was going through each episode, I had this.

Not this preconceived notion of how things should go, but I just had this idea in the back of my head that was like, oh, okay, so I'm. I know Vila well enough at this point, you know, to. To expect what his character is going to be up to.

And don't get me wrong, I'm all up for curveballs and, you know, and trying different things, but for the most part, you know, just at the end of each episode, I could have sat there easily and just clapped to, you know, Allan Prior, Chris Boucher, Robert Holmes, Roger Parkes, you know, all those guys for just putting some. Some great stories together. So.

Adam: 00:31:18

They were good stories. I think that's what I said. Even given the ones that we perhaps rated lower than others, they were still. They still had a good concept, didn't they?

I don't think there was anything here where we felt like it really dropped the ball. And that's not easy, actually, when you think about it, because, you know, you could say by series two, Blake still chasing the Federation.

How much can you do with that idea? And I think even Blake says in one of the episodes, doesn't he? Like, we've done this, we've done that, it's failed. We need, you know, when.

You know, when he's like. Like you said, a dog with a bonus. We've tried all these things, and we've, you know, why not try something else and join these people?

So even Blake's kind of admitting that they've done so much already. How can we keep this show interesting, if you know what I mean? Like to sort of paraphrase, if you. If you want.

So I think it is a credit to Terry Nation and the writers that they have managed to sustain, I think, a really interesting show with really interesting ideas, even in episodes that perhaps didn't work as well as they might have done. I think. What was the one that wasn't very good? A Weapon written by Chris Badger. I mean, he was disappointed with how that turned out, wasn't he?

He's on record as saying, you know, he really enjoyed writing the script, but it didn't translate well on screen. But at the heart of the episode, and we both said it, great idea, you know, a weapon that marks someone for death wherever they are.

And you've got this button.

I mean, it's a, you know, it's a good concept, but so, yeah, so it's a credit to the other writers for keeping the show fresh while maintaining, you know, the main goal, which is to. For Blake to bring down the Federation and keeping that going and not feeling stale, you know, you don't.

Because when Blake in Pressure Point gets to that room and it's empty, that's a moment, you know, that's a really great halfway moment of thinking, oh, is Blake, has he done it or what? How. What's the rest of the series gonna be? But oh no, it is a bit of a curveball, isn't it?

He's like, no, he's knocked straight back down and then it sort of resets then that they've got to keep going and you know, there's a bit of fatigue from Blake.

He needs a bit of time out and, you know, there's just lots of things going on that all make sense in terms of the narrative that keep it interesting to watch. Yeah.

Garry: 00:33:32

Yes. No, I agree. Yeah. And shall we. Should we talk about some. Some highlights from the series? What would. Yeah, what would be.

Have you got any highlights that stick in your mind now that you've rewatched it recently? Is there anything that when you think back to series B, you're like, oh yeah, that was a belter moment or a great episode.

Adam: 00:33:50

I gotta say, I've got favorite episodes for sure. I mean, there are episodes that are absolute go to's if I'm in the mood for something from series B, and they might be the same as you.

I mean, listener. We don't always agree, but I think sometimes me and Garry, we do have a very similar. In terms of the Things we like and dislike.

So we may be on the same page here. I don't know, but I really love Redemption, the first episode. I think it's a great way to kick off the series. You know, the.

The people who invented the Liberator. What a great idea to sort of touch on that and revisit that.

Garry: 00:34:25

So that's.

Adam: 00:34:26

That's a great way to start the series. Pressure point for the reasons I just mentioned. Fantastic episode.

You think Blake is going to make a major strike and he's completely cut down in his prime and so is poor old Gan. Then you got Hostage, which some people think may say it's a little bit of a filler episode. Not.

Not a throw episode, but it, you know, but I think we both loved the episode. And again, it's down to the moments and the performance and, you know, Vila, the word.

All that stuff that springs to mind when you think it's the word Vila Bar, you know, it. That that episode is great and it's.

I wouldn't even say it's like one of the most important in terms of like the structure of series B, but it's always so enjoyable. I go back to Hostage Hostage a lot and I think the one we definitely could agree on is Countdown. Just super.

I think that is the best episode of this series.

It's just the others are really good and enjoyable, but Countdown is just brilliant, you know, and the tension between Avon and Del, mate, that episode. So they're sort of like my highlights in those episodes. They all have so many great moments that make them, you know, up there as the best.

And interestingly, mate, one, two, three of those four episodes I've just mentioned were written by Terry Nation, which actually surprised me when I stopped and thought about it because I, you know, we were saying great episodes by all the other writers, but yeah, Terry wrote three of those, maybe with a little help. Chris Boucher, I don't know.

But the fact that he's given the plot lines for those, and they do have a very Terry Nation feel about them in the best way. But yeah, I think that sort of says something to me. You know, Terry can come in for a bit of stick.

You know, sometimes he would sort of give an outline and say, I'll finish that off, will you? And, you know, things are said about Terry and the way he wrote and. Or could be a little slapdash or whatever, but I got to give him credit.

Those episodes are strong, you know, and they're definitely up there as my favorite. So what about you? Is there Anything that you disagree with or any. Any other episode you want to throw in that you thought was great.

Garry: 00:36:41

No, I agree with you on the. On the episodes that were. That were good. Like you said, we. Yeah, we agree on most things, but we do.

We do disagree up anyone that's listened to our Doctor who podcast over the years. It's the same story. We. We mostly just agree, but there was a few.

Adam: 00:36:58

Well, I think we don't always agree.

Garry: 00:37:00

Yeah, I think I'd given an episode like a three out of ten and you'd given it an eight or something or, you know, that's happened a few times. But now I think on Blake, we are pretty much aligned. And yeah, the episode Countdown was such a belter, I think.

Was that the one where when we started the review properly, I just went in and said, well, it's a. It's a 9.5, mate, you know?

Adam: 00:37:20

Yeah, you went straight in. And I've. I've never known you come in with the score at the start of a review.

In all the 14 years or whatever we've been doing podcasts, I've never known you that excited to give a score that you do it at the start of an episode. So that told me straight away that that episode had done what I hoped it would. That you loved it.

Garry: 00:37:39

Yeah, it was a really, really good show. Really, really good, that one. Yeah. And I think, yeah, I really like Redemption at the beginning where we.

When we started to go through this whole feeling, you know, with the. The creators of the Liberators, we were saying, you know, the system and they want their. Their property back, so to speak, in their ship and so on.

That was really good. Um, so, yeah, that was a really cool way to kick the series off, as mentioned earlier, where it picks up pretty much where we left.

And then there was. Yeah, as well as Countdown, there was a. Another one that we particularly enjoyed.

I think that might have been Hostage, was it Hostage that we thought was good.

Adam: 00:38:28

Hostage you. You liked. I mean, that's one of my faves. I love that episode.

Garry: 00:38:32

Yeah, that was a really, really good one. I think that was the.

Adam: 00:38:36

Blake's old uncle.

Garry: 00:38:37

That's the one, yeah.

Adam: 00:38:38

Oh, great. I'll just kill Blake's old uncle. Yeah, why not? Vila? Just brilliant as always.

Garry: 00:38:43

Yeah, there was a bit of sort of two in and throwing, wasn't there? Between. Between Travis and. And. And Vila as a hostage and Blake as a hostage and.

And Avon sort of being on the fringes and stuff, and Travis having his gang of crimos and all that. It was a really cool sort of creative episode, that one. And obviously the famous line in that one, isn't it? With the. Is it the word? That's the word.

Adam: 00:39:11

The word.

Garry: 00:39:13

Really cool stuff.

Adam: 00:39:14

It's the way when he. Remember, he sort of cranks the. The ring gun and the words as if he's like loading it, you know, I think the two.

The two episodes that our listeners may have been surprised by a reaction because I think Shadow, we both thought was okay. We didn't love it, but it was good. That's a bit of a. I wouldn't. Well, maybe fan favorites giving it to high praise.

Shadow's an episode a lot of fans like and we liked it, but we didn't love it. But one of the ones that comes in for a lot of stick is the Keeper. People really don't tend to like that one that much in fandom.

We really enjoyed that one, didn't we? So it's interesting, those two episodes, which one normally gets a really good reputation and the other not so much.

We were sort of reversed in our opinions of those. I mean, we enjoyed both. But I think even I was enjoyed.

How much I enjoyed the Keeper on a rewatch because I remember that being pretty rubbish, to be honest. I just remember it being mostly studio bound and a bit of a slog.

But again, when you watch him for a review, you actually watch them properly and you hear all the little lines that maybe you miss if you're just putting it on in the background because you've seen it before, if you know what I mean. So they were two episodes.

I think listeners might have been surprised that A, we didn't love Shadow more and B, that we enjoyed Keeper as much as we did.

Garry: 00:40:34

Yeah, I think that was one of the. Because with the Keeper, I remember when we first started the review, we were sort of. The angle that we were.

Or the question that we were asking ourselves or one of the questions was, does it serve the purpose of a good penultimate episode? Does it sort of get you excited and ramp you up for the finale? I think we were undecided for a bit, weren't we? We were sort of two in a.

Thrown on that respect. We were saying, well, not really. It's.

Adam: 00:41:03

It's an odd one.

Garry: 00:41:04

Yeah, it's. It's definitely an odd one. But at the same time it had some really cool, some great things about it and it was.

Yeah, it was just, yeah, going down to the planet Goth and yeah, doing all that stuff. And it was. It was one of those things. Where if doing a rewatch, when you get to the episode, you kind of just.

I think by that point, you're into it all anyway, and, you know, you're a few episodes out, if you're doing, like, a bit of a binge watch, you know, you're at the end already, you're just going to carry on. But then when you get to the end of it, you're like, actually, that's a decent episode. Best episode.

Adam: 00:41:43

But yeah, it's funny as well, isn't it? It's got a lot of humor. And I. I wouldn't blame people for skipping over on a rewatch.

It doesn't serve much purpose other than the end, very last few minutes. So I would understand if people, you know, would give it a miss. But there is a lot to enjoy in that episode.

The performances are way over the top, but enough so good way, I think, you know, I think Bruce Purchase is hilarious in it. So there's a lot to love in it, but I get why people might skip it.

But I think I've grown to love it because it's not what we expect, if you know what I mean. When I was watching it, I was thinking, this is. If you were back in the day. Wait, you know, penultimate episode.

Oh, they're gonna be looking for the location of Star One before the big finale. This would be so far from what you'd be expecting to watch.

And I think I've sort of grown to love it because of that, because it's so different and odd, if you know what I mean. And plus, it makes me smile. I think that's the thing.

There so many scenes in there that I've just got a big grin, you know, like Vila putting out his goblet for the wine when Bruce Purchase does it. You know, it's a lot, lot to like in that episode, but maybe it's one you have to be in the mood for. I get it.

Garry: 00:42:52

Yes. I would say so. Yeah. The location of Star One.

Adam: 00:42:58

Do you. Can you remember the location? I wish I'd written it down. The location of Star One is. And I can't remember it.

Garry: 00:43:05

I should have a fool who starts.

Adam: 00:43:07

The life of a fool.

Garry: 00:43:09

Yeah. I cannot remember the exact coordinates or the location.

Adam: 00:43:14

I bet you there's a listener right now that can say it to, you know, word for word, number for number. Off the top. Top of their head.

Garry: 00:43:22

Oh, mate, there will be 100% and.

Adam: 00:43:24

They'll be screaming fan for not knowing.

Garry: 00:43:26

Yeah, they'll be screaming at the. At the. Their AirPods. Or their. Or their car stereo, whatever. Like, how do you guys not know this?

Adam: 00:43:35

How do you not know the location of Star One?

Garry: 00:43:37

Oh, fake fan alert. Yeah.

Adam: 00:43:39

Yeah. But the brain print has been removed, I'm afraid. Listener. Sorry.

Garry: 00:43:43

Unfortunately, because our memories are shot to bits at the best of times with even simple things like the name of an episode or a character name or an actor's name.

Adam: 00:43:51

Characters. Yeah.

Garry: 00:43:52

So we've got no hope of remembering that stuff. But, yeah, it was. It was a. It was an interesting episode, that one. The Keeper. And. And yeah, when I.

When I do get around to doing a rewatch of Blake's 7, which I inevitably will once we've gone through it all and I'm going to watch it all again, I'll actually look forward to that one for not the obvious reasons, but. Yeah.

And so is there anything from series B that you think to yourself, either when you've watched a particular episode or just overall, where you feel, that wasn't really great, was it? Why did they do that? Or, you know, wouldn't have done it that way? Anything that's like the other end of the scale, like, wasn't keen on that. No.

Adam: 00:44:38

I think, if anything, the things.

If you'd have asked me before the rewatch, I think the things that I thought were bad in series B actually turned out to be better than I remembered, to be honest. You know, Zil. Is it Zil or Sil? Zil. Sil is Doctor who, isn't Zil, for example.

I remember thinking, you know, just cringing the first time I watched that, say, what is this? You know, someone in a pair of tights. And, yeah, I really found the character so enduring on a rewatch. This is what I mean.

I think sometimes, you know, when you're watching, you can be critical in your head because it's your favorite show and you like to analyze it and pull it to pieces.

But sometimes when you just sit back and just take it for what it is, and Zil's a prime example, you know, when she got swallowed up in the earth, I found myself saying, oh, no. Whereas before I was like, oh, good. You know, so you can change your opinion on things. But no, I think most of the stuff I saw was bad.

Wasn't as bad as I thought. I mean, another example would be. And you'll have to remind me of the character name that is it Siobhan.

You know, it's obviously Travis, but he's pretending to be Shivan. I just. Oh, I remembered that being so bad. I was like, oh, when he's doing the accent and he's like, brother. I was like, oh.

And I mean, it's not great, but it's. It's. Again, it's not as bad as I remembered it being, if you know what I mean.

So I, in all honesty, mate, not to be, you know, not to be looking at this through rose tinted glasses. I'm sure there are things overall. Yeah, nothing really stood out to me as being. There wasn't anything that I thought, oh God, that was terrible.

They could have done that better maybe. If you wanted to clutch at straws, maybe.

I think I mentioned in our review of Gambit when it's very unclear and I think we put this at the foot of the director, didn't we? That or maybe the writer. I don't know.

But you know, Travis just kind of disappears between scenes and so I feel like the ending to that was a bit weak.

Like he could have been hiding around the corner listening to what Docholli was saying because we said at the time, how did he even know to go to Goth? He's not there. I don't think when it's mentioned so that you could find little faults like that maybe, but. But nothing.

Nothing to ruin my enjoyment, mate. There's nothing in this series, I think, where I would be like, I can't watch the episode because. Because of that.

You know, even Weapon, which is probably the weakest, you know, even that has funny moment, actually. That is probably one of the weaker ones, isn't it? But even that, you know, there's things in that which are funny. So I could watch it.

Garry: 00:47:18

Yeah, no, it's top answer, dude. I think I agree 100%.

I think if you were to sort of sit there and be overly critical of it, you could, like you said, find little bits and bobs here and there that.

Adam: 00:47:30

Oh, I have just thought of one actually.

Garry: 00:47:32

Oh, no, no.

Adam: 00:47:34

Well, it's just a plot point really. And it's something I hate in when they do this in shows is I didn't like the Blake clone, you know. Yeah. That's one thing. Yeah.

When I watch Weapon because I actually only just. I'd forgotten they had a Blake clone in Weapon. I've just remembered him. So. Yeah, I don't like that.

That's one thing I would not put in Blake's 7 because I don't like the fact that he's still out there, you know, he wasn't killed off or I would have liked to have seen that clone on the floor with like half a robot face or something destroyed, you know. So, yeah, if I want to really sort of nitpick the clone thing, I've always disliked that.

I don't like the thought there's a Blake clone out there, because you could say, you could say that at some point he took over and no one noticed, or there's something in series three, which I don't want to say, but you could say, oh, well, maybe that's the clone, or, or even series four, you know, you could, you could now say, oh, well, that's, that's okay. That wasn't Blake, that was the clone. So I don't like that.

So, you know, but we got to remember, mate, back in the 70s, when that probably, the clone thing probably hadn't been done to death, it was probably quite a fun, exciting thing to do back then. And probably people didn't, you know, analyze, and they certainly didn't do podcasts picking up on this sort of thing, you know what I mean?

So I've got to sort of take that into account as well.

Garry: 00:48:51

Yeah, that's a good point as well. I think back in the day it was. And to be fair, we.

I was going to say these serialized programs that were meant to be enjoyed on a, you know, weekly basis, I was going to say they sometimes, like, we have this with classic Doctor who sometimes, if, if you recommend a story to a newcomer that's like four or six parts, they're not, they weren't designed to be binge watched in succession, you know, they were sort of weekly, weekly serial things. And to be fair, you and I did do that weekly, which is good. Although we did record in advance. I think we were about three, four weeks ahead.

Adam: 00:49:29

Yeah.

Garry: 00:49:30

Of things we, we still did it weekly, which is good. But in terms of. Sorry, Michael.

Adam: 00:49:36

No, no, I'll just go say it's, it's a very good point and it's something I'll probably bring up again at some point in the future. But it's a very good point.

We have to remember that Blake's 7 was made and most people at the BBC at the time would have just seen it as a bit of throwaway television.

And that's why I'm always amazed at the high standard from the actors and the people involved in the show, because most people at BBC would have sort of thought of it as a sort of bit of throwaway television.

It's clear to me that the people making it didn't feel like that because there's no way it would stand up to be this good, you know, how many years later, 40 something years later, you know, there's no way it would stand up as being this good if the people involved in making it saw it as throwaway television. There is so much effort put into it, you know, and the performances are delivered so authentically.

I don't know what the correct word, reach, you know, I mean, there's. There is a lot of love in this series. So, you know, as I said, that's what I always think about it.

You know, people would have written this off like the big wigs at the BBC at the time, or Blake Seven, that cheap, low budget. Yeah. That fills a 50 minutes every week.

But because it was made with love, you know, it's still being watched now, you know, it's getting Blu Ray releases all these years later. It's getting new documentaries made all these years later. But that's not because the people at the BBC would have believed in it at the time.

That's because the actors and the production crew must have believed in it for it to be this good, you know, otherwise it'd just be very hammy, wouldn't it? Otherwise it just be embarrassing. And it's not. It's a really good show.

Garry: 00:51:18

Yeah. I think all it takes sometimes is just one person in. In this case, Terry Nation. It takes just one person with a. With a vision and a will to.

To get the ball rolling. And then when you get. People buy into that, that's infectious sometimes, you know.

Adam: 00:51:33

Yeah.

Garry: 00:51:34

So, yeah, back in the day they would have. I think I could be wrong, but I think there was an interview with. It's either Gareth Thomas or.

Or was it Sally Knyvette, I can't remember, years and years later who had said that. I think it was Gareth Thomas. Was it this thing around sort of other actors who he referred.

Who he was friends with when he did things like Shakespeare and things like that, he had to sort of defend Blake's 7 to them because they viewed it as this sort of, like you said, this kind of throwaway, you know, bit of budget TV that wasn't brilliant, you know, why are you doing that? That's not what proper actors do kind of thing. I'm sure that. I'm sure he said that in Interview, something along those lines.

Adam: 00:52:18

No, you're absolutely right, mate. Yeah.

I don't know the exact quote, but yeah, Gareth, I think his theater fellow theater actors were, you know, would say things like, oh, you're still doing that terrible old BBC thing. And, you know, it was very much written off as, you know, nothing to be proud of. Like, you're still doing that.

So, yeah, the fact that he still delivers such a great performance, you know, besides that he obviously believed in the character enough or wanted to deliver a great performance despite fellow actors, you know, criticizing the show, I guess.

Garry: 00:52:51

Yeah, that's exactly it. So he had to go to bat, I guess, for the show and just say, listen, hear him. Hear the. You lot, Shakespearean dudes, this is a great show.

But of course, back in the day, you know, a very different time. It doesn't. I think you mentioned earlier about not wanting to view it through roast tinted glasses and so on.

There is an element of that in there as well that now we fast forwarded to, to this moment in time where the show is getting a lot of love recently. There are still conventions with Blake's 7 is. And as you said, documentaries and all this new stuff and, and that it's.

It can be easy with, with, with hindsight, can't it?

And, and the, and the, you know, the, the benefit of time where you can comment on things that were, you know, years and decades ago, whereas back in the day it would have been difficult to justify to the BBC around getting a show like Blake's 7 made because you're up against bigger hitters like Doctor who and, and those sorts of people.

So fair play to Terry Nation and the other, the other writers and all the actors and the crew that probably worked their nuts off for very little money, you know, to do all the things that we sometimes snigger at, you know, the sets and some of the props and, you know, those guys loving an acrylic box and, and all that stuff. Yeah, you know, and they use that for many things.

But, you know, it's, it really is a, A testament to, to all those guys who are sort of working on all that stuff. So who's the guy that oversaw sort of. Who was the script editor on it? Or was it Brian Croucher?

Adam: 00:54:35

No, Chris Boucher.

Garry: 00:54:37

Chris Boucher. Sorry, what did I say about our memory? I literally said it.

Adam: 00:54:41

No, sorry.

Garry: 00:54:43

Yeah, so it's, you know, it's those guys that were like, look, you know, we feel like we're making some great stuff here and we're just going to keep doing it. So big round of applause to those guys.

Adam: 00:54:53

You've made me realize, actually, mate, just, just now really, just thinking about it, actually, you've kind of reaffirmed to me that I'm not watching this for rose tin and glasses.

And I've only really just thought about that because I guess there is an element to, you know, when you grow up watching a show of loving it because of that nostalgia.

And I think because you're watching it for the first time all these years later, you don't have that sort of attachment to it, so you're watching it with fresh eyes, you know, so that to me says it must be as good as I believe is. Which is just something I hadn't really thought about. Do you know what I'm saying? Because. Because you've enjoyed it so much.

That does tell me that, oh, I was right. It is a good TV show. It's not just because I love the Bracelets or I love Oracle, you know, so there is something there. So that's. Yeah, it's.

It's reaffirmed something to me, actually, now I think about it that, yeah, it's not just a silly little show that I grew up loving. It actually is quality because. Yeah, because as we've always said, viewers, if Garry hadn't enjoyed it, he would have persevered. But he would have.

He would tell me, we've always been very honest. He would be. Would be sat there with his head in his hand saying, mate, this show, why did you. Why did you make me watch this?

But we would plow through. But you've. You've genuinely loved it. So that. That tells me something which I've only just, really. That's only just hit home, really.

That's quite a nice thought in a way.

Garry: 00:56:20

Yeah. And it's. And I can assure you, and you know, all of our listeners, you know me well enough, dude, we've been friends for a very long time now. And.

Yeah, and I wouldn't. I would never just come on here and just say, oh, yeah, it's. It's a great show.

And then when we turn off microphones, I'm like, well, that was a bit beep, really, mate, when it. What are we doing? So I've. I've genuinely loved getting into this show. It's a very, very good. It's an amazing show. There's no doubt about it. It's.

It's got something about it which kind of bobs along and touches different things. It's not just like the. What's the best way to articulate this? It's not just. It's a. It's a great idea or.

It features one good character as you go through the series, it touches on these various journeys that characters are going through and these relationships and these fallouts and sort of deception and underhandedness, you know, on the Federation side between Serval, Anne and Travis and some of the other Characters that we see pop up on the Federation side and then also the other relationships on Blake's side, with him and Avon always at loggerheads throughout the entire thing and the tension there, and Avon sort of trying to plant the seed of doubt for the other crew members. You know, why are they always following Blake? What's.

What's wrong with you lot and all the rest of it, and the comic relief at times with Vila, you know, all these different things, they all sort of get thrown into this bag of just. It just works, you know, it's just a great. A fantastic show. I genuinely mean it's a. It's a great, great show.

Adam: 00:58:04

Well, I can tell you mean it because I can tell how excited you are for more. I guess I could tell them, you know, if you listen to the start of this episode, you're already depressed that we've finished, seriously.

So I can tell that you can't wait to watch series three. I have just. I mean, we have been very. No. Gone.

Garry: 00:58:19

No, I was going to say don't say that because it's really weird because I don't want to just sort of erase time and go snap my fingers and be in October whenever the serious C lands.

Adam: 00:58:30

Yeah.

Garry: 00:58:30

Because you and I have got some other podcasting plans. But at the same time, I do want to get there. I do want to. Want to be at whenever that Blu Ray lands. I don't know if it's September, October.

I just want to get cracking with more Blake. I really do.

Adam: 00:58:54

Yeah, I was gonna say, I keep checking to see if there's a date for it. There's not. I'm the same. I'm so. There is so much I'm looking forward to you seeing that I knows to come.

But I'm also, yeah, wanting to hold back because, you know, I was thinking the other day, it was only feels like yesterday we were at the BFI bar and I finally convinced you to start watching it. I was thinking, wow, we're already two series, you know, under our belts.

So I'm thinking I don't want to rush too much, but I am very excited for you to continue. Continue the journey, if you like.

I was going to say we have been very positive about these first two series, which is great, you know, and as I said, we've obviously tried to critique it as well. It's not been perfect, but overall we've really enjoyed it.

But I suppose you asked me earlier if there was anything that could have been done better, and I have just thought of something else. It's not the clone. We've half dealt with the Blake clone. We. We've said pretty much all the way through every episode that we have been disappointed.

And I know Sally Knyvette was disappointed herself with her progression as a character, and I praised the progression of the characters earlier. But it has just occurred to me, we did say, you know, Cally. Sorry, Jenna. And a little bit Cally as well.

I mean, I think Cally got a bit more meat on the bones, but Jenna does suffer, I feel, or continues to get underused in series two.

So to try and sort of balance out all the positivity and not to bring us down, I think that is one thing that we think could have been improved in series two, especially as Sally Knyvette had voiced her own concerns about the fact that she thought her character, you know, needed more to do and it wasn't the character she sort of signed up to play. So, yeah, that's one thing I would have liked to have seen improved in series two, that. That didn't happen.

Garry: 01:00:39

Yeah, no, I totally agree. I think it's. We mentioned it on a. About two or three episodes, I think, didn't we, where.

Yeah, we said, inevitably, when you have a cast this large, you can't give all of them equal screen time all the time. But having said that, it was unfortunate that Jenna's character got sidelined a little bit more than most, I think her and her and Cally.

Jan Chappell, I think those two. So Sally and Jan, I think those two probably would have had a bit of a moan. And I know Sally Knyvette did, if I'm right in saying that.

Again, that was a. That was an interview, wasn't it? That was.

She had, you know, vocalized that and said, look, I wasn't happy with the lack of progression and, you know, how she.

She got left behind on some episodes and which you can totally see because it's not like there was this weird thing where it's like, oh, she's not a bad character. So it doesn't matter if she sidelined a little bit or whatever. They're all great characters. So.

Because they're all so good and they all work so well together. It's. It stings a little bit when you go through an episode and, like, where was that character?

Oh, yeah, they were just on the Liberator, chilling out while everyone else was getting stuck in. So you. Yeah, I do appreciate that, that stuff with Sally Knyvette and her character.

Adam: 01:02:04

And it's a shame because it's so much potential.

There isn't There are scenes, you know, watching these episodes back, and I've said it during our reviews, like, as much as I love it when we get Avon and Vila together, there are some scenes where you think it would have made more sense to take Jenna. Like, Jenna wouldn't have been taken hostage by Blake's old uncle. You know, she probably would have knocked him out. So there definitely could have.

She could have been utilized more. That's absolutely for sure. Yes. It's a shame.

Garry: 01:02:35

Yeah, it is a shame.

However, I think looking back on it now, viewing the series as a whole, the good moments and the standout moments and the enjoyability far outweigh any of the sort of little niggles that we might have had.

Adam: 01:02:52

Yeah, I mean, I was going to say.

So I sort of lost my thread there, but I just remembered what I was at, the point I was actually going to make, I think when they took out Gan halfway through. I think that's Terry Nation's decision. Yeah, sorry. This is what I was actually going to say. Yeah.

When they took out Gan, I think maybe that was to try and create a bit of space for the other characters. You know, Terry obviously felt like there was too many.

We know he was constantly trying to kill off Paul Vila, which I'm so glad that never happened, or at least not what Terry was around.

But, yeah, so that's, you know, you would think by taking out Gan, that would create a bit of space and more opportunity for characters like Jenna or Khalid, which it doesn't seem to do, does it? I don't feel like. I don't actually feel like much changes after Gan leaves. To be honest with you. I don't know that it really helped that much.

Like, I don't see a big difference in terms of characters getting more to do. I think it pretty much stays the same. It's very much Avon, Blake Vila doing a few lines. You know what I mean?

Garry: 01:03:50

So Blake, six.

Adam: 01:03:51

Yeah, like six. And another character gets underused, mate. And I'm absolutely staggered watching this on a rewatch because I was sure he was in it a lot more.

Is Orac or Ax hardly in the series. In my memory, Mate or AK is in every episode. And he's like, really important and pivotal to the story. He's hardly in it. He gets.

He gets a funny moment in Gambit where he shrinks down and a couple of it. There's a great scene with him and Avon. Forget which episode, but we loved that scene. But Orac's hardy in it, is he.

Garry: 01:04:23

It's a bit of a Weird one, because. Well, in series A, the build up to Orac was pretty heavy, wasn't it? Yeah.

So you would have thought that they would have carried that character over with a bit more. A bit more steam. But, yeah, he's not. Not just that, but he's not in it very much at all.

Adam: 01:04:42

He. No spoilers here, but he must be in it more in the next two series because I just remember him being in it a lot.

And I mean, as I said, I've watched the show a lot over the years, but, you know, I go in and watch my favorite episodes and, yeah, he's got to become more involved. I'm sure he does, because as I said, unless my memory is playing tricks, you, mate. Because I thought he was in this series a lot more than he is.

So we'll see. But I want to see more. Or I can in series three, I'm sure.

Garry: 01:05:10

I hope so. Yeah. Yeah. Shall we just touch on quickly before we wrap up the visual effects additions to the Blu rays?

Yes, because we've mentioned those across every episode since we started this with series A as well, where longtime listeners, you'll know that we often.

We don't need to ask each other this now, but we have this process of watching the episode in what we call purist mode, where it's just as it was broadcast back in the 70s.

The only difference, obviously, is because we're watching it on Blu Ray, even if you have the special effects, the newer effects turned off, you still get the sort of cleaned up, sort of remastered image, I guess, and audio. But other than that, you know, it's all the original model work and all the original effects, everything.

And then once we finish watching that, we'll go back through and either watch the episode again or with the visual effects turned on, the new stuff, or we'll just skip to the scenes where we know where the visual effects are and we'll check them out and so on. So that's been a really cool way to watch those things and then talk about it in each episode.

And I think you said this before we recorded, mate, but it was one of those things that you were not necessarily sort of massively excited for when you heard about these new effects and so on, but it's kind of won you over. You've been impressed with. With the work that's been done.

Adam: 01:06:38

Yes, I have been very impressed. And as I've said, I'm not saying this because you've interviewed Chris Thompson. We will always be honest on this podcast.

And, yeah, I've had to eat my words a bit because they've done this a lot with the Doctor who Blu Ray releases where they've added new effects. I very rarely wouldn't say I dislike them, but I watch them and I think, yeah, that was alright. But I never watch them over the original effects.

I always think they look too modern or too clean or they don't really fit in. And I felt a little bit of that on the first series of Blake's 7 when they added the no effects.

I watched them, I thought, yeah, they look nice, but they don't really. They're a little bit jarring, they look too clean. They don't really fit in with the feel of the episode.

You know, they do take me out of it a little bit, or as a big fan, I think I just thought, no, they're too noticeable as new. They look too new, they're nice, but they just. Yeah, I thought, no, I won't be watching with the new effects.

You know, nice to have it, but no, not for me. I'll stick with the originals. So I went into series two thinking the same, you know, I thought, no, there's nothing wrong with the old effects.

I'll watch it with them. But obviously I'll check out the new effects, see what they've done. They are wonderful. They are absolutely wonderful.

And as I said, I promise you, hand on heart, I'm saying that with all sincerity, because I would be. I wouldn't. I would never turn around to Chris Thompson and say, oh, they're no, they're terrible, mate.

You know, I'd never be that heartless, I'd be polite, but honest. But I've got to say, they're fantastic. I love the original Liberator shots.

I can't imagine them needing to be replaced, but the new ones they put in are gorgeous. I love that ship they've clearly had, and you probably know this from talking to him, they've clearly had more time.

I'm imagining a bit more money because they really fit in well with the new episodes. And they haven't just replaced new effects, they've sort of added in little moments.

There's a bit of world building put into some of the episodes and I'm trying to think which one it is now might be Gambit. There's like a very quick shot of a corridor and it's got almost like. Was it like Blade Runner lights? I don't know.

It's just a quick shot that just makes it feel a bit more big in terms of production. And, yeah, hands up in the ma. I thought the new effects was superb on this release. They really have helped.

What was the episode, it might have been Star One where I've never thought that really needed updating. And then I watched it with the new effects and I thought, wow, this is like. This is like Federation pursuit ships everywhere in one shot.

You know, Whereas before it was just the model of the Donut Servalan's donut spaceship. I thought, wow, it really makes that episode feel a lot bigger.

And I think whereas series one, where I feel like it was just replacing shots and trying to make it look a bit more modern, I feel the effects of series two have really highlighted and, and, and what's the word I'm looking for? You know, I want to say like world building. It's just made. It's fitted in a lot better and made it feel. I know they just fit in a lot better.

I'm very impressed with them. Yeah, I can't find the word. I'm reaching into the sky for a word and I can't find it. But yeah, I'm very impressed with the new effects, mate.

Very impressed.

Garry: 01:09:56

I know what you mean, dude. And I think it's.

It's one of those things where we were saying earlier about how much care and love had gone into the making of the show from Terry Nation all the way down to the crew and the actors and everybody with the visual effects guys, with Chris Thompson and the other, the other people he was been working with. So he. Was he working with Chris. Somebody can't remember their names. I won't surprise anybody.

I can't remember the names but like Chris and the other guys that he worked on with the model crew and, and someone and some other people. Chris did say. Can I say this? I don't think. I think he didn't flag this as like a spoiler or anything or like he can't say it. Did he say. I can't say.

Anyway, it's fine, I'm sure. But for. But he was saying that when he was commissioned to do.

To do the, the work on, on Blake's 7, especially for series B, when he was talking to Russell Minton who's the exec producer on the Blu Ray sets, he was saying that they were trusted to just get on with it because people like Russell and the other producers and so on, they can see how much Those guys love Blake's 7. They can see how much they appreciate it and respect that. So there wasn't much hold handing, there wasn't much micromanaging. It was just.

Okay, you guys just go and do your thing. So there was. It was very hands off from their point of view. So Chris had pretty much free reign to do whatever effects he wanted to do.

So I think there was obviously a little bit of, you know, it's going to be centered around, you know, liberator shots and extending planets and extending bases and, you know, teleportation effects and, you know, this kind of thing.

Of course, he's not just going to, like, dive into the middle of a scene and put, like a Dalek in the background and you do some stupid nonsense like that. So. But they trusted them to do that stuff properly. So it goes all the way back decades, right up until now, mate.

Even in: 2025

You're a, you know, you're a Veteran of Blake's 7. You've seen it all. And when I say seen it all, I mean you've seen it all, all the episodes. You've been to conventions, you've. You've done a lot.

So for you, for someone like you to say that all the effects work has. Has been great, then, you know, that's a. That speaks volumes.

Adam: 01:12:45

Well, no one's more surprised than me, mate. I would be. I'd be the first to say, oh, there's nothing wrong with the old effects, I'm a purist and all this stuff.

But, no, I've been very impressed with them.

They definitely feel more organic and, you know, as I said, it's not a criticism on what they did in series one, they were fine, but they just didn't. These feel more organic to me. They definitely feel like they've had a bit more time and.

And I'm sure they put loads of love into series one, as they did with series two.

As I said, definitely not a criticism of them, but I was just going into this expecting to watch them once with the new effects and probably never watch them again. And now I'm at the opinion that on series two, I would probably watch.

Watch them with the new effects, you know, which is not something I normally do, whether it's Doctor who or whatever, where they've updated effects. I very rarely feel like I want to watch it with them on, but I definitely would with this series, I think. Yeah, I think it works really well, dad.

Garry: 01:13:36

Yes. And, yeah, a big.

We have got that episode Just to remind you guys, we've got that episode landing next week, which is my interview with Chris and we dive into a conversation about all of this stuff, you know, what's going on with series B, how it differs from series A and what they had, you know, for this series that they didn't have before. And diving into all the details about all that stuff basically. So that's a fascinating listen. So yeah, that's coming next week. Yeah.

And just to cut that, that bit off, do just want to in very much in sync with your thoughts on that stuff.

It's sometimes with old shows, wherever you start talking about remasters or new effects and we've been through all of that with Doctor who over the years and.

Adam: 01:14:20

Well, you think, you start. You think it's Star Trek. Not Star Trek, sorry, Star wars, the original trilogy. I'm going to use that as the ultimate example.

Those new effects that Lucas even to this day, mate, how many years later make make me mad.

Garry: 01:14:37

Oh, since the special edition ones.

Adam: 01:14:39

Yeah, the jabber and you know, all these creatures roaming around, they drive me insane, mate. Every time I. Because I love a new hope.

Not to go on a tangent here, listening, but I love a new hope, which of course it wasn't even called before he put the new effects on.

But anyway, I love the original Star wars trilogy and every time I go to put on a new hope, my favorite, I sit there and I see all this CG CGI slop and it makes you want to put my boot through the television. So that's what I mean. I'm not normally a fan of them redoing stuff. I just think now just leave it as it is.

But I will concede on this one and I. I really hope that it carries on for series C. I'm really excited to see, you know, what they do with that. Yeah.

Garry: 01:15:23

Yes. Same, same times. Alrighty. Have you got anything else you want to mention, dude, about the only thing.

Adam: 01:15:29

I forgot to ask you, I probably should have done this earlier, but I'll do it now. Did you find the casting of Brian Croucher as Travis jarring?

I think you said he kind of won you over, but I'm just curious to see now you've seen his series all the way through because obviously he's now disappeared down, down the U bend. What a way to go. But yeah, he's Palpatine. What was your overall thoughts of Brian Croucher as Travis?

Because we both like Steven Greif and I have just. Just to quickly say myself, I have.

I think I've Gained a new appreciation for Brian in terms of his performance, in terms of the behind the scenes stuff, which I wasn't really aware about, you know, of his, you know, conflictions with the directors and all this stuff and the way he just didn't look at Steven's performance. He, you know, didn't want to sort of try and emulate or copy him. So he went in blind and just did his own thing for me.

I have really grown to like him. I think I still slightly prefer Stephen, but I, I've grown to appreciate Brian Crouch as Travis a lot more, I think.

But yeah, did you find it jarring, mate? And how did you feel by the end of his. Before he disappeared down the U bend? What did you think of him?

Garry: 01:16:47

Yeah, he did, he did grow on me as we went through the series. I did find it reasonably jarring.

Not from a, an immersion point of view because you could tell, you know, pretty much immediately that we're dealing with the same character. But from, yeah, performance standpoint, I think, yeah, I still prefer Stephen Greif.

I still, he's still, he's still just a bit ahead for me just because the, I just preferred his sort of quiet intensity. I think I prefer that over the sort of shouty nature of, of Brian Croucher, if that makes sense.

So, so don't get me wrong, I've, I've, I, I think by sort of episode four, I was, I was into Brian Crouch's performance as Travis and I appreciated what he was doing with that and, and so on. It was just a different take on it.

And he is good, don't get me wrong, it was a, it was a great, There was a couple of moments where he was really, really good. So the episode Trial, he was very good in Trial, you know, he, yeah, had a great performance in that one. And yeah, it was a.

He was good, like I said, I think jarring, not so much in terms of character stuff, but certainly now we're at the end of series B and I can look back on both series together. I think I still prefer Stephen.

I've just, he's got that quiet sort of intensity and that could kick off at any moment, cunning, scheming, quiet confidence to him, which I prefer. But Brian Crouch is still very good.

Adam: 01:18:37

Yeah, I, I gotta say, I've got, I've gained a new respect and I, I have in the past wondered if maybe they'd have been better casting him as a different character. I sometimes think. Was it a strange choice to, you know, keep him as Travis? He could have been because he is quite different.

I think if you watch them back to back, they are, you know, it's. It doesn't feel like a natural person to cast as Steven Greif.

You know, they are very different people just in terms of looks and their whole performance really. So it says. It's a strange casting choice, but I think he does win me over.

I just sometimes wonder if it would have been better if they had have cast him as his own character. Because I think the problem with casting as Travis is you do naturally compare the two, don't you?

You sort of think, oh, he's a bit shouty there, he's a bit over the top there. And you know, Travis wasn't like that in series one and Travis wouldn't have done that.

And so in that sense I think you're always going to compare the two. Whereas if he was his own character, a new character, I think he might have stood on his own two feet a bit more. But, but yeah, I do.

Watching this series be again, I think it is nice. You sort of seem spiraling out of control, which is what's nice about watching these episodes in order.

You do see Travis, you know, I think even Survillance says he's probably mad. You know, he's losing his mind pretty much by the end of this series.

So I think there is a nice little character development for Travis and I do like the fact that the, in the Keeper, even after all the stuff that him and Servalan have been through, like she's, you know, one minute she wants to kill him, then she wants to work with him. He does offer to share the universe with her and when he realizes she's having none of it, he does his own thing. So, yeah, I like him in this series.

I just, yeah, it's just difficult not to compare, I think because it's the same character, but he is good.

And the, the interview with him is great, by the way, on the Blu ray I, I've met Brian once and he's quite the character in real life, but he's very honest in the interview on the Blu ray and you, you see there is a softer side to it. You know, he's quite a sort of, you know, in real life he's quite a sort of tough geezer if you like.

And you probably wouldn't want to mess with him, I always think, you know, but watch him in the interview again. Bit like Travis. I saw, I saw a really nice side to Brian and he was nice when I met him, but you see a Softer side to him.

And you learn about the stuff he went through and how he got the part and, you know, how he didn't get on with the director. It definitely made me like. Like his performance more, for sure.

Garry: 01:21:13

Yes. Yeah, I think there was. I remember the first time I saw Brian Croucher was in a British sitcom.

He had a small part in a. I don't know if anyone remembers a show called the Upper Hand.

Adam: 01:21:27

Oh, I remember that. Yeah.

Garry: 01:21:29

Yeah, the Upper Hand with.

Adam: 01:21:30

Was he in that? Was he?

Garry: 01:21:32

Yeah. So he was. He played. He just had a small part in the Upper Hand, just one episode.

And I remember thinking at the time, oh, he looks like a bit of a hard nut. He looks like a bit of a. Yes.

A guy that you wouldn't want to tangle with, which aligns perfectly with what you've just said, you know, so that the two sort of marry up. And there are some. There are some scenes where as he's playing Travis, he doesn't mess around and he is a bit scary in a couple of points.

You know, he does. He does lose it.

Adam: 01:22:04

He's a bit of a wild animal, isn't he?

Garry: 01:22:05

You do feel.

Adam: 01:22:07

Yeah, a bit wild. You. Unpredictable. Definitely got an edge to him, which he brings to the character, I think.

Garry: 01:22:15

Yes. I think he played a bar owner or a nightclub owner in this episode of the Upper Hand. And. Yeah, you didn't. Yeah, you wouldn't want to mess with him.

But anyway, yes, Brian Croucher, very good.

And like you said, probably the best part for me would be exactly what you just said, which is watching his demise and his sort of spiral into sort of desperate measures and borderline insanity and. Yeah, it's. That was cool to watch.

Adam: 01:22:41

Yeah, mate, I know we're wrapping up. I just very, very quickly want to mention Jacqueline Pearce Servalan, because I feel like. I feel like she is. She definitely is.

A, you know, she's in more episodes this series, obviously. I think originally she was only cast to be in one episode of series A, which is hard to believe.

They obviously saw great potential when they were right. So she very much comes into her own in series B. So I feel like she does deserve a mention before we wrap up.

And I know we're both going to agree she's fantastic in it and she's scary as well. I mean, you see a very sadistic and controlling side of Servalan.

You know, when you think about how she tortures Casabi and Casabi's daughter, and she is. You would not mess with her. And Jacqueline Pearce Just plays it brilliantly. She is, yeah, she's superb.

And she's also great in the lighter moments, the comedic moments, and you just always feel that Servalan is almost one step ahead with her plan. She's very, very clever. So, yeah, I don't want to waffle on too much because I could praise Jacqueline Pearce Servalan all day and night.

But I do want to mention it because I think she's definitely more prominent in this series and she really is great in it.

Garry: 01:23:53

I agree. Yeah, she definitely steps up the. The. The maniacal sort of scheming, and she's got her own.

She's definitely got her own thing going on that doesn't necessarily align with what the Federation wants to do. She's got bigger plans and, yeah, she's got this, like a cross between a classic Bond villain and. And. But one that shows a very.

This is difficult to say because we're talking about such a strong character, but a couple of tiny little vulnerable moments as well.

Adam: 01:24:30

Oh, yeah, yeah. So.

Garry: 01:24:32

And she played that range beautifully. Did she? Jacqueline Pearce? She had that really nice. Just very strong.

No nonsense from literally anybody, whether it's the, you know, the Presidential Federation guys or Travis or anyone. She does. No messing around with her. But then he had these little tiny moments where she was, you know, just got knocked back a little bit and.

Yes, things like that. So, yeah, Jacqueline Pearce was phenomenal, mate, in this. Very, very good.

Adam: 01:25:00

Yeah. And I think without going too much on my soapbox, I think the best is yet to come. That's all I'm gonna say.

And with that, mate, I just want to ask you finally, what are you hoping to see or get from series C?

Garry: 01:25:18

What am I hoping to see in series C?

Adam: 01:25:21

What are you hoping to get from it? Where do you think it will go? Who do you want to see more of? Who do you want to see less of? Just give me your thoughts. What you.

What are you expecting from it?

Garry: 01:25:31

I want to see more of the Federation. I'd like to see. Because so far we've seen, like, you know, a bunch of Federation ships.

We've been, you know, to a couple of locations and there's been a few bits. It's been pretty good. But I would say my memory's, as I've told you guys many times now, very bad.

But I feel like we saw more of the Federation in series A, weirdly. So I'd like to go back to seeing more of them so that we can relate to Blake as to why he wants to take them out so badly.

I'd love to see what happens with Blake himself because he's been through the ringer now, you know, he's been through sort of emotional and physical, you know, that very last episode he was. I thought he was a goner.

Adam: 01:26:21

Yeah.

Garry: 01:26:21

So. But it would be interesting to see what he's got his sights on now because he's gone after the top dudes at the Federation. That hasn't worked.

He's gone after Control that ended in disaster. He's gone after Star One. That's not worked out for him. So be interesting to see what he shifts his. His sights on now and. And that sort of thing. So.

And a bit more Oracle. Yes.

Adam: 01:26:44

Yes. Any predictions, like, any, anything you think, any characters you think might go or stay, or any predictions.

Garry: 01:26:54

Any predictions, you know, I don't know,.

Adam: 01:26:57

Will Avon fly off in the Liberator and leave them all stranded? Any, any, Any predictions?

Garry: 01:27:03

Yeah, I think. I think the crew is going to change to a degree. I think we're going to see at least one or two people.

At least two people, I would say are going to be either they're either going to leave or they'll be killed or something that I think we're going to have a bit of a crew change up. I predict that's going to happen by the midpoint of series C. That's my prediction. And I feel like I was going to say maybe serious C is the.

We will see Avon take his opportunity to go. I think maybe because they've teased it now for two series. Is this now going to be the time where we see him.

I don't mean leave the show, but maybe an episode where he attempts to take the Liberator or go off and do something. I don't know. I think that's going to be a part of it. Who knows? I have no idea. But obviously you're sitting there thinking, oh, so far from.

You're either sitting there thinking, wow, you're really good at predicting things, or you're thinking, mate, you are so far off the boil, you've missed it by a mile. Who knows?

Adam: 01:28:18

Yeah, I think it's a hard one to predict, I think, but yeah, just was curious to know your thoughts of what might be coming up. Gonna be more interesting, I'll tell you that.

Garry: 01:28:27

Indeedy. Deedee. So I think on that note, we'd be waffled for now for nearly an hour and a half.

Adam: 01:28:32

Indeed.

Garry: 01:28:33

Yeah. So, listener, if you've stuck with us this long, thank you so much.

I think now is a great point mate to to stick a pin in it for our Series B wrap up.

Adam: 01:28:43

Absolute.

Garry: 01:28:58

Thank you. Thank you so much. It's such a massive thank you to you guys for coming back and listening to another episode of Federation Strike.

And that was our thoughts, our closing thoughts on Series B as we say goodbye to this little chunk of Blake's 7. But fear not, we'll, we'll we will be back later on in the year.

With any luck, as long as the Blu Rays land at the time when we think they are going to land, we'll be back to plow through Series C and see what that has to offer next week. As I mentioned, we've got that bonus episode with Chris Thompson.

I sit down with him, talk about all the visual effects stuff for Series B and a few other little nuggets as well. So that's going to be a good episode. Make sure you tune in for that one.

And if There is any Blake's 7 news that pops up, please, Adam and I might be back in between to talk about it.

If there's some significant news about this Blake's 7 remake that's in the works, if we get anything on that or if there's anything worthy any big news, then of course we'll jump on and give you our thoughts on that stuff. So we could be back early, who knows.

But the very least we'll be back to kick off Series C. In the meantime, make sure you are following or subscribing to this podcast in your fave podcast app of choice. Just hit the subscribe or the follow button, whatever it is in the app. Then you'll get a notification when all the new episodes drop.

You can also chat to us over on the socials. We're on Bluesky and X. Just do a Search for Lake 7 podcast or there's a link in the show notes.

Give us a like over there and come and chat all things Blake's 7. It's great talking to other content creators, fans, all those sorts of beeps over there.

So come and get involved and talk about Blink 7 over there and if you've got us 30 seconds or a minute, if you've got time to leave us a review if you've enjoyed this podcast, if you want to leave us a review if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it would be amazing if you left us a rating or review. That'd be cool. Thank you so much to those of you that have left. Reviews very much appreciated. Thank you.

And as always, do not forget to check out my co host channel over on YouTube it's called the Geeks Handbag.

Adam: 01:31:01

That's it. Geek sandbag on YouTube, also on all the socials under the same name. The Geek's Handbag. Come find me, go and do it.

Garry: 01:31:09

Loads of geekery stuff over there. Go make yourself a cup of tea if you're in the UK in this heat wave, go and get a cold beer or something, sit down and check out all of Adam's stuff.

Loads of really cool geekery over on the Geeks Handbag. And with that, have a very good summer. Have a very good few months until we return. It's been wonderful to. To go through all this with you, as I said.

So please, take care of yourselves, have a good one and we'll see when we come back. My name is Garry.

Adam: 01:31:36

My name is Adam.

Garry: 01:31:38

And thank you so much again for listening to Federation Strike A Journey Through Blake. Sa.