Michael Keating

Audio Review: The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – The Terra Nostra

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Review by Ian McArdell

The Terra Nostra returns us to the criminal organisation first glimpsed in the Blake’s 7 episode Shadow, for a set of stories in the shady underworld of the Federation. Taking their inspiration from the Mafia, the Terra Nostra seemingly stretched throughout the galaxy and it was heavily implied that they existed as a form of Federation soft power within the criminal classes. This boxset also draws together strands from the previous two in The Worlds of Blake’s 7, The Clone Masters and Bayban the Butcher – notably the story of the psycho-strategist Hinton. Continue reading →

Audio Review: The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – Bayban the Butcher

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Review by Ian McArdell

Bayban the Butcher grants Colin Baker’s famously off-the-hook villain centre stage. Although best known for playing the colourful Sixth Doctor, he gave an entertainingly big guest performance years earlier in Blake’s 7; Bayban, a self-aggrandising baddie with a penchant for alliteration, came up against Vila in Series C’s City at the Edge of the World.

This self-titled boxset follows an appearance in the recent Avalon series and there’s an audiobook origin story, Bayban Ascending, due in February too. While Bayban apparently died at the end of his only onscreen appearance, it seems you can’t keep a good berserker down. Continue reading →

Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – Restoration (Part 3)

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Review by Ian McArdell

Restoration Part 3 is comprised of four episodes, which conclude the current Blake’s 7 mini-series. Set towards the end of the on-screen Series C, the story has seen the crew of the Liberator undertake desperate measures to repair their ship, critically damaged during the recent power struggle between Servalan and the President of the Federation. While the title references the crew’s goal, it also fits the aims of the President; in the wake of recent conflicts, he is striving to re-establish his grip on power.

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Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – Restoration (Part 2)

Posted on by indiemacuser

Review by Ian McArdell

Restoration Part 2 is the latest release in the current Blake’s 7 audio series. Although forming the middle part of this trilogy of box sets, these four tales also follow a tightly-linked storyline themselves: desperate to repair their ailing ship, nearly abandoned in tense finale of the previous set, Avon has brought the Liberator back home to ‘The System’.

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Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – Restoration (Part 1)

Posted on by indiemacuser

Review by Ian McArdell

A new year brings a fresh batch of classic adventures for Blake’s 7, the first of three box sets which will make up a mini-series under the umbrella title ‘Restoration’, in the same way the last three releases did for Crossfire. Continue reading →

Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – Crossfire Part 3

Posted on by indiemacuser

Review by Ian McArdell

Across four further tales, the crew of the Liberator return to witness the conclusion of the Crossfire story arc; episodes 9 – 12 chart the final stages of a civil war for control of the Federation, with Servalan and the former President vying for supremacy. Nestled as a sub-season within the continuity of late Series C, Crossfire Part 3 follows the same format as the previous two box sets, mixing arc-heavy stories with lighter ones and using various combinations of the cast; Avon, Cally, Vila, Tarrant and Dayna, along with Orac and Zen. Continue reading →

Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – Crossfire Part 2

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Review by Ian McArdell

Hot on the heels of their thrilling 40th Anniversary release, Big Finish are back for more as Crossfire – a twelve-part season of stories set within the programme’s third series – continues.

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Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – The Way Ahead (40th Anniversary Special)

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Review by Ian McArdell

In writing a 40th anniversary story, writer Mark Wright was set a tremendous challenge; to create a tale which offers each of the show’s main characters a chance to shine, while at the same time maintains a tone which resonates with the core themes of the show and celebrates what we all love about Blake’s 7. Continue reading →

Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – Heroes 

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Review by Ian McArdell

Celebrating Blake’s 7’s band of heroes, or should that be anti-heroes, this short-story collection is released in anticipation of the programme’s 40th anniversary next year.
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Audio Review: Blake’s 7 – Crossfire Part 1

Posted on by indiemacuser

Review by Ian McArdell

After their successful return in box set format last July, for The Spoils of War, this latest release for the Blake’s 7 – The Classic Audio Adventures range initiates a fresh run of twelve stories under the umbrella title of Crossfire which is proposed as a new sub-season of stories, set within Series C. Continue reading →