Jenna liaises with an old friend – but who can she trust?

Blake’s 7’s influences draw from many different places – we’re all aware of The Dirty Dozen, Robin Hood etc. I’m not sure there’s been a story that’s owed quite such a debt to Br’er Rabbit before, but Trevor Baxendale pulls it off in this opener to the most recent set of Blake’s 7 adventures.

And this, make no mistake about it, is a Blake’s 7 adventure, with Sally Knyvette and Jan Chappell front and centre, rather than any sort of spin-off; it’s the sort of episode that had the show been made in the US on a 26-episode per season basis would have been designed to give some of the ensemble cast a week off (maybe a tag or teaser featuring one other cast member who was going to get paid anyway so the producers might as well use him).

It’s definitely one to try to listen to in one sitting – I ended up having to stop after 20 minutes, but given all the dealings, double crossings, triple dealings (and so on up to sextuple-crossings – I gave up counting after that) I went back and restarted. You need to concentrate as to who’s allied with whom, and start placing your bets as to who’s going to give a comeuppance to one of the least effectual Federation officers we’ve come across. There’s some intriguing use of part of the mythos that opens up some interesting possibilities for the future (yes that’s deliberately vague, but you’ll know it when you hear it).

Lisa Bowerman moulds strong performances from regulars and guest cast – Laura Aickman doubles up on two very different roles, as does Shane Zaza – with Alistair Lock’s sound design very effective.

Verdict: A strong story, with enough twists to give an Osiran a headache. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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