Blake's 7: Series 4 (5 Discs)

Swapping the majestic grandeur of the Liberator and the authoritive Zen for the 'intergalactic dustbuster' Scorpio and its continually apologetic computer Slave no doubt left viewers feeling a tad confused and disappointed when this fourth season of Blake's Seven launched in the winter of 1981. Was it worth it? Well by and large in my opinion yes as there are some fine script and cast performance offerings to be found in the thirteen episodes that make up this final run. Effectively an opening two-parter of "Rescue" and "Power" set things up nicely for our depleted group of freedom fighters and apart from the criminally awful "Animals" (we are meant to believe that resilient Danya would get all weepy about a former scientist love of hers) there are plenty worthy of praise. I personally would single out "Assassin" (where Servalan (now under the assumed identity of Commissioner Sleer(!)) hires herself a mercenary to track down our heroes) and "Sand" (where Tarrant and Servalan are isolated on a deserted planet and enjoy a brief loving relationship whilst under the threat of death from the indigenous life form). Of course it's easy to mock the outrageous biker types featured in "Stardrive" but the crews attempts to secure new propulsion for Scorpio I think successfully offsets this... just! A veritable feast of extras are served up for this which runs for just over 2 ½ hours excluding the two commentaries so what choice morsels are worthy of praise? We've certainly got some excellent 'making of' features on offer with 31 mins for 'Ken Ledsham's B7 design' and approx 39 mins for 'Special Sounds : Radiophonics' and you'll find plenty of giggles to be had during the 15 ¾ mins of 'Blake's Bloopers'. Although great to see Terry Nation's thoughts on the fourth season (approx 2 mins) the most welcome specially shot item has got to be the 30 min 'Forever Avon' interview feature where actor Paul Darrow talks about his appearance in the series as regular character Kerr Avon. We've seen this on Doctor Who titles like for example "Claws of Axos" but its nice to have some studio recordings from this fourth season, the three on offer total about 20 mins worth of footage. A reasonable line up of episodes further enhanced by an extensive, superb collection of bonus features. Definitely worth adding to your collection!

December 21st 1981, I was 13 years old and as the end titles of this most excellent sci-fi tv show rolled down the screen, so too did the tears roll down my face. A shocking end which cemented its place in TV history. I cannot recommend this series (or the other 3) enough

Whatever people's opinions of The Scorpio, Xenon Base and Soolin; whatever people think of most of the stories in this season (I think it improved as it went on) and however much some fans would like to erase this series from the continuity of Blake's 7, this is the season that gave us the episode 'Blake' and it is that episode - and that ending that turned Blake's 7 into a legendary series, that has had fans clamouring for its' return for almost thirty years. This the season that hit us with a sucker-punch and left us wanting more - for such a long time - and for that alone I feel it should have a place in our affections. Recommended!

I recall watching this in the early 80`s and thinking it just wasn`t as good as the previous series`- unfortunately watching the dvd doesn`t improve things.Despite the addition of the lovely and feisty soolin,who`s a definite plus,the series gets off to a slow start although we are of course now aboard the lumbering Scorpio freighter with a computer suffering from low self esteem.Avon & Co should have called it a day there and then and watching the first couple of uninspiring and silly episodes the only real highlight is "Traitor".Interesting story arc about the Federation`s new drug suppressent which seems to get forgotten half-way through the series .Instead of the continuation of this we have the extremely silly "Stardrive,Animals" and "Sand"-the latter probably having the dubious honour of worst ever B7 episode.Tarrant & Servalan together and it`s all wrong!,wrong!,wrong!.Boy next door yuk,yuk yuk.Things do improve with "Assasin","Gold",and the final unforgettable episode but the quality of writing isn`t as good as the previous 3 series.We still have some fruity dialogue particulary from Soolin as she swiftly deals with a hysterical girl in "Assasin".Avon gets some good lines again and the tensions between him and Tarrant make a welcome return from time to time but perhaps Avon finally shows his true colours in "Orbit" where he really makes Villa sweat.Certainly one of the best scenes in Blake`s 7 but Series 4 just doesn`t have the consistency.

Never thought I`d say it but the DVD extras on this are a veritable feast after the meagre rations provided on the first three sets.A lengthy and enjoyable blooper reel and some in-depth interviews with radiophonic sound amongst others.We also have a nice long chat with Paul Darrow which is probably the highlight although still nothing from the others apart from a brief word here and there.There are only two commentaries this time but at last we have some genuine chemistry and banter on "Assasin" in a highly enjoyable chat with Paul Darrow, Jackie Pearce-the former memorably making some choice comments about a certain dress.

The last series of Blake's 7 was far from a masterpiece, in fact it was a bit of a shame to see it kind of go downhill the way it did before it finished. After the strong first two series and a reasonably good third series, Blake's 7 was apparently finished on TV until they renewed it for another series.

In a way its a shame they bothered, cos quite a few of the episodes here aren't the best. "Headhunter" "Animals" "Power" are pretty so so, but the award for the worst episode goes to "Sand" which features a little bit of a romance between two of the most unlikely characters. Written by Tanith Lee, this episode belongs to a Mills and Boon story not Blake's 7! No offence, but she should have been kept well clear of Blake's 7.

But its not all bad, Glynnis Barber is pretty foxy as Soolin, the new crew member, Paul Darrow is still as ever watchable as Avon, even though he is posing more than acting! There are also to be fair some really good episodes here too, "Rescue" is a good opener, "Gold" and "Orbit" (which features Avon at his most creepy!) are also both excellent. And the finale "Blake" is a great episode by any rate, and also a real shocker to go out on, with the last five minutes being some of the best you'll see in the history of the show, its also great to see Gareth Thomas reprise his role as Blake (his solid acting is missed!).

On the extras side I was bit disappointed by the lack of commentary tracks, as there were only 2 episodes, Assassin and Blake. Its a shame they didn't pick a better episode to comment on like Orbit rather Assassin.

So series 4 is a real mixed bag, but its not all bad but not all good either, if you want to get it for completive purposes then I would recommend it.