Crossfire is Big Finish’s attempt to do a supplementary Blake’s 7 TV series in an audio format. Fitting snugly into the third series of the classic ‘70s sci-fi show, it does the job. Take something old and make it new again. Part One established an arc plot involving a de-stabilised Federation, Servalan under some political threat and raised the stakes a bit. The series continues in a similar vein but is less of an anthology and more a series of episodes with a coherent plot woven between them.
We begin with Funeral on Kalion, written by BBC spin-off stalwart Trevor Baxendale. Kalion is a strategically valuable part of the Federation; whoever controls has access to powerful military assets. The crew of the Liberator get caught up in the political crossfire between the two leaders of Federation, and the result is a bit of classic Blake’s 7 action. The entire cast gets a chance to chew some scenery here, and it reminds the listener of the set-up in Part One whilst promising more actual plot.
That brings us to the story Shock Troops. This feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity. What is intended as a sort of ‘Behind the Curtain’ style story is instead rather messy and incoherent. There are some cracking performances and everyone is trying to sell you on this very different sort of story, but it just doesn’t quite hold together, which is a real shame.
Avon himself, Paul Darrow, wrote the third story in this set, Erebus. As you might predict, Avon gets all the best lines in this, with Villa taking up the role of the ever-present straight man. It’s quirky and funny and Darrow introduces some much-needed world-building into the story, but we hope this is a one-off. It’s a good story but it’s pretty predictable.
Finally, we get The Scapegoat, which does the busy work of bringing together existing story and themes. It’s nice to hear Toby Longworth on this series, a voice familiar to fans of any British sci-fi audio drama, and the whole thing is rather charming if not terribly memorable.
Overall, an above average collection that fulfils the promise of the previous set, whilst leaving the listener hanging on for more. Not remarkable but worth the time and money.
BLAKE’S 7 CROSSFIRE PART TWO / WRITERS: TREVOR BAXENDALE, CAVAN SCOTT, PAUL DARROW, STEVE LYONS / DIRECTOR: JOHN AINSWORTH / STARRING: PAUL DARROW, MICHAEL KEATING, JAN CHAPPELL, STEVEN PACEY, JACQUELINE PEARCE / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 28TH
