Review BLAKE'S 7: ORAC - Episode 13

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
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Your thoughts on this episode.....


The crew of the Liberator head to the planet Aristo to deliver medical supplies to the computer scientist Ensor, creator of the mobile super-computer Orac. Where Blake and Cally require from Ensor, anti-radiation drugs for Avon, Gan, Vila and Jenna who have absorbed radiation from Cephlon. Travis and Serverlan have also arrived on Aristo as they bid on claiming Orac for themselves.





On to the next episode.....

REDEMPTION

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/redemption-episode-14.3393/


Back to the previous episode.....


DELIVERANCE

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/deliverance-episode-12.3386/
 
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Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
I actually quite like the CAPTAIN'S LOG style recap that Blake delivers at the beginning.

This was actually the first full episode of Blake's 7 that I ever saw and I was hooked immediately. Shame it was the last episode of the season though and I had to wait quite a while before the next one!

I quite like the original voice of Orac, played by Ensor himself, but I guess I am more used to Peter Tuddenham's delivery.

Terry Nation once memorably described Orac as William Hartnell's Doctor in a box - and I think there is a certain truth to that!

As usual, the attempts by the Liberator crew to actually help someone fail miserably.

Servalan and Travis are still making a nice double act.

And the lines....

Good shot

I was aiming for his head!

Were cheekily stolen and used in Firefly, even though Joss Whedon swears blind, of course, that he never ever saw Blake's 7.

The lying hound! :emoji_alien:

A good end to the season - and that cliffhanger was a strong one on original viewing, when you were left with the mystery of it's resolution for a few good months! :emoji_alien:


8 out of 10
 
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Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
Good shot

I was aiming for his head!

Were cheekily stolen and used in Firefly, even though Joss Whedon swears blind, of course, that he never ever saw Blake's 7.
I suspect those lines have probably made their way into many shows between Blake's 7 and Firefly. Although, there are a lot of Blake's 7 elements in Firefly. It's not the same show but its certainly a spiritual successor.
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
Alistair Lock does the Zen/Orac voices for Big Finish, and he's very good. Remarkably like Tuddenham. In fact this October a twelve episode series of the show will be released by Big Finish. Three box sets, not sure if they'll all come out at once, but looking forward to it immensely.
Orac is a great finale to series one. Many good scenes and lines. I admit I don't like the Captains Log bit. Amazingly cameras followed them down on Cephlon, so everyone could sit comfortably on The Liberator and review it. The only thing needed to be watched again was the explosion, and that gave them the answer.
The Phibians come in for a bit of stick but I liked them, and Servalan crawling through dirt was a nice touch.
Travis " You have to crawl but it widens out later. The rewards and credit remember! I'll go first shall I ?"
Servalan " No Travis, YOU will follow ME "
Good cliffhanger ending, which was something we hadn't seen before, a drama series ending with a tease like that. We had to wait about eight months for the resolution. Agony!
9/10
 
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michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
EPISODE CAST LIST.

Gareth Thomas.....BLAKE
Paul Darrow.........AVON
Sally Knyvette........JENNA
Jan Chappell......CALLY
David Jackson.....GAN
Michael Keating....VILA
Peter Tuddenham...ZEN
Jacqueline Pearce...SERVALAN
Stephen Greif......TRAVIS
Derek Farr........ENSOR/ORAC/SATELLITE
James Muir/Paul Kidd....PHIBIANS

Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Vere Lorrimer
Transmitted 27 March 1978.
 

Brimfin

Member: Rank 3
This one picks up right where last week’s episode left off, with Blake doing a ship’s log entry to remind us what happened. They are now headed toward Aristo to try to deliver the energy cells to Ensor Sr., find out what Orac is, and obtain some anti-radiation medicine as Avon and the others who visited the Cephlon last week are showing signs of radiation sickness. Meanwhile, Travis and Servalan are trying to beat them to the punch on that second item.

Blake and Cally beam down, as they’re the only ones not sick. They have to jump through hoops with Ensor’s drone making them ditch their weapons before being allowed through the barrier to visit Ensor. The inventor is glad to see them, thinking they’re ready to replace his waning energy cell. But alas, they’re not doctors. He agrees to go with them to their ship which has excellent medical facilities. He has plenty of radiation sickness medicine on hand as well. And of course, he must bring Orac with him - a super artificial intelligence that can take over any other machinery. So they head back out as they can’t communicate through the barrier to be teleported out.

And Travis and Servalan? Ensor saw them coming and put up a barrier. Orac reminded him that there is an underground set of tunnels, but Ensor assures him that the Phibians control those and will take care of anyone who ventures there. Orac even suggests it would be an act of mercy to warn the people to spare them from dealing with the Phibians. That sets up a chilling scenario that turns out to be the biggest letdown of the show. As they venture through the tunnels, Travis and the Supreme Commander hear a series of growls and are aware of some unearthly presence. Then when Travis goes forward to check out a tunnel a reptile hand like the one on the Creature from the Black Lagoon clamps on Servalan. She screams and Travis comes back and shoots it. A full shot looks like someone on his hands and knees with a sheet over him wearing a fake head and hands. It collapses immediately. That was the big scare, and there’s not another one in sight. The two villains then get through the tunnels with minimum effort and have to blow one wall to burst into Ensor’s "impregnable" headquarters. Blake, Cally and Ensor then have to go back through the tunnels to escape. They too encounter exactly one Phibian. Cally screams and Blake takes it out without even a weapon – hitting it with something. Maybe Ensor was remembering the Phibians from some prior heyday because here they were about the most unthreatening threat anyone’s faced so far this season.

Ensor’s luck runs out and he dies before he can even get out of his own headquarters. Blake and Cally emerge with Orac, and Blake puts a big rock over the entrance to keep Travis from following. (In typical fashion, he only puts one big rock. He wants to slow Travis down, but would not leave him to be trapped underground permanently.) However, Travis and Servalan took a short cut and beat them out. Luckily, Avon got tired of waiting around and beamed down to check on Blake and Cally, so he shoots Travis’s robotic hand and they leave the two of them behind, assuring them they’ll let the Federation know that they helped Blake and company get Orac. Servalan tells Travis that “he’s” going to be in trouble. But the best line came from Avon after shooting Travis in the hand. “I was aiming for his head,” he admits, with disappointment.

On the ship, it turns out Orac is a supercomputer but also a super pain in the neck – talking like Ensor and in circles. He tells them he sees the future and sees for certain that the Liberator will blow up soon. When asked to be more specific, he says “Now it will happen in less time.” And when the subject of dishonesty comes up and they ask Orac if he’s being honest with them, he replies, “If I were being dishonest, how would any of you even know it?” Clearly, he’s not going to be one of those computers who would hear someone say. “I’m a liar. I never tell the truth. In fact, I’m lying now,” and then short circuit while trying to understand the paradoxical statement.

The episode concludes with the Liberator blowing up – well, just the image of the predicted future on the main screen. Can they prevent it? To be continued next season.

This episode has a lot of action and some surprises, but the Phibians were a dud. I’ll give it a 7.
 

Brimfin

Member: Rank 3
Doctor Omega said:
Doctor Omega said:
Good shot

I was aiming for his head!

Were cheekily stolen and used in Firefly, even though Joss Whedon swears blind, of course, that he never ever saw Blake's 7.
Gavin said:
I suspect those lines have probably made their way into many shows between Blake's 7 and Firefly. Although, there are a lot of Blake's 7 elements in Firefly. It's not the same show but its certainly a spiritual successor.

Actually, the line is even older than BLAKE'S 7. I remember doing a spoof of current TV show listings years ago and using the following for THE ROOKIES (1972-1976): "Ryker congratulates Owens on shooting a gun out of a robber's hand - until Owens admits he was aiming for his head." I had heard the line somewhere before - on a comedy show, I think - and just loved it. I even used it later on in one of my BRIMSTONE stories. Who knows how far it could date back? Maybe to an old detective movie or something.
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8

Actually, the line is even older than BLAKE'S 7. I remember doing a spoof of current TV show listings years ago and using the following for THE ROOKIES (1972-1976): "Ryker congratulates Owens on shooting a gun out of a robber's hand - until Owens admits he was aiming for his head." I had heard the line somewhere before - on a comedy show, I think - and just loved it. I even used it later on in one of my BRIMSTONE stories. Who knows how far it could date back? Maybe to an old detective movie or something.
The Phibians were always a bit of a laugh in fan circles. B7 not really a monsters show, luckily only two or three more episodes with creatures in them, and are pretty dire too, the creatures not the stories.
Hopefully not a spoiler to say Travis will be back, too good a character to not have, but there's a surprise when he comes back.
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
The Phibians were always a bit of a laugh in fan circles. B7 not really a monsters show, luckily only two or three more episodes with creatures in them, and are pretty dire too, the creatures not the stories.
Hopefully not a spoiler to say Travis will be back, too good a character to not have, but there's a surprise when he comes back.
I always thought they should've arranged some sort of "accident" for Travis - at the hands of Blake and his crew - early in season two and then they could've introduced a comrade or relation of Travis to take up the hunt...
 

The Seeker

Member: Rank 6
Servalon’s nice white suit didn’t get smudged crawling through those tunnels, did they? I agree with everyone else that the Phibians were a joke. If Blake hadn’t gotten there first Ensor and his super sophisticated defense system would have had a rude awakening. Speaking of which, it’s a miracle Blake reached him first, what with all the hassles Ensor gave him. I know he had no reason to trust anyone but he would have lived if he’d cooperated more. Luckily Ensor’s dragging his feet raised Avon’s suspicions so that weaponless Blake and Cally didn’t meet their demise. I really didn’t feel much sympathy for Ensor, for some reason. If he’d known how his son died! Blake and Cally were merciful.

8/10
 

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
The Phibians were always a bit of a laugh in fan circles. B7 not really a monsters show, luckily only two or three more episodes with creatures in them, and are pretty dire too, the creatures not the stories.
Hopefully not a spoiler to say Travis will be back, too good a character to not have, but there's a surprise when he comes back.
The dreaded Croucher episodes!!! ''Crimmo's!'' ''Crimmo's!'' Greif was such a good baddie and very believable in the role and then they give the part to this guy who looks like an Eastend gangster!!! I like Croucher don't get me wrong! he is dead funny as Travis but I think it's a waste to not have Greif!
JB
 

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
I've been rewatching Blakes 7 and tonight I reach Orac, the final episode of the first series! Back in 78 I was convinced it wasn't going to continue (Gangsters series 2 anyone?) so rubbed out the tapes I had of the sound tracks and what a surprise I had come January!!!
JB
 
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