Review BLAKE'S 7: SEEK, LOCATE, DESTROY - Episode 06

Doctor Omega

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


Supreme Commander Servalan assigns one-eyed federation military officer Space Commander Travis (wounded by Blake) to eliminate Blake and the crew of the Liberator. But Travis takes Cally captive, when Blake and the crew steal a message decoder from a Federation security base on Centero.






Next Episode:

MISSION TO DESTINY

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/mission-to-destiny-episode-7.3351/


Previous Episode:

THE WEB


https://www.imdforums.com/threads/the-web-episode-5.3330/
 
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Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
The format finally settles and is established with the arrival of Travis and Servalan.

I like the guilt over Cally

Unfortunately I deleted most of my review so as to avoid spoilers for people, but in terms of marking this one is a good episode, encountered first in the Trevor Hoyle novelisation.

A solid....

6 out of 10



Going back to that interview I mentioned with the special effects man, there was also a reference to this photo and a bit of a story behind it.

p025rnr4.jpg


The special effects guy asked Terry Nation if he could be in the photo and Terry said "No, no, this is a photo of me and the robot!" The effects man continued "Everybody is out for their own egos in this business.

I cannot help but think, looking at the photo, that Terry was hoping for these clodhopping great things to be his next Daleks.

Perhaps he had visions of them getting their own USA series.

SENTRY ROBOTS: THE SERIES.

coolrobot.jpg

The last thing he needed was the guy who designed and built them actually getting any exposure or credit whatsoever! :emoji_alien:


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michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
This episode cast list

Gareth Thomas...Blake
Paul Darrow....Avon
Sally Knyvette.....Jenna
Michael Keating.....Vila
Jan Chappell..... Cally
David Jackson.....Gan
Peter Tuddenham..... Zen
Jacqueline Pearce.....Servalan
Stephen Greif.....Travis
Peter Craze....Prell
Peter Miles.....Rontane
John Bryans..... Bercol
Ian Cullen....Escon
Ian Oliver.....Rai
Astley Jones...Eldon

Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Vere Lorrimer
Transmitted 6 February 1978
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
So at last we see our main antogonists, and what a spectacular entrance.
Servalan is a great character who we'll see a lot more of, the part originally written for a man before Terry Nation switched, and Jacqueline Pierce a relatively unknown actress was to turn Servalan into one of the most memorable female science fiction characters of all time.
Stephen Greif as Travis was also great, he rose above the possibly cartoonish villainy look and gave a performance of depth. Menacing, with a past of possible murderous acts in the line of duty, but coming across also as someone dedicated to The Federation , a true believer, also with a personal grudge against Blake, making him a dangerous opponent.
The security robot on Centero was a bit naff , and they were a bit careless not noticing Cally had not teleported up with them.
Best line;
Vila " You were supposed to disconnect that thing, not rely on Gan to tear it loose with his teeth"
9/10
 

Brimfin

Member: Rank 3
This episode gets off to a quick adventurous start, including one of my favorite bits of dialogue:

Blake: Is Vila there?
Vila: I’m ready.
Blake: Jenna, put him down!
Jenna: Right! (looking at Vila) Vila, you’re a jerk!

Okay, that didn’t really happen but that thought occurred to me when he said “Put him down”…

Blake nicely evades that sentry robot, which was very effective at demolishing that swinging wire. Vila comes down and makes outwitting an electronic gate sound like fun. The crew’s mission is to steal a cipher and destroy the communication center so thoroughly that the Federation won’t know the cipher is missing and they can decrypt messages for weeks to come. Alas, all does not go as planned and Cally ends up caught in the explosion when a guard steals her transport bracelet and she’s not able to get it back in time. From this comes the one really bad scene in the show. While going over what they’ve found and what they plan to do with it, they utterly fail to notice that Cally didn’t beam back with them. Finally when Blake gives her an assignment, he notices she’s not there to carry it out – and only then do they catch on that she got left behind. Come on, there were only five of you on the mission and a small transporter room. Nobody did a headcount? Blake didn’t say “Is everyone all right …Avon …Vila …Gan …Cally…..Bueller…Bueller….Bueller?” Never mind; they do catch on and the proceedings continue.

It’s all pretty good after that. We get a new nemesis introduced – Travis. I figured he had some kind of scar when they introduced him without showing his face for so long. The eyepatch was nicely futuristic looking, as was his excuse that he didn’t accept any reconstructive surgery for it so that Blake would remember who he was. Blake pulls off the rescue of Cally by turning his old trick against him – beaming down to the station when they thought the Liberator was just sneaking in for some quick reconnaissance, then waiting there patiently until he could get to Cally and have them beam him to safety. Good solid rescue caper, showing Blake doesn’t leave any of his team behind. Pity Travis figured out the cipher was stolen, ruining the chances for Blake to eavesdrop on their conversation for a few more episodes. Oh, well. Score this one an 8.

Random thoughts:

The supreme commander was a woman. That was forward thinking. Of course, the British have been ruled by a Queen since 1952, so having a woman in charge must have seemed more natural to them. Maybe that’s why they’ve had 2 female Prime Ministers since 1980, but we’ve never had a female President (although I’m glad we didn’t get one in 2016. I’m fine with the idea of a female President – just not that one!)

Vila’s outfit was red and colorful while Blake’s color just blended in with the metallic surroundings. At times, it almost seemed like Vila was a colorized figure in the middle of a black and white movie.

Once they homed in on where Blake and Vila were and sent the rest of the team, they used a reverse of the transporting out effect for their arrival rather than sending them into a white outline.

Travis looks to be a solid nemesis for Blake. Someone might compare him (if they haven’t already) to Professor Moriarty going against Sherlock Holmes. However, Moriarty wasn’t actually the great nemesis most people think he was. He only appeared in one Sherlock Holmes story – the one where Conan Doyle had planned to kill Sherlock off permanently. In order to make his death for a great cause, Sherlock told Watson that Moriarty was a Napoleon-like crime leader and he was setting in motion an elaborate plan to ruin him. Later, from a distance, Watson saw the two confront each other and then both plunge off a cliff. This and the aforementioned plan put an end to Moriarty. Eventually, Doyle relented and brought Sherlock back from the dead, but not Moriarty. If I remember correctly, he was mentioned in passing as a former crime boss in one story and in another flashback story which focused mainly on a completely different character working a dangerous mission, we were told at the end that Moriarty located him and had him killed. That was the whole history of Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series of stories. I don't think the evil professor had so much as one line of dialogue in all of them.
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
This episode gets off to a quick adventurous start, including one of my favorite bits of dialogue:

Blake: Is Vila there?
Vila: I’m ready.
Blake: Jenna, put him down!
Jenna: Right! (looking at Vila) Vila, you’re a jerk!

Okay, that didn’t really happen but that thought occurred to me when he said “Put him down”…

Blake nicely evades that sentry robot, which was very effective at demolishing that swinging wire. Vila comes down and makes outwitting an electronic gate sound like fun. The crew’s mission is to steal a cipher and destroy the communication center so thoroughly that the Federation won’t know the cipher is missing and they can decrypt messages for weeks to come. Alas, all does not go as planned and Cally ends up caught in the explosion when a guard steals her transport bracelet and she’s not able to get it back in time. From this comes the one really bad scene in the show. While going over what they’ve found and what they plan to do with it, they utterly fail to notice that Cally didn’t beam back with them. Finally when Blake gives her an assignment, he notices she’s not there to carry it out – and only then do they catch on that she got left behind. Come on, there were only five of you on the mission and a small transporter room. Nobody did a headcount? Blake didn’t say “Is everyone all right …Avon …Vila …Gan …Cally…..Bueller…Bueller….Bueller?” Never mind; they do catch on and the proceedings continue.

It’s all pretty good after that. We get a new nemesis introduced – Travis. I figured he had some kind of scar when they introduced him without showing his face for so long. The eyepatch was nicely futuristic looking, as was his excuse that he didn’t accept any reconstructive surgery for it so that Blake would remember who he was. Blake pulls off the rescue of Cally by turning his old trick against him – beaming down to the station when they thought the Liberator was just sneaking in for some quick reconnaissance, then waiting there patiently until he could get to Cally and have them beam him to safety. Good solid rescue caper, showing Blake doesn’t leave any of his team behind. Pity Travis figured out the cipher was stolen, ruining the chances for Blake to eavesdrop on their conversation for a few more episodes. Oh, well. Score this one an 8.

Random thoughts:

The supreme commander was a woman. That was forward thinking. Of course, the British have been ruled by a Queen since 1952, so having a woman in charge must have seemed more natural to them. Maybe that’s why they’ve had 2 female Prime Ministers since 1980, but we’ve never had a female President (although I’m glad we didn’t get one in 2016. I’m fine with the idea of a female President – just not that one!)

Vila’s outfit was red and colorful while Blake’s color just blended in with the metallic surroundings. At times, it almost seemed like Vila was a colorized figure in the middle of a black and white movie.

Once they homed in on where Blake and Vila were and sent the rest of the team, they used a reverse of the transporting out effect for their arrival rather than sending them into a white outline.

Travis looks to be a solid nemesis for Blake. Someone might compare him (if they haven’t already) to Professor Moriarty going against Sherlock Holmes. However, Moriarty wasn’t actually the great nemesis most people think he was. He only appeared in one Sherlock Holmes story – the one where Conan Doyle had planned to kill Sherlock off permanently. In order to make his death for a great cause, Sherlock told Watson that Moriarty was a Napoleon-like crime leader and he was setting in motion an elaborate plan to ruin him. Later, from a distance, Watson saw the two confront each other and then both plunge off a cliff. This and the aforementioned plan put an end to Moriarty. Eventually, Doyle relented and brought Sherlock back from the dead, but not Moriarty. If I remember correctly, he was mentioned in passing as a former crime boss in one story and in another flashback story which focused mainly on a completely different character working a dangerous mission, we were told at the end that Moriarty located him and had him killed. That was the whole history of Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series of stories. I don't think the evil professor had so much as one line of dialogue in all of them.
It's often been said that this show is a sort of Robin Hood in space, and the writers concurred , therefore Travis might be seen as the Sheriff of Nottingham to Blake's Robin Hood. You'll discover hopefully, if you stick with the show, that both Servalan and Travis are nicely developed as characters and not at all stereotypical baddies.
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
After being briefly distracted by the events in THE WEB, Blake and his crew finally infiltrate a high-security Federation installation on the planet Centero, to steal a highly sensitive decryption cipher. Meanwhile, as news of Blake's exploits begin to spread throughout the Federation, Servalan, Supreme Commander of the Federation, comes under pressure from the Federation High Council. In response to this pressure, she appoints Space Commander Travis to hunt down and kill Blake and his crew, although this is initially met with disapproval from her colleagues.

Travis is under a military enquiry after organising a massacre on the planet Oros, so his rank and authority have been temporarily stripped from him. However, Servalan restores them both to Travis and appoints him to the position of Senior Executive Officer of the space station. He requests a crew of Mutoids to pilot his Federation pursuit ships, because due to an earlier clash he had with Blake, he is now forced to wear a patch over his left eye and he has an artificial hand with a built-in laseron destroyer ring. Therefore, he feels he has a form of kindred to the slightly less than Human individuals. As a result of all of this, Travis takes personal pleasure in accepting the assignment from Servalan.

During their escape from Centero, Cally is separated from the rest of the crew and loses her teleport bracelet during a struggle with Federation personnel. Blake and the others only realize that she is missing after they have returned to the Liberator. She is captured and brought before Travis for interrogation and he decides to use her as bait in a trap he sets for Blake. However, Blake manages to avoid the trap set for him and initiates a hit and run attack on Centero to rescue Cally. Blake actually teleports down to the Federation installation when Federation personnel thought that the Liberator just made a quick reconnaissance run. He then waits there until he can get Cally and himself teleported back to the Liberator. During this rescue mission, Blake manages to damage Travis' cybernetic hand before escaping with Cally. Travis vows his revenge.

With episode six, SEEK - LOCATE - DESTROY and the addition of Jacqueline Pearce as Servalan and Stephen Greif Travis, the main cast and overall structure of BLAKE’S 7 appears to be more or less set. Both new arrivals give highly credible performances in their respective roles and the future of the TV series as a whole looks quite promising. On a personal note, I also quite liked the inclusion of security robots into the story. I know they've not always been popular with other viewers, but I feel all they really need is to be used in the right sort of environment. However, I’m not sure that this story provided that sort of environment.

5/5.
 

The Seeker

Member: Rank 6
All right, just finished it. I do like Servalon’s cool demeanor. Travis? He should have gotten that plastic surgery. I thought his eye looked too primitive.

I truly thought Cally was dead. I’ve seen their penchant for killing off sympathetic characters. They would have had to rename the show “Blake’s 6.”

Really, I’m not creative enough to say anything that’s not already been said. One thing bugs me, though you probably shouldn’t overthink this show: where did the Liberator come from? I really want to know!
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
All right, just finished it. I do like Servalon’s cool demeanor. Travis? He should have gotten that plastic surgery. I thought his eye looked too primitive.

I truly thought Cally was dead. I’ve seen their penchant for killing off sympathetic characters. They would have had to rename the show “Blake’s 6.”

Really, I’m not creative enough to say anything that’s not already been said. One thing bugs me, though you probably shouldn’t overthink this show: where did the Liberator come from? I really want to know!
The origins of the liberator are dealt with, but if you're desperate to find out, the episode to watch is;

Redemption ep 14
 

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
OK I was a little offput by the title. Thought I might be seeing some daleks.

But overall this was definitely a return to form for the show after last episode's miss-hit. Blake and the team attacking the Federation. A good sequence with them infiltrating the base and stealing the decoder. And blowing up the room to disguise the theft was clever. It would have worked too except for the fact that the Federation recruited someone who knew Blake well.

A good introduction to our new villains Servalon and Travis with plenty of exposition about Travis' back story with Blake.

Losing Cally was a bit careless. Hopefully they'll remember to do a head count when returning to the ship in future.

Overall a great episode - 10 out of 10
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
OK I was a little offput by the title. Thought I might be seeing some daleks.

But overall this was definitely a return to form for the show after last episode's miss-hit. Blake and the team attacking the Federation. A good sequence with them infiltrating the base and stealing the decoder. And blowing up the room to disguise the theft was clever. It would have worked too except for the fact that the Federation recruited someone who knew Blake well.

A good introduction to our new villains Servalon and Travis with plenty of exposition about Travis' back story with Blake.

Losing Cally was a bit careless. Hopefully they'll remember to do a head count when returning to the ship in future.

Overall a great episode - 10 out of 10
Well, you did sort of see some mechanical monsters...

Although they were quite tame compared to Terry Nation's other more famous inventions.
 

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
Well, you did sort of see some mechanical monsters...

Although they were quite tame compared to Terry Nation's other more famous inventions.
I did hear rumours that Terry really wanted the Daleks to appear in Blake's 7. He was very keen to spin them off outside of Doctor Who. That's why we didn't see any between Evil of the Daleks in 1967 and Day of the Daleks in 1972.
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
I did hear rumours that Terry really wanted the Daleks to appear in Blake's 7. He was very keen to spin them off outside of Doctor Who. That's why we didn't see any between Evil of the Daleks in 1967 and Day of the Daleks in 1972.
There was talk of them being the invading army from another galaxy later on, but that was later changed.
 

Cloister56

Member: Rank 3
OK I was a little offput by the title. Thought I might be seeing some daleks.


It seems the Liberator wardrobe room comes with coloured jackets for all the crew. Blake grey, Vila red, Avon blue, Gan brown and Cally green. I wonder if Jenna gets yellow or pink?

I like the infiltration mission that begins the episode. It's nice to see the team planning and executing a mission rather than reacting to external events. For the most part it is well planned and calls on all the teams skills including Gan's strength.
I wasn't sure of Vila's distracting of the guards. It was definitely amusing but it didn't seem like something the Vila we have been shown up to this point would do. Remember not too long ago this was the guy who dropped his gun when his fellow convict said drop em.
Perhaps he is like an actor, if he gets given a role he gets into it and it masks his own fears.

The team leaving behind Cally also seems odd. They leave her keeping watch on the staff. When the alarm goes off Vila arrives and they barricade the control room. Did no one at this point wonder how Cally was getting on? Then when they teleport aboard why doesn't Jenna immediately notice they are missing someone. It is similar to Brian Blessed's character sneaking aboard, it doesn't seem to fit with the set up we have been shown.
I think with a little revising this could have been tightened up but it's not a big issue.

The team decides not to immediately rescue Cally. This clearly weighs on Blake but I think as it is likely Cally died in the explosion that pushes him not to go back. I think if she was definitely alive he would have.

I love seeing Peter Miles (Rontane) in anything. He is brilliantly creepy and I hope he returns in later episodes.

Servalan makes an immediate impression. She does remind me heavily of Ursa from Superman 2 and she is strikingly beautiful. She uses this well to manipulate Ray the staff member and clearly she is very practiced in doing this. But she also commands great authority and it is clear fear from the little look the 2 government representatives give each other as they leave.
I half expected it to be like Bond with Sevalan dispatching them down an elevator shaft as they leave.
In just a few scenes you can see she will do whatever is necessary to reach her goals.
Sadly there was a bit of lens flaring in all Servalan's scenes. I think this is one of the dangers of using white and it was know for years in Doctor Who, which is why they painted things slightly green. It is strange they made the mistake and didn't learn from this.

We also get a top henchman introduced in the form of Space Commander Travis. He is very striking looking and I like his back story for why he has that eye piece. It makes sense and tells us a lot about his character.
He is shown to be effective in this episode generally. He realises quickly that the raid had greater purpose and pushes to discover it.
It is nice that his knowing Blake aids him in manipulating the situation but it swings both ways with Blake using prior experience with Travis to beat the trap.
I did wonder how the Federation would discover Blake's ships has a teleport. It is an amazingly powerful weapon and would negate most of the security measures the Federation would have. Now they know it exists they can plan for it. The gap begins to close.
If I followed Travis' back story it seems he was responsible for the massacre of Cally's people. I assume this isn't known to Blake's group of else I would have thought Caly would have shot him immediately.
The final lines of Travis "I am your death Blake" are chilling and interest me in what is to come.

I wonder what the Mutoids Travis mentions are going to look like. It seemed from his description they will be cyborgs. I am looking forward to seeing them.

A great episodes, we now have faces for federation and thus clear enemies for Blake and his team to fight against.

9 colours the Liberator Jacket line (available soon) comes in, out of 10
 

chainsaw_metal1

Member: Rank 8
In a world where modern television gives us two-hours premieres, whereupon we are given the backstories of every character, and their drives and goals. And yet here, it takes six episodes to finally get to our antagonists, Servalan and Travis. Servalan isn't a buxom bombshell, but an interesting mix of sexy and commanding, who in one second can be very enticing, and in another very cold. I like her. A lot. Travis, on the other hand, is very much a sadistic military man, who we know has a history of being a cold-blooded murderer in the name of "right", and that history crossed paths with Blake, where he nearly died at the hand of our hero. He bears the scars of that encounter with a really goofy looking cybernetic eyepatch that actually makes him look even more menacing than his black leather pimp suit...I mean, space commander uniform. The mission of hitting a vital Federation operation goes awry when Cally is left behind, and thought dead. Again, we see Blake's humanity shine through both with his guilt over her perceived death and his determination at rescuing her from Travis. And we see Avon being the voice of his own brand of reason. A really great episode.

So I think this one deserves 9 out of 10 smashed laser hands.
 
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