Liberator is the third episode of Blake’s 7 – The Audio Adventures by b7media.  Whereas Rebel retold the opening episodes of the TV series, and Traitor gave us three mini-stories in one, Liberator does what it says on the tin.

LIBERATOR

Servalan begins to understand the power and the might of the Liberator and she wants control of it to leverage her own position.  She instructs Travis to seize it, using his failure at the refuelling refinery as incentive.

Travis learns that the ship is controlled by Blake, and his lust for vengeance takes over.  At first Servalan still wants the ship but, when it’s clear that it’s not going to be taken easily, she allows Travis to go all out on it.

Part of the episode includes Blake and Gan seeking supplies on a derelict station, which gives Avon the opportunity to abandon their erstwhile leader and assume control himself, with the help of Vila.  This puts great strain on the relationship between Gan and Vila, whilst we understand more about Jenna.

The episode ends in a showdown where the nearly defeated Liberator and Travis’ forces are surrounded by five other Liberator-style vessels.  An almost human avatar appears on the Liberator, there to retake control of the ship on behalf of “the system”.

There ends the “first season” of Blake’s 7 – The Audio Adventures.  Despite trailers for seasons 1, 2 & 3 at the end of the final episode, there was to be no season 2 or any resolution to the cliff-hanger.  The cliffhanger suggests something along the lines of what happened in the TV series, but that’s not really an adequate resolution.  In this series, we’ve learned that the Liberator, and Zen, are different entities to the TV series.  The “trailer” for the non-existent season 2 suggests that it’s the Zen programming that resists “the system”.  This is somewhat explored in Escape Velocity, Zen’s “Early Adventures” story, but not resolved.  That said, it’s somewhat in keeping with the TV series that Blake’s 7 – The Audio Adventures should end with an unresolved cliff-hanger.

Nevertheless, the box-set contains a number of other adventures under the umbrella title Blake’s 7 – The Early Years, performed by a mixed cast of old and new actors.  Whilst it’s a shame that, having set up Blake’s 7 – The Audio Adventures so solidly and that they didn’t continue it, it’s reassuring to know that there are still further adventures to be had.

In the final analysis, though, Blake’s 7 – The Audio Adventures is a story without an ending.  We have three mixed adventures which form a varied foundation for a reimagined retelling of Blake’s 7.  That it ultimately goes nowhere makes it difficult to recommend.