Cold Fury cropWriter: Cavan Scott and Mark Wright

Published by Big Finish Productions

Starring Gareth Thomas as Roj Blake, Paul Darrow as Kerr Avon, Michael Keating  as Vila Restal, Jan Chappell as Cally, Sally Knyvette as Jenna Stannis, Brian Croucher as Travis, Alistair Lock as Zen/Orac, Hugh Fraser as The President and Caroline Langrishe as Dr Tirus 

Released: May 2014

BUY BLAKE’S 7 COLD FURY

COVER BLURB

When Travis scores a victory over the Liberator crew, Blake is willing to risk everything in order to get back what is theirs.

The destination is the uninhabited ice world Horst Minor, where eugenics specialist Dr Tirus is working on experiments for the Federation President.

Horst Minor has many secrets. And Blake is not going to like what he finds there…

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[toggle title=”From Starburst Magazine”]

Cold Fury is the fifth of six episodes in Big Finish’s first full cast Blake’s 7 series. It starts where last month’sMirror left off and the Liberator crew has an urgent task on hand – one of its crew is missing.

The ship makes its way to an ice world called Horst Minor which is being used by a eugenics specialist Dr Tirus (Langrishe) who has her own problems, not least of which is a surprise visit from the President (Fraser). And just what is Space Commander Travis (Croucher) up to and whose side is he on?

The ice world is well portrayed and the plot just about gives every crew member something to do whilst playing to various themes that have been woven throughout the series’ arc. Horst Minor also holds a dark secret which uses ideas from the TV series in a way that leaves more questions than answers and we hope that all will be revealed in the final episode. If we have one gripe about this episode it is that it clearly is only part of a larger story and once again a two-part ending has been sneaked upon us.

That said, this story raises the stakes nicely and puts several pieces into play for the end of the season. It also boasts an excellent performance from Hugh Fraser as the President.

Score 7/10

Tony Jones

(Original published at the Starburst website)

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[toggle title=”From Third Eye Cinema”]

And so it’s time once again for another instalment in the adventures of the Liberator crew.  Last time around, the erstwhile Vila Restal wound up left behind subsequent to yet another exploratory dead end, forced to commandeer a Federation ship only to find himself joined on deck by none other than their dogged pursuer Travis…

Now a prisoner on icy Horst Minor, Vila is subjected to a psychological and physical third degree, while the Liberator crew mounts a rescue operation.  But there’s far more to Horst Minor than might at first appear, and they’ll face off against the highest order of Federation hierarchy before it’s all over.

Worse, just what sort of horrific genetic experimentation is going on down there amidst the planet’s frozen wastes?

Make no mistake, this is a much stronger effort than last month’s instalment Mirror, with its weak “ladies only” side story dragging down the main “just the guys” investigation of the rumored Federac computer.  A true return to form, this is one of the stronger episodes thus far in the season, and here’s a few reasons why.

First thing’s first: the guest cast.

Whoa…Caroline Langrishe?  The same Charlotte Cavendish I was totally in love with back in Lovejoy’s early 90′s heyday?  And yet another appearance by Hugh Fraser, the loveable Captain Hastings of Poirot?  What is this, a “best of the Beeb” reunion tour?  All I can say is, nice…so, guys, think you can get Phyllis (“Lady Jane Felsham”) Logan too?  Geez…tell you what, pull in Zodiac fave and Whodunit regular Anouska Hempel, and that’s it, you’d have topped it all for me…

Secondly, the handling of the regulars, which for the most part shows an ongoing growth and character development in everyone involved.

In seeming direct contrast to last month’s Mirror, Cold Fury offers plenty of room for Sally Knyvette to strut her stuff.  In fact, this may be her most prominent episode to date, with Jenna very much making her presence (and mixed admiration and disaffection with Blake) felt herein.

While the non-Geneva Convention approved “interrogation” tactics Travis employs against Vila aren’t exactly pleasant to sit through, it’s hardly Gitmo territory, and therefore reasonably bearable, with Brian Croucher taking the opportunity to display a more dangerous, comparatively thinking man’s adversary than he’s had the chance to enact thus far in the run.

Similarly, Michael Keating’s Vila continues to get a welcome run of airtime, once again displaying more of a heroic bent (with both loyalty and determination clearly evident) than fans of the teleseries may be accustomed to.  Keating, as always, relishes the attention and focus, and remains the most likeable of the cast (at least in terms of the Big Finish audios), moving beyond the obvious pragmatism of the character as initially established to something more well rounded and fully developed.

Blake continues along the somewhat recently introduced line of being a more conflicted if not outright confused “leader” of the crew than he was in the past.  With his decisions increasingly called into question not only by his peers and “followers” but the man himself, Blake displays a more realistic self-doubt than the nigh-messianic (if admittedly idealistically deluded) figure he was somewhat prone to displaying in the series initial televised run.

Avon remains as sardonic as ever, but some measure of the grudging admiration that offset his character in the early days appears to have been lost, leaving him more of a bitter, perhaps even one-note persona these days.  While some Liberator Chronicles episodes have shown more of the early depth and personal magnetism Paul Darrow can bring to the role, his efforts in The Classic Audio Adventures tend to be more modulated and subdued, leaving Avon reduced somewhat to the occasional snarky aside or accurate if cynical assessment of the futility of the endeavor du jour.  To put it in simpler terms, it’s still in there, you just have to dig for it a bit.

Director Ken Bentley (Fractures, The Death Collectors, Enemy of the Daleks and Sylvester McCoy-era Lost Stories Animal and Crime of the Century) propels the action forward at due pace.  Bringing an authentically Terry Nation-era Blakes 7 feel to the proceedings, Bentley manages to juggle numerous seamless transitions between several scripted subplots without ever leaving the episode feeling cluttered or losing the listener.

Obviously, more than a measure of that same credit is due to scripters Mark Wright and Cavan Scott (a writing team also responsible for early Peter Davison/Peri adventure The Church and the Crown), and more than a nod is due regular Alastair Lock (who also provides uncanny takes on both Zen and Orac on an ongoing basis) for his atmospherically wintry sound design in making the picture evocatively complete.

As always with the various Who, Blake and Dark Shadows related lines Big Finish offers, it bears repeating (and often) just what a joy it is to hear the original cast back together again, particularly in such generally well crafted stories.

While some admittedly minor developments and variances to the original template may put longtime fans noses a tad out of joint, this particular Blakes aficionado (since its first early to mid 80′s Stateside airings, in fact) finds these same elements to give the characters greater depth, evincing growth and most particularly allowing these now seasoned actors a bit more breathing room to really strut their stuff.  Kudos all around, long may it continue.

(Original published at the Third Eye Cinema website)

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[toggle title=”From Sci-Fi Bulletin”]

While searching for Vila, the Liberator crew discover a much bigger prize – the President of the Terran Federation…

Cavan Scott and Mark Wright’s first part of this ‘season finale’ gathers all the pieces together, and throws in the President for good measure, with Hugh Fraser giving a very gripping performance as a man who seems to really feel the effects of high office. (Anyone who thinks such a person wouldn’t be fit to be given that power needs to read the biographies of certain Prime Ministers and Presidents – in some ways the paranoia on display here is quite muted compared with the real thing.)

The full-cast audios have been very good about spreading the dramatic beats and the action between the full cast. In this, everyone has some moments which play to their strengths, whether it’s Blake taking his eye off the ball, Vila having a St Augustine moment (resisting everything except temptation), Avon reluctantly conceding a point to Orac, Jenna being the voice of reason or Cally facing a nightmare decision. Add in Travis – with Brian Croucher rather less manic than in the previous episode – and Dr Tirus, a eugenics specialist with divided loyalties, and you’ve got a fast-moving, epic episode – true space opera, as Ken Bentley points out in the extras.

With this series, Big Finish are really starting to mine the potential of the licence, as they have done with Doctor Who: yes, they have got to put the toys back in the box in the same place at the end of it, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t tell stories that have resonances for the characters and may explain some of their later actions.

Verdict: Managing both to set the scene for the final showdown and tell a good tale in its own right, this is an exciting hour. 8/10

Paul Simpson

(Original published at the Sci-Fi Bulletin website)

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[toggle title=”From Horizon – The Official Blake’s 7 Fan Club”]

Cold Fury is the penultimate episode in Big Finish’s full cast Series-Within-Season B. I will avoid revealing spoilers for this particular story, but there will inevitably be some if you have not yet heard the previous ones in this series. So those of you who have not yet listened to Episodes 1-4 are highly recommended to so before reading on!

Like the episode that precedes it, Cold Fury has no pre-title sequence, and after the theme tune it plunges straight into the action, picking up where Mirror left off. The Liberator crew are searching for Vila, and the trail leads to the ice planet Horst Minor. There, both out on the surface and inside a top secret research facility, they discover considerably more than just their missing crew mate… 

This is a very good ensemble piece for the whole cast, with everyone getting a decent share of the action. I was very pleased that this time it’s Jenna and Cally who accompany Blake down to the planet, leaving Avon on board the Liberator engaged in verbal wrangling with Orac. Vila and Travis have some great scenes together, with Travis reminding him – as if Vila needs reminding – of what happened on Exbar. Cally’s telepathy is put to good use, as is the theme of Auron cloning; two aspects of her character that tended to be neglected in the later part of the televised Season B. 

We also meet a new character, Dr Tirus, and two returning ones, Nyrron and the President of the Terran Federation. Nyrron, the Auron scientist played by Anthony Howell, was introduced in the Liberator Chronicles stories Solitary and Wolf. Although it’s helpful to have heard these, previous knowledge of the character is not essential in order to appreciate his return appearance here. Caroline Langrishe does a fine job playing Dr Tirus, a scientist with conflicting loyalties. 

The President was briefly introduced in the previous episode, Mirror. Now we get to hear more from the man who leads the Terran Federation, and a picture emerges of a complex character, powerful yet paranoid. Played with sinister, silky charm by Hugh Fraser, the President is very different from the two representatives of the Federation we already know so well, Servalan and Travis. Hugh Fraser is wonderful in the role, and I can easily visualise the actor as the character. This is not always the case with audio drama; as a fan of The Archers, I tend to avoid pictures of those actors, who invariably look nothing like the way I picture their characters. But elegant, aristocratic-looking Hugh Fraser, with the voice to match, is a marvellous stroke of casting by Big Finish. 

Production values continue to be high. Alistair Lock has created atmospheres that so convincingly convey the sub-zero conditions of the ice planet, that I was glad it was a warm sunny day when I listened to it. Meanwhile, the familiar sounds of the Liberator; the chime of teleport bracelets, the shimmer of the teleport and Orac’s purring hum bring with them the comforting feeling of home, so accurately are they reproduced. 

In Cold Fury, writers Mark Wright and Cavan Scott have provided a satisfying balance of dialogue and action, exploring the dynamics of characters old and new, while ramping up the peril to the point where the story culminates in yet another cliffhanger. The acting, directing and sound design are all first rate, and I am now impatiently counting the days until the final episode is released in June.

Jackie Emery

(Original published at the Horizon website)

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