[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Episode 4

Time Squad

By Terry Nation

Blake's first strike against the Federation is intended as a big one - Blow up the Federations communications complex. On the way to their target the crew pick up a small space craft in distress, four humanoid aliens who once revived intend to take the Liberator for themselves

These events are unknown to Blake, Avon and Vila who have teleported to Saurian Major and are on their way to the complex. They meet up with Cally a telepathic woman who is the only survivor of the planets resistance group, she agrees to help them with their mission. It is learnt that Cally is from the planet Auron and telepathy is an inherited gene at birth.

Back on the Liberator, the assasins all dealt with, Jenna learns that Gan has a limitor implanted in his head which prevents him from killing anyone whatever the situation.

Vila has no problem with the complex's locks and the party are soon inside the building setting the generator to overload then being teleported out by the Liberator. Due to problems with the last alien on the Liberator Jenna only just teleports the quartet out as the complex blows up.

Cally who is a long way from home is invited to join the crew. Now finally, together with Zen they are seven.

.....................................

Knowing how the series progresses this feels like the first proper episode of Blakes 7 so far - a space opera with what are essentially terrorist attacks on the Federation. The episodes additional storyline of the intruders aboard Liberator does in my view slow the stories pace and is not needed, it was possibly added to flesh out the stories running time.

The main mission to blow up the communications complex is pure boys own adventure on the lines of Where Eagles Dare or the Guns of Navarone, featuring some superb power plant settings and excellent location work to give the story a huge sense of realism.