Reviews (1)

The Best British Drama Series You've Never Seen
VOLUME FOUR (two episodes on this tape) OF A FIVE VOLUME SERIES

I swear, I've not met many people who have actually seen "Danger UXB." But those, maybe like me, who's whole family would wait with eager anticipation each week for the next episode to come on, speak so highly of it that you would think that it ranked with the classics "Upstairs Downstairs" and "The Jewel in the Crown."

"Danger UXB!," they'd say. "That series is SO wonderful!! Don't you remember how you felt knowing that your favorite character whom you'd just spent three episodes growing to love might be taking the last step of defusing the Nazi's horrible invention of an 'unexploded bomb' where the fuse is designed to detonate as it is being removed and you don't know if that next moment will be their last!"

This series is like the video equivalent of a "page turner." ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Superb treatment of little known WWII specialty
Danger UXB is the story of British soldiers engaged in bomb disposal. It is a story of the officers and men, who as a team performed this dangerous task on a daily basis from the start of the war and well beyond the end of it.

This is an ensemble cast that works well together from the young officer freshly commissioned and assigned to bomb disposal ("don't you have to volunteer?")to the scientists working hand in hand with the military to come up with new ways to disarm more and more complex bomb fuses. You have the fussy civilians worrying about their stores, to the bomb out people looking to see where they'll be living for the next few days.

The series bings out the interesting point that it is much more of a problem if a bomb does not explode than if it does. The disruption to normal acitivity is shown quite well.

The team aspect is underscored because even though the officer is disarming the bomb, the sappers are out there digging for it and one wrong shove with a shovel or bang with a pick and the whole group thing goes up in a bang.

This is a specialty of military service with few walking wounded, you are either alive and sitting on a bomb or dead and only the birds can find the pieces.

I had a particular encounter with British Bomb Disposal when I was in Berlin, Germany in the late 70s on military service with the US Army. I came home one afternoon and found the whole street blocked off. When I asked an MP what was up, he told me that there were two bombs, one American and one British, that had buried in the mud and were discovered when a new autobahn was being built. So while we waited, British and American bomb disposal personnel were working on bombs that were over 25 years in the mud and clay soil, just waiting to explode. From this I viewed Danger UXB in a much more positive light.

I found this to be an exciting and well put together series. It is a typical British top drawer program that Masterpiece Theater is to be commended for finding and introducing to American viewers. I recommend this to any person interested in British military history and World War II.

Very memorable, inspiring, emotional.
It's been over 15 years since I saw this on PBS... yet it's not something easily forgotten.

The Best British Drama Series You've Never Seen
VOLUME ONE (the first three episodes on this tape) OF A FIVE VOLUME SERIES

I swear, I've not met many people who have actually seen "Danger UXB." But those, maybe like me, who's whole family would wait with eager anticipation each week for the next episode to come on, speak so highly of it that you would think that it ranked with the classics "Upstairs Downstairs" and "The Jewel in the Crown."

"Danger UXB!," they'd say. "That series is SO wonderful!! Don't you remember how you felt knowing that your favorite character whom you'd just spent three episodes growing to love might be taking the last step of defusing the Nazi's horrible invention of an 'unexploded bomb' where the fuse is designed to detonate as it is being removed and you don't know if that next moment will be their last!"

This series is like the video equivalent of a "page turner." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Drugs control Space city while a weapon is amined at Blake
Vol. 8 of the next thrilling adventures of Blake's 7 entitled
SHADOW and WEAPON

In the episode entitled Shadow
Blake and the others make way for Space city where every kind of vice is at anyone use...for a price including the most addictive drug in the known universe Shadow. Blake knows a crimnal group called the Terra Nostra operate out of space city and seeks thier help in stopping the Federation. What Blake doesn't know is that the Terra Nostra knows he is wanted by the Federation and are willing to give him over so space city doesn't come under control of the Federation. All the while ORAC seems to be controling Cally for its own agenda. Can Blake escape from the clutches of the Terra Nostra get ORAC under control and figure out why the planet Zonda seems to be the key to all these strange events?
In the next episode entitled Weapon
Travis has killed Blake..not really just a very well made clone created by the Clone Masters. Servalan has made a clone of Blake to meet with a weapons maker who has created a weapon called IMIPAK. From what Servalan has fopund out IMIPAK may just be the weapon needed to stop Blake in his tracks. Blake totally unaware that he has been cloned or for that matter what kind of power IMIPAk has that makes even the Federation puzzled. Can Blake find out before its to late?

Criminals and Clone Masters in the B7 universe
Volume 8 of the "Blake's 7" video series contains two more episodes of this beloved British sci-fi series. The special effects are often primitive, but the snappy dialogue and memorable characters make B7 an engrossing epic.

In "Shadow," the first of the 2 episodes on the tape, Blake and the crew of the Liberator travel to Space City, a free space station known as the "Satellite of Sin." Blake attempts to make contact with the notorious interplanetary crime syndicate known as the "Terra Nostra." This episode reveals some more about Vila's backstory, and provides a great opportunity for Cally to show that, in a crisis, she is one tough rebel!

In "Weapon," Blake plans a raid on a Federation weapons development station. But things are complicated by the disappearance of a Federation weapons technician who has created an ingenious new weapon. This episode also introduces a powerful group of individuals known as the Clone Masters. "Weapon" is a bit over the top; the outrageously baroque costumes and weird, stagy sequence involving the Clone Masters seem a bit incongruous with the essential thrust of the plot. Best line: "...on Earth it is considered ill-mannered to kill your friends while committing suicide" (a typically sarcastic Avon to Cally).

Overall, "Shadow" and Weapon" are good installments in the series. If you have enjoyed such sci-fi series as "Babylon 5" and "Farscape" but have not yet seen "Blake's 7," give these, and other volumes in the series, a try. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Watch a dark ruthless Avon.
"Headhunter" Tarrant and Vila are trap in space with somethings so dangerous, even the supercomputer orca is afraid and goes into hiding. Watch and wonder if Avon will leaves them in space to die.

"Assassin" learning, his love/hate archenemy Servalan is hiring a hitman to get him, Avon goes all-out to kill Servalan first. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Avon tracking a killer while Cally tries to save her people
The next vol. of Blake's 7 with epsidoes CHILDREN OF AURON and RUMORS OF DEATH
In the episode entitled CHILDREN OF AURON
Avon is tracking a famed Federation torturer called the Shrinker. Avon found out that he was the one who killed his belvoed Anna. The others trying to stay out of Avon way as he begins his plans for revenge. Meanwhile Servalan is once again taking the Federation reconstruction to the next planet..the planet of Auron. There Servalan will take the peace loving people and make them part of the Federation by any means. Cally sister sends out a mental plea to her begging for help. A strange epidemic has erupted. Cally needs to go but Avon plans seems to be getting in they way. Will Avon get his rvenge or will Cally be the last of her people?
In the next epsidoe entitled RUMORS OF DEATH
Servalan has finally settled into the role of Federation president. She is about to host the most powerful people of the Federation but before the festivities begin an uprising on Earth begins. Servalan finds herself a prisoner and facing death very soon. Meanwhile Avon finding out that Shrinker was not the one who killed Anna but a Federation agent called "Bartolomew". Now Avon has set a course for Earth and is going to find his revenge of die trying.

"Auron" interesting; "Rumours" excellent
These episodes get the series back on track following the disastrous "City at the Edge of the World." "Children of Auron" is an interesting premise whose ending doesn't quite deliver. Servalan hatches a plan which will destroy most or all of the population of Auron, Cally's home world. (It is interesting to note that many of the third season's episodes revolve around Cally and her telepathic abilities, almost to the series' detriment.) Servalan's plan is ultimately revealed to be creating offspring in her own image and capturing the Liberator. This episode starts off well, but has a weak ending. "Rumours of Death" is one of the most unique episodes in the entire Blake's 7 series. Servalan is put in very real danger and removed from her usually glamorous settings. It is great to see her character in a such a different situation. The plot revolves around Avon seeking revenge for the murder of a woman he greatly loved in the past. There are several twists and turns and the episode moves along briskly. It is a five star episode in and of itself and is one of best episodes in the entire Blake's series.

Well ploted and acted episodes
Children of Auron sees another, not too credible, side of Servalan and the deaths of numerous hench men.

Rumours of death is an excellent well plotted conspiracy story. Shot on location in a large country house, the plot centres around Servalan's address to the federation and the conspiracies to kill her.

Avon's (Paul Darrow) exchanges with Shrinker open the episode and makes extremely entertaining viewing. One of the best Blake's 7 episodes I have been fortunate enough to see. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Cally is being controlled while a planet wants Avon mind
The next vol. of Blake's 7 entitled SARCOPHAGUS and ULTRAWORLD

In the epsidoe entitled Sarcophagus
the Liberator has found some stragne craft floating in space. Zen does not register it as a space ship. Orac doesn't seem to have any answers. However Cally seems to be getting some kind of mental signal. Avon, Cally and Tarrant transport over to find out. What they find is a tomb. Avon decides this place has nothing and the tomb starts to collaspe. Cally grabs an artifact and they transport out. Soon the tomb explodes and the Liberator flies off. Orac tries to figure out what the artifact is but with no luck. Zen is baffled and can not come up with a clue. Cally wonders if the artifact is sending out the mental signal. Soon Cally begins to loose control of her mind and body. The others can do nothing but watch as Cally begins to hunt them down on the Liberator one at a time. But Avon intends to stop Cally at all costs.
In the epsidoe entitled ULTRAWORLD
The Liberator has found a planet out in the middle of nowehre. Zen reads that the planet is moving on it's own and does not find any life on the planet. Avon wonders why this planet is moving. Orac senses a vast computer on the planet but can't find out where. Avon and the others transport down to find out. Soon they meet the Ultra beings made by Ultraworld. The planet they thought and the computer Orac sneses are one in the same. The Ultra collect brain patterns and Avon and Cally are on the list. Now it is up to Dayna and Tarrant to save not only Avon and Cally but themselves as well.

Sarcophagus better than Ultraworld
Only the six regulars appear in Sarcophagus, which opened the door to some character development. Jan Chappell's Cally, however, is (once again) the weak link in the chain, her psi-powers the conduit for somebody to take over the Liberator. Paul Darrow's Avon may have feelings towards Cally, but this isn't developed in the series. Writer Tanith Lee developed a much more interesting relationship between Tarrant and the baddie, Servalan in "Sand." For a lighter and less emotional trip, I suggest Trevor Hoyle's "Ultraworld" which, complete with disco-ball alien world, Michael Keating's Vila making bad jokes, a lot of running through corridors, is a laugh riot. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Scorpio needs more speed and Dayna seeks an old freind
The next vol. of Blake's 7 entitled STARDRIVE and ANIMALS

In the epsidoe entitled STARDRIVE
The main engine drive of Scorpio is destroyed beyond repair. Orac finds Avon an engineer for him. Her name is Dr. Plaxton famed for creating some of the universe fastest sapce crafts. Avon and the others set out in the crippled Scorpio in search for her. What they find are the dreaded Space Rats. A group of speed loving maniacs who live for nothing but speed and brutality. Avon knowing the risks goes to try and rescue the good Doctor to give Scorpio the needed boost to keep themselves one step ahead of the Federation.
In the next epsidoe entitled ANIMALS
Avon now trying to fight the Federation pacification program seeks out experts to save the universe. The first stop is Bucol 2 a planet in which a former lover of Dayna lives. Tarrant goes along with her to meet the great Justin former Federation genetic engineer. Soon on the planet Dayna finds the creatures that Justin has worked on so long monsters that can witstand even radiation itself. Dayna is thrilled to be with Justin again but before long the Federation has found her and the others. Tarrant forced to leave with Scorpio heads off hoping to have them follow but with no such luck. On borad the Federation ship is Servalan or under her new name Commisar Sil. Thought dead she has taken a new identiy to once again become president of the Federation. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Blake hunting down Star One while Travis plots downfall
The next vol. of Blake's 7 sees much action and suspense in the episodes entitled THE KEEPER and STAR ONE
The episode entitled The Keeper
Blake leaving Freedom City with only one clue the planet Goth. Docholli erased his memory and those working on Star One formerly called control, but left a copy of it on Goth. Now Blake must find who is keeping that information so he can find Star One. On Goth Blake is attacked by medieval warriors lead by a ruthless warlord who may have the key. The warlord has meet Travis and Servalan already and takes a liking to Travis but hating Servalan. Then he meets Blake and the others and taking a rather good intrest in Jenna and Villa rather good sense of hunor. Jenna knows it is up to her to find out who is the keeper of the secrets of Star One or she may end up a warlords wife.
The Next episode entitled STAR ONE
Blake has done it he has finally found Star One. After weeks of huting down Federation officers, runaway medical doctors and waring warlords Blake has found Star One. What Blake doesn't know that Star One is a planet and on that planet reside the technicans ment to live out the rest of there lives servicing Star One. They seem to think Blake is someone else, someone with a missing arm and an eye. Blake has to figure out why they think he is Travis and stop not only him but destory Star One and the whole of the Federation as well. This epsiode shows us the steps Blake goes to see his dream fullfilled and what Traivs will do when finally pushed to the edge. The Universe of Blake 7 shall forever be changed

Star One
It's is the end of Blake's reign, and the beginning of Avon's. Avon has the idea that he is going to take over the Liberator after the Federation is destroyed. Unluckily for the crew is...Blake isn't standing in his way.

Star One
This episode represents the end of the Blake's reign and shows us that Avon plans on taking the ship for his own after the Federation is destroyed. The trouble for the crew isthis.... Blake isn't standing in his way.

Is He Dead? ... He is NOW!
A great finale to the second series of Blake's 7, and the "handover" between Blake and Avon. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Avon may have found Blake but the cost is the Liberator
The next vol. of Blake's 7 entitled TERMINAL and RESCUE

In the epsidoe entitled TERMINAL
Avon has been avoding the crew. The few times Avon has been corned by any of the crew he has threaten to kill them. The only clue they have is the heading for the planet called Terminal. What little to know of the planet is that it was man made and it seems that Avon is going alone. Avon goes down and finds a Federation base and there he finds....Blake. The others begin to worry so Tarrant and Cally head down as well. But Dayna and Villa are being attacked by some kind of space leech that is killing Liberator. Avon soon finds out it is a trap by Servalan she wants nothing more then the Liberator. Avon not knowing what is happening to the Liberator begins a deadly bargin that may or may not work out. This marks a truly sad point in the series with the loss of the Liberator and marking a darker turn in the universe of Blake's 7 that no one would ever thought of.
In the next epsidoe entitled RESCUE
The Liberator is destoyed even worse the base that Avon and the others were in has just exploded with Cally still in it. Avon, Villa, Tarrant,Dayna and Orac have nothing, no weapons and very little chance to live. The life on Terminal is dangerous but all seems not lost a ship lands and a salvage operator named Dorian comes to the rescue. Soon on board the ship Scorpio they head to where Dorian lives and works. But all seems not to be as Dorain has a vast complex and seems to be getting older by the second. Even his compaion the trigger happy Soolin seems to wonder what is going on. Have Avon and the others found themselves in a trap that not even the federation could have come up with. If so then who is springing the trap?

all Happy Ending fans stop here!
All right, so this isn't really a happy ending either. (the show wasn't really a 'happy ending' kind of series) The problem with Blake's 7, after this volume, is that it becomes ever darker and darker and more reliant upon needless violence to flesh out many of the stories to the required time. This is a pity, too, because Blake's 7 (up to this point) always seemed to me how the BBC would have done Star Trek, had they been asked to produce it. While it is fun, in a series, to see all your favorite characters 'doing it all again, one more time', watching the way that season 4 destroys the characters and everything that they've worked for almost makes one wish that the BBC hadn't extended the show the extra season. On the other hand, perhaps I am just being morbid. Watch the remaining episodes if you wish, but mark my words: it will all just end in tears.

... the jaws of death ...
A welcome "return" (?) of a missing central character in Terminal in a well written episode. Should the series have ended with this episode? No. There are darker sides to come in series 4 ...

"Terminal" excellent; "Rescue" flawed
"Terminal" should have been the final episode of this series. Written by series creator Terry Nation, this episode contains surprises and a satisfying ending to the saga of the crew of the Liberator. However, the BBC decided to bring the series back for one more season and with Nation in Los Angeles, the series was left in the hands of script editor Chris Boucher. In "Rescue," the premiere episode of the fourth and final season, Boucher strikes again with a plot that starts off well, but once again offers a disappointing ending. Plus, the characters take on their darkest natures under Boucher's pen and it is hard to root for them during his episodes. This video is essential for all Blake's fans as it features the end of one era and introduces the crew for the final season. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The crew play games while sand from another planet attacks
The next vol. of Blake's 7 entitled GAMES and SAND

In the epsidoe entitled GAMES
The planet Mecron holds the most powerful energy source in the universe Feldon crystals. There a twisted man called Belkov supervises the mining for the Federation. He is also known as the Master Gameplayer. There on Mecron he forces the natives to mine while he enjoys his games with his computer. Avon thinks he can out wit the master gameplayer. But can even Avon win at the games that Belkov knows and changes the rules to suit his needs?
In the next epsidoe entitled SAND
The planet Virn is a desert planet. Only one Federation scouting ship was ever sent to that planet. Part of that team was a former lover of Servalan. She goes to down to the planet to finally figure out what happen to that team. Avon gets word that Servalan is going there and intends to find out why. Soon Servalan ships lands but all to soon begins to develope faults and sand seems to be seeping in. Avon sends Tarrant and Dayna down to search but Scorpio has become trapped in the atmospshere of the planet. Dayna gets back to Scorpio but Tarrant is still trapped, worse Servalan is trapped with him. Now the two must work side by side if they intend to live and Avon must make a choice get free of the planet atmosphere or try and save Tarrant.

A solid pair of B7 adventures
Volume 24 of the "Blake's 7" video series contains 2 more episodes of this great British sci-fi television series. These episodes, "Games" and "Sand," continue the adventures of Avon and his crew of interplanetary rebels aboard the starship Scorpio.

In "Games," the ruthless Federation is investigating the potential of Feldon crystals as an energy source. Both the Scorpius crew and their nemesis Servalan tangle with Belkov, a corrupt and eccentric official on a planet where the crystals are mined. Stratford Johns turns in a terrific guest performance as Belkov, who is obsessed with playing games. This episode is full of scheming, greed, and betrayal. Great line: "You steal for your reasons, I'll steal for mine!" (Vila).

"Sand" is an excellent episode in which both Servalan and Avon's crew are investigating the fate of a doomed mission to Virn, a mysterious planet that may be the home to a unique and valuable element. This episode is rich in haunting, surreal images. And the deadly secret of Virn is an excellent sci-fi twist. As a bonus, there is a bizarre flirtation between Servalan and Tarrant. Great line: "Power became my lover. Power is like a drug" (Servalan). Overall, "Games" and "Sand" are rich in many of the elements that make "Blake's 7" a great series: great dialogue, compelling characterizations, and an intriguingly dark vision of the destiny of humanity.

"Games" rushed at end; "Sand" sleepy, but still potent.
Raving gamesmasters on one -- each vying for a valuable commodity; and a plague(?) of vampyric sand, swilring 'round a dangerous and torrd afair, in the other. Quite a mix. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Avon has a get rich scheme while someone wants Orac
The next thrilling vol. of Blake's 7 entitled GOLD and ORBIT

In the episode enetitled GOLD
Keiller the purser of the crusie ship Space Princess contacts Avon and the crew about a deal of a life time...17 billion in gold. Avon wonders why such a ship would be shipping so much. Keiller tells him it's a simple plan. Get in, get out and become richer then the Federation itself. What Keiller forgot to mention is that the gold belongs to an old freind. Avon soon wonders why such a job as this has come out of nowhere. He smells a trap even worse he smells a trap set up by Servalan. Avon soon wonders if Keiller can be trusted and if not can he figure a way out of the trap before anyone can spring it?
In the next epsidoe entitled ORBIT
Famed genius and sicentist Egrorian has not been seen by anyone for years until now. He has been on work on the most powerful weapon called the tachyon funnel. This weapon is so powerful it could blow away the Federation in a matter of seconds. Egrorian has now decided to sell his weapon. His first choice to sell the weapon? Avon himself. Avon wonders why him, he has nothing to offer. Egrorian makes the terms simple one powerful weapon for one powerful computer...Orac. Now Avon must choose to use the one tool to keep him one step ahead of the Federation or aquire the one single weapon that could destroy the Federation in a mere heartbeat.

This video has two of the four best in the Blakes 7 saga
This video show the British Star Trek at its finest. In these two episodes we see what has maade Blakes 7 a cult classic: strong writing and superior acting that rises far above the restrictions of tight budgets and notoriously cheesy sets. In Gold we have the classic "heist" plot played out aboard an interstellar liner, but what begins as a sort of Mission Impossible in Outer Space becomes an oddy moving mixture of pathos and irony. In Orbit we see Villa and Avon, the two most complex characters in the series, put into a situation which pits their peculiar drives of self perservation against each other with real suspense and superb performances; especially on the part of Paul Darrow as the complex anti-hero Avon who shows us just how far a Avon will go to survive. New viewers of Blakes 7 should be advised that these episodes are part of a single, long story, but this video can easily be enjoyed on its own. A real treat from the golden days of BBC science fiction. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Avon needs Scorpio while the Federation rebuilds
The next vol. of Blake's 7 entitled POWER and TRAITOR

In the episode entitled POWER
Avon and the others escaping from Dorians trap now have run of his base. However they can not get to the ship Scorpio in the silo. Avon, Tarrant and Dayna explore the planet and find primative warriors living in what looks to be an old military base. Villa is trying to crack open the door but instead finds a dangerous trap a nuclear compression charge. Now time is running close Avon and the others have to figure out how the warriors play into the twisted plans of Dorian and Villa must defuse the charge before the whole planet goes.
In the next epsidoe entitled TRAITOR
The Federation has been rebuilding faster then ever and the latest planet is Helotrix. Helotrix is famed for having the most savage and brutal warriors in the universe so how did they surrender so easily? Avon and the others decide to find out. There the Federation have settled in and are fighting off the last of rebels of the planet. Trying to figure out what is going on they also find out some news Servalan is no longer president. Something strange is going on Helotrix but both mystries have the same answer. Will Avon figure it out soon?

Vintage Avon fun.
"Power" continues the story from "Terminal", the crew are trapped on the planet Xenon with no way to get to their newly acquired ship Scorpio, watch Avon---cold and ruthless as ever, kill men and women in a battle of the sexes for Scorpio.

"Traitor" Tarrant beams down on a planet to learn about the Federation's new secret weapon and joins the planet's resistance fighters; he also sees an old friend, he had hoped was dead.

2 exelent episodes
first I would like to say These episodes do NOT have Garth Thomas in them. They are exelent episodes among my favorites of Blakes 7. I did always like the later ones best though. Other then the last episode Garth is only in the first 2 seasons I believe. ... Read more