The Liberator crew split forces to follow up two important leads – and discover that nothing is quite what it seems…
So this is what Blake’s 7 would have felt like on telly if it had been made as a serial rather than a series – that was the thought that occurred halfway through listening to this story, as the number of ongoing plot threads that were all being serviced in Peter Anghelides’ script became clear. The crew actually splits in three – Jenna and Cally are involved with one problem; Blake, Avon and Vila try to find the Federation’s new computer; and Orac pursues his (or its, if you listen to Avon) own agenda.
Mirror also sees the return of Travis Mark II, played by Brian Croucher, whose different interpretation of the space commander is emphasised here, and the introduction of Hugh Fraser as the Federation President – an unpleasant piece of work who seems to be cut from the same cloth as Servalan (or certainly, the Servalan as seen in James Goss’s earlier play, Three). His manipulation of Bethan Walker’s Locklan bodes ill for the future of the Liberator crew.
Anghelides knows the crew’s little verbal tics – the byplay between Blake, Avon and Vila is occasionally hilarious, but always true to character – although we’ve heard Jenna face a similar scenario to the one at the end of the episode in a recent Liberator Chronicle. It’s not the first time recently we’ve had this sort of overlap, but hopefully it won’t become too much of a problem.
Verdict: A slick adventure which uses all the crew well – even Zen. 7/10
Paul Simpson
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