Blake's 7 (TV Series) Stardrive (1981) User Reviews

Possibly The Worst Episode

[Theo Robertson · 2/10 · 31 March 2013]

Whilst searching for needed fuel for Scorpio the crew see Federation pursuit ships destroyed . Rewatching the demise of the spacecraft on slow motion monitor the crew realise the ships were destroyed by a craft fitted with a stardrive engine . Orac states that photon drive has been discovered so the Scorpio crew go to find the inventor of photon drive Dr Plaxton

Most fans of BLAKES 7 consider the following episode Animals as being the worst episode of the series 52 episode run but for me this is one is actually worse . Telefantasy strives and struggles to shake off the mainstream feel that it's silly nonsense produced only for stupid people and watching this episode it's difficult not to feel embarrassment

David Sullivan Proudfoot once again shows himself to be the weakest director on the show by dressing and portraying the Space Rats villains as being punk rockers . BLAKES 7 was very much a product of its time and the short lived New Romantic movement probably owes a little to the show but to have a ruthless much feared criminal gang thousands of years in the future having multi-coloured mohican hairstyles is frankly laughable and strains the credibility of both the episode and the series

Hard work, that's a poor episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 4/10 · 7 September 2022]

When The Scorpio is damaged by an Asteroid, Avon and crew go in search of an advanced stardrive, which is in the hands of the thuggish, speed freaks, The Space Rats.

Without any doubt at all, this is the weakest episode of Blake's 7, after a very interesting and promising first ten minutes, it really does go downhill........downhill very, very quickly, once we see the space rats, it all falls apart.

The Space Rats......I can see what writer James Follett was trying to do, show off the punk culture, a bold idea, only it doesn't quite work. It's just too garish, and the rats are impossible to take seriously, they're almost too comedic.

The visuals are a little lacking, the sets look a little cheap, and as I've mentioned, I'm no fan of The Space Rats themselves.

The ending was the best scene, and revealed a lot about Avon's character, he shows just how ruthless he can be.

I think the horrors of the next episode perhaps make this one seem a little less terrible, but overall, it's not one that I enjoy returning to, 4/10.

This may not be the deepest or the cleverest episode of "Blake's 7" but it's outrageous fun!

[GusF · 8/10 · 8 August 2014]

Just as the Federation is the Third Reich in space and the Terra Nostra from "Shadow" is the Mafia in space, the Space Rats are the Hell's Angels in space, though in terms of appearance they're closer to a cross between glam rockers and punks. Although it's Vila's stupid idea, Avon's behaviour while attempting to hitchhike on an asteroid once again shows that he's becoming more unstable. I liked the fact that the Scorpio was beginning to run into technical problems as (a) that sort of thing never happened with the Liberator so it makes a nice change and (b) it suggests that the ship was constantly on the verge of falling apart at the seams and it was only Dorian's technological prowess which kept it from doing so.

Glynis Barber has a few nice scenes in this episode, particularly when she objects to Avon using Vila and Dayna to distract the Space Rats. Speaking of which, they're not really very intimidating with their glam rock outfits. Although both Vila and Alton say multiple times that they refuse to drive or fly anything which doesn't travel at an insanely high speed, their dune buggy things and the vehicle that the Scorpio crew steals are rather slow, making for a very uninspiring "high speed" chase. Barbara Shelley is very good as Dr. Plaxton but I wish that she was given more screen time. None of the other guest stars really stood out, I'm afraid.

The end is chilling

[martin-31650 · 8/10 · 29 October 2018]

This episode suffers from some lacklustre editing and below par model making, and it meanders about a little as it reaches its conclusion, but when it does, the end is absolutely chilling. If you want to know the difference between Blake's 7 and Star Trek, watch this. It tells you everything.