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Post by elkawho on Oct 19, 2018 19:56:28 GMT
Now that I've become a massive Blake's 7 fan, I've been making my way through the audios. I've been surprised at how few threads there are discussing the Liberator Chronicles. It's an amazingly good series with quite a few gems. In fact, I think there was only one story in all of the LC sets that I haven't liked. So I thought I'd list my top 5 stories in the LC and really get some discussion going regarding these wonderful audios. So here there are, in descending order.
5. The Turing Test The first LC story, showing that Big Finish really get this show and these characters. It really captures Avon's particular character quirk; he wants others to think that he has no emotions, but he is the most loyal of them all. He's the one most emotionally connected to each and every member of the crew, no matter what he tells himself. As far as we know, he's the only one who has a story that is in large part motivated by love. There's some great Avon/Vila banter in this one.
4. Kerr Servalan and Avon (yes, I know. But it's close enough.) What else could you ask for? I love this one. It was written by Nick Wallace. Has he written anything else for BF? If not, he should. And the idea of an Avon clone out there in the universe is wonderful.
3. Logic Louise Jameson is EVERYWHERE! And it might even have bothered me if she wasn't so damn good in this story about an average woman living under Federation rule. What a depressing life she leads. But it makes for a remarkable story.
2. Three What can I say? Servalan has to be one of the most evil characters every created. You know the journalist doesn't stand a chance the second this story begins.
1. Corners Of The Mind As good as the other stories are, this one is far and away my favorite. Avon, piecing together puzzle after puzzle, all the while losing pieces of his own mind. And the hubris it takes to keep doing it. Fantastic!
Ok folks. What do you think?
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Post by smith11 on Oct 19, 2018 21:12:36 GMT
I was always hoping for some discussion on these great audios, it’s hard to pick top 5 though but here we go:
5. Spoils - an excellent example of how to show how good/flawed a character Blake is and just an excellent story all around.
4. Incentive - My favourite team is probably the series C team and is a really good action story that explains an important plot point in the show.
3. Three - this is how an “origin” story should be done and that twist at the end is SO good and shows why Servelan is such a good/evil character.
2. Capital/Punishment - its just a really good story, especially “punishment” that explores Vila very well and feels like a missing story from series C
1. The Armageddon Storm - it’s just epic, that’s all I can say.
Hounrable mentions - The Magnificent Four, Blakes Story, Spy, The Hard Road, Retrebution, Corners of the Mind.
I must say I love all the Liberator Chronicles though with even my least favourite one - Brother- still being a good story in my eye.
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Post by elkawho on Oct 20, 2018 2:21:03 GMT
I was always hoping for some discussion on these great audios, it’s hard to pick top 5 though but here we go: 5. Spoils - an excellent example of how to show how good/flawed a character Blake is and just an excellent story all around. 4. Incentive - My favourite team is probably the series C team and is a really good action story that explains an important plot point in the show. 3. Three - this is how an “origin” story should be done and that twist at the end is SO good and shows why Servelan is such a good/evil character. 2. Capital/Punishment - its just a really good story, especially “punishment” that explores Vila very well and feels like a missing story from series C 1. The Armageddon Storm - it’s just epic, that’s all I can say. Hounrable mentions - The Magnificent Four, Blakes Story, Spy, The Hard Road, Retrebution, Corners of the Mind. I must say I love all the Liberator Chronicles though with even my least favourite one - Brother- still being a good story in my eye. I find this so interesting. Yeah, picking 5 was really hard. I love The Armageddon Storm and agree that it's an epic story. And it has ramifications throughout the Liberator Chronicles as well. Regarding Spoils, that was the one story I didn't like. Nothing in it range true to me. But hey, we all have our tastes.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2018 8:10:35 GMT
It will always be Volume 6 for me with both Jenna and Blakes story it gave a poignant finality to the characters i had loved so much growing up
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Post by elkawho on Oct 20, 2018 13:42:19 GMT
It will always be Volume 6 for me with both Jenna and Blakes story it gave a poignant finality to the characters i had loved so much growing up Yep. I really love the character of Jenna and missed her in seasons 3 and 4. I love her in these audios, and Jenna's Story is terrific. As is Blake's. That whole volume is a must listen for anyone who loves this show, really.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2018 13:44:01 GMT
It will always be Volume 6 for me with both Jenna and Blakes story it gave a poignant finality to the characters i had loved so much growing up Yep. I really love the character of Jenna and missed her in seasons 3 and 4. I love her in these audios, and Jenna's Story is terrific. As is Blake's. That whole volume is a must listen for anyone who loves this show, really. Yet another character(Jenna) that BF gave the chance to really shine.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Oct 21, 2018 5:53:46 GMT
In no particular order:
Retribution: Vila is a thief. He’s a good thief but has a conscience, yet his ultimate focus is safety. Avon is also a thief, but he lacks a conscience and his ultimate focus is survival. It’s interesting to put them together in what’s effectively a “caper gone wrong” story where Avon’s drive for survival has to butt heads against Vila’s need for safety. It’s a good story that explains why Vila trusts Avon, despite Avon’s contempt for him, he knows that Avon’s drive for survival will protect him as long as he’s useful. I think it would have been pretty cool to get a story that does the reverse, shows us why Avon trusts Vila.
The Armageddon Storm: it’s Like a Blake’s 7 greatest hits album. There’s snarky lines, Avon being cynical, Vila using humour to cover his fears and cleverness, the Federstion being twats, spaceship battles, robberies and rebels.
Three: Servelan is a piece of work. She takes a reporter who has said things about her in the past and utterly destroys him - seemingly for her own amusement.
The Magnificent Four: What Blake be like, if he was like Avon. That last line is chilling... how the hell can an audio describing someone smiling be chilling?
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Oct 22, 2018 23:39:19 GMT
So question, and a little off topic, how interconnected are The Liberator Chronicles? I know some thing introduced in that range fed into the full cast audios but do these box sets build on each other or are they all pretty much independent as far as stories go? Meaning do I need to know what have happened in LC 2 to understand plot points in LC 9? Thanks.
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Post by smith11 on Oct 23, 2018 1:29:39 GMT
So question, and a little off topic, how interconnected are The Liberator Chronicles? I know some thing introduced in that range fed into the full cast audios but do these box sets build on each other or are they all pretty much independent as far as stories go? Meaning do I need to know what have happened in LC 2 to understand plot points in LC 9? Thanks. Most liberator chronicles stand on their own although occasional stories link together but only by reference and you don’t need to have listened to them to understand the stories. However, to really get the most out of volume 12 I would recommend listening to volume 3 and 9 first, I can’t really explain fully without spoiling it I’m afraid If you’d like a listening order so that you get all the references and plot bits I’d recommend doing it this way: Warship (very much a stand-alone story so can be listened to at any point) The Liberator Chronicles Volumes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Full Cast Audios Series 1 The Liberator Chronicles Volume 9 Full Cast Audios Series 2 The Liberator Chronicles Volumes 10,11,11x,12 The Spoils of War Crossfire Restoration (upcoming audios) I would recommend watching the series first before listening to the audios, except for Warship which should be watched between Series 2 and 3 as it plugs a gap in the story. Hope this all makes sense 😀
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Post by elkawho on Oct 23, 2018 3:52:40 GMT
They are fairly stand-alone stories and like the Companion Chronicles, they tend to delve deep into individual characters. Some do reference back to other stories, but as smith11 says, you can still enjoy the story without listening to them. I listened to Warship in between watching Seasons 3 & 4 of the TV series, and then listening to all the Liberator Chronicles before starting on the full casts.
They are a joy to listen to.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Oct 23, 2018 17:49:36 GMT
We all talk about a backlog of stuff to listen to, well for me that backlog is almost entirely comprised of The Liberator Chronicles box sets.
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Post by smith11 on Oct 23, 2018 23:11:55 GMT
We all talk about a backlog of stuff to listen to, well for me that backlog is almost entirely comprised of The Liberator Chronicles box sets. In that case you are in for a treat
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Post by jolyon on Oct 26, 2018 17:47:53 GMT
I think "President" is my favourite.
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Post by inchmix on Nov 7, 2018 9:54:06 GMT
I think "President" is my favourite. President is excellent There are quite a few stories that I like
My fave tho is The Armageddon Storm
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Post by whosonfirst on Nov 18, 2018 16:45:07 GMT
My absolute favourite is *Poison*, because Vila is finally acknowledged as being brave, and we get that rare thing of a B7 story with a happy ending, which is a nice little surprise.
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Post by elkawho on Nov 19, 2018 1:57:25 GMT
My absolute favourite is *Poison*, because Vila is finally acknowledged as being brave, and we get that rare thing of a B7 story with a happy ending, which is a nice little surprise. I love your reasoning for this one. Yeah, I agree.
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Post by inchmix on Nov 19, 2018 11:15:58 GMT
My absolute favourite is *Poison*, because Vila is finally acknowledged as being brave, and we get that rare thing of a B7 story with a happy ending, which is a nice little surprise. I love your reasoning for this one. Yeah, I agree. I will have to relisten to Poison tonight. As I cant remember it clearly
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Post by charlesuirdhein on Nov 27, 2018 21:58:46 GMT
I think a return to this format is in order, otherwise without more recasting and/or finally getting access to Season D, we're stuck in Season C, and a Season C minus Servalan (though that can be worked around much easier than an actual crew member).
And it's too soon to recast Blake, let alone Servalan!
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,813
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Post by lidar2 on Nov 27, 2018 22:32:46 GMT
Anything by Simon Guerrier is good and well worth a listen
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Post by elkawho on Nov 28, 2018 4:43:26 GMT
I think a return to this format is in order, otherwise without more recasting and/or finally getting access to Season D, we're stuck in Season C, and a Season C minus Servalan (though that can be worked around much easier than an actual crew member). And it's too soon to recast Blake, let alone Servalan! Yes yes yes!!!
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