Blake’s 7 – Classic Audio Adventures (2014-2015)

Steven Pacey reprised his role as Del Tarrant in Series 2 of Big Finish’s Blake’s 7 Classic Adventures. The six radio plays are performed by the stars of the classic BBC television series. These stories are set during Series 3.

2.1 Scimitar	2.2 Fortuitas	2.3 Mind Set
2.4 Ghost Ship	2.5 Devil’s Advocate	2.6 Truth and Lies

2.1 Scimitar

Synopsis:

The crew of the Liberator awaken to find one of their own missing. Where is Dayna? Has their friend been taken or has she deserted them? The search for Dayna leads them to a deserted ship in the middle of a dangerous asteroid field.

But what is the secret of the Scimitar and can Avon get every member of his crew out of the asteroid field alive?

Text from Big Finish

Listen to the Trailer.

Cast:

Performer	Character
Paul Darrow	Kerr Avon
Michael Keating	Vila Restal
Steven Pacey	Del Tarrant
Jan Chappell	Cally
Tom Chadbon	Del Grant
Alistair Lock	Zen/Orac
Buffy Davis	Karlov
Daniel Brennan	Drince

Creatives:

Executive Producers	Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Producer	Cavan Scott
Writer	Trevor Baxendale
Director	Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor	Justin Richards
Sound Design	Martin Montague
Music	Jamie Robertson
Cover Art	Grant Kempster

Production Details:

Recording Date: 25th July 2014
Recording Location: Audio Sorcery
Release Date: November 2014, Announcement.
Publisher: Big Finish
ISBN: 978-1-78178-404-4
Duration: 60 minutes

Product available at Big Finish – Scimitar.

2.2 Fortuitas

Synopsis:

The search for Dayna takes the Liberator to Solace, a former galactic tourist trap fallen on hard times.

When he loses a second member of his crew, Avon is forced to investigate a series of mysterious disappearances. As Orac and Del Grant track a radical new movement that is campaigning for the purity of Solace, a deadly trap begins to tighten. The future is Fortuitas. The future is now.

Text from Big Finish

Listen to the Trailer.

Cast:

Performer	Character
Paul Darrow	Kerr Avon
Michael Keating	Vila Restal
Steven Pacey	Del Tarrant
Jan Chappell	Cally
Tom Chadbon	Del Grant
Alistair Lock	Zen/Orac
Hywel Morgan	Marl Ranking
Jo Haworth	Eva

Creatives:

Executive Producers	Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Producer	Cavan Scott
Writer	George Mann
Director	Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor	Justin Richards
Sound Design	Martin Montague
Music	Jamie Robertson
Cover Art	Grant Kempster

Production Details:

Recording Date: 30th July 2014
Recording Location: Audio Sorcery
Release Date: December 2014, Big Finish Announcement
Publisher: Big Finish
ISBN: 978-1-78178-405-1
Duration: 60 minutes

Product available at Big Finish – Fortuitas

2.3 Mind Set

Synopsis:

A voice is calling in the darkness. A voice that only Cally can hear.

Vila has abandoned his crewmates, searching for the mythical water of life. With Cally acting suspiciously, Tarrant and Grant face danger at the heart of paradise.

A gift is being offered. A gift that will cost one member of the Liberator crew dearly. But will Cally accept?

Text from Big Finish

Listen to the Trailer.

Cast:

Performer	Character
Paul Darrow	Kerr Avon
Michael Keating	Vila Restal
Steven Pacey	Del Tarrant
Jan Chappell	Cally
Tom Chadbon	Del Grant
Alistair Lock	Zen/Orac
Geoffrey Breton	Reno

Creatives:

Executive Producers	Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Producer	Cavan Scott
Writer	Jacqueline Rayner
Director	Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor	Justin Richards
Sound Design	Martin Montague
Music	Jamie Robertson
Cover Art	Grant Kempster

Production Details:

Recording Date: 29th July 2014
Recording Location: Audio Sorcery
Release Date: January 2015, Big Finish Announcement
Publisher: Big Finish
ISBN: 978-1-78178-406-8
Duration: 60 minutes

Product available from Big Finish – Mind Set

2.4 Ghost Ship

Synopsis:

Vila is scared. Of course he is. Vila is always scared.

He should feel safe. He is on board the Liberator, the most powerful ship ever constructed. He is home – but he is certainly not alone.

Ghostly figures stalk the corridors of the Liberator. Spectres who know Vila’s name. Revenants. Demons.

And Vila has nowhere to run.

Text from Big Finish

Listen to the Trailer.

Cast:

Performer	Character
Paul Darrow	Kerr Avon
Michael Keating	Vila Restal
Steven Pacey	Del Tarrant
Jan Chappell	Cally
Tom Chadbon	Del Grant
Alistair Lock	Zen/Orac
Nick Asbury	Reverant One
Susan Franklyn	Reverant Two

Creatives:

Executive Producers	Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Producer	Cavan Scott
Writer	Iain McLaughlin
Director	Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor	Justin Richards
Sound Design	Martin Montague
Music	Jamie Robertson
Cover Art	Grant Kempster

Production Details:

Recording Date: 28th July 2014
Recording Location: Audio Sorcery
Release Date: February 2015, Big Finish Announcement
Publisher: Big Finish
ISBN: 978-1-78178-407-5
Duration: 60 minutes

Product available from Big Finish – Ghost Ship

2.5 Devil’s Advocate

Synopsis:

When Del Tarrant joined the Liberator he thought he’d left his past behind him – the gallant Federation officer with friends in high places.

But the past has a habit of catching up on you. A man the Liberator crew thought dead crosses their path, now a fugitive on the run. He brings talk of an alliance, of a brave new future – but is Avon prepared to make a deal with the Devil?

Text from Big Finish

Listen to the Trailer.

Cast:

Performer	Character
Paul Darrow	Kerr Avon
Michael Keating	Vila Restal
Steven Pacey	Del Tarrant
Jan Chappell	Cally
Tom Chadbon	Del Grant
Alistair Lock	Zen/Orac
Hugh Fraser	The President
Simone Lahbib	Pelora

Creatives:

Executive Producers	Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Producer	Cavan Scott
Writer	Steve Lyons
Director	Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor	Justin Richards
Sound Design	Alastair Lock
Music	Alastair Lock
Cover Art	Grant Kempster

Production Details:

Recording Date: 5th August 2014
Recording Location: Audio Sorcery
Release Date: March 2015, Big Finish Announcement
Publisher: Big Finish
ISBN: 978-1-78178-408-2
Duration: 60 minutes

Product available from Big Finish – Devil’s Advocate

Promotion:

Steven Pacey is interviewed about Series 2 of the Blake’s 7 Classic Adventures in Big Finish’s Vortex Magazine issue #72, and in the Extras section of the audio. The interviews concentrate on the Tarrant-centric episode Devil’s Advocate.

Steven Pacey talks to Vortex about all things Tarrant!

Interview: Cavan Scott
Words: Kenny Smith

DEL BOY

For Blake’s 7 fans of a certain age, the show began with Series C. Lots of fans have no recollections of watching the show on its original run with Gareth Thomas as the titular character, and, indeed, the only curly haired character they remember onboard the Liberator was Del Tarrant. The part was brought to life by Steven Pacey, who is now recreating the part with relish.

As the second series of full-cast Blake’s 7 audios continues this month, Steven admits that he’s amazed by the loyalty of the show’s followers. For those who don’t know, Steven explains that Tarrant: “was a space captain and he was a wanted man – along with the others – and they joined forces because it made sense to do so.

“He’s a D’Artagnan kind of character – he’s the youngest man in the room, and all that testosterone had to go somewhere, so it came out against Avon! When I auditioned for him, I was told Tarrant was 35, and there I was at the age of 23 – I had a good, long hard look in the mirror!

“I didn’t think I had a hope in hell of getting it, but the producer, David (Maloney), told me to give it more gravitas, and to drop my voice deeper and deeper – so now I’m using my own voice in the audios without having to drop it! Sadly, the physical appearance doesn’t match up any more!

“The only time I’d ever seen it before I went into it was when I was waiting on a girlfriend at the time. She was in a stage show, A Chorus Line, when I was doing The Cedar Tree. I would meet up with an actor friend, and he would insist on watching the show. I asked him what it was, and I told him, ‘It looks rubbish!’. I was trying to prise him away from the screen to get a drink!”

Steven has enjoyed doing the audio series for Big Finish, as he feels he has slotted right back into the part he played on television between January 1980 and December 1981.He explains: “They’re very faithful to the originals, these scripts. It was like I’d never left – it was extraordinary, and it seemed pretty much like the same kind of thing we used to do. We’re stuck in aspic! It’s good to do, though, as I’ve very fond memories – I never quite understood it, with the science fiction aspects of it all, but they were very important years that I had there.

“The only time I ever saw the others was at the occasional convention, as we’ve not worked together in anything else. It’s really lovely to be reunited, as we get to see each other again and have a bit of a giggle.

“These audios very much feel like it always did. We can’t see each other when we’re in our own booths, but I can see the others with the images of 30 years ago in my mind – I sort of see myself running around the Liberator.”

One change that the audio series has seen is the arrival of Tom Chadbon as Del Grant, who appeared in the TV series, but has become a regular as the Liberator crew search for the missing Dayna. With a new man on the ship, Steven feels: “It does alter the dynamics. There’s always a different dynamic when you introduce someone new, but I was happy as I had someone to send up, slightly!

“I suppose I was sort of subservient to Avon when I was the new boy, although I would kick against him, and with Tom’s character coming in, I felt slightly superior to him in a lot of ways.

“When I walked out of the TV studio, I thought that was the last I’d ever see of Tarrant – but it still carries on. That’s been a huge surprise over the years, because at theatres there’s still such a strong fan base that come to see you. They are unbelievably loyal, the people that follow it. It’s unlike anything else in my career. It’s weird, because you can do other performances – and I hope I’ve done better performance over the years – but it doesn’t capture the imagination of the fans in the way that science fiction does, and it lives on through the fan base. Tarrant just won’t go away.”

One release in particular that fans of Tarrant can look forward to is March’s play, Devil’s Advocate, which centres on the character. Little is known about his background, as, when he boarded the Liberator, the gallant Federation officer with friends in high places thought he’d left his past behind him. In Steve Lyons’ play, Tarrant’s past catches up with him.
The Liberator encounters the former President of the Federation [Hugh Fraser], having been deposed by Servalan, on the run with his aide Pelora. Speaking of Hugh, Steven says: “He’s a fine actor, and it was great to have him onboard. He’s got such a dry sense of humour, and he’s very effective as a villain – but he’s a really nice guy. I thought he was superb – in Poirot [playing Captain Hastings].”

Tarrant also gets the chance to enjoy a bit of romance with Pelora. Steven laughs: “It’s very nice – it’s amazing how many times I was ignored with the romance in the actual series. It was very frustrating, up there in space!”

Devil’s Advocate also looks at some of Tarrant’s backstory as a pilot. “I wish I’d known that stuff earlier on,” Steven says, ruefully. “I wish there had been more material that was character based, that one could put a performance to. It was very hard then, because the lines were often interchangeable, as any one of us could have said them and they weren’t very grounded as strong characters. That was one of my complaints.

“I suppose the one thing, as an actor, I look for is the human interest, rather than explosions and all the science fiction parts of the story. The human element is more interesting to me, anything that has relationships in it.”

Steven is appearing at the Swan Theatre in Stratford on Avon with the Royal Shakespeare Company from March until September.

Text reproduced from Vortex Magazine issue #72, pages 14 – 15.

2.6 Truth and Lies

Synopsis:

The search for Dayna has led the crew of the Liberator half way across the galaxy, but now Avon knows why she left them. He knows where she went. He knows what she was looking for.

But can he find his missing crewmate before it is too late? The answers lie on a planet called Appallon Five – but so does danger and betrayal.

Text from Big Finish

Listen to the Trailer.

Cast:

Performer	Character
Paul Darrow	Kerr Avon
Michael Keating	Vila Restal
Steven Pacey	Del Tarrant
Jan Chappell	Cally
Tom Chadbon	Del Grant
Alistair Lock	Zen/Orac

Creatives:

Executive Producers	Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Producer	Cavan Scott
Writer	Justin Richards
Director	Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor	Justin Richards
Sound Design	Alastair Lock
Music	Alastair Lock
Cover Art	Grant Kempster

Production Details:

Recording Date: 6th August 2014
Recording Location: Audio Sorcery
Release Date: April 2015, Announcement
Publisher: Big Finish
ISBN: 978-1-78178-409-9
Duration: 60 minutes

Product available from Big Finish – Truth and Lies