Blake's 7 Logo 'Death-Watch'
by Chris Boucher
Blake's 7 Cast

The crew of Liberator are exhausted, and need to rest. They decide to visit the combat ground for the Teal-Vandor war, which is to be decided in a televised duel held between the champions of each race. This two-man battle has been decided on as means to minimise bloodshed and casualties, and viewers are able to use sensor-discs to experience the duel through the eyes of the combatant of their choice. After Tarrant is surprised to learn that the Teal champion is his brother Deeta, the crew are even more amazed to learn that Servalan is the referee. Avon is immediately suspicious, and while he and Tarrant experience Deeta’s point-of-view, Dayna witnesses that of the Vandor champion, Vinni. The battle commences, but despite his superior skills, Deeta is killed by Vinni. When Dayna notes that she felt nothing from Vinni, Orac deduces that the Vandor champion is in fact an android. In her role as arbiter, Servalan requests a medical examination of the combatants, leading Avon to surmise that this will expose the android as a cheat, and cause the war to escalate; Servalan would then step in as a peace-keeping force and annexe both sides into the Federation. Avon devises a counter-plan, and before Vinni’s medical examination can take place, Tarrant, as Deeta’s brother, challenges him to a duel. Using Orac to allow Tarrant to enter the arena a few seconds before Vinni, Tarrant is able to lie in wait; he destroys the android, thereby avenging his brother’s death and preventing Servalan’s plot to expand her powerbase.

Paul Darrow (Avon), Michael Keating (Vila), Jan Chappell (Cally), Josette Simon (Dayna), Steven Pacey (Tarrant / Deeta), Peter Tuddenham (Zen / Orac), Jacqueline Pearce (Servalan), Kathy Iddon (Karla), David Sibley (Commentator), Stewart Bevan (Max), Mark Elliot (Vinni)

Directed by Gerald Blake
Produced by David Maloney


TX:
24th March 1980 @ 7.15 pm - 8.10 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Kerr Avon, Vila Restal, Cally, Dayna Mellanby, Del Tarrant, Zen and Orac