Blake's 7 (TV Series) City at the Edge of the World (1980) User Reviews

Vila Shines

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 27 March 2013]

The Liberator's weapon systems need replenished so the ship arrives at the Planet Keezarn where Tarrant has negotiated a deal where the natives will supply the crystals needed if they can borrow Vila for an unspecified task . After Vila teleports down it becomes clear that the natives aren't going to keep their end of the bargain and Vila has gone missing

So far Season three has STAR TREK wannabe written all over it and most of the stories seen wouldn't make good STAR TREK stories never mind good BLAKES 7 which for the first two years of the programme has gone out of its way to create its own identity as being a unique and idiosyncratic space opera though be it one with a rather cynical and nihilistic edge . With an episode title like The City At The Edge Of The World you can be forgiven for thinking yet again you're going to be watching more sub standard British STAR TREK clone but this is certainly one of the better episodes of the season

It wasn't obvious at the time but season three is very much character-centric and this episode revolves around the character of Vila , the cowardly thief superbly played by Michael Keating who always gives a very watchable performance in the role . I always thought Vila was the most entertaining character of the show and he's the only person who appeared in all 52 episodes . From the outset where he is bullied in to going down to Keezarn the entire episode revolves around him as he's given a task on pain of death by Bayban the butcher

Babyan is played by future incarnation of The Doctor Colin Baker and gives a rather annoying performance . It's interesting how guest characters split BLAKES 7 fandom down the middle . Serious characters like Varga played by Brian Blessed in Cygnus Alpha tend to be disliked while flamboyant camp characters like Egorian played by John Savident in season four's Orbit are held in high regard . Baker's performance is unsurprisingly a love it or hate it performance . What also is slightly annoying is the way Tarrant / Avon dynamic is developing . . Avon is becoming more like Blake while Tarrant is becoming more like Avon the way he bullies Vila at the stat of the episode and one can't help thinking Boucher hasn't entirely thought through the character interaction of season three

One of my personal favourites.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 23 August 2022]

A deal has been struck with Bayban The Berserker, in exchange for much needed crystals, Villa is sent, to open a complex door.

I have always considered this as one of the show's most accomplished episodes, I like the plot, characters and visuals, Boucher did a fine job here, even the title is great.

Nice to see more from Villa, he was a wonderful character, but too often didn't get any of the limelight. Here we see him as brave, confident and capable, I liked this side of Villa very much, I liked the way he flirted with Kerril.

Bayban The Berserker, the most memorable villain after Servalan? I'd argue there's a case for that tag, I thought he was quite wonderful, it's a big and brash performance, but it really does work, it fits the character very well. Not as outrageous as some seem to claim, he clearly enjoyed himself, Darrow would return the favour on Timelash.

Very good acting as always from Valentine Dyal, I always think of him as The Black Guardian, that voice of his was quite something.

9/10.

Now this is more like it

[GusF · 9/10 · 8 August 2014]

I remember reading that Chris Boucher wrote this episode after Michael Keating's young daughter asked him why he was such a coward. Boucher wanted to give Vila the opportunity to be the hero for once. Well, he certainly fulfilled that ambition as Vila gets to show off his intelligence and technical skills more than any previous episode, confront Bayban with no support (until the end), gets the girl and helps to save an ancient civilisation by sending them to a safe planet in the middle of nowhere. Michael Keating gives his best performance of the series and Carol Hawkins is excellent as his love interest Kerril. Colin Baker is wonderfully over the top as Bayban the Butcher. While Vila and Kerril's relationship develops very quickly, it nevertheless seems believable. Had Keating ever decided to leave the series, this would have been the perfect final episode for him, if Vila decided to remain with Kerril on Homeworld but, then again, happy endings and "Blake's 7" don't exactly go hand in hand, do they?

Tarrant and Avon continue their power struggle for control of the Liberator with the former bullying Vila to get his own way and the latter telling him to back off. Unlike Cally and Dayna, it's not because he's fond of Vila - far from it - but because a talented thief is harder to come by than a talented pilot. Speaking of Dayna, this is the third consecutive episode in which she is sidelined. Out of six appearances (where one of the other three was very dull), that's not a great track record. She's rapidly becoming the new Jenna in that respect. Cally doesn't have as much screen time as the men either but she does have better material as she readily springs to Vila's defence when Tarrant bullies him and makes him feel guilty for doing so.

Possibly my favourite episode

[unclepete · 10/10 · 28 February 2008]

This episode of Blakes 7 is pure comedy and utterly brilliant for it. That's not to say it's a show to be laughed at. Often perceptive, politically prescient, dystopic and dramatic - Blakes 7 had some of the best TV science fiction writing ever. This episode however embraces a common Blakes 7 trait - campness. That's 'camp' in its purest sense, which is everything to do with theatricality and larger than life personas and nothing to do with sexuality. Colin Baker is simply brilliant. Some of the dialogue exchanges between Bayben and Vila are trouser-wettingly funny. And yet there's still a core of quality to the story. The whole episode is completely character driven and full of beautiful moments. Miss it at your peril.

Arguably one of the best TV SF episodes ever made

[martin-31650 · 10/10 · 11 September 2018]

Although some of the concepts borrow a little from Asimov's Foundation, this is a completely new, original SF story which is uncompromising in the application of its premise through to its inevitable, but completely surprising, conclusion. Blakes 7 aspired to high SF with brutally realistic politics and good science about 70% of the time, with episodes like Orbit sticking to hard science better than almost any other show. It also had better character writing and better acting than you usually get. The visuals of the Liberator were absolutely stunning, and very few TV shows have ever matched them. However, there are also several episodes where the technology of the day has not stood the test of time, like the previous one, the Harvest of Kairos. This episode is a masterpiece of everything that made Blakes 7 great. Four way tension of a kind you never got on US shows (including _that_ series), a hardcore SF plot, impeccable visuals, and the prospect of Colin Baker bringing a level of menace which his Doctor Who character never managed. Sadly for lead character Vila... well, you'll have to watch to find out.