Blake's 7: Fractures REVIEW

AUDIO REVIEW Standard by seven

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Blake's 7: Fractures review .

It’s been over 32 years since the BBC’s “Dirty Dozen in space” last came together to fight the Federation. Sure, there’ve been other audio productions: two late-‘90s radio productions featuring a couple of stand-ins; reboots and prequel series; and, most recently, six volumes of audiobooks. But Fractures marks the nearest thing to a full crew reunion since 1981; the only absence, inevitably, is the late Peter Tuddenham (voice of the computers Zen and Orac).

Some things have changed over those three decades, including the voices of some of the cast; just occasionally, it’s a bit like listening to Blake’s Grandad’s 7 . What haven’t altered one jot are the uneasy relationships between the characters, always central to the show’s appeal, and effortlessly captured here by writer Justin Richards.

Set during series two of the '70s TV show, Fractures takes place entirely on the Liberator and (with the exception of a brief cameo from eyepatched baddy Travis) features only the main cast. The story, which sees an alien entity infiltrating the ship, then sowing suspicion amongst the crew by imitating their voices, is utterly predictable, to the point where you become impatient with Blake and co’s inability to catch on.

Still, fans have waited so long to hear these five voices playing off against one another that arguably the more they do the better, and it’s an approach that lays out the key character dynamics rather well. All the same, given the boundless possibilities of the audio medium (unrestrained, unlike the original TV series, by penny-pinching BBC budgets), it’s disappointing to be delivered such a trad bottle episode. Hopefully future instalments will expand the series’ horizons.

Calvin Baxter

SFX Magazine is the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy, and horror magazine published by Future PLC. Established in 1995, SFX Magazine prides itself on writing for its fans, welcoming geeks, collectors, and aficionados into its readership for over 25 years. Covering films, TV shows, books, comics, games, merch, and more, SFX Magazine is published every month. If you love it, chances are we do too and you'll find it in SFX.

Latest in TV
fool me once
Harlan Coben’s new novel is set to be "more of a sequel" to the hit Netflix series Fool Me Once: "I don’t know any time that’s ever happened"
Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne
Daredevil: Born Again fans are loving the MCU cameos in this week's episodes – especially the Hawkeye reunion
Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka
A Star Wars actor just quietly confirmed that filming has begun on Ahsoka season 2
Owen Cooper in Adolescence
Sorry, Adolescence season 2 isn't happening, despite its 99% Rotten Tomatoes score and record-breaking Netflix audience
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
Daredevil: Born Again's long-awaited moment has been called "pure cinema" featuring one of the "best lines in comic book movie history"
Daredevil looking mean and moody.
Daredevil: Born Again episode 5 just nodded to Thanos and the Avengers movies in the most obscure way
Latest in Reviews
Image of the Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless headset sitting on top of a gaming PC case taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe.
Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless review - a PC headset tour de force
Zombicide box featuring stylized art of survivors fighting zombies
Zombicide 2nd Edition review: "Like a zombie flick brought to tabletop"
Razer Handheld Dock with Steam Deck sitting on cradle, pink and yellow RGB lighting on, and Alienware monitor in background with Tomb Raider Trilogy gameplay on screen.
Razer Handheld Dock review: “Your Steam Deck will ride shiny and Chroma"
Photographs of the Agricola board game in play
Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture"
Photos taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe of the Shure MV7i microphone, within a pink and white themed room.
Shure MV7i review - convenience and excellence rolled into one superb sounding package
Key art for Atomfall showing a character in the English countryside looking at a nuclear plant some distance away
Atomfall review: "This isn't British Fallout – it's something much better than that"