The final part of Big Finish Productions’ Blake’s 7: Restoration trilogy, released today, is the end of an era. It’s not only the first installment completed following the death of star Paul Darrow (Avon) last year, it’s the end of the Blake’s 7 audio spinoff in its current form entirely, the company announced.
Since 2013, Big Finish has been producing Blake’s 7: The Classic Audio Adventures, starring the original cast of the BBC television series created by Terry Nation, who also created the Daleks for Doctor Who. With Restoration Part 3, Big Finish says the stories will end in their current form, as Avon, Vila, Tarrant, Cally and Dayna explore the galaxy and fight the tyrannical Federation in Nation’s epic space saga one last time.
“These final four adventures bring the Restoration trilogy to a climax, and with the loss of Avon the remaining crew of the Liberator find their relationships strained as they struggle to regain control of their ship,” said Big Finish’s Blake’s 7 producer, John Ainsworth. “With the sad loss of Paul Darrow, producing this concluding box set has been an emotional ride for the cast and crew. Our goal has been to conclude the story in a satisfying way that honors Paul’s memory, and remains true to the chronology and spirit of the TV series.”
That doesn’t mean the adventures of Blake’s 7 won’t continue in another form.
“There is definitely still a future for Blake’s 7 at Big Finish. However, emulating the format of the TV series – which has always been the goal – is now no longer possible. We don’t feel it would be appropriate to re-cast, and continuing the series without either Blake or Avon just isn’t feasible,” Ainsworth said. “However, this is not to say that there will be no more full-cast adventures set in the Blake’s 7 universe. It’s early days yet, but we are devising a new format for the series that will allow the surviving cast members to appear in further adventures.”
Restoration Part 3 is now available to own as a five-disc collector’s edition box set or as a digital download from the Big Finish website.
Darrow died in June, shortly after recording his dialogue for the four episodes that made up Part 2.
