Blake’s 7: Mission To Destiny (BBC-1 13 Feb 1978, with Beth Morris)

In Mission To Destiny Jenna discovers a ship circling for no apparent reason. When Blake, Avon and Cally teleport over to investigate they discover that the crew have been deliberately drugged (via gas pumped into the ventilation system) and the pilot has been murdered. Once the rest of the crew are brought round they discover that one of them, Dortmunn, has taken the escape pod.

The crew are from the planet Destiny which is on the verge of dying out after a fungal disease begins killing off all of their vegetation. The ship is actually returning to the planet with an ore that will kill off the fungal disease and save their planet. Unfortunately the ship is damaged and it would take way too long to now reach Destiny.

Blake offers to take the neutrotope ore to Destiny in the Liberator leaving Cally and Avon behind to try and help repair the ship. With Blake gone, Cally and Avon soon discover their is something sinister afoot. It turns out Dortmunn didn’t get away in the escape pod but was also murdered.

Like Brian Clemens, series creator Terry Nation was always good at taking classic plot formats and bending them to his own needs, here we are very much in murder mystery territory (Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None in particular). Avon himself giving us his best Hercule Poirot as he makes it plain there is a killer amongst the crew.

production details
UK / BBC One / 1×50 minute episode / Broadcast 13 February 1978

Writer: Terry Nation / Production Design: Martin Collins / Director: Pennant Roberts

cast
Gareth Thomas as Blake
Sally Knyvette as Jenna
Paul Darrow as Avon
Jan Chappell as Cally
Michael Keating as Vila
David Jackson as Gan
Peter Tuddenham as Zen
Barry Jackson as Kendall
Beth Morris as Sara
Stephen Tate as Mandrian
Nigel Humphreys as Sonheim
Kate Coleridge as Levett
Carl Forgione as Grovane
John Leeson as Pasco
Brian Capron as Rafford
Stuart Fell as Dortmunn