"All sweet things have one thing in common: a tendency to make you sick."
IN THIS ONE... Servalan sics an infallible assassin on the crew.
REVIEW: Yes! Servalan is back, and while she has some fun scenes (in particular having fun at a slave auction), she's hired Cancer, an assassin that has never missed, up against the five human members of Blake's 7 (hey, what's Soolin ever done to her?). This is one of the grand Servalan schemes where she lets them hear her coded message and springs a trap with multiple layers on the planet of the pirate people/Cancer's Black Ship. This Cancer dude is dressed for the part, but he's too easily beaten, but by that time, I think you're already questioning whether another character is really Cancer.
There are two suspects. One is Richard Hurndall's Nebrox, an old slave who promises Avon he'll get his teleporter bracelet back in exchange for taking him off planet. A nice old man, but that made me suspect him all the more, ESPECIALLY as he was brought over to Cancer's ship for no real reason. I thought for sure he was Cancer. The other is Piri, the blubbering entertainer allegedly bought by Servalan for Cancer, and who Tarrant starts to care for. There are times when she seems much less stressed than she is in front of the Seven, which made me arch an eyebrow. Sadly (in a way), Nebrox's role is to get sacrificed on the pointed tip of the plot. Piri is the real Cancer, using a just-purchased actor to play her part. I do have problems with Piri. For one thing, her sustained breakdown is annoying even if it is a put-on. Second, Caroline Holdaway is miscast in the role. I buy her as the nasty assassin later (there are a lot of Evil Girl Power vibes in this episode between her, Servalan and the female slave broker), she seems too old to be the "child" Piri is meant to be (Holdaway was almost 30), and besides, is always grimacing so it's hard to see why Tarrant thinks she's alluring, or that Soolin not liking her is because of "jealousy". That said, her plan, while perhaps too convoluted for its good, does involve a creepy crawly (how it turns into a broach is less convincing, especially given its meaty death) that does a good job of keeping Cancer's identity a secret. Hey, I SUSPECTED the two other guests, but still kept a watch on the actor in case there WAS no switcheroo.
While Avon and Vila trade a number of primo barbs (it's a generally witty script) and Dayna has a great moment after once again missing her shot at killing her father's murderer, Soolin is the one who comes across as the MVP. I'm liking her usual sarcasm, but she does figure things out before Avon does, and she both escapes the poison spider and gets Cancer bitten. Through a lot of luck, but it still counts. Generally, the episode looks as good as its dialog sounds (though the use of "bitch" twice is surprising) - the usual quarry has wet greenery and a dry bed, the outdoor slave auction has an Egyptian look, and the editing uses dissolves and circular wipes.
NOT MY FEDERATION: Orion pirates also hold slave auctions.
BUT MIGHT BE MY EMPIRE: Yeah, the Empire has slaves too.
WHO?: Nebrox is played by Richard Hurndall, who looks enough like the 1st Doctor here that it would get him the job to replace Hartnell in The Five Doctors. Adam Blackwood (one of the bidders) played Balazar in The Mysterious Planet.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - Not perfect, but a lot of fun.
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