Blake's 7

Blake's 7
The logo used for the first three series of Blake's 7
Format	Science fiction Space opera
Created by	Terry Nation
Starring	Glynis Barber Jan Chappell Brian Croucher Paul Darrow Stephen Greif David Jackson Michael Keating Sally Knyvette Steven Pacey Jacqueline Pearce Josette Simon Gareth Thomas Peter Tuddenham
Theme music composer	Dudley Simpson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	52 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	David Maloney (series 1-3) Vere Lorrimer (series 4)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	c. 50 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC1
Picture format	625 line (576i) PAL 4:3
Audio format	monaural
Original run	2 January 1978 – 21 December 1981
External links
Website

Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for broadcast on BBC1. It was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four 13-episode series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978 and 1981. Blake's 7 follows the exploits of a group of political renegades led by Roj Blake and was inspired by fictional media texts such as The Dirty Dozen, Robin Hood, Brave New World, Star Trek, classic Westerns and real-world political conflicts in South America and Israel. Chris Boucher was the series script editor, wrote several scripts and influenced the storyline, especially after Nation moved to the United States.

Gareth Thomas played the titular character Roj Blake, a political dissident who is arrested, tried and convicted on false charges and deported to a prison planet. He and two fellow prisoners commandeer an abandoned alien spacecraft, rescue two more prisoners and are joined by an alien guerrilla with telepathic abilities. The group conducts a campaign against the totalitarian Terran Federation until an intergalactic war occurs. Blake disappears and Kerr Avon leads the group. When their spacecraft is destroyed and one group member dies, they commandeer an inferior spacecraft and a base on a distant planet from which they continue their campaign against the Federation. In the final episode, Avon discovers Blake's location and suspecting Blake of betraying the group to the Federation, kills him. The group are then shot by Federation guards, who surround Avon in the final scene.

Blake's 7 was popular from its first broadcast. Although its budget was inadequate for its interstellar narrative, it remains well regarded because of its moral ambiguity, strong characterisation and the events described in its final episode. The programme attracted both positive and negative reception; critics praised its dystopian themes, character development and "enormous sense of fun" but broadcaster Clive James called it "classically awful".

A limited range of Blake's 7 merchandise was issued by several companies. Books, magazines and annuals were published, the BBC released music and sound effects from the series and several companies made Blake's 7 toys and models. Four video compilations were released between 1985 and 1990 and the entire series was released on videocassette starting in 1991 and re-released in 1997. It was released as four DVD box sets between 2003 and 2006. The BBC produced two audio dramas in 1998 and 1999 that feature some original cast members and were broadcast on Radio 4. Although proposed live-action and animated remakes have not been forthcoming, Blake's 7 has been revived with two series of official audio dramas, a comedic short film, a series of fan-made audio plays and a proposed series of official novels.

Overview

Blake's 7 is a science fiction television series that was created by Terry Nation and produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Four series, each of 13 50-minute episodes were made and were first broadcast in the United Kingdom between January 1978 and December 1981 on BBC television station, BBC 1. The programme is set in the third century of the second calendar, and at least 700 years in the future. Blake's 7's narrative follows the exploits of political dissident Roj Blake, who leads a small group of rebels against the forces of the totalitarian Terran Federation, which rules the Earth and many colonised planets. The Federation administration uses mass surveillance, brainwashing and drug pacification to control its citizens. Blake discovers he was once the leader of a revolutionary group and is arrested, tried on false charges and deported to a penal colony on a remote planet. En route, he and fellow prisoners Jenna Stannis and Kerr Avon gain control of a technologically advanced alien spacecraft that they name Liberator. The spacecraft has superior speed and weaponry to Federation craft, and a teleportation system that allows crew members to be transported to the surface of a planet. Liberator is controlled by Zen, the ship's central computer. Blake and his crew begin a campaign to disrupt and damage the Federation and are pursued by Space Commander Travis – a Federation soldier – and Servalan, the Supreme Commander and later President of the Terran Federation.

The composition of the titular "seven" changes throughout the series. The initial group of six characters – Blake, Vila, Gan, Jenna, Avon and Cally – included Zen as the seventh group member. At the end of the first series, they capture a supercomputer called Orac. Gan is killed during the second series, after which Blake and Jenna disappear and are replaced by new characters Dayna and Tarrant. In the fourth series, Cally dies and is replaced by Soolin. Following the destruction of Liberator, the computer Zen is replaced with a new computer character, Slave.

While Blake is an idealistic freedom fighter, his associates are petty crooks, smugglers and killers. Avon is a technical genius who, while outwardly exhibiting more interest in self-preservation and seeking personal wealth, constantly acts to help others. When Blake is separated from his crew, Avon takes over. At first, Avon believes the Federation has been destroyed, becomes tired of killing and seeks rest. By the middle of the third series, Avon realises the Federation is expanding again, far faster than he had originally determined, and he decides to resume the fight against it. The BBC had planned to conclude Blake's 7 at the end of its third series, but a further series was unexpectedly and suddenly commissioned. Some changes to the programme's format were necessary, such as the introduction of a new spacecraft, Scorpio, and new characters, Soolin and Slave. Although many tropes of space opera, such as spaceships, robots, galactic empires and aliens are present, the series is primarily noted for its strong character interaction, ambiguous morality and pessimistic tone. Blake's 7 was watched by approximately 10 million people in the UK and was broadcast in 25 other countries.

Cast

Blake's 7 cast at the launch of the first series DVD, 2004.

Main characters

• Kerr Avon portrayed by Paul Darrow. Avon is an electronics and computer expert whose failed attempt to steal 500 million credits from the Federation banking system led to his trial, conviction and deportation, where he meets Blake. Avon distrusts emotion and has a code of logic and reason, traits which become more evident after he kills his former lover. He dislikes Vila but respects his talents. Avon displays antagonism towards Blake which increases as the series progresses. His relationship with Servalan is ambiguous and sometimes even playful.
• Roj Blake portrayed by Gareth Thomas. Blake is a political dissident who was captured after attending a proscribed political meeting outside the Domed City. He is framed on false charges of child abuse and sentenced to deportation to a penal colony on a remote planet called Cygnus Alpha. Motivated by a sense of injustice, Blake became zealous in his campaign to afflict damage upon the Federation. Blake's strength is his ability to inspire others to join his cause, but he is undermined by his limited political philosophy.
• Cally portrayed by Jan Chappell. Cally is a guerrilla fighter whose home planet is Auron. She was fighting with a group of anti-Federation forces on the planet Saurian Major, where she was planning to attack a Federation installation. Cally joins Blake on Liberator in order to fight the Federation. She is a telepath who can transmit thoughts silently to the rest of the crew, and through her closeness with them, she develops mindreading, telekinesis and precognition abilities. Cally is killed following an explosion on an artificial planet called Terminal.
• Olag Gan portrayed by David Jackson. After seeing a Federation guard kill his girlfriend, Gan killed the guard and was convicted of murder. He was declared insane and an electronic implant, called a limiter, was placed in Gan's brain to stop him killing again. Despite this, he often shows great courage and uses his physical strength to help others. Gan dies after a failed raid on a Federation installation.
• Dayna Mellanby portrayed by Josette Simon. Dayna is introduced in the third series. She is the daughter of former dissident Hal Mellanby. She was born on Earth but emigrated with her father to the planet Sarran after his revolutionary group was defeated. Dayna took an interest in weapons technology at an early age and developed considerable expertise. On Sarran, she rescues Avon from a group of warriors and, following her father's death at the hands of Servalan, leaves with Avon to join the crew of Liberator.
• Orac portrayed by Peter Tuddenham. Orac is a portable super-computer capable of reading any other computer's data. Orac was built by computer engineer Ensor and captured by Blake. It uses a component called a Tariel cell – a universal computer component – and can access information stored on any computer that uses one. It can also control other computers. Orac dislikes work that it considers unnecessary, enjoys gathering information and has delusions of grandeur. Its fate, after being hidden by Avon on Gauda Prime, is unknown.
• Vila Restal portrayed by Michael Keating. Vila is a skilled thief, lock-picker and conjurer and is usually reluctant to risk his life for Blake's cause. Vila's behaviour is often cowardly and although the other crew members regard him as tiresome, he has a very high IQ. Vila has a liking for pretty women and alcohol.
• Slave portrayed by Peter Tuddenham. Introduced in the fourth series, Slave was built and programmed by Dorian and is the master computer of Dorian's ship, 'Scorpio'. It has a cringing personality, is frequently apologetic and obsequious, and addresses Avon as 'master' and others as 'sir' or 'madam'. It is rendered inoperative after Scorpio's crash-landing on Gauda Prime.
• Soolin portrayed by Glynis Barber. Introduced in the fourth series as Dorian's partner, Soolin is a gunslinger and mercenary. Soolin's parents were murdered on Gauda Prime, to where they emigrated from Earth.
• Jenna Stannis portrayed by Sally Knyvette. Jenna is a glamorous space smuggler and skilled pilot who becomes adept at piloting Liberator. On Earth, she is tried and convicted of smuggling and is sentenced to deportation to a penal colony, en route to which she meets Blake. Jenna has an affection for Blake and leaves Liberator with him after the Intergalactic War. Blake later reports Jenna dead after she attempted to defy a Federation blockade at Gauda Prime.
• Del Tarrant portrayed by Steven Pacey. Tarrant joins the Liberator crew after the Intergalactic War. He is a graduate of the Federation Space Academy, he went missing along with a Federation Pursuit Ship, which he used for smuggling in the Outer Worlds. Tarrant boarded Liberator whilst it was abandoned by its crew, whom he later joins. Tarrant is brave, impetuous and a bully.
• Zen portrayed by Peter Tuddenham. The main computer aboard Liberator, Zen controls the craft's secondary systems, including the battle and guidance computers but was susceptible to interference from outside influences, such as Orac. It became a presence and a character in its own right. It is rendered nonfunctional after Liberator is damaged by fluid particles, and is destroyed with the ship.

Recurring characters

• Servalan portrayed by Jacqueline Pearce. Servalan began her service career as a cadet, and became Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. Her desire for power began at the age of eighteen when her lover abandoned her. Shortly before the Intergalactic War, Servalan conducts a military coup and installs herself as President. During her isolation on Terminal she is overthrown but adopts a pseudonym, Commissioner Sleer, under which she conducts a campaign of drug-induced pacification in order to regain territory for the Federation.
• Travis portrayed by Stephen Greif in the first series and Brian Croucher in the second series. Travis is a dedicated, ruthless Federation officer, with the rank of Space Commander. Travis's left eye and arm were was destroyed by Blake, and replaced with an eye patch and a prosthetic arm fitted with a concealed weapon. Travis treated his troops well and was accustomed to leading them from the front. He was known for his ruthlessness. After his trial and conviction for killing civilians, Travis becomes increasingly obsessed with killing Blake and later betrays the Federation to the invaders from Andromeda.

Sources and themes

Series creator Terry Nation pitched Blake's 7 to the BBC as "The Dirty Dozen in space", a reference to the 1967 Robert Aldrich film in which a disparate and disorganised group of convicts are sent on a suicide mission during World War II. This film's influence shows in that some of Blake's followers; Avon, Vila, Gan and Jenna, are escaped convicts.Blake's 7 draws much of its inspiration from the legend of Robin Hood. Blake's followers are not a band of "Merry Men". His diverse crew includes a corrupt computer genius (Avon), a smuggler (Jenna), a thief (Vila), a murderer (Gan), a telepathic guerrilla soldier (Cally), a computer with a mind of its own (Zen) and another wayward computer (Orac). Later additions were: a naive weapons expert (Dayna), a mercenary (Tarrant), a gunslinger (Soolin) and an obsequious computer (Slave). While Blake intends to use Liberator to strike against the Federation, the others are reluctant followers – especially Avon. Blake and Avon's clashes over the leadership represent a conflict between idealism and cynicism, emotion and rationality, and dreams and practicality. Similar conflicts arise between other characters; the courage of Blake and Avon compared with Vila's cowardice, or Avon and Jenna's scepticism of Blake's ideals compared with Gan's unswerving loyalty, Blake's mass murdering methods compared with Avon's targeted and less destructive approach.

Script editor Chris Boucher, whose influence on the series grew as it progressed, was inspired by Central American and South American revolutionaries, especially Zapata, in exploring Blake and his followers' motives and the consequences of their actions. This is most evident in the episode Star One, in which Blake must confront the reality that in achieving his aim of overthrowing the Federation, he will unleash chaos and death for many of its innocent citizens. When Avon gains control of Liberator, following Blake's disappearance after the events of Star One, he initially uses it to pursue his own agenda, avenging Anna's death. Later, Avon realises that he cannot escape the Federation's reach and must, like Blake, resist them. In this respect, by the end of the fourth series, Avon has replaced Blake.

Classic films, such as the Western The Magnificent Seven, were an important influence upon Blake's 7. Chris Boucher incorporated lines from Westerns into the scripts, much to the delight of Paul Darrow, an enthusiast of the genre. The final episode, Blake, was heavily inspired by The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Blake's 7 also draws inspiration from the classic British dystopian novels Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and When the Sleeper Wakes by H. G. Wells. This is most evident in the nature of the Federation, whose methods of dealing with Blake in the first episode, The Way Back, including brainwashing and show trials. These are reminiscent of the manner in which the former Soviet Union dealt with its dissidents. Explorations of totalitarianism in the series are not confined to the Federation – totalitarian control through religion (Cygnus Alpha), genetics (The Web) and technology (Redemption) also appear throughout the series. Such authoritarian dystopias are common in Terry Nation's work, such his Doctor Who story, Genesis of the Daleks.

Loyalty and trust are important themes of the series. Avon is presented with several opportunities to abandon Blake. Many of Blake's schemes require the co-operation and expertise of the others. Characters are often betrayed by family and friends – especially Avon, whose former lover, Anna Grant, is eventually revealed to be a Federation agent. The theme of loyalty and trust reaches its climax during Blake and Avon's final encounter in the last episode, Blake, when Blake's lack of loyalty to his crew in the pursuit of his crusade causes Avon and the others to not trust him when Tarrant accuses Blake of selling them out. If Blake and his crew represent Robin Hood and his Merry Men, then the Federation forces, personified in the obsessive, psychopathic Space Commander Travis and his superior, the beautiful but ruthless Supreme Commander Servalan, represent Guy of Gisbourne and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

A common theme in Nation's science fiction is the depiction of post-apocalyptic societies, as seen in several of his Doctor Who serials, for example, The Daleks, Death to the Daleks and The Android Invasion and in his series Survivors, which Nation created before Blake's 7. Post-apocalyptic societies feature in several Blake's 7 episodes including Duel, Deliverance, City at the Edge of the World and Terminal. Although not explicitly stated in the series, some publicity material for the series refers to the Federation as having risen from the ashes of a nuclear holocaust on Earth.

Plot summary

Further information: list of Blake's 7 episodes

Series One

The Blake's 7 cast in series 1 (1978):
Michael Keating (Vila); Jan Chappell (Cally); Gareth Thomas (Blake); Sally Knyvette (Jenna); Paul Darrow (Avon) and David Jackson (Gan). Zen is behind.

Roj Blake, a worker of high social status classified as "alpha-grade", lives in a domed city. Similar domes house most of the Earth's population. Blake is approached by a group of political dissidents who take him outside the city to meet their leader, Bran Foster. According to Foster, Blake was once the leader of an influential group of political activists opposed to the Federation's Earth Administration. Blake was arrested, brainwashed and coerced into making a confession denouncing the rebellion. His memory of those years was then blocked. Foster wants Blake to rejoin the dissidents. Suddenly, the meeting is interrupted by the arrival of Federation security forces, who fire on and kill the crowd of rebels. Blake, the only survivor, returns to the city, where he begins to remember his past. He is arrested, tried on false charges of child molestation and sentenced to deportation to the prison planet Cygnus Alpha.

On the prison ship, London, Blake meets thief Vila Restal, smuggler Jenna Stannis, murderer Olag Gan and computer engineer Kerr Avon. The London encounters a battle between two alien space fleets and London's crew plot a course to avoid the combat zone and continue their voyage. They encounter a strange alien craft, board it and attempt to salvage it but are thwarted by the alien ship's defence mechanism. The captain of the London sends the expendable Blake, Avon, and Jenna across to the ship. Blake defeats the defence system when it tries to use memories he recently discovered were false. With Jenna as pilot, the three convicts escape in the alien craft.

Blake and his crew follow the London to Cygnus Alpha in their captured ship, which they have named Liberator, to Cygnus Alpha. They retrieve Vila and Gan, while Blake leaves the other prisoners at the mercy of Vargas' henchmen. Blake wants to use Liberator and its new crew to attack the Federation with the others, especially Avon, as reluctant followers. Blake's first target is a communications station on the planet Saurian Major. Blake infiltrates the station and is assisted by Cally, a telepathic guerrilla soldier from the planet Auron. Blake invites Cally to join the crew. With this new arrival, and including Liberator's computer, Zen, Liberator has a crew of seven.

As Blake's attacks against the Federation become bolder, he has less success. Political pressure grows on the Administration with planetary leaders threatening to leave the Federation because of its inability to protect them from Blake's attacks. Rumours abound about Blake's heroism, and other rebel groups use Blake's name for their actions. Supreme Commander Servalan appoints Space Commander Travis, who has a personal vendetta against Blake, to eliminate Blake and capture Liberator. Servalan often co-opts Travis for her personal projects and uses Blake as a cover for her own activities. When Travis repeatedly fails to eliminate Blake, Servalan does not assign the task to another officer and does not use more resources to eliminate Blake.

Blake meets a man called Ensor and discovers a plot by Servalan and Travis to seize a powerful computer called Orac, which is capable of communicating with any computer that uses a component called a Tariel Cell. Blake's crew are suffering from radiation sickness, but capture the device before Servalan arrives. Blake shows no interest in saving Ensor's life and questions Ensor about Orac. Ensor accuses Blake of callousness and refuses to cooperate until Blake renders the medical aid he needs, but Ensor dies from a heart attack. Aboard Liberator, Orac predicts the craft's destruction in the near future.

Series Two

Liberator, the alien starship used by Blake and his crew in series 1 to 3

The alien race that built Liberator recaptures it. Orac's prophecy is fulfilled when it destroys an identical space vehicle. Blake wants to attack the heart of the Federation and he targets the main computer control centre on Earth. Avon agrees to help on condition that Blake gives him Liberator when the Federation has been destroyed. Blake, Avon, Vila and Gan reach the control centre and find an empty room. Travis reveals that the computer centre was secretly moved years before and the old location was left as a decoy. Blake and his crew escape but Travis explodes a grenade and Gan is killed by falling rubble.

Following Gan's death, Blake considers the future of the rebellion and Travis is convicted of war crimes in a Federation court martial at Space Command Headquarters based aboard a space station. Blake decides to restore his group's reputation and attacks the space station but Travis escapes and continues his vendetta against Blake. Meanwhile, Blake seeks the new location of the computer control centre. He learns that it is now called Star One. When Star One begins to malfunction, Servalan also becomes desperate to find its location. The centre's failure causes many problems across the Federation. Star One controls a large defensive barrier that has prevented extra-galactic incursions. Blake discovers Star One's location and finds that, with help from Travis, aliens from the Andromeda galaxy have infiltrated it. Vila discovers a fleet of alien spacecraft beyond the barrier. Travis partially disables the barrier. Blake and his crew overcome the aliens at Star One and kill Travis and the gap in the barrier allows the aliens to invade. Jenna calls for help from the Federation, where Servalan has conducted a military coup, imposed martial law and declared herself President. Servalan dispatches the Federation's battle fleets to repel the invaders, who begin to breach the barrier. Liberator, alone until Servalan's battle fleets arrive, fights against the aliens.

Series Three

The Blake's 7 cast in series 3 (1980):
Steven Pacey (Tarrant); Josette Simon (Dayna); Michael Keating (Vila); Jan Chappell (Cally) and Paul Darrow (Avon).

Jacqueline Pearce as Servalan

Liberator is severely damaged during the battle with the Andromedans, forcing the crew to abandon ship. The Federation defeats the alien invaders but has sustained heavy casualties and its influence in the galaxy is considerably reduced. Blake and Jenna go missing and Avon takes control of Liberator. Two new additions, weapons expert Dayna Mellanby and mercenary Del Tarrant, join the remaining crew. Avon is less inclined than Blake to attack the Federation but Servalan realises that if she captures Liberator the Federation would quickly restore its former power.

Servalan attempts to create clones of herself but is thwarted when the embryos are destroyed. Avon decides to find the Federation agent who killed Anna Grant, his former lover. The group interrupts an attempt to overthrow Servalan and Avon discovers that Anna is alive and was previously a Federation agent named Bartolemew. Anna tries to shoot Avon in the back but Avon kills her and frees Servalan. Servalan lures Avon into a trap using a faked message from Blake. Liberator and Zen are irreparably damaged by a cloud of fluid particles. Servalan captures Liberator and abandons the crew on an artificial planet called Terminal. As Servalan leaves Terminal, Liberator explodes and Servalan is apparently killed as she attempts to escape by teleporting away. Stranded on Terminal, the crew of Liberator begin to search for a means of escape.

Series Four

Scorpio, the Wanderer class cargo ship used in series 4

Booby traps, set by Servalan in her underground complex on Terminal, explode and kill Cally. Avon, Tarrant, Vila and Dayna escape with Orac and are rescued by Dorian, a salvage operator. Dorian takes the crew in his spacecraft, Scorpio, to his base on the planet Xenon, where they meet his partner, Soolin. Dorian plans to drain the crew's life-force and take Orac but he is foiled by Vila. Avon constructs a new teleport system for Scorpio using the technology left behind by Dorian. Soolin joins the crew and they takeover Scorpio and occupy the Xenon base. Avon gains control of Slave, Scorpio's main computer.

The crew acquires a stardrive that vastly increases Scorpio's speed. The Scorpio crew become concerned about the speed at which the Federation is reclaiming its former territory and discover that Servalan survived the destruction of Liberator. Servalan was deposed as President of the Federation, is using the pseudonym Commissioner Sleer and is enacting a pacification programme using a drug called Pylene 50. The Scorpio crew gain the formula for an antidote to Pylene-50 but this cannot reverse the drug's effects. Avon finds a way to synthesise the antidote and the crew attempt to create an alliance between independent worlds to resist the Federation in order to obtain the resources and manpower to mass produce it. They plan large-scale manufacture of the Pylene 50 antidote. One of the alliance members, Zukan, betrays the alliance to Servalan and detonates explosives on Xenon base, which is heavily damaged. Zukan is double-crossed by Servalan.

Avon tells the rest of the group that Orac has traced Blake to Gauda Prime, an agricultural planet. Blake is masquerading as a bounty hunter; his latest quarry is Arlen, whom he hopes to recruit for his rebellion. Scorpio approaches Gauda Prime and is attacked. The crew, except Tarrant, use the teleport to abandon the heavily damaged craft. Slave is rendered non-functional and Tarrant remains aboard to pilot Scorpio and is injured during Scorpio's crash landing. Blake arrives, rescues and takes Tarrant to his base and purportedly captures Tarrant as bounty. Tarrant thinks that Blake has betrayed the group, and Blake lets Tarrant escape. Tarrant is nearly killed by Blake's colleagues when Avon and his crew save him, giving credence to Tarrant's accusation that Blake has betrayed them to the Federation. After repeatedly asking Blake to repudiate Tarrant's accusations and not receiving a satisfactory response, and after Blake continually steps towards Avon against his warning, Avon shoots and kills Blake. Arlen reveals that she is a Federation officer and Federation guards arrive. Tarrant, Soolin, Vila and Dayna are apparently killed by Federation troops, who slowly surround Avon. Avon steps over Blake's body, raises his gun and smiles. Shots ring out.

Production history

Main article: History of Blake's 7

Terry Nation created Blake's 7 in a moment of inspiration during a pitch meeting with Ronnie Marsh, a BBC drama executive. Intrigued by the idea, Marsh immediately commissioned Nation for a pilot script and, satisfied with the draft scripts, Marsh approved Blake's 7 for full development. David Maloney, an experienced BBC director, was assigned to produce the series and Chris Boucher was engaged as script editor. Nation was commissioned to write the first series of thirteen episodes. Boucher's task was to expand and develop Nation's first drafts into effective scripts. Boucher's task became increasingly difficult as Nation started running out of ideas. Meanwhile, Maloney had difficulty working with a schedule and budget unsuited to an action and special effects-heavy programme like Blake's 7. Despite these challenges, Blake's 7 was popular, with some episodes exceeding ten million viewers, and was quickly renewed for a second series.

New writers were engaged for the second and later series. Difficulties with the scripts affected plans for a story arc that would run through the series. The decision was made that one of the regular characters would die, to show to viewers that Blake and his crew were not indestructible. The character of Gan, played by David Jackson, was chosen because Gan had been under-used and was the least popular character. Although the second series' ratings were lower than the previous one, the BBC commissioned a third series. The production team faced a major challenge when Gareth Thomas and Sally Knyvette decided not to return for the third series. New characters were required so the programme could continue without its titular character. Ideas for a replacement for Blake's character were rejected and Avon became a more prominent character. New characters Del Tarrant, portrayed by Steven Pacey, and Dayna Mellanby, portrayed by Josette Simon, were introduced.

Blake's 7 was not expected to be recommissioned when the third series finished in 1980. To the surprise of all concerned, the announcement of a further series was made over the end credits. Bill Cotton, the BBC's Head of Television was watching Terminal during its broadcast and had greatly enjoyed it. He telephoned the BBC's presentation department and ordered them to make the announcement. As David Maloney was not available, Vere Lorrimer became the programme's producer. Lorrimer oversaw the introduction of new characters and a new spacecraft, Scorpio, with its computer, Slave. Jan Chappell, who played Cally, decided that she did not want to return and was replaced by Glynis Barber as Soolin.

Gareth Thomas made a final appearance as Blake, and insisted that the character be killed off in a definitive manner. Although the fourth series performed satisfactorily in the ratings, Blake's 7 was not renewed for a fifth year and the final episode had an ambiguous final. With the exception of Blake, whose death was contractual, the characters were shown in such a way that their survival would have been possible had a fifth series been commissioned. The final episode, Blake, was broadcast on 21 December 1981.

Music and sound effects

Blake's 7's signature music was written by Australian composer Dudley Simpson, who had composed music for Doctor Who for over ten years. The same recording of Simpson's theme was used for the opening titles of all four series of the programme. For the fourth series, a new recording was made for the closing credits that used an easy listening-style arrangement. Simpson also provided the incidental music for all of the episodes except for the Series One episode "Duel" and the Series Two episode "Gambit". "Duel" was directed by Douglas Camfield, who bore a personal grudge against Simpson and refused to work with him, and Camfield used library music. Elizabeth Parker provided the music and sound effects for "Gambit". Blake's 7 made considerable use of audio effects that are described in the credits as "special sound". Many electronically-generated sound effects were used, ranging from foley-style effects for props including handguns, teleport sounds, spacecraft engines, flight console buttons and background atmospheres. The special sounds for Blake's 7 were provided by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop composers Richard Yeoman-Clark and Elizabeth Parker.

Critical reception

Blake's 7 has received a wide range of critical reviews, ranging from positive to negative. The fourth episode, Time Squad, was reviewed by Stanley Reynolds of The Times the day after its first broadcast. Reynolds wrote that it was " ... nice to hear the youngsters holding their breath in anticipation of a little terror." He elaborated that: "Television science fiction has got too self-consciously jokey lately. It is also nice to have each episode complete within itself, while still carrying on the saga of Blake's struggle against the 1984-ish Federation. But is that dark-haired telepathic alien girl, the latest addition to Blake's outer-space merry men, going to spell love trouble for blonde Jenna? Maid Marian never had that trouble in Sherwood Forest."

In January 1998, Robert Hanks of The Independent compared the series' ethos to that of Star Trek. He wrote: "If you wanted to sum up the relative position of Britain and America in this century – the ebbing away of the pink areas of the map, the fading of national self-confidence as Uncle Sam proceeded to colonise the globe with fizzy drinks and Hollywood – you could do it like this: they had Star Trek, we had Blake's 7 ... No 'boldly going' here: instead, we got the boot stamping on a human face which George Orwell offered as a vision of humanity's future in Nineteen Eighty-Four." Hanks concluded that: "Blake's 7 has acquired a credibility and popularity Terry Nation can never have expected ... I think it's to do with the sheer crappiness of the series and the crappiness it attributes to the universe: it is science-fiction for the disillusioned and ironic – and that is what makes it so very British."

Gavin Collinson, of the British Film Institute's website Screenonline wrote: "The premise of Blake's 7 held nothing remotely original. The outlaw group resisting a powerful and corrupt regime is an idea familiar from Robin Hood and beyond." He continued: "Blake's 7's triumph lay in its vivid characters, its tight, pacey plots and its satisfying realism ... For arguably the first time since the 1950s Quatermass serials, the BBC had created a popular sci-fi/fantasy show along adult lines." The review concludes: "Ultimately, the one force the rebels could not overcome proved to be the BBC's long-standing apathy towards science fiction. However, the bloody finale, in which Avon murders Blake, exemplified the programme's strengths – fearless narratives, credible but surprising character development and an enormous sense of fun."

On the negative side, broadcaster and critic Clive James called the series " ... classically awful British television SF ... no apostrophe in the title, no sense in the plot." James continued; "The depraved space queen Servalan ... could never quite bring herself to volatilize the dimly heroic Blake even when she had him square in the sights of her plasmatic spasm guns. The secret of Blake’s appeal, or Blakes appeal, for the otherwise infallibly fatale Servalan remained a mystery, like the actual wattage of light bulb on which the design of Blake’s spaceship, or Blakes spaceship, was plainly based."

Legacy

Blake's 7's legacy to future television and film space opera was the use of moral ambiguity and dysfunctional main characters to create tension and long-term story arcs to aid cohesiveness. These devices can be seen in Babylon 5, Lexx, Andromeda, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Farscape, the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly. These programmes contrast with the simple good-versus-evil dualism of Star Wars, or the 'feel-good' tone and unconnected episode structure of early Star Trek and the series' main contemporary, Doctor Who. Blake's 7 also influenced Hyperdrive and Aeon Flux. Television playwright Dennis Potter's final work, Cold Lazarus, was inspired by the show.

Blake's 7 remains highly regarded to this day. A poll of United States science-fiction writers, fans and critics for John Javna's 1987 book The Best of Science Fiction placed the series 25th in popularity, although the series had only recently begun to be broadcast in the US. A similar poll of British writers, fans and critics conducted for SFX magazine in 1999 put Blake's 7 at 16th place, commenting that "20 years on, TV SF is still mapping the paths first explored by Terry Nation's baby". Later, in 2005, SFX surveyed its readers' top 50 British telefantasy shows of all time and Blake's 7 was placed at number four on the list behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Red Dwarf and Doctor Who. A similar readers' poll conducted by TV Zone magazine in 2003 for its top 100 cult television programmes placed Blake's 7 in 11th position.

Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen was inspired by Blake's 7 in naming his side-project Star One. Star One's album Space Metal features a song called "Intergalactic Space Crusaders" which is based on the series. The Orb's album The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld features a song called "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" which is a reference to the episode Ultraworld.

In 2004, a 15-minute comedy film, entitled Blake's Junction 7, made its debut at several film festivals around the world. Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Tim Plester, it starred Mackenzie Crook, Martin Freeman, Johnny Vegas, Mark Heap and Peter Tuddenham. This parody depicts the characters taking a break at the Newport Pagnell motorway service area. The BBC produced a 30-minute documentary, The Cult of... Blake's 7, which was first broadcast on 12 December 2006 on BBC Four as part of that station's Science Fiction Britannia series.

Revivals

The revival of Blake's 7 has been mooted for some years. Terry Nation raised the possibility on a number of occasions and proposed that a new series would be set some years after the existing one. Avon, living in exile like Napoleon on Elba, would be persuaded by a new group of rebels to resume the fight against the Federation.

Radio and audio

In 1998, Blake's 7 returned to the BBC on the radio. The Sevenfold Crown was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 17 January 1998 as part of its Playhouse strand. The play was produced by Brian Lighthill and written by Barry Letts. Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Steven Pacey, Peter Tuddenham and Jacqueline Pearce reprised their television roles but Josette Simon and Glynis Barber were replaced by Angela Bruce as Dayna and Paula Wilcox as Soolin. The story was set during the fourth series between the episodes Stardrive and Animals. This was followed up by The Syndeton Experiment, which featured the same cast, producer and writer and was broadcast, as The Saturday Play, on 10 April 1999, on BBC Radio 4. BBC Audiobooks Ltd. has recorded two readings of Trevor Hoyle's novelizations of episodes The Way Back read by Gareth Thomas and Cygnus Alpha read by Paul Darrow, and released these on CD.

On 11 December 2006, B7 Productions announced that it had recorded a series of 36 five-minute Blake's 7 audio adventures written by Ben Aaronovitch, Marc Platt and James Swallow. The series featured Derek Riddell as Blake, Colin Salmon as Avon, Daniela Nardini as Servalan, Craig Kelly as Travis, Carrie Dobro as Jenna, Dean Harris as Vila, Owen Aaronovitch as Gan, Michael Praed, Doug Bradley and India Fisher. The new series was broadcast on BBC Radio 7 and repeated in mid 2010 as three hour-long episodes; Rebel (written by Ben Aaronovitch), Traitor (Marc Platt) and Liberator (James Swallow). B7 Productions also produced series of 30 minute prequel audio episodes called Blake's 7: The Early Years, in which the histories of the central characters were explored.

In 2011, Big Finish Productions, under licence from B7 Productions, announced that it would be producing a series of audio dramas called Blake’s 7: The Liberator Chronicles, which would be " ... a series of exciting, character-driven tales that remain true to the original TV series. We’re aiming for authenticity – recreating the wonder of 1978 all over again!” The company also said it would publish a series of Blake's 7 novels at a rate of two per year.

Several individuals and companies have produced unofficial material based upon Blake's 7. Alan Stevens, later of Magic Bullet Productions produced three unofficial audio cassettes between 1991 and 1998; Travis: The Final Act, The Mark of Kane and The Logic of Empire. Stevens also produced a series of audio dramas called Kaldor City, created by Chris Boucher, which link the Blake's 7 universe into Boucher's Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death through the character Carnell (Scott Fredericks), whom Boucher created for the Blake's 7 episode, Weapon.

Television

In April 2000, producer Andrew Mark Sewell announced that he had bought the rights to Blake's 7 from the estate of Terry Nation and was planning to produce a TV movie set 20 years after the finale of the original series. In July 2003, Sewell announced that he, Paul Darrow and Simon Moorhead had formed a consortium called B7 Enterprises that had acquired the rights and was planning a TV miniseries budgeted at between five and six million US dollars.Darrow would play Avon and the series would be televised in early 2005, depending on " ... many factors, not least financing". Paul Darrow subsequently left the project in December 2003, citing "artistic differences".

On 31 October 2005, B7 Enterprises announced it had appointed Drew Kaza as Non-Executive Chairman of the company and listed two Blake's 7 projects under development. Blake's 7: Legacy would be a two part, three hour miniseries that would be written by Ben Aaronovitch and D. Dominic Devine.Blake's 7: The Animated Adventures would be a 26-part children's animated adventure series to be written by Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Marc Platt and James Swallow.In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, writer and producer Matthew Graham said that he had been involved in discussions to bring Blake's 7 back. Graham's notion for the series proposed that a group of young rebels would rescue Avon, who has been kept cryogenically frozen by Servalan and then roam the galaxy in a new ship named Liberator.

On 24 April 2008, television station Sky1 announced that it had commissioned two 60-minute scripts for a potential series, working alongside B7 Productions, a subsidiary of B7 Media. On 4 August 2010, the station said it had decided not to commission a series. B7 Productions said the decision was " ... obviously disappointing", but that the development process has resulted in the " ... dynamic reinvention of this branded series". It said it was confident it would find another partner to bring a new version of Blake’s 7 to television.

Merchandise

Terry Nation had done well financially from the commercial exploitation of Doctor Who’s Daleks and was aware of the potential for merchandise related to Blake's 7. Nation and his agent, Roger Hancock, discussed the matter with Ray Williams of BBC Merchandising in December 1976. By May 1977, twenty-seven items of merchandise had been proposed for release by companies including Palitoy, Letraset and Airfix. However, only a small quantity of the proposed items were made available.

A small number of toys and models were produced. Corgi Toys produced a two inch long die-cast model of Liberator, which had a transparent rear globe, in 1978. The following year this was re-released in silver with a model space shuttle, and in blue on its own. Also in 1979, Blue Box Toys produced three space vehicle toys that carried the series logo; however, these vehicles never appeared in the television programme. In 1989, Comet Miniatures produced a nine-inch long injection moulded model kit of Liberator, which contained many parts. Comet also produced a white, metallic, two-inch Liberator model and a three-inch Federation trooper figure. A Scorpio clip gun, and Liberator and Scorpio teleport bracelets, were also produced.

The children's magazine programme Blue Peter offered a cheaper, home-made, alternative to fans wanting merchandise. In the edition broadcast on 23 February 1978, presenter Lesley Judd demonstrated how to create a replica Liberator teleport bracelet from common household objects. This was followed up by an item, on 6 June 1983, when presenter Janet Ellis demonstrated a similar method of making a replica Scorpio bracelet.

Music

The sheet music of the Blake's 7 theme was published by Chappell & Co. Ltd. in 1978, with a photograph of Liberator on the front cover. Dudley Simpson's theme music was also released as a single, with The Federation March a piece of incidental music from the episode Redemption, on the B-side. The Blake's 7 theme was also released on an album, BBC Space Themes, and Liberator was featured on the album sleeve. Another version of the theme, 'Blake's 7 Disco' was recorded by Federation and released in 1979 on Beeb Records with a B-side unconnected with the series. Many of the sound effects from the series were released in 1981 on an album, BBC Sound Effects No. 26 – Sci-Fi Sound Effects and re-released later on CD as Essential Science Fiction Sound Effects Vol. 1.

Books and magazines

Blake's 7 books were produced by various authors. A series of novelisations were issued by several publishers. The first was entitled Blake's 7, written by Trevor Hoyle and Terry Nation, and was published in 1978. Its US title was Blake's 7 - Their First Adventure. Hoyle wrote two more books in the series; Blake's 7: Project Avalon (1979, novelising the episodes Seek–Locate–Destroy, Duel, Project Avalon, Deliverance and Orac) and Blake's 7: Scorpio Attack (1981, novelising the episodes Rescue, Traitor and Stardrive). Publications continued to be issued after the series had ended. Tony Attwood's Blake's 7: The Programme Guide, published by Target in 1982, is a factual overview of the series with a detailed episode guide, an encyclopedia and interviews with the cast and writers. It was re-issued by Virgin Books in 1994. Attwood also wrote an original novel called Afterlife, which is set after the final episode and was published by Target in 1984. Another original novel, Avon: A Terrible Aspect by Paul Darrow, which told the story of Avon's early years before he met Blake, was published in 1989.

World Distributors produced a Blake's 7 Annual for the years 1979, 1980 and 1981; these featured stories, games, artwork and articles about space. In October 1981, Marvel UK began publishing Blake's 7 – A Marvel Monthly, which included a comic strip by Ian Kennedy, text stories, features and photographs. Twenty-five issues, including two 'specials', were published until the magazine closed in August 1983. Marvel produced two 'special' magazines in 1994 and 1995, much of the contents of which were written by television historian Andrew Pixley and concerned the making of the series. Seven issues of Blake's 7 Poster Magazine were published between December 1994 and May 1995.

Several books offering critical insight and behind the scenes information about Blake's 7 have been issued. Blake's 7: The Complete Guide by Adrian Rigelsford (Boxtree, 1995); Blake's 7: The Inside Story by Joe Nazzaro and Sheelagh Wells (Virgin, 1997); A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7 by John Kenneth Muir (McFarland and Company, 1999) and Liberation. The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Blake's 7 by Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore (Telos, 2003).

Video and DVD releases

In 1985, BBC Video issued four compilation videocassettes containing edited highlights from the first three series edited into 90 minute features. The first tape released was The Beginning, containing excepts from episodes The Way Back, Spacefall, Cygnus Alpha and Time Squad. Duel, released in 1996, contained highlights of Seek–Locate–Destroy, Duel and Project Avalon. In the same year, Orac was released, containing excerpts from Deliverance, Orac and Redemption. The first three tapes were available on VHS and Betamax formats. The final tape, The Aftermath was released in Australia in 1986 and contained extracts from episodes Aftermath, Powerplay and Sarcophagus. In 1990, all four tapes were re-released in the UK on VHS.

Starting in 1991, BBC Video released Blake's 7 was released in episodic order on 26 VHS cassettes with two episodes per tape. In 1997, Fabulous Films re-released the tapes in different packaging. The BBC and Fabulous Films planned to issue the series in four DVD box sets but their plans were disrupted by conflicts with rights-holders B7 Enterprises. These issues were resolved and one series per year was released on Region 2 DVD between 2003 and 2006. In 2007, Amazon sold a four-series box set with special packaging. A casualty of the difficulties with Blake's 7 Enterprises was The Making of Blake's 7, a four-part documentary directed by Kevin Davies, intended as an extra feature with each DVD release. B7 Enterprises stated that they " ... did not feel [the documentary] provided a proper tribute or fresh retrospective of the show". The discs contained extra features, including bloopers, out-takes, alternative scenes, voiceover commentaries, interviews and behind the scenes footage.

See also

• History of Blake's 7
• List of Blake's 7 episodes
• List of Blake's 7 planets

External links

• Big Finish Productions website
• Blake's 7 — B7 Enterprises, the rights holders of Blake's 7
• Down and Safe: an irreverent guide to Blakes 7
• The Anorak's Guide to Blake's 7
• Blake's 7 at the Internet Movie Database
• Blake's 7 at TV.com