Blake's 7

Some programmes have lasting attraction... others stagnate very easily. I guess the true measure of which category a programme belongs in is to see if it can still attract new viewers over 20 years later. Being a bit of a fan already, I bought the series 1 & series 2 boxsets. Before I had chance to watch them all the way through, Sara had got hooked and watched them first!

It's pure 80's Sci-Fi corn, but with such a great storyline you can forgive it!

So what's going on? Basically, we are introduced to Roj Blake, a man with a past he can't remember. He spends his life wandering round in a drugged state of passiveness, unaware of what his past holds. His life begins to change as one of his friends smuggles him out of the city to meet someone he apparently used to know, but Blake cannot remember him. As the story unfolds, it turns out that Blake used to be some kind of political idealist, part of a resistance movement against the "Federation", some kind of evil power over all the Federation planets. Whilst Blake goes off to think about what he's told, which includes the revelation that his parents are dead, a resistance group holds a meeting, who are rather unfortunately grassed up to the Federation, and subsequently murdered by Federation soldiers. Blake witnesses this, and realises this man may have been telling him the truth...

Blake gets arrested, framed for Child abuse, and sentenced to life on a prison planet. On the way he befriends several other prisoners, leading them to revolt. The revolt fails miserably (a hilarious scene indeed), and as a result Blake and two of his new friends become confined to their seats. The prison ship stumbles across an alien space battle, and end up travelling near a damaged alien ship, the likes of which have never been seen. A few twists in events, and Blake and his friends find themselves volunteered as an expendable boarding party, only to take control of this unique ship, free some more prisoners, and the adventures really begin. Hurtling across space, fighting minor skirmishes with the Federation, Blake begins settling his score. Not everyone on his crew is with him, especially not Avon.

Avon is probably the best character in the show. The computer genius is cold, calculating and ruthless. He threatens to abandon Blake at almost every opportunity, but never quite goes through with it. He lets Blake know what he thinks about him, his ideals and his plans. But it's his dry wit that really makes him the character you have to love.

Vila: "My head hurts!"
Avon: "Have you considered amputation?"

So, the crew now assembled includes Blake, Avon, Jenna (ex-smuggler), Vila (ex-thief, still a coward), Gan (The beefy strong guy) and Cally (an Auron, a race of telepaths). Yes, I know, that's only six. Why Blake's 7, then?

Making up the numbers was the ship's computer, Zen. Yes, it took me years to work that one out. Meanwhile, the faces of the evil Federation were Servalan (a psychotic Supreme Commander type woman) and Travis (A man Blake thought he'd killed in the past.)

The first couple of seasons were brilliant (although Stephen Greif suffered a Squash injury at the end of the first season, and as a result season 2's Travis, played by Brian Croucher, was nothing short of camp) and the storyline got deeper and more involved. Towards the end of the second series, Gan died in Blake's first REAL attack to attempt to destroy the Federation, and this is where the mould was broken...

The Goodies don't die! But here we had a genuine death, in the middle of the season, it came as a great shock, you didn't expect it. Well, you do now, having read this, but this is important, it's the beginning of the remould of British TV Drama, a goodie died, and we mourned. After the second season, Blake disappeared, seriously injured in the very last episode of series 2. He made two more cameo appearances, the last episode of series 3, and the very last episode (end of series 4). In the meantime, Avon takes control. See, I always knew he was destined for greatness.

It is the final episode that has left the most questions as to what actually happened to our heroes. Federation forces kill the new-look crew (Vila, Dayna, Tarrant & Soolin), and Avon kills Blake. Avon is surrounded by Federation troops, and, straddling Blake's lifeless body, he raises his gun. We see a half-smile, half-grimace, and then the end credits roll. Over this, we hear several shots fired, and they're not all Federation gunfire.


Does Avon escape? I think not, the odds were stacked against him, but with rumour of a new series, and with rumour that Paul Darrow was set to play Avon, I suspect he was to escape somehow. Hey, I wouldn't put it past him. He is one cool cucumber.

There we go. A slice of nostalgia you should not miss. Retro TV at its corny best. Just make sure you start with series 1.