Blake's 7 came and went mostly before my time and I never had fellow British sci fi fans in my life. I'm an American, always lived in the states and growing up, learning about these shows was nearly impossible. Cable TV was new. The channel options skyrocketed from the usual 13. The last Doctor Who I ever saw was Colin Baker's first season and that was because I stumbled on the show while changing channels on a Saturday evening. Blake's 7 never showed up on my radar unlike Doctor Who which my parents watched before they started buying cable.
Like most, i let my preconceived assumptions about what the show might be like cloud my judgement. I thought it might be a corny like Battlestar Galactia or Buck Rogers. Actually watching it fornthenfirst time, Im glad its now. The show has the best elements of classic Doctor Who that I was always drawn to, the writing and the acting. I believe all of these actors came from the theatre and I am a fan of Skhakespeare and lpve themoften Shakespearean type delieveries of the dialogue. Indeed Gareth Thomas who plays Roj Blake left the show to join the RSC.
Another aspect abput the show is that it takes a different look at a space crew. Star Trek and Space 1999 had rankigs and it was like military in space. They lighten it up a bit but all of the rank crap does wear thin. Star Wars was more buried in fantasy and aliens thogh like Blake's 7, there are plenty of good bad guys fighting on the side of good against the greater evil. Its wrong to assume Blake's 7 is a knockoff of such a thing since Teery Nation apparently came up with the idea of his show before Star Wars debuted. Besides that, there is so little Star Wars in this show aside from what I just mentioned. Bad guys as heroes or antiheroes.
Think of this show more as a Orwell's 1984 in space. We are introduced to the title character in the opening episode and we learn with him how his brain had been washed clean of his renegade past by the global government he fought to destroy. He learns how he was deceived by this government, remembers the torturous acts done to him to blank him memory and the true fate of his family. His resisitance fighters stood little chance (very Orwellian) and before long he finds himself on a prison ship bound for a planet where criminals are exiled. It is on this ship, the eventual crew would come from. All criminals. Some hardened criminals. Many with a high level of mistrust with one another and divided loyalties. Uneasy allies somewhat united against a common enemy, thw Federation. Blake still seeks to fight them, some only want to fight them to keep them from being hunted and killed and one simply wants to escape both Blake and the Federation and go his own way.
These stories mostly have a beginning middle and end within an hour but some carry on woth a story arc from earlier episodes. The sets and effects are extremely cheap but like classic Doctor Who, the story and acting is supposed to be the focus, not dazzling balls of light exploding every 7 minutes so you cansay to yourself ooo and ahhh like you are watching a fireworks show. There are less gpofy looking monsters in this series. Mostly they are actors with interesting clothes and heavy makeup to symbolize they're aliens. As I said, the story is the key. It requires attention and the act8ng is fantastic.
The seriousness that is often heavy in this more adult sci fi British series lightened usually by humorous intentionally dialogue. Often deadpan,,often sarcatstic. Not unconscious.
The ending of the show undoubtedly the most iconic ending of any sci fi series that I know of. I wasn't around to follow it when it was airing but watching it years later and despite already knowing the ending seeing it remains no less shocking. Perhaps the series writers and producers underestimated the value of what they created but it caused as big an uproar as The Priosner's ending but for different reasons.
All and all, my preconceptions about this space opera were completely wrong. It is an excellent show and if you care more about story, plot and performances than special effects, lush sets and cool looking props then this is the kind of scimfi show worth discovering for the first time like me.
Like most, i let my preconceived assumptions about what the show might be like cloud my judgement. I thought it might be a corny like Battlestar Galactia or Buck Rogers. Actually watching it fornthenfirst time, Im glad its now. The show has the best elements of classic Doctor Who that I was always drawn to, the writing and the acting. I believe all of these actors came from the theatre and I am a fan of Skhakespeare and lpve themoften Shakespearean type delieveries of the dialogue. Indeed Gareth Thomas who plays Roj Blake left the show to join the RSC.
Another aspect abput the show is that it takes a different look at a space crew. Star Trek and Space 1999 had rankigs and it was like military in space. They lighten it up a bit but all of the rank crap does wear thin. Star Wars was more buried in fantasy and aliens thogh like Blake's 7, there are plenty of good bad guys fighting on the side of good against the greater evil. Its wrong to assume Blake's 7 is a knockoff of such a thing since Teery Nation apparently came up with the idea of his show before Star Wars debuted. Besides that, there is so little Star Wars in this show aside from what I just mentioned. Bad guys as heroes or antiheroes.
Think of this show more as a Orwell's 1984 in space. We are introduced to the title character in the opening episode and we learn with him how his brain had been washed clean of his renegade past by the global government he fought to destroy. He learns how he was deceived by this government, remembers the torturous acts done to him to blank him memory and the true fate of his family. His resisitance fighters stood little chance (very Orwellian) and before long he finds himself on a prison ship bound for a planet where criminals are exiled. It is on this ship, the eventual crew would come from. All criminals. Some hardened criminals. Many with a high level of mistrust with one another and divided loyalties. Uneasy allies somewhat united against a common enemy, thw Federation. Blake still seeks to fight them, some only want to fight them to keep them from being hunted and killed and one simply wants to escape both Blake and the Federation and go his own way.
These stories mostly have a beginning middle and end within an hour but some carry on woth a story arc from earlier episodes. The sets and effects are extremely cheap but like classic Doctor Who, the story and acting is supposed to be the focus, not dazzling balls of light exploding every 7 minutes so you cansay to yourself ooo and ahhh like you are watching a fireworks show. There are less gpofy looking monsters in this series. Mostly they are actors with interesting clothes and heavy makeup to symbolize they're aliens. As I said, the story is the key. It requires attention and the act8ng is fantastic.
The seriousness that is often heavy in this more adult sci fi British series lightened usually by humorous intentionally dialogue. Often deadpan,,often sarcatstic. Not unconscious.
The ending of the show undoubtedly the most iconic ending of any sci fi series that I know of. I wasn't around to follow it when it was airing but watching it years later and despite already knowing the ending seeing it remains no less shocking. Perhaps the series writers and producers underestimated the value of what they created but it caused as big an uproar as The Priosner's ending but for different reasons.
All and all, my preconceptions about this space opera were completely wrong. It is an excellent show and if you care more about story, plot and performances than special effects, lush sets and cool looking props then this is the kind of scimfi show worth discovering for the first time like me.