Blake's 7
The logo used for the first three seasons of Blake's 7
Format	Science fiction Space opera
Created by	Terry Nation
Starring	Gareth Thomas as Roj Blake Paul Darrow as Kerr Avon Sally Knyvette as Jenna Stannis Michael Keating as Vila Restal David Jackson as Olag Gan Jan Chappell as Cally Steven Pacey as Del Tarrant Josette Simon as Dayna Mellanby Glynis Barber as Soolin Peter Tuddenham as Zen, Orac & Slave Jacqueline Pearce as Servalan Stephen Greif as Travis (Season 1) Brian Croucher as Travis (Season 2)
Theme music composer	Dudley Simpson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. Space opera is a subgenre of Speculative fiction or Science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often Melodramatic adventure set mainly or entirely Terry Nation ( August 8 1930 – March 9 1997) was a Welsh Television Screenwriter. Gareth Thomas (born 12 February 1945) is a Welsh Actor. Thomas is best known for the part of Roj Blake is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow (born Paul Birkby on 2 May[[ 941]] is a British Character actor best known for his portrayal of Kerr Avon in the Kerr Avon is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Sally Knyvette is a British actress director and drama teacher Jenna Stannis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Michael Keating (born 1947 in North London, England) is a British Actor known for his role as Vila Restal in Blake's Vila Restal is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by David Jackson ( 15 July 1934 - 25 July 2005) was a British date=September 2008}}{{Blake's 7 Character| image = | caption = David Jackson as Olag Gan| bgcolor = #fc0| fgcolor Janet Chappell (born 1949 usually known as Jan Chappell, is a British actress known for her portrayal of Cally in the first three series of Blake's Steven Pacey (born 5 June 1957 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire) is an English actor best known for his role as Del Tarrant Del Tarrant is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Josette Patricia Simon OBE (born c 1960 is a British actress of Antiguan descent Dayna Mellanby is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Josette Simon Glynis Barber (born 25 October, 1955) is a British actress born and raised in South Africa. Soolin is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Peter Tuddenham (born 27 November 1918 – 9 July 2007) was a British actor who provided the voices of Zen, Zen is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. Orac is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. The Scorpio is a spaceship featured throughout the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Blake's 7. Jacqueline Pearce (born 20 December 1943 in Byfleet, Surrey, England) is a British Actress. Servalan is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Jacqueline Pearce Stephen Greif (born 26 August 1948) is an English Actor. TV appearances include He Kills Coppers, Holby City Travis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Stephen Brian Croucher (born in Surrey) is an English actor perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997 in the popular Travis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Stephen Dudley Simpson (born 1922 is an Australian television composer who is best known for his work on Doctor Who. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States of series	4
No.  of episodes	52 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	David Maloney (Seasons 1-3) Vere Lorrimer (Season 4)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	c. The British Science fiction television series Blake's 7 ran for four series often labelled "A" to "D" for reference David Maloney ( December 14 1933 &mdash 18 July 2006) was a British Television director and producer. Vere Lorrimer (died 1 October 1998) was a British Television producer and director The multiple-camera setup (aka multiple-camera mode of production is a method of shooting films and television programs 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
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for their BBC 1 channel. 576i is a standard-definition video mode used in (former PAL and SECAM countries PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour -encoding system used in Broadcast television systems in large parts of the world The aspect ratio of an Image is its width divided by its height Monaural (often shortened to mono) sound reproduction is single-channel Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer best known for creating the popular Dalek monsters for the television series Doctor Who, it ran for four seasons between 1978 and 1981. Terry Nation ( August 8 1930 – March 9 1997) was a Welsh Television Screenwriter. A Dalek (, ˈdɑːlεk is a member of a Fictional extraterrestrial race of Mutants from the British science fiction television Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Popular from the time it was first broadcast, it remains well regarded^[1] on account of its dark tone, moral ambiguity and strong characterisation. It is also remembered for the shock ending that concluded the series.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Characters 3 Sources and influences 4 Plot summary 4.1 Season A 4.2 Season B 4.3 Season C 4.4 Season D 5 Production history 5.1 Music 5.1.1 Special sound 6 Critical reception 7 Legacy 8 Revivals 8.1 Audio 8.2 Television 8.3 Unlicenced and fan-produced media 8.3.1 Alan Stevens' audio cassettes 8.3.2 Other fan-produced media 9 Merchandise 9.1 Toys and models 9.2 Music 9.3 Books and magazines 9.4 Video and DVD releases 10 See also 11 Notes and references 12 External links

Overview

Set in the "third century of the second calendar",^[2] Blake's 7 follows the exploits of revolutionary Roj Blake as he leads his band of rebels against the forces of the totalitarian Terran Federation which rules the Earth and many of the planets of the galaxy. A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turnaround" is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively Roj Blake is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private The Terran Federation, sometimes simply called The Federation, is the primary stellar government featured in the Blake's 7 science-fiction television The Federation controls its citizens by means of mass surveillance, brainwashing, and pacification with drugged food, water and air. Mass surveillance is the pervasive Surveillance of an entire population or a substantial fraction thereof Brainwashing (also known as Thought reform or as Re-education) consists of any effort aimed at instilling certain attitudes and Beliefs Sentenced to deportation to a penal colony on a remote planet, Blake escapes with the help of his fellow prisoners and gains control of the Liberator, an alien spacecraft far in advance of anything the Federation possesses. A penal colony is a Settlement used to detain Prisoners and generally use them for Penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's The spaceship Liberator is a Fictional Starship featured in the first three seasons of the BBC Television series Blake's The craft has superior speed and weaponry and a teleport system that allows crew members to be transported to the surface of a planet without having to land the ship. Teleportation is the movement of objects from one place to another more or less instantaneously either by Paranormal means or through technological artifice Blake and his crew then attempt to disrupt and damage the Federation.

Whereas Blake is an idealist freedom fighter, the others are criminals, including petty crooks, smugglers and killers. Notably, Kerr Avon is a technical genius more interested in self-preservation and seeking personal wealth than engaging in rebellion. Kerr Avon is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Self preservation is part of an Animal 's Instinct that demands that the organism survives When Blake is separated from his crew, Avon takes over, confirming the inherent duality in his personality and the loyalty he had for Blake's vision. However, Avon remains a target for Federation forces.

Although many of the 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 dark, pessimistic tone. A literary trope (from Greek τρόπος - tropos "turn" related to the root of τρέπω - trepō "to turn to direct Space opera is a subgenre of Speculative fiction or Science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often Melodramatic adventure set mainly or entirely A spacecraft is a Vehicle or machine designed for Spaceflight. A robot is a mechanical or Virtual Artificial agent In practice it is usually an electro-mechanical system which by its appearance or movements Galactic empires are a common theme in Science fiction. Many authors have either used a Galaxy -spanning Empire as background or written about See also List of extraterrestrials in fiction In Popular cultures Life forms -especially intelligent life forms that are of extraterrestrial ^[3]

The series was originally planned to conclude at the end of its third season, but was unexpectedly and suddenly re-commissioned for a further season. ^[4] Some changes to the programme's format were necessary, such as the introduction of a new spacecraft, Scorpio. The Scorpio is a spaceship featured throughout the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Blake's 7. Aware that renewal for a fifth season was unlikely, the production team devised a memorable conclusion for the series which left the fates of the main characters highly ambiguous. Because of this uncertainty, events following the final episode have been the subject of much speculation and debate among aficionados of the series.

Characters

The first three episodes introduced the following main characters:

• Roj Blake played by Gareth Thomas. Roj Blake is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Gareth Thomas (born 12 February 1945) is a Welsh Actor. Thomas is best known for the part of Blake is a political dissident, who was captured after attending a proscribed political meeting outside the Domed City. A dissident, broadly defined is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine policy or institution Blake is framed, tried, convicted of molesting children, and sentenced to deportation to a penal colony on Cygnus Alpha, a remote planet. A penal colony is a Settlement used to detain Prisoners and generally use them for Penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's
• Vila Restal played by Michael Keating. Vila Restal is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Michael Keating (born 1947 in North London, England) is a British Actor known for his role as Vila Restal in Blake's Vila is a cowardly thief with a skill for lock-picking and conjuring. Vila is usually reluctant to risk his life for Blake's cause.
• Jenna Stannis played by Sally Knyvette An attractive blonde space smuggler and skilled pilot. Jenna Stannis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Sally Knyvette is a British actress director and drama teacher
• Olag Gan played by David Jackson. date=September 2008}}{{Blake's 7 Character| image = | caption = David Jackson as Olag Gan| bgcolor = #fc0| fgcolor David Jackson ( 15 July 1934 - 25 July 2005) was a British A convicted murderer, Gan cannot kill enemies because of an electronic implant in his brain to control aggression.
• Kerr Avon played by Paul Darrow. Kerr Avon is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Paul Darrow (born Paul Birkby on 2 May[[ 941]] is a British Character actor best known for his portrayal of Kerr Avon in the Avon is an electronics and computer expert and erstwhile fraudster, Avon often clashed with Blake during the series.
• Zen played by Peter Tuddenham. Zen is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. Peter Tuddenham (born 27 November 1918 – 9 July 2007) was a British actor who provided the voices of Zen, The main computer aboard Liberator, Zen, voiced by Peter Tuddenham, became a presence and a character in its own right. Peter Tuddenham (born 27 November 1918 – 9 July 2007) was a British actor who provided the voices of Zen,

As the series continued, other main characters were introduced:

• Cally played by Jan Chappell. Janet Chappell (born 1949 usually known as Jan Chappell, is a British actress known for her portrayal of Cally in the first three series of Blake's A guerilla fighter from the planet Auron, Cally was a resistance fighter on the planet Saurian Major. Cally is a telepath and can transmit thoughts silently to the rest of the crew.
• Servalan played by Jacqueline Pearce. Servalan is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Jacqueline Pearce Jacqueline Pearce (born 20 December 1943 in Byfleet, Surrey, England) is a British Actress. Servalan was the glamorous but ruthless and megalomaniacal Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. The Terran Federation, sometimes simply called The Federation, is the primary stellar government featured in the Blake's 7 science-fiction television She later conducted a military coup and installed herself as President, and became Avon's nemesis in Seasons 3 and 4. President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries.
• Travis played by Stephen Greif in Season 1 and Brian Croucher in Season 2. Travis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Stephen Stephen Greif (born 26 August 1948) is an English Actor. TV appearances include He Kills Coppers, Holby City Brian Croucher (born in Surrey) is an English actor perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997 in the popular Travis is a dedicated, ruthless Federation officer. He became increasingly obsessed with killing Blake and later betrayed the Federation to the invaders from Andromeda.
• Orac played by Peter Tuddenham. Orac is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. Peter Tuddenham (born 27 November 1918 – 9 July 2007) was a British actor who provided the voices of Zen, Orac is a portable super-computer capable of reading any other computer's data. Orac was built by computer engineer Ensor.

After Thomas and Knyvette left the series, Season 3 introduced two new characters:

• Dayna Mellanby played by Josette Simon. Dayna Mellanby is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Josette Simon Josette Patricia Simon OBE (born c 1960 is a British actress of Antiguan descent Dayna is a weapons expert and daughter of dissident Hal Mellanby. She was born on Earth but emigrated to Sarran with her father at an early age.
• Del Tarrant played by Steven Pacey. Del Tarrant is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Steven Pacey (born 5 June 1957 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire) is an English actor best known for his role as Del Tarrant Tarrant is a former Federation space pilot turned weapons smuggler who boarded Liberator whilst abandoned by its crew.

Following Cally's death and Zen's destruction, two more characters were introduced in Season 4:

• Soolin played by Glynis Barber. Soolin is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Glynis Barber (born 25 October, 1955) is a British actress born and raised in South Africa. Soolin is a gun-slinger and mercenary. She was girlfriend of Dorian. Soolin's parents were murdered on Gauda Prime, where they emigrated from Earth.
• Slave played by Peter Tuddenham. The Scorpio is a spaceship featured throughout the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Blake's 7. Peter Tuddenham (born 27 November 1918 – 9 July 2007) was a British actor who provided the voices of Zen, Slave was the master computer of Dorian's ship 'Scorpio'. Built by Dorian, it was frequently apologetic and obsequious. ^[5]

Sources and influences

Blake's 7 draws much of its inspiration from the legend of Robin Hood. Robin Hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore, whose story originates from medieval times but who remains significant in popular culture where It follows a small band of outlaws, under a figurehead leader, leading a rebellion against a tyrannical regime. ^[6] Blake's followers, however, are far from being a band of "Merry Men". His diverse crew include a corrupt computer genius (Avon), a smuggler (Jenna), a thief (Vila), a murderer (Gan), a telepathic guerilla soldier (Cally), a computer with a mind of its own (Zen) and, later, another wayward computer (Orac). Kerr Avon is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Jenna Stannis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Vila Restal is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by date=September 2008}}{{Blake's 7 Character| image = | caption = David Jackson as Olag Gan| bgcolor = #fc0| fgcolor Telepathy ( Greek τηλε tele meaning "distant" and πάθεια patheia meaning "to be affected by" describes the purported transfer Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc Zen is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. Orac is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. Later additions were: a naive weapons expert (Dayna), a mercenary (Tarrant), a gunslinger (Soolin) and an obsequious computer (Slave). Dayna Mellanby is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Josette Simon Del Tarrant is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Soolin is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by The Scorpio is a spaceship featured throughout the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Blake's 7.

Series creator Terry Nation pitched Blake's 7 to the BBC as "The Dirty Dozen in space",^[7] 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. The Dirty Dozen is a World War II action - War film directed by Robert Aldrich, from the novel by E Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Robert Aldrich (August 9 1918 – December 5 1983 was an American Film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including This film's influence shows in the nature of the majority of Blake's followers; Avon, Vila, Gan and Jenna are escaped convicts.

Thus, while Blake intends to use the Liberator to strike against the Federation, the others are reluctant followers – especially Avon - who is more interested in self-preservation and using the Liberator to obtain personal wealth. Blake and Avon's clashes over the leadership represent a conflict between idealism and cynicism. In Western civilization, Idealism is the philosophy which maintains that the Ultimate nature of reality is ideal or based upon ideas values essences The so-called Cynicism (Kυνισμός originally comprised the various philosophies of a group of ancient Greeks called the Cynics, founded by ^[8] Similar conflicts arise between other characters, e. g. , 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. Gallantry redirects here Or see Gallant for other meanings Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity Coward redirects here For other meanings including as a surname see Coward (disambiguation. In ordinary usage skepticism or scepticism ( Greek 'σκέπτομαι' skeptomai, to look about to consider see also spelling differences This page is about loyalty as faithfulness to a cause For its use in business see Loyalty business model or Loyalty Marketing.

Loyalty and trust are important themes of the series. ^[9] For example: 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. This theme of loyalty and trust reaches its climax during Blake and Avon's final encounter in the last episode, Blake, where Avon's inability to trust others leads to Blake's death, and possibly Avon's. ^[10]

Script editor Chris Boucher, whose influence on the series grew as the seasons progressed,^[9] was inspired by the Central and South American revolutionaries, especially Zapata, in exploring Blake and his followers' motives and the consequences of their actions. A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted Television programmes usually dramas and comedies Chris Boucher (born 1943 is a British Television writer best known for his frequent contributions to two genres science fiction and Crime dramas South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Emiliano Zapata Salazar ( August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in ^[11] 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. ^[9] When Avon gains control of the Liberator, following Blake's disappearance after the events of Star One, he initially uses it to pursue his own agenda. 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 series, Avon has replaced Blake. ^[10]

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. Travis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Stephen Servalan is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Jacqueline Pearce Sir Guy of Gisbourne (also spelled Gisburne, Gisborne, Gysborne, or Gisborn) is a fictional character in the Robin Hood legends See also The Sheriff of Nottingham in classic stories The Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham ^[6]

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. A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society Nineteen Eighty-Four (also titled 1984) by George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair) is a 1949 English Novel Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer Brave New World is a 1932 Novel by Aldous Huxley. Set in the London of AD 2540 (632 A Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 &ndash 22 November 1963 was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. The Sleeper Awakes (1910 is a Dystopian Novel by H G Wells about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years waking up in a completely Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political ^[9] 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. The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly Public trial. These are reminiscent of the manner in which the former Soviet Union dealt with its dissidents. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 ^[12] 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. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is ^[12][13] Such authoritarian dystopias are common in Terry Nation's work, appearing in Nation's Doctor Who stories, for example, Genesis of the Daleks. Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast ^[8]

Another frequent 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 also in Survivors, the series he created before Blake's 7. The Daleks (also known as The Mutants) is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Death to the Daleks is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast The Android Invasion is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast Survivors was a British television series devised by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC from 1975 to 1977 ^[8] Post-apocalyptic societies are featured 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. ^[12]

Just as important an influence on Blake's 7 were classic Western films, such as The Magnificent Seven. The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 Western film directed by John Sturges about a group of hired gunmen protecting a Mexican village from Chris Boucher incorporated lines from Westerns into the scripts, much to the delight of Paul Darrow, an enthusiast of the genre. ^[14] The final episode, Blake, was heavily inspired by The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Wild Bunch ( directed by Sam Peckinpah, is a Western film about an aging outlaw gang at the Texas-Mexico border trying to exist in the modern world Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a American Western film that tells the story of bank robbers Butch Cassidy (played by Paul Newman) and ^[15]

Plot summary

A complete list of episodes with capsule summaries can be found at the list of Blake's 7 episodes. The British Science fiction television series Blake's 7 ran for four series often labelled "A" to "D" for reference

Season A

Roj Blake, an alpha-grade worker, 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. A dissident, broadly defined is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine policy or institution 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 is the only survivor. Returning to the city, his blocked memories start to return. He is arrested, tried on false charges of child molestation and sentenced to deportation to the prison planet Cygnus Alpha. Child sexual abuse is a form of Child abuse in which a child is abused for the sexual gratification of an adult or older adolescent Transportation or penal transportation refers to the deporting of Convicted Criminals to a Penal colony, for example by France ^[16]

On the prison ship, London, Blake meets thief Vila Restal, smuggler Jenna Stannis, murderer Olag Gan and computer fraudster Kerr Avon. Following a mysterious space battle, the London encounters a strange alien craft. Efforts to board and salvage it are thwarted by the alien ship's defence mechanism. As a final attempt, the London crew decide to send prisoners Blake, Avon and Jenna across to the ship. Blake destroys the defence system. With Jenna as pilot, the three convicts escape with the alien craft. ^[17]

Following the London in their captured ship - which they have named Liberator - to Cygnus Alpha, they retrieve Vila and Gan. Blake is determined to use Liberator and its new crew to attack the Federation; the others – especially Avon – are reluctant followers. ^[18]

Blake's first target is a communications station on the planet Saurion Major. Infiltrating the station, Blake is assisted by Cally, a telepathic guerilla soldier from the planet Auron. Blake invites Cally to join the crew. With this new arrival, and counting the Liberator’s computer, Zen, the Liberator has a crew of seven. ^[19]

As Blake's attacks against the Federation become bolder and more effective, political pressure grows on the Administration. Supreme Commander Servalan appoints Space Commander Travis, who has a personal vendetta against Blake, to eliminate him and capture the Liberator. ^[20]

Blake meets a man called Ensor, and uncovers a plot by Servalan and Travis to seize Orac, a powerful device capable of communicating with any computer equipped with a component called a Tariel Cell. Blake and his crew capture the device ahead of Servalan's arrival. To the crew's surprise and alarm, Orac reveals its power and predicts the future. The crew are horrified by Orac's prediction: the Liberator exploding. ^[21]

Season B

The race who built the Liberator, recaptures it. Orac's prophecy is fulfilled: it is not the Liberator, but a sister-ship that is destroyed by Orac. ^[22]

Blake, wishing to attack the heart of the Federation, targets the central computer control centre on Earth. Avon agrees to help on the condition that Blake gives him the Liberator once 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 left as a decoy for the Federation's enemies. Blake and his crew escape, but Gan is killed when Travis explodes a grenade. ^[23]

While Blake ponders the future of the rebellion following Gan's death, Travis is found guilty of war crimes in a Federation court martial at Space Command Headquarters. War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a Military court. These military courts can determine Punishments for members of the Military subject Blake decides to avenge Gan's death by attacking the Headquarters, but Travis escapes from the court and continues his vendetta against Blake. ^[24] Meanwhile, Blake seeks the new location of the computer control centre. He learns that it is now called Star One. ^[25]

When the Star One control centre 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 aliens from the Andromeda galaxy, aided by Travis, have infiltrated it. Extraterrestrial life is Life originating outside of the Earth. The Andromeda Galaxy (ænˈdrɒmədə also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224; often referred to as the Great Andromeda Vila discovers a fleet of spacecraft beyond the barrier. Travis disables the barrier. Blake and his crew overcome the aliens at Star One, and kill Travis. Star One is destroyed by the Andromedans, allowing them to invade. Blake uses the Liberator to delay the alien fleet, and calls for help from the Federation, where Servalan has imposed martial law and declared herself President. Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice Servalan despatches the Federation's battle fleets to repel the invaders. ^[26]

Season C

The 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. ^[27]

Blake and Jenna go missing; Avon takes control of the Liberator. The remaining crew are joined by two new additions: weapons expert Dayna Mellanby and mercenary Del Tarrant. Dayna Mellanby is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Josette Simon Del Tarrant is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by ^[28] Avon is less inclined than Blake to attack the Federation, but Servalan realises that her capture of the Liberator would enable the quick restoration of the Federation's power. ^[29]

Servalan's attempt to create clones of herself is thwarted and the clone embryos are destroyed. Cloning in Biology is the process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as Bacteria, Insects An embryo (from Greek:, plural, lit "that which grows" from en- "in" + bryein "to swell be full" is a multicellular Servalan, suffering from "psychic miscarriage", swaps her trademark white clothes for the black of mourning. Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or spontaneous end of a Pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving generally defined ^[30]

Avon decides to hunt the Federation agent who killed Anna Grant, his former partner. Interrupting an attempt to overthrow Servalan, Avon discovers that Anna is alive, and had been a Federation agent named Bartolemew. Avon kills Anna and frees Servalan. ^[31]

Servalan lures Avon into a trap using a faked message from Blake. The Liberator, and Zen, have been irreparably damaged by a cloud of fluid particles. Servalan captures the Liberator and abandons the crew on the planet Terminal. As Servalan leaves Terminal in Liberator, it explodes, apparently killing Servalan during an attempt to escape by teleport. The Liberator crew are stranded on Terminal, and begin the search for a means of escape. ^[32]

Season D

Booby traps set by Servalan in her underground complex on Terminal explode, killing Cally. A booby trap is a device set up to be triggered by an unsuspecting victim Avon and the surviving crew escape, and are rescued by salvage operator, Dorian. Dorian takes them to his base on the planet Xenon in his spacecraft, Scorpio. There they meet Soolin, Dorian's partner. His plans to take Orac and drain the crew's life-force, but is foiled by Vila. The term energy has been widely adopted into the fields of spirituality complementary medicine etc ^[33]

Using the technology left by Dorian, Avon constructs a new teleport system for Scorpio. Soolin joins the crew, who take over Scorpio and occupy the Xenon base. Avon gains control of the Scorpio's onboard computer, Slave. ^[34]

The crew acquires a stardrive, which vastly increases Scorpio's speed. ^[35] Becoming concerned with the speed at which the Federation are reclaiming their former territory, the Scorpio crew discover that Servalan has survived the destruction of the Liberator. Having been deposed as President, Servalan is using the pseudonym Commissioner Sleer, and is enacting a pacification programme using a drug called Pylene 50. The crew gain the drug's antidote. An antidote or counterdose is a substance which can counteract a form of Poisoning. ^[36]

Fearing that the Federation's continued expansion would soon reach their haven on Xenon, the Scorpio crew attempt to create an alliance between the independent worlds to resist the Federation. They plan large-scale manufacture of the Pylene 50 antidote. One of the alliance members, Zukan, betrays the alliance to Servalan. Zukan detonates explosives and Xenon base is heavily damaged. ^[37]

Avon reveals Orac has traced Blake to the agricultural world, Gauda Prime, where Blake is masquerading as a bounty hunter. A bounty hunter captures Fugitives for a monetary reward ( bounty) Blake's latest quarry is Arlen, whom he hopes to recruit for his rebellion. Approaching the planet, the Scorpio is attacked. With the exception of Tarrant, the crew abandon the heavily damaged craft by teleport. Tarrant is wounded but survives as the craft crash-lands in woodland. Blake rescues Tarrant, and takes him to Blake's base, where he purportedly captures Tarrant as bounty. Tarrant escapes, and tells Avon that Blake has betrayed them to the Federation. Avon shoots and kills Blake. Arlen reveals herself to be a Federation officer, and Federation guards arrive. Tarrant, Soolin, Vila and Dayna fall to the floor, apparently shot. The guards surround Avon, who steps over Blake's body, raises his gun and smiles. Shots ring out. ^[38]

Production history

Main article: History of Blake's 7

Blake's 7 was created by Terry Nation. This article is specifically about the production history of the television series Blake's 7: for a more general overview of this series please see the main Terry Nation ( August 8 1930 – March 9 1997) was a Welsh Television Screenwriter. Nation was inspired during a pitch meeting with Ronnie Marsh, a Drama executive at the BBC. 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. ^[39]

David Maloney, an experienced BBC director, was assigned to produce the series. David Maloney ( December 14 1933 &mdash 18 July 2006) was a British Television director and producer. Chris Boucher was engaged as script editor. A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted Television programmes usually dramas and comedies With Terry Nation commissioned to write the first thirteen-episode season, 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 season. ^[39]

New writers were engaged for the second and later seasons onwards. Difficulties with the scripts affected plans for a story arc that would run through the season. A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as Television, Comic books Comic strips 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 the character had been under-used, and was the least popular among viewers. David Jackson ( 15 July 1934 - 25 July 2005) was a British Although ratings were lower than the previous season's, a third season was commissioned. ^[39]

The production team faced a major challenge when Gareth Thomas, who played Blake, did not return for the third season. New characters were required in order to continue without its titular character. Sally Knyvette also failed to return as Jenna. Sally Knyvette is a British actress director and drama teacher Ideas for a replacement Blake character were rejected and the character of Avon became more prominent from this season forward. To keep the cast numbers at the titular seven, new characters Del Tarrant, played by Steven Pacey, and Dayna Mellanby, played by Josette Simon, were introduced. Steven Pacey (born 5 June 1957 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire) is an English actor best known for his role as Del Tarrant Josette Patricia Simon OBE (born c 1960 is a British actress of Antiguan descent ^[39]

Blake's 7 was expected to finish in 1980, after its third season. To the surprise of all concerned, it was announced over the end credits of the last episode that Blake's 7 would return the following year. Bill Cotton, the BBC's Head of Television was watching Terminal during its broadcast and had greatly enjoyed it. Sir William Frederick "Bill" Cotton CBE ( 23 April 1928 &ndash 11 August 2008) was a British Television producer He telephoned the BBC's presentation department and ordered them to make the announcement. ^[4]

With David Maloney unavailable, Vere Lorrimer became the programme's producer. Vere Lorrimer (died 1 October 1998) was a British Television producer and director Lorrimer oversaw the introduction of new characters and a new spacecraft, Scorpio, with its computer, Slave (voiced by Peter Tuddenham). Peter Tuddenham (born 27 November 1918 – 9 July 2007) was a British actor who provided the voices of Zen, Jan Chappell, who played Cally, chose not to return. Janet Chappell (born 1949 usually known as Jan Chappell, is a British actress known for her portrayal of Cally in the first three series of Blake's She was replaced by Glynis Barber, playing a new character, Soolin. Glynis Barber (born 25 October, 1955) is a British actress born and raised in South Africa.

Gareth Thomas made a final appearance as Blake, insisting that the character be killed off in a definitive manner, for the last episode. Although the fourth season performed satisfactorily in the ratings, Blake's 7 was not renewed for a fifth year and viewers were left with an unresolved cliffhanger when the final episode,Blake, was broadcast on 21 December 1981. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 ^[39]

Music

^[40] Theme tune Blake's 7's theme tune was written by Australian composer Dudley Simpson, who had composed music for the BBC's Doctor Who for over ten years. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Dudley Simpson (born 1922 is an Australian television composer who is best known for his work on Doctor Who. The same recording of Simpson's theme was used for the opening titles of all four series of the show. ^[41] For Season D, a new recording was made for the closing credits, using an easy listening style arrangement. Easy listening music is a style of Popular music and radio format that emerged in the mid-20th century evolving out of swing and Big band music

Simpson also provided the incidental music for 50 of the 52 episodes, the exceptions being the Series 1 episode "Duel" and the Series 2 episode "Gambit". In the case of "Duel" it was directed by the late Douglas Camfield, who bore a personal grudge against Simpson, and refused to use him. Douglas Gaston Sydney Camfield (died 27 January 1984) was an accomplished director for Television from the 1960s to the 1980s ^[42] For "Gambit" it was decided that Elizabeth Parker should provide the music, as well as providing 'special sound' for the episode. Elizabeth Parker is a British composer who worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop for many years

Special sound

As well as traditional acoustic foley effects, Blake's 7 used considerable amounts of what the BBC credits describe as "special sound". For the album by The Jam see Sound Affects. Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced Sounds An extensive array of electronically-generated sound effects were used, ranging from spot foley-style effects for various props (e. g. handguns, the Liberator and Scorpio teleports, engines, and flight-console buttons) to background atmospheres - ambient textures present throughout in certain sets or locations - and occasional incidental music, notably on the episodes "Duel" and "Gambit". Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes The special sounds for Blake's 7 were provided by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, with Richard Yeoman-Clark working until the mid-Season B episode "Gambit", when Elizabeth Parker took over and continued for the remainder of the series. Richard Yeoman-Clark is a British composer and sound engineer who worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1970 to 1978 Elizabeth Parker is a British composer who worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop for many years Many of these effects were released on the compilation album BBC Sound Effects No. 26 - Sci-Fi Sound Effects.

Critical reception

The fourth episode of the first season, Time Squad, was reviewed by Stanley Reynolds, the television critic of The Times newspaper, the day following its broadcast. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Reynolds commented 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. Nineteen Eighty-Four (also titled 1984) by George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair) is a 1949 English Novel 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. Maid Marian (short for maiden usually named Lady Marian Fitzwalter of Leaford (first mentioned c Sherwood Forest is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the Legend of Robin "^[43]

In January 1998, The Independent newspaper published a feature on the series by journalist Robert Hanks, to coincide with the programme's twentieth anniversary, and the broadcast of the BBC Radio 4 play The Sevenfold Crown. The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. Hanks compared the series' ethos to that of Star Trek, saying that: "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. "^[44]

The British Film Institute's "Screenonline" website suggests that "The premise of Blake's 7 held nothing remotely original. The British Film Institute ( BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film television screenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to Social history as revealed by film and television The outlaw group resisting a powerful and corrupt regime is an idea familiar from Robin Hood and beyond. " However, the entry adds that "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. "^[45]

Legacy

Blake's 7 is arguably unique in television science-fiction. It had a major influence on written science-fiction, with the revival of written space opera in the 1990s originating in the UK with writers such as Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds, and Iain M. Banks. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Stephen Baxter (born 13 November 1957 is a British Hard science fiction Author. Alastair Preston Reynolds (born in 1966 in Barry, Wales) is a Welsh Science fiction author. Iain Menzies Banks (born on 16 February 1954 in Dunfermline, Fife) is a Scottish Writer. These authors' work features morally ambivalent, often sarcastic and driven characters, whose usually violently-terminated lives are spent in vast and baroque spacecraft. Television playwright Dennis Potter's final work, Cold Lazarus, was inspired by the show. Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935&ndash7 June 1994 was a controversial English Dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective Cold Lazarus is a British television four-part drama written by Dennis Potter with the knowledge that he was dying from cancer of the pancreas ^[46]

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, as well as long-term story arcs to aid cohesiveness. These devices can be seen in Babylon 5, Lexx, Andromeda, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Farscape, the new Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly. Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created produced and largely written by J Lexx is a science fantasy television series that follows the adventures of a group of mismatched individuals aboard the organic space craft Lexx. See Andromeda (disambiguation for other uses of "Andromeda" Farscape is an American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced for the Sci-Fi Channel. The Battlestar Galactica Science fiction franchise which began as a 1978 TV series, was "reimagined" in 2003 into a TV miniseries Firefly is an American Science fiction Television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer 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. Dualism denotes a state of two parts The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two". Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Star Trek is a Science fiction Television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 through ^[9] Blake's 7 also influenced Hyperdrive and Aeon Flux. Hyperdrive is a British Television Science fiction sitcom produced by the BBC created under the working title of "Full Power Æon Flux (ˌiːɒn ˈflʌks is an Avant garde American Science fiction Animated television series that aired on MTV ^[47]

Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen was inspired by Blake's 7 in naming his side-project Star One. Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960, Hilversum) is a composer and musician from the Netherlands and is most widely known for his albums STAR One is a TV station that features Hindi entertainment Launched in November 2004, the channel gained in popularity with shows like Remix ^[48]Also, Star One's album Space Metal features a song called "Intergalactic Space Crusaders" which is based on the series. Space Metal is an album by Star One released on the recording label Inside Out in 2002

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 twenty-fifth in popularity, although the series had only recently begun being broadcast in the USA. ^[49] A similar poll of British writers, fans and critics for SFX magazine in 1999 put Blake's 7 at sixteenth place, commenting that "20 years on, TV SF is still mapping the paths first explored by Terry Nation's baby". SFX is a British Magazine devoted to Science fiction and Fantasy subjects especially media-related topics but not containing fiction ^[50] Later, in 2005, SFX polled its readers for their top fifty British telefantasy shows of all time and Blake's 7 made it to number four on the list, beaten only by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Red Dwarf and Doctor Who. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams 's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool Star, of the Main sequence, either late K ^[51] Similarly, a readers poll conducted by TV Zone magazine in 2003 for their top one hundred cult television programmes placed Blake's 7 in eleventh position. TV Zone is a British Magazine published every four weeks by Visual Imagination that covers Cult television. ^[52]

In 2004, a short, fifteen minute, comedy film, titled 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, reprising the voice of Orac, Peter Tuddenham. Tim Plester (b 10 September 1970 in Oxfordshire, England) is a British Playwright and Actor who lives and works Paul Mackenzie Crook (born September 29, 1971) is an English Actor and Comedian, best known for playing Gareth Keenan in Martin Freeman ( September 8 1971) is an English Actor. He is most famous for his roles as Tim Canterbury in the BBC 's Johnny Vegas (born 11 September, 1971 as Michael Joseph Pennington) is an English Actor and Comedian. Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957 in Kodaikanal, India is an English Actor best known for a variety of Television comedy roles including struggling This spoof homage depicted the adventures of the infamous seven at the Newport Pagnell motorway service area. Newport Pagnell Services is a Motorway service station between junctions 14 and 15 of the M1 motorway near Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Motorway is a term for both a type of Road and a classification or designation ^[53][54]

The BBC paid tribute to the series with a thirty minute documentary, The Cult of. . . Blake's 7, first broadcast on 12 December 2006 on BBC Four as part of that channel's Science Fiction Britannia season. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. BBC Four is a BBC Television channel available to digital television ( Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable) viewers in the ^[55]

Revivals

The notion of bringing Blake's 7 back has been around for some years. Terry Nation raised the possibility on a number of occasions before his death in 1997. Nation's proposal was that a new series would be set some years after the old one and would feature the character of Avon, living in exile, much like Napoleon on Elba, who would be persuaded by a new group of rebels to take up arms against the Federation again. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Elba (Ilva is an island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. ^[56]

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. Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The play was produced by Brian Lighthill, and written by Barry Letts. Barry Letts (born 1925 is a British actor television director and producer best known for his work on the BBC Science fiction Television series Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Steven Pacey, Peter Tuddenham and Jacqueline Pearce all reprised their television roles. However Josette Simon and Glynis Barber were replaced by Angela Bruce as Dayna and Paula Wilcox as Soolin. Angela Bruce (Born in 1951 in Leeds, Yorkshire and raised in Craghead, County Durham) is an English actress noted for her Television Paula Wilcox (born 13 December, 1949 in Manchester) is an English Actress. The story was set during Season 4 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. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) ^[57]

On 11 December 2006, Blake's 7 Enterprises, who also use the names Blake's 7 Productions and Blake's 7 Media, announced that they had completed the recording of a series of thirty-six five minute Blake's 7 audio adventures written by Ben Aaronovitch, Marc Platt and James Swallow. Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Ben Denis Aaronovitch (born 1964 is a London-born British writer who has worked on television series including Doctor Who, Casualty Marc Platt (born 1953 is a British writer He is most known for his work with the BBC Science fiction Television James Swallow is a British author journalist and scriptwriter Described as a "radical new re-interpretation of Terry Nation's original series", the series stars Derek Riddell as Blake, Colin Salmon as Avon and Daniela Nardini as Servalan with Craig Kelly, Carrie Dobro, Michael Praed, Doug Bradley and India Fisher. Derek Riddell ( 11 January 1967, Glasgow) is a Scottish television actor Colin Salmon (born December 6, 1962) is an English Actor known for playing the Fictional character Charles Robinson in Daniela Nardini (born April 26, 1968 in Largs) is a British actress of Italian ancestry best known for playing Anna Forbes in the Craig Kelly may refer to one of the following people Craig Kelly (actor (born 1970 British actor star of Queer as Folk and Casualty Carrie Dobro is an American actress She is best known for her leading role as Dureena Nafeel in the Babylon 5 feature-length film Michael Praed (ˈpreɪd prayd) ( né Michael David Prince, born April 1, 1960 in Berkeley Gloucestershire) Douglas William Bradley (born September 7 1954) is an English Actor. India Fisher is a British actress born in 1974 Her father is the MP Mark Fisher. It can be heard on the Sci Fi channel's website or bought as three 60 minute CDs. B7 Productions have also indicated it remains their intention to bring about a live action revival. ^[58]

Television

In April 2000, it was announced that producer Andrew Mark Sewell had bought the rights to the series from the estate of Terry Nation and was planning a TV movie set 20 years after the original series had concluded. ^[59] In July 2003, it was announced that Paul Darrow, along with Sewell and Simon Moorhead, was part of a consortium, called Blake's 7 Enterprises, that had acquired the rights and were planning a TV miniseries budgeted at $5-6 million. A miniseries (also mini-series) in a serial Storytelling medium is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes Paul Darrow would be the only returning star from the original series, which would be set 25 years on from the events of Blake, and would appear on TV screens by Spring 2005, depending on "many factors, not least financing". ^[60] Paul Darrow subsequently left the project in December 2003, citing "artistic differences". ^[61] A press release from Blake's 7 Enterprises on 31 October 2005 announcing the appointment of Drew Kaza as Non-Executive Chairman of the company also listed two Blake's 7 projects under development: Blake's 7: Legacy, a two part, three hour mini-series to be written by Ben Aaronovitch and D. Dominic Devine and Blake's 7: The Animated Adventures, a 26-part children's animated adventure series to be written by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Marc Platt and James Swallow. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ben Denis Aaronovitch (born 1964 is a London-born British writer who has worked on television series including Doctor Who, Casualty Andrew Cartmel is a British Science fiction writer and Journalist, and former Script editor of Doctor Who. Marc Platt (born 1953 is a British writer He is most known for his work with the BBC Science fiction Television James Swallow is a British author journalist and scriptwriter ^[62] In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, writer and producer Matthew Graham, best known as the co-creator of the television series Life on Mars, revealed that he had been involved in discussions to bring Blake's 7 back. Doctor Who Magazine (abbreviated as DWM) is a Magazine devoted to the long-running British Science fiction television Matthew Graham is a British Television writer and the co-creator of the BBC / Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life Life on Mars is 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 christened the Liberator. Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero Temperatures such as (typically 77 K or −196 It is not clear whether this proposal was related to the B7 Enterprises effort. ^[63]

On 24 April 2008, Sky One announced that they had commissioned two 60-minute scripts for a potential series, working alongside Blake's 7 Productions, a subsidiary of Blake's 7 Media who owns the licence to the show. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[64]

Unlicenced and fan-produced media

Several fan groups have produced unofficial media that continue or expand upon the original television series.

Alan Stevens' audio cassettes

Alan Stevens, later of Magic Bullet Productions^[65] produced three non-profit audio cassettes between 1991 and 1998. Alan Stevens is a British writer and producer who is currently based in the Southeast of England where he runs his own audio production company Magic Bullet Productions The cassettes feature artwork Pete Wallbank and original music by Alistair Lock. The standard of writing, acting, music, recording and duplication belies their status as fan-produced media. ^[66]

Travis: The Final Act, is a documentary about the eponymous Space Commander. It was narrated by Peter Miles, and featured interviews with Stephen Greif, Brian Croucher, Chris Boucher and David Moloney. Peter Miles is a British actor He has played many television roles including several different characters in Z-Cars and Doctor Who Stephen Greif (born 26 August 1948) is an English Actor. TV appearances include He Kills Coppers, Holby City Brian Croucher (born in Surrey) is an English actor perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997 in the popular Chris Boucher (born 1943 is a British Television writer best known for his frequent contributions to two genres science fiction and Crime dramas David Molony (23 August 1950 &ndash 4 September 2002 was an Irish Fine Gael Party Senator and TD. The documentary explored the character's origins, his motivations and the causes of his eventual betrayal of the Terran Federation. A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" ^[67]

The success of Travis: The Final Act led to the production of two further audio tapes from Stevens. In 1996, he released The Mark of Kane, featuring two interlinked stories. In War Crimes written by Stevens, Brian Croucher reprises his role as Travis. The narrative follows the character's treachery against the Terran Federation, and his encounter with Kane and Royce, a pair of bounty hunters. A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" A bounty hunter captures Fugitives for a monetary reward ( bounty) The second story, Friendly Fire, co-written with David Tulley, is set on Gauda Prime around eight months before the episode 'Blake'. It features Gareth Thomas as the eponymous rebel turned bounty hunter. Gareth Thomas might refer to Gareth Thomas (actor (born 1945 Welsh actor who played the part of Blake in Blake's 7 Gareth Thomas Blake teams up with colleague Tando in order to lead Kane into a trap. ^[68]

The Logic of Empire, written by Alan Stevens and David Tulley, was released in 1998. It features Jacqueline Pearce and Paul Darrow in their original roles, and a cameo appearance from Gareth Thomas. Jacqueline Pearce (born 20 December 1943 in Byfleet, Surrey, England) is a British Actress. Paul Darrow (born Paul Birkby on 2 May[[ 941]] is a British Character actor best known for his portrayal of Kerr Avon in the Gareth Thomas might refer to Gareth Thomas (actor (born 1945 Welsh actor who played the part of Blake in Blake's 7 Gareth Thomas The Logic of Empire is set approximately seven years after the final television episode, Blake. Again the cassette is split into two parts; Fool's Gold and The Way Back. Avon has been recruited by a rebel group led by Lydon for a heist, but all is not as it seems. ^[69]

Peripherally related to Blake's 7, the Kaldor City audio plays, created by Chris Boucher and produced by Stevens' Magic Bullet Productions, tie the Blake's 7 universe into Boucher's Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death through the use of psychostrategist Carnell (Scott Fredericks), who first appeared in the Blake's 7 episode Weapon. Kaldor City is a human city of the future on an unspecified alien world created by Chris Boucher for the Doctor Who serial The Robots of Magic Bullet Productions is an independent audio-production company formed in 2000 by Alan Stevens, focusing on Doctor Who and Blake's 7 spinoff The Robots of Death is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast Scott Fredericks is an Irish actor best known for his roles on British Television.

Other fan-produced media

BTR Productions, an amateur multimedia company, produced Blake's Legacy, a six-part audio adventure set twenty years after the episode 'Blake'. ^[70]

Merchandise

Terry Nation had done well financially from the commercial exploitation of Doctor Who’s Daleks and so was aware from the outset of the potential for merchandise related to Blake's 7. ^[71] Nation and his agent, Roger Hancock, had discussed the matter with Ray Williams of BBC Merchandising as early as December 1976. By May 1977, up to twenty-seven items of merchandise had been proposed by companies including Palitoy, Letraset and Airfix. Palitoy was the name of a British Toy company It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain some original items and others under licence Letraset is a company which manufactures sheets of artwork elements which can be transferred to artwork being prepared see the article on Screentone for details Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic Scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects In the end only a few of the items proposed made it to the shops. ^[7] However, Blake's 7 related merchandise continues to appear to this day.

Toys and models

A small number of toys – including a model Liberator by Corgi and a Federation handgun that fired ping-pong balls – were released as well as jigsaws, badges and patches during the show's run. Corgi Classics Limited is a diecast model manufacturer which has its origins in the Corgi Toy brand introduced by Mettoy in 1956 ^[72] Comet Miniatures produced a range of kits in the late 1980s and early 1990s including the Liberator, a clip gun (from Season 4), a Federation trooper and Liberator and Scorpio teleport bracelets. ^[39]

The children's magazine programme Blue Peter offered a cheaper, home-made, alternative to fans wanting merchandise. Blue Peter is a BBC Television programme for children It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the In the edition broadcast on 23 February 1978, presenter Lesley Judd demonstrated how to create a replica Liberator teleport bracelet from common household objects. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Lesley Judd (born 20 December 1946, London, UK) is an English dancer and TV presenter best known as a long-serving host of the BBC 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. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Janet Ellis (born 16 September 1955) is a television presenter and former actress who appeared on BBC children's television during the 1980s ^[39]

Music

Dudley's Simpson's theme music was also released as a single, backed with The Federation March, a piece of incidental music from the episode Redemption. ^[39]

Books and magazines

The first publication was a novelisation of the first four episodes, titled Blake's 7, written by Trevor Hoyle, who later wrote the episode Ultraworld, and published in late 1977, shortly before the series debuted on television. A novelization is a Novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work Hoyle published two further novelisations – Blake's 7: Project Avalon (1979, novelising the season one episodes Seek-Locate-Destroy, Duel, Project Avalon, Deliverance and Orac) and Blake's 7: Scorpio Attack (1981, novelising the season four episodes Rescue, Traitor and Stardrive). ^[73]

World Distributors produced a Blake's 7 Annual for the years 1979, 1980 and 1981. An annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a Magazine, Comic book or Comic strip published yearly During the fourth season, Marvel UK begin publishing Blake's 7 Magazine, a sister publication to its Doctor Who Magazine, from October 1981. Marvel UK was an Imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market though The magazine, which included a comic strip, ran for twenty-three issues (as well as two specials) until August 1983. A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a Comics artist ^[73] Marvel returned to the series in 1994 and 1995 with two specials, mostly written by television historian Andrew Pixley, that covered the making of the series as well as the short-lived Blake's 7 Poster Magazine that ran for seven issues between December 1994 and May 1995. ^[74]

Merchandise continued to appear 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, including a detailed episode guide, an encyclopedia and interviews with the cast and writers. Tony Attwood (born 1947 in Southgate, Middlesex, England) is an expert in Direct mail, who previously worked as a teacher and lecturer and has It was re-issued by Virgin Books in 1994. ^[75] Afterlife, also by Tony Attwood and published by Target in 1984, was an original novel set after the final episode. 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. ^[73]

Several books offering critical insight and behind the scenes information on 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 (who worked on the series as a make-up designer) (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). ^[76]

Video and DVD releases

The BBC began issuing Blake's 7 on videotape from 1985. Videotape is a means of recording images and sound onto Magnetic tape as opposed to movie film. The initial releases, which were made available on both VHS and Betamax (first three releases only) formats, comprised four compilation tapes containing selected episodes from the first three seasons edited down into a c. ---- Betamax is a home Videocassette tape recording format developed by Sony, and released on May 10, 1975. 90 minute "movie" format.

Starting in 1991, the entire series was released, in order, on VHS with two episodes per tape over twenty-six volumes. ^[39] In 1997, an independent company, Fabulous Films, re-issued the tapes in different packaging. As the DVD format grew in popularity, the BBC, along with Fabulous Films, planned to issue the series in season box sets. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is These plans were disrupted by conflicts with rights-holders Blake's 7 Enterprises. These issues were eventually resolved and the series was released, in Region 2, at a rate of one season per year, between 2003 and 2006. DVD video discs may be encoded with a region code restricting the area of the world in which they can be played In 2007, Amazon sold a combined four-season box set with special packaging. Amazoncom Inc ( is an American electronic commerce ( E-commerce) company in Seattle Washington. 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. Kevin Jon Davies is a British television and video director primarily associated with documentaries and spin-off videos associated with Doctor Who, Blake's 7 Enterprises stated that they "did not feel [the documentary] provided a proper tribute or fresh retrospective of the show". ^[77] The DVDs did feature some extras, including bloopers, outtakes, alternative scenes, interviews, and some behind the scenes footage.

See also

• List of Blake's 7 episodes
• List of Blake's 7 planets
• Category: Blake's 7 characters
• History of Blake's 7

Notes and references

External links

• British Film Institute Screenonline
• Horizon: The official Blake's 7 fan club
• B7media.com – official website of Blake's 7's current rights holders
• Blake's 7 Audio Adventures
• Down and Safe: an irreverent guide to Blakes 7
• The Anorak's Guide to Blake's 7

Blake's 7  v • d • e
Blake's 7 – The Television Series
History of Blake's 7 | List of Blake's 7 episodes | Blake's 7 actors
The Blake's 7 Universe
Terran Federation | Liberator | Scorpio | Planets | Intergalactic War
Roj Blake | Kerr Avon | Vila Restal | Jenna Stannis | Olag Gan | Cally | Zen | Orac | Dayna Mellanby | Del Tarrant | Soolin | Slave | Servalan | Travis

This article is specifically about the production history of the television series Blake's 7: for a more general overview of this series please see the main The British Science fiction television series Blake's 7 ran for four series often labelled "A" to "D" for reference A list of actors who have appeared in the science fiction television series Blake's 7. The Terran Federation, sometimes simply called The Federation, is the primary stellar government featured in the Blake's 7 science-fiction television The spaceship Liberator is a Fictional Starship featured in the first three seasons of the BBC Television series Blake's The Scorpio is a spaceship featured throughout the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Blake's 7. This is a list of notable planets that have appeared in the BBC Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. The Intergalactic War (or Andromedan War is a fictional event in the Blake's 7 science fiction television series Roj Blake is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Kerr Avon is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Vila Restal is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Jenna Stannis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by date=September 2008}}{{Blake's 7 Character| image = | caption = David Jackson as Olag Gan| bgcolor = #fc0| fgcolor Cally is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Jan Chappell Zen is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. Orac is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7. Dayna Mellanby is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Josette Simon Del Tarrant is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Soolin is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by The Scorpio is a spaceship featured throughout the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Blake's 7. Servalan is a Fictional character in the BBC Science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Jacqueline Pearce Travis is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Television series Blake's 7, played by Stephen

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