"I plan to live
forever, or die trying"
You
always knew where you were with a
show like Star trek. If anyone was in trouble you can bet your bottom
dollar
that Kirk, Spock and the gang would rally round trying to help out. You
could
also bet that by the end of the episode that all your principle
characters will
be okay with a new lesson learnt. Well that was never the case with
Blakes 7.
If a crew members in trouble, to hell with them as long as Avon
is alright. Although Blake only had his
seven for a few episodes, nobody seemed to care because the show was
dam good.
Created by the man who brought us the Daleks (Terry Nation), the show
ran for a
total of four, 13 episode seasons. Blake himself (played by Gareth
Thomas) left
at the end of the second season and it was left to Avon
(Paul Darrow) to the lead the rebels in
there fight against the relentless Federation. Also on board was the
cowardly
Vila, (Michael Keaton) The telepath Cally, (Jan Chappell) The ex
smuggler
Jenna, (Sally Knyvette) The gentle giant Gan (David Jackson) The ships
computers Zen (and later Slave) along with the brilliant though
arrogant Orac.
(All voiced by Peter
Tuddenham). Later came the warrior Dayna, (Josette Simon) The
idealistic Tarrant (Steven Pacey) and the hot-headed Soolin (Her first
acting
job before landing the role in ITV's Dempsey and Makepeace.) Always in
pursuit
of the rebels was the beautiful but deadly Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce)
and the
evil Travis (Stephen Greiff and Brian Croucher). Now you can't write
anything
on Blakes 7 without mentioning the late great Vere Lorrimer or David
Maloney
without whom the series would never have been what it was.
The show relied more on excellent writing then it did on big budget
special
effects and remains one of the best written science fiction TV shows of
all
time. Over the last few years reports have been circulating about a new
big
budget version to be made by the BBC with Paul Darrow as the only
surviving
member of the crew from the original show. Before he died Terry Nation
wrote a
plotline involving a young rebel calling himself Blake rescuing Avon and Villa from a federation colony. Life
is
good for our favorite misfits; they have every comfort in exchange for
a few
pro federation statements. As you can imagine they are none too pleased
at
being rescued and whipped halfway across the universe so the adventure
begins
again. This idea may have died with the shows creator in 1997, but only
time
will. Although the late 90's saw a short radio series (scripted by ex
Doctor
who producer Barry Letts) it failed to capture the magic that was
Blakes 7.
Still, with British Sci Fi making a come back, you may not have seen
the last
of this show.
Check The Blakes 7 Forum for all
the latest news and details of the up coming remake.
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This
page is dedicated to the memory of Blakes 7 Producer/ Directo Vere
Lorrimer who died near the end of 1998 aged 78. He was a friend whose
help will not be forgotten. - George 