THE TV ALPHABET: B is for Blakes 7
Blakes 7
Blakes 7 was in iconic BBC Sci-Fi show from the 70's, which played in NZ during my childhood and was repeated in my teenage years (I recall recording episodes on VHS tapes, and woe betide my siblings if they changed the channel and I somehow missed an episode). As a kid I was into all the Sci-Fi TV I could get (Star Trek, the original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rodgers in the 25th century, etc.), linking back to my love of Star Wars.
The show was about a group of escaped criminals led by Roj Blake, on the run from the totalitarian Galactica Federation. Having stumbled onto a high tech alien spacecraft (the Liberator), Roj and his band of merry men (and women) travel around the galaxy fighting injustices and trying to overthrow the oppressive Federation regime.
I think part of what attracted me to the show initially was the similarities with Star Wars (the Federation had many similarities to the Empire: faceless soldiers, a ruthless leader, their black leather clad half-machine enforcer, etc.). That, and the characters. While Blake was the idealistic hero, his crew were anything but. Kerr Avon, the arrogant genius who was always on the lookout for his own interests. Villa Restal, the cowardly thief. There were others, but those two were my favourites. I think it was Blakes 7 that first introduced me to the concept of the reluctant hero / the anti-hero, a protagonist without the pure moral fibre of a Luke Skywalker.
Blakes 7 ran for 4 seasons. The first two kept basically the same core crew (Blake, Avon, Villa, Jenna, Gan, Kelly, Zen) although Orac probably came to be counted as 1 of the 7 after Gan's death. Season 3 saw Blake and Jenna leave (how many shows can remove their signature character and continue?), replaced on the Liberator by new characters Travis and Dayna. At the end of Season 3 the show thought it was being cancelled, and the Liberator was destroyed, only to have a new season approved. So season 4 featured a new ship (The Scorpio) and saw Cally replaced by Soolin.
As was typical at that time, the show is very episodic - one episode will show an encounter with a strange alien species, while the next will be dealing with the Federation, without a lot of continuity. I recall one episode when they mentioned a council of Federation Governors who had never been heard of before, and were never heard of again.
But on their shoestring budget they managed to weave some gold. The dialogue was cutting, with Avon's retorts or Villa's self deprecation being standouts. ("Easy! I hate personal violence, especially when I'm the person"). Although the number of scenes shot at old quarrys or abandoned factories (aka "High Security Instalations") was amusing.
One of the greatest things for me was the ending. The good guys faced overwhelming odds, and eventually they lost. The final shot - Avon standing over Blake's dead body, gun in hand, surrounded by Federation Stormtroopers. The screen goes black you hear guns fire, roll credits. Magic.
The other two shows which really pushed Blacks 7 for that top spot were Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the reimaged Battlestar Galactica. Both were game changers, and I own most of both on DVD.
Also rans: Breaking Bad, Babylon 5. If I can't be bothered to get every episode I can and watch it, then you don't crack my top 3 for B.
Also Also rans (when I checked my DVD collection at home): Burn Notice. I really like Burn Notice. Not the least because it's set in Miami. And Big Bang Theory. There are lots of good series that start with B.
Blakes 7 was in iconic BBC Sci-Fi show from the 70's, which played in NZ during my childhood and was repeated in my teenage years (I recall recording episodes on VHS tapes, and woe betide my siblings if they changed the channel and I somehow missed an episode). As a kid I was into all the Sci-Fi TV I could get (Star Trek, the original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rodgers in the 25th century, etc.), linking back to my love of Star Wars.
The show was about a group of escaped criminals led by Roj Blake, on the run from the totalitarian Galactica Federation. Having stumbled onto a high tech alien spacecraft (the Liberator), Roj and his band of merry men (and women) travel around the galaxy fighting injustices and trying to overthrow the oppressive Federation regime.
I think part of what attracted me to the show initially was the similarities with Star Wars (the Federation had many similarities to the Empire: faceless soldiers, a ruthless leader, their black leather clad half-machine enforcer, etc.). That, and the characters. While Blake was the idealistic hero, his crew were anything but. Kerr Avon, the arrogant genius who was always on the lookout for his own interests. Villa Restal, the cowardly thief. There were others, but those two were my favourites. I think it was Blakes 7 that first introduced me to the concept of the reluctant hero / the anti-hero, a protagonist without the pure moral fibre of a Luke Skywalker.
Blakes 7 ran for 4 seasons. The first two kept basically the same core crew (Blake, Avon, Villa, Jenna, Gan, Kelly, Zen) although Orac probably came to be counted as 1 of the 7 after Gan's death. Season 3 saw Blake and Jenna leave (how many shows can remove their signature character and continue?), replaced on the Liberator by new characters Travis and Dayna. At the end of Season 3 the show thought it was being cancelled, and the Liberator was destroyed, only to have a new season approved. So season 4 featured a new ship (The Scorpio) and saw Cally replaced by Soolin.
As was typical at that time, the show is very episodic - one episode will show an encounter with a strange alien species, while the next will be dealing with the Federation, without a lot of continuity. I recall one episode when they mentioned a council of Federation Governors who had never been heard of before, and were never heard of again.
But on their shoestring budget they managed to weave some gold. The dialogue was cutting, with Avon's retorts or Villa's self deprecation being standouts. ("Easy! I hate personal violence, especially when I'm the person"). Although the number of scenes shot at old quarrys or abandoned factories (aka "High Security Instalations") was amusing.
One of the greatest things for me was the ending. The good guys faced overwhelming odds, and eventually they lost. The final shot - Avon standing over Blake's dead body, gun in hand, surrounded by Federation Stormtroopers. The screen goes black you hear guns fire, roll credits. Magic.
The other two shows which really pushed Blacks 7 for that top spot were Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the reimaged Battlestar Galactica. Both were game changers, and I own most of both on DVD.
Also rans: Breaking Bad, Babylon 5. If I can't be bothered to get every episode I can and watch it, then you don't crack my top 3 for B.
Also Also rans (when I checked my DVD collection at home): Burn Notice. I really like Burn Notice. Not the least because it's set in Miami. And Big Bang Theory. There are lots of good series that start with B.