Hello all.  Is anyone on here a Blake's 7 fan?  Have you obtained the DVDs
since release?

17 responses total.

What is Blake's 7?

 A British science fiction program with a cult following.

Oh

B7 was a show about a group of terrorists seeking to overthrow a militant
dictatorship.  The seven characters were (mostly) jail escapees, who hijacked
an alien ship and set about destroying key enemy infrastrucutre.  Most of the
focus of the show is upon the interactions between the characters in their
stressful situation, as Blake becomes increasingly fanatical and his
second-in-command, Avon, becomes a paranoid psychopath.

Most of the actors came from a Shakepearean background and the show was
notrious ofr its (very) cheap special effects.

The last episode was its finest moment.  I won't revela it here on the
bulletin board but lets just say the BBC switchboard was flooded with
complaints...

Having always liked well-written SF shows despite, not because of, their
fancy sfx, I liked Blakes 7 which made no pretense to anything of the
sort.  Especially the later seasons, which got more psychologically ornate.

I've described the later seasons of B7 to people this way: Imagine that
the original Star Trek crew had been declared outlaws and are on the run
in the Enterprise from the Federation.  Kirk has mysteriously
disappeared, and Spock is slowly cracking under the strain of command. 
Imagine that, and you have something like B7.

The finest moment in my mind was not the last episode, but the episode
"Orbit" a few episodes earlier.  That was the one that contained the
unforgettable line, bland enough in isolation but absolutely chilling in
context, "Vila weighs 73 kilos."

Interesting. Are they available on DVD?

Series 1 is now on DVD in the UK and Australia.  Series 2 has just been
released in the UK.  Have no idea what is available yet for you Yankees! 
(There are four seasons in total.)  There was talk of reviving the show as
afilm but the whole project has become a fiasco.  The idea was that Avon was
to have survived as apoltical prisoner, held onan island (echoes of Napoleon
on Elba.)  He escapes with a new group of younger terrorists and the war
agains the Federation continues.  If you want to learn of the film proejct,
go to www.blakes7.com  For general information aboutthe original series, try
www.blakes-7.co.uk for starters.  The chat boards are lively!

Apologies for my typos above!

So, let's start talking about the series.  Who is your favourite character
(other than Avon!)  Cally has always intrigued me as she is a naive,
moralistic person on one hand yet a guerrilla soldier on the other, with no
hesitation about killing in certain circumstances.  I feel it is a testament
to Jan Chappell's acting ability that she was able to achieve this.

Yes, definitely Cally also.  Of course, one must not forget Vila.  TO be
honest, I took time to warm to him, as the humour seems forced and disruptive
in series one.  By the timehis alcoholism appears, he is a well-developed
character though.

Avon is far and away the central character of the series, despite the title.
Indeed, it is the tragedy that Avon's isolation and cynicism are his greatest
streength, yet also his downfall.  I think Darrow once referrd to him as the
ultiamte survivor.  Indeed, the ending to me has always seemd like a western
parody, with the gun battle raging around him whilst he stands inthe midst
of it all, completely unscathed.

When do people think Avon's mental breakdown occurred? Was it at the time of
Anna's betrayal, or through the loss of the Liberator and Cally's death? I
really think it was all of these events and the constant confirmation in the
final series that no one could be trusted, hence his homicidal sprees.  No
doubt the paranoia icreased once the safe cocoon of hte Liberator was lost.

Interestingly, try to compare the Avon of sries 4 against hta tof series 1.
In the first series, the convicted computer genius is certainly remote and
self-aggrandizing but kills no one nad has not yet developed his magalomania
tendencies. Certainly, he is willing to betray Blake but has no ourage to ever
follow this through.  Is he bluffing or doe she feel that affinity with Blake
already?

If anyone cannot obtain the DVDs, you can read the complete script of ever
episode at 

www.hermit.org/Blakes7/Episodes/scripts

Is it just me, or did Austin Powers resemble "Avon"?  ;)

Hard to remember details at this distance, but I think Avon started out
more than a little unpredictable, and then slowly and gradually became
something unhinged.  It was a modulated development.

Surely the obvious favorite character is Servalan.  I need say no more.

Of the women on the ship, I preferred Dayna and Soolin to Cally (or
Jenna, whom I never really liked much at all): they had more distinct
personalities, sharper tongues, and they looked really great in those
outfits.  But then I always thought the show got better over time.

Favorite male character, definitely Vila.  Like Nick Brendon on Buffy,
Michael Keating is an actor who hasn't gotten the respect he deserves
for carrying a rather juvenile character for so long and making him so
interesting and likable.

Yes, Soolin...  I fell in love with her when Iwas five years old...  The first
of many blondes to break my heart...

The Series 2 DVD set has just been released in Australia! I watched them all
over the weekend.  What strikes me most is how much more developed Avon is
as a character following Series 1, not to mention the growing hatred between
himself and Blake.

ON the downside however, the two females leads have much smaller roles than
previously and there are various plot holes between episodes, particularly
around the hunt for STar One.  For example, Servalan is shocked that Star one
is fialing yet knew that both VBlake and Travis were looking for it.  How did
Travis contact the Andromedans and find a way for them to negotioate the
minefield prior to Blake's arrival?

The whole scenario around Servalan hunting both Blake and Travis was also
poorly executed (no pun intended.)  All three characters have multiple
attempts to kill each other but it is also difficult to comprehend Servaln's
plot in Gambit or why she actually required Travis involved inthe plan to
assassinate the Govbernor and Blake in ``Voices fromt he Past.''  
Anyone have any ideas?

This forum has gone a little quiet so I will try to restart it...  Who do
people believe the best scriptwriter was?  I would posit Chris Boucher,
followed by Tanith Lee who, though not a prolific, wrote two excellent
episodes.

I was going to say that Robert Holmes was my favorite.  I loved Gambit
and Orbit.  

But taking a second look at the list, I'd have to say that Terry Nation
and Chris Boucher each wrote many very fine episodes.  What would the
series be without Space Fall, Weapon, Pressure Point, Star One,
Aftermath, The City At The Edge Of The World, and Rumors Of Death? 
Nation and Boucher were the best.

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