"Blakes 7" (1978) TV series 1978-1981

Creator:

Terry Nation

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

2 January 1978 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In the third century of the second calendar, a corrupt galactic federation, with Earth at its center...

Plot Keywords:

Cult TV | Spacecraft | Digit In Title | Wobbly Sets | Futuristic

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 9 of 111)

Michael Keating	...	Vila Restal (52 episodes, 1978-1981)
Paul Darrow	...	Kerr Avon (51 episodes, 1978-1981)
Peter Tuddenham	...	Orac / ... (49 episodes, 1978-1981)
Jan Chappell	...	Cally / ... (37 episodes, 1978-1981)
Gareth Thomas	...	Roj Blake / ... (29 episodes, 1978-1981)
Jacqueline Pearce	...	Servalan / ... (29 episodes, 1978-1981)
Sally Knyvette	...	Jenna Stannis (26 episodes, 1978-1979)
Steven Pacey	...	Del Tarrant / ... (26 episodes, 1980-1981)
Josette Simon	...	Dayna Mellanby (26 episodes, 1980-1981)

Runtime:

50 min (52 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Bamburgh, Northumberland, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The series was originally to have ended with the climax to the third season. However, the BBC One Controller of that time, Bill Cotton, was so impressed by the quality of the series that he had the continuity announcer declare that Blake's 7 would return for a new series the following year, which caused some surprise amongst the cast and crew. Chief of the problems this caused was that producer David Maloney had become producer on "The Day of the Triffids" (1981), meaning that a new producer was needed for the show. After Terence Dudley turned the job down due to his intending to retire, Vere Lorrimer was made producer.

Quotes:

[about Blake]
Dr. Havant: Can't he be eliminated?
Alta Morag: No, he's a symbol of opposition to the Administration.
Dr. Havant: So?
Ven Glynd: We've done cross-sectional psych readings, which show that a high percentage of people, particularly the younger ones, believe that Blake's trial was a showpiece, that his statements were rigged.
Alta Morag: His death could be used by the dissidents. They need a hero. Alive or dead, Blake could be it.
Dr. Havant: Difficult. I suppose my department could infect him, some rapidly terminal disease. Would his natural death help?
Ven Glynd: I don't think so.
Alta Morag: What we need is something to discredit him. If he could be deported to Cygnus Alpha. ... Doctor, am I right in thinking you can create experiences, implant them into a subject, who will then believe that they really happened?
Dr. Havant: Of course. In fact, creating an illusion of reality is quite simple.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Cult of...: Blake's 7 (#1.5)" (2006)

One of my favourite childhood TV series!

I was 8 years old when Blake's 7 first aired on BBC 1 and I loved it.

I was a fan of DR.Who so I liked Blake's 7 also. I have been watching it recently on UK Gold and it has brought back fond memories. Admittedly the Special Effects were very low budget just like DR.Who-You could always spot the shaky badly handpainted sets! The acting was a mix of good and bad, Avon (Paul Darrow) was excellent as was Servalan (Jaqueline Pearce) and Villa (Michael Keating) was very good also. Some episodes were really good and the script was great with some great dialogue by Avon. If you can overlook the very poor effects and men in rubber suits dressed as monsters then this was overall a great show.The last episode was a great cliffhanger although it upset me when I first saw it. I would love to see the series remade with Paul Darrow and the others-we never did know whether or not Avon and company died or not, so it could be remade. This was a classic series!