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thisbluespiritOver Christmas I made a series of "Reasons to Watch B7" posts for Tumblr. I have been promising/threatening ever since to combine them into an LJ post, because non-spoilery introductions to the show are hard to come by. I'm sure there are some, but whenever anybody asks me about it (and sometimes they do) I have nothing useful to say. So, here is my attempt now, (mainly because aralias finally made me remember/encouraged me).
Because Blake's 7 really is one of the greatest shows ever made, but you do need a tolerance for 1970s UK TV, quarries, and unconvincing sfx. Classic Who fans therefore are already fully equipped to appreciate it! \o/
With the rider that these are entirely my thoughts and summaries and not necessarily typical of other B7 fans. Also, please note, if you know nothing about Blake's 7 but already know you want to watch it, then even character names are slightly spoilery. What follows is pretty much as was posted in installments on Tumblr, so apologies to those who follow me there, too.
Lost_Spook's Non-Spoilery Guide to Blake's 7 for the Enquiring Classic Who Fan
Vila: “Where are all the good guys?”
Blake: “You could be looking at them.”
Avon: “What a very depressing thought.”
Because when you have finally watched your way through Classic Who (or all that you can get your hands on) and wonder where you can find your next fix of improbable 1970s SFX, BBC quarries, Terry Nation cliches and Robert Holmes scripts, where else is there to go?
You’ll find familiar actors and props reused regularly. You’ll recognise the names of all the crew (created by Terry Nation, produced by David Maloney, script-edited by Chris Boucher, music by Dudley Simpson, set design by Roger Murray-Leach, costumes by June Hudson, directed by Douglas Camfield, Pennant Roberts, Michael E Briant, George Spenton-Foster etc. etc.)
It’s really the first Doctor Who spin-off - not officially, but Terry Nation wanted to bring in the Daleks (the BBC finally got a moment of revenge and refused permission), Gareth Thomas and Tom Baker wanted their characters to nod in passing in a corridor, and Chris Boucher maintains (and there’s been a PDA novel and audio series on this premise) that Kaldor City (from Robots of Death) is one of those colonies lost on the edges of the Federation and had one of his B7 characters wind up there with Uvanov, Toos and Poul. It kind of makes it the 1970s Torchwood. (Ish.)
Imagine the BBC on a strange endeavour to mash up a Shakespearean tragedy, Doctor Who, Star Trek, the Dirty Dozen, all the WWII Resistance series ever, Robin Hood, and 1984 IN SPACE all in one thing, but with Michelin Men, giant ants, polystyrene rocks, endlessly epic snark, and the most fabulous costumes, and you… probably can’t even, can you?
I came to mock, I stayed to wonder, roll around the floor laughing (that was the Michelin Men), quote all the snark, and find myself unexpectedly being slapped in the face, punched in the gut, and yet thanking the show nicely and wanting only MORE MORE MORE. There are endless shades of grey but the only thing that’s black and white is Servalan’s wardrobe.
Never has anything so fundamentally bleak, cynical and depressing been so much fun.
Please stand by while I attempt to convince you. I’ve reached that point where I have to rewatch it yet again, and I’m thinking I should have more company… Also, there’s supposed to be (*splutter*) a reboot coming up, so if you want to be one of the really annoying cool people who saw it before, now’s the time to jump on board.
Some facts: 4x13 eps made by the BBC (1978-1981). It’s not out in Region 1, which is the big catch, but search YouTube at the moment and you should be okay (but I didn’t say that). The first episode is The Way Back.
Oh, and don’t Google it unless you already know stuff. Really. Do not Google it, do not Wiki it, do not look at fanvids on YouTube and don’t read the reviews on Amazon. You can thank me later.
Zen and the Liberator
“Information must be gathered, not given.” (Zen)
Liberator is an incredibly advanced spaceship found abandoned and drifting in space. We have no idea what happened to the former crew, where it came from or how safe it is, but it comes equipped with impressive speed, teleport bracelets, money, gold and jewels, and the most fabulous wardrobe this side of the TARDIS.
Its computer is the equally mysterious Zen (voiced by Peter Tuddenham).
Basically, its design is wonderfully original, inside and out - it looks like a fairy tale castle turned on its side - and I am still in love with it.
Kerr Avon
“Idealism is a wonderful thing. All you need is someone rational to put it to good use.”
Avon (Paul Darrow) is the computer genius (second best in the entire system, Vila says). If Blake’s the hero (and who knows if he is), Avon’s the anti-hero. He doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t believe in the rebellion (or anything much, he claims), he doesn’t trust anyone - and he knows that resistance to the Federation comes at a price he’s not willing to pay. And yet somehow he’s caught up with Blake and can’t ever be free again.
Plus: snarkiest character in the universe. He may have some close-run competitors, but if there were ever a contest, no one could out-snark Avon.
Roj Blake
“It’s time we really hurt the Federation. Oh, we’ve been hitting at the fingers, the arms. I want to hit at the heart. And the heart of the Federation is Earth.”
Set up, imprisoned, his memory ‘adjusted’, Blake (Gareth Thomas) is out to bring the tyrannical Federation down. All he needs is the chance to escape, a ship, and a crew who will follow him… They just won’t ever follow him without question, that’s all.
Freedom fighter, terrorist, idealist, figure-head, madman, or all of the above, who knows?
Jenna Stannis
“That would have been very disarming - if I didn’t know you meant it.”
Jenna (Sally Knyvette), one of the convicts headed for Cygnus Alpha with Blake. She’s a free trader, or smuggler if you like, a brilliant pilot and hoping despite her cynicism that Blake’s dream might be worth believing in. At any rate, it’s the most interesting option she has right now.
***
Blake (on going back to Earth): That's where the heart of the Federation is - and I intend to see that heart torn out.
Avon: I thought you were probably insane.
Blake: That's possible. They butchered my family and my friends. They murdered my past and gave me tranquilised dreams.
Jenna: At least you're still alive.
Blake: No! Not until free men can think and speak. Not until power is back with the honest man.
Avon: Have you ever met an honest man?
Jenna: Perhaps.
Avon: Listen to me. Wealth is the only reality and the only way to obtain wealth is to take it away from somebody else. Wake up, Blake. You may not be tranquilised, but you're still dreaming.
Jenna: Maybe some dreams are worth having.
Avon: You don't really believe that.
Jenna: No. But I'd like to.
Blake, Jenna & Avon in Spacefall(ep. 1.2)
***
Vila Restal
“Hello there. How are you? Excuse me wandering about your premises but I wonder if you can help me. I’m an escaped prisoner. I was a thief but recently I’ve become interested in sabotage, in a small way you understand, nothing too ambitious, I hate vulgarity, don’t you? Anyway, I’ve come to blow something up. What do you think will be most suitable?”
Vila (Michael Keating) is in many ways the small man/thief fantasy trope. He jokes, steals, can do magic tricks, hides at the first sign of danger and wishes they could take the Liberator somewhere with lots of wine, women, and shiny stuff to nick. (He doesn’t like personal violence, especially when he’s the person, he’s a compulsive thief - had his head adjusted by the best in the business, he says, but it just didn’t take, and he can get through any lock if he’s scared enough, and he’s permanently scared).
He says he’s a Delta grade (but then he also says he bought his Delta grade to escape being a space captain) and while on the face of it he’s perhaps the most obvious character, in some ways we know very little about him - or how dangerous he could be if pushed.
(And, yes, he’s probably my favourite.)
Cally
“My people have a saying: a man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.”
Cally (Jan Chappell) is one of the show’s few aliens (although probably in part also descended from yet another Earth colony). She’s a telepath in exile from her home planet, Auron.
An alien telepath is hardly unique in SF TV, but Wiki would claim that Cally is, in one respect - where other telepaths’ abilities bring them closer to their human crewmates, in B7, Cally’s telepathy only serves to isolate her further. (Oh, show, show…)
Oleg Gan
“I want to stay alive - and to do that I need people I can rely on. I can’t be on my own.”
If Vila’s the ‘Small Man’, Gan (David Jackson) is the Large/Strong Man - says little, loyal to the death and stronger than anyone else in the show. There’s just one catch - he’s got a limiter in his brain that’ll activate if he tries to kill anyone.
Servalan
“There’s no one as free as a dead man.”
Supreme Commander Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) has the task of tracking Blake and The Liberator down and bringing them to justice. Amoral, ambitious, ruthless, she also wants to claw her way up the ladder of the Federation to the very top - and she wants the Liberator and Orac to help her do that.
She may also have the most fabulous wardrobe ever seen on TV. (I can’t tell you how much I love her, even if she is evil.)
Travis I
“Power makes its own rules.”
The Federation need someone to track Blake down and get rid of him - someone obsessed, ruthless and very probably insane.
Hello, Travis I (Stephen Greif).
He also has an artificial arm with handy gun built in and an outfit all of leather made specially for the BBC down the local sex shop. (Apparently a lot of B7’s outfits were made there.) You couldn’t make this show up if you tried, trust me.
Orac
“I am shutting down. You have engaged my circuits on your petty business for too long.”
There is no explaining Orac (voiced by Peter Tuddenham). Some fans call him the rat in a box. How great Orac is is one of those reasons you just have to watch it. Basically, Orac wins my vote for Best Plot Device Ever, no contest. Or: portable universe-wide proto-internet with attitude problems might sum it up...?
Travis II
“I must remember to say thank you before I kill him…”
This takes some explaining. Umm. Travis isn’t a Time Lord, that’s the main thing for Classic Who fans to know. There is never a multi-Travis episode called The Two Travises, although that would have been v amusing/scary. (Servalan presumably just did something terrible to him and he suddenly turned into Brian Croucher.)
Dayna Mellanby
“I Like the ancient weapons. The spear, the sword, the knife. They demand more skill. When you fight with them, conflict becomes more personal… More exciting.”
Youthful weapons expert Dayna (Josette Simon). Raised in isolation by her father, who was in hiding from the Federation, she likes to blow stuff up and wants Servalan dead even more than most.
Del Tarrant
“When you found me on the Liberator, it was quite a blow. And every time you look at me it hits you harder, doesn’t it? I’m faster than you and I’m sharper. As far as it goes, I’ve made a success of my life. But you? The only big thing you ever tried to do you failed at. The greatest computer swindle of all time… but you couldn’t quite pull it off, could you? If it hadn’t been for Blake you’d be rotting on Cygnus Alpha right now. No, you failed, Avon. But I win. Not just at games. At life.”
Del Tarrant (Steven Pacey) - not to be confused with Dev Tarrant, Deeta Tarrant or any of Terry Nation’s many other Tarrants - is a Federation space captain who’s joined the rebellion. He’s sometimes unpopular with the fandom (for Reasons), but I love that in B7 the one character who would be the hero in any other show (and indeed he can’t quite understand that he isn’t the hero of this story, or that it’s the sort of story that doesn’t have conventional heroes) is the one everybody else in the crew finds the most annoying - and he keeps trying to be more like the anti-hero in order to impress him.
I may also like his S3 Robin Hood outfits also. (I did mention the costumes already, yes?)
Soolin
"I don’t give my allegiance. I sell my skills.”
Gun-for-hire Soolin (Glynis Barber). Her background’s a mystery (until the end), but she’s the sharpest shooter in the series (she out-shoots herself on one occasion, and enjoys it) and willing - for the moment - to join the others.
Slave
“The ground is very close, sir.”
(Voiced by Peter Tuddenham). As I believe I’ve already said, all the AI in Blake’s 7 is weird and interesting and Slave’s grovelling is definitely in that category. Creepy or endearing or… who knows what? You’ve rarely come across a more obsequious machine.
***
I think how much I love Blake's 7 can be summed up by the following (as I said on Tumblr):
Me (reaching the final episode on my first watch of B7): “There is nothing this show can do now to make me love it more.”
And, basically, right at that moment, David Collings turned up. Blake’s 7 is clearly a thing they made specially for me, even though I was only 1 when it started and not really paying attention.
(I think I did know that he was in it at some point, but by this episode I had completely forgotten. Also, please note: never watch this episode - “Blake” - out of context. I mean that: never. Don’t do it. It’s one of the best TV finales in history and you’d probably laugh at it. It doesn’t bear thinking about.)
It has a really great theme:
This has been your non-spoilery and highly biased guide to Blake's 7, a show which is more awesome than you would expect. Get thee out there and watch it.
Disclaimer: this blog accepts no responsibility for a) people not liking it or b) fannish outbreaks, shipping, ill-advised but life-long devotion to the rebellion, and repeated heartbreak or c) an inability to ever look at Star Trek's Federation in the same light again.
ETA: Also I apologise in advance for Ben Steed.
ETA2: B7 has so much I like in it that I forgot to even mention Colin Baker as Bayban the Butcher. Yes, watch B7 and get OTT evil pre-Doctor Colin!
aralias finally made me remember/encouraged me).Because Blake's 7 really is one of the greatest shows ever made, but you do need a tolerance for 1970s UK TV, quarries, and unconvincing sfx. Classic Who fans therefore are already fully equipped to appreciate it! \o/
With the rider that these are entirely my thoughts and summaries and not necessarily typical of other B7 fans. Also, please note, if you know nothing about Blake's 7 but already know you want to watch it, then even character names are slightly spoilery. What follows is pretty much as was posted in installments on Tumblr, so apologies to those who follow me there, too.
Lost_Spook's Non-Spoilery Guide to Blake's 7 for the Enquiring Classic Who Fan
Blake: “You could be looking at them.”
Avon: “What a very depressing thought.”
Because when you have finally watched your way through Classic Who (or all that you can get your hands on) and wonder where you can find your next fix of improbable 1970s SFX, BBC quarries, Terry Nation cliches and Robert Holmes scripts, where else is there to go?
You’ll find familiar actors and props reused regularly. You’ll recognise the names of all the crew (created by Terry Nation, produced by David Maloney, script-edited by Chris Boucher, music by Dudley Simpson, set design by Roger Murray-Leach, costumes by June Hudson, directed by Douglas Camfield, Pennant Roberts, Michael E Briant, George Spenton-Foster etc. etc.)
It’s really the first Doctor Who spin-off - not officially, but Terry Nation wanted to bring in the Daleks (the BBC finally got a moment of revenge and refused permission), Gareth Thomas and Tom Baker wanted their characters to nod in passing in a corridor, and Chris Boucher maintains (and there’s been a PDA novel and audio series on this premise) that Kaldor City (from Robots of Death) is one of those colonies lost on the edges of the Federation and had one of his B7 characters wind up there with Uvanov, Toos and Poul. It kind of makes it the 1970s Torchwood. (Ish.)
Imagine the BBC on a strange endeavour to mash up a Shakespearean tragedy, Doctor Who, Star Trek, the Dirty Dozen, all the WWII Resistance series ever, Robin Hood, and 1984 IN SPACE all in one thing, but with Michelin Men, giant ants, polystyrene rocks, endlessly epic snark, and the most fabulous costumes, and you… probably can’t even, can you?
I came to mock, I stayed to wonder, roll around the floor laughing (that was the Michelin Men), quote all the snark, and find myself unexpectedly being slapped in the face, punched in the gut, and yet thanking the show nicely and wanting only MORE MORE MORE. There are endless shades of grey but the only thing that’s black and white is Servalan’s wardrobe.
Never has anything so fundamentally bleak, cynical and depressing been so much fun.
Please stand by while I attempt to convince you. I’ve reached that point where I have to rewatch it yet again, and I’m thinking I should have more company… Also, there’s supposed to be (*splutter*) a reboot coming up, so if you want to be one of the really annoying cool people who saw it before, now’s the time to jump on board.
Some facts: 4x13 eps made by the BBC (1978-1981). It’s not out in Region 1, which is the big catch, but search YouTube at the moment and you should be okay (but I didn’t say that). The first episode is The Way Back.
Oh, and don’t Google it unless you already know stuff. Really. Do not Google it, do not Wiki it, do not look at fanvids on YouTube and don’t read the reviews on Amazon. You can thank me later.
Zen and the Liberator
“Information must be gathered, not given.” (Zen)
Liberator is an incredibly advanced spaceship found abandoned and drifting in space. We have no idea what happened to the former crew, where it came from or how safe it is, but it comes equipped with impressive speed, teleport bracelets, money, gold and jewels, and the most fabulous wardrobe this side of the TARDIS.
Its computer is the equally mysterious Zen (voiced by Peter Tuddenham).
Basically, its design is wonderfully original, inside and out - it looks like a fairy tale castle turned on its side - and I am still in love with it.
Kerr Avon
“Idealism is a wonderful thing. All you need is someone rational to put it to good use.”
Avon (Paul Darrow) is the computer genius (second best in the entire system, Vila says). If Blake’s the hero (and who knows if he is), Avon’s the anti-hero. He doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t believe in the rebellion (or anything much, he claims), he doesn’t trust anyone - and he knows that resistance to the Federation comes at a price he’s not willing to pay. And yet somehow he’s caught up with Blake and can’t ever be free again.
Plus: snarkiest character in the universe. He may have some close-run competitors, but if there were ever a contest, no one could out-snark Avon.
Roj Blake
“It’s time we really hurt the Federation. Oh, we’ve been hitting at the fingers, the arms. I want to hit at the heart. And the heart of the Federation is Earth.”
Set up, imprisoned, his memory ‘adjusted’, Blake (Gareth Thomas) is out to bring the tyrannical Federation down. All he needs is the chance to escape, a ship, and a crew who will follow him… They just won’t ever follow him without question, that’s all.
Freedom fighter, terrorist, idealist, figure-head, madman, or all of the above, who knows?
Jenna Stannis
“That would have been very disarming - if I didn’t know you meant it.”
Jenna (Sally Knyvette), one of the convicts headed for Cygnus Alpha with Blake. She’s a free trader, or smuggler if you like, a brilliant pilot and hoping despite her cynicism that Blake’s dream might be worth believing in. At any rate, it’s the most interesting option she has right now.
Blake (on going back to Earth): That's where the heart of the Federation is - and I intend to see that heart torn out.
Avon: I thought you were probably insane.
Blake: That's possible. They butchered my family and my friends. They murdered my past and gave me tranquilised dreams.
Jenna: At least you're still alive.
Blake: No! Not until free men can think and speak. Not until power is back with the honest man.
Avon: Have you ever met an honest man?
Jenna: Perhaps.
Avon: Listen to me. Wealth is the only reality and the only way to obtain wealth is to take it away from somebody else. Wake up, Blake. You may not be tranquilised, but you're still dreaming.
Jenna: Maybe some dreams are worth having.
Avon: You don't really believe that.
Jenna: No. But I'd like to.
Blake, Jenna & Avon in Spacefall(ep. 1.2)
***
Vila Restal
“Hello there. How are you? Excuse me wandering about your premises but I wonder if you can help me. I’m an escaped prisoner. I was a thief but recently I’ve become interested in sabotage, in a small way you understand, nothing too ambitious, I hate vulgarity, don’t you? Anyway, I’ve come to blow something up. What do you think will be most suitable?”
Vila (Michael Keating) is in many ways the small man/thief fantasy trope. He jokes, steals, can do magic tricks, hides at the first sign of danger and wishes they could take the Liberator somewhere with lots of wine, women, and shiny stuff to nick. (He doesn’t like personal violence, especially when he’s the person, he’s a compulsive thief - had his head adjusted by the best in the business, he says, but it just didn’t take, and he can get through any lock if he’s scared enough, and he’s permanently scared).
He says he’s a Delta grade (but then he also says he bought his Delta grade to escape being a space captain) and while on the face of it he’s perhaps the most obvious character, in some ways we know very little about him - or how dangerous he could be if pushed.
(And, yes, he’s probably my favourite.)
Cally
“My people have a saying: a man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.”
Cally (Jan Chappell) is one of the show’s few aliens (although probably in part also descended from yet another Earth colony). She’s a telepath in exile from her home planet, Auron.
An alien telepath is hardly unique in SF TV, but Wiki would claim that Cally is, in one respect - where other telepaths’ abilities bring them closer to their human crewmates, in B7, Cally’s telepathy only serves to isolate her further. (Oh, show, show…)
Oleg Gan
“I want to stay alive - and to do that I need people I can rely on. I can’t be on my own.”
If Vila’s the ‘Small Man’, Gan (David Jackson) is the Large/Strong Man - says little, loyal to the death and stronger than anyone else in the show. There’s just one catch - he’s got a limiter in his brain that’ll activate if he tries to kill anyone.
Servalan
“There’s no one as free as a dead man.”
Supreme Commander Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) has the task of tracking Blake and The Liberator down and bringing them to justice. Amoral, ambitious, ruthless, she also wants to claw her way up the ladder of the Federation to the very top - and she wants the Liberator and Orac to help her do that.
She may also have the most fabulous wardrobe ever seen on TV. (I can’t tell you how much I love her, even if she is evil.)
Travis I
“Power makes its own rules.”
The Federation need someone to track Blake down and get rid of him - someone obsessed, ruthless and very probably insane.
Hello, Travis I (Stephen Greif).
He also has an artificial arm with handy gun built in and an outfit all of leather made specially for the BBC down the local sex shop. (Apparently a lot of B7’s outfits were made there.) You couldn’t make this show up if you tried, trust me.
Orac
“I am shutting down. You have engaged my circuits on your petty business for too long.”
There is no explaining Orac (voiced by Peter Tuddenham). Some fans call him the rat in a box. How great Orac is is one of those reasons you just have to watch it. Basically, Orac wins my vote for Best Plot Device Ever, no contest. Or: portable universe-wide proto-internet with attitude problems might sum it up...?
Travis II
“I must remember to say thank you before I kill him…”
This takes some explaining. Umm. Travis isn’t a Time Lord, that’s the main thing for Classic Who fans to know. There is never a multi-Travis episode called The Two Travises, although that would have been v amusing/scary. (Servalan presumably just did something terrible to him and he suddenly turned into Brian Croucher.)
Dayna Mellanby
“I Like the ancient weapons. The spear, the sword, the knife. They demand more skill. When you fight with them, conflict becomes more personal… More exciting.”
Youthful weapons expert Dayna (Josette Simon). Raised in isolation by her father, who was in hiding from the Federation, she likes to blow stuff up and wants Servalan dead even more than most.
Del Tarrant
“When you found me on the Liberator, it was quite a blow. And every time you look at me it hits you harder, doesn’t it? I’m faster than you and I’m sharper. As far as it goes, I’ve made a success of my life. But you? The only big thing you ever tried to do you failed at. The greatest computer swindle of all time… but you couldn’t quite pull it off, could you? If it hadn’t been for Blake you’d be rotting on Cygnus Alpha right now. No, you failed, Avon. But I win. Not just at games. At life.”
Del Tarrant (Steven Pacey) - not to be confused with Dev Tarrant, Deeta Tarrant or any of Terry Nation’s many other Tarrants - is a Federation space captain who’s joined the rebellion. He’s sometimes unpopular with the fandom (for Reasons), but I love that in B7 the one character who would be the hero in any other show (and indeed he can’t quite understand that he isn’t the hero of this story, or that it’s the sort of story that doesn’t have conventional heroes) is the one everybody else in the crew finds the most annoying - and he keeps trying to be more like the anti-hero in order to impress him.
I may also like his S3 Robin Hood outfits also. (I did mention the costumes already, yes?)
Soolin
"I don’t give my allegiance. I sell my skills.”
Gun-for-hire Soolin (Glynis Barber). Her background’s a mystery (until the end), but she’s the sharpest shooter in the series (she out-shoots herself on one occasion, and enjoys it) and willing - for the moment - to join the others.
Slave
“The ground is very close, sir.”
(Voiced by Peter Tuddenham). As I believe I’ve already said, all the AI in Blake’s 7 is weird and interesting and Slave’s grovelling is definitely in that category. Creepy or endearing or… who knows what? You’ve rarely come across a more obsequious machine.
I think how much I love Blake's 7 can be summed up by the following (as I said on Tumblr):
Me (reaching the final episode on my first watch of B7): “There is nothing this show can do now to make me love it more.”
And, basically, right at that moment, David Collings turned up. Blake’s 7 is clearly a thing they made specially for me, even though I was only 1 when it started and not really paying attention.
(I think I did know that he was in it at some point, but by this episode I had completely forgotten. Also, please note: never watch this episode - “Blake” - out of context. I mean that: never. Don’t do it. It’s one of the best TV finales in history and you’d probably laugh at it. It doesn’t bear thinking about.)
It has a really great theme:
This has been your non-spoilery and highly biased guide to Blake's 7, a show which is more awesome than you would expect. Get thee out there and watch it.
Disclaimer: this blog accepts no responsibility for a) people not liking it or b) fannish outbreaks, shipping, ill-advised but life-long devotion to the rebellion, and repeated heartbreak or c) an inability to ever look at Star Trek's Federation in the same light again.
ETA: Also I apologise in advance for Ben Steed.
ETA2: B7 has so much I like in it that I forgot to even mention Colin Baker as Bayban the Butcher. Yes, watch B7 and get OTT evil pre-Doctor Colin!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-02-28 12:39 am (UTC)Have I ever told you my experience with Blake's 7? The same PBS station that introduced me to Doctor Who back in the 70s used to also show Blake's 7. I tried watching the show, but didn't enjoy it. And I've never gone back to it since. So my only exposure is, um, an unknown amount of viewing a few decades ago when I was a child. Some of the character names sound familiar, but only because I've run across them in fandom here and there (including your LJ).
To be honest, though, I just don't know if I'm going to enjoy it. I don't like dark, tragic storylines. I didn't like the Battlestar Galactica reboot because it was too dark, even though I have to admit that it was brilliantly done. I didn't like Genesis of the Daleks because it was a war story. (On the other hand, the Giant Clam bothered me not at all. *g*) I don't insist on happy endings, but I don't enjoy endings of "everything sucks, and here's another example."
Given this, do you think I should try B7 again? I can at least vouch that the quarries and special effects won't be a problem . . .
I guess I can just try it, right? Although I'm shocked that it's not out in Region 1.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-28 09:52 am (UTC)Why did I make this post? I cannot deal with the responsibility of this question!
It's actually v hard to answer, because, of course, not everybody likes the same things and because B7 is such a weird mix of things. In theory it is very bleak. In practice, most of it is great fun, except sometimes when it is a bit dull and they go to yet another Planet of the Cheesy Vikings. (There seemed to be more of them the first time round than there actually are.)
I haven't seen Battlestar Galactica, but it doesn't appeal to me from what I've seen of it? (My Tumblr is inundated with pics of it lately). And if B7 were 4 seasons of Genesis of the Daleks, then, much as I like that as a one-off, I would not be watching the show.
I think... how much do you like Robots of Death, Image of the Fendahl and Leela is probably a better question? Terry Nation created it and sort of wrote the entire first season, but Chris Boucher was script-editor for all four seasons, wrote the second- most no. of episodes and rewrote quite a lot of Nation's episodes in S1 (because he was doing that thing that he does where he throws a first draft at the script editor and goes on holiday and this was his show so no one could stop him).
I was going to say maybe you should try the episode with Colin Baker in, because you'd only lose 48 mins of your life, you'd have the fun of watching OTT evil Colin and know that it does change from the beginning. BuT I can't find any S3 on YT right now, although I saw some recently. So, if you do... episode 1 is atypical (aside from the great intro for Vila and Jenna you probably won't like it so much, but it is good and sets up just how evil the Federation is, and in what way) and there is a lot of setting up in eps 1-4. If bored, skip to ep 6 and come back later.
And if it is not for you, well, talking of obscure old TV I like, someone seems to have put the whole of Press Gang S2-5 on YouTube for the first time! You could watch that instead. I would be far too busy being excited about that to notice you didn't much like Avon, Vila & everyone. ;-)
Anyway, as you say. It is up to you. And it's a v hard question to answer, especially when I like it too much and just want to make everyone watch it and write fanfic.
They have a computer that sulks if you won't let it play space monopoly? (not a good ep, that, but still. That's Orac for you.)
I suspect it not being out in region 1 is because of the Terry Nation estate - they've been angling for some sort of remake for years and it's probably part of complicated copyright agreements. There's no way the BBC wouldn't want to get at the US market for it!
ETA: It is worth remembering that though Blake's 7 definitely believes in Murphy's Law (and knows it and is sarcastic about it), the ending as it is was unintended. Eahc season has a different feel to it, and S4 was v much "things fall apart", but S5 was intended to continue and pick things up again (my mind does boggle a bit at that sometimes in one respect) but they got cancelled and the cliff-hanger became That Ending.
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Date: 2013-02-28 12:32 pm (UTC)I think that while B7 is a show where there is a harsh universe and bad stuff happens and people die, it never quite runs out of hope and humour and friendship and epic, epic snark. Even if the characters would die saving each other before they admitted the dreadful truth that they liked each other.
But it really is difficult. All I can think is that it's dull, bleak, the sfx is rubbish, there are three misogynistic episodes, the title is wrong at least half the time... and I don't know why I like it! It's kind of reassuring to find that
For S1, write out a list of Terry Nation Cliches. Give yourself a reward everytime you tick one off. Just don't play it as a drinking game, or you'd be hospitalised before you were halfway through. ;-)
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Date: 2013-02-28 12:55 pm (UTC)as
i'm pretty sure
bad things do happen in this universe and a lot of the minor characters we meet don't survive, but i think particularly the early series are much more like robin hood in space than they are like battlestar galatica. it's more about righting wrongs and quips than it is about survival againt a fascist state. there just also happens to be a fascist state that they're fighting (who are headed by a woman who wears a ball gown, but run by the creepiest looking troopers in the world. and it is a a genuine threat, evil and beaurocratic and believable in a way that perhaps the star wars evil empire isn't so much) and THAT's one of the things that is so brilliant about blake's 7, the contradiction of it.
the later series aren't so larky - if you saw them, that could be why you aren't so keen (the colin baker episode is series 3, though, and it is brilliant).
also, i think it is right to point out that terry has been massively re-written by a man who really understands characters and humour. so, you get the good parts of terry nation PLUS quips.
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Date: 2013-02-28 02:17 pm (UTC)Well, I think it works best in order, but I agree that's absolutely the one to jump to if you don't like The Way Back so much, or get fed up. But I mean, I started with a video copy of the four first eps combined that had all the scenes I now like best edited out of them! And yet somehow I still liked it.
The only thing I disagree with is that S1 and S2 always feel much more serious than S3 to me, which is where everyone starts larking about with fanfic cliches actually happening and everyone kisses everybody else. S4... is obviously more depressing (or it is in theory) but on the other hand, it has a Red Dwarf feel and "Stuff Goes Wrong" gets to a point where it's kind of darkly funny. (Except in the episodes where it really isn't.)
:-)
Also, you have my full permission to butt in on any threads on my LJ. I don't mind! And I did namecheck you. I think, as someone who does watch Spooks, my claim that I don't really like bleak things (I don't really, except when I do) doesn't hold water, so you are more likely to have sensible recommendations for
THIS COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS
Date: 2013-02-28 02:29 pm (UTC)certainly in series 1. series 2 less so due to plot events and blake's confidence deteriorating (to the point where he's like 'we have to do it so i know i was right' - dear dear), but then it ends with THE MOST SPOILERY BIT IS WHITED OUT potential universal destruction, but actually a general win for our heroes, blake's alive despite being shot, travis is dead, and avon doing something heroic and leadery. also, there's a good chance they'll win the war, and they do.
man, the plots of series 3 and 4, though... i think that should be a reason of its own. do you like fanfic plots? of COURSE you do. then watch blake's 7.
Re: this comment only contains a self-evident fact
Date: 2013-02-28 04:37 pm (UTC)♥
I think I mean, while Blake is there he is determined to act against the Federation and he and Avon are v intense about each other, so once SPOILER and also SPOILER, it sort of becomes "What the hell?" for a bit. And I kind of like that. I don't know. I'm a terrible person.
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Date: 2013-02-28 02:42 pm (UTC)The good guys aren't really good, especially Blake, who's a single-minded, merciless lunatic, but you'll like them anyway (except Blake, if you're me. Are you me? I don't think you are). Anyway.
(I didn't like "Genesis Of The Daleks" either, for all that it's so popular).
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Date: 2013-02-28 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-28 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-01 12:29 am (UTC)Hmm, excuse my babbling. Unless you don't mind, in which case thanks. :-)
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Date: 2013-03-01 01:25 am (UTC)Avon is spectacularly ruthless, yes. He's Avon, though. This changes everything. If Blake had been a brilliantly witty snark god dressed like Jeal-Paul Gaultier on drugs, I might have liked him too. I didn't like Avon much in series four, I must admit, but the rest of the time he's awesome, for all the cold-bloodedness. Or possibly because of it, at least in part.
I had a recent rewatch as well. Must be something in the water!
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Date: 2013-02-28 04:27 pm (UTC)Personally, I loved it for its characters. I saw it in the mid-1980s, then recently tracked down a questionably-legal DVD set copied to R1 and rewatched it. (My old VHS tapes may still be viable. My Doctor Who tape collection had mostly survived. But I really wanted it on DVD and don't have a region-free player.) It looks silly, but, again, I enjoy the characters. Terry Nation said in an interview years back that their FX budget was mostly at the level of shaking the scenery, so they focused on characterization.
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Date: 2013-02-28 04:46 pm (UTC)A whole decade of unused spaceship models from the back of the BBC cupboard being blown up. And then surprise!Mike Yates.
(I like that bit.)
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Date: 2013-03-01 07:31 pm (UTC)I actually think my love for the series arose partly because I originally got hooked on it via hideously blurred camera-copied VHS tapes, so I couldn't actually see the terrible sets and alleged SFX. I could barely see the actors' faces. When all you've got are voices and blurry images, not much is left except the acting and writing.
Note to Skyler
Date: 2013-02-28 04:38 pm (UTC)(Have you got enough answers yet? Do you need a ninja penguin to fight us off?)
:-D