User reviews

Despite the somewhat clunky special effects and plastic sets and costumes this series has always had a devoted following. Its plot lines, its witty and sharp dialogue, and the development of the characters seems to make you want more; and for 52 episodes 'more' is what we get. Splendid performances by all the major participants, this series has all the qualities you might wish for in a good book. You just have to keep 'turning the page'. For my money this is more fun than the old "Doctor Who" series (although the new Doctor Who series is another matter - fabulous!) The BBC, it seems to me, has always been lucky in having good writers for Sci-Fi. Right from Nigel Kneale (Quatermass, 1953 onwards) to Terry Nation and others. Great fun and completely addictive.

I have been a huge fan of Blake's 7 over the years, and always longed for the return of the show, however, I'm perhaps glad now that it wasn't, as it seems remakes and reboots don't always do so well.

Four seasons of excellent sci fi drama, if I'm totally honest I would argue the earlier series are the best, benefiting from Terry Nation's terrific writing. Although my personal favourite episode, Sand, would come towards the end of the show's run. Only a few duff episodes in Series Four disappoint.

Don't expect lavish sets of tremendous special effects, but do expect high drama, quality acting and convincing stories.

Marvellous characters, there aren't many shows that survive the loss of a lead character, but it does, although Thomas was much missed. The great Jacqueline Pearce gave us a wonderful character with Servalan, she would haunt The Liberator crew for four years, and wear some outrageous outfits.

Still a great watch. 9/10

Blakes 7 was launched in 1978 by the BBC, and in the aftermath of 'Star Wars'. I remember eagerly awaiting Thursday evenings when the adventures of Blake and his crew would enthrall me.

The premise of the series was simple; Blake and his band, prisoners of the evil federation, manage to gain control of a powerful alien spaceship, and become freedom fighters.

The series was very low budget, reflected in the poor quality of the sets (spot the egg boxes sprayed silver!!), but the characters were real (despite the occasional wooden acting), and the storylines were first class.

What helped to make the series a success was the perfect chemistry between the cast. There was the fiery passion of Blake, the cold logical Avon, the laid back Villa to name a few. Their Arch enemy, Servalan, was ruthlessly ambitious, and assisted by the focussed and determined Travis.

I would give this series 9/10.

Blake's 7 came and went mostly before my time and I never had fellow British sci fi fans in my life. I'm an American, always lived in the states and growing up, learning about these shows was nearly impossible. Cable TV was new. The channel options skyrocketed from the usual 13. The last Doctor Who I ever saw was Colin Baker's first season and that was because I stumbled on the show while changing channels on a Saturday evening. Blake's 7 never showed up on my radar unlike Doctor Who which my parents watched before they started buying cable.

Like most, i let my preconceived assumptions about what the show might be like cloud my judgement. I thought it might be a corny like Battlestar Galactia or Buck Rogers. Actually watching it fornthenfirst time, Im glad its now. The show has the best elements of classic Doctor Who that I was always drawn to, the writing and the acting. I believe all of these actors came from the theatre and I am a fan of Skhakespeare and lpve themoften Shakespearean type delieveries of the dialogue. Indeed Gareth Thomas who plays Roj Blake left the show to join the RSC.

Another aspect abput the show is that it takes a different look at a space crew. Star Trek and Space 1999 had rankigs and it was like military in space. They lighten it up a bit but all of the rank crap does wear thin. Star Wars was more buried in fantasy and aliens thogh like Blake's 7, there are plenty of good bad guys fighting on the side of good against the greater evil. Its wrong to assume Blake's 7 is a knockoff of such a thing since Teery Nation apparently came up with the idea of his show before Star Wars debuted. Besides that, there is so little Star Wars in this show aside from what I just mentioned. Bad guys as heroes or antiheroes.

Think of this show more as a Orwell's 1984 in space. We are introduced to the title character in the opening episode and we learn with him how his brain had been washed clean of his renegade past by the global government he fought to destroy. He learns how he was deceived by this government, remembers the torturous acts done to him to blank him memory and the true fate of his family. His resisitance fighters stood little chance (very Orwellian) and before long he finds himself on a prison ship bound for a planet where criminals are exiled. It is on this ship, the eventual crew would come from. All criminals. Some hardened criminals. Many with a high level of mistrust with one another and divided loyalties. Uneasy allies somewhat united against a common enemy, thw Federation. Blake still seeks to fight them, some only want to fight them to keep them from being hunted and killed and one simply wants to escape both Blake and the Federation and go his own way.

These stories mostly have a beginning middle and end within an hour but some carry on woth a story arc from earlier episodes. The sets and effects are extremely cheap but like classic Doctor Who, the story and acting is supposed to be the focus, not dazzling balls of light exploding every 7 minutes so you cansay to yourself ooo and ahhh like you are watching a fireworks show. There are less gpofy looking monsters in this series. Mostly they are actors with interesting clothes and heavy makeup to symbolize they're aliens. As I said, the story is the key. It requires attention and the act8ng is fantastic.

The seriousness that is often heavy in this more adult sci fi British series lightened usually by humorous intentionally dialogue. Often deadpan,,often sarcatstic. Not unconscious.

The ending of the show undoubtedly the most iconic ending of any sci fi series that I know of. I wasn't around to follow it when it was airing but watching it years later and despite already knowing the ending seeing it remains no less shocking. Perhaps the series writers and producers underestimated the value of what they created but it caused as big an uproar as The Priosner's ending but for different reasons.

All and all, my preconceptions about this space opera were completely wrong. It is an excellent show and if you care more about story, plot and performances than special effects, lush sets and cool looking props then this is the kind of scimfi show worth discovering for the first time like me.

A now dated science fiction show originally aired by the BBC in the late 70's with low production values, wobbly scenery and awful special effects. On the plus side, the plots and the cynical themes running through the show give it a hard edged grittiness that hasn't been repeated since and budget aside probably the best scifi series of all time, not something that i would say if undeserving. The characters, all of them villains of one kind or another, yes that includes the so called 'goodies' (something new)and all of them disliking each other and with no sense of camaraderie at all. Well scripted on the whole, well acted by the cast especially Paul Darrow and Jaqueline Pierce as Avon and Servelan the now cult adversaries. All this gives the show albeit a well worn look but nonetheless a fantastic show, well worth the watch that dares to be bleak and cynical about the future with no silver linings. In the end the low production values don't matter as you are captured by the narrative and the acting that will soon hook you. You have been warned.

"Blakes 7" is a provocative British sci-fi series which combines elements of "Star Wars", "Star Trek" and "Robin Hood". The series takes place in a dystopian future in which the Earth is run by an oppressive and tyrannical government. The protagonists are a small group of escaped convicts who have taken over an alien space ship with which they fight against the tyrannical Earth government while simultaneously avoiding pursuit by Earth spaceships. One cannot help feeling that it was not a coincidence that the author cast the "Earth Federation" in the role of the tyrannical bad guys, rendering "Blakes 7" a sort of "Anti-Star Trek".

Although some of the production values are not up to the level of American sci-fi series of that period, "Blakes 7" is still worth a look.

Someone referred to Blake's 7 as the anti-Star trek and that's a correct conclusion. In fact it's almost too anti-trek. The crew runs from place to place, fighting the all powerful federation. In the end, they accomplish little to nothing. They never form a good enough rebellion to even threaten the federation. The first two seasons are good and then three show, in the second two seasons, loses its way. How many times can Servelan (a great villainess) capture them? Overhaul it's a good show, with watching, but it's flaws overcome it too often.

See this when new at a young age and apart from being a great series it taught me a valuable life lesson, don't always expect a happy ending.

Ignore the crappy fx and immerse yourself in the story. Lovely bit of nostalgia.

Written by Dr Who's Terry Nation, this has all the traits of that show at its 70s peak: a great atmosphere and sense of active danger, decent acting and scripts, costumes and effects that owe more to ingenuity than budget - and, of course, a classic theme tune. It's a little less eccentric and a bit more adult in its themes, making use of conspiracy and cover-up in high places when they were still a novelty. And being based on the bridge of a powerful starship visiting different planets, there's more than a hint of Star Trek too.

But nostalgia aside, is it *really* an all-time great show for grownups? Well, nowadays we're used to a faster, slicker pace in drama, and I don't think it's possible to overlook the hokeyness of the effects entirely: white dots on black paper to represent the depths of the universe! Like a lot of sci-fi, it's also not quite as clever as it thinks it is; more suitable, in fact, for teens. Definitely a classic theme tune though - and, well, it has to have a 7, doesn't it?

Has there ever been a series which started with such promise, enthusiasm, energy and ideas, but ended as such a mess, as "Blake's 7" ?

This is a series that descends from science fiction via fantasy to total farce. While early episodes have purpose and direction, later ones are often incomprehensible nonsense. Doing no more than mirroring assorted human dilemmas. Scenes shift without explanation, action is disjointed to say the least and often ludicrous to be honest.

This started as a genuine contender to rival the early 'Star Trek' series, and even seems to have borrowed a few plot lines, but then ran out of money and failed to realise it. The settings in the last series are dreadful, nothing remotely alien, and little more than cowboys and Indians at times; the space scenes look more 'Thunderbirds' than anything else.

Whoever actually wrote these episodes, let alone directed them, should hang their heads in shame.

I remember this from it's initial showing when I thought it was good. It was, at first; perhaps I missed the final series. Hopefully I was in the pub enjoying a pint with friends rather than being subjected to the tripe that was series 4.

7 out of 10 for series 1 to 3, 0 for series 4. Overall, 5.

"Blake's 7", whilst being somewhat of a misnomer, is a great series. The first few episodes (maybe even the entire first season) are rather shoddy and have a *very* low budget look, but it only gets better from then on in.

The most memorable bits of the series are the cynical, sarcastic, clever, and down-right rude comments from Avon, delivered in a beautifully scathing voice, and the equally sarcastic remarks from Orac, the talking fish tank.

Definitely a must-see if you like Dr. Who and can get the entire series (26 two-episode videos) at your local video rental library.

Blake's 7 was not brilliant because it defied convention. It was brilliant because it ignored convention and just tried to be the best. Never mind that science fiction television was either self-consciously avant-garde, or special-effects mainstream, or avowedly political. Terry Nation just wrote the best stories he could come up with, and the actors followed him. If that meant that someone had to die unexpectedly, it meant that. If it meant that you had to be intelligent, so be it, the audience was assumed to be intelligent. If it meant that imagination had to be used in place of some special effects, the audience was assumed up to it. But more than that, it meant that whatever happened, whether clichéd or radical, had to happen because that was the best way. And the actors -- not the special effects -- brought this vision alive in every episode.

There is a moment in the first series that I think sums up why Blake's 7 is unlike any other science-fiction show, and deserves to be rated, at its best, with any drama television ever made. Among a collection of 20th century artifacts played by a broken man to help him think is Kathleen Ferrier's "Blow the Wind Southerly". Who could not be touched who knew Kathleen Ferrier, and all this meant? But even those who didn't could hardly fail to be moved, if even a little.

Blake's 7 really sums up what the BBC was -- peerless, fearless, and the best -- but it also, in an odd way, says a lot about England. The series is only occasionally optimistic, it positively rejects heroism, but -- it rings of truth, or reality. And that's something that's quite rare in television, let alone most science-fiction television.

Rewatched this on BritBox recently and it brought back some good memories; and also it was good to be reminded of some things I'd entirely forgotten about.

Although I found the first couple of episodes a bit slow, I found the story telling and characterisations to be very good.

Sure, some of the special effects look a bit dated now (the very rubber suited monster in The Harvest of Kairos for instance) but overall I found it entirely engaging.

I also found it puzzling to reflect upon why some of the casts seemed so keen to get away from it?

Definitely an enjoyable programme to revisit - and one to regret they didn't make more.

This BBC sci fi show shall inevitably compared with Doctor Who for a variety of reasons. For one, most of the crew is the same, the same producers, directors, writer, Dudley Simpson on music (which really shines here) and costumers. Even a lot of the guest actors and extras are familiar "Who" veterans... and the special effects and set design are all quite similarly low-quality but still imaginatively constructed.

Overall though this film is much more sharply-written and consistent than Doctor Who ever was, besides maybe a time earlier in the 1970's when Hinchcliffe was in charge. Although characters like Villa are presented semi-comically, this series is much more serious and usually a lot more action-packed (almost every episode works in an amusing slow motion miniature explosion) and even with some surprisingly deep, cerebral scripting now and then. The acting from the main players is top-notch as well with Paul Darrow totally stealing ever scene he's in as the supremely uncharismatic character "Avon".

While I'm on it - I'll have you know that I love the characterization on this show. Everyone has plenty of strengths and weaknesses. A few of the characters came off as weak overall - such as Dayna and Soolin from underdevelopment... Gan was a bit too simplistic... and Tarrant underused, but overall the character interplay was quite entertaining... particularly when Avon would butt heads with Blake (the leader in seasons 1-2) and later Tarrant.

This series certainly undergoes a transformation from season 1 to the final season 4, but always maintains a good continuity and a certain level of quality though the standards certainly waiver in a few of the episodes. It's certainly nowhere near the drop in quality as seen in season 2 of SPACE 1999 or season 3 of STAR TREK. This show is in a class of its own - imaginative sci fi which plays things straight and manages to tell a good story, and reasonably efficiently at that.

Just an fyi, while there are six crew members if you add "zen" that makes seven.

At the end of the first season, Blake is talking to Avon and he mentions seven people should be good to run the ship, Avon corrects him and says you mean 6 right, and Blake replies that 6 crew plus zen makes seven. Just thought I'd post this since I know I was wondering that myself once I found this series again ...

I used to watch this series on the off season when doctor who wasn't on the air but I only remember watching it for one season...probably since I was born in 75...

=== The Good Stuff ===

Though the budget was very low, for me as a SF fan this had it all, including the best character development I've ever seen. It wasn't always about the bad empire and high-tech. The people in it actually made it. We see a bunch of completely different characters. They acted very nice I feel. Some of them convinced me totally.

=== Synopsis ===

'Blakes 7' is a four-season Science Fiction drama. It's about a handful of escaped convicts, a special space-ship and even a more special on-board computer. Blake is a former freedom-fighter, framed by the futuristic government. He becomes the leader of the bunch, mainly due to his personality. He'll use the ship and the crew to fight the leaders of the universe. But as he progresses, he needs to deviate often from his main objective: enter the adventures of 'Blake's 7'.

=== Bad Stuff ===

A minor criticism is the replacement of Blake: some youngster without charisma in my opinion. He has a loud voice, but that didn't convince me he has enough authority to be the Captain of the ship. BBC should have found an older actor with more charisma. Also, there are four episodes and each episode gets weaker and weaker. In my mind only episode 1 lives.

=== Verdict ===

In my previous review I gave it a perfect 10 stars. That's not entirely fair. I'll give it now 7 stars because the weak episodes were of a too low quality and the episodes got weaker and weaker.

it just is do i have to give give a reason I'm not the biggest star trek fan i don't like the tech no babble that poisons the series and this is what i grew up with along with doctor who and Sapphire and steel, both firefly and far scape share heritage with Blake's seven i think this series deserves to be remade(christopher eccleston would have been excellent in it more so than doctor who) but only if its done well it could be an intelligent counterpart to the new doctor who if we could get a proper writer(not Russel T Davies) overall an awesome show (wich is about all that needs to said) just watch and see i highly recommend it

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am giving my rating after having watched only the first two seasons. I feel I've been almost criminally misled by the high rating this series currently has (8.1 stars), as my feeling is, after beginning with a bang, the series has sunk in quality ever since.

I can at least give thanks that I live in a country where I'm not forced to watch tv show, since to have to watch two more seasons of this one would do me in.

Blakes 7 is one of those series that only the BBC could have made in the late seventies/ early eighties.Its kind of crappy yet I find it very enjoyable to watch. It has good strong characters and a few of the story lines are pretty good.Overall the whole is more satisfying that the parts.Yes, the sets wobble and the dialogue can be a bit stupid but the stories are usually very entertaining and there is a good dose of humour in it. Characters like Avon, Servalan, Dayna and Vila are all excellent and the actors do the best with what they've got. If you have not seen Blakes 7 check it out now on DVD.All series are available in box sets and I recently got series 4 for £19.99 inclusive which is not bad. By the way, like the original Star Trek Blakes 7 got sillier and more pantomime toward the end.Which is why I like the later stuff as it is funnier...in that late seventies BBC way...

I have mixed feelings about Blakes 7. I have to admire the BBC for making this quite dark (at times) space opera/adventure but in my humble opinion it started to get a bit silly from season 3 onwards.

The pilot episode is quite amazing. It is a really dark and disturbing story of a man (Roj Blake) who is a political prisoner, has his mind wiped, rediscovers who he was and when he is sentenced to life on a penal colony on cooked up charges of child molestation (see, i told you it was dark), takes advantage of a huge slice of luck that comes his way during transportation to a prison planet to turn the tide of the corrupt regime that not only sentenced him but murdered his family and his political followers. In fact i'd be curious to know if Terry Nation, who wrote the first season, had ever read Philip K Dick's 1966 short story 'We can remember it for you wholesale', which was made into the 1990 film 'Total Recall', such are the story parallels .

That said, the series is a real hotchpotch. A strong idea with a decent cast is sometimes let down by the hammy dialogue and low budget. The props look cheap, the special effects are anything but special and every location shoot looks like it was done either in a Welsh slate mine, on a beach in Kent or in the grounds of a very 20th century power station. Terry Nation's vision needed a decent budget but didn't get it and this is a shame, but it is also typical of its time that sci-fi shows were made on limited budgets.

The first season had enough ideas to get the viewer hooked and sustain the second series. By the third series though Gareth Thomas (Blake) had had enough and left the show as had a couple of other actors. That the series carried on for two more series is a testament not so much to the storylines but the interesting characters that sustained it, Paul Darrow's enjoyably sadistic Avon and Michael Keating's Vila in particular. The effects did slowly improve too although the props still looked poor.

Despite some criticism in the press, the show proved popular with the public but started flagging by the third series and had well and truly run out of steam by the fourth. Having said that the final episode was highly memorable and neatly wrapped up the whole saga.

If you've never seen B7 before, then its worth a watch as it tries to do something different .

I guess it's a British period thing, cuz almost anything is better than this. It's in the "colander on he head to make an alien" class of shows. With a budget this small I'm sure the "actors" -- none of whom seemed able to act -- volunteered their time.

You have been warned.