TV Showcase: Blake’s 7

In 1977 came Star Wars, the movie. In the UK, the BBC created a television show in response: Blake’s 7.

Imagine what would happen if you took the basic theme of Star Wars—an extremely successful evil galactic empire, and the rebels fighting it—and rewrote it as a serial with one rule: be realistic.

If there is an extremely successful evil galactic empire, then it holds all the cards; and the ones fighting it are eternally desperate and probably not too happy most of the time. Losses are frequent; victories are rare and probably insignificant.

Then stop imagining, because you can just watch it.

It’s convenient for my narrative that Disney acquired Lucasfilm; Blake’s 7 is Star Wars without the Disney. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel in Blake’s 7, it’s because the end of the tunnel is on fire.

Low Budget

You can’t talk about Blake’s 7 without mentioning how low budget it was.

If you’re seen pre-reboot Dr Who, you’ll know more or less what to expect; it could charitably be called “quaint” or “charming”.

Blake’s ship, the Liberator

Blake With Crew

A lot of the “off world” shooting locations are obviously quarries or sometimes just fields.

But we’re not here for the special effects, right? We’re grown-ups! At least they tell me I am.

Epic Plot

You don’t get much more epic than “handful of misfits against the empire”.

Characters to Die For

The titular Blake is an idealist. Who would fight an empire? Blake would, to his last breath; he’s kind and out for justice but also necessarily ruthless and even brutal.

In the first episode Blake is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, then after the inevitable jailbreak he ends up on the run with a bunch of hardened criminals. That’s right: the “good” team in Blake’s 7 are escaped convicts. They, we quickly learn, were certainly not framed.

This is a wonderful setup for a group of freedom fighters, and in particular sets the scene for one of my favourite characters of all time: Avon, the computer expert, the master criminal, and probably the most evil “good guy” you’ll ever meet.

Then there’s Vila, the thief; Jenna, the smugger; and Gan, the murderer. What a happy band, indeed.

Conclusion

It’ll take a little work to get into, but I highly recommend it.

Where to Watch

I watched it on YouTube; it’s not clear if all the episodes are there today, but at least the first is:

S01E01 The Way Back

It also seems to be on Amazon Prime Video.

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