Tom Pheby takes a look back at Terry Nation's dystopian sci-fi series, Blake's 7.
The rumours that
Blake's 7 is to be remade are as persistent as a PPI adviser cold
calling your home number, but I think its safe to assume that after a
series of false starts, it's as far away as it ever was. The BBC may
have considered it briefly but I doubt they were ever serious enough
to go ahead or commit the necessary cash to remake it. I'm sure it
would be a welcome addition during a 'Who less' TV schedule and would
delight a whole new generation, although it would take someone with a
crystal clear vision, a truck load of ambition and an exceedingly
thick skin to attempt it.
Back in 1977 Star Wars
(A New Hope) exploded on the big Screen and as a result the clamour
for all things Science Fiction grew to insane levels driven an
insatiable audience. The Americans came up with Battlestar Galactica
(1978) and over here, the BBC hierarchy thought long and hard
(probably approximately five minutes) about a series which would
satisfy the public's appetite. There was only one man to discuss it
with and that man was Terry Nation (who else?). Nation had a proven
track record in this genre with Doctor Who and was suitably blessed
with the inventive mind to create something unique.
Unlike Galactica which
had more than a passing resemblance to Star Wars in just about every
way possible, Nation came up with Blake's 7 (also screened in 78), a
mixture of Robin Hood meets Dan Dare! Nation described a big brother
society, full of disenfranchised citizens, political activists and
criminals that had fallen foul of the Federation. The lead
character, Roj Blake (played by professional thespian Gareth Thomas),
was cast as a wrongly accused and imprisoned dissident. Along with a
few other social outcasts, Blake manages to fix and steal a space
ship and add to his band of jolly spacemen comprised of the tea dregs
of the universe.
Blake's 7 was a huge
success - even if crippled by a pitiful budget and a distinctly 'not
very special effects' team - and managed to attract millions of
viewers during it's run (1978-1981). The first series was written
entirely by Nation and it was his inventiveness and superb scripts
that managed to transcend the cringeworthy production values. When I
think back, they didn't seem that terrible but with advancements in
technology and CG, it's easy to spot the washing up liquid bottles
covered in Bacofoil and the odd converted whisk. Every expense was
spared, it was as if the whole thing was sponsored by both Lidl and
Poundland and directed by the worlds most penny pinching miser. But
Blake's 7 wasn't judged on its visual inadequacies, it was series of
brilliant stories and intriguing characters, such as Avon, Gan,
Villa, Jenna and Cally, and we lapped it up like a cat locked in a
shed for a month. Later Blake (the Che
Guevara of space) launched a vigorous campaign against the Terran
Federation from the illegally acquired Liberator until the outbreak
of war.
There were two notable things that resulted in the series
demise: Firstly, as the series continued Nation became one of a team
of writers, therefore the scripts were lacking his vision and
quality. Secondly, Gareth Thomas went AWOL leaving Avon (Paul Darrow)
in charge of the renegades, which was reminiscent of when Robbie
Williams left Take That and the others plodded on for a bit longer.
After all, a show without Blake was not quite what we had signed up
for, and to this day I'm still blissfully unaware of the reasons
behind the disappearance. Perhaps he hated it and thought he'd become
type cast (oh poor me, I'm successful now but I can't get the role of
Polonius), or was the star of the longest Panto in the History of the
World, maybe we'll never know. One thing was clear, Avon's spell at
the helm was uninspiring and I remember feeling a bit cheated by
Blake bunking off without a dramatic shoot out or blowing something
to smithereens.
Avon supplied all the
logic of a silver suited Burton's version of Mr Spock! He was
stoically assisted by the on-board computers, Orac and Zen, which
sound like the makers of a teenage acne treatment. It ran until 1981,
at which point we witnessed Avon locating Blake (who must have
finished his spell with The Royal Shakespeare Company) and then his
death for being a traitor. That should have been that, but then the
rest of the cast were unceremoniously bumped off before the end
credits. It was clear from this terribly concocted ending that the
BBC lost interest and faith in the show and just wanted rid of it -
even though it still had such a loyal following.
At it's best Blake's 7
was a wonderfully constructed idea, but sadly the people that
produced it lacked the imagination to make it magnificent. I'd like
to see it return though, give it a healthy budget and a quality
executive producer - like Russell T Davis. Why not? There's a man who
knows a thing or three about resurrecting a defunct Science Fiction
series. Perhaps he is ready for another challenge and this would
certainly provide the mother of them all.
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