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The series was produced in the United Kingdom and aired on the BBC. It was similar to other BBC science fiction shows such as Doctor Who, but was characterised by a darker tone and often defied the traditional sharply defined ethical stances associated with this type of drama, with considerable blurring of the distinction between the "good" and the "bad" guys (and gals).
It stars a group of outlaw revolutionaries, led by a patriot-hero named Roj Blake ( Gareth Thomas), who fight the fascistic interstellar Terran Federation in the second century of the third calendar. The show was watched by 10 million viewers at its peak, an enormous number for a space opera.
The show is noted for its strong focus on character; Blake and his band of outlaws were all highly individual, distinctive, and flawed, as often at each others' throats and in pursuit of their own private agendas as they were facing down their common enemies in the Federation. It also featured a remarkable attrition rate among its main characters, in violation of accepted practice for a drama of its nature.
The show's fascination with and careful study of dictatorial societies has made it a surprise hit in several Eastern European countries as a sort of pop culture 1984. Characters working for the evil Federation were often portrayed as being motivated by their own concepts of duty and loyalty, as well as the over-powering pressure exerted by society. Tactics studied from Stalinist Russia, such as forced psychiatric treatments and show trials, were intermixed with (papier mache) giant spiders and fur-suited "aliens".
Blakes 7 was also remarkable for the range of influences it mixed - dialog inspired by Casablanca and Importance of Being Earnest was mixed with Spaghetti Western nihilism and pure camp, as well as the odd plot and a major character stolen from Shakespeare (most of the cast had classical training and the actor Michael Keating played his character, Vila Restal, as if playing Feste, the brilliant but flawed jester in Twelth Night.)
One notorious characteristic of the show was its highly effective use of cliffhangers at the end of each season, a feature that was used to maximum effect at the end of the fourth season, "Blake". This was deliberately written to be open ended in case the series returned, but also to be final in case it did not.
Another notable and often satirised aspect of the show was the light construction of its sets (something it shared in common with Doctor Who). The "wobbly set syndrome" was particularly noticeable during the numerous fight scenes - one presumes the actors had to be very careful about avoiding colliding with the walls. Many exterior shots portraying the surface of other worlds took place in quarries; fans of the show are now able to go on a Blake's 7 quarry location tour of the UK. The series also repeatedly used a corridor at Leeds Polytechnic.
As of 2004, there is a revival movement (led by Andrew Mark Sewell and Simon Moorhead ) to create a new miniseries of the show, entitled Blake's 7: Legacy. Series star Paul DarrowPaul Darrow (born May 2, 1941) is a British character actor best known for his memorable portrayal of Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series Blake's 7''. He is also the author of A Terrible Aspect a fictional biography of Avon closely mode (who played Avon) was involved for a time, but this is no longer the case.
Blakes 7's major legacy to future TV space opera was the use of moral ambiguity and dysfunctional main characters to create tension, as well as long term "plot arcs" to hold episodes together. Most (though not always all) of thse traits were seen in LexxLexx Lexx is a science fiction TV series that follows the adventures of a group of mis-matched individuals aboard the Lexx, "the most powerful destructive force in the two universes" from which the show takes its name. The LEXX is a living spaceship, shap, AndromedaAndromeda is a science fiction television series, a posthumous creation of Gene Roddenberry. It stars Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt. The series premiered in the fall of 2000 and as of April 2004 was in its fourth season. At the start of the, Deep Space 9, Babylon 5Babylon 5 is an epic science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. Its music was composed by Christopher Franke. The pilot movie, The Gathering aired on February 22, 1993, and the regular series initia, FarscapeFarscape (first broadcast 1999) is a science fiction television series produced in Australia by the Jim Henson Company with the backing of US cable broadcaster the Sci Fi Channel. The show Originally conceived in the early 1990s by Rockne S. O'Bannon, Bri, and EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Until the third season its title was simply Enterprise and it is often abbreviated as ST:ENT or ENT . The series follows the adventures of the crew of the Enterpri, rather than the "feel good" and unconnected episode structure of early Star Trek. It was also arguably unique in TV SF in that it had a major influence on written SF, with the revival of written space opera in the 90's coming from of all places the UK at the hands of writers such as Stephen BaxterStephen Baxter (born in Liverpool, November 13, 1957) is a British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering. His writings fall into three main categories, each with a very different style and tone. His "Xeelee Sequence" s, Alastair Reynolds, and Iain Banks, all of the generation who had watched Blakes 7, and all of whose work features morally ambivalent, often sarcastic and driven characters, whose usually violently terminated lives are spent in vast and baroque spacecraft.
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