A band of convicts and rebels on a stolen alien ship, taking on a ruthless Federation that rules the galaxy. Blake's 7 ran on BBC One from 1978 to 1981 and ended with one of the most shocking final episodes ever shown on British television.
Rebels on the run
Blake's 7 was created by Terry Nation, the writer who had given Doctor Who the Daleks. Roj Blake is a political dissident who is framed, convicted and sent to a prison planet. On the way, he and his fellow prisoners take over an abandoned alien spacecraft, the Liberator, and turn it against the Federation.
Over four series and 52 episodes, the crew changed, the ship changed and the odds only ever got worse.
The crew
- Gareth Thomas as Roj Blake
- Paul Darrow as Kerr Avon, the cold, sharp-tongued computer expert
- Michael Keating as Vila Restal, the cowardly thief
- Sally Knyvette as Jenna Stannis, the smuggler and pilot
- Jan Chappell as Cally, the telepath
- David Jackson as Olag Gan
There were also the computers: Zen, the voice of the Liberator, and Orac, a clever, impatient box of flashing lights. Both were voiced by Peter Tuddenham.
Gareth Thomas left after the second series, and Avon became the reluctant leader, joined by Tarrant (Steven Pacey), Dayna (Josette Simon) and later Soolin (Glynis Barber).
The villains
Every hero needs a good enemy, and Blake's 7 had one of the best. Jacqueline Pearce played Servalan, the glamorous and utterly ruthless Supreme Commander of the Federation, dressed in white and never far from a scheme. Space Commander Travis, with his eyepatch and gloved weapon hand, hunted the rebels in the first two series.
The ending nobody forgot
On 21 December 1981, the final episode, simply called Blake, brought the story to a close on the planet Gauda Prime. Without giving everything away, it ended with the crew surrounded and gunfire across the screen, then the credits. Viewers were stunned, and people still talk about it more than forty years later.
Why it still matters
Blake's 7 was made on a modest budget, and the sets and costumes sometimes showed it. What it had instead was sharp writing, a morally grey cast of characters and a bleak streak that set it apart from the cheerful science fiction of the time.
Were you on Blake's side, or Avon's?