Blake's 7

In 1978, America had "Battlestar Galactica" and Dirk Benedict. England had "Blake's 7" and Paul Darrow. England had the better deal.

Sure, "Blake's 7" had a shoddy budget and clunkier sets than "Doctor Who", but the show had more interesting characters. You could not find a more diverse bunch of criminals, freedom fighters, and guns-for-hire - and these were the heroes (or anti-heroes)of the show. Almost every week they fought Servalan, Travis, and the evil Galactic Federation (boo,hiss!) while sometimes barely getting along with each other. The show flagged a bit in the last season, but it had the best series finale of all time in my opinion.

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.

"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.

For those of us weaned on Doctor Who, shows like Blake's 7 are instantly appealing. But for today's audiences, try this trick:

Listen closely to the dialogue and notice how the acting--unlike the SFX--is quite good. Then imagine that George Lucas, Jerry Bruckheimer and any actor you admire collaborated on a faithful remake, line for line, with top-level effects. Can you see it? (May require more than one viewing.)

Good. Prior to Battlestar Galactica on TV and Star Wars on the big screen, this is about all we had in terms of production values. (We were lucky if the boom mics were not showing at the top of the screen.) We had to make do with fascinating story ideas and characters we could inhabit each week. If the monsters were made of rubber, the spaceships made of cardboard, well, we lived with it.

Note to Spielberg, Bruckheimer, Lucas, et al: Keep the script stet and consider giving these back to the world.

I discovered "Blakes 7" (though it ought to be "Blake's 6," methinks) when I was five years old - and I dismissed it. I thought it looked boring and corny, and when I got hooked on "Doctor Who" shortly thereafter, I forgot all about it.

Well, like a wayward son, I have returned to "Blakes 7" all these years later. I've just finished the season one DVDs, and I enjoyed myself immensely. In some respects it's a very familiar show that borrows terminology and ideas from much older genre entertainment, like "Star Trek." But it's quite revolutionary in terms of structure - the arc plot is ahead of its time - and characterization. "Blakes 7" also features a surprisingly cynical world view; the Federation in this series isn't a league of whitewashed good guys, it's a corrupt organization that controls its subjects through military force and "1984"-like brainwashing.

The best character of the season is Avon, who is played in a wonderful sneering fashion by Paul Darrow. Blake is my second favorite; he's an idealist, but he's tough and he's not preachy (thank goodness). The other crew members, truth be told, are a little bland. I'm not sure why people seem to like the cowardly thief character Villa so much, since his role mainly consists of whining and cracking flat jokes. Jenna the smuggler is a pretty foxy lady, but she doesn't do much but get tied up and possessed - both staple pastimes for women in these semi-sexist old shows.

Certain plot elements are recycled in a tiresome fashion; in several episodes, half of Blake's crew is stranded on a planet while the other half contends with a problem in space. And of course, there's always a moment when the ground team is in mortal peril and needs to be "beamed up," but nobody's at the controls to do it. I complain too much, though - there are several genuinely surprising plot twists in the first season. And, even when the stories are a little clichéd, a great cast of British character actors is on hand to pick up the slack. Cool guest stars like Brian Blessed and Julian Glover reliably provide rock-solid support for the regulars.

The show is still easy to dismiss due to its low budget. But does it really matter that Blake's laser gun looks like a hair-curler? Not a bit. Flawed production values do very little to detract from "Blakes 7," which in the final analysis is clearly one of the more thoughtful and exciting sci-fi series I've had the pleasure to watch. The very first episode, which concerns Blake being framed for child molestation, is particularly gripping. It's highly recommended stuff.