The Bloody Pit #201 - Blake's 7 (1978-1981)

Author John Kenneth Muir returns to the show to discuss another science fiction television show! BLAKE’S 7 aired in Britain from 1978 to 1981 and was a major hit but was not renewed for a fifth season. That the show remains beloved decades later points to the typical short sighted BBC decision making process in such matters. With the recent announcement of Blu-Ray releases we decided that the time was right to talk about the show and our years long love of it. Since Mr. Muir has written a book on the subject, he is the perfect person to speak to about the show which was sold as ‘The Dirty Dozen in Space’. If you’ve never seen the series, we try to avoid most spoilers but a couple of things do leak through as we go along.

 

Our conversation starts with how we each discovered the show and our initial reactions to the ‘anti-Star Trek’ with the adult nature of the storytelling being our main focus. We discuss the dystopian universe presented and give a brief overview of the ‘rebels vs the federation’ structure of the story. The dark and often cruel tone of the characters and the events they have to deal with is a topic we return to throughout the episode. We also fit in an examination of some of the classic science fiction tropes that the show uses and the creative spin the writers employ to include them. We had a great time digging into BLAKE’S 7 and we hope you will enjoy what we have to say even if you’ve not yet seen the series.

 

Mr. Muir mentions his recent web series near the end of the episode and if you are curious this is the FaceBook page for it and here is the production’s website. Check it out!

 

If you have any comments about BLAKE’S 7 or anything else we touch on thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening! 

Revisiting Blake's 7

Over the past few weeks I’ve been doing a quick rewatch of the second season of Blake’s 7. I’ve found interesting details I had forgotten or missed on previous viewings making the project a real joy. It was fascinating to see the increasingly manic push Blake was making to locate Star One in hopes of finishing off the Federation. Somehow, I had completely forgotten the Travis subplot in the season’s final episode and was shocked to realize just how nihilistic the character had become. Along with somehow blanking out the fate of Travis I had also forgotten the entire alien invasion part of the story! It has obviously been far too long since I’ve rewatched this series and so I jumped right into the first episode of the third season and plan to keep slowly working my way through to the end of the run. Glad I bought the DVD sets years ago as I’m really getting my money’s worth out of them.

 

Blake's 7 on YouTube!

2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the underrated, underappreciated British television show Blake's 7.  It ran for four years from 1978 to 1981 and over the course of its 52 episodes it broke new ground for science fiction TV in many ways. It told a continuing story of a group of rebels working against an oppressive, authoritarian Federation of planets. Each new season saw a rotating cast of central characters with a few core people remaining for the whole run. New cast members were necessary because one way this show separated itself from more conventional SF TV of the period was that no character was safe. People died unexpectedly as part of the dystopian narrative and by the third season even Blake himself was lost and presumed killed!

Sadly, this excellent series is not well known in the United States as it was only broadcast briefly in the early 1980's and only in a few cities. It's deadly serious tone combined with the typical British SF  television low budget look made it a difficult sell here, I suppose. But it is exactly that tone and look that attracted me initially as I was already used to the feel of Doctor Who of the period. It was the smart scripts and sharp dialog that kept me coming back for more. I would eventually spend lots of time over the years digging through magazines and books trying to learn more about the show. It was years before I was able to see all the episodes and by then I could quote some scenes perfectly.

But I know I'm part of a small cult on this one. Just not enough people know of the show and I fear that far too many others would not have the ability to forgive it for the problems that it's low budget necessitated. The leap required for the willing suspension of disbelief might be impossible for those that didn't catch the show in a less CGI-filled time. Oh, well.

If you're interested enough to see what all the fuss was once about the entire series seems to be available on YouTube. Below are the first three episodes that set the story in place and introduces the first central cast. My hope is to find another fan of the series and do a 40th Anniversary podcast about Blake and his band of rebels and miscreants. Fingers crossed!