dickinsons | Blake's 7 S1

Last night, I finished watching Blake's 7's first season for the first time, so I thought I'd write a review for it. I even went on a bit of an icon hunt and found a very appropriate one to use today, lol!

Before anything else, I want to mention some resources I've found useful to illustrate the review: this image library for the screenshots, and this transcript site for the quotes. So, without further delay...

General thoughts on the season

I'm not new to sci-fi, but it's been a while since I last watched British sci-fi from this era. I find it so, so charming! I decided to check the first episode, just to see if it seemed interesting, and I was hooked almost immediately. What a way to start the show! The dystopian setting was brutal from the start, and very intriguing. Seeing so many people get killed, both rebels and those who were trying to help within the system, as well as the horrid accusations and fabricated evidence against Blake, was a really effective way of showing how ruthless this Federation is. And as a Trekkie, it's a great contrast to the utopian vision of the future presented by TOS.

I love darker sci-fi, but it's almost shocking to me to see a take like this in a show from this era. They really didn't hold back with the violence and darker themes!

Furthermore, I really love most of the characters, including both the Liberator crew and the villains. Avon and Vila in particular had very clear personalities established from their very first scenes, and from the start I wanted to see more of them and how they would all work together. Vila's first line was especially memorable:

Easy! Take it easy! I hate personal violence, especially when I'm the person.

As the crew finally got the Liberator, the show moved on to a more purely episodic nature, where every week they visit a different planet or space station, have a new problem, aid new people... Some episodes were more memorable than others, but overall I thought this season was very well-written, entertaining and addictive! The humour is really good, scenes kept making me laugh to the point where I'd rewatch some to laugh again, and show them to my friends ~~(who put up with each of my niche obsessions)~~. Initially, I didn't expect the show to be that funny, so it was a pleasant surprise.

The characters

Blake had a very interesting backstory presented in the first episode, although they haven't really developed it much further. He got his memory erased, then he finds out he used to be the leader of a group of rebels, then he steals the Liberator with a group of prisoners and there we go, he's a leader again! It's okay, though. I know this is how episodic shows work! He's a charismatic leader, and he keeps proving over and over the values he holds dear, inspiring his crew as well. Gareth Thomas had a really great voice, by the way. It adds to the character!

I love how funny Vila is as the cowardly thief of the group. He gets some of the best lines in the season, and some very funny scenes. I can't find this scene on YouTube, but here's the quote:

Hello there. How are you? Excuse me wandering about your premises but I wonder if you can help me. I'm an escaped prisoner. I was a thief but recently I've become interested in sabotage, in a small way you understand, nothing too ambitious, I hate vulgarity, don't you? Anyway, I've come to blow something up. What do you think will be most suitable? [Throughout this babbling the guards have been looking back and forth at him and each other in disbelief. Blake slips up behind them from the other side and takes out one of the guards. Vila bashes the other with his tool box.]

I want to mention that his and Avon's banter is some of the best in the show, too. I love when they get to have scenes together!

I had high hopes for Jenna in her first episodes, as she showed a strong personality, and her previous experiences in space were very useful at times. For example, she saved the day on Bounty! She was also the pilot from the start, which is very cool. I like that she's experienced and tough. However, I keep thinking she could be more developed, that there's something missing from the character. Perhaps she could have more interesting interactions with the others. For example, with Cally! I do hate when there are several women on a show but they don't seem to have very meaningful interactions, you know?

Even before starting the show, I'd heard about Avon being a very popular character in the fandom. Once I met the character, I instantly understood. And the more episodes I watch, the more I get it! He's smart but pedantic, always planning a betrayal but also saving the day, and his banter with Blake and Vila is always delightful. At times you just want to slap him, but I like that in a character, lol. I guess Paul Darrow is still charming people to this day, because it's definitely working on me.

In a way, he's the character that really keeps showing you that this crew isn't your regular sci-fi one. No, this is a darker type of show, your crew members are all criminals, and they could betray you anytime. Especially Avon.

My dear Cally! From the moment she showed up in that red suit and pointing at the others with a rifle I knew I'd love her, and so I did. She's a very special character, being an alien with telepathic abilities, and even though she didn't get to use them very often this season, Jan Chappell's acting really conveyed she was different all the time. She really fits with the rest of the crew, even if she joined them later, and her backstory and abilities make her really interesting to me. I'm very fond of the character, as you can tell.

I like Gan, but I feel like he could've been more used throughout the season. He has an interesting backstory, having murdered somebody and then received that chip in his brain, but he's mostly used as the Liberator crew's strong guy. One thing I enjoy about the character is that he always seems very caring with the rest, which maybe you wouldn't expect from him at the start.

Listen, Zen has been useful (at times) to the crew, and some of his scenes were really funny, if only for the reactions of the others. But I have a feeling Orac is gonna be way more fun, judging from what little I've seen from him, so I can't wait to see how that goes. Sorry, Zen, for talking about Orac when I was supposed to talk about you.

My dear Servalan! I've been fascinated by her from the start, even before watching the show I'd heard of her. I'm not sure where I first heard about her, perhaps as a Farscape fan I first knew of her through comparisons to Grayza. But she's so much better than Grayza, what can I say? I love her all-white look, her short, black hair, her cold eyes. And I'm just obsessed with how ruthless she is and how little she seems to care, even less than Travis himself. She's also a bit of a seductress, which I like. I can't wait to see more of her!

Travis is such an enjoyable character to watch. Ruthless, obsessed with revenge against Blake, and wearing that insane leather outfit. And his hand can shoot! He's mostly at his best when he's next to Servalan, who, as I said earlier, turns out to be much more ruthless than him, but I also enjoyed the character in Duel, where you can see his relationship with the mutoids. In spite of his pride, he turns out to be a pathetic character over and over, as he's defeated by Blake and his reputation in the Federation keeps getting worse. I do wonder, though, how much he can change in the future. In every episode so far he's had the same exact goal, and behaves mostly the same way, so maybe he could get repetitive. But so far, I'm really loving the character.

Other thoughts

As you can see, I tend to focus on characters the most. But after this whole commentary on all the main characters, I want to mention some other thoughts I have:

The intro is really fun, and I like the music of the show in general.
The whole season was written by Terry Nation, which is impressive, but afaik this isn't true for the rest. I wonder if that affects the quality or consistency of the show going forward, or if it's not always a bad thing. We'll see!
The costumes go from horrible to really fun. I'm sorry, Avon, but what the HELL is this?

I loved the lore about the mutoids, and I hope to see more of them in future episodes.
Knowing about the Blake 7 Wars now is crazy. I know there were more reasons behind it, and that, apparently, the complaints against slash weren't the reaaal cause of it, but... How was anyone supposed to NOT do slash for this show?

Did I forget anything or anyone? Feel free to tell me if I did! As you can tell, I'm a bit obsessed with the show at the moment, so I don't have a lot of bad things to say about it. We'll see what I think about the next seasons. Thanks for reading!!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

kitarella_imagines

That is a brilliant and very detailed review. I am trying so hard not to spoil because I know what happens to all these characters over the 4 seasons.

Yes some of Avon's outfits are terrible but some are very hot. The one you put above is the one I call 'his painting outfit'. Like kids wear when they do painting at nursery 😂

I think Blake's 7 was the inspiration for so many later shows. Apparently (apart from Stargate Universe which we already mentioned) the Star Wars show Andor is the closest to B7. Not sure how I'd get to watch that because it's on some streaming service I haven't got, but maybe one day.

From:

Blake's 7 S1 - Review

all of this has happened before