The
lowdown: 'Blake's 7' is a BBC science fiction series that was
created by Terry Nation and first broadcast
between January 1978 and
December 1981. A total of 52 episodes were made over four seasons. Set
in the third
century of the second calendar,
it tells the story of a group of freedom fighters who vow to bring down
the corrupt
regime of the Galactic Federation,
which routinely drugs its citizens to keep them docile and resorts to actions
such as torture and brainwashing
to keep people in line. It stars Gareth Thomas as Roj Blake, a resistance
leader
who is convicted on false
charges of child molestation and sentenced to spend the rest of his life
on the Federation
prison planet Cygnus Alpha.
However, Blake and a group of rebels escape the prison ship, find a state-of-the-art
spaceship (which they name
'Liberator') and begin to take on the Federation.
Other key crew members of
Liberator include computer genius Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow) and expert thief
and coward
Michael Keating (Vila Restal),
although other crew members came and went (usually with their character
being killed
off - including Blake himself).
The Liberator crew are constantly pursued by the Federation's Supreme Commander,
Servalan (brilliantly played
by Jacqueline Pearce, who is undoubtedly the true star of the show). Servalan
is rutheless
and efficient, and is one
of the best villains ever created for the small screen. Despite having
a small budget and even
worse special effects than
Doctor Who episodes of its era, Blake's 7 is a must-see for fans of television
science fiction.
The acting is generally
excellent, most of the scripts are superb and some of the dialogue between
the characters is
brilliant. These more than
make up for the budget limitations. Space opera it may be, but it is good
space opera.
The
episode: 'City at the Edge of the World' (which sounds like
a Star Trek episode but isn't), is the sixth episode
of the third season, and
features Colin Baker as Bayban the Butcher, also known as Bayban the Beserker.
He is the
Federation's second-most
wanted person, behind Blake himself. Bayban hires Vila to open a portal
on the planet
Keezarn. The door has proven
impossible to open, but expert safecracker Vila may be the one to crack
it. Bayban
believes that he will find
untold riches within the portal, but when Vila opens it he finds that it
is a gateway to another
world. Colin Baker is wonderful
in this episode, and really excels as the psychopathic Bayban. In fact,
there are hints
of his future portrayal
of the Doctor in this episode.
Trivia:
The Keezarn native in this episode, Norl, is played by Valentine Dyall,
who is known to Doctor Who fans as
the Black Guardian, while
Bayban's henchman was played by John Carney, who appeared as Bloodaxe in
a Pertwee
episode, 'The Time Warrior'.
Quote:
Bayban: 'You must be Vila. It's an honour, sir.'
Vila: 'The honour's all mine.'
Bayban: 'That's what I meant.'
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