Happy 40th, Blake’s 7
Joe Siegler
Forty years ago today (Jan 2, 1978) the original episode of Blake’s 7 was released. 40 years. Where the heck has time gone.
This is a show that was the definition of “low budget”. It didn’t get much more low budget than B7. However, if you could get past that (a lot couldn’t) there was some great characters and stories. It was a show that was not afraid to kill its own lead characters, something that’s not that common in TV. Of the original cast, only two stuck around to the final episode, and in that last episode EVERYONE was (seemingly) killed off.
The show ran for four series from 1978-1981 for a total of 52 episodes. There was some ancillary material – a couple of audio plays done not long after the series ended, a couple of novels here and there, and more recently some additional Big Finish stories. But overall, no proper reboot or revival or anything.
This is a show that if they made NO CHANGES AT ALL to it, and just made it with today’s production values, it would be rather well received. There’s been numerous attempts to revive it over the years, but none have taken. Wish it would come back.
