Blake’s 7 Marathon

Blake’s 7 was written by Doctor Who (and the Daleks) creator Terry Nation. It was the KING of low budget sci-fi. The series had very little budget, yet still managed to pull off a passable show.

It ran for four seasons on BBC1 from 1978-1981. Had a total of 52 episodes in those four series. The show’s writing was top notch, and it was acted well, too. These things had to carry the show given the lack of production budget. They worked SO well, I’ve said numerous times that if they took the existing scripts and made them today with a proper current budget and tech, the show would be a big hit. Writing and acting were never a problem with this series. Much was made of the stereotype of Doctor Who’s “wobbly sets”, but it goes double for Blake’s 7. If you can get past that and focus on the story – it’s a hell of a series.

The one thing I always admired about this show is it was not afraid to kill its main cast. Over the span of the 52 episodes, they killed off three of the cast on screen, a fourth was lost and never heard from again, and in the finale, they seemingly killed off the entire cast, although the actual outcome of that finale is up to debate.

The series was never brought back, but I know a few attempts were made over the years. The most notable one and the one with the closest change was when Microsoft and the Xbox team (of all people) were looking to create a TV/movie production studio with things to play on their service. A Blake’s 7 revival was supposed to be part of that, but it never happened. As it stands we have just the 52 episodes. Many people from other franchises that I know from elsewhere make appearances here. A couple off the top of my head are Charles Augins (who was Queeg in an episode of Red Dwarf), Colin Baker (the sixth Doctor Who), Richard Hurndall (the recast first Doctor in Doctor Who), Brian Blessed (any number of things), and several others. Likewise it worked the other way – Paul Darrow (Avon here) appeared in a handful of Doctor Who episodes with the third and sixth Doctors, and Michael Keating (Vila) appeared in a Tom Baker Doctor Who story.

So its lineage is there. Still, it’s a relatively lesser known show, and maybe someone reading one of these posts of mine might be inclined to seek it out. As I said before, it definitely requires you to look past shoddy effects and production and focus on the story – which is awesome.

For the last several years the BBC has been re-releasing Classic Doctor Who series on season box sets. In late 2024, the same people turned their attention to Blake’s 7, and released the first series on a similar set. The intent is to release all four series that way. I will use that version for my watch through. I’ve been a big B7 fan for a few decades now (I owned the four season DVD sets from a few decades past), but it has been awhile since I’ve done a proper rewatch.

Series A

Blake’s 7 differentiated its four series by A/B/C/D, not 1/2/3/4 – this avoids the UK/US differentiation between “season” and “series” as well. :)

The Way Back (4/28/2025) – (2 Jan 1978) – Season 1 Episode 1 (Serial 101)