Why You should Watch Blakes 7

So I have been knocking around online now writing blogs and occasionally doing other things such as making youtube videos for quite a number of years now and the entire time I have been doing it I have been using the name Kerr9000, from time to time I get asked where this name came from well to put it simply it comes from an old BBC Science Fiction show called Blakes 7. This is why I want to talk about Blakes 7 today, its not simply the fact I got my name from it, its the fact that I valued this show enough for it to come to mind when I needed a name, this is because the show has never really left my mind. Blakes 7 was originally broadcast between 1978 and 1981. I was born in 1981 so I didnt see Blakes 7 when it was first transmitted, I saw it when my Dad began to buy it on VHS.  In this post I am going to explain to you why you should watch Blakes 7

Blake's 7 was created by Terry Nation, yes that Terry Natuion the guy who created the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. If you stop and think about Doctor Who as sort of being the BBC's light and happy Sci Fi show then Blakes 7 would be its polar opposite. What do I mean by this? Well in Doctor Who there might be the odd monster or two but the show is about the Doctor a wild eyed super intellgent alien who most of the time manages to save the day, the show by and large tends to have a certain life affirming quality to it. Blakes 7 is by contrast very dark. Apparently the series was inspired by a great many sources some historical some other science fiction shows and
real-world political conflicts. If you want to know what it is like I could best describe it as Robin hood meets Star Trek with a budget, props and effects simmilar to the episodes of Doctor Who made during the same sort of time frame.

Blake's 7 was popular from its first broadcast, it was watched by approximately 10 million  in the UK and shown in 25 other countries. The show does feature many typical science fiction tropes such as spaceships, robots, galactic empires and aliens, some would argue that its budget was inadequate to do its self justice but I would strongly argue against this. I think the show features some great acting a very intresting dystopian theme, a wide selection of varaible characters with strong characterisation. Yes you could argue that StarWars had already done the whole evil government thing but Blakes 7 is not quiet that basic, you see the resistance characters are not exactly your regular heroes, one of them is a theif another is a computer expert who tried to use his knowledge to commit fraud, then there is a smugglar, a man who commited murder and then there is a political idealist who was wrongly convicted of crimes he didnt commit. What makes the show intresting though is the fact that not all of these characters agree all of the time, sure they all want to be free but thats about the only thing they can all agree on. I think this makes the show fascinating, most people I know who have watched the show have found a character who they can closly relate to, someone who they see as either a representation of themself or someone they can get behind because they admire there individual qualities or agree with there outlook of the situation, this is part of what I think makes it a brilliant show.

 Blakes 7 only had 4 series with 13 episodes a piece, it did have a few books and audio plays as well, it has also almost found its way back to TV a few times with various diffrent networks and outlets seeking out the rights to make either a TV movie , a new series or even an animated series and although none of these has actually happend yet I think it clearly shows that there is still a lot of love out there for the show. It might not have made it back but I think a lot of its sort of DNA has actually made it into more modern Science fiction projects, for example I can see a lot of Blakes 7 in FireFly.

You should give Blakes 7 a chance if you want to see intresting characters in intresting situations and your not one of those people who cant suspend there disbelief enough to look past the late 70's early 80's effects and props and if this stops you from watching it then I really pitty you cause your missing out on an absolute treat.