Blake's 7: Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
 
(151 intermediate revisions by 35 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{real world}}
{{retitle|''{{PAGENAME}}''}}
{{wikipediainfo}}
{{you may|Blake's 7 (series)|n1=''Blake's 7'' from a real world perspective|Blake's 7 (terrorist group)|n2=the in-universe terrorist group}}
'''''Blake's 7''''' was a [[human]] [[television]] show of which the [[First Doctor]] was not fond. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|A Big Hand for the Doctor (short story)}}) [[Tegan Jovanka]] mentioned the series once, saying that she understood the concept of [[transmat]]s — or in ''Blake's 7'' terms, [[teleportation]] — having seen it on the show. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Cold Fusion (novel)}})


'''Blake's 7''' (sometimes spelled '''''Blakes 7''''', as this was the title shown at the beginning of the series) was a [[science fiction]] adventure drama television series in the [[Wikipedia:space opera|space opera]] sub-genre which considerable cross-over between its crew and that of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', which aired at the same time. Some [[Doctor Who Universe]] stories have featured [[crossover character|crossover]]s between elements of ''Blake's 7'' and ''Doctor Who''.
In a [[Parallel universe (TV Action!)|parallel universe]], actors from ''Blake's 7'' were [[hypnosis|hypnotised]] by [[Beep the Meep]]. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|TV Action! (comic story)}})


==Overview==
''Blake's 7'' was the favourite television series of [[Gavin Oliver Scott]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Least Important Man (short story)}}) In [[2600]], [[Bernice Summerfield]] obtained two episodes of the series for him on [[VHS]]. She noted that she knew a distant acquaintance of someone who was in [[Blake's 7 (terrorist group)|Blake's 7]] – the [[terrorist]] organisation, not the [[television]] show, which "can't be right". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Dead Men Diaries (short story)}})
===Premise and tone===
The series was set an unspecified time in the future. The first two seasons concerned the adventures of the experienced but still idealistic rebel  [[Wikipedia:Roj Blake|Roj Blake]] and the crew of the ''[[Wikipedia:Liberator (Blake's 7)|Liberator]]'', an alien [[starship]] which they had acquired who fought the despotic [[Wikipedia:Terran Federation|Terran Federation]], represented by [[WIkipedia:Servalan|Servalan]], aided by [[Wikipedia:Travis (Blake's 7)|Travis]].


In the third season, Blake vanished and was replaced by his second in command, the vengeful genius [[Wikipedia:Kerr Avon|Kerr Avon]]. The ''Liberator'' was destroyed at the end of the season and in the next replaced by another starship, the ''[[Wikipedia:Scorpio (Blake's 7)|Scorpio]]''.
== External links ==
{{iwx|Blake's 7|''Blake's 7''|wiki=blakes7|wiki name=the ''Blake's 7'' Wiki}}


''Blake's 7'' was a less fundamentally optimistic series than ''Doctor Who''. The majority of the protagonists met violent deaths during the course of the series, and the dystopian setting remaining basically unchanged or even, perhaps, got worse as a result of the actions of the rebels.
[[Category:Television series from the real world]]
 
Aliens and "monsters" did appear, though rarely, with the arguable excpetion of [[WIkipedia:Cally|Cally]], a [[telepathy|telepathic]] crew member who either came from a telepathic non-human species or from a race of biolgoicaly modified humans. The Human Terran Federation was, apparently, the only major power structure throghout the sector of space visited by the crew.
 
===Production history===
''Blake's 7'' was first broadcast on [[BBC 1]] between [[1978]] and [[1981]]. Its characters, setting was created by, and, for the first season, was entirely written by [[Terry Nation]], the creator of the [[Dalek]]s. Prolific ''Doctor Who'' director [[David Maloney]] produced the first three seasons of the series (sometimes referred to as Season A, Season B and Season C) and [[Chris Boucher]], the writer of serveral ''Doctor Who'' serials, acted as [[Script Editor]] and writer on all four seasons. (Former ''Doctor Who'' Script Editor [[Robert Holmes]], on declining the job of script editor of ''Blake's 7'' had suggested Boucher as a subsitute.)
 
The last episode of Season B of ''Blake's 7'' featured an invasion of the galaxy by aliens, called Andromedans, from outside the galaxy. The aliens were so powerful that the crew of the ''Liberator'' pitched in with the Federation to repell it. Terry Nation had wanted to feature the [[Dalek]]s. who Nation had created, as the invading force. Chris Boucher recalls the idea was strongly rejected by the producer and himself.
 
==Cast and Crew connections==
===Production personnel common to both series===
====Writers and Script Editors====
*[[Terry Nation]] - Series creator and chief writer of the first three series
*[[Chris Boucher]] - Script editor and writer
*[[Robert Holmes]] - Writer
====Directors and Producers====
*[[David Maloney]] - Producer of first three series
*[[Michael E. Briant]] - Director
*[[Douglas Camfield]] - Director
*[[Pennant Roberts]] - Director
*[[Derek Martinus]] - Director
*[[Fiona Cumming]] - Director
*[[Mary Ridge]] - Director
*[[Gerald Blake]] - Director
 
====Miscellanous crew====
*[[Dudley Simpson]] - Composer of theme music.
*[[Matt Irvine]] - Special effects work.
 
====In other media====
*[[Barry Letts]] - Writer of two [[BBC Radio 4]] plays set during the fourth series.
*[[Tony Attwood]] - Author of ''Afterlife'', a sequel novel to ''Blake's 7'' set after the last episode of the series.
 
===Actors===
====Actors from ''Doctor Who'' in ''Blake's 7''====
=====Regulars=====
*[[Colin Baker]] - Bayban in ''City at the Edge of the World''
*[[Richard Franklin]] - Federation Trooper in ''Aftermath''
*[[John Leeson]] - Pasco in ''Mission to Destiny'' and Tolse in ''Gambit''.
=====Others=====
*[[Peter Miles]] - Played the recurring role of Rontaine, much in the "coldly efficient" mold of his ''Doctor Who'' character [[Nyder]].
*[[Richard Hurndall]] - Played Nebrox in ''Cancer'', inspiring [[John Nathan-Turner]] to cast him as the replacement [[First Doctor]] (a character originally played by [[William Hartnell]]) in ''[[The Five Doctors]]''.
 
====''Blake's 7'' Regular Cast with ''Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'' connections====
*[[Gareth Thomas]] ([[Wikipedia:Roj Blake|Roj Blake]])  played [[Ed Morgan]] in the ''[[Torchwood]]'' episode ''[[Ghost Machine (Torchwood story)|Ghost Machine]]'', [[Lord Tamworth]] (''[[Storm Warning]]'') and also had the regular role of [[Kalendorf]], a recurring role in the [[Dalek Empire (Big Finish)|Dalek Empire]] line of audio plays from [[Big Finish Productions]].
*[[Paul Darrow]] ([[Wikipedia:Kerr Avon|Kerr Avon]])  played Captain [[Hawkins]] (''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]''), [[Tekker]] (''[[Timelash (TV story)|Timelash]]'') and [[Iago]] in the ''[[Kaldor City (series)|Kaldor City]]'' series of audio plays.
*[[Michael Keating]] ([[Wikipedia:Vila Restal|Vila Restal]]]) played  [[Goudry]] ([[The Sun Makers]]) and Major [[Koth]] (''[[The Twilight Kingdom]]'').
*[[Jaqueline Pearce]] ([[Wikipedia:Servalan|Servalan]]) played [[Chessene]] (''[[The Two Doctors]]''), [[Sherilyn Harper]] (''[[The Fearmonger]]'') and Admiral [[Mettna]] (''[[Death Comes to Time]]'').
*[[Jan Chappell]] ([[Wikipedia:Cally|Cally]])  played Captain [[Lisa Deranne]] in ''[[Shakedown]]''.
*[[Brian Croucher]] (the second of two actors to play [[Wikipedia:Travis (Blake's 7)|Travis]]) played [[Borg]] (''[[The Robots of Death]]'') and [[Kurt]] (''[[Shakedown]]'').
*[[Peter Tuddenham]] the voices of the talking computers [[Wikipedia:Orac (Blake's 7)|Orac]], [[Wikipedia:Zen (Blake's 7)|Zen]] and [[Wikipedia:Slave (Blake's 7)|Slave]]  also leant his voiceover talents to ''[[The Ark in Space]]'', ''[[The Masque of Mandragora]]'' and ''[[Time and the Rani]]''.
 
==In-Universe Crossovers==
 
Despite what a minority of fans believe, there is no evidence to suggest any ''Blake's 7'' TV stories are set in the ''Doctor Who'' universe (or ''vice versa''). However a few crossovers were proposed or have occurred in other media.
 
*Boucher himself was responsible for the first true crossover in his novel [[Corpse Marker]] - a sequel to [[The Robots of Death]], it features the psychostrategist [[Carnell]], a character first appearing in the ''Blake's 7'' episode ''Weapon''. Carnell's background was left vague in the novel, but the character appeared again in the [[Kaldor City]] series of audios.
 
[[Category:Television shows with Doctor Who connections]]

Latest revision as of 12:44, 15 March 2024

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

Blake's 7 was a human television show of which the First Doctor was not fond. (PROSE: A Big Hand for the Doctor [+]Loading...["A Big Hand for the Doctor (short story)"]) Tegan Jovanka mentioned the series once, saying that she understood the concept of transmats — or in Blake's 7 terms, teleportation — having seen it on the show. (PROSE: Cold Fusion [+]Loading...["Cold Fusion (novel)"])

In a parallel universe, actors from Blake's 7 were hypnotised by Beep the Meep. (COMIC: TV Action! [+]Loading...["TV Action! (comic story)"])

Blake's 7 was the favourite television series of Gavin Oliver Scott. (PROSE: The Least Important Man [+]Loading...["The Least Important Man (short story)"]) In 2600, Bernice Summerfield obtained two episodes of the series for him on VHS. She noted that she knew a distant acquaintance of someone who was in Blake's 7 – the terrorist organisation, not the television show, which "can't be right". (PROSE: The Dead Men Diaries [+]Loading...["The Dead Men Diaries (short story)"])

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]