Blake's 7 (series): Difference between revisions

{{real world}}

{{Infobox Merchandise

|image        = Blake's 7.jpg

|type        = Television series, Audio series

The '''''Blake's 7''''' series of television and audio stories has several connections to the [[Doctor Who universe|''Doctor Who'' universe]], and the two also share some behind-the-scenes commonalities.

''Blake's 7'' was a {{w|dystopian}} [[science fiction]] series produced by the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] at [[BBC Television Centre]] from 1978 to 1981. Since it was produced essentially "next door" to ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the shows shared many cast and crew members. Perhaps the most notable connection is that ''Blake's 7'' was created and often written by [[Terry Nation]], a frequent ''Doctor Who'' writer who invented the [[Dalek]]s. [[Paul Darrow]], [[Michael Keating]], [[Jacqueline Pearce]], [[Peter Tuddenham]] and [[Brian Croucher]], who all had starring roles in ''Blake's 7'', have appeared as guest stars on ''Doctor Who''. Notable guest stars on ''Blake's 7'' included [[Robert Beatty]], [[Leslie Schofield]], [[Brian Blessed]], [[Pamela Salem]], [[Deep Roy]], [[Peter Miles]], [[Peter Craze]], [[John Leeson]], [[David Bailie]], [[Julian Glover]], [[John Bennett (actor)|John Bennett]], [[Brian Miller (actor)|Brian Miller]], [[Jane Sherwin]], [[Morris Barry]], [[John Abineri]], [[Kevin Stoney (actor)|Kevin Stoney]], [[Tom Chadbon]], [[Aubrey Woods]], [[Denis Carey]], [[Bruce Purchase]], [[Richard Franklin]], [[Michael Sheard]], [[Michael Gough]], [[Valentine Dyall]], [[Ronald Leigh-Hunt]], [[Stewart Bevan]], [[Lynda Bellingham]], [[Richard Hurndall]] and [[David Collings]]. The most notable of all the guest stars was [[Colin Baker]], who would go on to portray the [[Sixth Doctor]].

Many actors from the ''Blake's 7'' television series, such as [[Sally Knyvette]], [[David Jackson (actor)|David Jackson]], [[Jan Chappell]], [[Stephen Greif]], [[Steven Pacey]] and [[Josette Simon]], have since appeared in [[Big Finish Productions]]' ''Doctor Who'' audio stories. In [[2011 (production)|2011]], Big Finish obtained the ''Blake's 7'' license and began recording full-cast audio dramas. This has encompassed 12 three-story volumes of ''The Liberator Chronicles'', released from [[2012 (releases)|2012]] to [[2016 (releases)|2016]], and five series of ''The Classic Adventures''.

At least twice during the televised run, writers and actors of ''Blake's 7'' adopted this perspective explicitly: Terry Nation briefly advocated for the [[Dalek]]s to appear as the major extra-galactic invading force at the end of Season B, and [[Tom Baker]] and [[Gareth Thomas]], who played [[Roj Blake]], thought it would be amusing for their characters to meet for a few seconds in a hallway on either show. However, both times the proposed connections were overruled by the producer and script editor.<ref>[https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a790626/gareth-thomas-and-tom-baker-wanted-blakes-7-to-crossover-with-doctor-who/ Digital Spy: Gareth Thomas and Tom Baker wanted ''Blake's 7'' to crossover with ''Doctor Who'']</ref>

The most substantial crossover began in [[1999 (releases)|1999]] when [[BBC Books]] released the [[Fourth Doctor]] novel ''[[Corpse Marker (novel)|Corpse Marker]]''. It was written by [[Chris Boucher]], author of three serials in ''Doctor Who'' [[season 14]] and [[season 15|15]] and script editor of ''Blake's 7'', as a sequel to his television serial ''[[The Robots of Death (TV story)|The Robots of Death]]''; however, it also featured the psychostrategist [[Carnell]], who had first appeared in his ''Blake's 7'' episode ''Weapon''. The novel indicated that the character settled in [[Kaldor City]] two years after he first went on the run from the Federation, which would have followed his failure in ''Weapon''.

{{bigfinish|hubs/v/blake-s-7|Blake's 7}}

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Real world series with DWU connections]]