Blake's 7 Series Three (Avon Takes The Lead)

Blake’s 7 was BBC One’s flagship science fiction series in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The show was devised by Terry Nation, who had created the Daleks for the channel's other big science fiction programme ‘Doctor Who’ and had also created and written many episodes of their apocalyptic drama ‘Survivors’ which ran from 1975-1977, not to mention being script editor on ‘The Avengers’ in the late 1960’s and working on countless other classic British television series. Following ‘Survivors’, Blake’s 7 would become his next project and was immediately backed by the corporations drama department. The show would follow the story of the anti-hero Blake, a former objector to Earth’s totalitarian leadership, the Terran Federation, who via therapy, tranquilising and memory suppressants suddenly becomes a model Federation citizen, spending several years unaware of his past and subsequently acting with surprise and suspicion when his former renegades contact him and reacquaint him with his former life. In the opening episode ‘The Way Back’ we are introduced to the evil Federation and Blake’s return to dissidence and his subsequent arrest and trial on false charges of child molestation. He is sent to the prison planet Cygnus Alpha but on route his captors bump into a spaceship that doesn’t belong to any Federation fleet and their curiosity causes them to send Blake, and fellow prisoners Avon and Jenna (expendable and expensive commodities on their cargo ship) on board to survey it. After a series of psychological attacks from the ship’s defence systems Blake and his new associates manage to commandeer the ship and pick up more followers over the course of the first series (including the telepath Cally) to fight against the federation via the ships teleport capabilities in an era of interstellar travel. The series was entitled Blake’s 7 because initially Blake’s crew consisted of Blake, Jenna, Vila, Cally, Gan and the computers Zen (belonging to the commandeered ship which the crew name ‘The Liberator’) and supercomputer Orac, a computer they acquire in the 13^th and the last episode of the first series.

The crew of the Liberator in Series Three, and dressed in black, their arch nemesis Servalan. 

The first two series (albeit with the exclusion of Gan who dies at the end of the 5^th episode of Series 2) continue to follow this established format as political agitator Blake fights against his arch nemesis, leading Federation Officer Space Commander Travis (played by Stephen Greif in Series 1 and Brian Croucher in Series 2) and his boss, Supreme Commander Servalan (played by the excellent Jacqueline Pearce).  But this would change drastically at the end of the second series as lead actor Gareth Thomas who played Blake chose to leave the series after being tempted by an offer from the Royal Shakespeare Company and Sally Knyvette who portrayed another lead, the character of Jenna, also chose to leave after becoming disenchanted with the series direction.  This would leave writer Terry Nation and producer David Maloney with a bit of a quandary, not to mention some crass jibes from the popular press who noted “How can you have Blake’s 7 without Blake?” The answer of course was simple, and the solution and its execution on screen was being discussed and formalised as far back as November 1978, two months before the second series was even broadcast when it became clear that both Gareth Thomas and Sally Knyvette would not be staying beyond the second series.

The two new leads in Blake's 7 Series Three Dayna (Josette Simon) and Tarrant (Steven Pacey)

Nation and Maloney decided thus. At the end of the second series Blake would be left in a bad way after a final battle with his adversary Space Commander Travis. This would coincide with an intergalactic war as the Federation battles the Andromedans, a war aggravated by the Federation’s and our heroes’ presence on Star One, a planet that had been infiltrated by the latter and was formerly the Federations key base, you’ll have to watch Series 2 to understand all of this! Avon (Blake’s agitator throughout the series and distinctly different from Blake in personality and ambitions) is left in charge of the Liberator for the final battle sequence at the end of the final episode of Series 2 ‘Star One’ due to Blake’s fragile condition and the credits roll as Avon commands Jenna to fire, as the Liberator becomes involved in the battle against the Andromedans after successfully teleporting from Star One back to the Liberator.

A saucy moment between Avon (Paul Darrow) and his arch enemy Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce)

When we rejoin the crew for the third series opening episode ‘Aftermath’ again written by Nation we return to the ship during the closing moments of the battle, as the Liberator is still being fired at. Only Cally (played by Jan Chappell), Vila (played by Michael Keating) and Avon are visible as they are forced one by one to leave the Liberator which has suffered considerable damage during the battle. Over the course of the episode we hear that Blake and Jenna have landed safely on other planets after leaving the Liberator but they ultimately fail to return to the ship. This was Nation’s way of writing out the characters but leaving the option open to have them return in later episodes, an option that only actor Gareth Thomas would take up, returning as Blake for the final episode of the third and fourth series respectively. Avon leaves via a life capsule with supercomputer Orac, whereas Cally and Vila end up stranded on different planets after exiting the Liberator of screen. Avon crash lands on the planet Sarran (filmed at the stretch of beach surrounding Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland...the furthest the Blake’s 7 crew travelled for location filming!) On Sarran he bumps into Dayna Mellanby (played by newcomer Josette Simon) and her father Hal (played by Cy Grant who had voiced Lieutenant Green in Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons) and also Supreme Commander Servalan, still barking Federation orders despite the relative chaos that surrounds the regime following the intergalactic war. We learn that Hal and Dayna are, like Avon, fugitives from the Federation and Servalan wastes no time in killing Dayna’s father Hal, firing first at his visual aid (Hal is almost blind, an injury caused by the Federation’s oppressive regime before he fled) and then shooting him in the back. Dayna (an expert in special weapons, including bows and arrows) vows revenge on Servalan which becomes an occasional theme during the rest of the series as from this episode onwards Dayna becomes a lead character, filling the void created by the departure of Sally Knyvette as Jenna.  Avon and Dayna manage to escape Sarran and teleport back to the Liberator only to find that a Federation patrol have got there first. This is where we meet our Blake replacement character, Captain Del Tarrant portrayed by charismatic actor Steven Pacey. In the following episode ‘Powerplay’ we discover that Tarrant, although formerly a Federation officer, is actually a wanted resistance agent who is posing as a Federation Captain, much to the frustration of his second in command Klegg in a brilliant performance from stalwart actor Michael Sheard. At the end of the episode, after beating the Federation presence on the Liberator, Avon orders the ships computer Zen to record the voice prints of Dayna and Del Tarrant making them the new members of the Liberator, setting up the format for the rest of this series. 

Servalan has Avon cornered in 'Aftermath'

Now you might ask, why start reviewing a long running show with its third series rather than the first? Well the answer is simple, it’s my personal favourite. Also, it is the highest rated series of the four made, both with fans and viewing figures upon the episodes original transmission in 1980. The series also notably took a very different turn with Avon taking the lead, in a totally different way to how Blake had done formerly. Blake was a leader in the real sense of the word, dictating where the Liberator crew went and what they were going for (most of the time) but with Avon the central narrative of going after the Federation was tapered slightly and our heroes (or rather anti-heroes) find themselves dragged into perilous situations by chance and circumstance rather than by Blake’s orders. With Avon at the helm also, morality was less of an issue. Avon is seldom a moral man, and for me that makes everything a lot more interesting.

The fractured relationship of Avon and Tarrant (Steven Pacey) nicely captured here in a still from 'Deathwatch''

Interestingly also this series pays more attention to the character of Cally (played by Jan Chappell) than any other series (perhaps compensating for her woeful lack of anything worth to do in Series 2). Indeed three separate episodes are devoted to the character, from ‘Dawn of the Gods’ in which she meets a literal legend from her home planet Auron, to ‘Children of Auron’ where her home planet is destroyed and ‘Sarcophagus’ where she is possessed by an ancient being.

The wonderful Michael Sheard as Klegg in the Series Three episode 'Powerplay'

To finish off this review I’ll briefly cover each episode discussing their strengths and weaknesses, as previously mentioned in this review the first two episodes are essentially a double header focussing on Avon and his new crew (we are introduced to Dayna and Tarrant in the episodes) and the relocation of Cally and Vila following the intergalactic war. We also discover that Blake and Jenna are missing, for the time being anyway. Both introductory episodes were scripted by the programme’s creator Terry Nation and are extremely compelling are expertly directed by Blake’s 7 regular director Vere Lorrimer (producer of Series 4) and the series producer at the time David Maloney, in one of two stints of the series in the director’s chair as well as the producer’s chair (discounting the location footage he directed for the Series 1 episode ‘Deliverance’). It’s a strange thing, that in each series of Blake’s 7 the third and fourth episodes are invariably weaker episodes. Series 2 notably had the uneven ‘Weapon’ followed by the slightly dull ‘Horizon’. Series 3 has the dull ‘Volcano’ and the incomprehensible ‘Dawn of the Gods’ which despite its quirky charms and some solid performances still suffers from a lightweight script and some uninspiring direction from Desmond McCarthy (who also directed ‘Volcano’). ‘The Harvest of Kairos’ is an intriguing episode which adds layers to the character of Servalan (as played by Jacqueline Pearce) but suffers from the writer Ben Steed’s tendency to address gender politics (which dates the episode horribly). 

Colin Baker as Bayban in 'City at the Edge of the World'

The sixth episode ‘City at the Edge of the World’ an undoubted nod to the similarly titled ‘Star Trek’ episode ‘City at the Edge of Forever’ is a Blake’s 7 masterpiece and one of Script Editor Chris Boucher’s strongest submissions to the series. Featuring future Doctor Who Colin Baker as ‘Bayban the Butcher/Berserker’ the outrageous villain of the piece (and like Blake a fugitive from the Federation) and the great character actor Valentine Dyall, it is regular character Vila’s finest hour, showcasing the best qualities of the Liberator crew member as well as Michael Keating’s strongest qualities as an actor. From this point onwards the episodes are strong and consistent. ‘Children of Auron’ the seventh instalment in the series features an excellent performance from series regular Jan Chappell as both Cally and her twin sister Zelda, as well as from the actors playing Deral (Rio Fanning) and Ginka, two of Servalan’s lackies both begging for her affection (for promotional reasons of course). Ric Young is particularly gripping with his slimy and calculated portrayal of Ginka (it’s a pity the actor would soon move to Hollywood and have his face ruined by aggressive plastic surgery). ‘Rumours of Death’ is probably the finest episode of the series, again scripted by Chris Boucher and follows on from the Series 2 epic ‘Countdown’ focussing on Avon’s relationship with his lover Anna Grant, who he thinks is dead. Spoiler alert, she isn’t and she isn’t who Avon thinks she is either. It is flawless from start to finish and features excellent performances from Paul Darrow as Avon, Lorna Heilbron as Sula/Anna Grant and supporting actors John Bryans as the brutal but cowardly Shrinker and David Haig and Donald Douglas who add a touch of levity to the proceedings. The direction by Fiona Cummings (who would go on to helm several Doctor Who stories) is absolutely superb and among the best directorial efforts of the entire series. Fortunately she would direct the next episode ‘Sarcophagus’, an unusual and memorable production scripted by fantasy writer Tanith Lee and another starring role (aside from Cally) for Jan Chappell as she portrays the Alien who possesses her. Apart from some short film sequences shot at Ealing Film Studios the episode is entirely orchestrated on the Liberator standing set at BBC Television Centre and is used to great advantage. As a series regular portrays the threat there are no guest actors at all and Paul Darrow also gives a terrific performance, notably being given the opportunity to smooch Alien Cally!

Jacqueline Pearce and Ric Young as Ginka in 'Children of Auron'

‘Ultraworld’ and ‘Moloch’ by Trevor Hoyle and Ben Steed respectively are less notable episodes, although that does not mean they don’t have notable features, such as the bonding ceremony scene between Dayna and Tarrant in ‘Ultraworld’ and Deep Roy’s hilarious performance as Moloch, the fried chicken monster in ‘Moloch’. The final two episodes of the series are classics. Chris Boucher writes another gem with ‘Deathwatch’ featuring Steven Pacey playing both his regular character Del Tarrant and his brother Deeta and the direction by Doctor Who stalwart Gerald Blake is superb, particularly the crane shot utilised following Deeta’s demise by Vinni. Again the guest artists (especially Stewart Bevan and Paul Mark Elliott) are excellent. ‘Terminal’ closes the series with the return (albeit briefly) of Blake and Servalan’s most ambitious plan to foil the Liberator crew yet! Dudley Simpson’s subtle score beautifully underpins the action with its sinister heartbeat leitmotif representing the planet Terminal. ‘Terminal’ is also the first episode of Blake’s 7 directed (with real originality) by Mary Ridge, who would go on to supervise several episodes in the fourth series.

‘Blake’s 7’ remains a firm favourite science fiction series across the world, but (perhaps unsurprisingly) has a very devoted following here in its homeland (the United Kingdom). 

Michael Keating as the long suffering Vila in a still from 'Dawn of the Gods'

Like ‘Doctor Who’ it was a BBC series that inherited a very small budget. The production team quickly realised that story and characterisation was key and must be brought to the fore to compensate for the shows small effects budget. It is true that ‘Blake’s 7’ could never compete visually with the likes of another new franchise of the time ‘Star Wars’ but to me that has never mattered because it exhibited some of the finest science fiction writing of its time. To quote the great science fiction writer and commentator Kim Newman on Blake’s 7 “It was science fiction as Americans understood it, teleporting onto planets etc. But it was also a British show, i.e it was bloody miserable.” I couldn’t of put it better myself. Series 3 is the pinnacle of the show’s run in my honest opinion, and long may its appreciation continue. 

Blake's 7 Series Three photoshoot on an unknown set! 

NOTE: All production stills and photographs used in this review are copyrighted to the BBC. The next review will focus on the classic Hammer Horror picture 'X the Unknown'.