Blake's 7 was not brilliant because it defied convention. It was brilliant because it ignored convention and just tried to be the best. Never mind that science fiction television was either self-consciously avant-garde, or special-effects mainstream, or avowedly political. Terry Nation just wrote the best stories he could come up with, and the actors followed him. If that meant that someone had to die unexpectedly, it meant that. If it meant that you had to be intelligent, so be it, the audience was assumed to be intelligent. If it meant that imagination had to be used in place of some special effects, the audience was assumed up to it. But more than that, it meant that whatever happened, whether clichéd or radical, had to happen because that was the best way. And the actors -- not the special effects -- brought this vision alive in every episode.There is a moment in the first series that I think sums up why Blake's 7 is unlike any other science-fiction show, and deserves to be rated, at its best, with any drama television ever made. Among a collection of 20th century artifacts played by a broken man to help him think is Kathleen Ferrier's "Blow the Wind Southerly". Who could not be touched who knew Kathleen Ferrier, and all this meant? But even those who didn't could hardly fail to be moved, if even a little.Blake's 7 really sums up what the BBC was -- peerless, fearless, and the best -- but it also, in an odd way, says a lot about England. The series is only occasionally optimistic, it positively rejects heroism, but -- it rings of truth, or reality. And that's something that's quite rare in television, let alone most science-fiction television.

it just is do i have to give give a reason I'm not the biggest star trek fan i don't like the tech no babble that poisons the series and this is what i grew up with along with doctor who and Sapphire and steel, both firefly and far scape share heritage with Blake's seven i think this series deserves to be remade(christopher eccleston would have been excellent in it more so than doctor who) but only if its done well it could be an intelligent counterpart to the new doctor who if we could get a proper writer(not Russel T Davies) overall an awesome show (wich is about all that needs to said) just watch and see i highly recommend it

I love this series. It comes a close 2nd to Doctor Who for me. The characters are excellent and the writing was always superb, so in many ways it is easy to ignore the cheap sets and effects. Paul Darrow as Avon was definitely the best character and Jacqueline Pearce played villain Servalan amazingly. Vila is also a great character, his cowardice always provided a good joke and arguably is the character that adds the most humour to the series. I have great admiration for all the seasons but I have to say I probably admire Season's 3 and 4 the most, probably because I admire the character of Avon so much and Del Tarrant as played by Steven Pacey is very good indeed. Cally, Soolin and Dayna are also strong characters and Gan in Season 1 and Season 2 was a useful presence. David Jackson always played the part wonderfully, even if the character was underused. Hats should also go off to Gareth Thomas and Sally Knyvette as Blake and Jenna and both Stephen Grief and Brian Croucher who were excellent as Space Commander Travis. The ultimate classic is probably the Season 3 episode 'City at the Edge of the World' with Sixth Doctor Colin Baker giving a wonderful performance as 'Bayban the Butcher'. 'Terminal' an episode at the end of Season 3 had a wonderful climax, and the climax of Season 4 where all the main characters are killed off on screen (apart from Avon) is just phenomenal. No programme has ever come close to having such a good ending.The location work throughout the series was very good indeed, as many of them had an unworldly feel which is what the producer's needed to achieve for the programme. Considering the budget it is amazing that the locations look as atmospheric and convincing as they do in the series, so respect should be given to the designers who did a wonderful job on such a small budget. The scenes shot at TV Film Studios, Ealing, were always superb as well, and much more spacious than the BBC TV Centre material. In fairness, the special effects in the series are not too bad either, considering the effects budget was actually £50 an episode!! Mat Irvine in particular did a wonderful job on the series. David Maloney the producer of the first 3 seasons, also made the excellent decision of allowing major Doctor Who contributor Dudley Simpson do the music for the series. The work Simpson did for the series is just excellent, most notably his score for 'Mission to Destiny' and 'Weapon' and the memorable themes he wrote for the show, such as the main title theme and the theme which represents the Federation and all their evil doings. Despite the cheap sets and effects, the writing for the series which was almost always top notch, has to be mentioned. Like Doctor Who the story lines are involving, thought provoking and well constructed, something which many other big science fiction series lack. An incredible series, arguably one of the finest science fiction series ever made.

The television of my childhood. Very camp, very entertaining, virtually no budget at all, and yet the best episodes were extremely involving.The take Blake's 7 took on the Star Trek theme, was to put Robin Hood in outer space. The theme is reasonably simple. A cast of seven outlaws, led by Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas), are on the run from "The Federation", an intergalactic superstate that wants to control all it's citizens. The crew consists of the brooding leader Blake, hot chicks (for the seventies) Cally and the blond Jenna, the cold and machiavellian Avon and the Little John like giant Gan and his wimpy buddy Vila. The seventh member of the crew is the ever present square box computer (a novelty at the time) Zen (later: Orac, as in Oracle).Bad guys are the killer lady Servalan, and her slaveboy Travis (complete with eye patch).This was pretty much compulsive viewing for me when it came out in 1978. Even then, the cheapness of some sets was apparent, but at the best of times, the themes they could come up with were eerie and suspenseful. I loved it anyway. But then, 1978 was a different time, and seems like a world away.