By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The two most popular science fiction franchises in the world, Star Trek and Star Wars, attack the genre of opposite directions; The first plans a utopian future, while the second is more a fantasy, but the two include clear distinctions between good and evil. A third path appeared thanks to the influential British series, Blake’s 7What made the criminals of heroes and rough on the edges, showing a universe of science fiction in which the line between good and evil is blurred. By focusing on multi-episodes and a dark and grainy tone in its world, the BBC series has also laid the basics of subsequent shows as Babylon 5,, Firefly,, Stuffingand the Battlestar Galactica remake.
No good, no bad guys
The Blake of Blake’s 7 is Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas), head of the rebellion against the federation, washed, washed the brain, washed, then supervised for crimes which he did not commit and sent to a prison planet. A leader born, Blake helps the other prisoners to escape by commanding Liberator, a mysterious ship led by an advanced AI computer named Zen. The thing Is, although Blake is the default captain, he has his hands full by keeping his lift compatriots online while they are trying to dismantle the federation.
Along with Blake are Avon, the computer genius who lives by a code of logic and reason, which looks like Spock, except that he is also greedy and willing to sacrifice his companions on board to save his own skin, his Vila, the loose thief with an affection for alcohol, Jenna Stannis, a smuggler and a skill pilot, it is the closest thing to a loyal plane-team. episodes. The other half includes Caly, a telepath with a death wish, Olaag the giant bruiser with a device located in his brain to keep it calm and docile, and Zen, the sensitive computer. The crew Blake’s 7 would never be confused for the officers of the company, nor even the rebellious alliance, but they are undoubtedly a precursor of the crew of the moya in FARSCAPE.
Set the foundations for a new path to follow
Blake’s 7 Follows the usual format of British television, with four shortened seasons of 13 episodes each, but in an unusual turn for science fiction, the first season was written by the creator of the program, Terry Nation, a feat that would not be overcome before J. Michael Straczynski wrote Babylon 5. The first two seasons are played as the precursor of another modern classic, Battlestar GalacticaWith the federation constantly in the heels of the Liberator and the crew of Ragtag dealing with an enemy who has them in numerical and outdated. This is why even if the British series made its debut in 1978 with a budget which would today be considered nonexistent, it is always a favorite of beloved fans hailed as decades in advance on its time.
Look at 30 seconds from the show and you can say that she had no budget, but she had a strong sense of her characters, emphasizing the spectacular special effects, but how the seven abrasive personalities rebound in different combinations to the point where it seems that all the few episodes, someone threatens Liberator for good. Terry Nation has written a space opera on horrible people who are imbued with the same cynicism and the anti -government attitude that turned in England in the 1970s, and yet he manages to keep a feeling of pleasure throughout. Regardless of the decade, he was released, Blake’s 7 would be hailed to be a new creative and daring version science fiction.
The most impressive part of the show is how he manages to bring everything together for one of the most breathtaking finals of any series. In a world with shows that end on cliffhangers and others that are set up to launch spin-offs or renewals, it is refreshing that Blake’s 7 ends the story. If you are bored with the Federation of Star Trek and you have seen too many Star Wars characters who are what the worst of the galaxy turns out to be teddy bear, then it’s worth your time to shoot Britbox (available alone or as part of Amazon Prime Video), and enjoy a science fiction series that broke the mold and turned out to fans of science fiction, there is more than one way to explore a gang far, far away.
