Blake's 7: Series 1

Classic stuff from Terry Nation and in my opinion the best of the four series made. Over-acting, 70's over-the-top outfits and Avon's wonderful sarcasm. Brilliant stuff.

Roll-on Sky Ones revival as two hour-long specials!

Often derided for its apparent cheapness, Blake's 7 was, in fact, a sci-fi masterpiece and years ahead of its time in terms of story-arcing and big season-finales. Had its detractors looked beyond its shortcomings, they'd have seen a series stocked with solid, thought-provoking storylines; well-defined, many-faceted characters and powerful, intuitive central performances. Series one sets the scene, introduces the characters and then pits them against all manner of weird and wonderful alien terrors. And behind it all, the ever-present threat of the Federation. Cleaned up and remastered, Blake's 7 has never looked so good. And the Liberator is still one of the coolest TV spaceships you'll ever see!

For me, the best sci-fi series of all time. Ignore the criticism of the sets and locations, i personally always loved the inside of the liberator, its all about the dialogue and excellent characterizations of the crew members. Avon and Blakes 'push / pull' friendship/rivalry is so watchable, as much as either would hate to admit it not only do they need eachother to survive but they admire eachother. And lets face it - who wouldnt want to be stuck on a ship with Jenna and Cally?! Villa is the coward thief who is obviously miles more intelligent then he pretends to be for his own safety, and Gan, the big hearted gentle man with the strength of an ox. The great thing about Blakes 7 was it was never afriad to kill off its lead characters, or ending an episode on a downbeat note. Series 1,2&3 are genius, as far as im concerned series 4 doesnt exist as its like watching totally different show, though the final episode 'Blake' does redeem itself slightly.

I made the mistake a while back buying the Space 1999 boxset and, whilst watching it, coming to the realisation how you remember a tv show isn't always how it actually is. i.e Rubbish. However, I always remember Blakes 7 with fondness so decided to take the plunge and buy the first series boxset.

Trust me when I tell you that this is a first class release. All the episodes have be cleaned up by the same people who worked on the Doctor-Who restorations and it looks great. At the end of the final disk I just had to order the next boxset. Great stuff that has stood the test of time. They don't make stuff like this anymore.

One gripe though is that the special effects are typical BBC 70's low budget tripe.

Get it.

Blake and his crew get together and begin their battle against the Federation in the first season of this storytelling classic. This first season starts off in Terry Nation's hands as 'Robin Hood/The Dirty Dozen in Space'. In later seasons, in Chris Boucher's hands it would becomes less black and white and more about the thin line between freedom fighting and terrorism. You need to make allowances for when this was made, but if you do, you will be rewarded by entertaining storytelling and great characterisation. See it now, before the recently announced remake arrives!