by Paul Mount
Although it only ran for 52 episodes across four seasons from 1978 to 1981, Terry Nation’s BBC space opera Blake’s 7 has developed a ferociously loyal and determined following since its demise, following the lead, perhaps, of its titular character Roj Blake (played by sturdy Gareth Thomas). Blake is an idealistic and determined freedom fighter battling with his ragtag bag of rebel chums aboard a super-powered stray alien spaceship to overthrow the power of an oppressive and totalitarian regime known as the Federation far in the future. Fans have constantly been able to overlook the show’s shonky sets and generally low production values and focussed instead on the core strengths displayed by its fascinatingly-flawed roll call of dedicated, passionate antiheroes. The antipathy between the square-jawed Blake and the icily logical, cynical and possibly entirely untrustworthy Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow) powered the show’s earliest episodes with able support provided by the show’s cowardly ‘comic relief’ Vila (Michael Keating), its handy muscle Gan (David Jackson), glamourous and reliable pilot Jenna (Sally Knyvette), the elfin alien telepath Cally (Jan Chappell) and the Liberator spaceship’s AI Zen (Peter Tuddenham) rounding out the ‘7’ visualised by Terry Nation for his take on ‘The Dirty Dozen in Space’. The legend of Blake himself even outlived the series, with the character leaving after two seasons (although he would return for two memorable cameos, one of which spectacularly finished off the series at the end of its fourth year). The strengths of the show’s format and its character have possibly never been more evident than in this handsomely-presented, briskly readable new limited edition boxset (just 1500 copies, so you’ll need to move at Standard by Six to nab a set!) that grippingly retells the raw and gritty early days of this classic British sci-fi saga.
The first season of Blake’s 7 (and the first episode of Season 2) arrives as seven brand new novelisations by writers Paul Cornell, Steve Cole, Jacqueline Rayner, Marc Platt, Gary Russell, Una McCormack, and James Goss, who have had access to original script drafts written by Nation. This has allowed them to flesh out the stories and the characters with excised material as well as embellish the stories with their own literary invention. The result is a collection of ripping space yarns packed with interstellar action and imaginative storylines featuring well-rounded, believable characters who elevate the whole series above the hokiness of Nation’s original concept. Paul Cornell kicks off the run with his adaptations of The Way Back, the very first episode and Spacefall, which sees Blake en route to the bleak prison planet Cygnus Alpha. Cornell is clearly fascinated by the themes of the first episode, and his expansions on life in the bland, domed London of the future create a truly grim dystopian setting in which Blake, a rebel whose memory has previously been erased, finds himself convicted of charges of paedophilia (strong stuff for a 1970s British sci-fi show). Cornell dwells on the trial and its aftermath, but he seems less invested in the sci-fi shenanigans the show embraced all too quickly, and his adaptation of Spacefall and its discovery of the Liberator are a bit more perfunctory. Marc Platt adds some depth to the pseudo-religious tomfoolery of Cygnus Alpha, and Time Squad works far better in prose – memories of awkward stagey studio fight sequence still linger – and he adds much colour to the arrival of Cally, the last member of the team to join Blake’s motley crew. The books all take the opportunity to give us access to the thoughts and feelings of the main protagonists from Vila, determined to leave Blake at one point until he realises he’s better off where he is, the tortured gentle giant Gan, outsider Cally and the reliable pilot Jenna who steps up to the plate and quickly learns how to operate the Liberator. Then there’s Servalan, the show’s legendary regular villain, formidable and ruthless and here, thanks to Gary Russell in Seek-Locate-Destroy given a backstory that gives her a humanity she rarely displayed on screen, which helps to make her an even more terrifying and deadly opponent for Blake and co.
The final novel ties up the cliffhanger ending to Season One with Season Two opener Redemption deftly novelised alongside Series One finale Orac by James Goss, which sets the series off on a new path as Nation loosened his grip on the show and allowed others, including script editor Chris Boucher, to take the show into rather more mature directions. Origins is a formidable and impressive achievement; even long-time fans of the exploits of Roj Blake and his followers will find these nuanced retellings of his earliest adventures compelling and even surprising. Now let’s have the rest of Season Two and Seasons Three and Four, please…
Blake’s 7 Origins is available now from Big Finish.
