Daa-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaa!

I watched a great programme the other night on BBC4 called The Cult of … Blake’s 7. It’s part of the Science Fiction Britannia season they’ve been doing, and each week The Cult of …looks at a different programme. I’ve seen a couple of the others, but this one was definitely my cup of tea.

I do remember watching Blake’s 7as a child, but only very vaguely. What I do remember of it I liked and I did enjoy watching some repeats of the first series (which I’d not seen before) a few years ago. But it was the final series which I had clearest memories of, with Avon and Servilan and all the fantastic stories which the series told. [thinking about it, I must remember earlier series because I remember Orac ...] I don’t think I was aware at the time I was originally watching these that there had ever been a Blake for the show to be named after, so I never wondered what happened to him at the time. However the Cult of … programme cleared up who everyone was and how they got killed off and featured some great talking heads with all the key players – Gareth Thomas (Blake), Paul Darrow (Avon), Jacqueline Pearce(Servilan) and a scriptwriter and director whose names I forget. They all looked fabulous, especially Jacqueline Pearce, considering it was 25 years since the show was on. So what did I learn from the programme? Well that Blake and Avon had first names (that weren’t Blake and Avon!), the Liberator got blown up - so they had a new ship, Servilan hadn’t always been in it and wasn’t the big boss of the Federation as I’d always thought. It’s amazing how your memory, especially of stuff as a child, can make things seem so different to how they were.

Since watching the programme I’ve been having a dig around on t’internet to see what I could find out about Blake’s 7. I’ve discovered there are DVDs of all the series, but they’re a bit pricey for something I’d just like to see. I’ll have to see if I can borrow them instead. I was pointed towards a great clip on YouTube by a fellow poster on Outpost Gallifrey, which is very well put together and really made me laugh! Oh, and the most interesting (to me) piece of information I found is that Paul Darrow and I share a birthday. If ever I get to meet him I have a great talking point!