**************************************************************** * The BLAKE'S SEVEN "Liberator LogBook" Part * * "The Way Back" - "Blake" One * ** 1978 ************************************************ 1981 ** Written by Earl Green Supplied by Alex van Kaam "Blake's 7" created by Terry Nation This is a complete episode guide to the British Broadcasting Corporation's science-fiction drama series "Blake's 7," which was broadcast between 1978 and 1981 in England. The creator of "Blake's 7" is Terry Nation, the creator of the infamous Daleks on the BBC's other major SFTV property, "Doctor Who." This show has a surprisingly complex history for a relatively short program. The original star of the show, Gareth Thomas, was intrigued by the earlier scripts, but wanted a way back to his theater career by the end of the first season in 1978. His contract prevented him from doing so, forcing Blake to continue his mission in 1979, although there was no distinguishable deterioration in Thomas' portrayal of Blake. As Thomas said in a Starlog interview, "In the beginning, we were ruthless, vicious killers. I actually killed a man in the first series, I had to break his neck. After that, it got pedantic. 'Oh look, there's a convenient room on this ship full of costumes that happen to fit us!'" Paul Darrow, the man who was Avon, has proven himself to be probably the most enthusiastic supporter of the show and a consummate professional at the same time. Gareth Thomas was a victim of Darrow's acting skill as well as his sense of humor. During the filming of "Time Squad," the actors were being filmed on location in a chalk pit ("as usual for 'Blake's 7'," Thomas noted), and Darrow was delivering his lines just as the slope he was standing on began collapsing slowly, taking him out of frame, yet Darrow kept speaking. And during the filming of the third season's "Terminal," a close camera shot on Gareth Thomas meant that Darrow's presence was not required, yet he stood off camera and cued Thomas - while holding up a teddy bear! Darrow is still working in England, having appeared in a Doctor Who episode ("Timelash," 1985 - his second, the other being "The Silurians" in 1970, before "Blake's 7") among other television projects and working heavily in the theater. Among Darrow's recent stage roles was that of Elvis Presley in "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and the actor appears at "Blake's 7" and other sci-fi/fantasy-oriented conventions. Darrow has also written the story of his character's life in novel format: the hardcover book "Avon: A Terrible Aspect" covers the life of Avon from his birth to the time he joined Blake en route to Cygnus Alpha. Upon reading the book, series creator Terry Nation commented, "It ain't literature, but it is good reading." ("A Terrible Aspect" has recently been reprinted in paperback - if you go looking for it, be forewarned that the spine simply reads "Avon - Paul Darrow." And, with apologies to Paul Darrow, Terry Nation was being pretty charitable in his opinion...don't quit your day job, Paul!) Michael Keating, as Vila, proved to have the most integrity of any character in the entire show - Vila is the ONLY character to appear in all 52 episodes. Blake, of course, disappeared after the second season, and the other contender for most appearances, Avon, was missing in the first episode. Mike Keating is himself quite tall, which makes one realize how well his portrayal of Vila made him seem much smaller as a character. Keating also does the "Blake's 7" con route and was a prime contender for the role of The Doctor in 1986 when Colin Baker lost his stint on "Dr. Who." Both Keating and Darrow have said numerous times that if, in the future, a fifth season of "Blake's 7" is produced, they would return without a moment's hesitation - which is hardly surprising, since their two characters are fan favorites. Jan Chappell, Jacqueline Pearce, Stephen Grief, Brian Croucher, David Jackson and Steven Pacey still act overseas as well, the latter two being known for their singing skills in stage musicals as well (and Pacey recently surfaced again on TV in an episode of "Lovejoy," which is now seen in the States on the Arts & Entertainment Network). Jacqueline Pearce appeared in a 1985 "Dr. Who" instalment, the 22nd anniversary special "The Two Doctors." Terry Nation, the man who created "Blake's 7," lives in Los Angeles, where he works for Columbia Pictures. One of Nation's hopes, that "Blake's 7" would make a huge mark a la "Dr. Who" in America, possibly resulting in a continuation of the show with U.S. backing, was not realized yet, but Nation's other joy is conventions. In 1989, he expressed hopes to begin a touring show that would serve as a "Blake's 7" convention and a drama workshop as well: Nation would host panels dealing with aspects of script writing and story development, while Paul Darrow, Michael Keating and Gareth Thomas - all depending on professional commitments - would conduct acting classes at many levels. This prospect has thus far, sadly, failed to materialize. ********************* * Series "A": 1978 * ********************* 01 THE WAY BACK 1/2/78 written by Terry Nation directed by Michael E. Briant Roj Blake is summoned by an old friend to an illegal meeting outside of a city dome on Earth. The meeting is held by a ragtag band of citizens plotting the downfall of the Administration, the arm of the Terran Federation that governs Earth. At that meeting, Blake is told that he has been brainwashed and has been unwittingly drugged ever since five years ago, when he had been the leader of the anti-Administration group and was captured, put up to trial, and forced to confess. Federation guards arrive at the meeting and massacre everyone there except for Blake and a man called Dev Tarrant. Blake slips out and returns to the city under cover of darkness, and, upon entry, is arrested by more guards. Corrupt members of the Administration's "justice" department decide to use mental-implantation techniques to brainwash three children and put false memories in their mind. The next day, Blake meets his attorney for the first time and discovers that his charges deal not with leaving the city or attending the meeting, but with child molestation. At his trial, Blake is hopelessly defeated with no chance for appeal and is sentenced to spend the rest of his life on the Federation penal colony, Cygnus Alpha. In a holding cell, Blake meets Jenna Stannis and Vila Restal and awaits further word from his attorney. When Blake tells his attorney of the meeting and the Federation slaughter, Varon and his wife leave the city themselves to check on it. They are about to return to the city with enough evidence to topple the Administration, but as Blake's ship to Cygnus Alpha departs with him on board, defense attorney Varon, along with his wife and his evidence of the massacre Blake witnesses, are destroyed by Federation troops under special agent Dev Tarrant. Cast: Gareth Thomas (Blake), Sally Knyvette (Jenna), Michael Keating (Vila), Robert Beatty (Bran Foster), Jeremy Wilkin (Tarrant), Michael Halsey (Varon), Pippa Steel (Maja), Gillian Bailey (Ravella), Alan Butler (Richie), Magaret John (Arbiter), Peter Williams (Dr. Havant), Susan Field (Alta Morag), Rodney Figaro (Court), Nigel Lambert (Computer Operator), Garry McDermott (Guard) 02 SPACE FALL 1/9/78 written by Terry Nation directed by Pennant Roberts On the "civil administration ship" London en route to Cygnus Alpha, the prisoners are shown their small accommodations. Subcommander Raiker, the first officer, chastises Blake, propositions Jenna, and basically gives the other prisoners hell. Blake is introduced to some of the other prisoners, including the colossal giant Gan, young Nova - not very experienced, but willing to fight - and Avon, a computer hacker sentenced to Cygnus Alpha after an attempt to bleed the Federation banking cartel dry. Blake, using the others for cover, gets deep into the ship and locates the main computer. During his reconnaissance, the London is buffeted by energy waves from a nearby space battle. Blake sends Avon to sabotage the computer and to open every door on the ship so the prisoners can hijack her. After the ship is in the hands of the prisoners, things start to go wrong. Through a careless mistake on Vila's part, many of the prisoners are recaptured, and Raiker starts executing them. Blake, Jenna and Avon, in the main computer area, surrender to the crew of the London and are put in restraints. The London's sensors return to normal function after being knocked out by the energy waves and indicate a gigantic starship nearby. The London crew send three officers across to the ship to investigate, but they are all killed. Not ready to give up the prize money that would come from salvaging an alien ship, Raiker suggests sending Blake, Avon and Jenna across. They discover that the ship's self-defense mechanism is responsible for the officers' deaths and deactivate it before it kills them as well. Raiker tries to board the ship and manages to graze Blake with a laser gun, but the alien ship disengages from the London, and Raiker is swept out of the airlock into open space and dies. Blake returns to the flight deck and orders a heading for Cygnus Alpha to rescue the rest of the prisoners. Cast: Gareth Thomas (Blake), Sally Knyvette (Jenna), Paul Darrow (Avon), Michael Keating (Vila), David Jackson (Gan), Glyn Owen (Leylan), Leslie Schofield (Raiker), Norman Tipton (Artix), David Hayward (Teague), Brett Forrest (Krell), Tom Kelly (Nova), Michael MacKenzie (Dainer), Bill Weston (Garton) 03 CYGNUS ALPHA 1/16/78 written by Terry Nation directed by Vere Lorrimer On Cygnus Alpha, a religious cult under Vargas and Kara is preparing for a new batch of recruits: the incoming prisoners on the London. In the meantime, Blake, Jenna and Avon are investigating their new ship, and inadvertently activate the ship's computer, Zen. With Zen online and responding to voice commands, they make their way to Cygnus Alpha. On arrival, they decide to try the teleport system, which puts Blake down in the middle of a group of cult members. Avon figures out how to pull Blake back to the newly-christened Liberator just before Blake becomes a sacrifice. Blake later goes down, armed, and discovers that Vargas has recruited Gan and the others and that the atmosphere of the planet supposedly is toxic and works its way into the bloodstream, and that a dose of a special drug is required once a day for the rest of the victim's life to survive. Blake is captured by Vargas, and, before being tortured, is told that the drug is a placebo, and the disease is a myth - and Vargas wants to commandeer the Liberator. Blake refuses and gets a handful of supporters among the prisoners, including Gan, Vila and Arco, to revolt. Most of the cult is destroyed, along with a good deal of the prisoners. Gan and Vila manage to escape to the ship with Blake - and Vargas follows, armed with Blake's gun. Blake teleports Vargas into open space, killing him, and the Liberator, now almost fully manned, leaves Cygnus Alpha. Cast: Gareth Thomas (Blake), Sally Knyvette (Jenna), Paul Darrow (Avon), Michael Keating (Vila), David Jackson (Gan), Brian Blessed (Vargas), Glyn Owen (Leylan), Norman Tipton (Artix), Pamela Salem (Kara), Robert Russell (Laran), Peter Childs (Arco), David Ryall (Selman), Peter Tuddenham (Zen) 04 TIME SQUAD 1/23/78 written by Terry Nation directed by Pennant Roberts Blake and the crew are en route to Saurian Major, where they plan to destroy a major Federation communications station. On the way, they find a derelict space capsule, which Blake and Jenna teleport into to investigate. Avon, in the meantime, pilots the Liberator to bring the capsule into a docking bay. The capsule appears to be unmanned but actually contains a couple of alien life forms in suspended animation. Blake, Avon and Vila teleport to Saurian Major and encounter Cally, a telepathic Auron and the sole survivor of the Federation's attack on the last freedom fighters there. While Blake and company reach the communications station, Jenna and Gan are attacked by the aliens, who are thawing out. It is discovered that Gan is incapable of killing due to a limiter implant in his brain that prevents murderously violent impulses - leaving Jenna on her own to defend the ship and her huge colleague. Blake, Avon, Vila and Cally manage to set charges in the communications station and Gan, weakened by the contradictory impulses from his wish to help Jenna and his limiter implant, teleports them out just before the charges explode. Blake kills the last alien before it gets to Jenna and then invites Cally to join the crew. Cast: Gareth Thomas (Blake), Sally Knyvette (Jenna), Paul Darrow (Avon), Jan Chappell (Cally), Michael Keating (Vila), David Jackson (Gan), Peter Tuddenham (Zen), Tony Smart (Alien), Mark McBride (Alien), Frank Henson (Alien) @~To be continued next issue - o -