Blake's 7 - Series 1 on DVD (1978)

247365 from Herts , 24/03/2004

OK So Blakes 7 suffers from the malaise of British Sci Fi (Wobbly sets) and rather dire 70s fashion, but it also has a cast, story and scope that is far cooler than almost anything in the Star Trek universe and probably only has Firefly as direct competition.

A Captain whose desire to lead the universe to Freedom from the corrupt and amoral Federation often leaves him on the wrong side of sanity but whose charisma drags the rest of the crew along.

The rest of the crew consist of what in most sci-fi would be the villains but here form the only real opposition to those in power and the interaction between them is at least as dangerous as their conflict with the Federation.

If you never saw it or watched it on the digital channels here is your chance, don’t treat it as Shakespeare just go along for the ride.

  6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

Read all reviews

Simon Cockle from Hitchin, Hertfordshire , 04/11/2004

If Dr. Who sets looked like they were made on Blue Peter out of sticky-backed plastic and toilet rolls, then Blake's 7 was contrived by proper carpenters, and appeared on Tommorrow's World in a feature on what life would be like in 1996.

Where Dr. Who blew bubblegum bubbles, Blake's 7 took a drag on a Capstan Full Strength - this was Sci-Fi T.V. for adults; men lusted after women, aliens killed for fun, women in long white dresses destroyed whole civilisations just to make a point.

Our hero, Roj Blake, was a terrorist. His alter-ego, Avon, seemed perpetually on the brink of betrayal. The remainder of the seven were con artists, murderers and telepathic extra-terrestrials.

An altogether more satisfying experience, on the whole, than Dr. Who, even if the crew of the Liberator couldn't decide which lever operated the teleport system (they tried all of them throughout Series 1).

A word of warning. Don't watch 'Cruise of the Gods' before this, or you will feel deeply ashamed of your trainspotting affection for cult sci-fi television.

  5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Read all reviews

John Fairhurst from Edgeley, Stockport , 08/01/2005

As well as Doctor Who, in the late seventies the BBC had another go at creating a high quality Science Fiction series and this was their answer. Roj Blake had been a resistance leader before being caught and mind wiped but now rebellion was brewing once again and Blake is still remembered by old friends and opponents. When a resistance cell was executed and Blake taken prisoner again it was decided to fake up charges against him that would destroy his credibility. Hoping against hope for a reprieve, Blake finds himself aboard a transport to Cygnus Alpha, the Federation's feared prison planet. After a failed mutiny Blake, Jenna and Avon find themselves confined to quarters then tasked to board an alien derelict spaceship that had already killed three members of the crew. After successfully taking control of it, Blake and his crew follow the prison ship to its destination where Blake attempts to rescue enough prisoners to crew his new ship. Avon and Jenna discuss the viability of leaving Blake to rot, especially after Jenna finds the treasury! This series is over 25 years old and the model work holds up well even now. Unfortunately the federation stormtroopers' blast rifles are as laughable as when I saw them originally... I find I am far more sympathetic towards Avon's dislike of sentient computers as well :-). Brian Blessed deserves a, uh, honourable mention as the megalomaniac ruler of Cygnus Alpha, proving that the rot had set in well before 'Flash Gordon'. All in all this stands up quite well to the test of time though there is a dearth of regional accents, particularly in Gan's case.

  5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Read all reviews

Liz03 from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 27/02/2008

I didn't make it past the first 10 minutes, so perhaps my review is not very 'well informed'. I got bored - and the visual effects were soooooooo bad I couldn't get past it.

  5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Read all reviews

A customer from Scotland , 02/11/2005

Getting this series out was just a nostalgia trip to see if it looked and felt the same as when I first enjoyed the series as a child. Unfortunately, it fails to live up to my memories. The creaky cheap sets frequently reused in different episodes, the dull dialogue and unconvincing special effects all show it up for what it is. A cheap sci-fi filler flung out by the BBC in the frenzy after the Star Wars films. Despite Avon not being as cool as I remember him and Villa being a bigger coward, I still managed to enjoy this DVD. It fills an hour or two without too much brainwork and the odd clever twist in the story keeps it interesting enough not to just stick it back in the envelope.

I will carry on with my trip in time back to my childhood and when nobody's watching I'll talk into my watch and pretend that the Sat-Nav talking is really Zen with attitude. Roll on series 2.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Read all highest rated reviews

247365 from Herts , 24/03/2004

OK So Blakes 7 suffers from the malaise of British Sci Fi (Wobbly sets) and rather dire 70s fashion, but it also has a cast, story and scope that is far cooler than almost anything in the Star Trek universe and probably only has Firefly as direct competition.

A Captain whose desire to lead the universe to Freedom from the corrupt and amoral Federation often leaves him on the wrong side of sanity but whose charisma drags the rest of the crew along.

The rest of the crew consist of what in most sci-fi would be the villains but here form the only real opposition to those in power and the interaction between them is at least as dangerous as their conflict with the Federation.

If you never saw it or watched it on the digital channels here is your chance, don’t treat it as Shakespeare just go along for the ride.

  6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

Read all highest rated reviews