59 Fun Facts About Blake's 7

Who created Blake's 7?

Terry Nation created Blake's 7 and wrote all thirteen episodes of its first series himself, reportedly running short of ideas before the run was finished.

How many episodes of Blake's 7 were made in total?

Blake's 7 ran to 52 episodes: four series of thirteen, the fourth ordered unexpectedly after the BBC had planned to stop at three.

Which actor played Roj Blake?

Gareth Thomas played Blake for the first two series, returning as a guest for the finale, in which he asked that Blake be killed unambiguously.

Blake's 7 was pitched to the BBC as which war film 'in space'?

The show was sold to the BBC as 'The Dirty Dozen in space': a band of convicts and outlaws waging a guerrilla war on the Federation.

What is the alien spacecraft that Blake, Jenna and Avon commandeer in the second episode?

Liberator is the name Zen, the ship's computer, drew from Jenna's thoughts after the abandoned alien vessel scanned her mind.

Blake is arrested, brainwashed and sentenced to deportation to which prison planet?

Blake was sentenced to the prison planet Cygnus Alpha, which gives the third episode its title; there a religious cult led by Vargas rules the convicts.

Kerr Avon once tried to steal how much from the Federation banking system?

Avon, a top Federation computer expert, was convicted and shipped out with Blake after trying to steal 5 million credits from the Federation banking system.

Which crew member is the only character to appear in every single episode of Blake's 7?

Michael Keating's cowardly thief and lock-picker outlasted every other regular, human or computer.

Who played Kerr Avon?

Paul Darrow played Avon for all four series and relished the Western-style one-liners that script editor Chris Boucher wrote into the part.

Cally, the crew's telepath, comes from which planet?

Cally is a telepath from the planet Auron; Blake meets her in 'Time Squad' while attacking a Federation communications base on Saurian Major.

Olag Gan has been fitted with an electronic 'limiter' implant that prevents him from doing what?

Gan's limiter implant makes killing impossible for him; the Federation fitted it after he killed the security guard who had murdered his woman.

Which regular character was killed off in series two, to prove the crew were not invincible?

Gan is crushed by falling rubble in 'Pressure Point' after Travis throws a grenade during the raid on the empty control centre; the writers wanted to show the crew could die.

Who played Servalan, the Supreme Commander who becomes Federation President?

Jacqueline Pearce played Servalan across all four series, having earlier starred in the 1966 Hammer horrors The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile.

After she is deposed as President, Servalan hides under which alias?

As Commissioner Sleer, Servalan rebuilds her power from series four onward, running a pacification programme to win planets back for the Federation and murdering anyone who recognises her.

Space Commander Travis lost his left eye and left arm to Blake; what does his prosthetic arm conceal?

Travis's artificial left arm conceals a weapon, the lazeron destroyer, which he fires from his gloved hand.

Who played Travis in the first series before Brian Croucher took over the role?

Stephen Greif played Travis throughout series one; Brian Croucher took over for series two, in which Travis is court-martialled for massacring civilians.

Orac, the supercomputer captured at the end of series one, can talk to any computer containing which component?

Orac can communicate with any computer built around a Tariel cell, a component used throughout the Federation, which lets it read and override their data.

Who built Orac?

Ensor, a reclusive genius on the planet Aristo, built Orac; he dies in the episode 'Orac' when the power cells of his artificial heart run out.

Which actor voiced Zen, Orac (from series two) and later Slave?

Peter Tuddenham voiced Zen from the start and Slave in series four, and took over Orac from series two after Derek Farr voiced it in its debut episode.

Slave, the computer aboard Scorpio, has what sort of personality?

Slave is cringing and obsequious, forever apologising and calling the crew 'Master'; its grovelling manner is the opposite of Orac's arrogance.

Dayna Mellanby wants revenge on Servalan for what?

Dayna Mellanby swore revenge on Servalan for murdering her father, Hal Mellanby, in the series three opener 'Aftermath'.

Del Tarrant, who joins in series three, trained as what with the Federation before turning to crime?

Tarrant trained as a pilot with the Federation and rose to space captain before deserting to become a mercenary and smuggler; he flies the ship from series three onward.

Soolin, who joins in series four, is unmatched at what?

Soolin is a professional gunfighter unmatched at drawing a gun quickly; her lightning draw makes her the deadliest shot among the series four crew.

Before being cast as Soolin, Glynis Barber had appeared in Blake's 7 series one playing what?

Glynis Barber played a Mutoid, one of Travis's blood-dependent crew, in the 1978 episode 'Project Avalon', three years before returning as Soolin.

Blake finds Earth's control facility empty, so what is the Federation's real computer control called?

Star One is the Federation's real computer control centre, relocated in secret far from Earth; the room Blake fought his way into in 'Pressure Point' had long been empty.

In the series two finale, invaders infiltrate Star One from which galaxy?

The invaders come from the Andromeda galaxy; Jenna broadcasts a warning and the Federation fleet arrives to fight the Andromedan armada in the intergalactic war.

Avon's former lover Anna Grant turns out to have been a Federation agent operating under what name?

In 'Rumours of Death', Anna Grant is revealed as Bartolemew, Central Security's top agent; she draws a gun on Avon as he turns away and he shoots her dead.

How is the crew's ship finally destroyed at the end of series three?

The ship is doomed when, on Avon's orders, it flies through a cloud of corrosive fluid particles that eat into its hull; it disintegrates as Servalan tries to fly it away.

In the series three finale the crew are marooned by Servalan on an artificial planet named what?

Terminal is an artificial planet built as a vast experiment; Servalan lures the crew there with a faked Blake, strands them and seizes their ship.

Who is killed by Servalan's booby traps at the very start of series four?

Cally dies when Servalan's booby-trapped underground base explodes in the series four opener 'Rescue'; Jan Chappell had chosen not to return.

Who owned the ship Scorpio before the crew commandeered it in series four?

Dorian, a salvage operator, owned Scorpio and rescued the stranded crew only to offer them to the life-draining creature in his cellar; he aged and died when it was killed.

In series four the crew operate from a base on which planet?

From series four the crew operate from an underground base on the planet Xenon; it is wrecked in 'Warlord' when Zukan betrays them and sets off explosives.

In series four, Servalan under her new alias pacifies planets with which drug?

Pylene-50 is the pacification drug, developed by the scientist Forbus, that Servalan's programme uses to render whole populations docile; the crew steal its antitoxin formula in 'Traitor'.

In the final episode, why does Avon shoot Blake?

Avon shoots Blake because he suspects him of betraying the group: Blake had posed as a bounty hunter to test recruits, Tarrant cries 'he sold us', and Blake's reply seems to confirm it.

In the last scene of the series, surrounded by Federation guards, what does Avon do?

Surrounded by troopers, Avon steps over Blake's body, raises his gun and smiles; the picture freezes and only gunshots are heard, leaving his fate ambiguous.

On what date was the final episode, 'Blake', first broadcast?

'Blake' went out on BBC1 on 21 December 1981, almost exactly four years after the first episode, 'The Way Back', on 2 January 1978.

Who composed the Blake's 7 theme music?

Dudley Simpson composed the theme and scored all but two episodes; one exception, 'Gambit', was scored by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Why does the series one episode 'Duel' use library music rather than the show's regular scoring?

A director's grudge against the composer explains it: Douglas Camfield had refused to work with the show's composer since their Doctor Who days, so 'Duel' was tracked with library music.

Which caves stood in for an alien mine in Blake's 7?

Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset doubled for the alien mine; the show's budget was so tight that alien planets were often Betchworth Quarry in Surrey.

Which children's programme showed viewers how to make a Blake's 7 teleport bracelet from household objects in 1978?

Blue Peter presenter Lesley Judd showed viewers in 1978 how to build the crew's teleport bracelet from household bits, a make remembered for decades.

Which actor played Olag Gan?

David Jackson played Olag Gan, the strongman of Blake's original crew, whom the Federation fitted with a limiter implant.

How far in the future did publicity material say Blake's 7 was set?

Publicity placed Blake's 7 at least 700 years in the future, in the 'third century of the second calendar', a dating never spelled out on screen.

Which novel did critic Robert Hanks invoke when contrasting Blake's 7 with Star Trek?

Robert Hanks contrasted Star Trek's optimism with Blake's 7's bleak Federation, invoking Nineteen Eighty-Four's vision of the future as a boot stamping on a human face.

The final episode was inspired by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and which other 1969 Western?

Chris Boucher modelled the finale's doomed last stand on The Wild Bunch and the freeze-frame ending of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

In the 1998 BBC Radio 4 revival The Sevenfold Crown, which two roles were recast?

Dayna and Soolin were recast, voiced by Angela Bruce and Paula Wilcox; former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts wrote the play.

In B7 Productions' 2006 audio adventures, which actor played Avon?

Colin Salmon voiced Avon in B7 Productions' audio adventures, alongside Derek Riddell as Blake, in 36 five-minute episodes later compiled into three feature-length releases.

Which UK broadcaster commissioned two scripts for a Blake's 7 revival in 2008, then dropped it in 2010?

Sky1 commissioned two scripts for a revival in 2008 but shelved the project in 2010; a Syfy remake announced in 2012 also never materialised.

The 2004 comedy short 'Blake's Junction 7' depicted the crew taking a break where?

Blake's Junction 7 stranded the crew at a motorway service area, Newport Pagnell, with Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook in the cast.

The actor who played Avon shared a flat at RADA with Ian McShane and which other future star?

Avon's actor shared a flat with John Hurt and Ian McShane while all three were students at RADA, before any of them had found fame.

The actor who played Blake was close friends with which Doctor Who star and hoped for a crossover?

Tom Baker was a close friend of Blake's actor and championed a Doctor Who and Blake's 7 crossover, which the BBC never pursued.

In which series two episode do the crew meet the System, builders of their ship?

'Redemption' opens series two with the crew captured by the System, the computer-ruled civilisation that built their ship and wants it back.

Which actor played the cowardly but high-IQ thief Vila Restal?

Michael Keating played Vila Restal, the lock-picking thief whose cowardice hides a very high IQ, for all four series.

Who played the smuggler-turned-pilot Jenna Stannis in the first two series?

Sally Knyvette played Jenna for the first two series, then left at the same time as Blake's actor, so the show carried on without its title character.

What is the name of the Federation prison ship on which Blake first meets Avon and Gan?

The London was carrying Blake and the other convicts into exile when its commander sent Blake, Avon and Jenna to board a drifting alien ship, which became their own.

Which BBC One controller ordered the surprise on-air announcement of a fourth series in 1980?

Bill Cotton, then Controller of BBC1, enjoyed the series three finale so much that he had a fourth series announced over its closing credits, surprising even the production team.

Who took over as producer for the fourth series when David Maloney was unavailable?

Vere Lorrimer, who had directed many earlier episodes, produced the fourth series, introducing the ship Scorpio, its computer Slave and the new crew member Soolin.

To which agricultural planet does Orac trace Blake in the final episode?

Orac traces Blake to Gauda Prime, a frontier farming world where he has been posing as a bounty hunter; the misunderstanding on arrival ends the series in a bloodbath.

Which novelist wrote the first Blake's 7 book, adapting the opening episodes?

Trevor Hoyle's novelisation of the first four episodes was retitled Blake's 7 – Their First Adventure in the US; Hoyle went on to write two more.

Which publisher launched a monthly Blake's 7 magazine with a comic strip in October 1981?

Marvel UK launched Blake's 7 Monthly in October 1981, as the final series aired; its comic strip was drawn by Ian Kennedy alongside text stories and features.