Blake’s 7 was British science fiction at its very best and arguably every bit as great an influence on the genre as the original Star Trek series.

In the 1970s Terry Nation (creator of Survivors and other successful genre shows, as well as the Doctor’s arch nemesis the Daleks), presented to the world a vision of the future, a future where the galaxy is ruled by the iron fist of a galactic federation, in which freedom and justice are things of the past.

Into this vision he cast a small band of outlaws, who find themselves in control of the most powerful space vessel in the known galaxy, the Liberator.

Led by the enigmatic Roj Blake, this group of rebels would strike at the very heart of the Federation, and change the face of science fiction television forever.

During it’s four seasons Blake’s 7 was more successful than it’s only significant competitors of the time, Doctor Who and Star Trek, with up to 10 million people tuning in every Monday night.

The fourth and final series finished in a dramatic and shocking finale with all but one of our heroes apparently dead and many questions unresolved to this day. This was a fitting end for a series that favoured complex characters over special effects, gritty reality over sleek fantasy, and mature truth over dreamy fiction.

The show certainly heralded the beginning of a new creed of science fiction on our screens. Unfortunately for television it also represented the last British drama of its kind and we all but surrendered the genre to American producers and studios.

Thirty years on, television is still mapping the paths first explored by Terry Nation’s creation.
At a time when science fiction shows often discard good storytelling for overblown visual effects – and following the lead of Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica and Heroes – the time is ripe for a revival of a show that represents the best traditions of the genre and one of the UK’s most successful dramas of all time.

Welcome to a Rebellion Reborn!