Finally, Blake's 7

It was more than 2 years ago that the readership voted that I should review Blake's 7 in these pages, replacing Buck Rogers on the weekly roster. The unrelenting broadcast of new Star Trek episodes these past couple years meant I never had an open slot to work with, which explains the delay. With the various Hollywood strikes of 2023, we've finally seeing things clear up a bit - at least until Spring - so Blake's 7 is back on! At 52 episodes, it's a year of weekly review posts, starting this Wednesday!

Now, I've never seen so much as a frame of it, so it's all new to me. The reviews are consequently written from the point of view of someone coming to each episode fresh, with no idea how things will pay off. So commentators are invited to not spoil it for me, though I expect some will, perhaps not having read this introduction. Here's how these articles will go...

IN THIS ONE... As this series is a serial, it's important to give readers points of reference to help them situate each episode.

REVIEW: The meat of the article, discussing plot, character and production, as usual.

NOT MY FEDERATION: On the surface, Blake's 7 feels like a remix of three other franchises. Its fascist "Federation" is completely at odds with the Federation from Star Trek, but when there's a connection, I'll bring ut up here.

BUT MIGHT BE MY EMPIRE: Star Wars was a massive hit in 1977, and Blake's 7 launches in 1978, so it's hard not to compare the world of the Federation to George Lucas' Empire.

WHO?: But ultimately, the show shares so much of its DNA with Doctor Who, especially behind the scenes, that I'll want to draw up some connections, whether they be cast, crew, locations or props.

REWATCHABILITY:  The final score, from Low to High, and a brief evaluation. You're used to it by now. Rewatchability is a value based on both quality and canonical importance.

It's kind of exciting watching a seminal science-fiction show that I know almost nothing about! Hope you'll join me.