Blakes 7 - Orac 1 of 7

[inzen1909]

why can they not make this today,if you look at blakes juntion 7 but put actors in the same theme as 1978 bbc type,and modern special affect and cheep the bbc would like that,it would out do even star trek star wars and Dr who,if they dont no how to do it just contact me

[aussieguy6908]

Terry Nation created and wrote the Dalek's for Dr Who.

[penninefilms]

People say Doctor Who had wobble sets and sill costumes so douse Black 7 by the look of it.

[random007nadir]

@penninefilms Both used each other's props and sets. Budget of candy bar, creativity and a serious commitment to intelligent sci-fi/speculative-fiction that looks better these days than the $1 million per episode Star Trek TNG series - FX always dates while good writing is forever.

[penninefilms]

@random007nadir I agree about the writing that was good and a lot better than some of theses Hollywood films come up with.

[Cassavius]

The opening music still gives me the chills XB

[74stigma]

1978-1981 blake seven was on air

[TheAlphaMale316]

Wobbly picture an all, I still enjoyed that. lol.

[jlmww]

@OFFENDOR

vertical = good Federation

horizontal = bad Federation

[thedukeofantioch]

@jlmww i always thought the federation was bad

[jlmww]

@thedukeofantioch

The Federation on Blake's 7 was fascistic and evil, no doubt, but I thought the Star Trek Federation was pretty cool. And Offendor was pointing out that they used the same logo, turned vertically on Blake's 7 and horizontally on Star Trek.

[22centman36]

@jlmww blake seven was meant to take place in the 30th century so its highly possible that the federation could become courrupt and evil.

[Jehlily]

I loved this show when I first saw it..another BBC low budget SiFi like Dr. Who that did a lot with so little funding...Thanks for the uploads! I had a crush on Gareth (Roj Blake) lol loved that curly hair...I also liked Avon, the classic Sheriff of Nottingham...lol

[heidiegirl]

I can't believe I watched this as a kid! :p

[random007nadir]

The table on the left of the bridge never appeared again, as far as I can tell.

[Hannah17134]

bad camera work in parts

[sandycurrie108]

@Hannah17134 ha ha this was the late 1970's, c'mon

[crazyknight2008]

nice series but the final episode was weird. Zen is awsome.

[worldsofpaul1]

there is so much about this series that is ahead of it's time. (Zen, i love you!......working!) set design, oufits,concepts! but sound is lagging behind! how much noisy furniture/clompy shoes! I'd like to say this was BBC in the 70's and they;ve moved on. But anyone who has watched Dr Who will have noticed a tendency towards childrens TV acting and quality control.

[2manynegativewaves]

@worldsofpaul1 So what you are saying,basicaly is that " In space,no one can hear your shoes" ? ;) Personaly when Im watching Dr Who I dont notice much beyond Amy Pond......

[sigsputnik]

Cally is, frankly, hot.

[blackbill2]

The best Blake's 7 episodes were the ones without Blake. Odd that.

[rojblake82]

I noticed that arch enemy servalan was only referred to by one name, I am still confused to this day was Servalan's name her first name, second name or did she only ave one name? I think myself the name Servalan was her last name, and I think her first name was possibly Francesca, Melinda, Edwina, Philippa, Jeanette or even Briony as a possibility who knows?

[jlmww]

Who's been removing all these comments?

[MoonBurgle]

@xxwendyx That's the best description of their clothes I've ever heard "medival weird."

[danMdan]

R.I.P. all of you, and my youth.

[theterranaut]

Servalan= Mrs Thatcher.

Blake= Arthur Scargill.

[Kelly14UK]

Who was the big guy? Began with a G, What was his name? Gant? Thanks from Noodles37UK.

[jlmww]

@Kelly14UK

Gan

I always found it hard to believe that with the huge population the fills many planets, people still have simple one- and two-syllable names.

[lmac1970]

@jlmww Good point, although their full names were rarely used, in a sort of 1950s schoolroom kind of way. As I recall (spelling possibly faulty) their full names were Roj Blake, Jenna Stannis, Kerr Avon, Vila Restal and Olag Gan. I think Cally was the only one who didn't have a surname.

[rojblake82]

@lmac1970 I noticed you mentioning the regular characters full names being rarely used, you say Clly was the only one who did'nt have a surname but if you think about it arch enemy Servalan was only known by one name. I am still to this day very curious about the status of Servalan's name was it her first name, second name or was it her only name?. I have always thought Servalan's name was her last name rather than her first name, I think if Servalan was the last name what was her first name.

[rojblake82]

@lmac1970 I am also curious like you about the regular character full names, arch enemy Servalan was only ever known by one name. I am curious whether the name Servalan, was her first name, second name or only name . If the name Servalan was her second name which I have always tended to think it was , what was her first name I wonder?. I suppose her first name could have been Francesca, Melinda, Philippa, Jenny or even Edwina. We shall never really, find out or have any way of knowing now ever.

[daiklaive]

@jlmww well his full name was Olag Gan, according to other sources. guess he never told them his first name (or family name).

[lmac1970]

@Kelly14UK His full name was Olag Gan.

[Kelly14UK]

@lmac1970 Cheers. Grim programme, but addictive watching back in the day!

[lmac1970]

@Kelly14UK Very true! And dialogue to die for! :-)

[ajivins1]

@Kelly14UK Gan was his name. He also turned-up as a copper for a couple of minutes in 'Sky''.

[sandycurrie108]

@Kelly14UK gareth was the actor's name, see you tube interviews with him.

[fauxfax]

I loved Blake's 7 in th 70's when I was at school - when it was gritty before it got all poofed up. The nearest I've seen to a credible remake - 'the superb Firefly' got axed. Why do they keep taking this stuff away? This was the first time the concept of 'It's got it where it counts kid!' was used. They always had enough kick-ass turbo to outrun the Feds.

[gillesibub]

@fauxfax Have you seen that there's a "speculative campaign" asking how many people would be interested in making promises of personal donations so that Nathan Fillion can buy the rights to Firefly/Serenity, and continue the story?! It's nice to see an actor who has such genuine love of the feature that pretty much gave him his career.

[chargeup]

At the end of this episode, the liberator explodes......Thats how I remember this series ending.....with Jenna's last word...BLAKE!!! I read somewhere that this series ran for four years??? Is that correct? If so then I missed out an plenty!!!

[MARK1HOE]

Never liked the Gan character

[nina1414]

Oh, Avon, Avon, Avon. My first big crush.

[ali2years3]

orac the twat

[sandi43able]

It's outta this world

[cheapy2006]

3:48

all right luv a mug of coffee and a flash of yer tits'll do!!!!!

[OrmEmber]

Kind of limited budget they have for space travel in the future, in'nit? The table wobbles when they sit at it to plug in a computer card....

[JWA8402]

@OrmEmber Well it was a second hand spaceship ya know

[SuzanneCromie]

I never missed an episode of Blakes 7. Its is the best thing to come out of Great Britain. Back in my Uni days, I use to make up any excuse to watch Blake's 7 rather than go out. Well done BBC and cast.

Blakes 7 is still worthy watching today, in same vain as Hogans Heroes, whose humour is still funny 40 years on

Suzanne Australia

[DoctorDodge]

Ah, radiation poisoning and a quest for anti-radiation drugs! Classic Terry Nation! A storyline he used before in The Daleks, but he's always the best at reusing his own stories!

And bloody hell, do i need to watch more of this show! Avon kicks serious arse just by talking!

[haileysvomit]

wicked upload always loved this prog, first class, thanx

[SageWildernessWoman]

I saw a few episodes. Thank you for posting these vids. now I can see what i missed.

[bingbong35]

great episode I have alot of 1st season episodes. I heard that they were going to revive it.but it fell through. thanx!

[digitalbroadcaster]

Phwoarr! Jenna! Where are you?!! lol Mind you, I think now so many years have passed, it would be better if you just stayed where you are. :o/

I just loved this series. Perfect cheese, even though this post has a bit of a framesync issue! Thanks for posting.

[jlmww]

Well, it didn't when I gave it to YouTube. I blame them.

[Caucainos]

I was watching this:

B7 Series 2 Episode 4 Part 3 of 6

Where is it? Why is it not available?

[jlmww]

I don't know. Ask the person who posted Part 2 of 6.

[mpc999STEP]

ZEN is to me the most quintesential SciFi A.I.

I Iiked Orac, but he was, to me, ZEN's "grandson", a clever arsey teenager. (I know!! Nothing to do with the storyline)

[musicalglenn]

its high time this was re-imagined into a proper show with proper effects and characters...the basic story alone deserves it.

[major600]

That is so funny that you would write that. I just finished watching part of the first episode of Firefly. It remimded me of this, and I came here to see if the shows were similar.

[alexhelm2]

Personally I love the programme as it was. If they were to re-imagine the show I think they would have to think very long and hard about the central cast.

[biddyficationprocess]

While watching this in the seventies as a kid, when ever Orac popped up my dad (an engineer by trade) would laugh and say "it's a flippin' perspex box with fairy lights in" to my annoyance.

ps perpex was a very technical word in the seventies, fairy lights not so.

[OLDSCHOOLHHSEX]

@biddyficationprocess Soooo,What the SMEG does Perpex mean?-Fairylights is EZ enough to construct if know how to rig up a Sequential or even a Random Sequential Multi-Colored Lights flash effect(*-Basicly,U end up with a Miniture Classic DISCO Light-show!-*).... =)P

[jlmww]

"perspex" is a kind of clear plastic, what USAmericans would probably call "plexiglass." And "fairy lights" are the little lights that are strung onto Christmas trees.

[Daisycutt3r]

lol I remeber at the time thinking how much better the special effects were than dctor who

[jlmww]

Yeah, but that's not really much of a compliment, is it? After all, Gumby had better special effects than Dr. Who.

[chaimke7]

since i've watched all dr who and fed up of fakes.that reminded me of Blakes 7, ur right better even than Dr Who

[jalil124]

loved this show thanx,still looking for the tripods though.....

[AUTORECOVERYUK]

What a quality TV show i loved it when it first came out. and still enjoy watching it now. I couldn't belive the actor that plays Avon has been apperaing in Emmerdale Farm on ITV recently. Not that i'm admitting to be a soap fan but i had the TV on while on here one evening and heard his voice. Looked round and there he was in Emmerdale Farm. Brilliant show. Thanks for posting this.

[tomatotv321]

I think blake's 7 was a good show. I knew the creator Terry Nation. He though Blake's 7 was one his best shows.

[saberdryver]

I really liked blakes 7 the effect were real hokie but the story lines were always good shades of Dr.Who and Red Dwarf they came out b4 star trek next gen

[testerpot]

loving all the zooms super old school...is it just me or do the cast spend most of the time walking between props not saying anything....pace has certainly changed these days

[Swampdog36]

hahah lol i used to love this as a kid, even had a diecast model of the space ship

[7blakes7]

Good stuff mate! Bringing back good memories indeed. Thanks for uploading jlmww

[hristina1978]

dera jlmww, thanks for these videos ! i can assure you that this show was very popular in my home country when i was a kid, we even played whole scenes from it together with friends and cousins... so i guess that there are a lot more people than you can think of, that have heard of it and remember it back in the time :o)

[peacemtn]

Wow I still like it. We need more shows like this.

[Akirajay38]

i never saw this before, but always wanted to. i never saw the first episode and would like to, is it online or on youtube?

[jlmww]

Not as far as I know. I can't put it up here because my collection doesn't start until episode 12.

If you want to search for the first episode, it's called "The Way Back."

[peacemtn]

Cool

[thedukeofantioch]

put sargophagus up.thats my fave and scariest episode.

[jlmww]

Is that the one where they encounter a tomb floating in space? I remember that one being creepy.

[thedukeofantioch]

yes.its written by the horror book writer tanith lee.she wrote alot of very good gothic horror storys.sagophagas is a typical tanith lee work.its the spookiest blakes 7 episode i think.

[CultureJudge]

Why the hell did they have to find that frame on the playback to know what happened to that ship? Why didn't they just ask Zen to tell them all the data he had on the explosion? Great to see Paul Darrow do his thing again, though. Any line from Avon is just gold. And there's something a bit Tom Stoppard about Villa here - slight touch of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in space...

[xxZaharoulaxx]

Please release Blake's 7 in Region 1 DVD Format !

[SteveDurnin]

Needs some foley work.

[shizmobaron]

Blake 7 and galactica,my favorite series when i was a kid.Thanks for posting jlmww.

[stegaflaps]

Theres no doubt Orac was sharp, cynical, rude and contemptuous of lesser intelligences (in other words...everyone...even Zen and Slave((see the episode "Blake"- the argument between Orac and Slave)) )...as Dorian once said...Orac reflects Ensors personality. Avon also described Orac as "lazy"....often outscourcing work to other computers. But Orac could have taken over the Galaxy with the power he wielded....yet he never did.

[stegaflaps]

Oh.....to have a computer like Orac or Zen....user friendly technology the likes of which we shall never see....bliss! But theres one thing that puzzles me....why was Orac loyal to Blake and his crew....why did it not suddenly start working for the Federation....how could they trust it? Was that Ensor's doing....or did Orac decide for itself?

[jlmww]

Odd: I've never once thought of Orac as friendly. ;D

[stegaflaps]

Blakes 7 was the opposite of Star Trek.....in Trek the goodies were advocats of the federation....patroling the cosmos and keeping law and order....but legally part of the system. In B7 the heros are the the outlaws, and the federation is the oppressive, corrupt malevolant power that rules the galaxy. Possibly the Vietnam war had a lot to do with this...in the seventies there was a great deal of discontentment with the administration, and the sci-fi series of the time reflected that feeling.

[jlmww]

There was something idealistic and egalitarian about Star Trek's Federation: a society without money where the main purpose in life was to make the most of your potential. So, yeah, Star Trek was very pro-order, pro-government in the conservative sense, but it had its populist elements too.

Blakes 7's Federation was mostly about holding on to power and suppressing dissidents. Conservative to the point of fascism, but with any egalitarianism.

[doctorw2]

blakes 7 is like the dirty dozen meets the roman empire in space totaly brilliant mix there.

[tumadoireacht]

anyone remember the trigan empire comic strip in 'look and learn'

[Jeorney]

I had the Hamlyn edition which covered the early stories. They should reprint it but I think they no longer have the lithographs.

[EVariation]

Hollywood can make it great, if done properly. BSG the remake was much better. Firefly was a somewhat similar to the concept of Blake's 7 and it was great.

[thedukeofantioch]

firefly was such a good series.i wonder if jos weldon had seen blakes 7.i described it to a friend as southern ex confederate version of blakes 7 to a friend who showed it to me.hey let jos weldon do a new series of blakes 7.

[milkowaif]

INFORMATION!

a hollywood remake has been detected within scanning range......

put the battle computers on-line and arm the neutron blasters.

activate the radiation flre shields.>>>>>

#~.....

[doctorwhonico]

Do you mean there's a remake coming??

[musicalglenn]

I alwayssaid..Blakes7 HAS to be remade...but not by hollywood!! They will smear it with typical american happy endings and lose all the sense of no-hope desperados on the run...

[jlmww]

Oooo. Exactly. Spot on.

[lodownX]

also... Avon Rocks. perhaps the greatest Sci-Fi character ever put to the TV screen.

[bicnarok]

best sci fi series ever#

[inzen1909]

@bicnarok yes it is great and just the ignerance of the bbc by blocking this great series that at one time had7 million people viewing it the sad man bbc tory twits

[jlmww]

@inzen1909

Servalan was a Tory, wasn't she?

[jazzx251]

@jlmww

I don't know really.

I can't imagine there being too many homeless people under her totalitarian regime - everybody seemed to be catered for, and drugged at the same time. A kind of facist-communist narcocracy - lol!

[jlmww]

@jazzx251

Good word. But is it still a "narcocracy" if the drug people are doped up on is televised propaganda? Living in the USA, this question is quite relevant.

[Kelly14UK]

@jlmww Posh accent in the late 70s? Yup!

[aarthoor]

Ah, the £15 star trek! wonderful to see it again.

[thedoctor1812]

For what it's worth, I've always found Blake's 7 far superior to Star Trek.

[jlmww]

Certainly a more original premise. Escaping convicts turned in-fighting revolutionaries was much more inventive than Wagon-Train-to-the-stars stealing plots from Shakespeare.

[lodownX]

what they acomplished under the budget they had.... WOW. The Premise is ripe for a Hollywood "reimagining" ala Battlestar Galactica... Greetings from Canada where this is viewed for the first time. thank you England.

[liamhedonic]

blakes 7 is the shit, i'm getting that big boxed set as soon as i have the cash

[jlmww]

Wow, I've never even seen a big boxed set. All I have are DVD copies of old VHS recordings from Boston Public Television.

[stuntpea]

I saw that Avon actor in a mobility cart commercial a few months ago.

[jlmww]

Oh, don't tell me that...

[blowbubblesnotbombs]

but, i saw that avon bloke on stage in guards! guards! in Reading and he was the brilliant!

[badharenight]

God aren't they posh. I never picked up on this when I used to watch it.

[jlmww]

Peter Tuddenham was the voice of Orac and of both ships' computers, Zen and Slave. John Leeson was the voice of K9, but his voice and Orac's do sound very much alike.

They both also sound like this officious prick at my local DMV.

[znotty]

can i detect the voice of K9???????

[DuncanLafayette]

Yeaahh, I remember this show, it was a real good sci-fi series. In 1981 I lived in Spain, that was the year when this show was released there...my God, I was just a kiddy and my parents still had an old black and white TV set.....much water has flowed under the bridge since then, lol

[revengeofcleveland]

i watched these in the mid 80s in calif..on ch54 kteh out of san jose..the sci fi chanel for the geeks in silicon valley i had a colur set but no cable..grad school no money..those were better days i miss them

fond memories of blake 7

[belor1981]

Hola, yo era tambien un niño en 1981 (ahora tengo 31) y tengo vagos recuerdos de estas series post "Star Wars" tan buenas como "Galactica" o esta "Blake,s 7" de la cual tengo entendido que en España solo se emitio la primera temporada ¿me lo puedes confirmar? ¿y tienes idea si "Buck Rodgers in the 25th century" se emitio alguna vez en España? lo digo porque si no estan dobladas al castellano sera dificil que lleguen los dvd a España y la verdad es que es una lastima, porque eran buenisimas.

[jlmww]

(Hello, I was also a child in 1981 (now I am 31) and have vague memories of these post-Star War series post such as "Battlestar Galactica" or this Blake's 7. I understand that only the first season showed in Spain; can you confirm this for me?

And do you have any idea whether " Buck Rodgers in the 25th century" was ever shown in Spain? I ask because if they are not dubbed into Castilian, then there won't be a DVD in Spain and that would be a shame, because they were the best.)

[jlmww]

No sé si la segunda temporada de este programa fue transmitida en España o no. Quizás alguien más sabrá.

Y no sé nada sobre Buck Rogers salvo que no me gustó esto mucho, excepto Wilma en aquel pleito blanco apretado. Weedy, weedy, weedy!

[tubedavid74]

Buck Rogers se emitió en Galicia en la TVG en gallego, es posible que la compra fuese conjunta con otras televisiones autonómicas y en alguna la emitiesen en castellano.

[tropicalian]

I loved the way that Avon issued commands to his computers. So...forceful..

[jlmww]

For some reason, Avon was always the most popular character. The asshole that people loved.

[revengeofcleveland]

Avon was the anti hero

[blowbubblesnotbombs]

with a gay haircut

[revengeofcleveland]

dude it was the late 70's early 80's flock of sea gulls the human league everyone in Britian had a gay haircut...

[monetg]

Blake's costume here: doesn't that remind you of Shrek?

[jlmww]

Yes, now that you mention it.

[MasterJediDude]

Excellent! Thanks for posting this episode!

[jlmww]

And thanks for the comment. Poor old Blakes 7 doesn't get the respect it deserved. Even Gareth Thomas didn't watch it.

[xxZaharoulaxx]

One of the Best Cult Series Ever !!! Many loyal fans everywhere !!!

[DarkKillerCounter]

1st comment woo