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 Happy 45th Anniversary to Blake's 7!
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| Travisina |
Posted on 02-01-2023 08:40
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 Admin  Posts: 941 Joined: 14.01.22 |
On this day, 45 years ago, the series began which we are all still passionately discussing. When did you get into it? Were you a fan from the watching the very first ep? Did it arrive on your (foreign) shores later? Did you discover it via the releases on VHS / DVD? Share your introduction to B7 on this thread! There is no point being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes
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| littlesue |
Posted on 02-01-2023 09:07
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 Alpha Grade  Posts: 2870 Joined: 17.01.22 |
My introduction started about 2 weeks earlier when my dear friend Julie popped round with the double issue of the Xmas Radio Times. It's a new series by that Terry Nation chap, said she. So I had a quick read of the article and looked at the double page piccie. Hmm, looks interesting, said I. I had fallen out of love with Star Trek after watching that awful Motion Picture, and then I went on Saturday 31st Dec to see the new film everyone was raving about...Star Wars. Came out of that thinking what a load of rubbish. They've put Sci Fi back 30 years... So, with some trepidation I sat down at 6.00 that Monday night to watch this new series. 11 month old baby to sleep; phone off the hook......50 minutes later I was hooked, just after a certain Mr Thomas looked straight at the camera and announced.."No, I'm coming back". Julie had taken back the Radio Times by then, but I always remembered that poster and a few years later I was able to get a copy of the article off Ebay. And the rest is history... That 11 month old daughter of mine has never forgiven Mr Nation as she no longer had all my attention after that Monday.. And as for the following week when a certain rather nice computer expert turned up....... 
Edited by littlesue on 03-01-2023 07:18 Cold! You don't know the meaning of the word cold! Cold is when you have ice on the INSIDE of your window!! Sue's Book Shelf https://www.mediafire.com/folder/z1xg...Zine_Shelf Rebel Run Video https://youtu.be/8prqS-XZtLo |
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| trevor travis |
Posted on 02-01-2023 11:14
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 4754 Joined: 16.01.22 |
As an 6 year old in January 1980. It was the school holidays, so I was allowed to stay up for longer. I was already a young fan of Doctor Who, so was intrigued by Aftermath. Just over 50 minutes later, I was hooked. The school holidays ended - I seem to recall the Christmas holidays were 3 weeks long (my memory could be cheating), and Volcano was the first episode after I went back to school. My parents said I could watch the first 10-15 minutes, but had to go to bed (meaning my bedtime was 7.30pm). As B7 came on, I retreated into an armchair and didn't move again until the end credits. My parents realised how much I wanted to watch it and I was allowed to stay up longer on Monday evenings. Vote Og.
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| Brad |
Posted on 02-01-2023 16:59
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 Moderator  Posts: 3369 Joined: 15.01.22 |
We stumbled upon it when it first came to public television in Chicago in 1985. When they announced they would rerun it, I bought my first VCR. . .  Cockatoo? What Cockatoo? I don't see a Cockatoo! |
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| OneSparePart |
Posted on 02-01-2023 18:03
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 7257 Joined: 16.01.22 |
We watched tv as a family in the 70s. Every night of the week, after the news, there was always something to watch: Ask the Family, a variety of detectives...Columbo, Ellery Queen, Banacek, Cannon, Hawaii 5-O, Macmillan and wife.....the Friday night drama series and there was always some SF. If it wasn't Dr Who, it was Star Trek. Then they said a new SF series was going to start. We were interested. We tuned in. Instant fans! Love at 1st sight.
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
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| Paula |
Posted on 02-01-2023 18:46
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 Moderator Posts: 3191 Joined: 15.01.22 |
We've been fans since September 1985 when it first aired on the local PBS station in Chicago. When Blake said he was coming back, watching Earth recede from the port window, I was hooked and have never looked back in over 37 years. My passion for the program has only gotten stronger and it's become such a huge part of my life, I can't imagine life without Blake's 7 and the fans I've met along the way- all very dear friends now. Blake's 7 has enriched my life so much- I can never thank all the people involved enough for the little gem they created!
Resist the Host
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| Cygnus Bazza |
Posted on 02-01-2023 18:56
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 2485 Joined: 14.06.22 |
Several years before B7, as a British boy of primary school age, my view of things was fundamentally influenced by two events: going to see the Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum in early '72; and the Apollo moon landings of '69-'72. The first was to prove influential in terms of life choices, while the second left me with an enduring love of anything space/astronomy-related. So Star Trek and Dr Who were staple viewing fare through the '70s and when a new sci-fi series popped out of the woodwork at the start of '78, it was a must-see. Liked it, stuck with it, thought it got better when Blake left (I've changed my mind since), forgot it, remembered it again three Christmases ago. 45 years, eh? Blimey O'Blinkin'-Reilly.
You shouldn't do that, should do that...
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| Lorna |
Posted on 02-01-2023 19:09
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 1986 Joined: 16.01.22 |
I knew about the series when they came to film at the Power Station in the summer of 1977. Of course I was ready to watch the first episode. However it was not meant to be!! I was involved in a RTA and was in hospital when it aired. I didnt see The Way Back until years later. So I started with Space Fall. It didnt matter as I was hooked by that episode. Like Paula over the years I have made many friends and I couldn't imagine life without Blake's 7. I look behind me, what do I see? A pair of golden wings seem to be attached to me.
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| Lurena |
Posted on 02-01-2023 21:57
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 1995 Joined: 16.01.22 |
I got hooked a long long time ago in a country far, far away from my origin. In my opinion, Blake’s 7 was(is) so much better than that Star Wars movie which I saw in the cinema. Why? Here are some words I wrote in “Blake’s Legacy, 40 years of Rebellion” (2018): Blake’s 7 depicts a dystopian future. For countless nations, that future is a present reality, resulting in the need for many people to flee their native countries. My family did. And that is why I have always been interested in stories about societies with undisirable and frightening regimes. … The Dutch broadcast company VARA showed the first two series of Blake’s 7 in 1979 and 1981. I enjoyed watching them on my black and white TV and was hooked from the start. To my regret, it was banned, which had previously happened with Doctor Who. I later learned it was because they were considered to be too scary for children and unsuitable for family viewing. For many years I thought that Star One was the final episode of Blake’s 7. … However, in Belgium, TV Vlaanderen broadcast more of the series. Some years later I was able to watch a few of these series C episodes taped on Betamax, in colour! But it was only when I bought Blake’s 7 on DVD that I learned about the existence of Series D. … Before I switched to another profession, I worked as a pharmaceutical chemical researcher. My laboratory had just started to use computing systems, which still required a lot of manual calculations and were often reluctant to do as instructed. My first favourite B7 character was Orac. *** Also I found friends for life thanks to B7! Happy 45th Anniversary! *No, I am not. I am not expendable, I'm not stupid, and I'm not going.*
Lara&Sue's Blake's 7 stories will be back soon at a new website! |
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| NerdyTeenGirl |
Posted on 03-01-2023 04:12
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 Beta Grade  Posts: 436 Joined: 19.10.22 |
I watched it for the first time thirteen months ago, actually. My mum had heard of it, but never found it, until it ended up on BritBox. She was watching “Seek-Locate-Destroy” when I came in and decided to give it a go because the costumes were fantastic. Vila talking to the guards and the exchanges between Servalan and Travis quickly drew me in, and the very distrusting, tentative relationships between the crew fascinated me to no end. Avon soon became my favorite character, not shockingly, if you know me. Well, I missed Series B and C, and most of A, but I saw Series D and that solidified the obsession. Mum found some of the audios, and I listened to all I could find, which consisted of The Liberator Chronicles and the first two series of The Classic Adventures. I watched the series I missed in a just few months, which is unheard of for me. And then I started drawing fanart and writing fanfiction, which I’d always been too self-conscious to do before. Now, I find myself trolling used book sites to find the Trevor Hoyle novelizations (now I just need Afterlife by Tony Attwood), searching for scanned copies of discontinued fanzines, and painting my own teleport bracelets! The Blake’s 7 section of my blog, where I post fics, art, essays, etcetera.
https://thephantomofcygnus.wordpress..../blakes-7/ |
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| ellen york |
Posted on 04-01-2023 01:05
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 Gamma Grade  Posts: 210 Joined: 16.01.22 |
… Before I switched to another profession, I worked as a pharmaceutical chemical researcher. My laboratory had just started to use computing systems, which still required a lot of manual calculations and were often reluctant to do as instructed. My first favourite B7 character was Orac. *** I hope you didn't name your lab computer after Orac. I'm a chemist by training and have spent my career in labs. At a previous job I named the cranky old titrator after Orac and the wreched thing lived up to the name. Amusingly, the name stuck even though nobody else got the reference. |
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| ellen york |
Posted on 04-01-2023 01:18
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Gamma Grade Posts: 210 Joined: 16.01.22 |
I watched it the first time on PBS in Wisconsin the early 90s. It aired with Doctor Who on Sunday nights. My parents were strict about bedtime (and not scifi fans) so it was a big deal that I got to stay up and watch the two shows. I had mostly forgotten about it until a chance conversation with a friend in 2013. I found it on YouTube, started watching and fell for it all over again. Interestingly, I remembered some episodes quite vividly and some not at all. I found Horizon online and ten years later here I am. |
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| Lurena |
Posted on 07-01-2023 13:35
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Alpha Grade Posts: 1995 Joined: 16.01.22 |
… Before I switched to another profession, I worked as a pharmaceutical chemical researcher. My laboratory had just started to use computing systems, which still required a lot of manual calculations and were often reluctant to do as instructed. My first favourite B7 character was Orac. *** I hope you didn't name your lab computer after Orac. No, I did not. After all, nobody would get the clue. But after I switched to theatre work (in those days, after childbirth there was no possibility of part-time work in my chem. field) I've met several candidates for re-naming... *No, I am not. I am not expendable, I'm not stupid, and I'm not going.*
Lara&Sue's Blake's 7 stories will be back soon at a new website! |
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| boroboy |
Posted on 14-02-2023 03:10
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 Ungraded  Posts: 5 Joined: 22.01.22 |
I watched the early series but not D (and maybe not C) as a teenager on original broadcast. Family emigration to Canada meant I never saw the final series until many years later. It came back to me when I moved to Oakland and the local PBS station broadcast it in 1995/1996 (thanks to my then wife for taping it for me as a surprise that re-introduced me to the show). Followed by all sorts of good discussions on the lysator list.. totting up "who shot who", figuring out distance and speed in the B7 universe and putting together B7 football team rosters....and here we are 25 years later. And.. for many years, my lab computer had all its sounds replaced with Orac and Zen quotes. |
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| Welsh Rebel |
Posted on 02-03-2023 21:04
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 Delta Grade  Posts: 12 Joined: 13.03.22 |
Was 13 when it first aired here in the UK and used to look forward to the next episode each week. Persuaded Becky to buy me the DVDs as a Xmas present one year - she wasn't convinced Googling the write ups but persuaded her to watch the first couple of episodes and she got hooked!! Since then the rest is history - been lucky to meet some amazing people through Horizon and the various other events. Long may it continue. Jon & Becky |
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| Travisina |
Posted on 04-03-2023 09:32
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Admin Posts: 941 Joined: 14.01.22 |
I watched it for the first time thirteen months ago, actually. My mum had heard of it, but never found it, until it ended up on BritBox. She was watching “Seek-Locate-Destroy” when I came in and decided to give it a go because the costumes were fantastic. That was the first episode I ever saw (long story involving living overseas, the hiring of a VHS player for ONE NIGHT in order to binge-watch the whole of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy plus S-L-D provided by a visiting friend). And it's the ep that I always recommend to newbies - all the crew get to showcase their characters and skills, it's a superb intro to Travis and Servalan. How I joined Horizon back in the UK, having only seen that one episode, is a long story for another time... [/quote] There is no point being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes
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| Brad |
Posted on 04-03-2023 15:52
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Moderator Posts: 3369 Joined: 15.01.22 |
Was 13 when it first aired here in the UK and used to look forward to the next episode each week. Persuaded Becky to buy me the DVDs as a Xmas present one year - she wasn't convinced Googling the write ups but persuaded her to watch the first couple of episodes and she got hooked!! Since then the rest is history - been lucky to meet some amazing people through Horizon and the various other events. Long may it continue. Jon & Becky Glad to see you found us, Welsh rebels. I am Brad of Brad and Paula from Chicago. We still talk about the Welsh cakes. TWB and Spacefall has hooked a great many of us. . . Cockatoo? What Cockatoo? I don't see a Cockatoo! |
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| VilaVindicator |
Posted on 28-03-2023 11:34
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 Ungraded Posts: 5 Joined: 11.08.22 |
“Seek-Locate-Destroy” - VilaVindicator loves this episode, and it must be in my top ten "favorites" list, should I deign to notate such list. As has been noted, most of the cast members get their turn to shine. Vila's humor and skill, as well as knowledge of the underlying systemic particulars of the tech involved, are showcased. Great goofy servo-robot as well! Happy Anniversary to a well-written & -played space opera.
He never referred to himself before. He never once used the word "I".
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| Vanessa Doffenshmirtz |
Posted on 03-10-2023 02:49
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 Gamma Grade Posts: 185 Joined: 16.01.22 |
Was 13 when it first aired here in the UK and used to look forward to the next episode each week. Persuaded Becky to buy me the DVDs as a Xmas present one year - she wasn't convinced Googling the write ups but persuaded her to watch the first couple of episodes and she got hooked!! Since then the rest is history - been lucky to meet some amazing people through Horizon and the various other events. Long may it continue. Jon & Becky Same here but I think some-one's got the time-line wrong cos that would make me nearly 60 and I'm certain I'm not that old. I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing
Till they got a hold of me |
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| M1795537OCVirn |
Posted on 03-10-2023 09:56
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 Admin Posts: 9082 Joined: 14.01.22 |
Vanessa Doffenshmirtz wrote: ↑ Was 13 when it first aired here in the UK and used to look forward to the next episode each week. Persuaded Becky to buy me the DVDs as a Xmas present one year - she wasn't convinced Googling the write ups but persuaded her to watch the first couple of episodes and she got hooked!! Since then the rest is history - been lucky to meet some amazing people through Horizon and the various other events. Long may it continue. Jon & Becky Same here but I think some-one's got the time-line wrong cos that would make me nearly 60 and I'm certain I'm not that old. I think time works differently in Wales. "You're not sulking, I hope?"
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