Blake's 7 - 2x1 First Time Watching Reaction & Review

[@AubreySciFi]

Late 70's Doctor who and Blake's 7 were filming at the BBC television center at the same time so the casts apparently hung out in the canteen. Gareth Thomas (Blake)and Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor) always said it would be fun if the two of them ran into each other in a corridor somewhere, as both shows have a goodly amount of running down corridors. Hehe.

[@darrenrunning5415]

Yeah. I think it was supposed to happen sometime in the second season. I have a pretty good idea which upcoming episode would have been the one where the two meet.

[@Xondar11223344]

This is my very favourite episode of Blake's 7. It's so good.

[@Adrik-v7i]

'Redemption' is my personal favorite episode of Blake's Seven!!👍

[@AubreySciFi]

This is a great season opener. I loved getting to finally meet the builders of the Liberator. It was a shame the system was keeping the populace as slaves. Orac saves the day, cementing him as a fun character. The voice artist, "Peter Tuddenham," said that he thought of Orac as a haughty civil servant.

[@sixstanger00]

Avon's costume is _literally_ the one worn by Davros in Doctor Who - _Genesis of the Daleks_

[@mark-nm4tc]

The interiors were done on location inside the Oldbury nuclear power station on the River Severn estuary, just north of Bristol. Did you notice one explosion caused Paul Darrow to fall (it really surprised him) but he managed to roll & pick himself up?.

[@jasonjuneau3554]

Your reference to 2001 was spot on!

[@jamesdodds9407]

It never occurred to me that The Liberator was originally crewed by rebels escaping the system and attacked trying to reclaim the vessel. It would make sense as why Zen would accept them and the idea of Liberation. Maybe I just accepted it was the first encounter between Federation and the System. As you say a great start to second series.

[@Ravenscroft82]

Loved this opening episode; great action, the mystery of Zen (mostly) revealed, something for the whole cast to do, and Orac as the "hero!" I'm a sucker for episodes where the whole cast is together and dealing with a problem (not just in B7, but in all shows), and this delivered. And I shared your dismay at the death of the rebel character at the end (can't recall his name). Seems like B7 guest stars have a very short life expectancy!

[@alexachipman]

So true, it is always “here is this amazing guest character….and they’re gone…”

[@MrSlitskirts]

@@alexachipman Hi yes, it seems to be a common theme. Even in the 2nd episode (1st Season) where one of the 'prisoners' gets caught inbetween the walls, as it was done deliberately. A shame as it is counter productive to enjoying the show. Have fun.

[@ooEVILGOAToo]

This will also give you an idea what 70's "Doctor Who" is like.

[@mikesilva3868]

❤agreed

[@alexachipman]

Indeed, I’ve seen them all :)

[@jasonjuneau3554]

There is an argument that Orac alerted the System. The fact that all his circuits were busy show perhaps that he was keeping the crew from using the ship. Orac wanted to know about the Liberator's origin. He did not care how it might affect the crew.

[@alexachipman]

Or he did both :)

[@jasonjuneau3554]

@@alexachipman Probably. The theory comes from the book "Liberation" by Stevens and Moore.

[@DavidHayes56]

Ref the future of Colossus: Colossus was a trilogy of books by D.F. Jones! Only the 1st made it to the screen. The books were a lot darker as to how Colossus experimented with people who didn't cooperate with him. Forbin's wife was especially brutalized. The 2nd book was "The Fall of Colossus" and the 3rd was "Colossus and the Crab." They were worth a read. Another classic Science fiction movie that never got the sequel that existed in book form was "When World's Collide." That ended with a group escaping a dying Earth to land on a planet whose approach caused Earth's destruction. The 2nd book was "After Worlds Collide." Interesting to me, the book was written by Philip Wylie. Philip wrote the original super-hero story that was probably ripped off by the creators of Superman. That book is called, "Gladiator." It is a sad story of how society reacts to superior people but has some really funny parts. A lab experiment with a cat before the experiment on the scientist's wife resulted in a super-strong kitten that let no one cage him or keep him from anything he decided was a meal.

[@Eltonlaleham]

Hi Alexa in this episode which sees the builders of the Liberator, the System I would presume that there were possibly millions or tens of millions of Deep Space vehicles like the Liberator with Zen like computers and the teleport system as well as an armoury aboard the ships and lots of clothes as well like what TARDISES have and also I would say in Dr Who that the homeworld of the Time Lords probably has millions or even tens of millions of TARDISES on it . I noticed the actors playing the androids the Altas were both in Dr Who Alta one was played by Harriet Philpin the Thal woman Bettan in Genesis of the Daleks and Sheila Ruskin Alta 2 was later in keeper of Traken as Kassia who married Tremas Anthony AInley whose character was taken over and usurped by the Master at the end of the story. The sets on this episode are awesome and, the predicted destruction of the Liberator been a sister ship a DSV one and not the Liberator was a blessing .

[@Eltonlaleham]

I also Alexa noticed actor Roy Evans, who plays the slave helping Blake, was in classic Dr Who , first he was in the awfully overlong Dalek story Daleks Master Plan as Trantis , he later returned in the Green Death as a Welsh Miner called Bert and lastly he was in the final Ice Warrior story Monster of Peladon, Rima a miner on Peladon. It is remarkable Alexa how closely connected both Dr Who and Blake,s Seven are sharing sets, costumes, props, locations, and also actors who were main characters and writers, directors and other production personnel .

[@normiron736]

Another great reaction, and a trip down memory lane for me as I haven't seen these fir a good 40 years. Thank you so much for these Alexa! Same time next week?

[@347Jimmy]

"Are we going to see him again? He's a cool character." ⚡⚡⚡💀 RIP Spartacus

[@modehead101]

This is one of the best directed episodes of B7, terrifically shot action sequences in the nuclear power station. Quite remarkable for a low budget BBC series filmed in the late 70s when most TV of this era was static and very slow moving.

[@ShamrockParticle]

Woohoo, new B7 episode day! If I recall, June Hudson was the costume designer. She's absolutely wonderful with her creations. It is "Robin Hood meets Disco" but only in good ways! "Walk down a runway" - love it! It's one of many great reactions! (To a very solid season opener.) The Blake/Avon conflict is marvelous. I still dont get how Orac, a device that can only connect to other computers that have rhe swme Tarial cells, can overtake alien systems made halfway across the galaxy. Unless some of their circuits have something analogous to Tarial cells. That works, but I'm amazed that even Avon didn't mention that in this episode (or in "Orac"). I love how The System is just as nasty as The Federation. Ditto for the folks in "The Web" who created the Decimas. If they wanted to do alien civilizations, why use the same trope when The Federation already did it and better? Terry Nation wrote this episode as a response to fans wanting to know where the Liberator came from. Amazed that The System could not take care of Orac. I love how The System has audio communication messages that end with chirpy happy shopping mall bleep-bloop noises. I almost wish this was the series 1 finale. It would make Jenna's nihilism feel more weighted.

[@darrenrunning5415]

Gareth Thomas considered the costume here the best one he wore in the series because it was loose and allowed freedom of movement.

[@tombaxter6228]

Shot at an operating nuclear power station. With pyros. Atop the fuelling assembly(!) Note the near blooper, where one almost knocks Paul Darrow off his feet.. Alta 2 is played by Harriet Philpin, a stalwart of UK '70's cult TV, with appearances in Doctor Who and The Sweeney. (Which incidentally is a gritty Police drama, that I thoroughly recommend)

[@geoffmason7215]

Redemption had to happen at some point so no surprise but at the same time no disappointment the episode was very well done

[@Villafarrell]

Orac: The grumpy old man on the ship who's too valuable to get rid of

[@jasonjuneau3554]

Zen is a nanny. Orac is a professor.

[@sixstanger00]

7:34 - *random clip of some Star Wars related ride *Me, confused:* *smells coffee I'm drinking...

[@Eltonlaleham]

I do say Alexa the final scene at the end of this episode, where Blake says speed standard by 3 Earth sector we have got unfinished business with the Federation, and Avon is not pleased at the idea when he walks back to his command position and Blake looks up with a cold and hard stare he means business like in Space Fall when he, Jenna and Avon had seized command of the Liberator and were following the prison ship the London to the prison planet Cygnus Alpha to free as many prisoners as they could muster to help crew their newly acquired ship and as Blake said with a ship like this and a full crew then we can start fighting back against the Federation and Blake was determined to not surrender to the evil Federation. I know there was a prison planet in the Bill Hartnell Dalek serial the Daleks Masterplan called Desperus which was like Cygnus Alpha once taken to the planet Desperus there was no escape and no way off the awful planet.

[@rahlmaclaren1478]

9:03 Jenna in her element!

[@buidseach]

It always seems odd to me that Zen seems to be teaching the crew and seems to be quite moral, where as the creaters of the Liberator are the opposite.

[@alexachipman]

Go Zen - he recognized what they were doing was wrong, and evolved!

[@jasonjuneau3554]

Redemption: the beginning of the June Hudson costume era. I wish the Alta had been better developed.

[@m.e.3862]

So very late 70s and early 80s. I love the crew costumes… they all look like they’re going to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest circa 1980😊 The spandex clad system androids look like backup singers for Bowie’s ziggy stardust tour! And the mention of The System automatically makes me think of this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqKsfnx3fJqNlac And the cover by Robert Palmer kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWeraoxnfcSFiMk Both of which look like episodes of Blake’s 7!😁 Keep the b7 coming Alexa 😁👍

[@eric2690]

If enough resistance on that planet helped Blake's crew take control of that super computer then Blake's crew would have gained control of a Base, & a 2nd Liberator Ship. imagine That !!!😮😎

[@delorangeade]

It's nice not to have to wait nine months between episodes. That was a good start to the series. Sheila Ruskin, who played Alta One, was a familiar face on TV, often playing quite icy and aloof characters. I am more inclined to anticipate a dystopian AI future, given the innate greed and stupidity of most of the people who seem to want to control our destinies. New and better ways of making most of us poorer or more dependent, while still managing to sell us increasing amounts of stuff we don't need. It's a smart trick, and AI will just make it that much easier.

[@ShamrockParticle]

Sheila is great as Alta One. Perfectly acted. I've seen her in other works. Definitely adds a lot to them.

[@greedycapitalist8590]

I've got to admit, I was a bit disappointed with this episode when it was first broadcast. In the first series, the Liberator was an enigma, and I imagined the original crew as being more alien (admittedly that doesn't make much sense when you bear in mind the huge human-style wardrobe that apparently exists somewhere on board). I've got more tolerance for it now, as an adult, but it's not Terry Nation's best work. In retrospect, the system does remind me a bit of the society in THX-1138. Smart of you to anticipate the solution to the cliffhanger, Alexa. I was imagining them having to abandon the Liberator and nick another ship from somewhere.

[@AdamSouthward]

Actually, properly Blake's 7 now, if you don't include Blake: 1) Avon, 2) Vila, 3) Cally, 4) Jenna, 5) Gan, 6) Zen, 7) Orac

[@mikesilva3868]

Great episode 😊

[@CaminoAir]

The early Liberator episodes in series one don't match up with The System shown here. The stores of jewels and clothes would be irrelevant for one example. I'm not complaining about Terry Nation's explanation in this episode exactly. Chris Boucher's final episode for this season is complimentary. [NOT a spoiler, just an observation, since I am not saying how it is complimentary and there is no way of guessing how.]

[@michaellevenson2200]

The early episodes mentioned the conceptually alien feel of the technology, so it's possible the technology that built liberator predates the System, the three planets the slave talked about had the technology to build the computers that became the System in the first place.

[@CaminoAir]

@@michaellevenson2200 Good point. I hadn't thought about that. I guess the simple fact that they left Orac on the Liberator without any proper investigation means The System don't make any efforts to look after details like the storerooms.

[@nickthx1138]

Regarding AI i wouldn’t be surprised if we let it take over - already we are relying on computers and apps etc to do our tasks for us. Even mechanics for example rely on computers to tell them whats wrong with a car these days, corporations and financial institutions let software run the stock market…

[@eric2690]

Cool Episode 🙂

[@Eltonlaleham]

I do think Alexa it was a shame in billions of ways, that a crossover in either Blake,s Seven and or Dr Who never happened but the BBC as Gareth Thomas said years later have no sense of humour and they scuppered the idea like the idea of series creator Terry Nation wanted the Doctors arch-enemies the dreaded Daleks in the finale of series B of B7 as the alien invaders to cause galactic war but the idea was quickly scrapped by the producer David Maloney and script editor Chris Boucher both men had worked on Dr Who in the 70s .

[@alexachipman]

That is too bad! I would have loved a crossover!

[@agenttheater5]

I think I already now that answer and that this is a lot to ask anyhow, but would you consider binge-watching 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' before it gets unfairly taken down? I mean I get cancelling a second season if it's not doing as well as hoped (which is stupid because a lot of people really like it) is one thing but deleted it from a platform altogether? I just really like your reactions and thought you might be interested since I did see you do a reaction to 'Grease, but I know this is really short notice. You don't have to film the reactions if you don't want to if you decide to try the show.

[@alexachipman]

Sorry, I loathed Grease, and as I recall that show is on Paramount aka we don’t allow reactions studio.

[@agenttheater5]

@@alexachipman you're right, I'm sorry. I just really liked the show and was asking everyone to give it a go before Paramount (music is absolutely not 50s but the plot line is much better than the movie), I should've double checked with what you thought about Grease on your reaction. Sorry about that, have a nice day :)

[@russellmassey9324]

If this has been a Star Trek espisode Kirk would definitely have seduced the System leader to escape. It never even seems to have crossed Blake's mind :)