Sally Knyvette on the Quality of Blake's 7 Scripts

[@mikebasil4832]

Blake’s 7 I finally saw in syndication shortly after the cancellation of classic Doctor Who. It was a very intriguing sci-fi series and with one of the most unforgettable endings ever seen on TV. Thank you, Sally, for this interview. 🌟

[@KevinJonDavies]

I was sat near Sally signing at Gallifrey One in LA. a few weeks ago and as we finished up I grabbed a few moments for a word with her. When I first visited the set of B7 in 1978 (I was just 16) as Mat Irvine brought me into the studio Sally gave me a wink and a smile. I told her I remember feeling my ears go hot, as I'd blushed. She laughed and said, rather self-effacingly, "I bet that wouldn't happen now!" Ha ha. Love her and all the B7 cast.

[@ravensthorne4631]

She has a point. Jenna had a good backstory that the writers could have tapped into to create some interesting episodes.

[@AudioSirens]

They could have.

[@kreigrastalovich2577]

Nah she don't. You're just trying to sound good in your group.

[@Deevo037]

One of the highlights of Blake's seven for me was the strong writing though she has a point but it was emblematic of the times too.

[@AudioSirens]

Absolutely true. If you look at it through today's lens, sure, it has problems, but so does every show of that era. Having been alive during that time myself though, I can't say we gave it a second thought. We were simply interested in a good story. Good stories is a lesson modern writers could take note of.

[@Whalewraith]

To me it was the characters. They really stood out.

[@kreigrastalovich2577]

It's not problems, it's reality. Looking through today's lenses - the people will tell you everything is badly written, badly acted. Women are meant to be for attraction and they can't fight men, that's common sense not fiction.

[@enigmagenesis7341]

Sad story concerning Sally. When I worked at Forbidden Planet in London some years ago, she came into the store and sat with her dog in the Sci-Fi section, clearly hoping to be recognised by fans. However it was my sad duty to ask her to leave as dogs were not allowed. I think I was the only one who recognised her immediately.

[@AudioSirens]

When was this?

[@RichardHallas]

I adored Blake’s 7 (I was about 8 when it started) and I totally sympathise with what Sally is saying here. But the way the men dominated the action is just how things were then - and, in fact, the girls DID get to do worthwhile things in Blake’s 7 from time to time. They could certainly have used her more and better, though. I liked Jenna as a character, and I recall being disappointed that we didn’t see more of her. But what sticks with me is the level of disappointment I felt when she left. When I realised she wasn’t coming back, I was sad that this important core character - one of my favourites - was gone, and I felt that the whole show was diminished by her absence.

[@harrynewiss4630]

Rewatching these again, she has a point. Some of the female characters in Dr Who had the same issues at the time - it depended a lot on the writers, some of whom I suspect weren't really comfortable writing strong female characters

[@patdbean]

Gena's back story was wonderfull. But the writers did not expand on it, apart from a couple of referances in the episodes bounty and shadow. And one of her best stories, when she saved the four men from travis by capturing servalan and forcing her to go into the forbiden zone. The whole thing was just backgrounded. We did not see it , it was just explained in retrospect.

[@MacBratt]

Hmmm, I thought 'Who Pays the Ferryman' was her first big thing ;-)

[@AudioSirens]

Don't get it..

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

_Stardrive_ from Season 4 is so badly written and poorly made it's almost brilliant.

[@AudioSirens]

It has been ages since I have seen series 4. I must look again soon.

[@jacqueschouette7474]

After having watched Start Trek, Star Wars and Dr. Who, thru the miracle of the Internet, I finally got around to watching Blake's Seven. Maybe if I had watched it when it first came out, I would think differently, but I found it to be really, really cheesy. I don't really remember any episode that made you reflect further, it was just, "ho hum, another one down, on to the next episode." By the final season, I just stopped watching it completely. About the only think that I found interesting was seeing which actors that were in Blake's Seven would turn up in Dr. Who episodes.

[@AudioSirens]

Each to their own

[@kreigrastalovich2577]

I'm a massive fan of the show and tbh the later seasons are oft bad.

[@MichaelRowe-cv3oq]

Blakes 7 had scripts ?.......I suppose me being about 17/18 at the time that it was on tv,the socio-economic/political guff of the story writing-oppression of the masses etc etc-were lost on me and as a result after the first season I gave up,it's sub par,crappy "Visual Effects" looked like Dr Who's rejects....I tried the entire series about 5 years later and once again about two years ago,sadly it had not improved and the programmes title itself often is used in conversation when need a yardstick to measure awful things by....Plus I thought The Liberator was one of THE most stupid looking space ships I had ever seen,I still do.

[@AudioSirens]

Wow! Thanks for the comment Michael. I guess Blake's 7 is not for everyone. At least you gave it a try.

[@MichaelRowe-cv3oq]

@@AudioSirens Maybe if it had been made in this day and age,it could have been so much better....Mind you it would probably end up being a Woke Joke just like Dr Who has been for the past five years.......I weep for humanity,i really do.

[@kreigrastalovich2577]

Yep, completely agree. Pretty much most modern things written are badly written, filtered through dei, and the fiction is in the artificial empowerment.