Pre-watch thoughts
So, Blake's 7. I've been meaning to watch this show for ages, with numerous people having suggested it in the past, most notably Rushy, check him out here. Finally having time to myself to be able to sit down and watch it, here we are. Quite why the different series of this show is assigned a letter rather than a number is confusing to me, but I find it rather interesting.
Given this is a Terry Nation franchise, I fully expect there to be a lot of very "out-there" ideas and some of his weird sense of humour, though I also anticipate that the comedy angle may not be played up as much in this, if at all, given it's the first episode and it needs to focus on setup and character as opposed to just saying the big funny and expecting wheezes of laughter from the audience - something Steven Ruddy Moffat can work on in future endeavours.
Enough preamble, let's get into this.
Post-watch
Initial thoughts
My God, that was awesome.
Nation's in his element here, all the characters are amazing and the story is a great mix of complicated and simple, something Nation is incredibly good at. For a first episode, it's written really well, and I love the interactions of the characters and the backwards characterisation of Blake as having to pick up the pieces and find out who he is after having an extreme mind-wipe, as it allows him to figure out what the hell is going on here as we do. Nation is careful in how he executes this, as he doesn't bombard the viewer with too much exposition so as to leave them cold, but gives enough to leave you perplexed and demanding answers.
Roj Blake, played by Gareth Thomas, is utterly amazing to watch. The performance of Thomas isn't one-note or the "generic hero" type as you might expect from a character who's name is in the title, but instead it's a multi-faceted performance - for example, compare his cynicism and confused demeanour seen at the start when he's dragged along to the rebellion meeting with his anger visible when trying to remember his past in his very metallic cell and when he hears of the charges against him. You can really tell he's taken the time to think about how he will play Blake and gives a stellar performance, making him a relatable protagonist who the audience can empathise with and understand the plight of, whilst also having enough mystique to allow us to wonder what he was like in his glory days before the government officials corrupted him.
The dialogue is brilliant too. The characters' lines are both very colloquial for sci-fi programs of this period (note the long-winded, eloquent sentences in a number of Tom's Doctor Who stories) yet also very what I like to call "Sci-Fi Wisdom". A good example is the following line from Vila Restal - "We're all victims of a miscarriage of justice." It's almost poetic in a way, and I love it.
Also that scene in the bedroom starts in such a funny way. You can't tell me that "What time is it?" "Late." "Come to bed." They snog wasn't written for laughs. It's just far too damn funny. Speaking of comedy, I was right to suspect that Nation wouldn't pull out the funny card just yet, as the majority of the story is extremely serious in tone, which I'll return to later, however, the little comedy there is in this episode is well-executed, and isn't in your face, which is excellent.
Story notes
Roj Blake was a criminal in the eyes of the government and led a resistance force against it with Bran Foster and numerous others before being captured by the government and brainwashed by their machine to confess to his crimes, publicly denounce the resistance and had his mind wiped while the group was rounded up and captured. At least, this is what he's told by Foster when he's brought there by Ravella. It's all very Nineteen Eighty-Four in space, and I assumed this is how the story would continue until the group meeting is abruptly ended by government lackeys turning up and killing nearly everyone at the meeting, leaving Blake alone to take the blame. This is so well-written and was a twist I really didn't expect.
Blake tries to remember his past but can't. The government are afraid he'll start spewing about the massacre, so decide to have him tried on different charges after his arrest, all of which involve children (Yes, in that way). He's tried and found guilty by the computer and sentenced to life imprisonment on another planet for his "crimes". Turns out that a lad from the resistance meeting earlier called Dev Tarrant (phone a friend?) has set him up to be captured from the start and smirks with glee when Blake gets conked in the arm with a knockout needle and crashes to the floor harder than the stock market in 1929. I like the idea that we realise who the villain is without him saying much - great use of show don't tell when Blake is injected with the serum then just stares open-mouthed when Dev slinks in the room and looks at him with those cold eyes. Really well executed in both writing and acting. 10/10.
Blake is put in a cell to hold him for now until he gets put on a ship which will take him to the prison planet. (God that sounds like a 70s Who story title) On it he meets Restal, Jenna, and the other inmates - some of whom undoubtedly make up the other 6. While he gets to know them, his defence lawyer from the trial thinks something's afoot and so decides to check public records with his wife to see if the case has been forged, after a not-sex-we-promise scene. This is important, as it leads to the bit that cracked me up immensely when I saw it. The dude who's operating the records is listening to whatever the latest chart hit is on his big fuck-off Walkman and jams to it as if he wants to join the kids from the "My name's Katrina" video. I'm going to put this one next to "Ingrid Pitt fights the Myrka" in my list of funniest TV moments. The defence lawyer asks to see the school attendance records and discovers the kids Blake supposedly did Jimmy Saville antics with were absent from school. Upon trying to see records of the central clinic's admissions, the government have classified it, because of course they have, they want to hide their footprints (the sodding bastards). Bribing the operator, the lawyer and his wife are shown that three admissions were made and thus deduce that the children had memory implants to make them think Blake got his little Blake out and did the dirty deed, like Ronald McDonald does with his succulent McNugget behind the restaurant on Fridays. Once they leave, the operator calls security, because of course he does.
The lawyer and his wife meet Blake, who tells them about big lad Dev, working out that he betrayed them. After they effectively play the "Dunno, see ya later" card, Blake chats for a bit with Vila and Jenna, the latter of which clearly wants to shag him. Vila explains she's a smuggler and that it's "an honour to be locked with her". Now you can take this line one of two ways - either he's genuinely admiring of her, or he wants to shag her. The amount of sexual tension in this is so damn funny to me.
The defence lawyer talks to Ven Glynd, the man who authorised the implantation of the false memories into the childrens' minds, and Glyn obviously is SeRiOuSlY dUmBfOuNdEd BeCaUsE hE cLeArLy HaD nOtHiNg To Do WiTh ThAt Nonononononononono. The lawyer tells him the truth about what Blake went through and asks for permission to leave the city. I like the fact that the lawyer isn't being used simply as a stereotypical lawyer - evidence, courtrooms and all that, and is given an active role in the plot. The lawyer is denied his request and told to go home and get some sleep. He ponders a detail about tunnels brought up by Glynd which had nothing to do with their conversation, then overhears Glynd having a private conversation about "a small problem." It doesn't take long for him to put two and two together. The lawyer and his wife set up a call pretending to be Glynd and call the doctor whom Glynd phoned not too long beforehand; asking him whether there are details for the case, the lawyer's suspicions are confirmed when the Doctor says the records of the faked data are indeed still there and in his office and has them brought down to reception by his assistant. The lawyer sends his wife to collect the records and head home to get the camera while he goes and talks to a thief about a lock-pick. This bit really got me excited for the conclusion because now Glynd's jig is up and Blake can be freed. Everything's falling into place in Blake's favour and I anticipated the big finale, hoping it wouldn't disappoint.
It didn't, thankfully.
Jenna, still wanting to sleep with Blake clearly, talks with him about how his time is running out if he can get a holding process (i.e. withheld from the prison). The lawyer and his wife make their way to the door leading out and, now having the evidence, know they can make a case for Blake's innocence from what they have. A security guard watches them leave, then calls in the rest of the troops to follow them. Blake and the other prisoners are taken by security and forced out. The lawyer and his wife come across the cadavers of the original resistance and the lawyer searches the corpses for picture tapes. The back-and-forth between the scenes with the lawyer and his wife and Blake's predicament is breathtaking and left me on edge, wondering how Nation would resolve this. The writing in this is so damn good, I love it. The prisoners are taken to the ship. The lawyer finishes scanning - he's got all he needs; more than enough to keep Blake on Earth. But Blake is already on the ship, and the clock is ticking. Will he make it off the ship? I was genuinely watching this on the edge of my seat, no joke. Well, my friends, it turns out he won't. He's restrained in his seat and the ship takes off, with Blake inside. He's done for. Dev watches as the ship leaves, then turns and starts heading in the direction of the tunnel, telling the guard with him to claim a "transporter accident" is what bumped off two people. Which two people? Have a guess. The lawyer and his wife. Blake is positively scundered now. Blake is told by a warden on the ship that this is the last he'll ever see of Earth, but rather calmly claims, "No, I'm coming back" in his best Arnold impression.
And just like that, the episode ends.
Now for my few words on the production side to round this thing off.
Production
The modelwork in this, limited though it is, is beautiful. The dome and the ship, as well as the shots of space and indeed the amazing title sequence are just brilliant to look at and really show off some of the best work the BBC's special effects department could do for the era.
Dudley Simpson's score is top-notch, as always. I was already aware of his work, given the numerous Who stories he worked on, but this score is fantastic. The proud and pompous theme music is reminiscent of John Williams' work on A New Hope and really captures the tone of the show. The incidental music in here is also incredibly well-placed, capturing the mood of the scenes very well and I hope he and his orchestra were paid good money for their services.
The camerawork and set design is glorious. The designer has taken the typical "White and featureless" descriptions Nation puts in his scripts and is able to morph this into a number of well-designed sets that are really aesthetically pleasing and capture the feel of a futuristic city really well without making the show look dated. The camera operators are on fine form too, not accidentally getting the boom mic in frame or getting a bad shot at any stage. It's so professionally crafted, and I really appreciate the level of work that went into this.
Overall, a positive reception from me. Thank you Rushy for suggesting this, and I can't wait to get stuck into Episode 2 of Series A, Space Fall.
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