RETRO TV REVIEW: Blake’s 7 S2E1: “Redemptionâ€
To this day, I remain baffled by why the BBC still refuses to import Blake“s 7 to the US market. This is a show that boasts a strong Doctor Who pedigree, given that Blake“s 7 was created and written by Terry Nation, the creator of the Daleks and Davros. It“s also a show that“s had some influence on American SF shows in later years, most notably Firefly and Babylon 5. While the visual effects were consistent with late 1970“s and early 1980“s productions, occasionally cheesy at times, the characters and writing make Blake“s 7 a show worth examining in closer depth.
“Redemption”“ is the first episode of the second season, written by series creator Terry Nation. One would expect the series premiere to deal with the main villains of the series, in this case the totalitarian Federation that Roj Blake and his crew seek to overthrow. They“re nowhere to be found this episode. Instead, Nation decides to approach his ideas in a more thematic way, creating a different threat to human freedom and having the crew of the Liberator react to it. This threat is also connected to ideas seeded in the first season, mainly the mystery of the Liberator and the creation of the ship“s advanced technology. Because of this, it“s probably not a good idea for a newcomer to start with this episode, and instead track down the first season if you want a sense of what Blake“s 7 is as a television show.
That aside, Nation constructs a compelling story that does a good job of putting the Liberator crew in genuine peril. The ship is accosted by mysterious spacecraft that take control of the ship“s systems and taking the sentient computer Zen offline. In effect, this turns the crew“s greatest asset and weapon against them, as Blake and his followers must fight the very ship that supports and sustains them. This leads into some good early moments, where the tension builds effectively and the threat only slowly becomes apparent. It also leads to some good character interactions, especially between the idealist captain Roj Blake (played by Gareth Thomas) and the cold survivalist Kerr Avon (brilliantly performed by Paul Darrow). There“s a good scene midway in the episode where the writing makes the viewer wonder whether Avon will save Blake, or leave him to die”¦ and when Avon finally saves Blake, it“s always with a pragmatic motivation that suits Avon and his cold-blooded, calculating nature. Paul Darrow plays it perfectly as well””his face is inscrutable, and his tone of voice is always calm and level in his scenes. These moments are where Blake“s 7 truly comes alive, as the motley crew comes together, but always for their own reasons and not always the idealistic ones.
The episode does stumble somewhat when the true nature of the Liberator“s creators are revealed. The basic idea Nation suggests is interesting and actually somewhat ahead of its time””a technocratic computer called The System that controls its human citizens for its own good, while denying them their basic freedoms. This plays well into the basic themes of the show and could have been a threat worth revisiting. However, the execution of The System doesn“t work quite as well as similar threats like the Cybermen and The Borg. Some of the problem is that the special effects and costume design look somewhat silly and this makes it difficult to take them overly seriously. At other times, The System comes across as a bit too easily defeated towards the end, and The System“s enforcers don“t convey the threat that they should. To be fair, there are some real moments of tension despite this, and the imprisonment and punishment of Blake by The System“s agents does a good job of selling the danger the crew is in. Unfortunately, this does get undermined somewhat by the relative ease of the crew“s escape””a regrettable necessity given the time to wrap things up””and the tension dissipates because of this. That“s honestly a shame, because Nation presents a bold idea effectively until it“s weakened by the third act.
That having been said, “Redemption”“ is generally a pretty solid season opener for the second season of Blake“s 7. The strength of the show lies in the complex personalities of each of the crew members, the tension of wondering where their loyalties truly lie, and how they react to times of crisis. The acting is superb for a group of relative unknowns, and Paul Darrow is always outstanding as Avon. It also does well at hitting Terry Nation“s larger personal themes and exploring the nature of freedom and what its true costs are. Even with some of the episode“s setbacks, these are relatively small problems, and “Redemption”“ still does an excellent job in showcasing what Blake“s 7 does well. If you“re interested in some classic small-screen SF and have a Region 2 DVD player, this episode is well worth tracking down.
Score: 4/5
Director: Vere Lorrimer
Writer: Terry Nation
Cast: Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Sally Knyvette, Michael Keating, David Jackson, Jan Chappell, Peter Tuddenham
Author Profile
- Steve Sellers had been a fan of superheroes ever since Superman: The Movie. But it took the JSA, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, Twilight Zone, and Chris Claremont's legendary run on the X-Men to make him a writer and a longtime fan of comics, fantasy, and science fiction. Steve is the co-creator of WHITE DRUID & MICHAEL NERO and GUARDIANS OF ELAYIM for Omen Comics, and he is also the creator of BLITZ and SHOCKWAVE for Revelation Comics (an imprint of Omen Comics).
