2023/01/02

By The Preacher711

Blake’s 7 at 45… It feels incredible typing those words. Not just because it doesn’t seem that long since I first sat down to watch the show… or because that means that I must now be really old… it’s more the fact that not only are we still talking about the show – it’s the fact that Blake’s 7 seems to be enjoying a ‘second summer’ right now – a wave of new content seems to flow continuously right now from all directions! But it was not always so…

Even now, 45 years on, you can’t throw out a Tweet mentioning the shows (at the time) unique ending without the risk of being berated for ‘spoilers’ – so I’m going to assume you know how it goes down… you know the legend of show runner Chris Boucher as the ‘man who killed Christmas’ for us kids back in 1981… but after that fateful night it soon became very clear that Blake’s 7 was at an end. In 1982 a boy I went to school with had taken up the pen and written to the BBC asking if and when the show would return – when the response was received it was such a big deal that our teacher read the Beeb’s letter aloud to the class: there would be no more Blake’s 7….

Throughout the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s the fan community survived on Video & DVD releases, fan made novels and audios, fan meet ups and for my part, fan made video games… and the ever-present whispered hope of a sequel… a news report of a remake… and it wasn’t until the summer of 2007 that the first glimmer of a new dawn appeared: an audio remake, under the title ‘Blake’s7: A Rebellion Reborn’ was released into the world!

I’m not much of a writer (as you can tell!) – the spoken word is more my format - So I’ll leave reviews/critiques of ‘Blake’s7: A Rebellion Reborn’ (and it’s short lived spin offs) to those eminently more skilled and qualified… all I’ll say is – if you’re a Blake’s 7 fan and you haven’t heard the 3 main episodes, then take a look/have a listen – they are a fun retelling of the story. Love it or hate it, its impact is undeniable: audio book supremos ‘Big Finish’ saw the opportunity – saw the massive dormant market that had been awoken – and focussed its industrial creation engine upon little old Blake’s 7.

Since its first release in February 2012 (‘The Liberator Chronicles Volume 1), Big Finish has kept Blake’s 7 fans fully stocked with novels, audiobooks, and full cast audio plays (my shelves creak under the weight of them!). And with the said deaths of some of the core cast members, Big Finish continues telling stories under its ‘Worlds of Blake’s 7’ banner by focussing on characters and events beyond the Liberator/Scorpio crew.

But, dear reader, I don’t want to leave you with the view that ‘we’ve all been saved by the corporate monster’ (sorry Big Finish - I do love you!). In the same way Blake himself was the spark of rebellion – a figurehead to unite rebels and bring them out of the shadows – Big Finish seems to have played the same part. With them providing the renewed focus, and the post 2017 meteoric rise of Twitter – fans have been able to come together, share ideas and create content that rival any commercial option. If you want examples of this, check out the ‘Blake’s 7 1982 Annual’ created by CULTEDGE – in the format of a ‘lost annual’, CULTEDGE has brought together writers and artists to create something truly incredible – and he’s continued to do so across two more volumes of collected fan works.

It seems ironic that a show about ‘a shared vision, kept alive by a willing few’ is exactly what has kept the incredible ‘thing’ that is Blake’s 7 alive – and whilst it might be a few more than 7, one only must look at the names of these content creators to realise that it is no more than 30 names who have kept Blake’s 7 not only alive, but flourishing.

So what does the future hold for Blake’s 7? Well, there will always be the rumours of Blu-ray releases, sequels and reboots… but that aside at the time of writing Big Finish have teased an announcement in the new year about further content… CULTEDGE will be releasing a ‘1983 Annual’ of fan made content as well as a ‘Production Diary’ of stills and stories from the creation of the show. For my part, I’ve just started on a short form Podcast series interviewing fans, old and new,  from across the community on why the show still resonates with them 45 years after it was made – do have a listen, like and subscribe! I shall also be continuing (as I have since 1987!) churning of Blake’s 7 video games – until least until I get my ultimate wish of ‘someone else makes games so that I can finally be a player’!

Happy Anniversary!

Please also check out The Preacher711 Podcast:                                  And the Blake'7: Rebellion - Game website