Characters:

We also have a very diverse cast in terms of character. Blake (Gareth Thomas) is the leader of the pack, a guy who cannot handle injustice, he had been captured by the Federation, but he escapes with the others when the opportunity arises. Blake more or mess gets the ship the Liberator on a silver platter. Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow) is the opposite from Blake, he is fine with injustice, he does not want the help the entire universe. Yes, he is against the Federation, like Blake, but he’d rather hide as far as possible with the Liberator instead of antagonizing the Federation on a regular basis. Avon definitely is my favorite character, because he is Blake’s opposite, he has his own agenda, wired in a very different way than Blake. Jenny Stannis (Sally Knyvette), a former space smuggler and a great pilot and has a great affection for Blake and is very loyal to him. Villa Restal (Michael Keating) is another favorite of mine. Like Avon, he is the anti-hero, but on the contrary to Avon, he is always scared, rather stay on the ship then go on missions with Blake, but he is a skilled thief and a lock-picker, so he is often needed on missions much to his chagrin. That what makes him so funny, always the humor, the banter with the other crew members, he is just so much fun.

Olag Gan (David Jackson), he too escaped together with Villa, Jenny, Blake and Avon. Gan has been implanted with an electronic “limiter” device, which prevents him from ever killing again. Reason why this happened is because he killed a Federation guard after he murdered Gan’s girlfriend. He is courageous, strong, and dedicated to Blake's cause. Cally (Jan Chappell) originates from the planet Auron. Like all of her people, she is a telepath, and she can transmit thoughts to others. She joins Blake’s team at the end of episode 4 “Time Squad”. Zen (Peter Tuddenham) is the main computer of the Liberator. Orac (Derek Farr, first appearance series 1, later on by Peter Tuddenham) is a supercomputer built by Ensor. A device which is wanted by Supreme commander Servalan of the Federation. She is the boss of Space commander Travis (Barry Hayes) and together they try to steal ORAC. Travis and Blake have a history together, Travis truly hates Blake and wants him dead desperately. Although Travis is a very capable strategist, till now he is unable to capture Blake. Although Travis is a bit of a one-dimensional character, I enjoy the episodes with him (and the supreme commander) a tad more.

The Episodes:

The first episode “The Way Back” Former rebel leader Blake is being framed for a series of crimes which he didn’t do and is sentenced to exile on the prison planet Cygnus Alpha. Note - It has been so long ago since I have seen it, story is immediately engaging, even though the test of times in regard to production values can make this sometimes difficult. But I really enjoyed the first episode. Watching it on Blu-ray, although it definitely has some weak moments during the whole episode regarding picture quality, overall, it does look okay. In “Space Fall” Blake tries to take over the prison transport ship London with help from Kerr Avon and Jenna Stannis. When this fails, Blake, Jenna and Avon are sent to investigate an abandoned alien spaceship, they find drifting, there Blake grabs the chance to take control of that ship and escapes. Note - I find it a bit hard to watch through production values from that era, but the story is still interesting, actually a good episode. HD transfer is a mixed bag till now in my opinion. Most likely there is some footage that has definitely been lost.

In “Cygnus Alpha” Blake tries to free prisoners, but this is not as easy as it seems as there is a supreme ruler named Vargas and he is so full of himself, he wants the Liberator with the purpose of total power and conquest of the galaxy. Note - This was an average episode. I liked the exploring of the ship, meeting the ship’s computer Zen. Clearly Avon is going to become more of a problem for Blake. In “Time Squad” we get a new crewmember, Cally, they find her on a planet where Blake wants to blow-up a Federation nerve center. Cally decides to join the team. Note - Entertaining episode, good story, really like Avon, he is a character difficult to trust because he has an agenda of his own. Vila definitely is the comic relief. Blake’s 7 is now complete with adding Callie, a freedom fighter on the planet Saurian Major, originally from Auron.

In “The Web” Cally comes under the influence of an alien intelligence from her own people's legends, causing her to sabotage the Liberator. The ship goes off course and becomes ensnared by an organic web that surrounds a remote planet inhabited by a genetically engineered race and their creators. Note – An okay episode, I like the characters, especially Avon, he basically says Blake should watch his back... The continued story makes Blake’s 7 very interesting. Quote: On the Liberator: Avon saves Blake’s life: Blake: Thank you …why? Avon: Automatic reaction, I’m surprised as you are! Blake: I’m not surprised. “Seek-Locate-Destroy” Blake and the crew steal a message decoder from a Federation security base on Centero, it goes well but Cally did not make it back to the ship. Blake is embarrassing the Federation with his actions and keeps eluding them. So Supreme Commander Servalan assigns Federation military officer Space Commander Travis (wounded by Blake in the past) to eliminate Blake and the crew of the Liberator. Note - For me this is the best episode of the season, Nice to see the space HQ of the Federation, not just the ship the Liberator. Travis and the supreme commander Servalan are a nice addition to the (recurring) cast, adds something extra to the Blake universe. Besides Avon, I do also like Vila, the cowardly member of the crew, but he does what is asked of him with a nice dose of humor.

In “Mission to Destiny” Team Blake finds a ship adrift, of course Blake wants to help. There is a murder mystery going on, a whodunit story. Note - It was an entertaining episode, a whodunit story on a spaceship. It gave Avon and Cally some more screentime and I say it again: Avon is definitely my favorite character, totally different from Blake, who wants he help everyone, Avon sure doesn’t. Still, till now, he cooperates. What I didn’t understand was that how it is possible for Sara to retrieve the neutrotope, while only the captain had the access codes. Seems strange that in this time he would trust another crew member with the access codes. In “Duel” Travis is back and it trying to lure Blake in, but he hadn’t foreseen two powerful women on the planet below him while he is trying to catch Blake. Note - This was another strong episode, adding Travis as his adversary made it much more interesting, even though Travis seems nothing more than a one-dimensional adversary, I hoped that this would change over the course of the first series but that did not really happen.

In “Project Avalon” Blake and Jenna teleport down to evacuate a well-known resistance leader named Avalon, only to find that she was captured by the Federation. The Liberator's crew launch a rescue mission, not realizing that Travis is using Avalon as bait. Note - The supreme commander is back, and Travis is also, which makes this episode even more interesting. I don’t know how long Travis will be Blake’s adversary, but with all Travis’ failures to catch Blake, this could become stale, same as for instance the Borg in Star Trek: Voyager. Villa, the anti-hero, is being taken for granted a bit and yelled at too much by Blake, he could be more appreciative of Villa’s skills. In “Breakdown” The Liberator heads for space station XK72 where they seek help from surgeon Professor Kayn, when Gan's limiter implant malfunctions causing Gan to go psychotic and violently attack members of the crew. Avon definitely seems to be considering staying behind on the space station. But when he learns about Kayn’s plans, he goes back to warn his crew. Note – Good episode, where we see for the first time that Avon is considering going his own way instead of following Blake. Quote: Kerr Avon: Blake! In the unlikely event that we survive this... Roj Blake: Yes? Kerr Avon: I'm finished. Staying with you requires a degree of stupidity of which I no longer feel capable. Roj Blake: Now you're just being modest.

In “Bounty” Blake and Jenna set out to convince Sarkoff, the exiled former president of the planet Lindor to return to lead his people, before the Federation assumes control of the planet. However, the Liberator is taken over by a group of bounty hunters known as Amagons. Note - Average episode, premise is certainly okay, given the stakes and all, but execution was perhaps a bit weak. In “Deliverance” both Travis and the Supreme Commander are back! Approaching Cephlon, the Liberator crew witness a spacecraft crash land on the planet. They rescue a man named Ensor, who was trying to get back to his father on Aristo and arrange for the Federation to purchase something called Orac. Note - Avon is seen as a lord, a woman named Meegat has is been waiting for many years for this Lord. Avon seems to enjoy this a bit more than he ought to! Villa’s and Gan’s comments about it where funny. Difference between Blake and Avon becomes even more clear in this episode. Orac is apparently something very important to the supreme commander, she wants it and she and Travis are going to get it. Quote - Kerr Avon: Of course... that's why they were waiting for us. Meegat: All things are known to you. You are truly a lord! Vila Restal: [drily, to Avon] Counting yourself, that makes TWO people who think you are wonderful.

The series one finale is “Orac” where the crew of the Liberator head to the planet Aristo to deliver medical supplies to the computer scientist Ensor, creator of the mobile super-computer Orac. Blake and Cally require anti-radiation drugs for Avon, Gan, Vila and Jenna who have absorbed radiation on Cephlon. Travis and Servalan have also arrived on Aristo as they intend to claim Orac for themselves. Note - This is actually part two, Deliverance and Orac is one story. I really enjoyed the first series, more than expected and after a few episodes I was able to look past the age of the product but really enjoy the stories and the characters. Exciting ending for a series one finale.

Blu-ray:

When the Blu-ray was announced last year, I almost immediately knew that I wanted to purchase it, even though I had the complete series on DVD. I prefer to watch and own a series in the best available quality, unless the price difference is just too much, like for instance with UFO TV series. I am puzzled why there still is not Blu-ray review on Blu-ray.com because Blake’s 7 first series has been released 6 months ago or so, this because I wanted to see if my findings on this set were of the same conclusion: Yes, it is better than the DVD sets, but still I wasn’t always impressed with it, like I am with the release of Star Trek TOS, Battlestar Galactica, Space 1999 or Buck Rogers for instance. Often, I noticed what appeared to be SD quality video, and indeed, perhaps some scenes were lost, so they could not transfer it to HD. Sometimes also a horizontal bar on the left side of the screen. As the first series went on, I believe the quality did improve a bit, but as I said, I wasn’t blown away by this release in terms of picture quality. Still, I am happy with the set, enjoyed the first series and I will purchase series two on Blu-ray also.

Final Word:

This is it, turned out to be longer than expected, beforehand I always think I can make it shorter, but it usually becomes longer! It was so long ago since I last watched this, and as I said before somewhere, I don’t know if I saw it all, almost all or just parts of it. I think the latter, 30-40% maybe. And yes, I found it sometimes hard not to see the time it was made in, but I think I did come over that and enjoyed it very much! On to series two, will take at least 3-4 months I think, before this will be released, but I am patient.

Screencaps taken from: Blake's 7 Image Gallery, blog written with help from IMdB.