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Intergalactic Space Crusaders: Blake's 7

GNC said:
Anyone see Paul Darrow on Pointless Celebrities tonight?
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Spotted- was fantastic to see him again! Agreed on all points. Marvellous presence, and that unforgettable voice.

And you've pleased me greatly to say that he's not a double amputee. Unsure as to what he's suffering from, but he's as sure as hell not letting it get him down.

Blake's 7 had a potency and reach down all these decades that could easily have either maintained an ongoing mainstream output, or be rekindled now. And Paul Darrow could be recast back into role, next week, with my vote and that of many other last-century fans.

Villa was also good to see again- but less powerfully-so.

I love the way in which "Pointless" allows Osman and Armstrong to gently extract such meaningful quotes and content from its victims. The 'Seven' insights and quips were solid gold. Nearly made my day....and I think you've completed it, @GNC , with your noting/commenting upon it. Thanks!!
 
I listened to a couple of the audiobooks that were made in recent-ish years and Paul Darrow sounds great.
He has one of those voices that I don't greatly care what he's saying, he just sounds wry and interesting.

Heard he was chair-bound. Good to hear he isn't a mess.
 
I saw Darrow on Pointless. While it’s always sad to see your heroes age, he seemed quite chipper and the playfulness is still there.
 
As I mentioned on another thread - sadly Mr Darrow is a double amputee after suffering an aortic aneurysm a few years ago.
 
Servalan.jpg
Jacqueline Pearce (20 December 1943 – 3 September 2018) *Sigh*
 

French lecturer with Blake's 7 as his specialist subject (another has Blackadder).

A number of them are surprisingly easy--and too long!
 
Yithian said:

French lecturer with Blake's 7 as his specialist subject (another has Blackadder).

A number of them are surprisingly easy--and too long!
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I’ve never seen Blake’s Seven and I still managed to get three correct!
 
Yithian said:

French lecturer with Blake's 7 as his specialist subject (another has Blackadder).

A number of them are surprisingly easy--and too long!
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You say that, but I only got a couple, mind you, I haven't seen the series in 20 years. Someone should have told John how to pronounce Vila, though (!).
 
I loved Blake's Seven as a kid. My sister loved it even more - she has all the episodes somewhere, I believe, and her fancy dress of choice is Servalan. (Original girl power!). I actually found some B7 fan fiction that she'd written online when I was bored one afternoon.
 
There doesn't seem to be a dedicated thread for this TV show, but since it's now being repeated on Forces TV, maybe we could have a bit of a chat about it...?

Edit: since merged.
 
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Sorry that sounded like I was being ridiculously pedantic. I'm just having a laff at your obvious typo, lol.
 
Loved it.

Servelan was probably the most deliciously sensual villainess ever and the banter between Avon and Villa was truly inspired.
A jaw-droppingly bleak finale left the viewers craving more but ending abruptly as it did ensured Blakes 7's legendary status.
Blakes 7 was never credited as such, but was clearly a huge influence on the US series Firefly.
 
Yithian said:
... there's a real aura of dark mystery and discovery throughout the first series.
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Loved it and thinking back, just realised that was largely because it did have such a "dark theme'.

So happens, I kept this poignant obituary link on file. :)

From 'The Herald', Glasgow:

"At conventions in America when I’ve met a lot of actors, George Takei (Sulu in Star Trek) said to me, 'Blake’s 7 scripts are so good, that’s why it did well even though it couldn’t compete against Star Trek for production values,'” said Darrow".

https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/17683309.obituary-paul-darrow-actor-known-avon-blakes-7/
 
This is rather odd (and so curiously interesting).

A romantic little electronic piece inspired by (and featuring samples from) Blake's 7.

 
Not something I thought up, but worth repeating:

What Message does Your Favourite SF send?

Doctor Who - If you want to save the Universe, you need a madman in a box armed only with a sonic screwdriver. Doctor Who is essentially anarchistic.

Star Trek - If you want to save the Universe, you need a Star Fleet with battle cruisers and a hierarchy of officers and underlings who obey orders. Star Trek is essentially militaristic.

Star Wars - If you want to save the Universe, you need someone who can reach into themselves and Use The Force. Star wars is essentially mystical.

Blake's Seven - "You can't save the Universe. You shouldn't even try. You'll only make things worse if you do that..."
 
Yithian said:
My fondness for Blake's 7 aside, it's fairly obvious that the advent of the Space Age and then Hollywood inertia has dragged science fiction excessively towards space, spaceships and aliens. The effect has been compounded, moreover, by the fact that computer generated graphics now mean that almost anything can be depicted on screen. Yet perversely this seems to have led to more conservative approaches to subject matter--if we can show the weird, wonderful and other-worldly (it is believed by fools), then such things ought to be the focus of the genre. Too often this comes at the expense of ideas--and ideas are what the genre was established on, not aliens.

HG Wells, incidentally, has been quite well served by radio adaptations over the past few decades, and, like the great MR James, the spoken word may be the medium that serves the material best: the special effects in your head are better than any on screen.
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I wonder if the sort of sci-fi TV we grew up with actually stimulated our imaginations more simply because the special effects were, shall we say, limited.
 
Cochise said:
I wonder if the sort of sci-fi TV we grew up with actually stimulated our imaginations more simply because the special effects were, shall we say, limited.
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Yep, pet lizards with little sails strapped to their backs were terrifying dinosaurs.
 
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