Blake's 7 on Blu-ray!

[diankra]

Well, that must explain why they have the exact same haircuts (and wardrobe) after the 4-month time jump mid-episode. They needed those items for personal grooming.

Speaking of which, the trip to Cygnus Alpha is supposed to be 8 months in all, and at the end of "Space Fall" we're only 4 months in, yet "Cygnus Alpha" picks up almost immediately in its aftermath, yet opens with the London only 48 minutes from its destination. I double-checked, and there's no story break at all between the "4 months" reference and the end of "Space Fall," so there's simply nowhere to insert those subsequent 4 months. Yet "Cygnus Alpha" reiterates that it's supposedly been an 8-month trip. It's as big a contradiction as Blake being famous without knowing it.

If there's one thing that Terry Nation writing the entire first series of B7 drove home to me, it's that Terry Nation wasn't that great a writer. His work was prone to major plot and logic holes, and I generally find Chris Boucher's episodes much better. Nation also wasn't much with character names. Tel Varon, Dev Tarrant, Del Grant, Del Tarrant, etc.

Speaking of character names, it's interesting that Vila is the only male regular in the show who's normally addressed by first name (Vila Restal) instead of by surname (Roj Blake, Kerr Avon, Olag Gan).

As a side point, Blake's seat is still rotated four months in. Maybe he got disciplined again, without being executed (Leylan seems to be a decant man in a bad system, avoiding adding to it if he can).

It is interesting about Vila, I'm not sure if that reversal of the norm was supposed to signify something or just a quirk of the naming conventions. Even Servalan calls him Vila rather than Restal! The ladies either use their given name (Jenna, Dayna) or else we don't know, although both Cally and Soolin feel like given names. Servalan must be her surname.

I don't think Nation is a terrible writer, I do think he's at times a messy writer, and committing to writing all 13 episodes of Series A didn't help. Boucher is the show's best writer though, and given he was script editor who knows how many other decent episodes are good because of the polish he gave them?

Reminds me, I really must start reading my Series B production diary!

The politics of the Federation are interesting. Even in Trial Servalan is trying to navigate a course between the politicians and the military, it isn't until Star One that

Spoiler

she can stage a coup and put the military in complete control.

My suspicion is that Soolin is a tradename. Her name was maybe Sue-Lynne Something (Chris Boucher's widow is Lynne).

 

[diankra]

Chris Boucher was the story editor, revising the scripts and sometimes adding material. (For instance, in episode 11, "Bounty," Boucher added some scenes and an important guest character when Nation's script came in too short.) Also, producer David Maloney no doubt had input or approval as well.

There was, according to Chris, a point in season one when Nation said "You can have revised drafts or first drafts of the next one". Nation said on the record that Boucher was the only person who could rewrite him and make it better.

 

[Starkers]

Reading the production diary for Series A it's pretty clear Nation's scripts were becoming more and more threadbare the closer it got to the end of the series!

 

[DarrenTR1970]

British TV in my experience is generally looser about nudity than American TV. When they do the standard detective-story trope of an interview in an artist's studio with a nude woman posing for the artist, they generally show substantially more than an American show (short of TV-MA) could get away with.

A bit late with this response, but when my family traveled to Great Britain in the summer of 85, I can remember watching one or two movies on television that were "R" rated in the states when they played in the theater, that were heavily censored for American broadcast television, that aired almost completely uncut on the BBC, with nudity and swearing. It was the gun violence that was trimmed.

 

[diankra]

Maybe it's just me who isn't a big fan of the murder mystery genre (at least on TV shows).

Nation had used the same McGuffin in The Saint and The Baron. One unfortunate night an American station ran them back to back.

 

[diankra]

Reading the production diary for Series A it's pretty clear Nation's scripts were becoming more and more threadbare the closer it got to the end of the series!

The basic problem was that if the script said "They fight" then on a film series that would be five minutes of well worked out choreography. In a VT studio it was a 10 second scuffle.

 

[Christopher]

My suspicion is that Soolin is a tradename. Her name was maybe Sue-Lynne Something (Chris Boucher's widow is Lynne).

I assume the idea is that names have undergone linguistic drift in the future, which is why you have names like Vila Restal, Olag Gan, and Servalan. Although apparently Su-lin is a valid Chinese given name.

Honestly, I'm five episodes into Series D and I'm not even certain Soolin is human, rather than one of the various humanoid aliens in the show's galaxy. She's had virtually no character development so far, and I honestly can't understand why they even made her a regular, aside from maintaining the quorum of seven main characters.

Worth noting, though, that neither Avon, Vila, nor Dayna is referenced by full name in the entirety of Series D, as far as I can tell, and full names are rarely used in the overall series. Here's the list I've managed to compile of the infrequent uses of the main characters' full names, though I can't be sure I haven't missed a few:

• Roj (Blake): The Way Back, Cygnus Alpha, Hostage, Blake
• Kerr (Avon): Space Fall, Cygnus Alpha, Killer, Powerplay, Rumours of Death
• Stannis (Jenna): Space Fall, Cygnus Alpha, Breakdown, Powerplay
• Restal (Vila): The Way Back, Powerplay
• Olag (Gan): Time Squad, Bounty
• Del (Tarrant): Powerplay, Ultraworld, Death-Watch, Sand
• Mellanby (Dayna): Powerplay (and implicitly Aftermath & Volcano through mentions of Hal Mellanby)

A bit late with this response, but when my family traveled to Great Britain in the summer of 85, I can remember watching one or two movies on television that were "R" rated in the states when they played in the theater, that were heavily censored for American broadcast television, that aired almost completely uncut on the BBC, with nudity and swearing. It was the gun violence that was trimmed.

That makes far more sense to me than the American practice of treating an unclothed body as a more obscene sight than a dismembered body.

Once in a bookstore, I saw an imported German film magazine on the shelf, and it had a topless woman right on the cover, plain as day. It wasn't an adult magazine, just a general movie-news magazine, and it was more casual about nudity on the cover than Penthouse or Hustler could get away with in America.

 

[diankra]

I assume the idea is that names have undergone linguistic drift in the future, which is why you have names like Vila Restal, Olag Gan, and Servalan. Although apparently Su-lin is a valid Chinese given name.

Honestly, I'm five episodes into Series D and I'm not even certain Soolin is human, rather than one of the various humanoid aliens in the show's galaxy. She's had virtually no character development so far, and I honestly can't understand why they even made her a regular, aside from maintaining the quorum of seven main characters.

Worth noting, though, that neither Avon, Vila, nor Dayna is referenced by full name in the entirety of Series D, as far as I can tell, and full names are rarely used in the overall series. Here's the list I've managed to compile of the infrequent uses of the main characters' full names, though I can't be sure I haven't missed a few:

• Roj (Blake): The Way Back, Cygnus Alpha, Hostage, Blake
• Kerr (Avon): Space Fall, Cygnus Alpha, Killer, Powerplay, Rumours of Death
• Stannis (Jenna): Space Fall, Cygnus Alpha, Breakdown, Powerplay
• Restal (Vila): The Way Back, Powerplay
• Olag (Gan): Time Squad, Bounty
• Del (Tarrant): Powerplay, Ultraworld, Death-Watch, Sand
• Mellanby (Dayna): Powerplay (and implicitly Aftermath & Volcano through mentions of Hal Mellanby)

That makes far more sense to me than the American practice of treating an unclothed body as a more obscene sight than a dismembered body.

Once in a bookstore, I saw an imported German film magazine on the shelf, and it had a topless woman right on the cover, plain as day. It wasn't an adult magazine, just a general movie-news magazine, and it was more casual about nudity on the cover than Penthouse or Hustler could get away with in America.

FWIW, reading a book about the lead-up to World War 1, Serbia was often translitrerated from Cyrhillic as Servia, and its people as Servalans (contemporary letters). My guess is that the young Terry Nation read an old book, and it stuck at the back of his mind.

 

[Christopher]

FWIW, reading a book about the lead-up to World War 1, Serbia was often translitered from Cyrhillic as Servia, and its people as Servalans. My guess is that the young Terry Nation read an old book, and it stuck at the back of his mind.

Are you sure? I did a Google Books search, and the only old book I could find that mentioned Servia called its people Servians.

As I said last month, I would've thought the name was derived from "serval," a wild cat species that has a resemblance to Servalan. Anyway, it's a bit of a weird name for a commanding authority figure, since it sounds somewhat like "servile."

 

[diankra]

The Sleepwalkers. Book about the run up, quotes lots of government letters from the time.

 

[Marc]

The basic problem was that if the script said "They fight" then on a film series that would be five minutes of well worked out choreography. In a VT studio it was a 10 second scuffle.

other than location did they ever use film for studio work?

There are some scenes where the image quality is notably different. It was studio work with set that were for scenes aboard the Liberator but not regular sets.

iirc Breakdown and Redemption had two notable examples.

 

[diankra]

other than location did they ever use film for studio work?

There are some scenes where the image quality is notably different. It was studio work with set that were for scenes aboard the Liberator but not regular sets.

iirc Breakdown and Redemption had two notable examples.

Several times. The fights in Cygnus Alpha were on film. But sometimes film was just used for non-fight stuff (Mission to Destiny and Breakdown).
At a guess, in season one, each episode had an allocation of filming. If it wasn't used on location, then it could be used at Ealing.

 

[Christopher]

Several times. The fights in Cygnus Alpha were on film. But sometimes film was just used for non-fight stuff (Mission to Destiny and Breakdown).
At a guess, in season one, each episode had an allocation of filming. If it wasn't used on location, then it could be used at Ealing.

Yeah, I wondered why the ship corridors in "Mission to Destiny" were on videotape in some scenes and film in others. I figured it had to be an issue of scheduling, or else the Television Centre not having room for all the sets.

In "Powerplay" in Series C, one of the Liberator corridors is briefly on film, presumably because the scene involves two characters climbing down into a floor hatch, and I guess they needed to build a special raised corridor set at Ealing. But shortly thereafter, the same corridor section and hatch are on videotape, because that scene didn't require anyone to climb down into the hatch (though there is a cutaway to a filmed POV insert shot of what's below the hatch).

Film was also sometimes used for scenes that called for complicated stage effects like the melting ice and collapsing ceiling in the polar outpost in "Countdown."

 

[diankra]

Yeah, I wondered why the ship corridors in "Mission to Destiny" were on videotape in some scenes and film in others. I figured it had to be an issue of scheduling, or else the Television Centre not having room for all the sets.

In "Powerplay" in Series C, one of the Liberator corridors is briefly on film, presumably because the scene involves two characters climbing down into a floor hatch, and I guess they needed to build a special raised corridor set at Ealing. But shortly thereafter, the same corridor section and hatch are on videotape, because that scene didn't require anyone to climb down into the hatch (though there is a cutaway to a filmed POV insert shot of what's below the hatch).

Film was also sometimes used for scenes that called for complicated stage effects like the melting ice and collapsing ceiling in the polar outpost in "Countdown."

My guess is that the Powerplay and Aftermath scenes around the life capsules were shot together.
Something that's on record is that Powerplay was the first episode made that season, and that David Maloney insisted on directing it as it was the debut for two new regulars, who he would cast rather than another director (possibly a reference to George Spenton-Foster thinking he should have cast the new Travis, and was unhappy about Maloney doing it for him. Alternatively, GSF was very camp, and Brian isn't. Either way, GSF didn't make Brian welcome, so it wasn't till Trial that he felt OK).

 

[Christopher]

My guess is that the Powerplay and Aftermath scenes around the life capsules were shot together.

Yes, during the production of episode 4, "Dawn of the Gods," according to the B7 wiki. That was a completely studio-bound episode with no location scenes, so I guess that left its filming period free for doing pickups for the earlier episodes. I had thought the film scenes were normally done before the studio tapings, but I guess that wasn't always the case. (Though it's needed for shows like Monty Python's Flying Circus and Red Dwarf where the filmed inserts are shown during taping to the studio audience.)

Something that's on record is that Powerplay was the first episode made that season, and that David Maloney insisted on directing it as it was the debut for two new regulars, who he would cast rather than another director (possibly a reference to George Spenton-Foster thinking he should have cast the new Travis, and was unhappy about Maloney doing it for him. Alternatively, GSF was very camp, and Brian isn't. Either way, GSF didn't make Brian welcome, so it wasn't till Trial that he felt OK).

Hmm, I didn't know that. I guess I kind of see what you mean about Spenton-Foster being "camp." I'd say "Gambit" was the only out-and-out campy episode he did, but the earlier ones have some campy touches, like Coser's performance (and his and Rashel's costumes) in "Weapon," Servalan's bizarre bug-lizard dress in the closing scenes of "Pressure Point" (which cancels out the fashion points she gained for rocking an excellent hat earlier in the episode), and the appearance and performance of "Shivan" in "Voice from the Past."

Funny -- B7 has a reputation of being a dark, dystopian series, but there are times it gets almost as campy as Lost in Space.

 

[Starkers]

Honestly, I'm five episodes into Series D and I'm not even certain Soolin is human, rather than one of the various humanoid aliens in the show's galaxy. She's had virtually no character development so far, and I honestly can't understand why they even made her a regular, aside from maintaining the quorum of seven main characters.

Be interesting to see if your opinion changes as the series progresses. Soolin does get more to do, although some of it is down to Glynis Barber making better use of the material she's given. In particular she leans into the snark and almost becomes a female Avon at time, and she and Darrow work as well as a duo as Simon and Pacey do.

She never rises too much above a cipher however, ironically probably getting most back story in her last episode! Plus it seems a bit odd to introduce a female gunslinger when the show already had Dayna.

 

[Starkers]

My guess is that the Powerplay and Aftermath scenes around the life capsules were shot together.
Something that's on record is that Powerplay was the first episode made that season, and that David Maloney insisted on directing it as it was the debut for two new regulars, who he would cast rather than another director (possibly a reference to George Spenton-Foster thinking he should have cast the new Travis, and was unhappy about Maloney doing it for him. Alternatively, GSF was very camp, and Brian isn't. Either way, GSF didn't make Brian welcome, so it wasn't till Trial that he felt OK).

From what I've read GSF was appalling towards Croucher

 

[Christopher]

Be interesting to see if your opinion changes as the series progresses. Soolin does get more to do, although some of it is down to Glynis Barber making better use of the material she's given. In particular she leans into the snark and almost becomes a female Avon at time, and she and Darrow work as well as a duo as Simon and Pacey do.

She did get some entertaining moments in "Headhunter," so at least she has a personality developing, but she's still just kind of there.

Plus it seems a bit odd to introduce a female gunslinger when the show already had Dayna.

Yes. The only less imaginative choice they could have made to replace Cally was to bring in another alien telepath.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Something that's on record is that Powerplay was the first episode made that season, and that David Maloney insisted on directing it as it was the debut for two new regulars, who he would cast rather than another director (possibly a reference to George Spenton-Foster thinking he should have cast the new Travis, and was unhappy about Maloney doing it for him. Alternatively, GSF was very camp, and Brian isn't. Either way, GSF didn't make Brian welcome, so it wasn't till Trial that he felt OK).

Hmm, I didn't know that. I guess I kind of see what you mean about Spenton-Foster being "camp." I'd say "Gambit" was the only out-and-out campy episode he did, but the earlier ones have some campy touches, like Coser's performance (and his and Rashel's costumes) in "Weapon," Servalan's bizarre bug-lizard dress in the closing scenes of "Pressure Point" (which cancels out the fashion points she gained for rocking an excellent hat earlier in the episode), and the appearance and performance of "Shivan" in "Voice from the Past."

From what I've read GSF was appalling towards Croucher

From my 'Behind the Scenes' book on Blake's 7, straight from the horse's mouth, as it were

The only change between series one and two of Blake’s 7 was the replacement of the actor playing Travis. Stephen Greif had left to pursue other roles, and Brian Croucher stepped in to play the part. “I originally went to see David Maloney for the role of Blake. I thought with my background, I would have made a wonderful intergalactic criminal, but it wasn’t to be. A year or two later, Blake’s 7 was going again, and Stephen had decided, for whatever reason, not to go into a second series as Travis. David Maloney had seen me in a series I had just completed called Out!, and offered me the part.”

Brian had a baptism of fire during the first episode with George Spenton-Foster, and deeply regretted that it had not been in the hands of another director. “I saw David recently, and said to him, ‘It would have been nice for you to have directed at least the first episode and got me into it, just help me,’ because if anyone knew what the first series was about and the second series was going to be, it was the producer. That would have been the thing to do, but unfortunately, I had George Spenton-Foster, and I don’t know how other people feel about him, but I had nothing in common with him at all.”

Jacqueline Pearce watched the situation develop in rehearsals. “I suspect it was chemical thing. It was difficult to see someone used as a whipping boy. It happened quite frequently, and I found it very disturbing. It was a great shame. Brian was taken on to play the same character as Stephen Greif, which was a bit silly, because if they were going to do that, then they should have got a heavy, which Brian isn’t. He’s a lightweight, so he had a lot of problems, and I don’t think George Spenton-Foster was particularly kind to him. I liked Brian very much, and he was fun to work with.”

“Essentially, there wasn’t a relationship,” says David Maloney’s assistant Judith Smith. “Brian was down-to-earth, very masculine and very talented actor, but miscast in this particular role. Along comes George Spenton-Foster, a dear man, but very much into sequins and feathers and the totally flamboyant side, which was why Jackie got on so well with him. He and Brian just clashed from the word ‘go’. George couldn’t see Brian’s good points, and Brian couldn’t see George’s. It was two total opposites, pure and simple. Fortunately, George didn’t direct too much, but he did Brian’s first one, which didn’t help Brian settle into the new role at all. There are bits where Brian comes through as being very good as Travis, but they were not directed by George Spenton-Foster. I’m sure David talked to both of them about it, but I remember that it was well known that these two clashed, and only had to see them at rehearsals to see that there was no communication between them at all; George was not directing Brian.”​

 

[Christopher]

I think I actually liked Croucher a little better as Travis than Grief. He was less of a savage attack dog, more coolly malevolent. Although the writing for Travis suffered toward the end of Series B. After the terrific "Trial" changed his status quo, they couldn't seem to make up their mind what to do with him.