# Blake's 7 (1978)

> A band of convicts and outcasts wages guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation from a stolen alien starship.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1629

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 52
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: science fiction, drama
- Created by: Terry Nation
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Josette Simon, Michael Keating, Paul Darrow, David Jackson, Sally Knyvette, Peter Tuddenham, Gareth Thomas, Steven Pacey
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076987/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, cynical, sardonic, bleak, camaraderie

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive, with ratings rising steadily across the four seasons as the rebels' guerrilla campaign against the Federation grew more ambitious.

## Synopsis

Blake's 7 (1978-1981) is a British science fiction series created by Terry Nation for BBC One. Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas) leads a band of convicts and outcasts, including the cynical Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow), the thief Vila Restal (Michael Keating), and the computer ORAC voiced by Peter Tuddenham, in a guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation. Their engine is survival and resistance: they fight from a highly advanced alien spaceship they have taken for themselves, stealing supplies, dodging pursuit, and striking at Federation outposts while trying to remain free of the authority they despise. Each episode is typically a self-contained mission or escape, but the four seasons form a continuing rebellion with shifting crew members, including Josette Simon as Dayna Mellanby and Jan Chappell as Cally. The show runs four seasons across fifty-two fifty-minute episodes. Its tone is gritty, cynical and sardonic, with a bleak atmosphere that is leavened by camaraderie and dark humor. Its themes of compromise, loyalty and fighting tyranny suit viewers who enjoy the rough, low-budget charm of 1970s British space opera. Fans of Firefly and Battlestar Galactica (1978) will find resonance in its outlaw crew and grim defiance.

## Shows like Blake's 7

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- [Outcasts (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/31698)
- [UFO (1970)](https://ember.film/tv/2433)
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- [V: The Final Battle (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/65791)

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