Watch Blake’s 7
1. Star Trek - Characters are flat and one-dimensional.
1. Blake’s 7 - Characters are very complex and three-dimensional.
2. Star Trek - The Federation is (supposedly) good.
2. Blake’s 7 - The Federation is evil.
3. Star Trek - The dialogue is hokey, cheesy, and corny.
3. Blake’s 7 - The dialogue is clever, witty, and humorous.
4. Star Trek - Transporters are commonplace.
4. Blake’s 7 - Transporters are amazing.
5. Star Trek - Stand by your friends.
5. Blake’s 7 - Stand behind your friends.
6. Star Trek - Characters always use time travel to fix all their mistakes in their lives.
6. Blake’s 7 - There is no time travel in the B7 universe, all characters deal with the consequences of their actions, for better or worse.
7. Star Trek - Major characters die and are resurrected, hence, the actors become typecasted.
7. Blake’s 7 - Major characters die and the actors move on to bigger and better things.
8. Star Trek - Computers have zero personalities.
8. Blake’s 7 - Computers have quirks, perks, and pet-peeves.
9. Star Trek - Characters are fully devoted to the Federation, with an innate desire to help other people from the goodness of their hearts.
9. Blake’s 7 - Characters look out for one another for mutual advantage by escaping from the Federation with their hide intact, and make a few bucks on the side.
10. Star Trek - Humanitarianism is applied to practical daily life.
10. Blake’s 7 - Wealth is the only reality.
11. Star Trek - High morals make fine Federation officers.
11. Blake’s 7 - Greed makes very efficient Federation troopers.
12. Star Trek - Running away is an act of cowardice.
12. Blake’s 7 - Strategic withdrawal is running away, but with dignity.
13. Star Trek - Modesty is a sign of maturity and good character.
13. Blake’s 7 - Modesty is dishonesty.
14. Star Trek - Civilization has always depended on truth.
14. Blake’s 7 - Civlization has always depended on courtesy, rather than truth.
15. Star Trek - Assassination is considered unethical and apalling.
15. Blake’s 7 - Assassination has always been a legimate tool of statecraft and is pubicly accepted.
16. Star Trek - Good deeds are always rewarded.
16. Blake’s 7 - No good deeds go unpunished.
17. Star Trek - Self-sacrifice is a highly noble trait.
17. Blake’s 7 - Self-preservation is highly noble trait.
18. Star Trek - Winning means surviving.
18. Blake’s 7 - If winning means dying, choose losing every time.
19. Star Trek - Good is always favored over evil.
19. Blake’s 7 - Choosing the lesser evil of the two is the best option.
20. Star Trek - Saving someone’s life is viewed as a heroic gesture.
20. Blake’s 7 - Saving someone’s life is sometimes viewed as a big mistake.
21. Star Trek - Friendship can be as good as a handshake.
21. Blake’s 7 - Friendship can be as good as a handshake in one hand, and a hammer in the other.
22. Star Trek - The Enterprise encounters an alien civilization and destroys it in the name of Freedom, Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
22. Blake’s 7 - The Liberator encounters an alien civilization and destroys it in self defense.
23. Star Trek - Stories are solved within an hour.
23. Blake’s 7 - Stories are solved within several episodes, and sometimes leave many unresolved issues.
24. Star Trek - The humor on the show has always been spoon-fed.
24. Blake’s 7 - The humor on the show has always been sharp and subtle.
25. Star Trek - The tone of the show is naive and geeky.
25. Blake’s 7 - The tone of the show is dark and cynical.
B7 despite the low budget sets and effects definitely had good writing and acting behind it.
Kerr Avon was the best one.
Now I get it, it’s a bunch of drunk limeys in space.
Edi Bjorklund - Can Gene Roddenberry Learn From Terry Nation
https://youtu.be/g3xIXemMNII
Edi Bjorklund, an academic research librarian at U of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, gave this talk at a library conference about 1987, and I “illustrated” it for her. The audio is poor and was recorded in her home to give me the timings for the talk. She was a truly wonderful fan of both shows.
I’ll look into this one.
ty for the tip!
Never heard of Blake 7. Is/was it OTA, cable, or netflicks?