How's that for a wordy title?A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7 was my fifth book, penned ages ago, in the very distant-seeming days of 1998. It was published by McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers in 1999. Now, in 2006, this effort is being re-published in softcover with brand new cover art.
Since my Blake book is "timely" again (and part of my 2006 release stable, alongside Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair [Applause Books] and Behind the Screen: This is Spinal Tap [Emmis Books]), I figured it was time to spotlight it in this bi-weekly feature devoted to my ham-handed attempts to promote my own work. Message: buy my books. Please.
Anyway, Blake's 7 is a great, memorable science fiction TV program from Great Britain, and too few genre fans in America have seen it. The series is not even currently released on DVD here in the States, and that's a big time bummer. But many folks who have seen the show have termed the series "The Anti-Star Trek" because it features many commonalities with Gene Roddenberry's space opera, but then turns those commonalities on their head. For instance, there's a matter transporter in Blake's 7, but it's not like Star Trek's. And here, the Federation is a totalitarian, evil Empire, not a force for good.
Here's what some of the critics said about my Blake's 7 book back when it was released:
"...the daddy of all references sources about the show and its following...a useful guide...Muir delivers the substance."-ZEALOT.COM
"Mr. Muir's book, like the distant universe it describes, glows brightly."-R.J FYNE, KEAN UNIVERSITY, FILM AND HISTORY
"Muir is good at catching details...[Muir's] tying together of themes and threads within the series is a great strength of the book." - Ann Basart, HERMIT.ORG: Deeply Silly Space Series or Heroic Poem?
And this material is from my introduction:
The most memorable science fiction programs in television history have been those which deliberately modify classic stories or myths and reiterate them in new and exciting contexts, frequently the outer space arena.
The long-honored genre standard-bearer, Star Trek (1966-1969) is an extension of American pioneer and imperialist ideals and was even referred to by its creator, Gene Roddenberry, as "Wagon Train to the Stars." Irwin Allen's Lost in Space (1965-68) is a futuristic re-telling of The Swiss Family Robinson with a family - again the Robinsons - marooned on a far-off planet rather than an isolated island. Even the much-maligned Glen Larson saga, Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) is a quasi Biblical epic in its vision of the human race's cosmic exodus and passage through a red space field, a galactic equivalent of the Red Sea.
Similarly, Terry Nation's unique British entry in the science fiction television sweepstakes, Blake's 7 (1978-81) is a futuristic accumulation and translation of classical literary, film and television traditions. It is part Robin Hood with its band of futuristic outlaws facing the overwhelming power of an evil Galactic Empire, and part The Seven Samurai (1954) or The Magnificent Seven (1960) in its thematic disposition to dramatize heroes defending the innocent from conquering forces both alien and human. Unlike Robin Hood, however, Blake's 7's television avengers are noticeably not merry men.
On the contrary, the heroes of Blake's 7 are depicted in this four-year, 52-episode BBC series as a desperate, fatalistic and determinedly pragmatic band. Although Blake is a man of honor, his mind starts to break down after the death of a follower ("Pressure Point") and his continued failure to defeat the mighty Terran Federation. Blake's right hand man, Avon, is even less traditional. Equipped with a razor-sharp intellect and an instinct for self-preservation, Avon chooses to accompany Blake on his cosmic quest only because it suits his purposes.
In the words of creator Nation, his television series is not about outer space or alien civilizations at all. Instead, it concerns "The little guy against City Hall." The heroes, including a loyal "everyman," a beautiful smuggler and a common thief, are thus defined in totally realistic and believable, non-superhuman terms.
When one considers that so many popular science fiction shows, from classic Star Trek to Babylon 5 (1993-98) are endorsements of overreaching futuristic military forces proffering "peace," whether it be Starfleet in Trek, the Earth Alliance in Babylon 5, the Directorate in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1981) or even the United Earth Oceans of SeaQuest DSV (1993-96), this anti-establishment thematic strand marks Blake's 7 as a unique addition the genre's video pantheon.
It is a relief to report that Blake's 7 protagonists do not hold military rank, wear neatly ironed uniforms or work together in a tightly structured hierarchy for the "enrichment" of mankind. They are not pioneers or diplomats, but rather very human outlaws fighting a vicious battle against injustice. Fortunately, Blake's 7 is a provocative drama worthy of scrutiny for reasons beyond its rejection of the traditional genre tropes.
Unlike its British contemporaries in the 1970s, namely Space:1999 (1975-1977), Star Maidens (1976) and Doctor Who (1963-89), each episode in this Terry Nation series does not comprise a single adventure. Instead, each story builds on previous ones and plays as a chapter in a magnum opus: a video novel about the liberation of an oppressed galaxy. In the nineties, in the heyday of Babylon 5, Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) and other shows featuring so-called "story arcs," this innovation is often underestimated or unreported. Yet Blake's 7 developed the "arc" concept in science fiction television a dozen years before the above-listed series were aired or conceived.
Blake's 7 is also a less frivolous series than many genre dramas in vogue today. As if manipulated by a diabolical puppet master, the series is savage in its treatment of beloved characters and icons. Main characters, including Blake himself, disappear or are killed...Simply put, Blake's 7 takes no prisoners. Fortunately, its Machiavellian nature perfectly fits the tenor of the "resistance" premise, and the totalitarian Federation often wins the day.
Also lending the series a unique, gritty feel is the fact that Blake's 7 was lensed by the penny-pinching BBC on an exceedingly low budget. The sets are bare, even minimalist, and the futuristic hardware and instrumentation look like cast-off remnants of a fallen technological race.
By necessity, the series was often shot in nuclear power plants and dusty quarries (lovingly called "chalk pits" by film crews), so the planets visited by Blake's team are either oppressively sterile, industrial, or barren and dying. The unexpected but welcome result of these cheap production expedients is that Blake's 7 visually dramatizes an Empire of collapsing infrastructures and bureaucracy. The pieced-together sets are a perfect metaphor for a rotting Federation unable to sustain itself, rapidly squandering resources. The Soviet Union (circa 1985) in space is not a bad metaphor for the Blake's 7 future.
...Though its visual effects are frequently underwhelming, Blake's 7 remains - more than two decades after its debut - a go-for-the-throat genre effort with fine acting, superlative writing, and a message of hope and freedom worthy of retrospect in the new millennium...
So check out my book on B7 if you can swing it. You can order the book at McFarland, here.
No comments:
Post a Comment