Blake's 7: Pressure Point

I don't think that there is any single episode of anything that better encapsulates the spirit of BBC sci-fi than this one. The cast run down more corridors than the Doctor Who lot could even dream of, and the scenery wobbles all over the place. Surprisingly little happens, as so much is taken up with the corridor-running (and quite a remarkable amount of ladder-climbing). And yet this is a very good episode. It could use some tightening, perhaps. A few less corridors? A little less time spent on ladders? The story itself is very effective, though. Most of that is down to the ending.

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Blake's 7: Trial

So, Blake's 7 has once again become Blake's 6, meaning that the title was accurate for all of half a dozen episodes. Avon even lampshades this by speaking to Blake of "your three remaining followers" (I guess he doesn't count Orac and Zen, and clearly not himself either). It really is quite a rubbish title for a TV series, when you actually stop and think about it - which I freely admit I may be doing too often. It only works if you count Blake himself, but that's just silly. The Max Weinberg 7 is seven including Max, but then that's because it's the Max Weinberg 7, not Max Weinberg's 7. If they'd wanted to count Blake, they should have called it The Roj Blake 7. And you have no idea how much I want the space adventures of the Max Weinberg 7 right now. That would be awesome.

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