History Series / BlakesSeven

* TheCaper: First seen in stealing the decoder in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E6SeekLocateDestroy Seek-Locate-Destroy]]". Later examples include "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E5TheHarvestOfKairos The Harvest of Kairos]]", "Games" and "Gold", in which the Seven engage in [[SpacePirates outright theft for monetary gain]] under the guise of revolutionary acts.

** "Games" has the MacGuffin protected by lethal {{Booby Trap}}s which include a flight simulator and a QuickDraw game that kills the players if they don't win. Fortunately [[AcePilot Tarrant]] and [[TheGunslinger Soolin]] [[PlotTailoredToTheParty just happen to be]] on the BoardingParty.

** Servalan predicts that the crew of the Liberator will end up this way after Blake's departure and she's not entirely wrong -- episodes like "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E5TheHarvestOfKairos The Harvest of Kairos]]", "Games" and "Gold" basically involve our anti-heroes attempting TheCaper under the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized guise of stymieing Servalan or raising money for the cause]]. In "Gold" they [[WhatMeasureIsAMook kill a large number of guards]] from a planet that's not even part of the Federation.

** In "Assassin", [[spoiler:there's a weepy DamselInDistress who has a tendency to SecurityCling to our heroes. It turns out she's actually the VillainOfTheWeek, and uses the opportunity to [[LockedRoomMystery steal and later replace a key]].]]

** In "Assassin", our heroes seize the spaceship of a ProfessionalKiller, who escapes and shuts off the life support remotely, forcing them to [[NeverSplitTheParty split up and search]] in the limited time they have left.

* AuctionOfEvil: Avon is paraded at a slave auction in "Assassin".

* BeehiveHairdo: TheReveal in "Assassin" that Piri is actually Cancer is given when she [[TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot somehow has time for]] an EvilCostumeSwitch into [[DarkIsEvil black clothes]] and a towering bun of hair. The latter makes her [[NightmareRetardant not as scary as she should be]].

** In "Assassin", our heroes are trapped on a spaceship being remotely controlled by [[BigBad Servalan]], who shuts down the communicator to prevent them from calling their own spaceship for help. Fortunately, Servalan can't resist reestablishing comms for some EvilGloating, so Avon puts out an emergency call. Unfortunately, by that time their spaceship is so far away it's not certain if it received the transmission.

** Season D - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E5Animals Animals]]" focuses on Dayna, "Assassin" focuses on Tarrant, "Sand" focuses on Tarrant and Servalan and "Orbit" focuses on Avon and Vila.

** GenderInverted in "Assassin". Servalan discovers Avon has been MadeASlave, so buys him for a hefty price. Their FoeRomanceSubtext then reaches fetish levels when Servalan says that from now on he can call her Mistress. Unfortunately he's rescued at that point.

* ActionFigureSpeech: In "Headhunter", a killer android gets its head knocked off, with no apparent effect other than a tendency to start MilkingTheGiantCow during its speeches.

** Played straight to a cliched degree in "Headhunter". Mueller's android is an evil, homicidal machine that can control any other machine, and wished to use this ability to conquer the universe.

** In "Headhunter", Orac puts ''Scorpio'' into LockDown to prevent the MonsterOfTheWeek from escaping. It responds by shutting down life support, but fortunately, the crew gets into rescue suits in time. Avon then has to break quarantine to rescue them, as the suits have limited oxygen supply.

* {{Autodoc}}: In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E3Volcano Volcano]]", Avon gets a futuristic splint put on his arm that apparently heals the broken bone as well. However in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E10Breakdown Breakdown]]" when Blake suggests using their Magical Computer Orac and the Liberator's advanced medical facilities to treat Gan's malfunctioning brain-implant, Avon derides the idea and insists they find a proper neurosurgeon. In "Headhunter", Scorpio is shown to have a medicapsule which is used to put a wounded man in suspended animation.

* BigElectricSwitch: "Headhunter" is Frankenstein's monster InSpace, but seeing as this trope is used to turn on an antique generator plant (to electrocute the MonsterOfTheWeek) instead of a MadScientistLaboratory it's entirely justified.

** In "Headhunter", a KillerRobot does this by remotely accessing and overloading the circuits on their handguns.

** The Federation has the ability to make RidiculouslyHumanRobots, but they are only used for a couple of {{Evil Plan}}s. We see no sign of a general use [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Data-style android]] despite (or more likely because) RobotsAreJustBetter. The episode "Headhunter" implies that such androids could depose humanity, so presumably, the Federation has similar concerns.

** In "Headhunter", the killer android plans to take over the galaxy, and Orac predicts this will lead to the demise of all organic life, perhaps because RobotsAreJustBetter and humanity would not be able to compete.

** Season D - "Animals" focuses on Dayna, "Assassin" focuses on Tarrant, "Sand" focuses on Tarrant and Servalan and "Orbit" focuses on Avon and Vila.

** Justin from "Animals" is a more decent version, though it doesn't turn out any better for him than the others.

* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: The Space Rats in "Stardrive" are stereotypical outlaw bikers RecycledInSpace, although they have huge Mohicans and Roy Wood-style facepaint.

* AssKicksYou: This happens to Dayna to conclude a rather unconvincing fight scene in "Stardrive".

* HyperspeedAmbush: This sets off the plot of "Stardrive", when the crew of Scorpio witness three Federation warships exploding for no apparent reason. They rewind the tape frame by frame and discover a tiny one-man spacecraft moving at a hitherto inconceivable speed. Given that our heroes are stuck in a clapped out space freighter, they're determined to get their hands on this new stardrive, which would give them the same advantage they had with the Liberator.

** In "Stardrive", Avon decides to sneak past the detection grid of a planet by hugging close to an asteroid. SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and the Scorpio side-swipes the asteroid, severely damaging the ship.

* ApocalypticLog: In "Power", a literal Battle of the Sexes is taking place between the primitive male Hommiks and the technologically advanced Seska. Tarrant finds a video log by a Seska detailing how they're losing the war. It ends when a large axe slams down on the table in front of her.

* BehindEveryGreatMan: In "Power", Nina, a former leader of the Seska, is implied to be running the Hommiks through her strong but dimwitted husband. After he gets killed, she announces they're going to leave and start a new society, presumably involving a bit more cooperation between the sexes. Or [[TheSimpleLifeIsSimple back-breaking toil]] and StayInTheKitchen? It's not quite clear.

** In "Power", another AfterTheEnd society decided to [[LuddWasRight destroy all their technology]] and [[YearZero start again from the beginning]]. The HypercompetentSidekick of local chieftain Gunn Sar has found a MasterComputer room they missed, that he uses to secretly keep things running for their barbarian descendants.

* DuelToTheDeath: Between Blake and Travis in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E8Duel Duel]]", and the CombatByChampion in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E12DeathWatch Death-Watch]]". Also the ThrowingDownTheGauntlet version in "Power".

* HumansAreWhite: Plenty of MonochromeCasting at first, but as times changed, the BBC started to cast black and Asian actors. In Season C Josette Simon (an English woman of West Indian descent) joined the cast as Dayna Mellanby in an attempt to present some racial diversity, but there were still some kinks to be worked out. For instance in "Traitor", Dayna is sent undercover to the planet Heliotrix. Avon assures her that she won't stand out as "When Helotrix was first settled, the old Stock Equalization Act was still in force. Every Earth race had to be represented." Unfortunately whoever cast the extras didn't read the script, as the only black person we see on the planet [[EqualOpportunityEvil is a Federation trooper]].

** In "Traitor", when Orac is being its usual stubborn self, Vila states that this is the only way to deal with [[TechnologyMarchesOn solid-state circuitry]].

** Deconstructed in "Traitor". The Terran Federation has conquered a ProudWarriorRace thanks to a drug that blocks the production of adrenaline. They send a unit of these brainwashed soldiers to attack one of the few remaining resistance groups. However as they lack any form of anxiety or aggression, they placidly walk into an ambush and are massacred.

** In "Sarcophagus", Avon kisses Cally who's been possessed by the VillainOfTheWeek, using the opportunity to slip a RingOfPower off her finger.

** In "City at the Edge of the World", Vila and Kerril are unexpectedly teleported to an automated spacecraft, where a recorded voice informs them they will remain alive only as long as the air that was teleported with them lasts. When they don't die as expected, Vila realizes that air is filtering through the ForcefieldDoor from a habitable planet outside, as the spacecraft has reached its destination.

* AttackReflector: In "City at the Edge of the World", [[SpacePirate Bayban the Butcher]] has kidnapped [[MasterOfUnlocking Vila so he can get through the door to a vault]]. Turns out the door is actually a forcefield disguised as a door. Any attempt to cut or blast through reinforces the forcefield, reflecting the energy back at the attacker. Vila gets through with a low energy probe, set just a fraction below the energy threshold of the forcefield. Bayban on the other hand decides to let loose with a [[NoKillLikeOverkill spaceship laser cannon]] and blows himself up along with the entire city.

* BadVibrations: In "Sarcophagus" a build-up of telekinetic energy is shown when a tray of drinks starts first to vibrate, then float in the air!

** There's a bizarre example that happens within a single episode. In "City At The Edge of the World", Kerril starts as a snarky, leather-clad ActionGirl with a QuickDraw and [[YouNeedABreathMint bad hygiene]] who regards Vila with disdain. A shower and a [[SheCleansUpNicely dress]] makes her [[ScreamingWoman shriek at cobwebs and skeletons]], [[SecurityCling clutching at Vila]] like a DamselInDistress and [[FauxActionGirl even letting him handle her gun]] in the final confrontation with the VillainOfTheWeek. Either behaviour isn't out of place in ''Blakes 7'', but putting both in the same character just doesn't work.

** In Season C, [[spoiler:our heroes are stranded on a DeathWorld after witnessing the demise of Servalan and the Liberator.]] This was not meant to be a cliffhanger as "Terminal" was [[SeriesFauxnale supposed to be the final episode]] before the series was unexpectedly renewed.

** "Children of Auron", which features a society that practices large-scale cloning, is probably the most casual and realistic treatment of it in any SpaceOpera. Cally and her sister Zelda are depicted just like real-world natural twins, as independent individuals with their own personalities and motivations who just happen to look identical. The episode does, however, depict one hard-SF big disadvantage of large-scale cloning -- lack of genetic variation leading to lack of disease resistance and vulnerability to [[SyntheticPlague epidemics]].

** Averted in "City at the Edge of the World". Avon points out that firing a laser cannon at point-blank range would kill the firer with the reflected heat and energy. The Villain of the Week is crazy enough to do it anyway.

* ConveyorBeltODoom: In "Ultraworld", an unconscious Cally is strapped onto a conveyor belt to be assimilated into the giant brain running Ultraworld. She is saved at the last minute, the other characters having to contend with zombie-like baddies, who switch the machine back on each time they switch it off--cue lots of fake fighting.....

* CuriosityKilledTheCast: Just because they're rebels doesn't stop the crew of the Liberator checking things out from sheer boredom or curiosity, usually [[OnlySaneMan against the advice of Avon]]. Then Avon becomes captain and starts acting much the same way (see "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E5TheHarvestOfKairos The Harvest of Kairos]]"). In "Sarcophagus" they investigate a mysterious alien craft whose inhabitant nearly takes over the ship, [[AesopAmnesia only to have the exact same thing happen in the next episode!]]

** Season C - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E2Powerplay Powerplay]]" and "Rumours of Death" focus on Avon, "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E5TheHarvestOfKairos The Harvest of Kairos]]" and "Death-Watch" focus on Tarrant, "City at the Edge of the World" focuses on Vila and "Children of Auron" and "Sarcoughagus" focus on Cally.

** "Death-Watch" features a one-on-one duel to the death conducted between representatives of two planets who use the duels as a substitute for all-out interplanetary war. The events are broadcast widely, and of course nobody could possibly want to interfere with them for their own political gain...

* EnemyMine: In "Killer" and "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E13StarOne Star One]]" Blake chooses to warn the Federation of a greater threat to humanity. Servalan isn't above joining forces when stranded on a planet with our heroes, but they have to be careful about turning their back on her ("[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E1Aftermath Aftermath]]", "Moloch" and "Sand").

** In "Rumours of Death", President Servalan has a reproduction of a stately home of England built as her palace. This is regarded as ConspicuousConsumption as a modern DomedCity could be built for half the cost.

** In "Sarcophagus" the crew encounters an alien vessel containing the corpse of a dead woman. Turns out she's NotQuiteDead, surviving as an EnergyBeing who takes over Cally and then the Liberator.

** Zigzagged in "Rumours of Death". LaResistance knocks out a camera, and rather than say ItsProbablyNothing a squad of guards is ''immediately'' dispatched to the area. However, Security refuses to [[LockDown seal off the area]] as per regulations, pointing out that if it IS nothing then their superiors will come down on them hard if the VIP's are locked out of President Servalan's FancyDinner. Unfortunately, the squad is [[MuggedForDisguise ambushed and stripped of their uniforms]] which are [[DressingAsTheEnemy then used to infiltrate the event]].

* NamingYourColonyWorld: Destiny, Goth, Horizon (a planet on the edge of the galaxy, used as a jumping-off point for exploring the next galaxy), Albion, Obsidian (which has a supervolcano), Teal, [[NamedworldAndNamedland Spaceworld, Ultraworld]], [[ViceCity Freedom City, Space City]], Terminal, Star One (a single planet orbiting a star). In "City At The Edge Of The World", Vila discovers a new world suitable for colonization, and there's a joking debate over whether to call it Homeworld or [[{{Egopolis}} Vilaworld]]. See also NumberedHomeworld.

* NegativeSpaceWedgie: A black hole in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E4DawnOfTheGods Dawn of the Gods]]", a SwirlyEnergyThingy in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E10Breakdown Breakdown]]", a giant fungal web in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E5TheWeb The Web]]", and in "Terminal" a cloud of corrosive matter that eats away at the hull, leaving the interior CoveredInGunge [[spoiler:and causing the Liberator to break apart and explode when Servalan orders "Maximum Power!" after finally capturing it.]]

* SexyDiscretionShot: The characters kiss, then are shown later [[RightThroughHisPants relaxing in the afterglow yet fully dressed]]. One of the most blatant examples is in "The City at the Edge of the World". Vila and a female mercenary named Kerril get trapped on a spaceship they're told [[LockedInAFreezer is running out of air]]. As the two [[PreClimaxClimax come to terms with their fate they embrace]]. When we see them next they are [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vila_after_7243.jpg fully clothed and lying a foot apart]] despite the dialogue making it very clear that they just had sex.

* AStormIsComing: In "Sarcophagus", Vila has a feeling that a storm is coming, which is unlikely given that they're on a spaceship. Then someone gets a shock from touching a console, and they realize it's due to a build-up of static electricity like you'd have before a storm. Sure enough, this heralds the appearance of the MonsterOfTheWeek.

** In "Moloch", a ScreenShake causes the stuntman playing Vila to do a [[{{Narm}} delicate cartwheel]] across the flight deck before pretending to crash into a bulkhead.

* {{Autodoc}}: In "Volcano", Avon gets a futuristic splint put on his arm that apparently heals the broken bone as well. However in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E10Breakdown Breakdown]]" when Blake suggests using their Magical Computer Orac and the Liberator's advanced medical facilities to treat Gan's malfunctioning brain-implant, Avon derides the idea and insists they find a proper neurosurgeon. In "Headhunter", Scorpio is shown to have a medicapsule which is used to put a wounded man in suspended animation.

* BaitAndSwitchComment: In "The Harvest Of Kairos", Servalan gets a ForcefulKiss from Jarvik. Servalan decides she appreciates his manly audacity and makes him TheDragon.

** In "Volcano", Villa of all people is able to get Servalan to back off by threatening to destroy her with the Liberator, without mentioning the power cells are low so the ship doesn't have enough energy for its weapons.
** In "The Harvest of Kairos", Servalan is able to capture the Liberator, but Avon finds a lifeform that defends itself by projecting a mirror image of any attacker, but in a more powerful form. Servalan's scans show that Avon has somehow got hold of a powerful warship, and she abandons the Liberator in a panic.

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: In "The Harvest of Kairos", Servalan seizes the Liberator and has its crew abandoned on a DeathWorld. Their only hope of escape is an unarmed and obsolete Apollo-era landing craft.

* BroughtDownToNormal: In "The Harvest Of Kairos", Servalan captures both the Liberator and Orac, abandoning the crew on a DeathWorld where only some hasty improvisation and guile can save them.

* TheCaper: First seen in stealing the decoder in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E6SeekLocateDestroy Seek-Locate-Destroy]]". Later examples include "The Harvest of Kairos", "Games" and "Gold", in which the Seven engage in [[SpacePirates outright theft for monetary gain]] under the guise of revolutionary acts.

* CuriosityKilledTheCast: Just because they're rebels doesn't stop the crew of the Liberator checking things out from sheer boredom or curiosity, usually [[OnlySaneMan against the advice of Avon]]. Then Avon becomes captain and starts acting much the same way (see "The Harvest of Kairos"). In "Sarcophagus" they investigate a mysterious alien craft whose inhabitant nearly takes over the ship, [[AesopAmnesia only to have the exact same thing happen in the next episode!]]

** Season C - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E2Powerplay Powerplay]]" and "Rumours of Death" focus on Avon, "The Harvest of Kairos" and "Death-Watch" focus on Tarrant, "City at the Edge of the World" focuses on Vila and "Children of Auron" and "Sarcoughagus" focus on Cally.

* DeflectorShields: The Liberator is protected by a "force wall" against plasma bolts, meteor storms, or even tiny particles of dust if they're going fast enough. However, it's very energy consumptive; in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E8Duel Duel]]" the Liberator's power banks are so low they can only raise the force wall just before the plasma bolt strikes. There's also a flare shield that [[NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont must be raised before firing the neutron blasters]], apparently to stop the crew being injured by reflected glare and radiation from their own weapons. The force wall was one of several superior technologies that made the Liberator quite a battlewagon -- in "The Harvest of Kairos" Servalan is shocked that the Liberator can fire through its own force wall, and has the ability to overlap its force walls for greater protection. There were several mentions of defence fields and screens used to protect spaceships or surface installations, so the Federation apparently has similar albeit less advanced technology.

** Another such weapon is used to protect a society of pacifists in "Volcano". They threaten to detonate the device if any aggressor attempts to land on their planet. Unfortunately, Servalan decides to call their bluff. [[spoiler:It's not a bluff.]]

** In "Dawn of the Gods" the rest of the crew try and persuade Vila to put on a spacesuit and take a look outside the ship

** In "Dawn of the Gods", Cally is kidnapped by a powerful but lonely alien being who lays her out on a round bed covered in furs.

** Any episode by Ben Steed has characters who either distrust technology or run afoul of it. In "The Harvest of Kairos", Jarvik waxes lyrical over the GoodOldWays in preference to the soulless machines that Servalan has surrounded herself with and even smashes a computer at the end of his speech.

* NegativeSpaceWedgie: A black hole in "Dawn of the Gods", a SwirlyEnergyThingy in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E10Breakdown Breakdown]]", a giant fungal web in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E5TheWeb The Web]]", and in "Terminal" a cloud of corrosive matter that eats away at the hull, leaving the interior CoveredInGunge [[spoiler:and causing the Liberator to break apart and explode when Servalan orders "Maximum Power!" after finally capturing it.]]

** Servalan predicts that the crew of the Liberator will end up this way after Blake's departure and she's not entirely wrong -- episodes like "The Harvest of Kairos", "Games" and "Gold" basically involve our anti-heroes attempting TheCaper under the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized guise of stymieing Servalan or raising money for the cause]]. In "Gold" they [[WhatMeasureIsAMook kill a large number of guards]] from a planet that's not even part of the Federation.

** In "Volcano", the Liberator is in geostationary orbit so it can only scan one half of a planet at the time. Servalan has a battlefleet in the same orbit on the other side of the planet, until it's time to strike. It also helps that the man in charge of the planet's detection grid is in league with her.

** In "Powerplay", Zee and Barr are the nicest and prettiest bounty hunters you could meet. [[spoiler:Pity their job is capturing people so they can be dissected for their HumanResources.]]

** In "Powerplay", Vila realises he's BeingWatched, so starts to order a non-existent squad of troops into position, commanding them to attack on the count of ten. When nothing happens, [[FailedAttemptAtDrama he starts his count again]].

** Season C - "Powerplay" and "Rumours of Death" focus on Avon, "The Harvest of Kairos" and "Death-Watch" focus on Tarrant, "City at the Edge of the World" focuses on Vila and "Children of Auron" and "Sarcoughagus" focus on Cally.

** In "Powerplay", society has split into two factions, the Primitives who wanted to live the simple life, and the High-Techs. [[spoiler:The latter turn out to be the villains who are capturing the Primitives for OrganTheft.]]

* OrganTheft: In "Powerplay", Cally and Vila are picked up by a hospital spacecraft from the neutral planet of Chenga, rescuing survivors from the battle against the [[AlienInvasion Andromedans]]. Changan society split into two factions, the Primitives who [[LuddWasRight wanted to live the simple life]], and the High-Techs who embrace it. Unfortunately, the Primitives are being hunted and captured by bounty hunters so their organs can be used for HumanResources, and it turns out the hospital ship isn't missing the opportunity provided by the wide-ranging battle. Only a last-minute TeleportationRescue saves our heroes from being dissected.

* AgonyBeam: In "Aftermath", weapons inventor Hal Mellanby uses "vitashock" rifles against barbarians trying to break into the entry hatch of his underground base — the idea being aversion therapy so they'll associate the hatch with pain and stay away, avoiding the need to kill them. However the barbarians aren't stupid; they work out what's happening and sneak up on their firing position during the night.

** In "Aftermath", Servalan reveals at the end of a MexicanStandoff that her gun was out of ammunition. Avon is impressed.

** Averted with the barbarian chieftain Chel in "Aftermath". ''His'' response to 'outsiders' is to KillEmAll, as the prophecies have foretold that they've come to destroy his people. [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression Given the way the Federation acts]], it's hard to blame him.

** Used as BookEnds for "Aftermath", which starts with the crew forced to AbandonShip. Vila and Cally try to get their life capsule working as Zen counts down the [[ExactTimeToFailure seconds till life support failure]]. We don't find out what's happened to them until the following episode. Meanwhile, after an episode of life-threatening adventures, Avon returns to the Liberator with their latest recruit Dayna [[spoiler:only to find themselves [[OutOfTheFryingPan confronted at gunpoint by a Federation officer]] demanding to know what they are doing on HIS ship.]]

** "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E9ProjectAvalon Project Avalon]]" and "Aftermath" feature {{rebel leader}}s who were spared--either for the information they had or to discredit the rebellion--while their followers were ruthlessly massacred.

* EldritchAbomination: The dark entity that tried to take over Cally in "Shadow." The motivations and true appearance of the Andromedan invaders in "Star One" is kept a mystery.

* EnemyMine: In "Killer" and "Star One" Blake chooses to warn the Federation of a greater threat to humanity. Servalan isn't above joining forces when stranded on a planet with our heroes, but they have to be careful about turning their back on her ("Aftermath", "Moloch" and "Sand").

** In "Aftermath" the script just throws up its proverbial hands and acknowledges the ContrivedCoincidence when Avon and Servalan survive a massive space battle only to run into each other while stranded on an alien planet.

* StuffBlowingUp: Usually [[{{UsefulNotes/Supermarionation}} models]] or ExplosiveInstrumentation with the occasional full-on version; an explosion in a BBCQuarry during location shooting for "Star One" produced a fireball that melted a camera and brought the police racing to the scene.

** In "Aftermath", Servalan offers this to Avon. He rejects her not for [[AntiHero moral reasons]], but because he suspects that once she had what she wanted from him, he'd "[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder be dead in a week]]."

* CatFight: In "Gambit", Cally and Jenna stage a catfight in a crowded bar to cause a distraction. The result is hilarious.

** There's a bizarre example that happens within a single episode. In "City At The Edge of the World", Kerril starts as a snarky, leather-clad ActionGirl with a QuickDraw and [[YouNeedABreathMint bad hygiene]] who regards Vila with disdain. A shower and a [[SheCleansUpNicely dress]] makes her [[ScreamingWoman shriek at cobwebs and skeletons]], [[SecurityCling clutching at Vila]] like a DamselInDistress and [[FauxActionGirl even letting him handle her gun]] in the final confrontation with the VillainOfTheWeek. Either behavior isn't out of place in ''Blakes 7'', but putting both in the same character just doesn't work.

** "Gambit" opens with a disgruntled patient who's going to shoot a BackAlleyDoctor on the count of three. The doctor's bodyguard shoots the gun [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands from his hand]] on two.

** Season B - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E2Shadow Shadow]]" focuses on Cally, "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E6Trial Trial]]" largely focuses on Travis, "Countdown" largely focuses on Avon and "Killer" and "Gambit" focus on Avon and Vila.

** "Gambit" includes a game of speed chess where the challenger is strapped to an electric chair. He either wins an obscene amount of money, or he loses and the resident chessmaster pushes a button and fries him. After Vila and Avon scam the casino with the help of [[MasterComputer Orac]], Vila is tricked into playing the game.

* DeflectorShields: The Liberator is protected by a "force wall" against plasma bolts, meteor storms, or even tiny particles of dust if they're going fast enough. However, it's very energy consumptive; in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E8Duel Duel]]" the Liberator's power banks are so low they can only raise the force wall just before the plasma bolt strikes. There's also a flare shield that [[NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont must be raised before firing the neutron blasters]], apparently to stop the crew being injured by reflected glare and radiation from their own weapons. The force wall was one of several superior technologies that made the Liberator quite a battlewagon -- in "The Harvest of Kairos" Servalan is shocked that the Liberator can fire through its own force wall, and has the ability to overlap its force walls for greater protection. There were several mentions of defense fields and screens used to protect spaceships or surface installations, so the Federation apparently has similar albeit less advanced technology.

* DepravedBisexual: Egrorian in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E11Orbit}} Orbit]]" -- although initially he's ''very'' closely attached to his one-time student Pinder, he has no problems blowing him off in favor of a relationship with Servalan. Also Krantor in "Gambit", who similarly is strongly implied to be same-sex lovers with his sidekick Toise but flirts heavily with Servalan as well.

** Vila trying to take Blake's watch shows he's a thief in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E1TheWayBack}} The Way Back]]", though it's [[CharacterizationMarchesOn presented initially]] as being a compulsive behavior rather than something he does because he's good at it, as in later episodes.

** Referred to by that exact name in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E5PressurePoint Pressure Point]]". Protected by automated defenses, the Forbidden Zone defends the Federation MasterComputer called Central Control. The crew gets through by using their energy weapons as wire cutters and running very fast. [[spoiler:Only to discover that Control was moved years ago and the Zone is only maintained as SchmuckBait for the enemies of the Federation]].

** The Liberator is first discovered adrift in space after the crew abandoned the ship during a space battle. It is protected by a defense system that lures intruders with hallucinations of absent friends or family.

** Dayna's favorite weapon is basically an explosive, heat-seeking Roomba that she carries around... where?

* JadeColoredGlasses: Avon spends most of Series 1 and 2 trying to get everyone to try a pair on, with varying success.

** Blake's trial is decided ahead of time since he was framed. However, he didn't help his case by refusing to even offer a defense, [[NonSequitur because he was innocent]].

* KnightInSourArmor: Blake turns into this.

** The System, a civilization controlled by the three powerful defense computers of the three inhabited planets of their solar system, which built the starship DSV-1. The System was administered by Altas (either cyborgs, androids, or augmented humans) and black-armored guards that appeared to be cybernetically augmented humans. There were also thousands of human slaves, descendants of the people who had built the computers that had taken over their civilization.
** Similarly, the Ultra of [[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E10Ultraworld}} Ultraworld]] in Series 3 are blue-skinned humanoid creatures either summoned or created by Ultraworld (a living, artificial planet/giant computer centered around an [[MyBrainIsBig enormous brain]]) to interact with captured starship crews, [[TheAssimilator whom Ultraworld intends to absorb into its gestalt]]. They walk with a jerky gait and speak in odd, robot-like cadences. The "menials," assimilated humanoid servants, are also examples of this trope: their identity, memories, and emotions are recorded on a tube and stored in a library. They behave mechanistically as they toil about, maintaining Ultraworld.

* MineralMacGuffin: TheCaper episodes usually involved stealing a stash of valuable [[GreenRocks colored crystals]].

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Vila's favorite way of getting out of anything dangerous. Some fans speculate that Avon sees right through it, and his grudging admiration for just how good Vila is at it is the reason [[BondVillainStupidity he never quite resorts to cold-blooded murder.]]

* PercussiveMaintenance: Vila, the noted lockpicker, when stuck in a hatch (also an example of HypocriticalHumor).
-->'''Avon:''' ''[on vox]'' Use your delicate, skillful touch.

-->'''Vila:''' I used my delicate, skillful boot.

* SpaceStation: Star Command, a giant ring-shaped space station that is Servalan's headquarters in the first two seasons. There's also Space City, an ostensibly neutral ViceCity secretly run by the organized crime group Terra Nostra. Space Laboratory XK-72 is a research facility maintained by a consortium of neutral planets. Spaceworld is the control center of the System, a MasterComputer that has [[AIIsACrapshoot forcibly taken over three planetary systems.]]

* SpitTake: Avon does a rather big one in "Gambit", on hearing that Vila has been conned into playing a DeadlyGame.

* SwordOverHead: Particularly noticeable the first couple of seasons because Travis (and sometimes Servalan) had PlotArmor, as they had to survive to serve as Blake's ArchEnemy. The reasons given include Blake knowing that the Federation would just send someone else (and he's convinced he can always beat Travis), [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim because he's worried he'd enjoy it]], or as a CruelMercy (because Travis will be punished for failing, or because he's lost everything after going RogueAgent). When Avon becomes the leader he's not burdened by such qualms, so Servalan usually arranges a MexicanStandoff or VillainExitStageLeft However Avon (and Tarrant in "Sand", despite Servalan arranging the death of his brother) seem equally [[FoeRomanceSubtext reluctant to kill her]] as Blake was to kill Travis.

* VariantChess: Usually allied with SmartPeoplePlayChess. In "Gambit" there's a DeadlyGame version of speed chess where the loser is electrocuted. The crew are also fond of an intergalactic version of Monopoly ([[AllThereInTheManual apparently called Cosmos]]).

* ViceCity: Space City in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E2Shadow Shadow]]", and Freedom City in "Gambit".
* VillainCred: Beyban is disgusted that Blake edged him out of the #1 spot on the Federation's "Most Wanted" list by resorting to quick n' easy politics, unlike Beyban's ''earning'' that honor over the course of a long and brutal career.

** PlayedForLaughs when a MadScientist who's enamored with Servalan offers this trope in exchange for his superweapon. Servalan has had plenty of {{Hot Consort}}s, but as the scientist is a [[AbhorrentAdmirer balding middle-aged loony with facial warts]] even she finds it difficult to play along.

* YouFool: A favorite insult of Avon's, often not unfairly. Also Servalan whenever an EvilPlan goes pear-shaped.

** There's no networking either. In "Killer", a doctor can't access a computer to analyze the plague results because it's outside the quarantined area. The entire Federation is run by a single MasterComputer instead of a less-vulnerable distributed network.

* CoolGuns: None of which are named. The Liberator guns (a [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic]] [[LaserBlade lance]] according to sfx designer Ian Scoones), the clip-fed pistols from Season D, and the carbines used by the Federation ([[FanNickname called paraguns by fans]]). A [[IKEAWeaponry rifle that could be disassembled into a shorter version]] was designed, but only shown in the last two episodes [[spoiler:(the carbine version is used by Avon to kill Blake).]]

* AllInTheEyes: In "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS2E10VoiceFromThePast}} Voice From The Past]]", rebel conspirators arrive at an auditorium only to find it empty of their supporters. Then [[BigBad Supreme Commander Servalan]] appears on the theater screen to inform them that the [[EvilGloating Federation has known about their plot the whole time]]. As she speaks, Servalan's image is reduced from a CloseUpOnHead to an EyedScreen to a [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou single eye]].

* BandageMummy: The RebelLeader Shivan in "Voice From The Past", who's been so horribly tortured by the Federation that he's a bandaged cripple who can barely speak. Eventually he rips off his bandages to reveal himself as Travis in disguise. [[IdiotBall Why none of the rebels looked under his bandages to check his identity or treat his extensive injuries is not revealed.]]

** Season B - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E2Shadow Shadow]]" focuses on Cally, "Trial" largely focuses on Travis, "Countdown" largely focuses on Avon and "Killer" and "Gambit" focus on Avon and Vila.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Travis is court-martialed by Star Command for one of his massacres in "Trial".

** In "Killer", an obsolete deep space exploration vessel turns up at a Federation base. When they retrieve the corpse of the pilot, it revives and attacks the doctor doing the autopsy, breaching quarantine and spreading a deadly plague throughout the base.

** "Hostage" has a hilarious scene where Travis and his two hired thugs flee in terror from an ambush involving rolling rocks that [[SpecialEffectsFailure bounce across their bodies without squashing them]]. You'd think as they were in a BBCQuarry Blake and his team could find some genuine rocks.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Being the cynical AntiHero that he is, Avon finds himself in this situation several times. In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E4Horizon Horizon]]" the others have teleported down to a planet and been captured, leaving Avon in sole charge of both the Liberator and Orac with an incoming Federation flotilla providing the perfect excuse to flee. He does a BigDamnHeroes instead. In "Countdown", Avon risks his life to defuse a DoomsdayDevice [[RaceAgainstTheClock ticking down the last seconds]] instead of teleporting out of there. Then brutally deconstructed in "Orbit" [[spoiler:when Avon tries to have Vila ThrownOutTheAirlock in a ColdEquation situation.]]

* AbsoluteCleavage: Servalan in "Pressure Point" has a white dress with a jeweled lizard clutching at her exposed cleavage.

* AttackOfTheMonsterAppendage: A giant claw reaches through the door to attack someone in "Weapon".

* ClassifiedInformation: In "Horizon", the Liberator encounters a planet on the edge of the galaxy protected by a force shield. They try to find out more information from their MasterComputer, Zen. [[spoiler:Blake later gets a Federation flotilla to crash into the force shield, betting their lives that the flotilla is no better informed than they are.]]

** In "Horizon", Jenna's captor [[PetTheDog offers her a drink of water]]. She hesitates to drink it, fearing poison or drugs, so he assures her it's natural water from a stream. Jenna comments that it's likely full of lethal bacteria, but drinks anyway.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Season B carries a noticeably darker undertone than the first season did, exemplified when Blake attempts his first major assault on the Federation in "Pressure Point," [[spoiler:which ends in failure, and Gan paying the price with his life]]. Season C was nearer the first season's adventurous tone, but was followed by Season D, by ''far'' the show's darkest season despite some early goofiness.

** Referred to by that exact name in "Pressure Point". Protected by automated defenses, the Forbidden Zone defends the Federation MasterComputer called Central Control. The crew gets through by using their energy weapons as wire cutters and running very fast. [[spoiler:Only to discover that Control was moved years ago and the Zone is only maintained as SchmuckBait for the enemies of the Federation]].

* LoadBearingHero: [[spoiler:In "Pressure Point", [[TheBigGuy Gan]]]] stops to hold up a [[SlowDoors slowly-descending door]], and gets killed when the roof collapses from a grenade blast.

* NeverTellMeTheOdds: Averted; battle computers are consulted as a routine strategy. In "Horizon", when Avon considers abandoning his colleagues and fleeing with the Liberator, he has Orac calculate the odds of succeeding with a CrewOfOne. Sometimes though he is disappointed.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: In "Pressure Point", Blake has to explain to Gan what a church is as "The Federation had them all destroyed at the [[YearZero beginning of the New Calendar]]." While the Clonemasters have pseudo-religious trappings, they are a creation of the Federation used to keep control of their forbidden knowledge. In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E3CygnusAlpha Cygnus Alpha]]", the cult leaders use a phony religion to keep their society united on a penal planet with limited resources. Other than these examples however the trope is played straight, as we don't see anyone turning to religious belief to cope with their existence in a CrapsackWorld. Neither does the Federation use a state religion as a tool of power, which they'd certainly do if religious beliefs had any currency among the population.

* WhamEpisode - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E13StarOne Star One]]", "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E13Terminal Terminal]]", and "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E13Blake}} Blake]]" are the big three. "Pressure Point" deserves a mention, having [[spoiler:the first [[KilledOffForReal death of a main character]]]].

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Being the cynical AntiHero that he is, Avon finds himself in this situation several times. In "Horizon" the others have teleported down to a planet and been captured, leaving Avon in sole charge of both the Liberator and Orac with an incoming Federation flotilla providing the perfect excuse to flee. He does a BigDamnHeroes instead. In "Countdown", Avon risks his life to defuse a DoomsdayDevice [[RaceAgainstTheClock ticking down the last seconds]] instead of teleporting out of there. Then brutally deconstructed in "Orbit" [[spoiler:when Avon tries to have Vila ThrownOutTheAirlock in a ColdEquation situation.]]
* WhiteVoidRoom: Cally is trapped in a mental version by an EldritchAbomination in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E2Shadow Shadow]]". In "Pressure Point", [[spoiler:Blake rushes into Central Control only to find a bare white room, as the master computer has been moved elsewhere.]]

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler:In "Pressure Point", Blake finally breaks into Central Control only to find an empty room, left there as SchmuckBait when the MasterComputer was evacuated to Star One decades ago. The search for Star One is the story arc for the rest of the season.]]

* AccidentalAimingSkills: In "Orac", Avon saves Blake's life by shooting out Travis' gun hand from a considerable distance. When Blake compliments him on the shot, Avon bitterly replies that "I was aiming for his head". Rumour has it that this was an ad-lib by Creator/PaulDarrow, who's rather fond of Westerns and couldn't resist the ShoutOut.

** While Orac does not have homicidal tendencies, he is frequently reluctant to follow orders given to him, dismissing them as an irrelevant waste of time. Zen, on the other hand, deliberately withholds information from the crew on more than one occasion until the crew takes "full" control of the Liberator at the end of "Redemption". It's also the backstory of that episode -- the System was a MasterComputer created by one of three constantly warring planets. It ended the conflict by taking over the other planet's computers and enslaving their inhabitants.

** In "Time Squad", while answering a DistressCall Blake and Jenna get sealed inside a tiny spacecraft whose oxygen has already been used up. Despite being barely familiar with the ''Liberator'' at this point in the series, and their AcePilot stuck on the spacecraft with Blake, the others have to [[MegaMawManeuver scoop the craft into their cargo bay so it can be broken into]].

* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: In "Redemption", our heroes manage to escape into the launch bay holding the Liberator. A squad of FacelessGoons get the SlowDoors open and charge after them, only to come running back out when they're scorched by the blast of the Liberator taking off.

* {{Autodoc}}: In "Volcano", Avon gets a futuristic splint put on his arm that apparently heals the broken bone as well. However in "Breakdown" when Blake suggests using their Magical Computer Orac and the Liberator's advanced medical facilities to treat Gan's malfunctioning brain-implant, Avon derides the idea and insists they find a proper neurosurgeon. In "Headhunter", Scorpio is shown to have a medicapsule which is used to put a wounded man in suspended animation.

** In "Bounty", the Liberator is seized by the Amagons, SpacePirates who engage in a variety of criminal activities including bounty hunting.

** In "Shadow", a crime boss is robbed and told to lie face down on the floor. A sensor device is left behind that triggers a recorded threat when he starts to move, making him think he's still being held at gunpoint.

** In "Redemption", our heroes are captured by the [[TheComputerIsYourFriend computer-controlled dystopia]] that built the Liberator. Despite not being in the Federation they have all the standard tropes of a sci-fi dystopia: black-clad FacelessGoons, bases that look like British nuclear power stations, and this trope calling on guards to capture and eliminate [[SlaveLiberation a group of rogue slaves]] (it serves a foreshadowing when one of these slaves turns up to help them).

* CaptainsLog: In "Orac", Blake uses a Flight Log entry to fill in Avon and the audience on the previous episode's events. We never see any reference to this trope again, which is just as well because a Rebel Leader keeping a log of his activities would be a major Idiot Ball if the Liberator were captured, which it is on several occasions.

** In "Deliverance", the descendants of an AfterTheEnd society await a god from the skies with the knowledge to launch the [[TheArk rocket with genetic bank]] to [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture start their race on another world]]. Avon is [[AwesomeEgo entirely willing to take on the role]]. Likely an InvokedTrope as the scientist who built the rocket was killed off, and the survivors would know that only aliens capable of interstellar travel would have the knowledge to repair it.

* CouldntFindAPen: "Mission to Destiny" was an "old-fashioned" whodunnit on a spaceship. One member of the crew was found dead with the cryptic message '''54124''' written in blood beside him. Avon reasons that "When you are dying, it is difficult to be neat", and announces that the guilty party is a suspect whose name is [[spoiler:SARA.]]

** Season A - "The Web" focuses on Cally, "Mission to Destiny" largely focuses on Avon, "Duel" focuses on Blake and Travis, "Breakdown" focuses on Gan and "Bounty" focuses on Jenna.
** Season B - "Shadow" focuses on Cally, "Trial" largely focuses on Travis, "Countdown" largely focuses on Avon and "Killer" and "Gambit" focus on Avon and Vila.

* DeflectorShields: The Liberator is protected by a "force wall" against plasma bolts, meteor storms, or even tiny particles of dust if they're going fast enough. However, it's very energy consumptive; in "Duel" the Liberator's power banks are so low they can only raise the force wall just before the plasma bolt strikes. There's also a flare shield that [[NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont must be raised before firing the neutron blasters]], apparently to stop the crew being injured by reflected glare and radiation from their own weapons. The force wall was one of several superior technologies that made the Liberator quite a battlewagon -- in "The Harvest of Kairos" Servalan is shocked that the Liberator can fire through its own force wall, and has the ability to overlap its force walls for greater protection. There were several mentions of defense fields and screens used to protect spaceships or surface installations, so the Federation apparently has similar albeit less advanced technology.

** "Project Avalon" and "Aftermath" feature {{rebel leader}}s who were spared--either for the information they had or to discredit the rebellion--while their followers were ruthlessly massacred.

** In "Bounty", a former planetary ruler has decorated his BigFancyHouse with artifacts from Earth's 20th century, including a gas mask, cutlery, and clothes irons displayed in glass cabinets like {{Priceless Ming Vase}}s. He thinks this era was a [[NostalgiaFilter more civilized age]] and proudly shows off his authentic 20th-century residence (actually a [[FutureImperfect 19th-century folly]]).

** "Project Avalon" states that the Federation MindProbe is an infallible method of interrogation. That doesn't stop ColdBloodedTorture from being used in later seasons, despite being less efficient.

** In "Cygnus Alpha", Avon and Jenna discover the Liberator is carrying a vast fortune in jewelry, more than in the entire Federation banking system according to Avon, who [[LeaveYourQuestTest urges Jenna to take the money and run]], saying that Blake will just use it for his HopelessWar. But we never see Blake using it to finance LaResistance (except for a few crystals in "Shadow"); in fact, several future episodes are based on TheCaper in order to steal for the revolution (or [[IfIWereARichMan make our anti-heroes rich]]).

** In "Time Squad", the Liberator receives a distress call from a tiny spacecraft with a crew in [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]]. They revive and attack the Liberator crew, having been conditioned to protect its cargo against all intruders.

* GoodIsNotNice: Even the more moral members of the Seven have their ruthless moments -- Blake threatening to destroy a surgeon's hands in "Breakdown", Cally threatening to open fire on a neutral space station unless her friends aren't returned in "Shadow", Gan threatening to take a guard's handoff for a BorrowedBiometricBypass in "Space Fall".

** From a review of the episode "Bounty":
--->"...to say nothing of the guards' color codes, which include [[RedAlert Red Standby Alert]] (apparently meaning stand around and do nothing), Red Mobilisation (wander around outside the house), and Blue Mobilisation (allow the President and his daughter to escape in a vintage car accompanied by two terrorists)."

** Servalan produces a bulky StickyBomb from a tight cocktail dress in "Warlord". Avon produces another bomb from his PaintedOnPants in "Redemption".
** In "Mission to Destiny", the VillainOfTheWeek somehow conceals a RayGun with a large radiator dish on their person.

* HypocriticalHumour: In "Space Fall" it's suggested Avon may collaborate with their captors to get himself set free. Vila calls him a "cold-hearted, murdering..." and then immediately suggests they kill him now before he can do it.

* InterrogationByVandalism: Used by Blake in the episode "Bounty", and on Blake in the episode "Cygnus Alpha".

** In "Time Squad", Blake decides to make contact with LaResistance by landing on the planet Saurian Major and moving from one location to another until someone contacts him. Good thing Cally, the sole surviving member of the rebel forces after the rest were wiped out by biological warfare, is in the area!
** Justified in "Cygnus Alpha" when it turns out Blake and Avon both worked on the abortive Federation effort to develop a matter transporter. When this trope is lampshaded, it's just pointed out that it was a very large project.

* LittlePeople: In "The Web" our heroes encounter the Decima, a genetically-engineered ServantRace four-feet high on a planet [[DidNotThinkThisThrough covered in five-foot high bracken]].

** Saymon from "The Web" is an amoral HiveMind whose creations TurnedAgainstTheirMasters.

* NegativeSpaceWedgie: A black hole in "Dawn of the Gods", a SwirlyEnergyThingy in "Breakdown", a giant fungal web in "The Web", and in "Terminal" a cloud of corrosive matter that eats away at the hull, leaving the interior CoveredInGunge [[spoiler:and causing the Liberator to break apart and explode when Servalan orders "Maximum Power!" after finally capturing it.]]

* NoPeripheralVision: While at least the Federation GasMaskMooks have an excuse for their restricted vision, this trope even applies to the Security Robot despite having sensors placed around a rotatable head. In "Seek-Locate-Destroy" Blake is HiddenInPlainSight by lying flat on a sloped piece of ground, and in "Project Avalon" the rebels press themselves against the side of a cave, despite the robot coming back from the opposite direction leaving them clearly exposed.

** In "Duel", Travis explains that the other Federation patrols have pushed the Liberator into this galaxy. One assumes he meant solar system.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: In "Pressure Point", Blake has to explain to Gan what a church is as "The Federation had them all destroyed at the [[YearZero beginning of the New Calendar]]." While the Clonemasters have pseudo-religious trappings, they are a creation of the Federation used to keep control of their forbidden knowledge. In "Cygnus Alpha", the cult leaders use a phony religion to keep their society united on a penal planet with limited resources. Other than these examples however the trope is played straight, as we don't see anyone turning to religious belief to cope with their existence in a CrapsackWorld. Neither does the Federation use a state religion as a tool of power, which they'd certainly do if religious beliefs had any currency among the population.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: In "Shadow", Blake tries to purchase the help of [[TheSyndicate Terra Nostra]] only to be captured instead. They force him to call Cally on the Liberator, so Blake tells her to send [[MasterComputer Zen]] across with the money. However this backfires because his captor assumes Blake came there by shuttle (he was teleported, but that's not a well-known technology) and therefore that's a CovertDistressCode -- his shuttle should still be on the SpaceStation, not the Liberator. Blake has to bluff him into believing the Liberator has [[StarshipLuxurious more than one shuttle]]. It should be noted that the crew of the Liberator never do establish a CovertDistressCode, despite several occasions where they're coerced (or their voice is faked) to get someone to teleport up a boarding party.

** In "Project Avalon", a RebelLeader is replaced by a gynoid imposter. A colleague who knows her well is suspicious, but she kills him.

** In "Time Squad", the Liberator approaches Saurian Major from Federation space, figuring their attention will be towards neutral space. So they don't have a space traffic control system?
** In "Duel", the Liberator orbits close to a planet to hide them from long-range detection, as [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale opposed to hiding in deep space]]. However, Travis has already tracked them down and uses the planet to hide his attack run. He's only detected because some of the crew have teleported down to the planet, where they look up at the night sky and [[OhCrap see the lights of the drive units closing in on the Liberator]].

** Inverted in "Time Squad", where to make the BBCQuarry look more alien they had styrofoam plants among real rocks.

** In "Space Fall" and "Gold" an airlock tunnel between two spacecraft is torn loose as one vessel suddenly blasts off, killing those inside.

* ViceCity: Space City in "Shadow", and Freedom City in "Gambit".

* VinylShatters: In "Bounty" there's a FanOfThePast who spends a lot of time listening to a song on an antique 20th century gramophone. (The writers have admitted that this was a ruse to fill in time because the script was too short.) Near the end of the episode, Blake snatches the disc off the turntable and smashes it.

* WhiteVoidRoom: Cally is trapped in a mental version by an EldritchAbomination in "Shadow". In "Pressure Point", [[spoiler:Blake rushes into Central Control only to find a bare white room, as the master computer has been moved elsewhere.]]

** The notion that in the future a human could defeat "the best [[{{TableTopGame/Chess}} chess]] computer available", let alone six times in a row, has now become ludicrous. The last year ''any'' human was able to beat the best chess-playing computer in the world was 2005. In [=S02E03=] "Weapon" Carnell might have saved himself the small fortune he spent. Or maybe he is into antiques? The thing he uses looks exactly like the 1977 [[http://tluif.home.xs4all.nl/chescom/EngCc3.html Chess Challenger 3]].

* CapturedOnPurpose: In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E8RumorsOfDeath Rumors of Death]]", Avon allowed himself to get captured in order to capture a Federation interrogator using the Liberator's teleport system. He even holds out for five days of torture, knowing that this particular TortureTechnician will be called in to deal with particularly stubborn subjects.

* CapturedOnPurpose: In "Rumors of Death", Avon allowed himself to get captured in order to capture a Federation interrogator using the Liberator's teleport system. He even holds out for five days of torture, knowing that this particular TortureTechnician will be called in to deal with particularly stubborn subjects.

** Season C - "Powerplay" and "Rumors of Death" focus on Avon, "The Harvest of Kairos" and "Death-Watch" focus on Tarrant, "City at the Edge of the World" focuses on Vila and "Children of Auron" and "Sarcoughagus" focus on Cally.

** In "Rumors of Death", President Servalan has a reproduction of a stately home of England built as her palace. This is regarded as ConspicuousConsumption as a modern DomedCity could be built for half the cost.

** Zigzagged in "Rumors of Death". LaResistance knocks out a camera, and rather than say ItsProbablyNothing a squad of guards is ''immediately'' dispatched to the area. However, Security refuses to [[LockDown seal off the area]] as per regulations, pointing out that if it IS nothing then their superiors will come down on them hard if the VIP's are locked out of President Servalan's FancyDinner. Unfortunately, the squad is [[MuggedForDisguise ambushed and stripped of their uniforms]] which are [[DressingAsTheEnemy then used to infiltrate the event]].

* WasItAllALie: [[spoiler:Avon and Anna Grant in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E8RumorsOfDeath Rumours of Death]]". Anna even says "It wasn't all lies."]]

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: At the end of "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E8RumorsOfDeath Rumours of Death]]", Servalan has Avon dead to rights, but she tells him to signal for a teleport before she kills him, so she can send his crew a corpse. Naturally, she's distracted at the critical moment and Avon survives.

Big Finish is also publishing a series of novels, including a trilogy about Avon by Paul Darrow which is largely set twenty years after the events of "Blake".

* AccidentalAimingSkills: In "Orac", Avon saves Blake's life by shooting out Travis' gun hand from a considerable distance. When Blake compliments him on the shot, Avon bitterly replies that "I was aiming for his head". Rumour has it that this was an ad-lib by Paul Darrow, who's rather fond of Westerns and couldn't resist the ShoutOut.

* AuthorAppeal: Creator/ChrisBoucher would often insert references to classic westerns into the scripts. This appealed to Paul Darrow greatly, as he was a big fan of the genre.

** Those metal gun-holsters in Season D look very fancy, but more than once the characters have trouble putting their guns away. Blooper reels also show that thanks to the trigger being built into the handle, they had a tendency to accidentally discharge when an actor picked one up. On the other hand, they were designed to be much tougher than the Liberator guns, which had a tendency to break whenever Paul Darrow picked one up.

** Travis has a laser weapon built into his artificial hand. The hand is destroyed on two separate occasions. When Paul Darrow (Avon) does this, the "Good shot!"/"Not really I was aiming for his head" line is used (originally to be cut, but left in as Paul Darrow is a Western fan).

** The final episode ended with [[spoiler:all the heroes apparently getting shot.]] Had there been a fifth season it would have been revealed [[spoiler: [[BolivianArmyCliffhanger that basically, any actor who wanted to do Season E]] would "survive"]], but at that point the show got canceled. Fanon has it that [[spoiler: Vila, at least, survived, as when he is 'shot', he falls the wrong way, early - [[PlayingPossum faking being hit]] ]], or so the story goes. And likewise, [[spoiler: almost everything Paul Darrow was involved in afterwards, from the trilogy of novels he wrote to his involvement in ''Kaldor City'' as the suspiciously familiar "Kaston Iago", says Avon survived too.]]

* CartwrightCurse: Avon from this one; Paul Darrow said that he became known as the "kiss of death". In fact one actress was truly furious to learn that he was going to kiss her, because she had been hoping to stay on for another episode.

* DependingOnTheWriter: Happened to Servalan, Avon and Vila, Tarrant and Cally in later seasons. After Creator/TerryNation left the show this got so bad for the character of Avon that Paul Darrow gave up and started playing him as [[SanitySlippage slowly losing his mind]] to compensate for it.

* TheKlutz: Paul Darrow, to a level that has probably not been matched until Creator/MattSmith and a reputation that is legendary (and still growing). He broke every single gun he was handed, and the props department got so frustrated they made him one with an aluminum core so he ''couldn't'' break it... not to mention the sets and various buttons and levers. One blooper runs like this:

* TheMadHatter: By the final series, Avon is clearly well into a psychotic break. In the final episode, he implicitly describes himself as a psychopath. Paul Darrow considers Avon "under stress" rather than actually mad, at least up until that point.

* PaintedOnPants: Apparently Paul Darrow once wore a pair of leather trousers that were so tight, he had to be helped up and down in scenes where Avon was kneeling down to do something technical. [[EvilIsSexy Travis]] and [[BridgeBunnies Jenna]] also wear them.

** Avon had a tendency to do this during a QuickDraw; unfortunately this meant actor Paul Darrow ended up [[AwesomeButImpractical breaking several of the wand-like Liberator guns whenever he rolled on them]]. He was eventually given a stronger prop gun made specifically for him.

* SpaceOpera

* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: Way down on the soft end in the original series and the Creator/BigFinish revival. Way up at the hard end for the reboot audio dramas though, which have retooled away Time Distort drives in favour of talk about fixed mass points and delta-v, depict the Federation as lacking artificial gravity technology, and even remove Liberator's teleport.

** However, it's a ZigzaggedTrope in general. The Terran Federation is introduced using all the sinister tools of an Orwellian dystopia to enforce their rule -- GovernmentDrugEnforcement, SinisterSurveillance, {{Brainwashing}} and FakeMemories. However, a [[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E3CygnusAlpha few episodes later]] our heroes end up on a prison planet where a cult leader holds sway without any technology whatsoever, showing that oppression comes from people, not machines. Indeed the Seven always includes one or two artificially-intelligent computers.

* AGoodNameForARockBand: Dutch metal band Star One is named for the series, and their song "Intergalactic Space Crusaders" is pretty much a progressive metal FilkSong with the two singers playing the parts of Blake and Avon.

* {{Claustrophobia}}: Vila, though this was never mentioned again. As a thief he must have seen plenty of small hidey-holes, so let's just assume that Vila is scared of everything.

* NeverRecycleYourSchemes: Notably the marble-sized plague sphere which came within a gnats whisker of killing the crew in ''Project Avalon''. There should have been any number of ways of smuggling that weapon about the ''Liberator'', and it would have been a short show if Servalan had bothered to try.

* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: in the final episode the heroes have distributed the antidote to the drugs the Federation rely on to suppress their populations to the anti-Federation planets and go in search of the missing Blake to unite them only to be gunned down at the hour of their greatest triumph. However whilst Blake is categorically killed by Avon with evident bloody wounds the rest of the group show no such trauma raising the possibility that they are only stunned. According to Terry Nation, Gareth Edwards insisted on Blake being definitively killed off but had the series continued to a 5th season it would be revealed that the rest of the characters had actually survived.]]

* HumansAreWhite: Plenty of MonochromeCasting at first, but as SocietyMarchesOn the BBC started to cast black and Asian actors. In Season C Josette Simon (an English woman of West Indian descent) joined the cast as Dayna Mellanby in an attempt to present some racial diversity, but there were still some kinks to be worked out. For instance in "Traitor", Dayna is sent undercover to the planet Heliotrix. Avon assures her that she won't stand out as "When Helotrix was first settled, the old Stock Equalization Act was still in force. Every Earth race had to be represented." Unfortunately whoever cast the extras didn't read the script, as the only black person we see on the planet [[EqualOpportunityEvil is a Federation trooper]].

** In Cally's first appearance she attacked Blake, Avon pointed a gun at her and Jenna was distrustful of her for two episodes. By the end of her tenure, she has a WillTheyWontThey vibe with Avon and is practically gal pals with Jenna.