History Series / BlakesSeven

* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:Blake returned in the last episode and was killed off by ''Avon'', because Blake was too stupid to explain his real motives, leading Avon to think Blake was a traitor. Definitely a FanonDiscontinuity moment for diehard fans. Blake's death was apparently a condition for Creator/GarethThomas to appear in the episode, his death included blood to make sure that he was really dead. Seeing as it ended up being the final episode, it didn't really matter anyway, especially as just about everyone else ended up dead by the end of the episode anyway, though with some ambiguity so that they could return if the series was extended.]]

* BeehiveHairdo: TheReveal in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E7Assassin 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]].

* BridgeBunnies: Subverted with Servalan who has an AmazonBrigade of mutoids ([[IDoNotDrinkWine creepy]] female cyborgs) to provide this function, as [[EvilIsSexy she's quite glamorous in her own right]], thank you. Though Travis notes sardonically that she has a tendency to surround herself with handsome ''male'' staff.

* CanonWelding - Creator/ChrisBoucher's spin-off works have suggested that the show takes place in the same time period and spatial area as his popular ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath The Robots Of Death]]". It could have happened earlier and with a much higher profile, as Creator/TomBaker and some of the actors from ''Blake's'' wanted to do a crossover story, and Terry Nation originally wanted [[spoiler:the alien invasion at the end of S2 to be the Daleks from ''Series/DoctorWho'']]. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Which would have been]] ''awesome''.

* {{Crossover}}: Creator/TerryNation wanted the Daleks to show up in the SeasonFinale to Season B (he owned the rights to them after all) but this idea was [[ExecutiveMeddling opposed by the producers]]. However a guest character, Carnell from "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E3Weapon Weapon]]", turned up in a ''Series/DoctorWho'' Literature/PastDoctorAdventures novel, ''Corpse Marker'' by ''Blake's 7'' Script Editor Creator/ChrisBoucher.

* DrinkBasedCharacterization: In one episode where [[TheDragon Travis]] is supposed to be a [[SpaceWestern tough gunslinger]], he walks into a bar and orders a vitazade. Which [[HilariousInHindsight unfortunately is now an Irish soft drink]]. Apart from this the usual booze of choice is "adrenaline and [[Literature/BraveNewWorld soma]]", implied to be a pick-me-up with the soma to take the edge off.

* EconomyCast: Several planets or cultures had a population of only one or two people, especially when they had to share the screen with a number of extras playing an opposing group. In the pilot episode, the people seen walking the corridors in the opening scene are later killed in the massacre, then make an UnexplainedRecovery as prisoners in the transit cell with Blake. According to producer David Maloney he'd go through scripts and whenever he saw something like "Fifty guards rush into the room", [[NoBudget he'd cross out the fifty and write "two".]]

* InvisiblePresident: We are never shown the unnamed President, though we see a number of his underlings. This is [[FridgeBrilliance quite brilliant]], as it suggests the Federation is vast, and the President has better things to do than run around after Blake. This, unfortunately, gets averted when Servalan becomes President and appears to have all the time in the world to chase after Avon. (Presumably, the original President didn't have UnresolvedSexualTension with Blake as Servalan has with Avon.)

* MrFanservice: Tarrant, quite consciously if you believe WordOfGod. Avon also has [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys a lot of fans.]]

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Averted despite Creator/TerryNation's fondness for this trope and all the black-clad troopers stomping about. The sterile and [[UsedFuture shoddy]] appearance of the NoBudget sets, [[PunchClockVillain lackluster functionaries]], brainwashing of dissidents and [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou ubiquitous camera surveillance]] draw more from the socialist dystopia of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' than ThoseWackyNazis.

** Federation pursuit cruisers always maintain an exceptionally close formation despite the vastness of space around them, [[NoBudget as if they're all hanging off the same mounting rod]] (though justified when they're [[AlphaStrike lining up for an attack run]]).

* PaintedOnPants: Apparently Creator/PaulDarrow 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.

** In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E3Traitor Traitor]]", when Orac is being its usual stubborn self, Vila states that this is the only way to deal with [[TechnologyMarchesOn solid-state circuitry]].

** "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E8Hostage 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.

** In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E11Moloch 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.

* WriterOnBoard: The three episodes written by Ben Steed ("[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E5TheHarvestOfKairos The Harvest of Kairos]]", "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E11Moloch Moloch]]" and "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E2Power Power]]") all feature a Men Versus Women conflict and are, especially when contrasted with the [[FairForItsDay rest of the series]], unbelievably misogynistic.

** In "Hostage", Travis locks our heroes in an airlock and starts to pump out the air. Vila wants to know how many minutes they have left before they die of oxygen deprivation. Avon's reply? [[DeadpanSnarker "I'll let you know."]]
* AloneWithThePsycho: In "Countdown" the rebels are searching for a Federation officer, who unknown to them has killed a rebel and stolen his uniform. Because this man and other Federation troops are still prowling around, Blake is assigned a bodyguard. Of course the bodyguard turns out to be the disguised Federation officer, which the rebels only realise when they finally locate the officer's file with his photograph.

* BombDisposal: In "Countdown", Avon has to defuse a DoomsdayDevice that could kill everyone on the planet. [[WhatYouAreInTheDark He could teleport out at any time and save himself]], but not everyone else.

* {{Crossover}}: Creator/TerryNation wanted the Daleks to show up in the SeasonFinale to Season B (he owned the rights to them after all) but this idea was [[ExecutiveMeddling opposed by the producers]]. However a guest character, Carnell from "Weapon", turned up in a ''Series/DoctorWho'' Literature/PastDoctorAdventures novel, ''Corpse Marker'' by ''Blake's 7'' Script Editor Creator/ChrisBoucher.

** Season B - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E2Shadow Shadow]]" focuses on Cally, "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E6Trial Trial]]" largely focuses on Travis, "Countdown" largely focuses on Avon and "Killer" and "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E11Gambit Gambit]]" focus on Avon and Vila.

** Season D - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E5Animals Animals]]" focuses on Dayna, "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E7Assassin Assassin]]" focuses on Tarrant, "Sand" focuses on Tarrant and Servalan and "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E11Orbit Orbit]]" focuses on Avon and Vila.

** In "Countdown", the Federation have hidden a solium bomb that will [[DisproportionateRetribution kill everyone on the planet]] with radiation poisoning if they rebel. The rebels attempt to seize the control room before it's activated but fail, and the plot involves a RaceAgainstTheClock to locate and disarm the bomb.

* DoorJam: In "Gold", Avon stays back to HoldTheLine against guards who've chased them into an airlock transfer tunnel between two spaceships. Unfortunately one ship is about to do a HyperspeedEscape and so the tunnel seals automatically, stranding Avon on the wrong side -- he's saved by a TeleportationRescue while a poor RedShirt is sucked out into space. A blooper has the [[SlowDoors door closing too slowly]] and Avon getting through, causing the cast and crew to break out laughing.

* 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 "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E3Traitor 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]].

-->'''Josette Simon:''' ''[in character as Dayna]'' Avon, what are you doing?\\

* LicencedSexist: Avon [[OutOfCharacter becomes a hardcore sexist in any episode written by Ben Steed]]. The most blatant instance is in the episode "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E2Power Power]]", where he actually lectures a female villain on how women are inherently less strong than men. Fortunately, the other writers treated Avon in a much more even-handed way, giving him much respect for his female colleagues and even Servalan to a certain extent.

* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:Blake returned in the last episode and was killed off by ''Avon'', because Blake was too stupid to explain his real motives, leading Avon to think Blake was a traitor. Definitely a FanonDiscontinuity moment for diehard fans. Blake's death was apparently a condition for Gareth Thomas to appear in the episode, his death included blood to make sure that he was really dead. Seeing as it ended up being the final episode, it didn't really matter anyway, especially as just about everyone else ended up dead by the end of the episode anyway, though with some ambiguity so that they could return if the series was extended.]]
* BackForTheFinale: [[spoiler:Blake came back for the final episode, and was bloodily shot dead. This was because Gareth Thomas was fed up with the part and wanted it to be unambiguously the last time he would have to play the role in case the show got UnCancelled.]]

* BBCQuarry: The TropeMaker along with ''Series/DoctorWho'' -- according to Gareth Thomas there was one occasion when they heard noises at the other side of the quarry, and discovered ''Doctor Who'' was filming there at the same time (though evidence of filming dates shows this may be apocryphal). Sometimes there are InUniverse justifications such as the atmosphere is too thin to support much vegetation, the planet has been mined out by the Federation, or devastated by nuclear or biological warfare. However there were plenty of planets portrayed by English forests or windswept grassy hills. Scowles (ancient iron ore quarries) also provided a more visibly interesting version of the trope.

* BloodlessCarnage: In the final episode, this trope was used so the producers could bring the characters back to life if the series was renewed for another season (which had already happened once), by saying that Stun Guns had been used. Except for Gareth Thomas, who insisted he be KilledOffForReal, and so suffered an appropriately bloody death-by-exploding-squibs+bloodbag.

The second series saw Blake determined to strike at the heart of the Federation by destroying its central computer-- the series had a StoryArc, but often the quest for information about Star One was little more than a {{MacGuffin}}. The end of this arc shooed out some of the crew and introduced '''Del Tarrant''' (Tarrant), a former Federation officer who had deserted their ranks, and weapons expert '''Dayna Mellanby''' (Dayna). Despite the departure of Gareth Thomas, who played Blake, the series retained its title, with Avon now becoming the leader of the Seven.

* 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 Thomas 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.]]

It is distinctive in that most of its leading characters are of the AntiHero type rather than your usual clean-cut heroes. In fact, Avon, the lead of the latter two seasons, counted as an AntiVillain. It is often seen as Nation's attempt to subvert ''Franchise/StarTrek'' -- the ''B7'' Federation's logo is the ''Trek'' Federation's logo rotated through 90 degrees -- and other subversions of what, at the time, were standard SpaceOpera tropes are common.

** In "Recap/BlakesSevenS2E7Killer 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.

* 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 Thomas 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.]]

** Not every woman, but Jenna definitely (especially in series 1), actually being the 80s notwithstanding.

* ArtefactTitle: A pre-and-post variant thereof. There aren't seven of them until the end of the third episode when Cally joins. After that, the number usually stays ''close'' to seven, but varies... and after the end of series two, it's not Blake's any more.

* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: The Space Rats in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E4Stardrive Stardrive]]" are stereotypical outlaw bikers RecycledInSpace, although they have huge Mohicans and Roy Wood-style facepaint.

* BigElectricSwitch: "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E6Headhunter 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.

* DeathInTheClouds: RecycledInSpace in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E7MissionToDestiny}} Mission to Destiny]]". The crew of the Liberator comes across a space freighter with its pilot murdered, the controls sabotaged, and the crew all unconscious. The Liberator has to take the freighter's valuable cargo to its destination, while Avon and Cally stay to help with repairs and (of course) solve the mystery.
* DeathOfAChild: Tragically in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E7ChildrenOfAuron}} Children of Auron]]" when Servalan destroys a facility full of cloned fetuses, particularly significant since she emotionally broke down immediately after (in a tearful pained way, not an angry villainous way). [[spoiler:She'd had her genetic material implanted into some fetuses but had been tricked into believing it had been removed, but as soon as she'd fired she said knew they were hers and she "felt them die".]]

* DecoyProtagonist: New viewers watching the first episode might assume the thoroughly likable Varon (Blake's lawyer) and Maja (Varon's wife) are going to be major characters, as they have a lot of screen time, and spend much of "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E1TheWayBack}} The Way Back]]" attempting to help Blake. [[AnyoneCanDie New viewers would be wrong in this assumption.]]
** In the following two episodes it's also left up in the air who the rest of the Seven will be, with characters introduced only to be killed off. The full complement is only established in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E4TimeSquad}} Time Squad]]", and one of them is a computer.

* 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 favour of a relationship with Servalan. Also Krantor in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E11Gambit Gambit]]", who similarly is strongly implied to be same-sex lovers with his sidekick Toise but flirts heavily with Servalan as well.

** Avon snarkily explaining how the door panels work in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E2SpaceFall}} Space Fall]]", thus showing off his love of computers and his love of [[TheSnarkKnight being rude to people]] he thinks are dumber than him. (Which is, of course, everyone.)

** 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 behaviour rather than something he does because he's good at it, as in later episodes.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: In "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E6CityAtTheEdgeOfTheWorld}} City at the Edge of the World]]", Beyban the Butcher (played by Creator/ColinBaker) speaks fondly of his mother ("Wonderful woman. Truly evil personality.").

* EverybodyLaughsEnding: Happens a few times, usually when someone's cracked a joke at [[ButtMonkey Vila's expense.]] However a more notorious example is in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E7ChildrenOfAuron}} Children of Auron]]" when Avon cracks a lame joke and everyone laughs [[spoiler:after almost every member of Cally's race gets killed with biological warfare, including her sister.]]

** There's also the BermudaTriangle InSpace version containing either a NegativeSpaceWedgie or [[AbsoluteXenophobe hostile aliens]] who want to discourage humans from entering their territory.

** In "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E1Rescue}} Rescue]]", the only spacecraft on the planet is on the other side of a sealed door, so our heroes leave Vila to get it open while they look for another entrance. Their search is futile, but their MasterOfUnlocking must have the other door open by now, surely? Cut to Vila next to an open door...[[INeedAFreakingDrink to the wine cabinet]].

* GoodIsNotNice: Even the more moral members of the Seven have their ruthless moments -- Blake threatening to destroy a surgeon's hands in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E10Breakdown Breakdown]]", Cally threatening to open fire on a neutral space station unless her friends aren't returned in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E2Shadow Shadow]]", Gan threatening to take a guard's handoff for a BorrowedBiometricBypass in "Space"[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E2SpaceFall Space Fall]]".

** On the prison transport in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E2SpaceFall}} Space Fall]]" they station a lone guard ''inside'' the prisoners' room, whose palm print can open the door from there. Naturally, once the camera is taken out he's overpowered and coerced to open the door by Gan threatening that they'll simply [[BorrowedBiometricBypass take off his hand]] if he refuses. Also the guard falls for Vila's magic trick distraction a second time; this makes sense when he's bored because there's nothing happening, but not moments after the ship has been endangered by the turbulence from a space battle.

** As noted in the description, Blake and Avon themselves were favourites among early slash writers. "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E13Terminal}} Terminal]]" especially.
** "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E1Rescue}} Rescue]]" is basically Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] with much of the subtext intact.
** It usually pops up in one form or another in Creator/RobertHolmes' episodes, most notably between Krantor and Toise in "Gambit," and Egrorian and Pinder in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E11Orbit}} Orbit]]". Although the standards of the time meant that they couldn't actually be called lovers on-screen, Holmes made it pretty much as obvious as you can get without outright saying the G-word. (They are also inevitably villains. Well, half of them anyway; Krantor and Egrorian were outright villainous, but Toise didn't really care for Krantor's schemes and just wanted to focus on running the casino, while Pinder was neutral.)

* KillHimAlready

* LicencedSexist: Avon [[OutOfCharacter becomes a hardcore sexist in any episode written by Ben Steed]]. The most blatant instance is in the episode "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E2Power}} Power]]", where he actually lectures a female villain on how women are inherently less strong than men. Fortunately, the other writers treated Avon in a much more even-handed way, giving him much respect for his female colleagues and even Servalan to a certain extent.

** 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 centred 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.

* MirrorMatch: In "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E8Games}} Games]]", Soolin participates in a deadly QuickDraw game against a computer, represented by an image of herself. The computer is programmed to match and then exceed her draw time, forcing the player to lift their own game or die.

** In "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS2E13StarOne}} Star One]]", a space minefield blocks the invasion route between our galaxy and Andromeda. Minefields are only effective when they guard [[ChokepointGeography chokepoints]]. In this case the invasion fleet [[TwoDSpace could simply maneuver around it]].

* PinPullingTeeth: Played with in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E10Ultraworld}} Ultraworld]]". Dayna has a micro grenade hidden in a tooth, which she primes by putting it back in her mouth and adjusting it with her teeth.

* TheQuincyPunk: The Space Rats are violent Outlaw Bikers [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]] who have gigantic mohawks and glam-rock facial make-up. Not so much "stereotype punk" as "three different countercultures shoved in a blender".

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The Federation [[MindRape Mind Raped]] Blake into condemning his own revolution, imprisoned him, drugged him to keep him docile, murdered his family, and eventually framed him for child molestation and sent him to a penal colony. His decisions subsequently are driven at least in part by a desire for some payback.

** In "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E12DeathWatch}} Death-Watch]]," a war is fought via CombatByChampion, but one side cheats by using an android. When the two champions agree to settle matters with a QuickDraw showdown, the android instantly outdraws his opponent, despite the latter being an experienced gunfighter famous for his QuickDraw. The question then becomes for our heroes, how do you defeat an opponent who's faster than human?

* ScienceIsWrong: A subtle but quite clever example in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E3CygnusAlpha}} Cygnus Alpha]]". When Blake points out that the speed the ''Liberator'' is apparently traveling would "[[TechnoBabble cross the antimatter interface]]", which is thought to be physically impossible, Avon points out that people used to think the same thing about the light barrier.

** Jenna is a 'free trader' i.e. a smuggler. Also, her...ex-colleagues the Amagons, who engage in criminal activities including smuggling, bounty-hunting, slave trading, and piracy. They have their own unique culture that's more like {{Qurac}} InSpace rather than the Type 2 version.

* TheSyndicate: The Terra Nostra ([[TheMafia Cosa Nostra]] InSpace) whose main revenue is the illegal drug Shadow. Our anti-heroes attempt (unsuccessfully) to [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised buy their help in their struggle]] against the Terran Federation. [[spoiler:TheReveal is that Shadow is being harvested on a planet directly controlled by the President of the Federation, and Terra Nostra is just another means of controlling the populace, this time via its criminal underbelly.]]
* SyntheticPlague: Used by Servalan (apparently not the same one both times) in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E9ProjectAvalon}} Project Avalon]]" and "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E7ChildrenOfAuron}} Children of Auron]]". Used by an unknown alien race in "Killer".

* WhamEpisode - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E13StarOne Star One]]", "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E13Terminal Terminal]]", and "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E13Blake}} Blake]]" are the big three. "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E5PressurePoint Pressure Point]]" deserves a mention, having [[spoiler:the first [[KilledOffForReal death of a main character]]]].

* WriterOnBoard: The three episodes written by Ben Steed ("[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E5TheHarvestOfKairos}} The Harvest of Kairos]]", "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS3E11Moloch}} Moloch]]" and "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E2Power}} Power]]") all feature a Men Versus Women conflict and are, especially when contrasted with the [[FairForItsDay rest of the series]], unbelievably misogynistic.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Belkov in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E8Games}} Games]]"

* YouAllMeetInACell: Blake, Jenna, and Vila in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E1TheWayBack}} The Way Back]]". Avon and Gan then meet them on a prisoner-transportation ship in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E2SpaceFall}} Space Fall]]".

** 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 "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E3Weapon 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]].

''Blake's 7'' was clearly a strong if unspoken influence on ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', ''Series/{{Lexx}}'', and ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', as well as having a minor influence on ''Series/BabylonFive'' -- J. Michael Straczynski noted that, in writing all of Season 3, he was doing something that hadn't been attempted in SF TV since Terry Nation wrote all of Season A of ''Blake's 7''. It had a much stronger influence on the sequel series ''Series/{{Crusade}}'', which became even more obvious when information began to leak about plot developments that would have occurred had the show not been canceled. It was also directly cited by Creator/JosephMallozzi as an inspiration for ''Series/DarkMatter''.

''Blake's 7'' was clearly a strong influence on ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', ''Series/{{Lexx}}'', and ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', as well as having a minor influence on ''Series/BabylonFive'' -- J. Michael Straczynski noted that, in writing all of Season 3, he was doing something that hadn't been attempted in SF TV since Terry Nation wrote all of Season A of ''Blake's 7''. It had a much stronger influence on the sequel series ''Series/{{Crusade}}'', which became even more obvious when information began to leak about plot developments that would have occurred had the show not been canceled.

* AbsoluteCleavage: Servalan in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E5PressurePoint Pressure Point]]" has a white dress with a jeweled lizard clutching at her exposed cleavage.

* 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 "[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E13Terminal 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.]]

* OutOfCharacterAlert: In "Sha[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E2Shadow Shadow]]"dow", 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.

* AloneWithThePsycho: In "Countdown" the rebels are searching for a Federation officer, who unknown to them has killed a rebel and steal his uniform. Because this man and other Federation troops are still prowling around, Blake is assigned a bodyguard. Of course the bodyguard turns out to be the disguised Federation officer, which the rebels only realise when they finally locate the officer's file with his photograph.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: The series finale. They even threw in a line of dialogue which revealed that the only previous regular character to make it out of the series alive had died off-screen at some point since]].
** It is worth pointing out that this was unintended. The writers had a fifth season planned in which it would be revealed that only one character was definitely dead. The rest had merely been stunned and taken prisoner. However, the BBC decided to cancel the series at that point, so it was just assumed that almost everyone was dead. Also, Avon wasn't gunned down on the screen (we only heard shots being fired) and in theory survived.

** Averted with the barbarian chieftain Chel in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E1Aftermath 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.

* HellBentForLeather: Worn by both heroes and villains, notably Avon and Travis. An S&M shop made the outfits as they had the most experience in working with leather: there's a cute anecdote about the shopworkers frantically hiding the porn and the nipple clamps when Michael Keating (Vila) turned up for a fitting with his little daughter in tow.

* RevolvingDoorCasting: Only two characters, Avon and Vila, made it through all four seasons as regulars. (Peter Tuddenham appeared on all four seasons, but playing three different regular characters.) Michael Keating (Vila) was the only actor to appear in every episode of the show, as Avon wasn't introduced until the second episode.

* ArtifactTitle: A pre-and-post variant thereof. There aren't seven of them until the end of the third episode when Cally joins. After that, the number usually stays ''close'' to seven, but varies... and after the end of series two, it's not Blake's any more.

** In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E11Bounty 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]]).

The second series saw Blake determined to strike at the heart of the Federation by destroying its central computer -- the series had a StoryArc, but often the quest for information about Star One was little more than a {{MacGuffin}}. The end of this arc shooed out some of the crew and introduced '''Del Tarrant''' (Tarrant), a former Federation officer who had deserted their ranks, and weapons expert '''Dayna Mellanby''' (Dayna). Despite the departure of Gareth Thomas, who played Blake, the series retained its title, with Avon now becoming the leader of the Seven.

In 2007, a new AlternateContinuity radio version was produced with some interesting twists to the story, and from 2011 Creator/BigFinish has made and is continuing to make, audio dramas featuring the original cast. (For more, [[AudioPlay/BlakesSeven see the Audio Play page.]])

There's quite a strong element of sexual tension within the show, though much of it is beneath the surface, mainly because it was originally shown in an early evening timeslot. Fans note much subtextual HoYay in many of the male relationships. Amongst British SF fandom, Blake/Avon (or Avon/Blake -- the order can be very important to fans) [[{{Shipping}} slash]] [[FanFic fiction]] is very popular, as is Avon/Tarrant. Even Avon/''Vila'' is not unknown.

'''Roj Blake''' (or just "Blake"--in TheVerse, people typically used only a single name) had led a rebellion against the Federation which had been put down. Brainwashed, Blake had renounced the rebellion he led and was leading the life of a normal citizen until he was brought out of his brainwashing by a new group of rebels. Again, that putative rebellion was quashed and Blake was framed for crimes he didn't commit (child molestation, though this wasn't mentioned again after the second episode) and sent to a [[PenalColony prison planet]].

En route to exile, Blake and a group of prisoners managed to escape from captivity and take control of a mysterious, and [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum very advanced alien spaceship]] which they called the ''Liberator'' and resolved to fight back against the Federation. The series then chronicled their attempts, which were usually unsuccessful, to overthrow the Federation.

Blake was perhaps the only "good" character amongst the Seven but, though he sometimes appeared to be TheCaptain, he never had the full authority and respect from the others to truly perform the role. The other main characters in the series were: '''Kerr Avon''' (Avon), an amoral computer expert who refused to trust anyone -- a real AntiHero; '''Jenna Stannis''' (Jenna), a smuggler who was the pilot of the ''Liberator'' during the first two series; '''Vila Restal''' (Vila), a cowardly thief; '''Cally''', a humanoid telepath with kamikaze tendencies exiled from the planet Auron; and '''Olag Gan''' (Gan), a GentleGiant, but only because he had a limiter fitted to his brain after he killed his girlfriend's murderer in a rage. ''Liberator'' was controlled by a sentient computer known as '''Zen'''.

* BlackSite: Finding the location of Star One (a base containing the MasterComputer which controls the Federation) is the StoryArc for Season Two. It's so secret that anyone who could possibly know it's location has either been killed, brainwashed into forgetting it, or working in effective exile there. This backfires badly because when things start going wrong with Star One, even the people running the Federation don't know where it is!

* BlackSite: Finding the location of Star One (a base containing the MasterComputer which controls the Federation) is the StoryArc for Season Two. It's so secret that anyone who could possibly know it's location has either been killed or brainwashed into forgetting it. This backfires badly because when things start going wrong with Star One, even the people running the Federation don't know where it is!

* YouLookFamiliar: Michael Halsey played both Varon (Blake's poor, doomed solicitor) in "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS1E1TheWayBack}} The Way Back]]" and Zee (a disgruntled ex-patient of Docholli's) in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E11Gambit Gambit]]".

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Several episodes would feature a couple of bored Federation flunkeys [[GreekChorus discussing politics]] or the [[MrExposition local situation]] before being drawn into the action.

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

** In "Warlord", Xenon Base is sabotaged; bombs destroy the teleport and all entrances, yet the ventilation is left intact to spread a lethal virus. So the people trapped inside have to shut down life support leaving them with air for around 20 hours, and it will take at least four days to dig themselves out.

** In "Blake", the planet Gauda Prime is a CrapsackWorld where all laws have been suspended by the Federation High Council, in order to kill or drive off the colonists who legally owned the land. This naturally attracted a large number of criminals and psychopaths [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness who now have to be disposed of]] before law and order can be reintroduced, so they're being used as bounty hunters to catch or kill their fellow lawbreakers. Our rebel anti-heroes are not pleased to hear that Blake, ostensibly their leader but who's been [[PutOnABus missing for the past couple of seasons]], is now [[TookALevelInJerkass working as one of these bounty hunters]]. [[spoiler:It turns out he's secretly recruiting another rebel force from among the criminals he's capturing.]]

** Servalan produces a bulky StickyBomb from a tight cocktail dress in "Warlord". Avon produces another bomb from his PaintedOnPants in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E1Redemption Redemption]]".

** In "Warlord", [[spoiler:Servalan leaves a StickyBomb in the airlock of Warlord Zukan's spacecraft. Zukan sends in his aide to remove it, blowing him out the airlock the moment he detaches the bomb from the metal wall. Unfortunately, the bomb explodes at that point, fatally crippling the spacecraft, so the warlord dies anyway.]]

* TragicRobot: Many fans find the death scenes of the two starship computers, Zen in "Terminus" (slowly dying from an alien fungal infestation, he constantly apologises for having "failed" the human characters), and Slave in "Blake" (shutting down after Scorpio crashes, he for the first time addresses another character by name instead of as "Master"), among the most emotional in the show.

** In "Warlord", Federation soldiers do dramatic somersaults into a BBCQuarry for no apparent reason.

** In "Sand", Tarrant is [[LockedInARoom stranded on a planet]] with [[TheBaroness Servalan]], so they form an [[EnemyMine alliance to survive]]. When Tarrant has a EurekaMoment on how to defeat the MonsterOfTheWeek, Servalan gives him a SmoochOfVictory. Tarrant warns that he still has his gun...which [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Servalan]] promptly produces in ''her'' hand.

* BriefcaseFullOfMoney: "Gold" has a different twist on the fake money version. The money is indeed in the case, but it's in a currency that's just been rendered invalid because the planet that issues it has been taken over by the Terran Federation.

* CryingWolf: In "Orbit", the VillainOfTheWeek tries to kill Avon and Vila by overloading their shuttle so it won't reach escape velocity. They strip the shuttle of everything they can throw out the airlock but are still short 70 kilos. The computer then helpfully informs Avon that [[ColdEquation Vila weighs 73 kilos]]. Vila promptly hides while Avon stalks him with a gun in his hand saying, "[[ComeOutComeOutWhereverYouAre Come out. Vila, I know how they did it, but I need your help.]]" Then Avon really does discover how they weighed down the shuttle -- by hiding a speck of super-dense matter on board -- and needs help pushing it out the airlock. Vila of course refuses to come out of hiding, and Avon barely manages it in time.

** Season D - "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E5Animals Animals]]" focuses on Dayna, "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E7Assassin Assassin]]" focuses on Tarrant, "Sand" focuses on Tarrant and Servalan and "Orbit" focuses on Avon and Vila.

** In "Orbit", a MadScientist offers to sell a device that can destroy any planet at any range, enabling Avon to crush the Federation with ease. Of course, it's never that easy...

** Egrorian in "Orbit" is the classic scenery-muncher plotting to take over the galaxy with his WeaponOfMassDestruction.

** In "Orbit", Avon tries to airlock Vila when they're both stuck on a shuttle that [[ColdEquation needs to lose a lot of weight quickly to avoid crashing]]. Things get... pretty dark before an alternative solution is found.

* 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 "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E9Countdown 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.]]