In 1978 DOCTOR WHO was under new management from producer Graham Williams who was ordered by the BBC heads to cut out the graphic horror and violence which had happened under producer Phillip Hinchcliffe . This meant increasingly bland stories and an increase of humour which stopped the show being as good as it used to be . Likewise Tom Baker clowning around was an acquired test which increasingly alienated viewers . In short the gritty horror-lite stories from the show were becoming a thing of the past perhaps never to return but not to worry because Terry Nation had been creating a new show called BLAKES 7 which got a lot of publicity including an several page feature and interview with Nation in the Radio Times Being a massive DOCTOR WHO fan I watched this show in anticipation and was instantly struck by the serious and dramatic tone of the opening episode . There's no zany antics from the eponymous lead played by Gareth Thomas who plays Roj Blake a political dissident from the Terran Federation and a man who is considered a threat to the fascist regime so much so that the Federation have to find a way to discredit him . They do this by framing him for child molesting
Yes you read that last bit right . A TV show that years later is perceived to be a low budget campy , schlockwatch of a show by the BBC trying to and failing to emulate STAR WARS and STAR TREK has the hero stiched up as a paedophile . Imagine the BBC trying to make the same show today with the same plot device and you'd crowds of licence payers marching on to BBC centre carrying burning torches and nooses . For this alone the triumvirate of Nation , producer David Maloney and script editor Chris Boucher deserve great credit for making a gritty opening episode that dares to be different
That said the opening episode is slightly atypical to the rest of the series in that it's more interested in introducing key characters namely Blake , Jenna and Vila and is more dialogue driven than you'd expect than in the rest of the series and this is by no means a criticism . It's also interesting that it's devoid of the iconic anti-hero Avon and regular villain Servelan . What it does have in common with the rest of the series is that minor supporting characters especially ones on the side of the good guys rarely live long enough to see the end credits . Regardless of where and when it exists fascism has always been fairly effective in liquidating good people
Director Michael E Briant does - like the production team - pulls out all the stops to make this opening episode something special . He's hamstrung by the budget to an extent but doesn't pull his creative punches . Perhaps the best aspect is the editing especially a sequence where Blake is interviewed by a doctor that takes place via cross fade . Briant also makes good use of the lighting especially just before the massacre scene where the shadows of the Federation troopers fall across the walls . The Federation uniforms are amongst the best costume design film and television has come up with - a PVC boiler suit with respirator and helmet that genuinely looks practical and functional
In short The Way Back is a very strong opening episode of a legendary science fiction show . It's unfortunate that the public perception of it is a grade Z STAR WARS/STAR TREK wannabe . Even more unfortunate that those people holding this perception will never watch this episode. It's an episode that still has the power to shock the audience due to the often uncompromising drama on show . If you think BLAKES 7 is children's television then think again
Yes you read that last bit right . A TV show that years later is perceived to be a low budget campy , schlockwatch of a show by the BBC trying to and failing to emulate STAR WARS and STAR TREK has the hero stiched up as a paedophile . Imagine the BBC trying to make the same show today with the same plot device and you'd crowds of licence payers marching on to BBC centre carrying burning torches and nooses . For this alone the triumvirate of Nation , producer David Maloney and script editor Chris Boucher deserve great credit for making a gritty opening episode that dares to be different
That said the opening episode is slightly atypical to the rest of the series in that it's more interested in introducing key characters namely Blake , Jenna and Vila and is more dialogue driven than you'd expect than in the rest of the series and this is by no means a criticism . It's also interesting that it's devoid of the iconic anti-hero Avon and regular villain Servelan . What it does have in common with the rest of the series is that minor supporting characters especially ones on the side of the good guys rarely live long enough to see the end credits . Regardless of where and when it exists fascism has always been fairly effective in liquidating good people
Director Michael E Briant does - like the production team - pulls out all the stops to make this opening episode something special . He's hamstrung by the budget to an extent but doesn't pull his creative punches . Perhaps the best aspect is the editing especially a sequence where Blake is interviewed by a doctor that takes place via cross fade . Briant also makes good use of the lighting especially just before the massacre scene where the shadows of the Federation troopers fall across the walls . The Federation uniforms are amongst the best costume design film and television has come up with - a PVC boiler suit with respirator and helmet that genuinely looks practical and functional
In short The Way Back is a very strong opening episode of a legendary science fiction show . It's unfortunate that the public perception of it is a grade Z STAR WARS/STAR TREK wannabe . Even more unfortunate that those people holding this perception will never watch this episode. It's an episode that still has the power to shock the audience due to the often uncompromising drama on show . If you think BLAKES 7 is children's television then think again
