|
Post by masterdoctor on Sept 3, 2018 19:10:46 GMT
Well in regards to recent news I think I'm finally going to take the plunge into Blake's 7 and if you don't mind Elka, I would love to post my thoughts here as well.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2018 19:17:12 GMT
Well in regards to recent news I think I'm finally going to take the plunge into Blake's 7 and if you don't mind Elka, I would love to post my thoughts here as well. Oh you should one of the best SciFi shows there was and now that we now have no Gareth or Jacqueline .You will Enjoy and the audios are wonderful too.
|
|
|
Post by elkawho on Sept 3, 2018 19:22:58 GMT
Well in regards to recent news I think I'm finally going to take the plunge into Blake's 7 and if you don't mind Elka, I would love to post my thoughts here as well. Please do! The more the merrier!
|
|
|
Post by Ela on Sept 3, 2018 20:09:40 GMT
Well in regards to recent news I think I'm finally going to take the plunge into Blake's 7 and if you don't mind Elka, I would love to post my thoughts here as well. It's a fantastic show. Well worth taking the plunge!
|
|
melkur
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,961
|
Post by melkur on Sept 3, 2018 20:21:56 GMT
Same here for me [aside from some of the first episode & the final cliff-hanger, I can't really say that I've seen any]. With Jacqueline Pearce's passing, I'm considering to start watching it as well...
|
|
|
Post by elkawho on Sept 3, 2018 21:40:40 GMT
Watching Death Watch. Blakes 7 did The Hunger Games first!
|
|
shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,647
|
Post by shutupbanks on Sept 3, 2018 22:09:35 GMT
Watching Death Watch. Blakes 7 did The Hunger Games first! It's a fantastic story: Series C has some of the best episodes but it's probably my least favourite season because of the lack of ongoing storyline. Death Watch is superb, though.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2018 0:46:18 GMT
Watching Death Watch. Blakes 7 did The Hunger Games first! It's a fantastic story: Series C has some of the best episodes but it's probably my least favourite season because of the lack of ongoing storyline. Death Watch is superb, though. It's really excellently done. Boucher has a real talent for playing human chess in his plots, ramping up the intrigue to something fierce. I love how much thought has been put into the mechanics of the contest itself. Everything's done to a purpose and it's so well-defined. I'm glad we have Crossfire's story arc at Big Finish, though; everything that's going on with the Federation during this season is too tantalising not to explore in some way. Reminds me... That same disused brickwork warehouse for one of the death courses keeps turning up in all kinds of British television ( Blake's 7, The New Avengers, The Professionals, etc.). I've always been meaning to string them all up together into a one video brawl. Maybe I should get back around to that...
|
|
|
Post by omega on Sept 5, 2018 4:24:31 GMT
What's interesting with the viewing figures is that Series 2 has the lowest figures. If you rank the total viewing figures that season has eight of the lowest ten figures. Series 4 is the most stable, series 1 climbs to get the highest figure for Seek-Locate-Destroy and series 3 spikes up and down around the nine million and ten million viewer range. So the reputation Series 4 has isn't reflected in the viewing figures, and the only series to have an arc is the lowest in the figures.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 5:05:28 GMT
Blakes seven for me did cliffhangers well. I was 11 when Orac predicted the Liberator would be destroyed...we were over at my grannies.As the final credits rolled she switched the telly off and i stood there thinking my goodness they are all dead and no way of knowing if there was going to be another series.Oh those pre internet days. I forgive some of the shaky sets and special effects it was good solid drama and was way ahead of its time.I know when i put on one episode to watch that i will end up binge watching.
|
|
|
Post by Ela on Sept 5, 2018 5:39:10 GMT
The best cliff hanger was the end of Star One. My mouth was literally hanging open after that and I was exclaiming " That's how they're ending the season??!!" By the way, Den of Geek had a nice series of Blake's 7 articles, episode by episode, starting back in 2008. If you're interested, you can start reading here, with series 1, episode 1. Spoilers abound, so you probably don't want to read these before you watch the episodes.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 6:14:26 GMT
The best cliff hanger was the end of Star One. My mouth was literally hanging open after that and I was exclaiming " That's how they're ending the season??!!" By the way, Den of Geek had a nice series of Blake's 7 articles, episode by episode, starting back in 2008. If you're interested, you can start reading here, with series 1, episode 1. Spoilers abound, so you probably don't want to read these before you watch the episodes. I thought all the cliff hangers and season finales were excellent.I felt like weeping at the end of season three watching The best space vessel ever to grace the small or Big screen.....
|
|
shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,647
|
Post by shutupbanks on Sept 5, 2018 10:15:26 GMT
The best cliff hanger was the end of Star One. My mouth was literally hanging open after that and I was exclaiming " That's how they're ending the season??!!" By the way, Den of Geek had a nice series of Blake's 7 articles, episode by episode, starting back in 2008. If you're interested, you can start reading here, with series 1, episode 1. Spoilers abound, so you probably don't want to read these before you watch the episodes. It's probably my favourite episode and that cliffhanger is no small part of that: it builds beautifully from the moment that you learn what is happening with the barrier and that really simple series of shots at the end - no huge budget, no special effects, just great acting, direction, camerawork and music - is almost unbearably tense. It still stands up terrifically well 40 years later.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 10:20:00 GMT
The best cliff hanger was the end of Star One. My mouth was literally hanging open after that and I was exclaiming " That's how they're ending the season??!!" By the way, Den of Geek had a nice series of Blake's 7 articles, episode by episode, starting back in 2008. If you're interested, you can start reading here, with series 1, episode 1. Spoilers abound, so you probably don't want to read these before you watch the episodes. It's probably my favourite episode and that cliffhanger is no small part of that: it builds beautifully from the moment that you learn what is happening with the barrier and that really simple series of shots at the end - no huge budget, no special effects, just great acting, direction, camerawork and music - is almost unbearably tense. It still stands up terrifically well 40 years later. The funny thing is when i first heard Warship and then had a few listens I could have sworn i had seen some things in the BF version on TV 😝 which of course I hadn’t .It was an episode that delivered in spade loads and left you hanging knowing that in the next series the show could go anywhere at all,allegiances could have altered in any way...and they led the way for the Wonderful vocal talents of Josette (one day she will come back into the Blakes 7 fold one day)
|
|
|
Post by omega on Sept 5, 2018 11:43:04 GMT
While Avon has a brilliant line in snarky one-liners, Vila is my favorite character. He wasn't a fanatic, a supergenius with an ego or a sharpshooter, just a pickpocketing door opening thief. He was the most grounded member of the crew across all four seasons, his voice of reason usually overruled by Blake's fanaticism (as the Liberator Chronicle story Spoils shows, Blake doesn't know what he would do after beating the Federation), Avon's scorn or the rest of the crew in general (Tarrant was especially prone to this). Vila's skill set is vital to the crew of the Liberator, as his ability to open doors comes in handy so often. The fact he's overlooked and underestimated means that impressive feats are seen as impressive, as opposed to being expected from characters like Avon.
The Blake/Avon relationship is a big one, but I reckon the Vila/Avon dynamic is just as important. By the end they've been through 51 episodes together. At times it feels like Avon is wanting Vila to prove him wrong and step up the the plate. By the end they are the only constant for each other since the start of the show (apart from Servalan that is), and the loss of everything else has taken a toll on them. Vila's tendency to drink and Avon's diminishing sanity are examples of this. Vila likes to tease Avon, who is no stranger to sending out his own barbs. I get the feeling that Avon at least wouldn't have it any other way.
A major factor in this is Michael Keating's performance. He's in every episode, and in every one of those 52 episodes makes Vila a relateable person. Whether Vila is the focus or not, if he's in the scene Michael Keating makes Vila worth watching.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 11:50:50 GMT
While Avon has a brilliant line in snarky one-liners, Vila is my favorite character. He wasn't a fanatic, a supergenius with an ego or a sharpshooter, just a pickpocketing door opening thief. He was the most grounded member of the crew across all four seasons, his voice of reason usually overruled by Blake's fanaticism (as the Liberator Chronicle story Spoils shows, Blake doesn't know what he would do after beating the Federation), Avon's scorn or the rest of the crew in general (Tarrant was especially prone to this). Vila's skill set is vital to the crew of the Liberator, as his ability to open doors comes in handy so often. The fact he's overlooked and underestimated means that impressive feats are seen as impressive, as opposed to being expected from characters like Avon. The Blake/Avon relationship is a big one, but I reckon the Vila/Avon dynamic is just as important. By the end they've been through 51 episodes together. At times it feels like Avon is wanting Vila to prove him wrong and step up the the plate. By the end they are the only constant for each other since the start of the show (apart from Servalan that is), and the loss of everything else has taken a toll on them. Vila's tendency to drink and Avon's diminishing sanity are examples of this. Vila likes to tease Avon, who is no stranger to sending out his own barbs. I get the feeling that Avon at least wouldn't have it any other way. A major factor in this is Michael Keating's performance. He's in every episode, and in every one of those 52 episodes makes Vila a relateable person. Whether Vila is the focus or not, if he's in the scene Michael Keating makes Vila worth watching. I remember the scene with VILA realising that AVON would gladly jettison that was powerful stuff from Michael
|
|
|
Post by omega on Sept 5, 2018 12:00:09 GMT
While Avon has a brilliant line in snarky one-liners, Vila is my favorite character. He wasn't a fanatic, a supergenius with an ego or a sharpshooter, just a pickpocketing door opening thief. He was the most grounded member of the crew across all four seasons, his voice of reason usually overruled by Blake's fanaticism (as the Liberator Chronicle story Spoils shows, Blake doesn't know what he would do after beating the Federation), Avon's scorn or the rest of the crew in general (Tarrant was especially prone to this). Vila's skill set is vital to the crew of the Liberator, as his ability to open doors comes in handy so often. The fact he's overlooked and underestimated means that impressive feats are seen as impressive, as opposed to being expected from characters like Avon. The Blake/Avon relationship is a big one, but I reckon the Vila/Avon dynamic is just as important. By the end they've been through 51 episodes together. At times it feels like Avon is wanting Vila to prove him wrong and step up the the plate. By the end they are the only constant for each other since the start of the show (apart from Servalan that is), and the loss of everything else has taken a toll on them. Vila's tendency to drink and Avon's diminishing sanity are examples of this. Vila likes to tease Avon, who is no stranger to sending out his own barbs. I get the feeling that Avon at least wouldn't have it any other way. A major factor in this is Michael Keating's performance. He's in every episode, and in every one of those 52 episodes makes Vila a relateable person. Whether Vila is the focus or not, if he's in the scene Michael Keating makes Vila worth watching. I remember the scene with VILA realising that AVON would gladly jettison that was powerful stuff from Michael That's why I think Michael is the best actor on the show in terms of performances. He's not chewing the scenery like Avon or exuding menace like Servalan or Greif!Travis (the Croucher!Travis has a more hammy quality), he's consistently portraying the member of the crew you'd have the best time at a bar with, and lose all your credits to before the night is over. His performances are more subtle, which make the times he really lets loose and steals the show something special indeed, like City at the Edge of the World, where he solves the traps, gets laid and deals to BAYBAN THE BUTCHER (his mother called him Babe).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 23:31:22 GMT
I remember the scene with VILA realising that AVON would gladly jettison that was powerful stuff from Michael That's why I think Michael is the best actor on the show in terms of performances. He's not chewing the scenery like Avon or exuding menace like Servalan or Greif!Travis (the Croucher!Travis has a more hammy quality), he's consistently portraying the member of the crew you'd have the best time at a bar with, and lose all your credits to before the night is over. His performances are more subtle, which make the times he really lets loose and steals the show something special indeed, like City at the Edge of the World, where he solves the traps, gets laid and deals to BAYBAN THE BUTCHER (his mother called him Babe). I'm a bit surprised we're on Page 3 and this is the first mention of Bayban. Keating plays the role with this endearing sort of puppy-dog persona, so Villa's character -- up to and including his cowardice -- ends up being really entertaining to watch. Making a very nice counterpoint to Bayban "I don't want to be breathing the same air that this man is in case he gets jealous" the Butcher. Colin Baker walks into the room and you're instantaneously convinced the character's been stewing in the background for the past two series. A man who thinks crime is a straightforward meritocracy.
|
|
|
Post by omega on Sept 6, 2018 0:19:09 GMT
That's why I think Michael is the best actor on the show in terms of performances. He's not chewing the scenery like Avon or exuding menace like Servalan or Greif!Travis (the Croucher!Travis has a more hammy quality), he's consistently portraying the member of the crew you'd have the best time at a bar with, and lose all your credits to before the night is over. His performances are more subtle, which make the times he really lets loose and steals the show something special indeed, like City at the Edge of the World, where he solves the traps, gets laid and deals to BAYBAN THE BUTCHER (his mother called him Babe). I'm a bit surprised we're on Page 3 and this is the first mention of Bayban. Keating plays the role with this endearing sort of puppy-dog persona, so Villa's character -- up to and including his cowardice -- ends up being really entertaining to watch. Making a very nice counterpoint to Bayban "I don't want to be breathing the same air that this man is in case he gets jealous" the Butcher. Colin Baker walks into the room and you're instantaneously convinced the character's been stewing in the background for the past two series. A man who thinks crime is a straightforward meritocracy. Colin Baker is instantly memorable as one of the best one-off characters in Blake's 7. He loud, crude and demanding, and is a phenomenal character. It's a shame he got killed off, as having a recurring enemy for Vila like Bayban could have been interesting. Outside of Travis for the first two seasons and Servalan the show didn't go in for recurring characters or antagonists. Series 3 practically upgraded Servalan to a regular character anyway.
We could have had some of Jenna's old smuggler contacts clash with the crew a few times, maybe try to capture them for some kind of reward or to get out of a punishment from the Federation. A group of logicians keen on recruiting Avon and possibly Orac. Some rogue Auronar who worship Cally.
|
|
|
Post by Ela on Sept 6, 2018 2:27:19 GMT
Colin as Bayban was fantastic.
|
|