Zenith: A Blake's 7 Podcast

This week we have something new for you. This is Episode 0 of our new podcast, Inevitable. Because, as we all know, we’re basically suckers for attention and so as soon as someone mentioned we should watch even more sci-fi everyone has to have known that this would be inevitable. Inevitable will be available on your favourite podcasting platform on October 18, 2019! Check us out on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO_5827Rqyt-yaP44LS4PGg] Check us out on Twitter! [https://twitter.com/TYDPodcast]

And now… the time is near… Everything we’ve ever done, everything we’ve ever recorded, it all leads up to this. To this singular podcast episode, this 2 hour epic. We’ve compiled over a dozen of our fan submissions for our fantasy Blake’s 7 episode, and have now presented them all here, for the first time. We hope you enjoy this roaring, exciting, nail biting finale to Zenith, and we’d like to extend a very happy thank you to everybody who ever listened in! Show-notes: 1:29 Trust Your Doctor [http://decorativevegetable.com/?cat=3] is our other podcast. We’ve been watching Doctor Who for 5 years now. 2:37 Links to all the other Blake’s 7 podcasts that we currently know of: Shake and Blake [http://www.earth-2.net/podcasts/shakeandblake/shakeandblake.php], Down and Safe [https://downandsafe.wordpress.com/], Space Fall [https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/shvif-66422/Space-Fall-A-Blake%27s-7-Podcast], Classically Awful [https://www.classicallyawful.com/], Blake’s 7 in Character [https://neozaz.com/category/podcasts/blakes7ic/], Adventures with the Wife and Blake [http://thewifeandblake.com] (looks like the site’s down right now), Watching Blake’s 7 [https://watchingblakes7.wordpress.com/], Making Blake’s 7, [https://watchingblakes7.wordpress.com/]Blake’s 7 Online [http://www.blakes7online.com/news.php]. Might as well throw a couple more in for the heck of it: The Blake’s 7 Diaries [https://theblakessevendiaries.home.blog/], Blake every Seven Days [http://blakesevendays.blogspot.com/], The Way Back 7 [http://thewayback7.blogspot.com/] (B7-themed blog). 6:05 Afterlife by Tony Attwood [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/343843.Afterlife] 14:07 Triple Play [http://decorativevegetable.com/?cat=496] is our other other podcast where we discuss movie trilogies. 36:55 @farshnuke [http://twitter.com/farshnuke]: My Blakes 7 dream would be Laurence Fishburne as Blake, Madds Mikkleson as Avon, Hugh Dancy as Villa, Karen Gillian as Cally, Caroline Dhavernas as Jenna, Gillian Anderson as Servalan and Paul Bettany as Zen/Orac. Basically Hannibal in space with Amy Pond. I need it 38:58 David: As to a fantasy reimaging of Blake’s 7 that is a tough one. I think I would have the following actors for these roles: Sevalan would be played by Morena Baccarin who played Anna in the 2009 version of V. She would be perfect as a villain. Avon played by Philip Glenister. He played Gene Hunt in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. Though he may be a bit too old for the role now. Vila would be played by Martin Freeman who played Arthur Dent in the movie version of the Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Cally played by Keeley Hawes from the series Ashes to Ashes. I can’t think of who I would want to play Blake, Jenna, Gan and Travis though. Gan played by Adrian Rawlins Blake played by Benedict Cumberbatch Will have to think about who I would want the other roles played by. 40:30 Ashes to Ashes [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashes_to_Ashes_(TV_series)] is a followup to Life on Mars [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars_(UK_TV_series)]. 41:47 If you somehow didn’t already know, Sherlock [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_(TV_series)], The Imitation Game [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imitation_Game], Doctor Strange [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Strange_(2016_film)], and Frankenstein [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein_(2011_play)] are shows/movies/plays that Benedict Cumberbatch is in. 42:46 @50dw50 [http://twitter.com/50dw50]: Fantasy Blake’s 7- a one off special to mark the anniversary of the show following a brave group of Federation offers who have to deal with the horrific aftermath of the atrocities committed by an almost mythical terrorist group led by Blake… 45:35 @redtwitdown [http://twitter.com/redtwitdown]: I’m working on a longer one, but here’s a simple one to fit in a tweet: Orac is the only surviving crew member. He gets his own spin-off series. Like the K9 one, but.. Darker. 47:21 St. Clinton’s recording can be found here [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1URiaw79agTm87oBwV-MXWXnXmxBoS5jW/view?usp=drive_web]. 55:25 Hal Morrison: Blake’s 7: a twelve episode miniseries by show runner Ronald D. Moore for STARZ. Cast: Arthur Darvill as Blake Ruth Wilson as Avon Michelle Ryan as Jenna Gemma Arterton as Cally Samuel Anderson as Vila Aaron Douglas as Gan Tricia Helfer as Servalan Katee Sackhoff as Travis Visual Effects Supervisor – Doug Drexler 57:09 Broadchurch [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadchurch] is another show that Arthur Darvill is in. Josette Simon also has a role in it. 59:20 Argy’s recording can be found here [https://www.mediafire.com/file/vjc089letbmv25c/Fantasy_Blake%2527s_7_Episode.m4a/file]. 1:11:08 Jurgen’s story can be found here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ROuEVXRfY8zsux04ERCgBzpWi-l_3tpIzZyKvybfMMQ/edit?invite=CN-347wI&ts=5c222cfb]. 1:25:05 @iomamo [http://twitter.com/iomamo]: A continuation of the series, definitely not a reboot. The name Blake’s 7 still applies because this new group is following the lead of/doing it in tribute to the original gang and Blake himself. Either way, the myth is more important than the man. And/or something like Robin of Sherwood where a person is appointed the New Blake. Or perhaps this new revolutionary has the arrogance to name themselves Blake? I dunno. Anything but a reboot anyway. 1:28:16 @tech_paula [http://twitter.com/tech_paula]: I always had the idea that after the end of “Blake” when only Avon was left, Servalan would step out. Avon and her would smile and walk off together. And that Avon had been working as a “double agent” all the time. Then he would continue to support the rebels whilst being federat 1:30:25 Sgt. Draino: Hey guys,So, if I had MAXIMUM POWER, what might I do in terms of conjuring another season of Blakes 7 into existence?EXTERIOR. SPACE. EARLY INTO SERIES C (aka Season 3). NOT LONG AFTER “POWERPLAY.”The Liberator is being pursued by a massive fleet of pursuit ships closing in from all sides. The only route of escape is to travel through a region of space that Zen has on record as being too dangerous. They override him, and fly through anyway. They pass through an anomaly, and emerge in the clear, no pursuit ships on the scopes.The crew lick their wounds, The Liberator repairs itself. Once full power is restored, Avon is determined to hit back at the Federation, to go on the offensive. He has Orac scan for the nearest Federation outpost. His plan is to attack and destroy it, in order to bait a Federation ship to investigate. Avon hypothesizes that The Liberator has no problem taking on one Federation ship at a time, and so that’s what they will do: Take on single ships, destroy them individually, hit-and-fade.The Liberator arrives at the outpost, and attacks it, blasting it from orbit. Avon let’s them get off a distress signal, and then completely destroys them. The Liberator then lies in wait.Eventually a Federation ship shows up. It is a configuration the crew has never seen before, but after scanning, Orac confirms its transponder identifies it as a Federation ship. It’s an unusual shape, with two elongated nacelles, and a disc-shaped section on the front. Hidden behind a moon, The Liberator monitors communications, as a Federation officer calling himself “Captain Picard” identifies his ship as the “Enterprise,” and tries to communicate with the outpost. The Liberator strikes from behind, moving much more quickly than the Federation ship, firing its neutron blasters. The ship appears to have some kind of rudimentary force wall, but the neutron blasters quickly penetrate it, punch straight through the ship, and ultimately destroy it before it can ever get off a shot.The crew is delighted with the result. Avon theorizes that this new ship design must be something the Federation is trying to build their fleet numbers back up with, after the massive losses they took during the war with the Andromedans. They decide to press their advantage. They destroy several more outposts, using Orac to monitor fleet movements. Orac indicates the Federation’s computer network must have been severely compromised during the war, as Orac finds their systems much easier to penetrate and influence than previously.Orac discovers that the Federation has amassed a fleet to hunt the Liberator, and the fleet is being personally led by Servalan, who is now calling herself, “Fleet Admiral Servalan.” Orac has found a “backdoor” into the enemy ships’ computer systems, and says it is able to control most aspects of the ships remotely. Avon and the crew decide to take this fleet on, with their new-found advantage. They face down the fleet. Admiral Servalan demands their surrender, and Orac responds by causing all of the Starfleet vessels to turn and collide with one another, causing death on a massive scale. The fleet is destroyed, and Admiral Servalan is taken captive. The Liberator then heads towards Earth, ready to strike at the very heart of the Federation.Avon and the rest of the crew continue to have many more adventures attacking and destroying the Federation, showing those cruel tyrants no mercy. Specifically they prolly have about 10 more adventures, each one bloodier than the last. Eventually they encounter an extra super-duper prototype Federation starship commanded by Captain Travis, and Avon and Orac finally realize that they are in a parallel universe. They take The Liberator back through the anomaly to their home universe, leaving a huge swath of destruction behind them.The End.1:34:44 Baz: Part One. Fantasy Season E – Version a: 40yrs Later… Fulfilling Avon’s last command before his death on Guada Prime and working from a hidden location, the supercomputer Orac has been manipulating computer systems all over the Federation over the years and has finally completed the construction of a new Liberator at a secret location. All it needs is a crew… From this point there are several ways we could go in order to cry the new Liberator… I’m quite fond of the idea that Orac has selected a group he believes will be best suited to fight the Federation Orac hasn’t been quite perfect in his selection and we get conflicts between the crew similar to before. Over the course of the season we would see the crew making their way to the Liberator, recovering Orac from Guada Prime and then taking the fight to a now, very powerful Federation (partly funded thanks to Servalan’s victory in Gold). I have a synopsis of a Season E continuation, but i’ve misplaced my work. It had everyone surviving from GP (except Dayna, who was shot with a different weapon to everyone else). They were stunned and captured and had to escape and take the fight back to the Federation. Avon had Orac construct a new Liberator (similar to the 40 yr Later version) and we had a new crew member (can’t remember what I had now). Part Two Paul Darrow/Chris Boucher Fantasy Casting Blake – John Wayne Avon – Clint Eastwood Jenna – Doris Day Villa – Gary Cooper Cally – Katherine Ross Gan – Lorne Greene Servalan – Jane Russell Travis – Lee Van Cleef Part Three Reboot I have a host of notes I’ve made over the years regarding what I would do with a reboot. Too much to go into at such short notice. One thing I did have was that Cally has 7 clones, one of which would be the agent who betrays Blake at the start (Dev Tarrant in the original). Lots more Administration intregue. Gan turns into what he should have been – a brutal killer with a limiter to stop it. Jenna more Han Solo like and Cally a kick ass combat machine. Blake’s 7 © The BBC Any other references belong to their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended by this podcast. The Blake’s 7 title music was originally composed by Dudley Simpson. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/zenith-a-blakes-7-podcast/id1330517231] Subscribe on Google Play! [https://goo.gl/YEoFPc][https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/trust-your-doctor/id806449844]Check us out on Facebook! [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trust-Your-Doctor/720618431308012?fref=ts]Check us out on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO_5827Rqyt-yaP44LS4PGg] Check us out on Twitter! [https://twitter.com/TYDPodcast]

It’s like Trial of a Time Lord but better. It’s really hard to believe that we’re so cloes to the end. This is the latest thing I think we’ve ever listened to for Trust Your Doctor or Zenith, but not the latest thing we’ve covered (thanks Triple Play, check it out). Can you believe that we’ve done this podcast for nearly a year? That’s actually amazing. It’s The Way Ahead, written by Mark Wright and released on January 2, 2018. Show-notes: 2:42 This site’s [http://www.blakes7online.com/news.php] forum. 15:15 Michael Keating and Paul Darrow appeared on the sci fi episode of Pointless Celebrities [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvTk-3u6qYo] about 2 months ago. 20:30 Simon Power was responsible for music according to the official page from Big Finish [https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/blake-s-7-the-way-ahead-40th-anniversary-special-1656/technical_details]. 26:58 Logan’s Run [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan's_Run_(TV_series)] came out in the U.S. in 1977, but I’ve heard from a couple of Blake’s 7 podcasts that it aired in the UK very close to the first episode of Blake’s 7. 50:23 These are some annoying grapes [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncps_RYHoAI]. 1:13:52 Dempsey and Makepeace [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dempsey_and_Makepeace] is a 1985 cop show with Glynis Barber in it. Blake’s 7 © The BBC Any other references belong to their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended by this podcast. The Blake’s 7 title music was originally composed by Dudley Simpson. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/zenith-a-blakes-7-podcast/id1330517231] Subscribe on Google Play! [https://goo.gl/YEoFPc][https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/trust-your-doctor/id806449844]Check us out on Facebook! [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trust-Your-Doctor/720618431308012?fref=ts]Check us out on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO_5827Rqyt-yaP44LS4PGg] Check us out on Twitter! [https://twitter.com/TYDPodcast]

He just wants to be loved. I think. Merry Christmas, we hope you’ll enjoy this rendition of “jingle bells, decomposing Blake smells, Avon took a bullet.” They’re all dead is what I’m saying, and frankly we had no idea when we started this podcast that Blake would fall on Christmas, which is really a rather fun coincidence. Fun might not have been the word I’m looking for actually, in retrospect. It’s Blake, written by Chris Boucher and aired on December 21, 1981. Show-notes: 2:10 Where are you Down and Safe [https://downandsafe.wordpress.com/]? Why have you not put out an episode in 40 years. 3:34 If you don’t already know, Distant Star was a proposed version of the B7 to be used in Series D with lyrics [http://www.farsight.net.nz/lost-lyrics.html] written by Vere Lorrimer. Thankfully it never came to fruition. 9:40 Check out our latest Trust Your Doctor episode, where we discuss the Wedding of River Song. [http://decorativevegetable.com/?p=3116] 1:07:59 The IT Crowd [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_IT_Crowd] is just some show. Nothing special to see here, just move on. 1:23:02 Check out Krynoid Podcast [https://krynoidpodcast.wordpress.com/] if you haven’t already. They’re great. Blake’s 7 © The BBC Any other references belong to their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended by this podcast. The Blake’s 7 title music was originally composed by Dudley Simpson. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/zenith-a-blakes-7-podcast/id1330517231] Subscribe on Google Play! [https://goo.gl/YEoFPc][https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/trust-your-doctor/id806449844]Check us out on Facebook! [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trust-Your-Doctor/720618431308012?fref=ts]Check us out on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO_5827Rqyt-yaP44LS4PGg] Check us out on Twitter! [https://twitter.com/TYDPodcast]

As you can tell I forgot to find a good title this week. The end is nigh. And by nigh I mean, it’s nearly here. Next week, Blake, then two more episodes, then…? It’s over. On the bright side we’ve been forming a coalition of people to take over the job for us. That way you can still get Blake’s 7 content but without us, so we can actually sleep for a while, without having to panic because it’s Monday and I haven’t edited the Zenith episode. That last part is true, by the way. It’s Warlord, written by Simon Masters and aired on December 14, 1981. Show-notes: 1:30 This is probably the first time I haven’t instinctively pronounced Z-Cars [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-Cars] as “zee cars.” 1:42 Emmerdale [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmerdale] is a long-running tv show. The Cluedo tv series [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluedo_(UK_game_show)] is actually a game show. There seems to be a Cluedo drama [http://cluecluedo.wikia.com/wiki/Cluedo_(TV_series)] out there too, but the dates on the IMDB credit for Simon Masters correspond to the game show. Rough Justice [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_Justice_(British_TV_series)] and Dallas [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_(1978_TV_series)] are other tv shows I’ve never heard of. 5:29 Footage of the location used in this episode 30-ish years later. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH_JcLeq9Qk] 14:15 This is what The Experimental Imagination [https://titachico.wixsite.com/home/the-experimental-imagination] is about kind of. Also James Thomson’s Winter [https://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Texts/winter.html] is one of the best poems. 18:16 Foundation [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series] is a book series by Isaac Asimov. 21:50 Yeah, these wigs [https://nyppagesix.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/sia-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] are kind of like Zeeona’s. 1:07:25 Next time Jim from the Krynoid Podcast [https://krynoidpodcast.wordpress.com/] will be joining us. Blake’s 7 © The BBC Any other references belong to their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended by this podcast. The Blake’s 7 title music was originally composed by Dudley Simpson. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/zenith-a-blakes-7-podcast/id1330517231] Subscribe on Google Play! [https://goo.gl/YEoFPc][https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/trust-your-doctor/id806449844]Check us out on Facebook! [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trust-Your-Doctor/720618431308012?fref=ts]Check us out on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO_5827Rqyt-yaP44LS4PGg] Check us out on Twitter! [https://twitter.com/TYDPodcast]