Blakes 7 is a Science Fiction television series created by Terry Nation and shown by the BBC. It started in 1978 and ran until 1981 giving us four series and a very memorable finale - which to this day is still the topic of conversation between fans of the series.

The story at a very basic level, is that of Blake - a freedom fighter who was captured and brainwashed by the Federation (a facist government in charge of the Earth and a number of other planets).

He discovers his identity once more, but is placed on a Federation prison ship bound for the prison planet - Cygnus Alpha. With the help of fellow criminals, they escape the Federation by capturing a remarkable starship - The Liberator. With the chance of a new start, Blake gathers together a small band of outlaws, who begin to search for a way to stop the Federation. The destruction of which means their freedom and the freedom of the galaxy.

This might sound a bit like a Starwars style plot, but it is much more than running around blasting troops. It is much more than beaming down to a planet and seeing bug eyed monsters. The one thing that makes this show much better than the rest is the characters and the way that they interact with each other. I suppose that when you look at the costumes and the story, you could say that it is a space age Robin Hood!

The stories were very solid, and considering the budget that it ran on, the special effects were very good - surpassing even that of the original StarTrek and Space 1999.

In the time that it ran, Blakes 7 had fan clubs, magazines and even die-cast dinky toys made of it, and according to Blakes 7 - The Programme Guide, written by Tony Attwood, the final episode of the series captivated over 9 million viewers - which in the UK was a lot of people in 1981!