Blake's 7 TV review

For me one of the great joys of broadband internet has been re-discovering some of my favorite old TV shows and introducing some new friends to these old classics. For me one of the best has always been Terry Nation's BBC space opera classic Blake's 7 now available at blistering fast download speeds from our friends on utorrent.

B7 ran for 4 series from 1978 to 1981 but all of this stuff you can read on Wikipedia anyway so lets get down to Spaceman Jack's contribution.
I am halfway through watching series 2 for the first time in probably 20 years and it stands up pretty well in the 21st century a time of CGI Sci-fi and digital downloads. The cardboard and plywood special effects of the BBC that feature in B7 are so very familiar to fans of Terry Nation's other big success Dr Who. Bits fall off control panels and sets wobble visibly as the actors touch or move around them. In the debut episode the Federation freighter looks like the bastard child of a papier-mache bathtub and a shoebox hanging on strings. On this space ship the command "Engage engines Time distort 5 !" means "Remove handbrake, Light 5 fire-crackers out the back tube and hold on tight !"
Anyway that old tub takes Roj Blake, Kerr Avon, Vila Restal and the rest of the gang of convicts to prison planet for life but fate intervenes. Through a series of unlikely plot twists this group of Rebels, Criminals, disaffected intellectuals and telepathic aliens gain control of The Liberator, a super fast and super sweet advanced tricked out Alien Spaceship. Thus equipped do our gallant heroes Sallie forth like Robin Hood robbing from the rich fighting the system shooting at the cops and blowing shit up, but in space.
Actually its the costumes that really mark this as space opera from the 70's check this out.

Nice threads dudes ! The eponymous Blake is under the delusion that balloon sleeves are the way to go this season, not only make you look bigger in the event of a hostile encounter but they can also slow your rate of descent in the case of a severe fall.
Costume designers with few exceptions have decided that future clothing means synthetic plastics, sometimes to and outlandish degree. (Watch season 2 episode 7 the killer and see if you like the triangular brown vinyl suits ).
But on the other hand Servalan was probably the best dressed Space Villainess yet encountered witness this outfit....

Isn't she delightful ! Just the thing for a summers day massacre. By the way the weapon in her hand is a standard issue Federation Blaster pistol and is capable of a rate of fire of 2 firecrackers per minute. The 2 bodyguards in black acrylic are Mutoid slaves, a sort of cybernetic vampires made from humans mind wiped by the Federation sort of thing. They obey their master's every sordid whim without question, drink plasma and wear BDSM gear.
But its not just about nostalgia, I am really enjoying coming back to this old show. What made B7 different was the dark style of the writing, that made it a nice antidote to the millennial Federation of Gene Roddenbury's Star Trek. For B7 the core is rotten, the center cannot hold and mere anarchy is set upon the universe. Here alliances are temporary, friendships are rare and treachery is common.
So very 21st century Enjoy !

Final rating: 5 Ninja stars * * * * *

With Prime Numbers I'll Kick Your Ass

Is it just me or do you too think that prime number are considerably more groovy than their more readily divisible counterparts ?
Think about it, all the really cool integers are Prime.
3, very cool
5, not as cool as 3 certainly but a lot hipper than 4 which is totally square.
All the great teams and organizations are based on Prime numbers.
The Holy Trinity for example is Prime.
They would just be a joke if they turned up for business as the Holy Quartet, they would be laughed right out of the Pantheon. They might possibly work as the Holy Duality. There have been many important and successful Duets throughout history but there again we have the Prime. The ever popular 2 is the only even member of those funky numbers .
Think about it, "The Magnificent 7", A Prime number naturally.
First they were Samurai and only later did they become Cowboys.
In the Future they all became inter planetary freedom fighters in "Blake’s 7" where they fought for the BBC against the evil Federation.
They enjoyed a long career as Robots in 2000AD comics "The ABC Warriors". They also became a bunch of rather feeble Mercenaries in the forgettable "Battle Beyond the Stars".
But all though the centuries they realize that they have to remain 7 in order to harness the Prime Funkiness. They are never going to save the villagers or planetary colonists from the Banditos and Intergalactic pirates with 6 and 8 just wouldn’t be cool enough.
Now I know what you are thinking,
The evenly divisible "Fantastic Four " right ?
Well basically the Fantastic Four suck and I think we all need to acknowledge that fact. Not only would the Magnificent 7 kick their ridiculous Superhero asses even Enid Bylton’s the Famous 5 and Secret 7 would do them in as well.

13 is another great Prime number. You may hate it you may fear it but you have to respect the number 13. Jesus appreciated this. He of course had 12 apostles but with his own presence he wisely took the number in his crew to the very formidable 13. He wouldn’t have been nailed up by the cops if Judas hadn’t betrayed them and taken the number down to an embarrassing and rather pathetic 12.
Witches covens are traditionally 13 that’s more of a guideline than an actual hard and fast rule but you just know they are going to get more work done as 13 than 12 or a flabby and over weight 14.
11 might work some good Prime magic it certainly works for Cricket and Football teams. Rugby Union is therefore a bit of an anomaly at 15 which can be evenly divided by the ever reliable 3 and 5. But let us not forget that the Rugby 7’s is a considerably faster and more exciting game than the traditional 15.

In summary, if you want to really get the job done either do it yourself ( going solo) take 1 mate along ( the duo ) or form a Trio Triad or Triumvirate. But what ever you do always stick to the Primes for ultimate in full on Funky Effects.