What a terrible ending to a superb series! It looked for all the world as if the director glanced at his watch and yelped, "Cripes, we've only got five minutes left! Quick, everybody die!"

Nevertheless, the very end was great - Avon standing over Blake's body and flashing that sardonic sexy grin.

It was a great shame that Servalan wasn't in this final episode, though. It would have made the ending all the more superb if she'd swanned in and Avon had flashed the grin at her.

Was it the original Blake, or the clone of Blake from Season 2 (can't think of the episode) that was killed?

I heard a rumor that the series was supposed to go to a fifth season, but the BBC pulled the plug just before the end of filming. Kind of like Babylon 5, but in reverse.

Callie: It's more likely Avon would have flashed the grin and the gun at her.

Chris: I believe Blake's 'clone' believed in the sanctity of life and wouldn't kill. Also I beleive he and the woman stayed on that planet to protect the weapon.

What exactly was the test Blake was using to determine if he could trust these people? Frankly it seems that Blake had just lost it and didn't know what he was doing.

I did not like the way they got rid of Jenna. Was the actress even asked to reprise her role for a cameo?

For someone who was raised on this planet and was supposed to be a ruthless and talented gun-for-hire, SuLin (sp?) wasn't much help, but then the writers dropped the ball on all the ruthless heroines. Cally was ruthless, then became gentle. Dana was ruthless, then they softened her. SuLin started off great, then she really softened up, sometimes saying or doing something Cally would have said or done. (Getting the Warlord's daughter on the ship in the previous episode, for instance.) The only ruthless woman who stayed ruthless was Servalan.

What exactly was the relationship between Blake & Avon? For all his ruthlessness, Avon was remarkably loyal to Blake, but there never seemed to be any kind of friendship between them. Is there an explanation that doesn't involve a homosexual subtext?

I believe in one of the Blakes 7 books, the writer had Vila survive the shooting.

Amazing that the Federation troops decided to surround Avon instead of just gunning him down when they saw he had a weapon. Made for a hell of an ending though.

Keith - if I remember correctly, it's spelled "Soolin".

I recall that when the series ended, many fans believed that none of the crew had been killed, cos none of them were bleeding (apart from Blake, of course, who was covered in the stuff!). Everyone hoped that the rest of the crew had been hit with stun guns and so there might be a sequel.

We're still waiting ....!

Blakes 7: The Next Generation

Given how important they seemed to think it was that they clear the base of the radioactive virus in the previous episode, they pretty callously destroy it here. They could have just left the virus alone and flew away and Tarrant would still have his girlfriend.

I believe in one of the Blakes 7 books, the writer had Vila survive the shooting.

That would be Afterlife. Do fans consider this cannon?

A sequel to this wonderful series? Why not? With today's technology, a small budget is not out of the question. Most advanced home computer graphics users could duplicate the effect of ships flying through space without models/wire. I always thought that Avon was kept alive and put in exile. His knowledge of other resistance groups would be more valuable than a dead revolutionary. Perhaps the Federation doubled it's Empire and another group of political criminals would take the mantle to fight back. Perhaps the cloned Blake would be their leader?

One problem with a TV revival using a Blake clone is that Gareth Thomas insisted that Blake was killed off so he wouldn't need to play the part again, I don't know if has changed his mind but not taking part in the audio adventures suggests he wouldn't. One idea for B7:TNG is to have a son of Blake & Jenna (of the original 7 they seemed to be the closest....) it starts with Blake Jr. finding out about his parents past & starting a new rebelion.

Or that Blake was wrong about Jenna dying.

Why a son, James? What's wrong with a daughter?

I said sone becuase I've heard rumours then Chris Morris (The Day Today, Friday Night Armastice, Brass Eye) was involved in Paul Darrow's project. I daught of Blake & Jenna would be fine. I don't know who would be a good actress for the part off the top of my head.

Why would you need a good actress for the way you part your hair? ;-)

Sorry my last message got a bit garbled, I had netscape tell me it had an illegal error & it shut down, so I had to type my message again very fast. It should read: I've heard rumours that Chris Morris (The Day Today, FridayNight Armastice, Brass Eye) was involved in Paul Darrow's project. A daughter of Blake & Jenna would be fine. I don't know who would be a good actress for the part without thinking it over for a while. (Off the the top of my head means thinking something up very quickly). I hope this sorts things out.

I'm familiar with the slang term, I was just having some fun with your wording. It's what I do.

You know I remember sitting there when I was about 10 years old back in '81 and watching the final episode of a series I adored. I was looking forward to Servalan getting her comeupance and Avon and the crew flying merrily off into the galaxy.....I cried for days after that ending, and my dad was one of the people who ended up phoning the Beeb for an explanation (which as I recall resulted in their switchboard being jammed for hours after the episode had finished). Serves 'em right!

It seems to me that Blake would have been smarter than this and by this I mean parading around as a bounty hunter and such. He should have been in contact with the Avon and the crew. With a computer as smart as Orac they should have been able to do this and avoid the catastrophe that insued. Why would you kill Vila, that is like killing the boy (or the thief) next door.

I only just saw this episode for the first time. OMG! What an amazing ending. I think it would spoil it if they don't all die, it's just so poignant. All the struggles and everything and the only main character left alive is Servalan. It was all pointless. Fab! I don't know that I think Avon did survive, because at the end, before the music cuts in there is loads of firing guns and they overlap, so even if Avon is shooting, the guards are too, pretty much at no distance.

Paul Darrow also wrote a book titled 'Avon:A Terrible Aspect'. It deals with Avons earlier life but is very hard to get hold off.

Tarrant stays to work the controls because Slave can't. I wonder if Orac could have worked the controls? No one bothered to ask.

Okay, why is the pilot's desk sliding around? (Besides BILC.) You'd think these things would be bolted down & have wires running down through the floor.

I guess we know where Star Trek: Generations got the idea for the saucer section skidding through the trees. Scorpio did it first.

In Terminal a Federation lackey hangs onto a piece of deck plating rising up, then slides down it. Tarrant does the same thing here.

Vila should have seen those guys enter the shack with his peripheral vision.

Avon says, "You've been walking the wrong way if you want to get out of this forest." I guess Avon never heard the joke, 'How far can you walk into the woods? Halfway, then you're walking out of the woods.'

The first 3 yellow marks on Avon's flyer appear to read 911. (That's an emergency phone number in the states.) The other marks on both flyers are apparently unintelligible.

Arlen's plan was incredibly risky. She had to disguise herself as a criminal & hope that she didn't get killed & for what? Did the Federation know that Blake was working as a bounty hunter? Considering all the things that could go awry, it was a big risk to take.

As the credits roll we hear a lot of shots being fired, one at a time. How many shots do you need to kill a man at point blank range? And why were the Feds firing one at a time instead of all at the same time?

Great shot that never happened
After the credits or the beginning of series 5, the camera shows Avon standing over Blake, the edges of his jacket singed, Fed guards dead by their own weapons, Avon grins & says, "You missed." ;-)

Oh come on; surely it's plain as day!!?? Avon most certainly DID flash the grin and the Gun at Servalan, firing a shot off BEFORE any of the Federation Guards did (different neutron blasters gave different sounds). Servalan died along with everyone else and they all no doubt (like Captain Kirk) were resurrected in literary terms by many a fan writing a continuation of the format. In my view literary resurrections do not count and I will personally not believe otherwise until Paul Darrow gets his act together and does that short film that was recently mooted, but collapsed on the grounds of 'artistic differences'. Oh come on; surely Terry Nation's legacy deserves it...

Spoilers, but not more than have already been mentioned above. I just mention it in case anybody is discovering the series via the DVDs.

That smile could have been because Servalan stepped out of the shadows. He smiled at the realization that she had orchestrated everything, just like on Terminus, and the gun shots could have been her taking out the guards.

So what did Blake do all this time since Star One? It's strange that the Liberator couldn't find him or Jenna if they had survived. Blake would presumably have been desparate to get back to the Liberator since it and Orac were the best weapons against the Federation. Surely there would have been easier ways to contact Orac than to 'set up' this operation.

And you'd think by now these people would be more suspicious about supposed friends turning out to be Federation agents. But then Blake's idealism and optimistic have been known to blind him.

After being betrayed (at least in his mind) and then killing both Anna and Blake, probably the only two people who ever meant anything to him, Avon would have been too psychotic for another series. Paul Darrow's acting couldn't have flown any further over the top anyway.

The first 3 yellow marks on Avon's flyer appear to read 911. (That's an emergency phone number in the states.)
And those numbers are more significant now...

A reappearance of Avon would not of worked at the time i.e mid 80s. But now..........yes, I think its long overdue...

I've often thought of a B7:TNG type show with Blake and Jenna's son. It starts with him discovering an ageing Avon in a cave. He also has fixed up Orac (Avon, that is). In order to show Avon he is for real he presents him with the dead body of Servalan.... what happens next is up to someone far more creative than me.

An interesting note for the dvd buffs- on the season 3 dvds it presents a "Season 4 trailer". In fact, it gives away the ENTIRE ending of the show!!!! Every dead body is shown! Seriously, why spoil it for those that haven't watched it yet?

Hmmm. It is possible that Avon could have fought his way out of that room outnumbered 10:1 using his ninja-training and...no, I don't think so.

They are all DEAD! Even if they had survived, the Federation and their fleet was already in ruins after the destruction of Star One and the intergalactic war at the end of Season 2.

So who and what were they really fighting after those events?

Mostly people like themselves: selfish, greedy egotistical, cowardly, arrogant, violent, creative and curious people and aliens.

Seasons 3 and 4 are not even really about fighting the Federation, it's about the survival of outcasts in a hostile galaxy. Ocassionally they would do something under the pretense of ••••••• with the Federation and that's why they could still be considered a threat, but everyone seems to be more concerned with profit, revenge, survival, and getting into trouble for the fun of it.

Insurgency and revolution were not at the top of their individual agenda, only their collective agenda when they could agree which was seldom. There was no Blake, and there weren't even seven of them (call me a bigot, but I don't think Zen and Orac count.) This had a natural effect on the premise of the show, if not the title.

Killing them was certainly the right way to end the show because what they were doing was ultimately futile anyway. Blake realized this and became a bounty hunter. So why not betray Avon, Vila and the others? They would have done the same to him in similar circumstances. Without a fast ship with a teleport, they were all helpless and vulnerable.

That's why 3 and 4 are my favorites. The show evolved from a revoloutionairy struggle into a story about the adventures of misfits. you look at all of their characters, they have a background that makes it impossible for them for them to find a place in the Federation. Blake was an exception, though. He choose to fight for his principles. None of the other characters from 3 and 4 have any principles. That's what makes them unique as television and SF institutions and why we love them!

To Avon, Vila, Cally, Tarrant, Dayna, and Soolin, may your characters rest in peace.

"To Avon, Vila, Cally, Tarrant, Dayna, and Soolin, may your characters rest in peace".....I'll drink to that, unless I decide to ressurect them at the hands of my biro.......because boy-oh-boy does society need it's dropouts and misfits!! More so today than ever before......

According to one of the extras in the Season 4 box set, this was actually planned as the first part of a cliff-hanger.

Blake's obviously dead, and I would say Dayna is as well - she was shot with the same gun the Fed Officer used to shoot the other rebels, who seemed to be dead. I'd say Jenna went out in her blaze of glory as well,

Vila, Soolin and Tarrant could be dead, possibly only stunned if the Federation soldiers arrived to capture them and not kill them - we saw in Avalon that they can adjust the settings on their guns.

Avon? The multiple shots from the Federation guns and his own could indicate that he went down hard, fighting mortal wounds with the last of his strength, which could go against everyone else surviving, or it could be that he fought against whatever knocked the others out for a while until finally succumbing.

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Killing them was certainly the right way to end the show because what they were doing was ultimately futile anyway. Blake realized this and became a bounty hunter. So why not betray Avon, Vila and the others? They would have done the same to him in similar circumstances. Without a fast ship with a teleport, they were all helpless and vulnerable.
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No, it could be footage that got reinserted as I don't remember it from before - but Blake was masquerading as a bounty hunter so he could recruit some of the disaffected he was hunting, whilst turning those who he felt wouldn't join or were a liability over to the federation.

Tarrant grabbed the wrong end of the stick, Blake didn't take the opportunity to explain to Avon what he was doing and Avon took the at the time logical course and shot him for betraying him, then finally realised he was wrong, and his world fell apart, when the Fed Officer revealed herself.

And finally, the commentary for this episode is possibly the best of the entire series - Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow and Chris Boucher, who describes himself as the man that killed Father Christmas

Though one can't help but feel that all of that was a mere manufacture to sell the DVD boxset in 2006; as opposed to Nation's real intent....

According to one of the extras in the Season 4 box set, this was actually planned as the first part of a cliff-hanger.

Not really. While it wasn't impossible that the series would come back for a fifth year*, there'd been no sign of this happening so Chris Boucher wrote this with the expectation it could be the final episode, and certainly with no 'Blake Part 2' in mind.

* After all, the first anyone knew of Season D being commissioned was when it was announced over the closing credits of 'Terminal'!

Also, Gareth Thomas only agreed to do it if Blake was unambiguously killed. I'm pretty certain that Boucher knew which way the wind was blowing.

Blake being dead wasn't that much of a problem. He was supposed to be dead in 'Terminal' too.

So this was 39 years ago today.