TV - Blake's 7

I first saw Blake's 7 when I was around 10 years old.. it was in the third series by then - and was immediately hooked by the character of Avon. I finally saw all the series a few years later and fell in love with the scripts, the characters, the whole ideal of the show. It has it's faults, dodgy set design, not-so-special effects, but it was always the characters and writing that won out.

My ex bought me all the video tapes over a period of years - he would hunt them down in out of the way video shops, comic shops - don't forget, this was pre Amazon, or DVDs. I still have them all, all carefully packed away. Partly as a reminder of the love behind them, and partly cos I couldn't stand to let them go. Obviously now I have the DVDs, but the love is still there.

Avon is still one of my favourite ever characters. He is a loner, a cynical angry heartless electronics genius.

"I am not expendable, I am not stupid, and I am not going" - Horizon

We think we understand him - he's not complicated, he's just someone who only cares about himself and what reward he can steal, cheat or con out of others. It turns out we're wrong. He has a long history. His life has brought forward the angst, the experienced pain of betrayal and loss of a true love. The scene when he realises that it was all a lie, that he'd been used is truely heartbreaking. He has built up such a high wall around his heart that it takes an extraordinary person to crack that facade - that person is Roj Blake, a falsely accused idealist.

Their relationship is so intense, so complicated, that it is hard to capture. The writing took us places never before taken and the subtleties gave us such depth, we could only dream.

"Death is something that he and I faced together on a number of occasions. I always thought that his death and mine might be linked in some way." - Avon (on Blake) - Terminal

It was only fitting that after being apart for so long, that the end for both Avon and Blake was entwined in a bloody dance of regret and homecoming. There is no happy ending for any of the 7, or those who joined the cause later on, but that is the right ending, it is the only ending.

"You can trust so few people these days" - Power Play

Would I trust Avon? No, definitely not. Would I, if he asked, jump on a spaceship and run around the galaxy trying to stay ahead of the federation? Damn right I would, no question, because, despite the probably shortened lifespan, what a ride it would be.

Blake's 7 was probably the first example of antiheroes fighting against an even bigger bad - years later Firefly came along and I was in love all over again.

"As far as I'm concerned you can destroy whatever you like. You can stir up a thousand revolutions. You can wade in blood up to your armpits. Oh, and you can lead the rabble to victory -- whatever that may mean. Just so long as there's an end to it. When Star One is gone, it is finished, Blake. And I want it finished! I want it over and done with, I want to be free! " - Star One

Federation, Alliance, Liberator, Serenity - different accents, different backgrounds, but the same underlying desire, Freedom.