Editing Blake's 7 (section)

== Sources and themes ==
Series creator Terry Nation pitched ''Blake's 7'' to the BBC as "''[[The Dirty Dozen]]'' in space", a reference to the 1967 [[Robert Aldrich]] movie in which a disparate group of convicts are sent on a suicide mission during World War II.<ref name="Pixley-2002">
{{Cite journal
| last = Pixley
| first = Andrew
| date=October 2002
| title = Blake's 7. 'The Dirty Dozen in Space'
| journal = TV Zone
| issue = 156
| pages = 48–56
| issn = 0957-3844
}}
</ref>
This influence shows in that some of Blake's devotees are escaped convicts (Avon, Vila, Gan and Jenna). ''Blake's 7'' also draws much of its inspiration from the legend of [[Robin Hood]].<ref name="Muir-2000">
{{Cite book
| last = Muir
| first = John Kenneth
| title = A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7, the 1978–1981 British Television Space Adventure
| year = 2000
| publisher = McFarland
| location = Jefferson, North Carolina
| isbn = 0-7864-2660-8
| pages = 178–181
| chapter = A Futuristic Robin Hood Myth}}
</ref>
Blake's devotees are not a band of "[[Merry Men]]". His diverse crew includes a corrupt computer genius (Avon), a smuggler (Jenna), a thief (Vila), a murderer (Gan), a telepathic guerrilla soldier (Cally), the Liberator's computer (Zen) and another computer (Orac). Later additions were: a naïve weapons expert (Dayna), a mercenary (Tarrant), a gunslinger (Soolin) and the Scorpio's computer (Slave). While Blake intends to use ''Liberator'' to strike against the Federation, the others are often reluctant soldiers—especially Avon. Blake and Avon's clashes over the command represent a conflict between idealism and cynicism, emotion and rationality, and dreams and practicality.<ref name="Bignell-ODay-2004d">
{{Cite book
| last = Bignell
| first = Jonathan
| author2=O'Day, Andrew
| title = Terry Nation
| year = 2004
| publisher = Manchester University Press
| location = Manchester, England
| isbn = 978-0-7190-6547-7
| pages = 113–178
| chapter = Nation, Space and Politics}}
</ref>
Similar conflicts occur between other characters; the courage of Blake and Avon compared with Vila's cowardice, or Avon and Jenna's scepticism of Blake's ideals compared with Gan's unswerving loyalty, Blake's mass murdering methods compared with Avon's targeted and less destructive methods.<ref name="Bignell-ODay-2004d"/>

Script editor [[Chris Boucher (writer)|Chris Boucher]], whose influence on the series increased as it progressed, was inspired by Latin American revolutionaries, especially [[Emiliano Zapata]], in exploring Blake and his devotees' motives and the consequences of their actions.<ref name="McCormack-2005"/><ref>
{{Cite book
| last = Attwood
| first = Tony
| title = Blake's 7. The Programme Guide
| year = 1982
| publisher = W.H. Allen
| location = London
| isbn = 0-426-19449-7
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/terrynationsblak00attw/page/178 178–181]
| chapter = Interviews: Chris Boucher – Script Editor and Writer
| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/terrynationsblak00attw/page/178
}}
</ref>
This is most evident in the episode "Star One", in which Blake must confront the reality that in achieving his goal of overthrowing the Federation, he will cause chaos and death for many innocent citizens.<ref name="McCormack-2005"/> When Avon gains control of ''Liberator'', after Blake's disappearance after the events of "Star One", he uses it to pursue his own agenda, such as avenging his lost love Anna Grant. Later, Avon realises that he cannot escape the Federation's reach and that he must, like Blake, resist them. In this respect, by the end of the fourth series Avon has replaced Blake.<ref name="Jurassic Arc"/>

Classic films, such as the Western ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'', were an important influence upon ''Blake's 7''. Chris Boucher incorporated lines from Westerns into the scripts, much to the delight of Paul Darrow, an enthusiast of the genre.<ref name="IS#Ch1">
{{Cite book
| last = Nazzaro| first = Joe|author2=Wells, Sheelagh| title = Blake's 7: The Inside Story | year = 1997| publisher = Virgin| location = London | isbn = 0-7535-0044-2| pages = 9–20| chapter = Starting Out}}</ref> The final episode, "Blake", was inspired by ''[[The Wild Bunch]]'' and ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Nazzaro | first = Joe |date=August 1992 | title = Terry Nation's Blake's 7. Part One | journal = TV Zone | issue = 33 | pages = 28–30 | issn = 0957-3844}}</ref> ''Blake's 7'' also drew inspiration from the classic British [[dystopia]]n novels ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' by [[George Orwell]], ''[[Brave New World]]'' by [[Aldous Huxley]] and ''[[When the Sleeper Wakes]]'' by [[H. G. Wells]].<ref name="McCormack-2005"/> This is most evident in the nature of the Federation, whose methods of dealing with Blake in the first episode, "The Way Back", including brainwashing and [[show trial]]s. These are reminiscent of the way in which the [[USSR]] dealt with its dissidents.<ref name="Liberation-A">
{{Cite book
| last = Stevens
| first = Alan
| author2=Moore, Fiona
| title = Liberation. The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Blake's 7
| year = 2003
| publisher = Telos
| location = England
| isbn = 1-903889-54-5
| pages = 13–58
| chapter = Season A}}
</ref>
Explorations of totalitarianism in the series are not confined to the Federation—totalitarian control through religion ("Cygnus Alpha"), [[genetics]] ("The Web") and technology ("Redemption") are also portrayed.<ref name="Liberation-A"/><ref>
{{Cite book
| last = Stevens
| first = Alan
| author2=Moore, Fiona
| title = Liberation. The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Blake's 7
| year = 2003
| publisher = Telos
| location = England
| isbn = 1-903889-54-5
| pages = 59–102
| chapter = Season B}}
</ref>
Such authoritarian dystopias are common in Terry Nation's work, including his ''Doctor Who'' story ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' (1975).<ref name="Bignell-ODay-2004d"/>

Loyalty and trust are important themes of the series.<ref name="McCormack-2005">
{{Cite book
| last = McCormack
| first = Una
| editor = Cook, John R. |editor2=Wright, Peter
| title = British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker's Guide
| year = 2006
| publisher = IB Tauris
| location = London
| isbn = 1-84511-048-X
| pages = 174–192
| chapter = Resist the host: Blake's 7 – a very British future}}
</ref>
Avon is presented with several opportunities to abandon Blake. Many of Blake's schemes require co-operation and expertise from others. Characters are often betrayed by family and friends, especially Avon, whose former lover Anna Grant is eventually revealed to be a Federation agent. The theme of loyalty and trust reaches its maximum during Blake and Avon's final encounter in the last episode ("Blake"); Blake, by now very paranoid, has been masquerading as a bounty hunter collaborating with the Federation as a front for his activities in recruiting and testing potential allies in the struggle and this causes Avon and the others to suspect him when Tarrant accuses Blake of betraying them; an ironic miscommunication between Avon and Blake precipitates the disastrous events that conclude the episode.<ref name="Jurassic Arc">
{{Cite book
| last = Muir
| first = John Kenneth
| title = A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7, the 1978–1981 British Television Space Adventure
| year = 2000
| publisher = McFarland
| location = Jefferson, North Carolina
| isbn = 0-7864-2660-8
| pages = 171–178
| chapter = The Jurassic Arc: Science Fiction Television's First Video Novel}}
</ref>
If Blake and his crew represent Robin Hood and his Merry Men, then the Federation forces, personified by the obsessive, psychopathic Space Commander Travis and his superior, the beautiful but ruthless Supreme Commander Servalan, represent [[Guy of Gisbourne]] and the [[Sheriff of Nottingham]].<ref name="Muir-2000"/>

A common theme of Nation's science fiction is the depiction of [[post-apocalyptic]] societies, as in several of his ''Doctor Who'' serials, for example ''[[The Daleks]]'' (1963–64), ''[[Death to the Daleks]]'' (1974), ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' (1975) and ''[[The Android Invasion]]'' (1975) and in his series ''[[Survivors (1975 TV series)|Survivors]]'' (1975–77).<ref name="Bignell-ODay-2004d"/> Post-apocalyptic societies feature in several ''Blake's 7'' episodes including "Duel", "Deliverance", "City at the Edge of the World" and "Terminal". Although not explicitly stated, some publicity material for the series refers to the Federation as having developed after a [[nuclear holocaust]] on Earth.<ref name="Liberation-A"/> Noting the series's distinctive aesthetic, an academic concluded: "At its best, Blake's 7 had a peculiar intensity all its own".<ref>{{cite book |last=Duckworth |first=Stephen |chapter=Blake's 7 |editor=[[David Lavery]] |title=The Essential Cult TV Reader |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8131-2568-8 |pages=51–59}}</ref>