Characters of Blake's 7

This is a list of characters from Blake's 7, a media franchise created by Terry Nation.

Roj Blake

Roj Blake is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Gareth Thomas (in the new B7 audio series, Blake is played by Derek Riddell).

A native of Earth, Roj Blake was a leading voice against the corrupt, oppressive Terran Federation approximately four years before the series began. He was captured by Federation forces, led by Space Commander Travis, and his resistance group were massacred (Seek-Locate-Destroy). Blake was subsequently brainwashed into denouncing his resistance activities, stripped of his memory of the events and placed back into society as an "ideal model citizen" to break the morale of the resistance. His brother and sister were sent to a distant planet but executed on arrival. Forged tapes were sent to Blake periodically to sustain the illusion that they were alive.

In the first episode of the series, "The Way Back", Blake was approached by members of a new resistance organisation preparing to strike against the Federation once more. As Blake took time to consider the revelations about his past, he witnessed the massacre of the group by Federation troops. Captured once again, the authorities hatched a plan to discredit him by framing him for child molestation and having him sentenced to life on the prison planet Cygnus Alpha. However, during the journey, Blake escaped aboard an abandoned highly advanced spacecraft, the Liberator, with Jenna Stannis and Kerr Avon. He continued on to Cygnus Alpha, recruiting Olag Gan and Vila Restal into the group. By the end of the first series, his group had grown with the addition of the telepathic alien Cally and the super-computer Orac.

These resources gave Blake an unprecedented ability to oppose the Federation. Initially committed to freedom with noble intentions, he began to show increasing levels of stress (Horizon, Voice From the Past) and to become more fanatical. Blake began to focus on destroying the Federation's Control centre, the computers controlling climate and commerce for hundreds of worlds—a scheme that Avon and Cally thought to be morally ambiguous because of the thousands of innocent lives it would cost. His first attempt was also his first major failure—an attack on Earth's Forbidden Zone at the location publicly advertised as Control that turned out to be an empty room. It was revealed that the real control was somewhere secret and that the advertised location was bait for potential rebels. This failure resulted in the death of Olag Gan.

When Blake finally found Star One, he discovered that Travis had betrayed humanity to the Andromedans. He subsequently ordered his crew to stop the sabotage so that humanity would have the resource of Star One to fight off the invasion. He also asked Avon to use the Liberator to hold off the invasion fleet until the Federation arrived. Arguably, the events in Star One represented his ultimate triumph as the Federation won a pyrrhic victory in the intergalactic war that severely reduced their power.

Blake disappeared during the Andromedan War and Avon assumed nominal command of the Seven. Avon would continue to search for Blake, sometimes with disastrous results (Terminal). In the series finale, Avon revealed that he had earlier discovered that Blake was alive and living as a bounty hunter on the planet Gauda Prime. In an attempt to recruit Blake for his purposes, Avon and his team travelled to Gauda Prime but their ship was damaged by security forces prior to arrival and the crew was forced to abandon it. Tarrant, the ship's pilot, successfully crash landed on the planet. Blake encountered Tarrant when examining the crashed vessel, but did not reveal that he was using the guise of a bounty hunter so that he could test those who claim to be against the Federation all the while running a large anti-Federation recruitment campaign on Gauda Prime. However, Tarrant escaped Blake's custody before Blake could explain everything to him. Unfortunately, Tarrant informed Avon of what he believed to be Blake's betrayal. Avon did not wait for an explanation and shot Blake dead. Avon and the Seven were subsequently surrounded by Federation troops led by Arlen, Blake's confidant. Arlen explained that Blake "said he could no longer tell who was Federation and who wasn't. He was right. He couldn't." This revealed that Arlen herself was a Federation spy who secretly knew Blake's real agenda.

Gareth Thomas wished to kill off Blake without any doubt. It was in his contract for that episode. At his request, Avon was to use a different type of gun, not a gun that could be mistaken for a stun ray. Also, upon being shot, lots of blood would be shown along with Blake's dead body. Blake's death was gorier than is normal for BBC television at the timeslot. Fan theories persist that this may have been the Blake clone seen in the second series episode Weapon, but Blake's actions and the fact that he knew about Jenna do not support this. The fate of the Blake clone, in fact, is unknown, and it was mentioned in the episode Children of Auron that the Clonemasters had been destroyed.

Kerr Avon

Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow (who is currently recreating the role for the Big Finish Liberator Chronicles and Classic Audio Adventuires; in the new B7 audio series, Avon is played by Colin Salmon). Initially one of a character ensemble, he increasingly became a lead character.

A child of the colonies, Avon possesses genius-level intelligence, and is an aloof and sardonic computer expert found guilty of an attempt to embezzle five hundred million credits from the Terran Federation banking system. First seen in the second episode, Space Fall, as a prisoner aboard the London, a cargo vessel transporting a group of convicted criminals to the penal colony on the planet Cygnus Alpha, he assists Blake in his attempted mutiny on the journey, using his skills to take over the ship's computer. He subsequently boards the Liberator along with Blake and Jenna, and becomes a member of the original "seven." The ship's security system caused Avon to see a projection of his brother, nearly killing him until Blake shot the security field.

Avon acts self-serving but in reality, when it comes to actions, he is more selfless than any of the others, constantly saving the lives of almost everyone he comes across and including the entire crew several times over, with nothing to gain for himself.

Avon was far more paranoid during Blake's leadership. He was much less paranoid after Blake left. Avon was a cautious man. He tended to think first before he leapt. As a result he didn't tend to take as many uncalculated risks.

Vila says he "feels safe" with Avon, and in the final two episodes Vila is clearly deeply hurt by Avon's (unavoidable) decision (pointed out to him by Orac) to sacrifice Vila when a shuttle-craft's load must be lightened in the second to last episode. The need for this sacrifice is avoided when Avon discovers an alternative solution, but the situation is recalled (and mirrored) when Tarrant offers to risk his life to save Avon's as the Scorpio crashes into Gauda Prime in the final episode. Upon next seeing Avon, Vila is very keen to know what happened to Tarrant.

By the end of the series, Avon and crew re-discover Blake who now seems to be working as a Federation bounty hunter. Avon reacts badly to the knowledge that Blake has apparently betrayed them all, and responds by shooting Blake. He later discovers that Blake's role as bounty hunter was a masquerade, as revealed by a real Federation agent who herself (unbeknownst to Blake) was masquerading as Blake's rebel accomplice. Having witnessed the massacre of Vila, Tarrant, Dayna and Soolin, Avon's final action is uncertain. He smiles as he raises his gun.

20 years later, Avon finds himself stranded on a planet of outlaws and The Quartet, the power that has risen in place of the Federation, attempt to capture him while he tries to take this opportunity to escape the planet. At the end of this adventure, Servalan and Avon have their final confrontation with Servalan wanting to know the location of Orac, she is killed by Avon's lover and he leaves the planet, recovering Orac on Gauda Prime before leaving in an alien grey ship^[1]

Avon quickly became the most popular character on the show due to his darker nature, his unclear motives, and sardonic wit. Paul Darrow's portrayal led to the actor being permanently associated with the character, and he has written one novel (Avon: A Terrible Aspect) which examined the early years of the character prior to the TV series.

Avon had a contentious relationship with Servalan in season three. During the episode "Aftermath," Servalan offers Avon the chance to rule the Federation by her side; however, regardless of whether she is serious or not, Avon pointedly refuses, shoving her to the ground during their embrace and stating, "I'd be dead within a week." In the episode "Rumours of Death," Avon takes pity upon Servalan who is chained to a wall; similarly, it is she who reveals to him the truth about Anna Grant. In the episode "Death-Watch," the two meet on a neutral planet, and after discussing Servalan's latest scheme, embrace and kiss roughly (Servalan also remarked that she viewed Avon not as an enemy, but as a future ally). However, these brief moments do not diminish the attempts of Servalan to kill Avon and the rest of the crew (although, at one point in season four, she does purchase Avon as a slave from a slave trader, grossly outbidding anyone else's offer).

Avon's first name is usually given as Kerr, with a double r. However, it is occasionally spelled Ker, and in Darrow's noncanonical novel Avon: A Terrible Aspect, this is explained as a short form of his full name Kerguelen, roughly meaning desolation.

Avon's possible survival

In the novel Blake's 7: Afterlife, Avon and Vila survived the shoot-out in Gauda Prime and eventually wound up on a new ship (captained by Avon's sister) which was christened "Blake's 7". This novel was not well received and is generally discounted by fans. Paul Darrow purchased the rights to the show and was originally part of the recent project which would have been called Blake's 7: A Legacy Reborn. Reportedly, Darrow would have made an appearance as an aged Avon in what he described as "Napoleonic Exile" on a penal planet, his exploits long forgotten, most or all of the others long dead. (This scenario is close to one described by Blake's 7 creator Terry Nation.) Avon would have passed the torch on to a new group of escaped prisoners who would become the new Seven. It was not clear if Avon was to be their leader or he was to die. Due to creative differences, Darrow left the project which has since gone into development hell.

In 2012, Big Finish approached Paul Darrow to write a Blake's 7 novel set after Gauda Prime dealing with the life of Avon after the death of Blake; Darrow agreed and his novel Lucifer was released in both printed and audiobook (read by Darrow, ISBN 978-1-78178-110-4) form in June 2013. The plot takes place twenty years after the death of Blake; the old Federation has fallen to be reformed under the leadership of the four leaders known as The Quartet (two male former military leaders, a male economist and Dr. Pandora S [a ruthlessly ambitious female scientist]) who co-exist in an uneasy alliance. Avon has been living in exile, but even though he has no ship or shipmates to help him he has his own plans and agendas for survival while old enemies (including Servalan) and dangerous new ones (including Gabriella, Travis' daughter) appear.

The ambiguous ending was done with the possibility that those who wished to stay on for the proposed fifth serial would only be stunned or wounded. Those who did not: their characters would be explained as having been killed. Blake's actual death was in the contract (as per Gareth Thomas' request, a different type of gun was used by Avon as well as showing blood and Blake's dead body). The end credit sequence for this episode is interpreted several ways by fans. The last scene of the series ends in Avon pointing his gun at the camera and smiling. The scene freeze frames for a few seconds and abruptly switches to the end credits. Instead of the end credit music, a single shot followed by several others in quick succession is heard. Among the more wild theories is that Avon gets off a few shots or that he might have escaped after shooting all the Federation troopers. However, since a follow-up serial never materialised, most fans assume that the gunshots heard represent Avon shooting once before the guards open fire and kill him.

Anna Grant

Avon had an affair with a woman called Anna Grant (often referring to Avon in their younger days as "Colonial Boy") whom he loved, and believed that she was betrayed by a Federation agent named Bartholomew, and was tortured and executed by the notorious Federation torturer, Shrinker. However, during season three, Avon marooned Shrinker and attempted to locate Bartholomew, only to discover that Grant herself was Bartholomew and had been a Federation agent "running him." Avon killed her, but her dying words, "I let you go," implied that she had allowed him to escape. Avon's statement, "You never did," implied that he still loved her.

Cally

During the show, a romantic attraction was often teased between Avon and Cally. The first indication of this was during the episode "The Web," when Cally tells Avon, "I'm interested in your work," and the two share a long, lingering glance (that also has the humorous side effect of making the normally unflappable Avon somewhat speechless). However, an actual romantic relationship between the two was never explicitly shown during the series. The closest they came to a romantic interaction was during the episode "Sarcophagus" when Cally's body was taken over by an alien lifeform seeking a host through which to live again. The alien tried to win Avon over (the only crew member not intimidated by it) by telling him, "Cally liked you," and that he could be at her side. Avon went so far as to kiss the alien (again, who was using Cally's body) in a ruse to gain its confidence and defeat it, freeing Cally in the process.

Similar references were made throughout the series; in the episode "Voice From the Past," Blake (under Federation mind control) fools Vila by telling him Cally and Avon have "paired up," which Vila quite readily believes. A slightly more bitter note is shown in the episode "Children of Auron"; when Cally reveals why she has never returned to her homeworld, she quite pointedly snaps, "Why do you imagine I've never gone back...affection for him?" at which point she storms off (and the other characters look towards Avon).

Cally and Avon quite often went on missions together and shared a knack for delivering quick-witted replies to the other's statements, which would somewhat indicate a growing affection for each other. However, Avon quite openly disdained her compassionate nature and her idealism, which he found to be only somewhat more tolerable than Blake's. Similarly, Cally at times openly mocked Avon's "cold" nature and often clashed with his more self-serving instincts. At one point during the episode "Horizon," Cally and Avon are the only two humans left on board the Liberator, and Cally pointedly rejects Avon's idea of leaving together (and the others to their fate). During the episode "The Keeper," Avon takes the ship out of orbit (and teleport range, leaving Blake, Jenna and Vila stranded in a moment of trouble) to blast Travis' ship, thinking Travis is on board. When Avon later attempts to do the same to what he believes is Servalan's ship, Cally flatly refuses, reminding Avon of what happened last time.

Olag Gan

Olag Gan is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by David Jackson (in the new B7 audio series, Gan is played by Owen Aaronovitch).

A native of the planet Zephron, Gan killed a Federation officer who killed his girlfriend. He was declared insane and had an implant placed in his brain that made it impossible for him to kill. He was later sentenced to be exiled to Cygnus Alpha. He participated in Roj Blake's escape attempt but was left behind when Blake escaped on the Liberator. When Blake returned to Cygnus Alpha, Gan and Vila were the only prisoners who both joined him and survived the fight against Vargas.

Courageous and powerfully built, Gan, by his own admission, was not terribly bright. But he was the voice of reason and rustic common sense so he was far from stupid. His manner was direct, honest and straightforward. Unlike the other more cynical members of the crew, he took things at face value and was not always expecting to be betrayed or double-crossed. He was loyal and selfless in his devotion to Blake's cause, and his raw physical strength was a great asset. Although loyal to Blake, Gan was noticeably outspoken against Blake's plans to ally with Terra Nostra, a drug dealing organisation.

His implant proved to be an occasional problem, preventing him from killing those who were a clear menace to the crew's safety ("Time Squad") and once breaking down and making him attack the crew and the Liberator itself ("Breakdown"). However, the respect the crew had for him was demonstrated when they went to immense risk to have his implant repaired rather than simply kill him.

During the unsuccessful attack on Earth Control, Gan was killed by falling debris after Travis threw a strontium grenade at the group. He died holding a closing door open so that the others could escape. His last words were, "I'm not worth dying for!" as Blake came back for him. He was the first member of the crew to die and the crew, especially Blake, were devastated by the loss. Blake came to believe that Gan died because the crew of the Liberator (he himself, particularly) had started to believe their own legend of invulnerability.

Del Tarrant

Del Tarrant is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Steven Pacey.

Del Tarrant is a skilled pilot, trained in the Federation Space Academy, who steals a pursuit ship and begins running contraband in the outer planets and getting involved in wars. He rises high on the Federation's "wanted list". During the Intergalactic War, he goes in against the Andromedans and his ship is destroyed in the first salvo. He is picked up by a Federation ship and acquires a uniform. When that ship is destroyed, he is picked up by the damaged Liberator and presumed by the Federation officers aboard to be in charge. He cooperates with Avon to kill the Federation officers and take back the ship, after which he becomes a member of the crew, replacing Jenna Stannis as their principal pilot.

Tarrant is intelligent, cunning and worldly, but can also be arrogant and impulsive. He is also heroic and idealistic, however; when the Liberator is being pulled into a black hole, he stops Avon from abandoning the ship on the idea that "we all go together." Avon says of him, "Tarrant is brave, young, handsome - there are three good reasons for anyone not to like him."

He and Avon have frequent "alpha male" clashes over who is in charge of the ship. While his idealism is central to this conflict, it also affords Avon some tactical advantages. He sometimes uses Tarrant's headstrong approach to distract the enemy while he finds a more devious solution. Despite their conflicts, Tarrant goes out of his way on a number of occasions to save Avon's life. He tends to bully Vila Restal, for which Avon castigates him in "City at the Edge of the World".

Tarrant's brother, Deeta, is killed by an android in the Teal-Vandor Convention. Tarrant avenges his death to prevent a war, although he cannot bring himself to shoot the android in the back. Tarrant has brief romantic involvements with Servalan and Zeeona. It is also implied during the episode "Ultraworld" that Dayna and Tarrant have sex, so that the human reproductive process can be studied by the planet's inhabitants (at one point, Dayna is shown leaning over a prone Tarrant and remarking "I can't be all that repulsive" prior to their first kiss).

Tarrant is seriously injured in the crash of the Scorpio when he heroically stays at the controls so that the others can escape. He is later gunned down during the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. However, in Tony Attwood's non-canonical "Afterlife", he simply passes out from his wounds (although he is later killed by wild animals on Terminal).

The very first episode of the series, "The Way Back", features a Federation security agent called Dev Tarrant who arranges the massacre of Blake's friends and the murder of his lawyers. No connection is made between him and Steven Pacey's character when the latter joins the series.

Travis

Space Commander Travis is a fictional character in the English science fiction television programme Blake's 7. Stephen Greif performed the role of Travis in the programme's first series, but declined an offer to return for the second series (but returned to play Travis in the Big Finish Liberator Chronicles audio drama story "Promises" written by Nigel Fairs). "Weapon", the third episode of the second series, marked the premiere performance of Brian Croucher in the role. In this episode, Travis expresses to Supreme Commander Servalan some unease about his recent "rehabilitation". In B7 Productions' audio dramas of Blake's 7, Craig Kelly assumes the role of Travis.

Travis is a Space Commander in the Terran Federation who is infamous for his brutality and ruthlessness. Prior to the events of the Blake's 7 television series, a Federation leader commissions him to subdue an anti-Federation resistance movement on Earth. Travis and a band of troopers under his command ambush a key resistance group. When the group's leader, Roj Blake, declares their surrender, Travis commands his men to gun-down the rebels. Blake wrests a DEW gun from a trooper, and shoots Travis, wounding him severely on the left side of his body. After the troopers capture Blake, a combat medic called Maryatt partially repairs Travis' face. Later, Travis eschews cosmetic surgery, and replaces his amputated left arm with a cybernetic one equipped with an energy weapon called a Laseron Destroyer.

When Roj Blake escapes the Federation, Servalan, Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation, enlists Travis as a special agent to hunt Blake—and to commandeer Liberator, an advanced starship which Blake now captains. In his several encounters with Blake, Travis eventually captures a resistance leader called Avalon, and indirectly causes the death of one of Blake's crewmen, Olag Gan. Ultimately, however, Travis fails too egregiously for Servalan, who required of him not only the downfall of the resistance movement, but calculated assistance in her manoeuvring for total galactic ascendancy. Servalan fears that Travis' blundering might expose her abuses of power, and concludes that his liability exceeds his faltering usefulness. Finally, she endorses a dilatory court-martial for a massacre which Travis ordered earlier in his career—a crime for which he was sure to be executed.

Coincidentally, the Liberator, under Blake's command, attacks Federation headquarters at the penultimate moment of Travis' sentencing. Amidst the commotion of the attack, Travis seizes the opportunity to escape his death sentence, and absconds to Servalan's office. There, he forces Servalan to provision him with an escape ship and other resources. Travis, now a fugitive, resumes his obsessive hunt for Blake.

Blake and Travis meet for the final time at Star One, a secret base and supercomputer of crucial importance to the Federation's control of its planets. There, Blake discovers that Travis has betrayed the Federation to aliens from the Andromeda Galaxy. Travis shoots Blake on sight, but is unaware that he has not mortally wounded him. When an opportune moment arises, Blake clips Travis with a shot from his sidearm. Before Travis can retaliate, Kerr Avon knocks him into an energy vortex, killing him.

Vila Restal

Vila Restal is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Michael Keating. The only character to appear in all 52 episodes of the series, Vila was particularly known for his humorous lines and his banter with Kerr Avon.

In the new audio series, Vila is played by Dean Harris; however Michael Keating returned to the role for the story When Vila Met Gan. Michael Keating has reprised his role as "Vila" in several volumes of the Liberator Chronicles (a series of enhanced audiobooks released by Big Finish in a licence deal with B7 Enterprises) and the Classic Audio Adventures series produced by the same company, released from January 2014.^[2]

A native of Earth and a member of the lowly Delta grade criminal underclass (similar to the classes established in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World), Vila is a petty thief who meets Blake in the detention cell awaiting transport to Cygnus Alpha. Whilst Blake is asleep, Vila was picking Blake's pockets.

Vila later participates in a prisoner mutiny aboard the transport ship London. He remains on the London when Blake, Avon and Jenna escape in the Liberator, finally leaving the penal planet Cygnus Alpha with Blake.

Vila is more intelligent than his Delta grade rating suggests, claiming to have bought that designation to avoid being drafted as a spaceship captain. Vila is a talented thief who can break into the most sophisticated security systems. This ability makes him useful to Blake's crew; in the episode City At the Edge of the World, Avon tells Del Tarrant that "...we can find a pilot anywhere, but a talented thief is rare."

Vila is often lazy and cowardly, preferring to evade danger. He claims he wants "...to live forever, or die trying." Actor Michael Keating described the character as "...a survivor", doing what was necessary to stay alive and not caring as much about the ideals of Blake or the ambitions of Avon. Vila is a poor fighter - his confusion costs the rebels the battle in Spacefall, and he is momentarily shocked after stabbing a fanatical monk in Cygnus Alpha.

Vila greatly enjoys drinking and gambling, making the Liberator crew keep him away from situations where his vices could compromise the mission (Shadow, Killer, Gambit). However, he demonstrates courage and resourcefulness when needed, choosing to join with Blake instead of staying on Cygnus Alpha, grabbing Orac before being teleported off the Liberator in Terminal and re-entering the Terminal complex to save Tarrant (Rescue). He demonstrates immense skill and heroism in City at the Edge of the World, where he develops a short-lived but intense romance with Kerril, a female gunfighter.

Vila admires Blake, but possibly his closest friend is Gan, whose honesty he trusts. His relationship with Avon is considered by many fans to be a highlight of the series. It is a mixture of respect and loathing. They share a common cynicism and focus on material success as demonstrated in Gambit. They clearly respect each other's skills and work together effectively (Killer). They often sparred over Avon's ruthlessness and Vila's cowardice. In Spacefall, Vila suggests killing Avon, anticipating that Avon would scheme to have other prisoners thrown out of an airlock. During the fourth series episode Orbit, Avon tries to throw Vila out of the airlock of a spaceship that cannot reach its escape velocity. Although another solution is found and they survived the ordeal, the incident created a cooling of their relationship.

Vila is fond of attractive women; during Cally's first episode, he calls out to her "Don't shoot, pretty lady!" He sometimes engages in playful, and sometimes more serious, bantering with Cally, Dayna and Soolin. While Cally treated Vila's jokes as playful remarks from a friend, both Dayna and Soolin considered him to be quite lecherous. The rest of the crew are aware of this; during the episode "Headhunter", Vila remarks that he was a "...perfect gentleman" to Muller's female partner, to which Tarrant replied "That's what bothered us." However, Vila was capable of genuine affection and concern for his female friends; despite his lecherous comments and flirtations with her at the outset, his relationship with Kerril developed quickly into love, with Vila offering to sacrifice himself so that Kerril would escape. Similarly, during the episode Sand he was shown to be very upset with Soolin when she mentions Cally's death.

Along with rest of the Scorpio crew, Vila is gunned down during the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. He is presumed to have died, although there has been much speculation that he pretended to fall to avoid getting killed. In the non-canonical novel "Afterlife" by Tony Attwood, this is what happened and Vila stays with Avon to continue their adventures—although bitterly resentful of Avon's killing of Blake.

The character was twice considered for removal from the series, according to the DVD commentaries of script editor Chris Boucher and producer David Maloney. Terry Nation originally wanted Vila to be killed in Pressure Point but was overruled by the other producers. Later, it was briefly suggested killing off Vila and Jenna in 'Star One'; he remained because a survey showed Vila to be the series' second most popular character.

In an interview with Tony Attwood, Keating said that he was watching the series with his daughter when she said, "Daddy, you're stupid!" Keating related this to Boucher, inspiring the latter to write City at the Edge of the World in which Vila becomes a hero.^[3]

During the production of Orbit, while Avon looks for Vila to throw from the airlock, Keating was filmed hiding, shaking and in tears. These few seconds were not broadcast because the director considered the scene "...too real". Following this episode, Vila becomes very wary of Avon's motives.^[3]

References