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Liberation: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide
to Blake's 7
by Alan Stevens and Fiona
Moore
(Telos Publishing, www.telos.co.uk,
£9.99, 228 pages, paperback, also available in deluxe hardback
edition priced £30.00, published 25 September 2003.)
Oh, the guilty thrill that seized me the  first
time I saw an "Unofficial and Unauthorised" programme guide! It seemed
to promise some naughty strain of fan insight that no official programme
guide could offer -- "the true story of Serial X that they don't
want you to read!" Now that I've read a few, my expectations are a little
more prosaic: an episode listing much like any other, but with fewer
pictures.
So, we've established that I can't drone on about lavish illustrations
(although a light seasoning of black-and-white photographs do accompany
the text of Liberation). What, then, does Liberation have
to offer the discerning Blake's 7 fan? Each of the show's four
seasons is given a short behind-the-scenes overview, and each episode
a full production and cast listing, a brief summary and a fairly thorough
analysis. There's a few introductory paragraphs outlining the show's
creation, and a quick round-up of the spin-off material -- the authors
modestly forebear from analysing those audio dramas they themselves
penned -- at the back. And that's about it. No lengthy dissertations,
no gloves-off interviews, no in-depth "making-of" features. The background
information given scratches the surface, but barely. There's a foreword
from David Maloney, the show's producer; it's a perfunctory piece. Telos
could have plugged this as the "no nonsense" Blake's 7 programme
guide.
All the more surprising, then, that in their acknowledgements the authors
should credit a list of people, including several of the show's stars,
for providing "interview material, anecdotes and reminiscences". Most
of these B7 luminaries aren't even quoted in the book, and the
glittering list also includes the writers of an abandoned script which
is later mentioned twice, and a guest actor whose performance in the
one episode he appeared in is highly thought of by the authors. It's
a poor substitute for the juicy extras that fill out some programme
guides.
What we're left with is the authors' own analysis of the episodes,
and here at least there's something to justify the cover price. As I've
said, Stevens and Moore have scripted some of the commercially available
spin-offery themselves, and they certainly know their subject. Any reader
who's ever puzzled over an uncharacteristically charitable act from
Avon, or wondered why the show had to end in a massacre, will find the
answers here. Stevens and Moore's thoughtful dissection of plot and
character is probably the most scholarly examination of Blake's 7
money can buy, and without a doubt the best feature of Liberation.
It's just a shame it's the only notable feature of Liberation.
I don't know what extras the additional twenty pounds for the hardback
edition might get you, but readers might be disappointed if it's nothing
more than a more durable cover. For a tenner, though, fans of Blake's
7 can content themselves with an intelligent exploration of the
series in paperback form.
Review by John Toon.
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