Post by rushy on May 24, 2022 23:40:18 GMT
This post is designed to introduce people to the expanded Blake's 7 universe beyond the television series. It's only for the greatest of nerds, and I had far too much fun putting it together. I also intend to form a full in-universe chronology at some point.
*The oldest expanded universe material for the series would be the annuals, which came out from 1979 - 1981. Each annual was based around the season from the year before, meaning that there were annuals for Series A, B and C. They contained short stories.
*25 Marvel Monthly magazines (1981 - 1982), which contained comic strips and short stories set in Series D. A lot of really excellent stuff in here. I particularly recommend the comic strip "Sacrifice" from Issue 6 (focusing on a romance between Avon and an alien from another galaxy), and "The Omen" from Issue 23, in which Avon has premonitions about the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. But there's lots of other great stories as well.
*Man of Iron, a 1981 TV episode script penned by Paul Darrow, but never used for the series. It's set in Series D.
*Officially licensed novels: 1984's Afterlife (a direct sequel made with the support and advice of Terry Nation), and 1989's Avon: A Terrible Aspect (Paul Darrow's prequel about Avon, set from his birth to the moment he met Blake).
*6 Marvel magazines (1994 - 1995). These contain several short stories set in Series A, B, C & D. There is also one comic penned by Gareth Roberts. The short stories are written by him, Ness Bishop, Glenn Langford and notably Justin Richards.
*Two unlicensed audio dramas made by Magic Bullet Productions (1996 - 1998). They're mainly notable for the participation of Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Jacqueline Pearce, Peter Tuddenham and Brian Croucher in their original roles.
*Two officially licensed audio dramas made by BBC Radio (1998 - 1999). Written by Barry Letts and set in Series D.
*Kaldor City (2001 - 2011), a series of unlicensed audio dramas by Magic Bullet Productions, created by B7 script editor Chris Boucher. This is mainly set in the Doctor Who universe, but it also features Scott Fredericks as his B7 character Carnell (from the Series B episode Weapon), as well as Paul Darrow in a role that's strongly implied to be a post-series Avon under a new identity.
Some time in the 1990s or 2000s, Paul Darrow purchased the rights to Blake's 7 from Terry Nation. He became a co-founder of B7 Productions, which was designed to create a miniseries sequel to the original show focused around Avon coming out of exile to educate a new group of rebels. Due to creative differences between Darrow and the rest of the company, these plans never came to fruition. And instead...
*Blake's 7: A Rebellion Reborn (2007 - 2012), a modern remake of the series in audio form.
B7 Productions later became a subsidiary of Big Finish Productions. Which led to...
1. The Liberator Chronicles (2012 - 2016), 12 box sets of audio dramas in which 2-4 actors participate as their characters, whilst narrating to fill the rest. Otherwise, the dramas are structured like original series episodes. There were four box sets for each of the original show's first three seasons. Series D was largely ignored (though it remains canon).
2. The Classic Audio Adventures (2013 - 2020), five series of full cast audio dramas, structured like original series episodes. There is a pilot episode, Warship, which is set between Series B & C. Series 1 is set in Series B. Series 2-5 are all set in Series C. There is also a two-part 40th anniversary special, set in Series A & C respectively (with a framing device set after the show).
3. The Worlds of Blake's 7 (2021 - present), 5+ box sets of audio dramas featuring specific Liberator crewmembers on away missions, without featuring the rest of the cast. They are set in Series A-C.
4. Blake's 7 novels (2012 - present), 14+ novels set in Series A-C, and Paul Darrow's Lucifer trilogy, which is set after the series.
All of the Big Finish material is in one unified canon, and references one another, so if you're going to get into them, you'd best get into all of them or you might find yourself confused in places.
*The oldest expanded universe material for the series would be the annuals, which came out from 1979 - 1981. Each annual was based around the season from the year before, meaning that there were annuals for Series A, B and C. They contained short stories.
*25 Marvel Monthly magazines (1981 - 1982), which contained comic strips and short stories set in Series D. A lot of really excellent stuff in here. I particularly recommend the comic strip "Sacrifice" from Issue 6 (focusing on a romance between Avon and an alien from another galaxy), and "The Omen" from Issue 23, in which Avon has premonitions about the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. But there's lots of other great stories as well.
*Man of Iron, a 1981 TV episode script penned by Paul Darrow, but never used for the series. It's set in Series D.
*Officially licensed novels: 1984's Afterlife (a direct sequel made with the support and advice of Terry Nation), and 1989's Avon: A Terrible Aspect (Paul Darrow's prequel about Avon, set from his birth to the moment he met Blake).
*6 Marvel magazines (1994 - 1995). These contain several short stories set in Series A, B, C & D. There is also one comic penned by Gareth Roberts. The short stories are written by him, Ness Bishop, Glenn Langford and notably Justin Richards.
*Two unlicensed audio dramas made by Magic Bullet Productions (1996 - 1998). They're mainly notable for the participation of Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Jacqueline Pearce, Peter Tuddenham and Brian Croucher in their original roles.
*Two officially licensed audio dramas made by BBC Radio (1998 - 1999). Written by Barry Letts and set in Series D.
*Kaldor City (2001 - 2011), a series of unlicensed audio dramas by Magic Bullet Productions, created by B7 script editor Chris Boucher. This is mainly set in the Doctor Who universe, but it also features Scott Fredericks as his B7 character Carnell (from the Series B episode Weapon), as well as Paul Darrow in a role that's strongly implied to be a post-series Avon under a new identity.
Some time in the 1990s or 2000s, Paul Darrow purchased the rights to Blake's 7 from Terry Nation. He became a co-founder of B7 Productions, which was designed to create a miniseries sequel to the original show focused around Avon coming out of exile to educate a new group of rebels. Due to creative differences between Darrow and the rest of the company, these plans never came to fruition. And instead...
*Blake's 7: A Rebellion Reborn (2007 - 2012), a modern remake of the series in audio form.
B7 Productions later became a subsidiary of Big Finish Productions. Which led to...
1. The Liberator Chronicles (2012 - 2016), 12 box sets of audio dramas in which 2-4 actors participate as their characters, whilst narrating to fill the rest. Otherwise, the dramas are structured like original series episodes. There were four box sets for each of the original show's first three seasons. Series D was largely ignored (though it remains canon).
2. The Classic Audio Adventures (2013 - 2020), five series of full cast audio dramas, structured like original series episodes. There is a pilot episode, Warship, which is set between Series B & C. Series 1 is set in Series B. Series 2-5 are all set in Series C. There is also a two-part 40th anniversary special, set in Series A & C respectively (with a framing device set after the show).
3. The Worlds of Blake's 7 (2021 - present), 5+ box sets of audio dramas featuring specific Liberator crewmembers on away missions, without featuring the rest of the cast. They are set in Series A-C.
4. Blake's 7 novels (2012 - present), 14+ novels set in Series A-C, and Paul Darrow's Lucifer trilogy, which is set after the series.
All of the Big Finish material is in one unified canon, and references one another, so if you're going to get into them, you'd best get into all of them or you might find yourself confused in places.
