WHAT IS THE SINISTER SECRET OF THE BBC'S TOP SCIENCE FICTION SERIES?

 

What are Those Who Know trying to hide?

 

What could possibly drive them to swear members of the cast to unbreakable silence?

 

What could impel them to threaten unwitting fans who have innocently stumbled into a blank wall of whispers?

 

What unbearable truth lies behind every filming anecdote?

 

What is ...

Blakes Sevens

Heart

of

Darkness?

 

Suppose the 'facts' about the making of Blakes 7 have been hideously distorted, crucial details erased, elaborate cover stories woven to conceal a truth so shocking that it cannot be revealed. What are we to deduce from a handful of hints and insinuations that, if true, threaten to utterly transmogrify our understanding of what has hitherto been touted as an innocent 'sci-fi' adventure serial.

Is there, for example, any significance in the recurring use of Betchworth Quarry as a shooting location? And was it chosen for its convenience and accessibility, or was something altogether more sinister at work? Could it be that the real reason for the choice of this quarry lay in the fact that its undulating landscape of bare chalk was somehow reminiscent of the Antarctic ice floes? And if so, why should that be a crucial factor?

  

 

AND WHY CAN'T WE BE TOLD?

 

 

We all know that Blakes 7 is frequently criticised for its 'tacky' sets and costumes. For over two decades we have blithely swallowed the oft-touted line that the budget couldn't stretch to anything better. But that doesn't tell us exactly where the money went! What if the main - indeed, the overwhelming - item of expenditure, episode by episode, was not the sets or props or models or even actors salaries, but regular consignments of fresh fish?

 

YET FISH ONLY APPEARED IN ONE EPISODE - ORAC - AND WERE NEVER SEEN AGAIN!

 

Why was it that Paul Darrow broke so many props in the course of filming, an occurrence so frequent it rapidly passed into legend? Was he simply heavy-handed? Or was he trembling in the grip of fear, a fear of something so awful, so menacing, that even he dared not contemplate it?

  

 

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY INDUCE SUCH TERROR IN A MAN LIKE HIM?

 

 

And exactly why did David Jackson leave the series halfway through the second season? Was he - as David Maloney maintains - written out to invigorate a flagging storyline? Or should we believe the account that has him sobbing on Maloney's shoulder, pleading, almost screaming? Did he really say, "Just take me away from all this. I can't stand them any more!"

 

AND IF HE REALLY DID SAY THIS, EXACTLY WHAT WAS HE REFERRING TO?

 

The nightmare deepens. What about the altered metronome in Redemption, which put the pacing of the actors out of sync with the pre-recorded music? Vere Lorrimer blames it on one of the extras, but suppose - just suppose - it was changed to suit the needs of someone - or something - with peculiarly short legs. And a hasty excuse had to be concocted to conceal the hideous implications behind this supposition.

  

 

DID YOU SEE ANY SHORT-LEGGED EXTRAS IN THAT EPISODE?

 

 

Many fans believe they sense a 'hidden hand' at work within the developing story arc of the first two seasons. Is that because they sublimininally detect a similar unseen influence at work in the production of the actual series? A power that dare not reveal itself? Are the Machiavellian intrigues of some episodes really a coded warning, not just to devotees of the series, but to the entire human race?

 

AND IF WE DO 'CRACK THE CODE', DO WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT TELLS US?

 

The episode Countdown is perhaps the most telling of all. What are we to make of the frantic race against time, the sub-zero temperatures, and the subtextual insistence on the dissolution of old enmities in the face of a common foe? And Blake's last line, "See you in Hell!" - is that a chilling warning we cannot afford not to heed?

  

 

ARE WE COUNTING DOWN TOWARDS OUR OWN OBLIVION?

 

 

AND CAN WE AFFORD TO IGNORE THE POSSIBILITY THAT EVIL WILL GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO CONCEAL ITSELF?

TO DENY ITS OWN EXISTENCE?

 

BUT AS LONG AS THOSE WHO WOULD HIDE THE TRUTH MAINTAIN THEIR STAUNCH DENIALS, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO BUT SPECULATE.

AND HOPE.

 

 

Return to the B7 Main Page