A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7, the 1978-1981 British Television Space Adventure

A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7, the 1978-1981 British Television Space Adventure

Author: John Kenneth Muir

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-09-15

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1476604932

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Blake's 7, Terry Nation's science fiction tale of cosmic freedom fighters, became a hit series in Great Britain when it premiered in 1978. Eight years later, the show quickly became a cult program in America. A dramatization of futuristic outlaw heroes who defend the innocent from both alien and human conquering forces, the series might better be said to be equal parts Robin Hood and The Magnificent Seven. The series defied traditional genre elements of science fiction television, and developed the concept of the continual "story arc" years before such shows as Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine. This book provides a critical history and episode guide for Blake's 7, including commentaries for all 52 episodes. Also included are analytical essays on the show, dealing with such topics as themes, imagery and story arc; a consideration of the series as a futuristic Robin Hood myth; cinematography and visual effects; and an overview of Blake's 7 in books, comics and videos. A detailed appendix lists the genre conventions found in the series. The author also includes information about Blake's 7 fan clubs and Internet sites.


Book Synopsis A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7, the 1978-1981 British Television Space Adventure by : John Kenneth Muir

Download or read book A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7, the 1978-1981 British Television Space Adventure written by John Kenneth Muir and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blake's 7, Terry Nation's science fiction tale of cosmic freedom fighters, became a hit series in Great Britain when it premiered in 1978. Eight years later, the show quickly became a cult program in America. A dramatization of futuristic outlaw heroes who defend the innocent from both alien and human conquering forces, the series might better be said to be equal parts Robin Hood and The Magnificent Seven. The series defied traditional genre elements of science fiction television, and developed the concept of the continual "story arc" years before such shows as Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine. This book provides a critical history and episode guide for Blake's 7, including commentaries for all 52 episodes. Also included are analytical essays on the show, dealing with such topics as themes, imagery and story arc; a consideration of the series as a futuristic Robin Hood myth; cinematography and visual effects; and an overview of Blake's 7 in books, comics and videos. A detailed appendix lists the genre conventions found in the series. The author also includes information about Blake's 7 fan clubs and Internet sites.


Terry Nation

Terry Nation

Author: Jonathan Bignell

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780719065477

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"This is the first academic study of the science fiction television devised and written by Terry Nation, who wrote Dalek stories and other serials for Doctor Who, and created the BBC's 1970s post-apocalyptic space adventure series Blake's 7".--Back cover.


Book Synopsis Terry Nation by : Jonathan Bignell

Download or read book Terry Nation written by Jonathan Bignell and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is the first academic study of the science fiction television devised and written by Terry Nation, who wrote Dalek stories and other serials for Doctor Who, and created the BBC's 1970s post-apocalyptic space adventure series Blake's 7".--Back cover.


Common Sense

Common Sense

Author: Lisa Holderman

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9780739115220

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This anthology examines the constructions of intelligence and intellectuality in popular television and the socio-cultural implications of those constructions. It considers the complexity of popular television images, the influences of these images as they both verify and vilify intelligence, and explores a range of representations of intelligence on television by looking at a variety of TV genres and through a variety of theoretical perspectives and methods. Topics range from broad explorations of patterned representations on television to examinations of particular genres, including science-fiction and reality programming, to in-depth analyses of specific programs such as The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Six Feet Under. This book is grounded in the assumption that knowledge and intelligence are currency in the economics of power and that, given that the proliferation of certain images and the relative absence of others in fictional, reality, and fact-based media play an important role in social-order maintenance, a critical examination of how intelligence is demonstrated, portrayed, and evaluated in the public sphere is crucial.


Book Synopsis Common Sense by : Lisa Holderman

Download or read book Common Sense written by Lisa Holderman and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2008 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology examines the constructions of intelligence and intellectuality in popular television and the socio-cultural implications of those constructions. It considers the complexity of popular television images, the influences of these images as they both verify and vilify intelligence, and explores a range of representations of intelligence on television by looking at a variety of TV genres and through a variety of theoretical perspectives and methods. Topics range from broad explorations of patterned representations on television to examinations of particular genres, including science-fiction and reality programming, to in-depth analyses of specific programs such as The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Six Feet Under. This book is grounded in the assumption that knowledge and intelligence are currency in the economics of power and that, given that the proliferation of certain images and the relative absence of others in fictional, reality, and fact-based media play an important role in social-order maintenance, a critical examination of how intelligence is demonstrated, portrayed, and evaluated in the public sphere is crucial.


Blake's 7

Blake's 7

Author: Source Wikipedia

Publisher: University-Press.org

Published: 2013-09

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 9781230599762

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Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 27. Chapters: List of Blake's 7 episodes, History of Blake's 7, List of Blake's 7 planets, Avon: A Terrible Aspect, Intergalactic War, Terran Federation, List of Blake's 7 cast members. Excerpt: Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. Created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer best known for creating the popular Dalek monsters for the television series Doctor Who, it ran for four series between 1978 and 1981. Popular from the time it was first broadcast, it remains well regarded on account of its dystopian tone, moral ambiguity and strong characterisation. It is also remembered for its dramatic ending. Blake's 7 follows the exploits of a group of political renegades, led by freedom fighter Roj Blake, and consisting initially of Blake, Vila Restal, Olag Gan, Jenna Stannis and Kerr Avon. They escape from a prison transport spacecraft and occupy an abandoned spacecraft called by them Liberator with a main computer called Zen. They are later joined by the alien telepath Cally. Later, a supercomputer called Orac is procured. Gan is killed during the second series. After the second series, Blake and Jenna disappear and are replaced by new characters Dayna Mellanby and Del Tarrant. In the fourth series, Cally dies and is replaced by a new character, Soolin. Following the destruction of the Liberator, the computer Zen is replaced with Slave, a new computer character, part of the newly acquired ship "Scorpio." The group are pursued through space by Space Commander (and later renegade) Travis, and Servalan (Supreme Commander and later President of the Terran Federation). Set in the "third century of the second calendar," and at least 700 years in the future, Blake's 7 follows the exploits of revolutionary Roj Blake as he leads his band of rebels against the forces of...


Book Synopsis Blake's 7 by : Source Wikipedia

Download or read book Blake's 7 written by Source Wikipedia and published by University-Press.org. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 27. Chapters: List of Blake's 7 episodes, History of Blake's 7, List of Blake's 7 planets, Avon: A Terrible Aspect, Intergalactic War, Terran Federation, List of Blake's 7 cast members. Excerpt: Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. Created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer best known for creating the popular Dalek monsters for the television series Doctor Who, it ran for four series between 1978 and 1981. Popular from the time it was first broadcast, it remains well regarded on account of its dystopian tone, moral ambiguity and strong characterisation. It is also remembered for its dramatic ending. Blake's 7 follows the exploits of a group of political renegades, led by freedom fighter Roj Blake, and consisting initially of Blake, Vila Restal, Olag Gan, Jenna Stannis and Kerr Avon. They escape from a prison transport spacecraft and occupy an abandoned spacecraft called by them Liberator with a main computer called Zen. They are later joined by the alien telepath Cally. Later, a supercomputer called Orac is procured. Gan is killed during the second series. After the second series, Blake and Jenna disappear and are replaced by new characters Dayna Mellanby and Del Tarrant. In the fourth series, Cally dies and is replaced by a new character, Soolin. Following the destruction of the Liberator, the computer Zen is replaced with Slave, a new computer character, part of the newly acquired ship "Scorpio." The group are pursued through space by Space Commander (and later renegade) Travis, and Servalan (Supreme Commander and later President of the Terran Federation). Set in the "third century of the second calendar," and at least 700 years in the future, Blake's 7 follows the exploits of revolutionary Roj Blake as he leads his band of rebels against the forces of...


Liberation

Liberation

Author: Alan Stevens, Mrcpath

Publisher: Much-in-Little

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 9781845838614

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From its first appearance in 1978 to its final episode in 1981, 'Blake's 7' was a series which pushed back the boundaries of what was possible in TV science fiction. Despite the attempts made by critics over the years to deride it for its low-budget special effects, sometimes-dubious costume design and overly middle-class casting, 'Blake's 7' continues to remain popular and to gain new audiences, due to its intelligent treatment of powerful themes of human evil, rebellion, love and death. In this book, Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore go beyond the stereotypes and look at the background to and the writing of the stories. Including technical details, overviews of the production of the series and in-depth analyses of every episode, this book is the ideal companion for anyone interested in the development of TV science fiction during the late seventies. '... a wealth of detail about the early development of the series.' From the foreword by series producer David Maloney


Book Synopsis Liberation by : Alan Stevens, Mrcpath

Download or read book Liberation written by Alan Stevens, Mrcpath and published by Much-in-Little. This book was released on 2013 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From its first appearance in 1978 to its final episode in 1981, 'Blake's 7' was a series which pushed back the boundaries of what was possible in TV science fiction. Despite the attempts made by critics over the years to deride it for its low-budget special effects, sometimes-dubious costume design and overly middle-class casting, 'Blake's 7' continues to remain popular and to gain new audiences, due to its intelligent treatment of powerful themes of human evil, rebellion, love and death. In this book, Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore go beyond the stereotypes and look at the background to and the writing of the stories. Including technical details, overviews of the production of the series and in-depth analyses of every episode, this book is the ideal companion for anyone interested in the development of TV science fiction during the late seventies. '... a wealth of detail about the early development of the series.' From the foreword by series producer David Maloney


Science Fiction Film

Science Fiction Film

Author: Keith M. Johnston

Publisher: Berg

Published: 2013-05-09

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0857850563

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Science Fiction Film develops a historical and cultural approach to the genre that moves beyond close readings of iconography and formal conventions. It explores how this increasingly influential genre has been constructed from disparate elements into a hybrid genre. Science Fiction Film goes beyond a textual exploration of these films to place them within a larger network of influences that includes studio politics and promotional discourses. The book also challenges the perceived limits of the genre - it includes a wide range of films, from canonical SF, such as Le voyage dans la lune, Star Wars and Blade Runner, to films that stretch and reshape the definition of the genre. This expansion of generic focus offers an innovative approach for students and fans of science fiction alike.


Book Synopsis Science Fiction Film by : Keith M. Johnston

Download or read book Science Fiction Film written by Keith M. Johnston and published by Berg. This book was released on 2013-05-09 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science Fiction Film develops a historical and cultural approach to the genre that moves beyond close readings of iconography and formal conventions. It explores how this increasingly influential genre has been constructed from disparate elements into a hybrid genre. Science Fiction Film goes beyond a textual exploration of these films to place them within a larger network of influences that includes studio politics and promotional discourses. The book also challenges the perceived limits of the genre - it includes a wide range of films, from canonical SF, such as Le voyage dans la lune, Star Wars and Blade Runner, to films that stretch and reshape the definition of the genre. This expansion of generic focus offers an innovative approach for students and fans of science fiction alike.


The Survival of Soap Opera

The Survival of Soap Opera

Author: Sam Ford

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2010-11-03

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1604737174

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The soap opera, one of U.S. television's longest-running and most influential formats, is on the brink. Declining ratings have been attributed to an increasing number of women working outside the home and to an intensifying competition for viewers' attention from cable and the Internet. Yet, soaps' influence has expanded, with serial narratives becoming commonplace on most prime time TV programs. The Survival of Soap Opera investigates the causes of their dwindling popularity, describes their impact on TV and new media culture, and gleans lessons from their complex history for twenty-first-century media industries. The book contains contributions from established soap scholars such as Robert C. Allen, Louise Spence, Nancy Baym, and Horace Newcomb, along with essays and interviews by emerging scholars, fans and Web site moderators, and soap opera producers, writers, and actors from ABC's General Hospital, CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, and other shows. This diverse group of voices seeks to intervene in the discussion about the fate of soap operas at a critical juncture, and speaks to longtime soap viewers, television studies scholars, and media professionals alike.


Book Synopsis The Survival of Soap Opera by : Sam Ford

Download or read book The Survival of Soap Opera written by Sam Ford and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2010-11-03 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The soap opera, one of U.S. television's longest-running and most influential formats, is on the brink. Declining ratings have been attributed to an increasing number of women working outside the home and to an intensifying competition for viewers' attention from cable and the Internet. Yet, soaps' influence has expanded, with serial narratives becoming commonplace on most prime time TV programs. The Survival of Soap Opera investigates the causes of their dwindling popularity, describes their impact on TV and new media culture, and gleans lessons from their complex history for twenty-first-century media industries. The book contains contributions from established soap scholars such as Robert C. Allen, Louise Spence, Nancy Baym, and Horace Newcomb, along with essays and interviews by emerging scholars, fans and Web site moderators, and soap opera producers, writers, and actors from ABC's General Hospital, CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, and other shows. This diverse group of voices seeks to intervene in the discussion about the fate of soap operas at a critical juncture, and speaks to longtime soap viewers, television studies scholars, and media professionals alike.


Rogue Archives

Rogue Archives

Author: Abigail De Kosnik

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2021-12-14

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 0262544741

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An examination of how nonprofessional archivists, especially media fans, practice cultural preservation on the Internet and how “digital cultural memory” differs radically from print-era archiving. The task of archiving was once entrusted only to museums, libraries, and other institutions that acted as repositories of culture in material form. But with the rise of digital networked media, a multitude of self-designated archivists—fans, pirates, hackers—have become practitioners of cultural preservation on the Internet. These nonprofessional archivists have democratized cultural memory, building freely accessible online archives of whatever content they consider suitable for digital preservation. In Rogue Archives, Abigail De Kosnik examines the practice of archiving in the transition from print to digital media, looking in particular at Internet fan fiction archives. De Kosnik explains that media users today regard all of mass culture as an archive, from which they can redeploy content for their own creations. Hence, “remix culture” and fan fiction are core genres of digital cultural production. De Kosnik explores, among other things, the anticanonical archiving styles of Internet preservationists; the volunteer labor of online archiving; how fan archives serve women and queer users as cultural resources; archivists' efforts to attract racially and sexually diverse content; and how digital archives adhere to the logics of performance more than the logics of print. She also considers the similarities and differences among free culture, free software, and fan communities, and uses digital humanities tools to quantify and visualize the size, user base, and rate of growth of several online fan archives.


Book Synopsis Rogue Archives by : Abigail De Kosnik

Download or read book Rogue Archives written by Abigail De Kosnik and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of how nonprofessional archivists, especially media fans, practice cultural preservation on the Internet and how “digital cultural memory” differs radically from print-era archiving. The task of archiving was once entrusted only to museums, libraries, and other institutions that acted as repositories of culture in material form. But with the rise of digital networked media, a multitude of self-designated archivists—fans, pirates, hackers—have become practitioners of cultural preservation on the Internet. These nonprofessional archivists have democratized cultural memory, building freely accessible online archives of whatever content they consider suitable for digital preservation. In Rogue Archives, Abigail De Kosnik examines the practice of archiving in the transition from print to digital media, looking in particular at Internet fan fiction archives. De Kosnik explains that media users today regard all of mass culture as an archive, from which they can redeploy content for their own creations. Hence, “remix culture” and fan fiction are core genres of digital cultural production. De Kosnik explores, among other things, the anticanonical archiving styles of Internet preservationists; the volunteer labor of online archiving; how fan archives serve women and queer users as cultural resources; archivists' efforts to attract racially and sexually diverse content; and how digital archives adhere to the logics of performance more than the logics of print. She also considers the similarities and differences among free culture, free software, and fan communities, and uses digital humanities tools to quantify and visualize the size, user base, and rate of growth of several online fan archives.


On Bataille

On Bataille

Author: Leslie Anne Boldt-Irons

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9780791424551

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Essays on the French writer and critic Georges Bataille, that examine his thought in relation to Hegel, Nietzsche, and Derrida.


Book Synopsis On Bataille by : Leslie Anne Boldt-Irons

Download or read book On Bataille written by Leslie Anne Boldt-Irons and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essays on the French writer and critic Georges Bataille, that examine his thought in relation to Hegel, Nietzsche, and Derrida.


The Shadow and Its Shadow

The Shadow and Its Shadow

Author: Paul Hammond

Publisher: City Lights Books

Published: 2000-11

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 9780872863767

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The Shadow and Its Shadow is a classic collection of writings by the Surrealists on their mad love of moviegoing. The forty-odd theoretical, polemical, and poetical re-visions of the seventh art in this anthology document Surrealism's scandalous and nonreductive take on film. Writing between 1918 and 1977, the essayists include such names as Andréeacute; Breton, Louis Aragon, Robert Desnos, Salvador Dalíiacute;, Luis Buñntilde;uel, and man Ray, as well as many of the less famous though equally fascinating figures of the movement. Paul Hammond's introduction limns the history of Surrealist cinemania, highlighting how these revolutionary poets, artists, and philosophers sifted the silt of commercial-often Hollywood-cinema for the odd fleck of gold, the windfall movie that, somehow slipping past the censor, questioned the dominant order. Such prospecting pivoted around the notion of lyrical behavior-as depicted on the screen and as lived in the movie house. The representation of such behavior led the Surrealists to valorize the manifest content of such denigrated genres as silent and sound comedy, romantic melodrama, film noir, horror movies. As to lived experience, moviegoing Surrealists looked to the spectacle's latent meaning, reading films as the unwitting providers of redemptive sequences that could be mentally clipped out of their narrative context and inserted into daily life-there, to provoke new adventures. "Hammond's book is a reminder of the wealth and range of surrealist writings on the cinema. . . . [T]he work represented here is still challenging and genuinely eccentric, locating itself in an 'ethic' of love, reverie and revolt." --Sight & Sound "Hammond, who is the author of the invaluable anthology The Shadow and its Shadow: Surrealist Writing on the Cinema (1978), writes about cinema independently of the changing academic and cultural fashions of film theory and abhors the dogmas of contemporary border-patrol thought. His magnetically appealing free-wheeling form of erudite film-critical writing is recognisable for its iconoclastic humour, non-authoritarian verve and playful witty discursivity." --John Conomos, Senses of Cinema Paul Hammond is a writer, editor, and translator living in Barcelona. He is the author of Constellations of Miróoacute;, Breton which was published by City Lights.


Book Synopsis The Shadow and Its Shadow by : Paul Hammond

Download or read book The Shadow and Its Shadow written by Paul Hammond and published by City Lights Books. This book was released on 2000-11 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Shadow and Its Shadow is a classic collection of writings by the Surrealists on their mad love of moviegoing. The forty-odd theoretical, polemical, and poetical re-visions of the seventh art in this anthology document Surrealism's scandalous and nonreductive take on film. Writing between 1918 and 1977, the essayists include such names as Andréeacute; Breton, Louis Aragon, Robert Desnos, Salvador Dalíiacute;, Luis Buñntilde;uel, and man Ray, as well as many of the less famous though equally fascinating figures of the movement. Paul Hammond's introduction limns the history of Surrealist cinemania, highlighting how these revolutionary poets, artists, and philosophers sifted the silt of commercial-often Hollywood-cinema for the odd fleck of gold, the windfall movie that, somehow slipping past the censor, questioned the dominant order. Such prospecting pivoted around the notion of lyrical behavior-as depicted on the screen and as lived in the movie house. The representation of such behavior led the Surrealists to valorize the manifest content of such denigrated genres as silent and sound comedy, romantic melodrama, film noir, horror movies. As to lived experience, moviegoing Surrealists looked to the spectacle's latent meaning, reading films as the unwitting providers of redemptive sequences that could be mentally clipped out of their narrative context and inserted into daily life-there, to provoke new adventures. "Hammond's book is a reminder of the wealth and range of surrealist writings on the cinema. . . . [T]he work represented here is still challenging and genuinely eccentric, locating itself in an 'ethic' of love, reverie and revolt." --Sight & Sound "Hammond, who is the author of the invaluable anthology The Shadow and its Shadow: Surrealist Writing on the Cinema (1978), writes about cinema independently of the changing academic and cultural fashions of film theory and abhors the dogmas of contemporary border-patrol thought. His magnetically appealing free-wheeling form of erudite film-critical writing is recognisable for its iconoclastic humour, non-authoritarian verve and playful witty discursivity." --John Conomos, Senses of Cinema Paul Hammond is a writer, editor, and translator living in Barcelona. He is the author of Constellations of Miróoacute;, Breton which was published by City Lights.