Roj Blake
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
, played by Gareth Thomas
Gareth Thomas (actor)
Gareth Thomas is a Welsh actor.Thomas is best known for the part of Roj Blake in the dystopian science fiction television series Blake's 7, but has taken roles in many other films and television programmes, including Adam Brake in Children of the Stones.Thomas trained at RADA and is now an...
(in the new B7 audio series, Blake is played by Derek Riddell
Derek Riddell
Derek Riddell is a Scottish television actor.He was born in Glasgow, the son of actress Hope Ross and former St Mirren footballer Ian Riddell...
).
A native of Earth, Roj Blake was a leading voice against the corrupt, oppressive Terran Federation
Terran Federation (Blake's 7)
The Terran Federation, sometimes simply called The Federation, is the primary stellar government featured in the British Blake's 7 science-fiction television series of the late 1970s...
approximately four years before the series began. He was captured by Federation forces, led by Space Commander Travis
Travis (Blake's 7)
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. "Weapon", the third episode of the second series, marked...
, 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
Liberator (Blake's 7)
The spaceship Liberator is a fictional starship featured in the first three seasons of the BBC television series Blake's 7.-Background:...
, with Jenna Stannis
Jenna Stannis
Jenna Stannis is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Sally Knyvette. The role of Jenna Stannis has recently been revived in the Blake's 7 audio plays where she is played by Carrie Dobro....
and Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow...
. He continued on to Cygnus Alpha, recruiting Olag Gan
Olag Gan
Olag Gan is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by David Jackson ....
and Vila Restal
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,...
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
Olag Gan
Olag Gan is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by David Jackson ....
.
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
Intergalactic War (Blake's 7)
The Intergalactic War is a fictional event in the Blake's 7 science fiction television series. Linking the second and third season, it represented a culmination of the second series' Star One plot thread....
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.
Blake's death
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 JennaJenna Stannis
Jenna Stannis is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Sally Knyvette. The role of Jenna Stannis has recently been revived in the Blake's 7 audio plays where she is played by Carrie Dobro....
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.