Manifesto:

Why is anyone doing a Cally site?

Blakies, strange people. Other sci-fi fans look at us askance at conventions. What are these people doing laughing? Why are they dressed like extras from the Village People? Why have they all got jobs? More importantly why aren't they taking this more seriously? Isn't your show all about fighting totalitarianism, about an imperfect future of distrust and betrayal, about the slow corruption of the human spirit when faced with the triumph of moral relativism, about.... stop laughing! Stop rolling drunkenly about on the floor shouting "Do it Tarrant!" Stop pointing at people and yelling "Tufty, Tufty, Tufty!" Stop polishing your PVC! Stop talking about sex! Stop throwing crisps at each other! Why aren't you taking this all seriously!!!

It's a Cally thing.

We like Cally. She's nice. Now some might think 'Nice' and 'Blake's 7' don't go together. Well they should take their Avon goggles off. Remember her laughing at Vila putting on his thermals in the teleport? Remember her smiling at Avon when he'd just been pompous and Avon smiling back? The pet moondisk, the exercises in the Rec Room, the miles of crinoline....? Course you do.

Now, Blake's 7 had some serious and tragic moments. Then again it also had some serious and tragic haircuts. For all the infighting and freedom fighting there was an equal measure of dry wit and wet-look hair gel. For every planet decimated by the crushing heel of totalitarianism there was a planet populated with cartwheeling midgets. For every one of Avon's snarls there was one of Vila's excuses. Blake's 7 may have been a motley crew, but motley has two meanings.

Blake's 7 was both serious and hilarious: rebellion, fascism, futurism, studs, leather and pratfalls. It was snarling menacingly at Clangers. It was being nasty to your friends then trying to chat them up. It was smart-arse laughter in the gloom of dystopia. Sometimes friends die. Sometimes the bad guys win. Sometimes you end up with a pet rock. Sometimes you all get shot.

What else was there in the 70's? Luke Skywalker, saving the universe for West Coast quasi-mysticism and mom's apple pie? Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, reactionary stereotypes of eccentric middle-class bohemians, bashing Daleks and quoting Gide before tea and muffins in the Crabhead nebula? Kirk taking his shirt off again? No thanks.

Nowadays, of course, everything's better. It's all Buffy this and Babylon that; shows with 'attitude' and 'martial arts' and 'dark endings' that are very earnest and serious. Ahem! Been there, done that, got the studded leather gloves mate. Blake's 7 got there first you see, it set a pattern that most other shows in some way ape.

Except it had it's tongue in it's cheek, and two fingers raised to the world. It took one look at Standard Futurism™ (Jumpsuits, flying cars, chrome doorknobs, galactic peace etc) and said "Nope". Instead it reached back to Aesop, grabbed a bit of dell' Arte, kidnapped the Comte de Lautreamont and ram-raided him into Debord before heading off at Standard by 12 to Alphaville via Carnaby Street and Oddbins. And that's the difference, you see?

For all it's shortcomings Blake's 7 had the right mix, it covered all the bases, and always had an ace up it's gabardine sleeve. Everyone likes Blake's 7. And though you might worship Avon, dream of Servalan and wish you were Vila, everyone likes Cally too. Hence, dear reader, why you came here. Oh come on, you didn't believe us when we said there were free drinks, did you...?

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