Sevencyclopaedia - Fan Lore

Sevencyclopaedia - A number of "Facts" about the characters and settings of Blake's 7 have entered into some degree of consensual acknowledgement among fans, despite a distinct lack of corroboration in the series itself. These points of fan lore largely have their origin in BBC publicity material, especially for the 1st and 4th seasons, as well as Trevor Hoyle in his three novelisations, and the series' creator Terry Nation. None of these sources are regarded as "canonical" as far as this index is concerned, and so are omitted in the main text.

This appendix is merely a summary of the more enduring aspects of fan lore, and does not claim to be exhaustive. The origins of a least some of the entries below are obscure. Fan lore also enlarges on some of the entries in the main text, citing (for example) that Blake worked for the Engineering Division of the Civil Administration on Earth. Fan generated fiction has also generated many (often conflicting) additional details about the regular characters and their origins, entirely beyond the scope of this appendix.

ARGENTIUM

The clip guns developed by Dorian were allegedly made of argentium. Since there is no known element of that name, argentium can be presumed to be an alloy.

AMERSAT

The planet close to and on which the events of 'Duel' took place, also called 'Memorial to the Dead'. (Trevor Hoyle, "Project Avalon", Part 1, Chapters 4, 6.)

ATOMIC WARS

The Federation supposedly arose out of the chaos generated by the Atomic Wars, with no reference to who fought who or why.

BRIAN THE SPIDER

(C-5: THE HARVEST OF KAIROS) By Murray Smith and Judith Proctor

The name used by Sheelagh Wells to describe one of the species of spider-like creature on Kairos. The reason for the name was due to her dislike of spiders, and her desire to come to terms with this problem, 'working on the principle that anything with a name couldn't really be terrifying', a strategy which proved successful. (Joe Nazzaro and Sheelagh Wells, Blake's 7: The Inside Story, (Virgin, 1997), p.54.)

COMMUNICATIONS SECTION

Ravella was 'an electronics technician, grade three, in the Communications Division'. (Trevor Hoyle, _Blake's 7_, Chapter 1.)

C-16 FREIGHTER

The civilian version of the T-16 troop transporter featured in Moloch. The CAS London was presumably a C-16, as was the freighter Blake followed to Horizon and the Salvager sent up from Fosforon. It is a moot point as to whether the T-16 was a modified C-16 or vice-versa.

CHASER CLASS PURSUIT SHIP

The supposed version of the pursuit ship Tarrant stole when he absconded from the Federation.

[Hoyle in Scorpio Attack, Part 1, Chapter 3.]

Del CHEVNER

Del was the first name of the sole survivor of the massacre conducted by Travis' mutoids in "Project Avalon". (Trevor Hoyle, "Project Avalon", POart 2, Chapters 2-3.)

DARLON IV

Cited as Soolin's home world. It has been variously suggested that she moved to Gauda Prime soon after being born on Darlon IV, or that the planet's name was changed to Gauda Prime (perhaps when the world was given Open Planet status).

ENGINEERING DIVISION

Blake was a member of the Engineering Division prior to his arrest in _The Way Back_. (Trevor Hoyle, _Blake's 7_, Chapter 1.)

EPSILON FOUR

The planet on which Maryatt was born, according to his ID folder. (Trevor Hoyle, "Project Avalon", Part 2, Chapter 4.)

FLIGHT OPERATOR

Artix was the Flight Operator of the London. (Trevor Hoyle, Blake's 7, Chapter 4)

FT-7 FREIGHTER

The ship in which Sleer and Investigator Reeve travelled to Virn. (Designated FT-7 by Martin Bower, who built the original model).

GALACTIC MONOPOLY

(C-4:DAWN OF THE GODS, C-13:TERMINAL) Written by Judith Proctor

In Terminal, Dayna and Cally are playing a board game which bears a resemblence to Monopoly. Among fans, the game is often referred to as Galactic Monopoly although it is not given a name in the actual episode.

The rules include Rule 10. A player may miss two turns while on a penal colony planet. On his third turn, he must pay a ten thousand credit fine, and leave the colony. - this is very close to the rules for getting out of jail in Monopoly.

Players may own hotels as in Monopoly, but they may also own spaceships and battle fleets.

HYDROPHONIC DIVISION

Dal Richie was said by Ravella to be 'with the Hydrophonic Division, Level 19'. (Trevor Hoyle, _Blake's 7_, Chapter 1.)

LIMITER

Gan told Jenna that the implantation of his limiter was done before his trial, as 'They needed humans for their research, so I was just handed over'. (Trevor Hoyle, _Blake's 7_, Chapter 11)

MAGNI-VIEWER

(D-1: RESCUE) By Murray Smith

The optical instrument used by Avon in 'Rescue'. (Trevor Hoyle, "Scorpio Attack", Part 1, Chapter 1.)

MAJA Varon

Maja Varon and Tel Varon were frequently referred to as husband and wife. (Trevor Hoyle, _Blake's 7_, Chapter 3)

Tal MARYATT

Hoyle's 'Project Avalon' gives his first name as Tal and says he was born on EPISILON FOUR.

Maryatt's first name was Tal, according to his ID folder. (Trevor Hoyle, "Project Avalon", Part 2, Chapter 4.)

MICHELIN MEN

(B-7: KILLER) written by Murray Smith

The nickname used by some B7 fans to describe the four members of a boarding team of the Federation's Q-Base on Fosforon, sent aboard the recovered Earth Wanderer Class One Spacecraft K47, due to the white protective suits they wore. Such suits made them resemble the Michelin Man, one of the best - if not the best - known company symbols on Earth in the twentieth century.

The Michelin Man, whose real name is Bibendum, was created in 1898, as symbol of the Michelin tyre company, founded on 28 May 1889 in Clermont-Ferrand, France. In the next century, the company grew into a large international group, becoming the largest tyre manufacturer on Earth, with the largest share of the market.

PARA-GUN

The standard issue federation sidearm. Described by Trevor Hoyle as a "V911 para-handgun".

PARA-HANDGUN

A federation sidearm, at first only issued to 'the guards of the Security Division', but which later became standard issue by the time of Project Avalon.

[Hoyle, in Blake's 7, says that it was only issued to the guards of the Security Division; later in Project Avalon, he said it was standard issue. This entry is a way of papering over this discrepancy.]

POPULATION (WEST-EUROP DOME CITY)

Ravella said that the population of West-Europ Dome City was 800 million. (Trevor Hoyle, _Blake's 7_, Chapter1.)

SECOND CALENDAR

Events in the series are often placed in the third century of the Second Calendar, which would suggest that Blake's deportation to Cygnus Alpha occurred in the year 252.

TITANIUM

The teleport bracelets used by the crew of Scorpio were allegedly made of titanium. These bracelets also allegedly differed from those used by the Liberator crew in that landing co-ordinates could be programmed into the bracelet itself, rather than controlled solely from the ship.

VELGAN

The assassination squad aboard the projectile picked up by the _Liberator_ in _Time Squad_ had a mission to destroy political leaders on the planet Velgan. (Trevor Hoyle, _Blake's 7_, Chapter 12.)

WEST-EUROP DOME CITY

The dome city on Earth in which Blake worked for the Engineering Division before his illegal meeting with Bran Forster.

ZEPHRON

Supposedly the world on which Gan was born, though his comments in Pressure Point suggest he was more likely a native of Earth.


Back to Sevencyclopeadia Intro

Back to Blake's 7 Top