The hopeless and ultimately doomed struggle against tyranny that characterised the four seasons of Blake's 7 (1978-1981) is still fondly remembered today. Helping to keep the flame going is the absolutely stunning cliffhanger ending of Season 4 that demands a "what happened next". In the final episode, the paranoid leader of the freedom fighters, Kerr Avon, murders his best friend, the former leader, Roj Blake, before realising that Roj never did betray him. Then Federation guards burst into the room and order Avon to lower his weapon. Avon, standing astride the dead Blake, simply smiles and raises his gun. The screen fades to black and countless shots ring out. Have pity, BBC, and tell fans whether Avon lived to fight on. Critics can (and do) malign the effects, but Blake's 7 was a series where the bad guys won - and how often does that happen?
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
