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A2: SPACE FALL
RADIO TIMES: Blake and his companions are on the prison space transporter bound for Cygnus Alpha. But Blake has no intention of spending the rest of his life as a convict on a penal planet.
Broadcast: Monday 9th January, 1978: 7.15pm-8.10pm, BBC 1
Writer: Terry Nation
Director: Pennant Roberts
"Listen to me. Wealth is the only reality. And the only way to obtain wealth is to take it away from somebody else." Avon
GUEST CAST: Glyn Owen (Leylan), Leslie Schofield (Raiker), Norman Tipton (Artix), David Hayward (Teague), Brett Forrest (Krell), Tom Kelly (Nova), Michael Mackenzie (Dainer), Bill Weston (Garton)
FACT FILE
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Space Fall was watched by 7.3m viewers.
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The script was commissioned from Terry Nation on Friday 4th June, 1976.
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The draft script still included the characters of Selman, Klein and Trent.
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Filming at Ealing took place on Monday, 3rd October, 1977. This included the fight scene in the computer room and the scenes involving the transfer tube from the London to the Liberator.
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Space Fall was the first episode of Blake's 7 to be recorded in studio. Recording took place from Tuesday 1st November, 1977 at BBC Television Centre.
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The Liberator set was not fully built for this episode.
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Ian Scoones' design for 'Liberator 1' was dropped in favour of a design from Roger Murray-Leach. (See Image Gallery)
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Roger Murray-Leach had intended the Liberator's green 'engine' to be egg-shaped but this was changed to a sphere for reasons of cost.
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The Liberator model was built by Space Models in Feltham. It was cast in fibreglass and was extremely heavy.
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A number of different size models of the Liberator were built. The largest was three feet long.
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Martin Bower detailed the large Liberator model with hundreds of tiny panel lines, shading & fine detail.
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The moon that the prison ship London flies over was a prop reused from Space: 1999. The moon model was rotated by hand by none other than Mat Irvine.
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A much smaller model of The London was built for shots where the London discovers the Liberator for the first time.
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The episode was novelised as part of Blake's 7: Their First Adventure. by Trevor Hoyle.
EPISODE GALLERY
Please click on the image for larger view and details.
Liberator concept artIan Scoones’ original design sketch for the Liberator. It was dropped for Roger Murray Leach’s iconic design. | Avon (Paul Darrow)BBC copyright image. | Avon (Paul Darrow)BBC copyright image. |
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Avon (Paul Darrow)BBC copyright image. | Avon (Paul Darrow)BBC copyright image. | Avon (Paul Darrow)BBC copyright image. |
Avon (Paul Darrow)BBC copyright image. | Avon fights for his life.Part of this fight scene - Avon slapping the technician's ears - was edited out of the BBC video release. BBC copyright image. | Avon and JennaAvon (Paul Darrow) and Jenna (Sally Knvyette) onboard the London. BBC copyright image. |
Avon and JennaAnother publicity shot of Avon (Paul Darrow) and Jenna (Sally Knvyette) onboard the London. BBC copyright image. | Avon and JennaAvon (Paul Darrow) and Jenna (Sally Knvyette) onboard the London. BBC copyright image. | The LondonVisual effects filming of the London flying by an alien moon. BBC copyright image. |
The London's boarding tubeThe London's boarding tube extends towards the Liberator. BBC copyright image. | The LiberatorThe London stumbles across a derelict and deserted spaceship. BBC copyright image. | The LiberatorThe London docks with the Liberator. BBC copyright image. |
Boarding the LiberatorBlake (Gareth Thomas), Avon (Paul Darrow) and Jenna (Sally Knyvette) prepare to board the Liberator via the London's boarding tube. BBC copyright image. | Boarding the LiberatorAvon (Paul Darrow) and Jenna (Sally Knyvette) prepare to board the Liberator via the London's boarding tube. BBC copyright image. | Building the LiberatorMartin Bower adds detail to the Liberator model. BBC copyright image. |
Liberator SchematicA schematic of the Liberator based on Roger Murray Leach's original design sketch. |
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