Star Wars Meets Firefly In The BBC’s 52-Episode Space Opera With 100% On Rotten Tomatoes

Published Sep 4, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Tom is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, with expertise covering everything from hilarious sitcoms to jaw-dropping sci-fi epics. Initially he was an Updates writer, though before long he found his way to the TV and movies team. He now spends his days keeping Screen Rant readers informed about the TV shows of yesteryear, whether it's recommending hidden gems that may have been missed by genre fans or deep diving into ways your favorite shows have (or haven't) stood the test of time. Tom is based in the UK and when he's not writing about TV shows, he's watching them. He's also an avid horror fiction writer, gamer, and has a Dungeons and Dragons habit that he tries (and fails) to keep in check. When most people think of classic BBC sci-fi shows, Doctor Who is naturally the name that comes to mind. The adventures of the Doctor and his TARDIS helped establish British science fiction globally and remains one of the country’s most celebrated cultural exports. However, the Doctor's travels are far from the only sci-fi series to emerge from the UK during the 20th century. Quietly sitting in the shadows of Doctor Who is another 20th-century British sci-fi series that helped pave the way for the genre fans know and love today. In 1978, the gritty dystopian series Blake’s 7 arrived on screens and changed the game for TV science fiction, especially when it came to space operas. Developed by Doctor Who pioneer Terry Nation (who created Davros and the Daleks), the BBC sci-fi show explored rebellion and political oppression, from the perspective of a dysfunctional group of fugitives on a grand galactic adventure. With a tone that masterfully blends the best aspects of Star Wars and Firefly, and a 100% score for season 1 on Rotten Tomatoes, Blake’s 7 remains an astounding four-season saga despite arriving almost five decades ago. The plot follows political dissident Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas) and his unlikely crew as they fight the totalitarian Federation after acquiring the powerful spaceship Liberator. However, the premise isn’t the reason the BBC series remains legendary, and any sci-fi fan who hasn't seen Blake’s 7 should consider this influential 52-episode British sci-fi saga their next essential watch. BBC Space Opera Blake’s 7 Feels Like Star Wars Crossed With Firefly Blake’s 7 arrived only a year after Star Wars debuted in 1977 with A New Hope (which at the time was simply titled Star Wars), and it follows the same kind of grand space-opera storytelling. At its center is a rebellion against an oppressive galactic power, with Blake becoming a symbol of resistance against the Federation. The Liberator gives the series a mobile base from which its heroes can travel between worlds and strike back against an enormous authoritarian regime. However, Blake’s 7 is much less interested in presenting its heroes as uncomplicated champions. While they may have similar foundations, Blake and Luke Skywalker’s stories are far from alike. The crew of the Liberator consists largely of criminals who make Han Solo seem like an upstanding citizen by comparison. There’s characters like cynical computer expert Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow), thief Vila Restal (Michael Keating), smuggler Jenna Stannis (Sally Knyvette), murderer Olag Gan (David Jackson), and telepathic guerrilla Cally (Jan Chappell). All of them are morally questionable, and they rarely see eye-to-eye. Their conflicting personalities give Blake’s 7 the same rough, dysfunctional energy that later became central to Firefly. Like Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and the Serenity crew, Blake's companions are not united by uncomplicated heroism. Avon, for example, regularly challenges Blake's idealism, while the others have their own motivations for remaining aboard the Liberator beyond saving the galaxy. It may have broad narrative overlap with Star Wars, but it carries none of its moral simplicity. That complexity helped the 1978 BBC show survive long after its visual effects started to feel dated. Blake’s 7 may not be part of a now-global powerhouse franchise like Star Wars, but its sharp character writing and willingness to let its protagonists fail feel remarkably modern and ensure it’s endured. What’s more, its influence can be seen in later space adventures built around morally complicated crews like Firefly, making the series far more than a fascinating relic of 1970s sci-fi. Capturing elements that would later define both Firefly and Star Wars is only one reason Blake’s 7 matters to the history of sci-fi TV. Star Wars had only reached theaters a year earlier and wasn’t yet the genre-defining franchise it eventually became, while Firefly would not arrive until decades later. Before the former had reached its stride and long before the latter existed, Blake’s 7 was already demonstrating how space opera could combine adventure with serious political ideas. The Terran Federation in Blake’s 7 wasn’t simply an evil empire for Blake to defeat. The series used it to examine how authoritarian governments maintain power through surveillance, propaganda, brainwashing, show trials, and psychosocial manipulation. This was apparent from the opening episode, "The Way Back," in which Blake discovered that the Federation had literally erased his memories of his former life as a rebel and systematically destroyed his reputation. What’s more, the show's political themes weren’t only explored through a single villainous government. Across its episodes, 52 episodes, Blake’s 7 explores different forms of authoritarian control, including the use of religion, genetics, and technology to restrict individual freedom. Its characters also frequently confront questions about personal responsibility and whether supposedly noble political goals can justify extreme actions. These are all commonplace themes in 2020s sci-fi, but back in the 1970s they were revolutionary. Using a futuristic setting to examine recognizable contemporary anxieties helped make Blake’s 7 genuinely ahead of its time. Modern sci-fi is fascinated with blending speculative futures with real-world issues. Blake’s 7 was already doing exactly that decades ago, helping establish a template for the socially conscious science fiction that defines the genre in the present day. Release Date 1978 - 1981-00-00 Cast Michael Keating Vila Restal