Blake's 7 - Series 2 (1979)

Costume Design by:

- June Hudson ( notable efforts: Nicholas Nickleby (1977), Doctor Who 'The Horns of Nimon' (1979) & 'The Leisure Hive' (1980), The Comedy of Errors (1983), Much Ado About Nothing (1984), The Theban Plays by Sophocles (1986) )

- Barbara Kidd ( notable efforts: A Christmas Carol (1977), The Serpent Son (1979), Doctor Who 'Frontier in Space' (1973) & 'Pyramids of Mars' (1975), No Country for Old Men (1981), The Cleopatras (1983), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015) )

Costume Design Genre: futuristic

Note: June Hudson did all the episodes includes in this entry, with all the episodes after 'Killer' (as well as 'Trial', which was just before) being by Barbara Kidd instead

'Redemption'

This was the first episode of the second series, and involved the Liberator, the spaceship commanded by Blake and his crew, being taken over by the alien species that originally built it - here, under a new costume designer, Blake is given a newer and much more loose costume consisting of a baggy green leather top worn over a shirt and trousers. This was possibly intended to make the character still seem medieval whilst still having futuristic elements to the costume - was probably comfier for Gareth Thomas to put on too!

Avon by contrast wears an outfit completely at odds with Blake - a bit like his character - and so wears a stiff black leather tunic and pants, the chest and sleeves of the tunic being coated all in silver studs that slightly resemble buttons, but probably are just for ornamentation.

Gan also wears a more loose costume compared to what he wore in the previous series, this one also having a bit of a slightly regal flare with its large golden-lined cloak worn over a white shirt.

Jenna meanwhile sports a black spandex unitard with a floral patterned white dress worn over the dress, as well as with black boots too.

Cally sports perhaps the most typically 'futuristic' outfit of the main cast in this episode, with her green and white dress having large ridged shoulder pads, with the pads being attached to a green top with white sleeves - the underside of the dress is barely seen, but appears to also be of a green fabric.

The System, the original owners of the Liberator, are all meanwhile dressed in spandex bodysuits with transparent plastic segments over the chest and back - the main distinguishing features are that the commanding female officers wear blue spandex with silver shoes, whilst the male guards wear full-concealing black spandex with plastic visors over the eyes, worn with boots.

'Shadow'

In this episode Avon sports perhaps one of his most odd outfits, being a shiny silver top worn over a black jumper and trousers, the shiny top also having a silvery belt worn over it as well.

Gan also sports a new outfit, this one rather similar in design to Blake's in the previous series, with it also having a very medieval to it, being a black-lined green tunic with golden trim over the front black panel and raised shoulders - the tunic is worn over an open-collared blue shirt and black trousers.

Vila wears a fairly simple tan tunic, the only futuristic detail being the asymmetrical cut of the bottom of the jacket part.

Jenna wears two outfits in this episode, the first being similar to what she wore in the previous episode but the fabric being of a purple colour instead.

Jenna's second outfit, seemingly inspired a bit by the success of Star Wars, has her wearing a simple white jacket and trousers with silver boots.

Cally also sports a rather more graceful looking costume, this being a white gown worn over a glittery beige blouse, with the gown itself having a long strip of a speckled floral pattern going down the front of it. A very similar dress was designed but with the gown being blue instead of white instead.

The episode's plot involves the Liberator's crew running foul of an intergalactic crime syndicate, whose members all wear buttoness jackets made of brown crushed velvet, worn with frilly shirts.

When on the planet's surface, the gang goons wear silvery bodysuits with visors cut around the masks - these are sometimes worn helmets, that I think are just repainted helmets from the Doctor Who serial 'The Invasion of Time'.

'Weapon'

In this episode, Blake swaps out his loose puffy green jacket for a green leather vest, worn over a frilly sleeved brown shirt (sometimes blue in later episodes), as well as either green or brown trousers with boots.

By contrast, Avon wears an outfit that not only is a sheer contrast to the rest of the cast in design, but also compared to his usual outfits which involve some combination of black, silver, grey or brown - here he is sported a ridged reddish leather tunic, with a rounded collar and blocky panels over the front and back, worn with red leather pants and boots.

Jenna in this episode sports a rather lovely flowing blue dress with star-shaped golden pieces on the chest and waist, as if it was holding it up like a brooch.

Cally also sports a lovely dress with golden trim, this one in red, but sadly it barely gets any good screentime in this episode at all, and never appears in the series again!

Returning from the previous series is Servalan, dressed in perhaps one of her most striking outfits yet - a lovely flowing white dress, the fabric cut at the midriff to show that it is worn over a mesh-like undergarment, and fixed with an ornate collar made of metallic filigree, which is also worn with a strip of petals on the side.

Also returning from the previous series, albeit played by a different character, is Travis (Brian Croucher), who is now sporting a much more stiff uniform consisting of ridged coarse leather-like material, with a large black vinyl belt and stiff vinyl collars as well as a star badge worn on one side of the chest.

Servalan and Travis are first seen meeting the Clonemaster Fen (Kathleen Byron), who is sporting a grey dress fitted with a large towering collar, the collar itself adorned with trailing dangly crystals dangling inwards, as well as the dress fitted with a loose grey cloak too.

The plot with the clone is part of a plan to deceive the rogue scientist Coser (John Bennett), who sports a wonderful dress made of black fabric mostly, except for the chest which is coated in a lovely metallic floral material of gold, blue and red - this same material also covered the gloves and the raised collar, which has a sort of design remniscent of the stereotypical space opera villain. This costume still exists, with the display photo being taken from the Moonbase Central blog - as you can see, the already grainy quality of harsh videotape coupled with the underlit direction did not do many favors for Coser's costume onscreen.

Coser's assistant Rashel (Candace Glendenning) sports a rather drab grey dress, only distinguishable by its large raised collar (in a similar manner to Coser's) which is adorned with black frilly thread as well.

There are also several Federation officials that communicate with Servalan in this episode, with the sleazy Carnell (Scott Fredericks) and his assistant wearing something that is a sort of futuristic riff on an old-fashioned uniform, as it is worn with spandex(?) pants, as well as with a billowing cape - Carnell is distinguished from his underling by having yellow trim on this uniform, as well as the underling's cape only going from the waist.

'Horizon'

In this episode Jenna sports a rather delightful outfit consisting of a white spandex bodysuit worn with silver boots, and a pink dress-like garment worn over it, though in some episodes the pink is swapped for a teal fabric - this is a similar design to Jenna's black spandex suit worn in the previous episodes of this series.

The titular planet of this episode has a slightly Mesoamerican vibe with how its citizens are dressed, with the leader Ro (Darien Angadi) wearing a feathered headdress, wearing a cloak and skirt of coarse blue fabric, whilst his beloved Selma (Souad Faress) wearing a dress of the same blue fabric, aforned with a feathered collar.

As a fairly unsubtle allegory on colonialism, the Federation's puppet regime for Ro's planet have them all wearing buttonless tunics made of a burgundy crushed velvet.

'Pressure Point'

Servalan's sports a particularly dashing dress in this episode, consisting of a buttoned white tailcoat with silvery lining and a large collar, the skirt going over white leggings and boots, the look being finished with a wide-brimmed boater hat - very much glamorous whilst still having some futuristic flourishes as well.

Servalan's second dress is a bit more reserved in design compared to the previous two she wore, being a sleek white dress, but also has a the salamander-shaped brooch clasped over her chest!

Vila gets a new outfit in this episode too, which is mostable notable for the bright yellow band and wristguards - banana peel couture!

'Trial'

This episode, where the crazed Travis is, well, put on trial, was the first to have its costumes designed by Barbara Kidd, whose style is definitely different to June Hudson's - a lot of Kidd's designs are rather stiff and severe, with this being seen clearly with the grey jacket worn by Avon, adorned with blocky silvery panelling around the shoulders, and worn over black trousers.

Jenna also gets a rather more form-fitting costume made consisting of a burgundy leather jacket and pants, the jacket being covered in grey lines going over the shoulders and back, whilst the pants are worn with high-heeled boots of the same colour as the rest of the outfit.

Cally also sports a leather outfit of a dark olive-green colour, with fabric sleeves and panels over the sides of the jacket and raised shoulders - the leather pants however are of the same colour as the leather segments of her jacket.

Servalan sportd a rather prim dress with a stiff collar, as well as a neatly buttoned panel over the chest, worn with silver high heels - Kidd's designs for Servalan's wardrobe were generally more restrained than Hudson's designs for the character!

There are also two Federation officials, Bercol (John Bryans) and Rontaine (Peter Miles), who both sport brown lined tunics with bulky panelling over the chest, with Bercol's having an open collar as well - this would prove to be a recurring design motif in Kidd's futuristic costume designs, as she had also designed uniforms like this for the Doctor Who serial 'The Ark in Space' a few years earlier, and would again do it in the serial 'Kinda'. This method of panelling would even be used during her brief stint on the reboot Doctor Who episode 'A Christmas Carol', though on much sloppier costumes - I am pretty sure everything else on the season she designed was either bought or rented anyway.

A similar costume is worn by the legal officer Thania (Victoria Fairbrother), with a raised collar and panelling on the chest, but also worn with a long skirt and high-heeled boots.

Much more typical a space uniform design, but still in line with Kidd's method of futuristic costumes, is the one sported by the Federation commander Samor (John Savident), also wears a grey tunic adorned with silver panelling and a raised collar.

'Killer'

This episode, the last in the series to have costumes designed by June Hudson, introduces another dress for Cally that she sadly never wears again in the series, in a lovely plum velvet fabric with a v-neck collar and white lining on the shoulders - this outfit is only seen in full when in motion, hence the blurry screenshot.

Jenna also sports a new outfit here, this one being almost identical to what she wore in 'Horizen' except that the pink fabric is now aqua and has silver strips on the shoulders.

The real highlight of this episode in terms of costumes (or low point, if you're like that), are the various vinyl uniforms worn by the residents of the planet Fosforon, with head technician Tynus (Ronald Lacey) wearing a brown vinul cape-like garment over his black tunic and trousers - the design of the tunic, as well as some others in this episode, bear a resemblence to the futuristic costumes in the 1930s scifi film Things to Come.

The technicians under Tynus' jurisdiction all wear bulky brown vinyl ponchos, covered in ridges and with stiff collars - often nicknamed the 'bug suits', it should be worth noting that Tynus' character also seems to have an obsession with bugs (owning stick insects), which perhaps was why he and his workforce all wear outfits that make them look almost like beetles.

The medical scientist Bellfriar (Paul Daneman) is also in a rather stiff vinyl coat that slightly resembles the design of Tynus' cape, this one being all-white and worn over a white shirt with a blue sash - the coat also is split in two at the back, in a manner similar to a tailcoat.

The various other scientists under Bellfriar's command are in similar white vinyl outfits, consisting of stiff segmented pieces overlapping in a way again rather insect-like, though the lower staff wear rather simple vinyl tunics over white unitards, again obviously inspired by the costumes of Things to Come.

Special mention has to be given to these briefly seen protective uniforms though - firefighters in silvery uniforms that honestly make me think of a tennis racket, and thick spacesuits that make me think of the Michelin Man! The latter hazmat suits were possibly reused spacesuits from the infamous scifi sitcom Come Back Mrs Noah, but I'm not sure which was filmed first.

'Hostage'

This episode introduced another costume for Blake which is again made out of green leather, with a lighter angular patch going down from the collar over to the front and back, keeping rather in line with the colour scheme of June Hudson's various costumes for Blake but rather more stiff and severe in its actual design.

Servalan briefly appears in this episode, albeit she sports a rather more stern buttonless dress that is sadly never seen fully.

Also briefly seen is a Federation command officer, who wears a uniform slightly similar in design to Travis' but a bit tighter and in a grey colour. Again, this outfit is never really seen in full.

Another Federation outfit that is, again, not seen fully on screen (!) is this rather sleek outfit worn by the Federation official Joban (Kevin Stoney), whose jacket is similar in design to the other 'futuristic' jackets Kidd designed for this season - noticeably, it has a more padded collar.

We also get a change in uniform for the Mutoids, who are now in much sleaker bodysuits with triangular strips of grey panelling over the chest, back and legs, as well as a collar of tubed material going down to the shoulders (slightly similar in design to the costume Barbara Kidd made for the alien Sutekh in the Doctor Who serial 'Pyramids of Mars' a few years earlier) - however, they are only very briefly seen in this episode, and would be seen more regularly in the following series, worn with the helmet designed for them by Barbara Lane in the first series.

The plot of this episode involves a trap laid by Travis, who is enlisting the help of 'Crimos', criminal mercenaries, who all sport black overalls worn with triangular coloured strip on the front in a similar manner to the Mutoid uniforms, as well as Travis' in the first series - I suppose the downwards-pointing triangle is a regular motif of the Federation's symbols. Completing the uniform is a skullcap again lined with the colour of the triangular strip.

The Liberator crew also don spacesuits, which are grey jumpsuits coated in black lining and worn with silver and grey panelling over the chest - in a later episode, it is worn with a spacesuit helmet reused from Raymond Hughes' spacesuit designs for the Doctor Who serial 'The Invisible Enemy'.

'Voice from the Past'

The Liberator crew meet up with a group of defecting Federation officials, who are all clad in crisp wraparound tunics with open cuffs.

'Gambit'

Here Vila gets another new outfit, this one being a simple zip-up brown jacket with white lining going around the sides - this particular outfit would make its last appearance in the first few episodes of the third series.

The plot of this particular outing involved the Liberator crew going to what was basically an intergalactic gambling strip, with Jenna and Cally both wearing more flashy wear that is similar in design to Cally's blue dress earlier in the series.

This episode was mostly a looting of the period costume wardrobe, with the most notable outfit being of course worn by Servalan, who for once opts out of white for a shiny red dress with a large fan fitted around the back of the dress as well.

'The Keeper'

Vila sports another new outfit this time, being a rather pleasantly designed tunic where the darker brown goes around up the shoulders.

This episode's plot involved the Liberator crew's search for Star One leads them to a medieval level planet called Goth, ruled by the blustering monarch Gola (Bruce Purchase), who is in league with Travis and Servalan. Servalan herself sports a lovely furred coat of square segments, but she spends most her scenes wearing it lying down!

Travis meanwhile is in a brown jumpsuit with leather trim around the shoulders and collar - the shoulders are raised in usual space age fashion, but the collar feels especially 1970s! This jumpsuit had actually been seen previously in 'Voice from the Past' and 'Gambit' but in these was worn with a stupid mmummy mask and cervical collar, and a cowboy hat and cape.

As for their newfound ally Gola, he sports an outfit made up of deep purple leather fitted with golden armor and pinkish fur trim and worn with a helmet fitted with metallic 'wings' on the front, all designed to resemble the typical image of a Viking warrior king - this rather fantastical riff on ancient fashions seems to be an echo of Kidd's work on The Serpent Son, which sadly I still can't find a copy of online!

Gola's brother Rod (Shaun Curry) wears a brown leather tunic with an asymmetrical cut to its bottom, and worn with fur-lined armor bands around the waist and sleeves too.

The various guards are also in shiny armor, with their helmets especially being striking - sadly, thanks to the terrible quality of the video recording, it's hard to make them out in detail.

Gola's personal shaman, Tara (Freda Jackson) wears a simple two-tone grey dress, with a shiny silvery blue collar segment.

Gola takes a shine to Jenna, and makes her wear a deep burgundy dress with golden trim around the chest and goind down over the waist - the rest of the costumes in this episode are fairly typical medieval barbarian garb.

Gola also has with him a court jester, who then is replaced by Vila - both the original jester and Vila wear similar, but slightly different patchwork jester outfits, with their jackets having subtle differences between them - the original is mostly distinguished by having green patches on his jacket, to match his trousers. It was really damn hard to find decent shots of the original jester's outfit, by the way.

'Star One'

In the last episode of the series, which has the Federation falling apart when under attack from an alien fleet, Servalan sports a rather reserved white dress with a large open collar - a bit less severe than the other white costumes Kidd had designed for her in this series! This dress would be worn again in the first episode of the third series.

Servalan also has the news of the Federation's imminent collapse from an official wearing a black tunic with a panelled piece worn over the shoulders, and green chevrons over the panelling.

The technicians staffing the titular Star One facility, which is where the drama of the episode unfolds, are all in white jumpsuits with lining on the front, and a bulky piece worn over the collar and shoulders, with the panelling pointing downwards.