10.6 million viewers tuned in to see Blake and co gain a new super computer in Orac, and saw the Liberator destroyed at the end of the episode. The show was a ratings success for the BBC, with the season garnering an average of 9.1 million viewers, peaking at a series high of 10.9 for Seek-Locate-Destroy. It wasn’t universally loved though, with many reviewers criticising the cheap and unconvincing nature of the show. In many ways this was unfair, as the show was made on a very quick turnaround, and with a very low budget.

This was to change in Season 2. There was a slight increase in the budget and the filming schedule was altered, so that there was more time to work on the episodes. There was also a new policy "to get the money on the screen" so greater emphasis was placed on costumes and sets where possible. With new costume designer, June Hudson on board for the first half of season 2, the costumes would take a turn for the more bizarre, with some memorable and some terrifically odd designs making it to the screen. These will be celebrated in the season 2 reviews with a new section looking at the most outrageous costume in each episode.

A big change with season 2 was that the show’s writing team would be opened up after Terry Nation decided not to write all the episodes for the second series. In some ways this was a good thing, as many of the scripts for the later episodes of the show were underwritten and under-developed, with Chris Boucher frequently having to bulk them out from the initial scripts received from Nation. This led to several episodes being written by Boucher himself, as well as more by new writers, Allan Prior, Roger Parkes and Robert Holmes. How will they cope with the world of Blake’s 7?

There were two major cast changes between seasons. Stephen Greif declined the chance to appear as Travis in season 2 and was replaced by Brian Croucher. Derek Farr, the original voice of Orac, also declined the chance to voice the computer for the series, so Peter Tuddenham, who would also continue to bring Zen to life, replaced him. There’s another new in the season 2 reviews, which will list all of the amazing skills Orac possesses. Will all the characters we know and have come to love survive to the end of the season? There’s only one way to find out…

So, set course back to 1979 and Season 2 of Blake’s 7… Confirmed!