The Crew That Never Was - Worst to Best

 The Blake's 7 crew are some of the best characters ever put to television. And, well, there's Dayna also. All of them have some specific skillset that comes in handy at a moment of crisis, and their own opinions that make for compelling TV as different ideologies clash together in a variety of situations. 

But what about the people who didn't make the cut? Now, obviously these characters were never intended to join the crew, but there has been more than one occasion when the storyline has hinted at such a possibility. Today I'd like for us to imagine an alternate reality where it would have happened, and what such characters would have added to the line-up of the crew. 

Two exceptions from this list are Del Grant (Tom Chadbon) and Nebrox (Richard Hurndall). Grant, for the simple reason that he does end up joining the crew in the Big Finish audio series. And Nebrox, because despite being with the crew throughout Assassin, it was immediately stated that Avon would take him back home.

#15. Muller (played by John Westbrook)

Featured in: Headhunter (4x06)
Occupation: Computer scientist.
Reason for joining the crew: Avon wanted to recruit him as a valuable resource against the Federation.
Why he didn't: Muller was dead all along.
Analysis: As a student of professor Ensor, Muller comes in with a neat connection to the show's history. He's also played by an actor with considerable screen presence(Westbrook is sort of like a discount Valentine Dyall). However, he ranks at the bottom due to the twist of Muller being his own android. We never really get to meet the original, so it's impossible to ascertain anything about him. 

#14. Selman (played by David Ryall)

Featured in: Cygnus Alpha (1x03)
Occupation: Prisoner.
Reason for joining the crew: Blake was desperate to gain any new followers after acquiring the Liberator, and Selman was one of the volunteers. 
Why he didn't: Murdered by the Cult of Cygnus during the crew's escape from the planet.
Analysis: The only really interesting thing about Selman is that he was one of the two characters who was actually once intended to be a crewmember, before the lack of budget forced Terry Nation to count the computer and Blake as "Blake's Seven". Selman is used as a kind of red herring in Cygnus Alpha, to see who will and who won't survive from among the prisoners. However, he doesn't display any real personality to note of. 

#13. Justin (played by Peter Byrne)

Featured in: Animals (4x05)
Occupation: Genetic engineer, radiobiologist.
Reason for joining the crew: Dayna recommends him to Avon, who is eager for powerful allies. 
Why he didn't: Lack of interest.
Analysis: Unlike most of the people on this list, Justin never considers joining the crew, but only cooperates with them due to his affection for Dayna. He certainly has unique abilities that might have been useful in future episodes, and I really like the idea of one of the crew being permanently stationed on Xenon Base, pottering around in the background. Realistically, however, it's likely that Justin would have been quickly relegated to being the crew's medic. There's also the fact that Peter Byrne is squirmingly creepy in the part, and his relationship with Dayna was excruciating enough in one episode. 

#12. Dr Plaxton (played by Barbara Shelley)

Featured in: Stardrive (4x04)
Occupation: Engine designer. 
Reason for joining the crew: Plaxton needed to escape the Space Rats(partially since Dayna and Vila implicated her in a deception) and they wanted to fit her stardrive onto the Scorpio. 
Why she didn't: She is killed in the engine room when Avon activates the stardrive early to ensure that the ship isn't destroyed by a passing Federation patrol.
Analysis: Avon might have allowed Dr Plaxton to continue her research at Xenon if she survived, but given her disdainful attitude and willingness to work with crooks, it's most likely that she would have tried to double-cross the crew at some point. Besides, they already had the stardrive. Plaxton was surplus to requirements. I'm not a huge fan of Barbara Shelley's performance. Not that she's terrible, but as an actress, she feels far better suited to movies than kitsch TV shows. 

#11. Nova (played by Tom Kelly)

Featured in: Space Fall (1x02)
Occupation: Prisoner.
Reason for joining the crew: He participated in Blake's mutiny to escape going to Cygnus Alpha. 
Why he didn't: Nova suffocates in the London's service ducts when the ship becomes exposed to the vacuum of space and the ducts are filled with sealant.
Analysis: This being one of the earliest episodes, I would imagine that Nova's role was to show how dangerous the situation is, and that anyone could be killed off. Being an earnest youngster without any significant abilities made him the easily the least interesting of the prisoners and thus disposable. That being said, the fact that Nova was so naive is kind of eerie when you remember that he was en route to a penal colony designed only for the Federation's most irredeemable prisoners(molestation, murder, repeated thievery). What had he done? It might have been interesting to explore Nova's darker side if he had stuck around. 

#10. Slave (played by Roy Evans)

Featured in: Redemption (2x01)
Occupation: Menial labourer.
Reason for joining the crew: He helped Blake escape from Space World. 
Why he didn't: For unknown reason, the slave chose to stay behind, and was executed shortly after by the Altas.
Analysis: The slave, despite having a fairly good understanding of his planet's history, had seen little to no freedom throughout his entire life, so placing him amongst the Liberator crew might have provided good emotional drama, as well as perpetuated the Robin Hood homage(a lot of the Merry Men being ordinary villagers rescued by Robin). Roy Evans is a charming, understated actor and his presence would certainly have been welcome amongst the cast. That being said, having a character with no useful skills seems to be a big no-no in this show. 

#9. Bek and Hanna (played by Karl Howman and Adrienne Burgess, respectively)

Featured in: Shadow (2x02)
Occupation: Drug addicts. 
Reason for joining the crew: They needed the Liberator to escape from the Terra Nostra. 
Why they didn't: Hanna was electrocuted to death by the entity possessing Orac. Blake requested that Bek return to Space City to recruit followers for the rebel cause. 
Analysis: Howman and Burgess were both incredibly cheesy and PSA-worthy in their parts, so I'm glad they never stuck around. That being said, I do love the idea of a space mafia and I wouldn't have minded it being used more. Perhaps if Bek and Hanna joined the crew, we might have learned more about their history with the Terra Nostra and seen them become a recurring enemy(after all, the Terra Nostra are posited to be responsible for the majority of the galaxy's criminal activities). 

#8. Veron (played by Yolande Palfrey)

Featured in: Pressure Point (2x05)
Occupation: Freedom figher.
Reason for joining the crew: Her mother's faction is entirely wiped out. 
Why she didn't: She chose to stay on Earth to try to take revenge.
Analysis: Veron doesn't initially make much of an impression when she's playing traitor, but once we find out that she was cooperating with Servalan and Travis for the sake of her mother only to lose her anyway, it becomes a nice setup for her joining the crew. Veron's considerably younger than any of them, so the show could have explored a generational difference, as well as her struggling to cope with losing everything over a cause that she doesn't even fully understand yet. Basically a more potent version of Dayna. 

#7. Inga Blake (played by Judy Buxton)

Featured in: Hostage (2x08)
Occupation: Prisoner.
Reason for joining the crew: Roj Blake is her cousin.
Why she didn't: Inga was dedicated to her life on Exbar and chose to help feed the others instead. 
Analysis: Given that the producers appeared to be against having any regular romantic relationship on the show, I think it's safe to say that the weird incestuous relationship between her and Roj would not have carried forward into future episodes. However, it would've been quite cool to see a genuine family bond develop between them, something more akin to siblings. She also seemed to be quite the survivalist, so the crew could have used her old-fashioned traps and weaponry to catch the Federation offguard on occasion. 

#6. Arco (played by Peter Childs)

Featured in: Cygnus Alpha (1x03)
Occupation: Prisoner.
Reason for joining the crew: Blake was desperate to gain any new followers after acquiring the Liberator, and Arco was one of the volunteers. 
Why he didn't: Murdered by the Cult of Cygnus during the crew's escape from the planet.
Analysis: Pretty much the same as Selman, except Arco actually had a personality. He was cantankerous, suspicious and something of a control freak. Of course, Avon(and later Orac) essentially embodied all of these qualities anyway, making Arco somewhat redundant, but I always get a kick out of how bloody miserable Childs looks in that episode. He doesn't have Avon's smooth line delivery or self-control, but I like that. I like that he's just a fusspot who thinks of himself as a great leader, but utterly lacks the charisma to be one. 

#5. Ushton Blake (played by John Abineri)

Featured in: Hostage (2x08)
Occupation: Prisoner.
Reason for joining the crew: Roj was his nephew.
Why he didn't: He considered himself too old to become a freedom fighter. 
Analysis: I mean, it's John Abineri. Do we need a reason to have him on the Liberator? But aside from that, it'd be nice to have an older member on the ship(I'm still mad Richard Hurndall never joined). Blake being as independent as he is, it'd also be cool to see someone who might have a certain level of seniority over him. I could imagine the crew coming to Ushton on occasion to try to persuade Blake against some of his wackier ideas. He could be the ship's grandpa that way. 

#4. Keiller (played by Roy Kinnear)

Featured in: Gold (4x10)
Occupation: Purser, chief of security.
Reason for joining the crew: To survive Servalan's wrath.
Why he didn't: Avon distrusted him, and chose to strand him on Beta V. 
Analysis: Keiller was a devious, creepy and entirely self-centered scumbag, so it's hard to fathom him remaining with the crew for long, but it certainly would have added to the overall moral degradation of the main characters and perhaps even resulted in them turning against one another out of paranoia, rather than simply being gunned down by the Federation. As memorable of a character as he is, though, he did get on my nerves with how sycophantic he could be, so I'm ultimately happy we didn't get more of him. 

#3. Space Commander Travis (played by Brian Croucher)

Featured in: Weapon (2x03), Pressure Point (2x05) - Trial (2x06), Hostage (2x08), Voice from the Past (2x10) - Star One (2x13)
Occupation: Federation military officer.
Reason for joining the crew: Survival. 
Why he didn't: Travis ultimately wanted the Liberator for himself, and wasn't willing to put aside his differences with Blake.
Analysis: This was probably never going to happen given the massive hatred that Travis held for Blake, but it would've been a cool development if he did, much like how in the show's spiritual remake Farscape, Commander Crais forgives Crichton and becomes an antihero for the rest of the show. It would have given Travis much more depth and and probably more interesting storylines if his distaste for the Federation's corruption overshadowed his loathing for Blake, and he became a convert for the cause. I can especially imagine this happening with Stephen Greif's Travis. 

#2. Dorian (played by Geoffrey Burridge)

Featured in: Rescue (4x01)
Occupation: Salvage man.
Reason for joining the crew: He owned the Scorpio, its teleport system and Xenon Base. 
Why he didn't: Dorian wanted the crew's life force, and tried to kill them.
Analysis: Dorian was of course an intentional red herring, as he is very much set up as a potential new member of the crew with his amiable demeanour, working class job and similar sense of fashion. That being said, if he *wasn't* an immortal soul vampire, I think he would have fitted in rather well. His cheerful disposition was a nice contrast to the crew's sour attitudes at the time, and I quite enjoyed the match of wits between him and Avon. 

#1. Deva (played by David Collings)

Featured in: Blake (4x13)
Occupation: Freedom fighter.
Reason for joining the crew: He was Blake's right-hand man on Gauda Prime. 
Why he didn't: Avon killed Blake.
Analysis: Deva is my favourite, because he's a crewmember in all but name. He's a loyal follower of Blake's, seems to bicker with him on a regular basis and wears a funky outfit. One can easily imagine him becoming part of the crew in a potential Series E, even with Blake dead. David Collings also has a strong screen presence, more than enough for a lead role.