Wednesday 17 June 2015

Terry Nation's 'Blakes 7' Guide to Election '79

If there's one thing that comes across in the works of Terry Nation, it's his capacity for research. 

You only have to hear the legend of his finding of those curious artefacts in his garden and his tireless attempts to translate what eventually became the so-called 'Dalek Chronicles' from them to realise this. 

The BBC obviously understood his skill. In 1979, spurred on by the success of his sci-fi political thriller Blakes 7, they commissioned Terry to write a book that would explain the forthcoming British General Election to its listeners and viewers in words that even a sci-fi fan could understand.

Terry set to work. Using the same talent for coming up with startling facts about Daleks, he put together a short tome. 

The BBC decided not to publish it.