Lexx and Blake's 7

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Escaped prisoners, fleeing a fascist regime, accidentally get their hands on a living ship - the most powerful ship in the universe.

The resemblance is probably unintentional - although Blake's 7 did air in North America in the early 80s. I didn't realise how many similarities there were, until Lexx ended, and I felt bereft. I hadn't felt like that about a show since Blake's 7 ended - which got me thinking...

Season 1 - introduces the characters and the universes.
Season 2 - main character re-cast (Xev/Travis). A more complicated arc plot, leading to major destruction (The Light Zone/Star One).
Season 3 - a completely different tone, and some strange adventures, but also some good character stuff, which makes you care enough to stick with it for...
Season 4 - some good, some not so good - but a finale you'll remember forever.

The ships - Lexx/Liberator (Zen)

Both ships are alive, although the Lexx is more obviously organic.
Both ships were very unusual designs - didn't look like any other show.
Liberator has a hexagonal motif, Lexx - heptagonal.
Both ships - contact is initially established by placing a hand on a control panel. The ships can hear everywhere, but people normally address a round display high up on the bridge. The display lights up when the ship speaks.
Lexx will normally only respond to its captain. Zen will only respond to crew, once they have been introduced.
Both ships went senile, and started talking to themselves before they died.
Both had a self defence system on the bridge (in the case of Lexx, this was Lyekka).
Both ships can disobey.

In the final series of Blake's 7, there was a different ship - the Scorpio. Not alive, and no obvious parallels with Lexx - although the Brunnen-G stinger ships (and Kai's brace) resemble scorpions.

The man in black - Kai/Avon

Both are terribly repressed and cold.
Both pretend that they have no emotions - they lie!
Both are lethal, yet vulnerable.
Both can be surprisingly polite/kind towards those they perceive as non-threatening.
Both have their own moral code - which may not seem moral to the rest of the crew.
Both get most of the best lines.
Both have great boots.
Both have launched more fan-fiction than anyone can ever read.
The last shot we see of both of them is a smile.

The idiot - Stan/Vila

Both are smarter than they appear - though both are capable of stupidity at times.
Both would rather get laid than fight.
Both dislike weapons (odd, given how hostile their universes are).
Both think that running away is usually the best thing to do.
Both save the day more often than you'd think.
Both get rejected by female crew, in spite of being quite sweet.
Both seem to have better hearing than the rest of the crew.

The appliance - 790/Orac

Both are cranky little know-alls - thankfully, both can be switched off.
Both regularly insult the crew, and sometimes try to kill them.
Both can control other machines, but on the whole they are helpless, and have to rely on other people to carry them around.
Both have narrowly escaped being joined with a killer robot.

The feisty heroine - Xev/?

No one specific match here. In Blake's 7, Jenna was the most obvious lust object - but Cally wasn't human, Dayna was raised in virtual isolation, and Soolin was a lethal blonde.

Both shows had several strong female characters, which was rare on television in 1977 - and worryingly, still rare in 1997. In both shows, women are beautiful, capable - and lethal.

The baddie - Prince/Servalan

Both were deliciously evil and sexy.
Both were fond of making deals.
Both tried seducing the good guys.
Both went from being rulers in Season 3, to working under an alias as the power behind the throne in Season 4.
Both usually wore black or white.

Vampires - Divine assassins/Mutoids

Both were enemies of the state who had their memories erased, even their names.
Both were biologically altered, and made dependent on a form of blood, without which they just shut down.
Both put the blood into a compartment in their chest.
Both wore black, and had a deadly little wrist attachment.

Trials
A lot of these. Both opening episodes revolve around a trial, as do later ones. All the main characters in both crews have been found guilty of some crime, and some feel guilt. Both Kai and Cally were exiled by their people.

Memories
Both Kai and Blake had their memories erased, but regained them - partially, anyway - in the opening episode. Both were kept after their initial capture to serve the state - Kai as a killing machine, Blake as a model citizen.

Madness
Both shows had this.
Lexx had 790 going gradually insane because of unrequited love, and the Lexx itself going senile.
Blake's 7 had Travis becoming completely obsessed with finding Blake, Blake obsessed with finding Star One, and Avon just going completely mental in Season 4.

Motivations
Television sci-fi is often pretty devoid of human emotions. In Lexx and Blake's 7, space wasn't exciting - it was either hostile or dull. People got bored. People got hungry. They were afraid, they were lonely, they needed simple human contact.
They also made bad decisions because they were horny!

Humour
Pretty dark. Lexx was more specifically written as a black comedy. Also, it usually aired a lot later than Blake's 7, which meant humour could be more risque. Both have some wonderful quotable insults, but both also have moments where people struggle to find a witty comeback - just like real life.

Low budget
Both shows had relatively low budgets for sci-fi. For me, that's part of the appeal - I like being able to make my own props out of hair dryers, Lego, bubble wrap, hockey pucks...

Actors
Both had cast with a strong theatre background - US shows tend to feature actors with more of a television background. Also there was very strong chemistry between the actors, which comes across as affection between the characters.

Leather
There's a lot of this...

Trust
There's not a lot of this... Even as late as Season 4, both shows have episodes where crew were afraid of being killed by a friend.

Organised religion
Not regarded as a good thing in either show - but individual faith is usually respected.

Rubber-faced aliens
Pretty scarce - no Star Trek 'novelty nose of the week'. Aliens are normally either humans who live on other planets, or else totally alien.

Intelligent plants
Lexx had Lyekka. Blake's 7 had moon discs - both telepathic. Blake's 7 also had the plants on Saurian Major - intelligent, and carnivorous.

Specific episodes
Just a couple off the top of my head:

Brigadoom/Sarcophagus
My favourite shows in both series were atypical. Both have the crew stumbling across a dusty old space vessel, where they get involved in the re-enactment of an old story - with brightly coloured costumes and some singing.

Gondola/Orbit
Oh dear, the ship's too heavy - whatever shall we do?

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