Cally | |
---|---|
Blake's 7 character | |
First appearance | Time Squad |
Last appearance |
Terminal (Regular) Rescue (cameo) |
Portrayed by | Jan Chappell |
Information | |
Species | Auron |
Gender | Female |
Affiliation | Resistance |
Terminal (Regular)
Cally is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Jan Chappell from 1978 to 1981. She is the titular subject of an audio drama released in August 2009.
It was originally intended that Cally would wear black contact lenses to make her look more alien. Jonathan Bignell and Andrew O'Day write that "Cally (Jan Chappell), conceived much later as an alien from the planet Saurian Major (Stevens and Moore 2003: 19), is introduced in the fourth episode 'Time Squad'. In early drafts of the episode 'she was explicitly described as being like 'an Israeli terrorist girl' and her name echoes Kali, the Hindu goddess of death (Stevens and Moore 2003: 19). In the final televised version she is the only survivor of a guerrilla force that attacked the Federation, and comes closest to paralleling Blake's political aims."
Cally was the only alien amongst the original crew, a native of the planet Auron. She left her home world to help the resistance fighters on Saurian Major and was subsequently exiled by her isolationist people. When a chemical poison was dropped on the rebels, she was the only survivor and was determined to make a suicide attack on the base until she met and joined with Blake. She was initially ashamed to return to Auron because she was the only survivor of the resistance.
Cally was the only member of the original seven who was not a convicted criminal. Like other members of the Auron race, Cally was telepathic and her psychic abilities were a great asset to the crew. On the other hand, it occasionally made her susceptible to being taken over by telepathic influence ("The Web," "Shadow," "Sarcophagus"). While her initial role was monitoring communications, she eventually became a skilled medic and pilot. Initially as fanatical as Blake in fighting the Federation, she, along with Gan, became the moral "conscience" of the crew, once even questioning Blake whether destroying Star One was worth the "many many (innocent) people" he would kill as a result. She even questions his entire crusade, wondering if he has made them all 'fanatics' to which Blake becomes defensive. Cally has come a long way from the rebel who would kill until she was killed on Saurian Major, developing the conscience which Blake never showed in his terrorist acts.