A new remake of sci-fi series Blake's 7 could soon return to television screens, Sky One has revealed.
The satellite channel has given the green light for the development of two 60-minute scripts for a "potential event series".
Blake's 7, which originally ran on BBC One between 1978 and 1981, followed a gang of rebels fighting an evil federation that ruled the galaxy.
It is not yet known if and when production on the series will begin.
"The time is ripe for a revival of a show that represents the best traditions of the genre, not to mention one of the best-loved and most successful dramas of all time," Elaine Pyke, commissioning editor for drama at Sky One, Two and Three, said.
Sky is working alongside Blake's 7 Productions, a subsidiary of Blake's 7 Media who owns the licence to the show.
The planned new episodes would follow recent re-workings of other sci-fi shows Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica and Bionic Woman.
The original Blake's 7 series featured Gareth Thomas as lead character Roj Blake and Paul Darrow as cynical-but-charming computer fraudster Kerr Avon.
In 2003 Darrow was involved in plans to make a new TV mini-series, but it fell through.
A series of Blake's 7 radio dramas featuring Colin Salmon and Daniela Nardini were broadcast last year on BBC7.
I can hear Stark getting excited already!
EBC: Northeners, Huh! What are they good for?! Absolutely nothing!
Cybertron, Justice league...MM, HAB SDN City Watch: Sergeant Detritus
Days Unstabbed, Unabused, Unassualted and Unwavedatwithabutchersknife: 0
Stark wrote:The audios they did were pretty boss, but I'm not particularly optimistic.
Anyone surprised?
The audio remakes are fantastic. They have been my favorites to listen again and again.
I wouldn't mind Colin Salmon playing as Avon given what he did for the audio as well.
Chris OFarrell wrote:I have many limbs crossed over this.
If done right, this could really be an amazing thing.
If done wrong...
Doesn't that apply to everything?
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
CDiehl wrote:I wonder how they plan to make this show "gritty" and "realistic."
Well they wouldn't have to do very much. Just have fewer "wacky planet/alien of the week" episodes and more "let's infiltrate this feddie base, contact the resistance, and blow something up, or steal something, or rescue someone" episodes.
Oh, Mister Darcy! <3
We're ALL Devo! GALE-Force: Guardians of Space!
"Rarr! Rargharghiss!" -Gorn
Better budget for better effects and finding a new cast to keep the edge from the old storyline.
There. We've got our next nBSG phenomenon. Funnily enough, I was talking about this as an idea just the other day with my brother. I'm glad they ditched The Prisoner as a remake.
I thought Sky were still going ahead with the Prisoner remake. If not, I'm glad in a way, the Prisoner is unique and very much a product of its time. God knows, the Randall and Hopkirk remake was bad enough.
Don't Move you're surrounded by Armed Bastards - Gene Hunt's attempt at Diplomacy
I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own - Number 6
The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.
Admiral Valdemar wrote:Better budget for better effects and finding a new cast to keep the edge from the old storyline.
There. We've got our next nBSG phenomenon. Funnily enough, I was talking about this as an idea just the other day with my brother. I'm glad they ditched The Prisoner as a remake.
The work they did on the B7 audios was pretty good, and if they stick with the 'not even trying to be accessible to kids' approach it could be good. I'm not sure integrity survives the television production process, though...
Could also help if they cut down on random space-y things that never get expanded upon. What was the deal with mutoids again? They were like cyborg space vampires created by the federation to...do...stuff?
Oh, Mister Darcy! <3
We're ALL Devo! GALE-Force: Guardians of Space!
"Rarr! Rargharghiss!" -Gorn
They were like, totally, a symbol of fascist oppression man! It's cutting because they totally made a new race just to serve them! They prefer them because they're mindlessly obedient!
Uh... and they're vampires... or something.
You should track down the audios if you're interest in what they did there: the basic plot and characters are similar, but it's much more mature stuff.
So far, there is enough here to justify one thing, cautious optimism. Anything more than that is going to half to wait 'til there is at least until we get actual video, or at the very least a cast and crew listing.
Zor
HAIL ZOR!WE'LL BLOW UP THE OCEAN!
Heros of Cybertron-HAB-Keeper of the Vicious pit of Allosauruses-King Leighton-I, United Kingdom of Zoria: SD.net World/Tsar Mikhail-I of the Red Tsardom: SD.net Kingdoms WHEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE ON EARTH, ALL EARTH BREAKS LOOSE ON HELL Terran Sphere The Art of Zor
I do hope they keep an old feature of the old special effects: the way the energy weapons work. It's the most realistic portrayal of beam guns I've ever seen.
Adrian Laguna wrote:I do hope they keep an old feature of the old special effects: the way the energy weapons work. It's the most realistic portrayal of beam guns I've ever seen.
You'd hope that the clear cost savings of invisible beams would win out over the 'zomg must have teh supah special effectz' marketing crowd. I always liked the Fed small arms: if they had a trigger guard they'd almost be PROPER GUNS. Bang, flash, you're dead.
CDiehl wrote:I wonder how they plan to make this show "gritty" and "realistic."
Well they wouldn't have to do very much. Just have fewer "wacky planet/alien of the week" episodes and more "let's infiltrate this feddie base, contact the resistance, and blow something up, or steal something, or rescue someone" episodes.
Shouldn't be that difficult, most of those episodes were like the 'casino planet' episode on original BattlestarG. Driven by the network execs. Usually as filler for places the intended story was axed at the last minute. This somehow didn't surprise me this was revealed when they interviewed the production team. It went well with the hilarious story of how after the last episode aired, having killed off the entire cast, the BBC called them up about going another season.
I don't hold out much hope of them doing a decent job. 'Firefly with Blake's 7' plot is about the best we can realistically expect.
"Nobody ever inferred from the multiple infirmities of Windows that Bill Gates was infinitely benevolent, omniscient, and able to fix everything. " Argument against god's perfection.
Adrian Laguna wrote:I do hope they keep an old feature of the old special effects: the way the energy weapons work. It's the most realistic portrayal of beam guns I've ever seen.
You'd hope that the clear cost savings of invisible beams would win out over the 'zomg must have teh supah special effectz' marketing crowd. I always liked the Fed small arms: if they had a trigger guard they'd almost be PROPER GUNS. Bang, flash, you're dead.
I guess you mean the black handgun and rifle shown in this page under the Federation Troopers helmet?
I never liked the design of the Liberator guns, they were unusual, but just didn't seem that good.
Don't Move you're surrounded by Armed Bastards - Gene Hunt's attempt at Diplomacy
I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own - Number 6
The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.
