Kevin's Watch

Blake's 7 set to wobble its way back on to TV screens

This was a bolt from the blue, but given the success of the new Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica reprisals not that surprising. I've got no idea which way they're going to take it. The aborted 2003 attempt at a mini-series was going to see a group of disillusioned young rebels learn that Avon was still alive and set out to rescue him.

From the scant details released so far it appears that both Blake and Avon (the gunshots over the end credits of the final episode always implied he'd been killed) are "revived" which is not really in keeping with the tone of B7. People died frequently and nobody ever came back from the dead, although Blake was cloned at one point and it's not completely

I'm not sure I like the idea of Blake returning at all. We're nearly 30 years on and while I think Paul Darrow could pull it off (with makeup, flattering costume and clever lighting), Gareth Thomas is pretty damn fat. There's no way he's getting back into that Robin Hood outfit, let me tell you.

Wouldn't they just do the standard reboot thing, and cast all new actors as the same old characters?

Even as a kid, I always found it amusing that the main character was named after a perfume company.

I liked the show, though I remember very little of it, and wonder if the original would still hold up. It was British TV sci-fi though, as opposed to American TV sci-fi; which basically means quality opposed to shite.

You sir, are not only a bastard, but a snob!

danlo wrote:You sir, are not only a bastard, but a snob!

Indeed, sir, you have shot the arrow to the mark.

The details have been conflicting so far. It's been reported that it will be a BSG style 'reimagining' but also that it will start with Blake and Avon being 'revived'. Basically writing hasn't properly started yet, two 60 minute episodes have been commissioned but the writers won't have gotten very far yet. I wonder if Paul Darrow could come back in a similar way to Richard Hatch, it will be hard for new actors to capture the chemistry the old ones had. The tension between Blake and Avon, and Avon and Servelan, was electric.

As for how well the originals hold up today, I bought them all on DVD and I have to say, remarkably well. The first series looks pretty shabby thanks to the cheap effects, sets and costumes, but the performances are great, although they do have a rather 'old Thesp' feel to them. The second and third series' are excellent and the show really peaks with the destruction of the Liberator. Series Four is a bit patchy, I think there was a change of writer and some episodes are overblown and others corny, but there are still some gems and the final episode is a classic.

One of my (if not THE) favourite sci fi series .

Can't wait to see the new version.

Never heard of it. really.

This is pretty exciting, the thing I remember most about Blake's 7 as a kid was the crash landings, bloody awsome

I think there weren't very many crash landings, as the Liberator wasn't capable of landing at all (that's why they teleported everywhere), but I think Servelan crashed a couple of times as did the Liberator's escape pods in the first episode of season 3. They always made them look good, which is quite surprising when you consider how shaky a lot of the other effects were.

The best one of all was Scorpio's crash in the final episode, which really had the feel of a big ship coming down and just sliding for miles.

I'd heard a few years back that Paul Darrow (Avvon) had negoitiated all rights to the series from Terry Nation's widow and his estate.

Darrow was involved in an attempt to revive the series a few years ago, but it got lost in Production Hell after he fell out with the producers and left the project because of "creative differences". The plot for that revival would've seen a new group of young freedom fighters breaking Avon out of prison, where he'd been rotting (and gaining a not inconsiderable amount of weight!) for 20 years.

I think what Sky now have in mind is a BSG-style 're-imagining'. A continuation would've been nice, but I'm not sure if it's realistic. The company behind the revival has already released a series of audio stories with some pretty impressive voice talent involved. Scottish actor Derek Riddell (who has been guesting in Ugly Betty recently, according to IMDB) is Blake, with Colin Salmon (James Bond, Resident Evil) as Avon and Daniella Nardini (This Life, Festival) as Servelan.

I think I'm going to buy the audio stories, I'm not that familiar with Riddell but I think Salmon could do a good job with Avon and the idea of Nardini as Servelan gives me goosebumps. She'll be a childhood icon and teenage crush all rolled into one!

Any further developments? IMDB doesn't seem to have it listed