So finally a new space series and it's a remake of a well loved British show. I don't see this going well but I hope it is a good show.
Blake's 7 given the go ahead by Syfy
- Thread starter Bob The Skutter
- Start date
So finally a new space series and it's a remake of a well loved British show. I don't see this going well but I hope it is a good show.
Uh oh... It might be okay, but I guess it'll be full of americans?
I think B7 is a perfect example of a show that's ripe for reinvention. I'd rather have seen it remade for UK tv but I'll happily give this a go.
My first reaction was 'Yay'.
But there are two things in that description which make me groan.
"Revolutionary reinvention"?! That could mean anything. nBSG was a revolutionary reinvention, and while it was a good show, it also didn't have much in common with the original show.
The other thing is: "Blake - who is mourning the loss of his dead wife Rachel". Apparently, modern lead characters need to be traumatized wrecks. And the trauma has to be personal. Branded a child molester?! Nah, that's not close to the heart at all. Hunted by the government as Enemy of the State?! How unrelatable is that. No, let's have him lose his wife. Yeah, that worked so well on John Carter, so let's do it again.
But there are two things in that description which make me groan.
"Revolutionary reinvention"?! That could mean anything. nBSG was a revolutionary reinvention, and while it was a good show, it also didn't have much in common with the original show.
The other thing is: "Blake - who is mourning the loss of his dead wife Rachel". Apparently, modern lead characters need to be traumatized wrecks. And the trauma has to be personal. Branded a child molester?! Nah, that's not close to the heart at all. Hunted by the government as Enemy of the State?! How unrelatable is that. No, let's have him lose his wife. Yeah, that worked so well on John Carter, so let's do it again.
Suppose it might work if the wife died at the hands of the federation lead him into political opposition but then it becomes about revenge missing the original's main point - social and political freedom.
I wonder if they will draw on any stories from the original series.
I wonder if they will draw on any stories from the original series.
I too am excited as well as nervous. This could be great, or it they could go overboard on the "Grittiness".
Mourning the wife doesn't bother me just from this description, that could just be an added drama, or they could do a good job with that change. I'll give it a shot and hope for the best, even if it isn't true to the original, it could still be a good show on it's own accord, but, there is so much that could go wrong with it
And I think, even worse than getting it horribly wrong, might be for me to love it, and have it crash in the ratings and get cut off before it reaches it's potential
Mourning the wife doesn't bother me just from this description, that could just be an added drama, or they could do a good job with that change. I'll give it a shot and hope for the best, even if it isn't true to the original, it could still be a good show on it's own accord, but, there is so much that could go wrong with it
And I think, even worse than getting it horribly wrong, might be for me to love it, and have it crash in the ratings and get cut off before it reaches it's potential
If they 'get' what makes Blakes 7 so great they might be onto something, but somehow I doubt they will. Forget the setting, forget the Federation or the rebellion, forget even Liberator, Zen and Orac, at its heart Blakes 7 was about a bunch of people, most of whom weren't especially noble, and most of whom, at best, respected each other and at worse down right loathed each other, trapped togeather by circumstances, and half the fun stems from the character interactions. Lose that and however good it is, it won't be Blakes 7.
I hope they don't make it too light and fluffy, but similarly if they try to go for NuBSG levels of grittiness I feel it'll fail just as surely.
I hope they don't make it too light and fluffy, but similarly if they try to go for NuBSG levels of grittiness I feel it'll fail just as surely.
Umm, it worked pretty well in Deep Space Nine. And Inception. And Up.
I'm cautiously optimistic on this project, whoever they get to replace Paul Darrow as Avon (assuming this version has an Avon) is going to have some big shoes to fill.
Getting people to watch Blake's 7 in the states is going to be an uphill battle since the average Sci-Fi fan would probably see it as a Firefly rip-off (ignoring the fact that the original show has been around for decades prior).
Getting people to watch Blake's 7 in the states is going to be an uphill battle since the average Sci-Fi fan would probably see it as a Firefly rip-off (ignoring the fact that the original show has been around for decades prior).
Other than the dead wife piece of information, there's nothing really to go on. As someone who enjoyed the original show and the surprisingly good NuBSG style audio remake, I'm also cautiously optimistic.
Also, it'll be nice to have a space opera on TV again.
I kind of hope the Liberator itself will be rather creepy (including Zen).
For me the required characters are Blake (obviously), Avon, Villa and Zen. It'd be nice if they gave us some well done female characters as well. As much as I like the original, Jenna hardly ever felt like a space pirate. Space receptionist perhaps, but not a space pirate.
Unlike Doctor Who, which is very British, Blake's 7 for the most part feels like it'd fit right in with a US space opera. The only British aspects are the anti-authority "heroes" and perhaps Avon. Note I'm not saying US sci-fi doesn't do these (Firefly for example does), I'm just saying they're more particular to the UK.
Hopefully the lack of space opera will make them be more forgiving.
Also, it'll be nice to have a space opera on TV again.
I kind of hope the Liberator itself will be rather creepy (including Zen).
For me the required characters are Blake (obviously), Avon, Villa and Zen. It'd be nice if they gave us some well done female characters as well. As much as I like the original, Jenna hardly ever felt like a space pirate. Space receptionist perhaps, but not a space pirate.
Unlike Doctor Who, which is very British, Blake's 7 for the most part feels like it'd fit right in with a US space opera. The only British aspects are the anti-authority "heroes" and perhaps Avon. Note I'm not saying US sci-fi doesn't do these (Firefly for example does), I'm just saying they're more particular to the UK.
Hopefully the lack of space opera will make them be more forgiving.
Jenna wasn't a pirate, she was a smuggler 
At times I think Knyvette played her very well, hard nosed and sitting somewhere between Blake and Avon on the morality scale, but a lot of the time her inexperience as an actress let her down.
I was always more drawn to Cally
At times I think Knyvette played her very well, hard nosed and sitting somewhere between Blake and Avon on the morality scale, but a lot of the time her inexperience as an actress let her down.
I was always more drawn to Cally
I think the main difference between B7 and Firefly is that Blake was actively trying to lead a rebellion against the state, while Mal had already lost his rebellion and was just trying to avoid entanglements with the state.
Also, the B7 Federation was far more oppressive than the Alliance. A lot of people assume the Alliance was a dictatorship, but the intention was that it was just a government, one that was well-intentioned and tried to take care of its people, but that, like any government, had its downside and its corrupt elements. Had the show lasted longer, we would've seen more of its positive side from the perspective of characters like Inara.
Also, the B7 Federation was far more oppressive than the Alliance. A lot of people assume the Alliance was a dictatorship, but the intention was that it was just a government, one that was well-intentioned and tried to take care of its people, but that, like any government, had its downside and its corrupt elements. Had the show lasted longer, we would've seen more of its positive side from the perspective of characters like Inara.
Yeah, although the Federation became more oppresive as the series progressed, at least in the first two series there's some evidence to suggest a certain level of civillian oversight and a certain nobility amongst some of the officer class; corrupt certainly, a dictatorship definitely, but ones that at least presented the trappings of democracy (even though it wasn't) Any pretense was long gone by series 3/4.
I always thought it amusing to postulate that Blakes rebellion actually helped Servalan and those like her make the Federation much worse? (Of course the Andromedan invasion probably had more to do with that.)
I always thought it amusing to postulate that Blakes rebellion actually helped Servalan and those like her make the Federation much worse? (Of course the Andromedan invasion probably had more to do with that.)
Cancelled after 5 years(100th episode/syndication money sweet spot)
I suspect that those who know about Firefly will largely also know about Blakes 7. Anyway, in order to survive, the show will have to rely on more than name recognition and those who know of the original show. Indeed, it'll have to attract more viewers than Firefly did.
A show on Syfy is never going to attract more viewers than Firefly did. Difference being Firefly was a Fox show.