Blake's 7 given the go ahead by Syfy

[Sindatur]

As for B7 sadly I've never seen it. I've been searching for it for years, but it's not on DVD or streaming anywhere.

Check youtube

Yea, the pilot is there all in one chunk, and I saw numerous other episodes that have chunks of 10 minutes long and are named ... 1 of 5, 2 of 5, and so forth, so, it looks like there's a lot there, and very possibly most.

I used search term: Blake's 7 Season 1 Episode 1 playlist

to find the Pilot all in one shot, and numerous other episodes listed in 10 minute chunks (5 or 6 of these would make up a full episode, hence why they say "x of 5" or "x of 6")

 

[Count Zero]

Most of them are on there in full. All those new to the show brace yourselves for hilariously bad SFX.

That was the one thing I've always hoped they would do - remaster it with updated SFX and release it on DVD.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^^ I always enjoyed the Liberator's vast wardrobe, it seemed like they wore something different every episode, including some unfortunate choices.

Also, if you marathon and watch multiple in a row you'll have the theme music in your head for days.

 

[Count Zero]

^^ I always enjoyed the Liberator's vast wardrobe, it seemed like they wore something different every episode, including some unfortunate choices.

Ah, yes, the clothes... Time to repost this:

(It's all part of the charme, though.)

 

[Christopher]

It always puzzles me when people make fun of the clothing in SF shows set in the far future. Clothes from decades or centuries in the past often look ludicrous to our eyes, and ours would surely look ludicrous to people from the past. So I tend to think that if a future-based show's fashions aren't strange-looking to us, then they're doing it wrong.

 

[stj]

It was on PBS in the 80's, that when I first saw it. they would play B& and Doctor who back to back!

Now you tell me!



That would explain it, I didn't watch much television in the Eighties.

Will try youtube. Thanks to all for answers.

PS On the clothes issue...the deliberate use of anachronism, the pretense that nothing will ever change, is absurd. You don't have to live very long to know that things do change, even if you don't notice from day to day. The apparent need to pretend (I hope it's a pretense!) ignorance of an inescapable fact of life more and more strikes me as a sure symptom of hack writing.

 

[Candlelight]

I would love the special effects to be ropey. To see the Liberator wobbling on strings again (or Scorpio in her matte circle) would be awesome.

 

[auntiehill]

The most important thing about Blake's 7 is the Avon/Blake relationship, IMHO, and how Avon actually takes over Blake's position.

Any "new version" will have to work very hard to get that right, from the dialogue, the delivery, the nuisance of that bizarre hatred/admiration/loyalty/suspicion relationship.
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atuNdPgM8eY[/yt]

 

[Candlelight]

I haven't seen that in years, thanks!

 

[James Swallow]

Also wonder want it means to for current B7 related projects, Big Finish is doing the Liberator Chronicles audios and well as new novels.

Not sure what the status of the re-imaged audio drama is.

It's my understanding that the Big Finish "classic" B7 audios won't be affected by any new series - just as their Doctor Who and Dark Shadows audios were not affected by new versions of those franchises.

As for the re-imagined audio series: we produced three episodes for our first "season" and eight stories were released for the 'Early Years' prequels.
Scripts for a second season of the audio adventures series were completed, and outlines produced for a third, but production costs meant that we never went ahead with them.

Me 4, I love B7 but it on SyFy does scares me a bit. IT should be re-made by the BBC, IMO, but that ship has sailed. I hope the crew behind this knows how to handle it.

The BBC have been offered the chance to produce a B7 remake more than once; they have turned it down every time.

 

[Starkers]

Thats a shame, it's where televised B7 belongs really.

It always puzzles me when people make fun of the clothing in SF shows set in the far future. Clothes from decades or centuries in the past often look ludicrous to our eyes, and ours would surely look ludicrous to people from the past. So I tend to think that if a future-based show's fashions aren't strange-looking to us, then they're doing it wrong.

Yeah that bugs me somewhat, but then it's the hypocricy of people who love period dramas with their strange clothes and curious language, yet can't deal with 2250 with its odd clothing and stange language.

For the record Blakes 7 had some ludicrous outfits at times, but I'd argue that just as often it got things spot on; take the Federation Trooper outfits, brutally simple, and the helmet makes them look both futuristic, and like they could already be in use somewhere in the world right now. I like a lot of the crew's patchwork/Robin Hood stylings as well and I still think the liking I have for women in boots even now is largly based on Cally and Jenna!

Of course the flipside is the plastic clothing of Tynus and co in Killer and the stupid silver jumpsuits in Terminal...

 

[Marc]

As for the re-imagined audio series: we produced three episodes for our first "season" and eight stories were released for the 'Early Years' prequels.
Scripts for a second season of the audio adventures series were completed, and outlines produced for a third, but production costs meant that we never went ahead with them.

Bummer

But thanks for the information. Was really looking forward to the next series.

Don't suppose there's anything you can say about how things would have proceeded?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Thats a shame, it's where televised B7 belongs really.

It always puzzles me when people make fun of the clothing in SF shows set in the far future. Clothes from decades or centuries in the past often look ludicrous to our eyes, and ours would surely look ludicrous to people from the past. So I tend to think that if a future-based show's fashions aren't strange-looking to us, then they're doing it wrong.

Yeah that bugs me somewhat, but then it's the hypocricy of people who love period dramas with their strange clothes and curious language, yet can't deal with 2250 with its odd clothing and stange language.

For the record Blakes 7 had some ludicrous outfits at times, but I'd argue that just as often it got things spot on; take the Federation Trooper outfits, brutally simple, and the helmet makes them look both futuristic, and like they could already be in use somewhere in the world right now. I like a lot of the crew's patchwork/Robin Hood stylings as well and I still think the liking I have for women in boots even now is largly based on Cally and Jenna!

Of course the flipside is the plastic clothing of Tynus and co in Killer and the stupid silver jumpsuits in Terminal...

I was being sincere about enjoying the different costumes in the Liberator wardrobe (not to mention Servalan grrrrrrrrr). However, that doesn't prevent me from finding some of them amusing or silly but I genuinely enjoy that. I'll take a crazy costume over no attempt any day. Some of my favorite episodes of shows like Farscape and Doctor Who are when they have alien bazaars or markets filled with crazy creations.

 

[Count Zero]

PS On the clothes issue...the deliberate use of anachronism, the pretense that nothing will ever change, is absurd. You don't have to live very long to know that things do change, even if you don't notice from day to day. The apparent need to pretend (I hope it's a pretense!) ignorance of an inescapable fact of life more and more strikes me as a sure symptom of hack writing.

Not sure who you're addressing here. Most of the stuff the crew wore were clothes from the time, bought in shops and sometimes slightly altered. It was a production with a low budget.

Of course the flipside is the plastic clothing of Tynus and co in Killer and the stupid silver jumpsuits in Terminal...

Aw, I like the silver jump suits.

The most important thing about Blake's 7 is the Avon/Blake relationship, IMHO, and how Avon actually takes over Blake's position.

Any "new version" will have to work very hard to get that right, from the dialogue, the delivery, the nuisance of that bizarre hatred/admiration/loyalty/suspicion relationship.
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atuNdPgM8eY[/yt]

That video contains some serious spoilers at the end, though. Those who haven't seen the show, yet, and have managed to stay spoiler-free should avoid it.
Otherwise, it's a great video and I agree with you about the importance of that relationship for the show. My favourite Avon moment is where one after the other transports down to a planet (I forget which episode it is) to look for those who've done so before without returning. Avon refuses, saying, "I'm not expendable, I'm not stupid and I'm not going!" until he's the last one left, finally in possession of the Liberator, and decides to go anyway.

 

[Tom]

Great video, Paul Darrow is a great actor, would have made a great Master in Doctor Who, they did get him to be a villain the 6th doctor story 'Timelash' though. The video also showcases the great writing on the show.

 

[stj]

PS On the clothes issue...the deliberate use of anachronism, the pretense that nothing will ever change, is absurd. You don't have to live very long to know that things do change, even if you don't notice from day to day. The apparent need to pretend (I hope it's a pretense!) ignorance of an inescapable fact of life more and more strikes me as a sure symptom of hack writing.

Not sure who you're addressing here. Most of the stuff the crew wore were clothes from the time, bought in shops and sometimes slightly altered. It was a production with a low budget.

I was agreeing with Christopher on this issue. The clothing in the pilot episode made an attempt to be different, despite a low budget, so it is not a criticism of Blake's 7. (They used the numeral in the title.) If they'd put the court officials in those wigs the English use today, that would be wrong. Instead the show put them in, well, they resembled drapes more than anything else. But the designer's heart was in the right place.

 

[Kelthaz]

As for B7 sadly I've never seen it. I've been searching for it for years, but it's not on DVD or streaming anywhere.

Check youtube

Yea, the pilot is there all in one chunk, and I saw numerous other episodes that have chunks of 10 minutes long and are named ... 1 of 5, 2 of 5, and so forth, so, it looks like there's a lot there, and very possibly most.

I used search term: Blake's 7 Season 1 Episode 1 playlist

to find the Pilot all in one shot, and numerous other episodes listed in 10 minute chunks (5 or 6 of these would make up a full episode, hence why they say "x of 5" or "x of 6")

Oh, just torrent it. It's just as illegal as watching it on Youtube.

 

[Sindatur]

Check youtube

Yea, the pilot is there all in one chunk, and I saw numerous other episodes that have chunks of 10 minutes long and are named ... 1 of 5, 2 of 5, and so forth, so, it looks like there's a lot there, and very possibly most.

I used search term: Blake's 7 Season 1 Episode 1 playlist

to find the Pilot all in one shot, and numerous other episodes listed in 10 minute chunks (5 or 6 of these would make up a full episode, hence why they say "x of 5" or "x of 6")

Oh, just torrent it. It's just as illegal as watching it on Youtube.

They've been on YouTube for years, so they obviously don't have a problem with it, or they would be ordered down.

But, regarding the Torrent, you would get PAL Video, which is exactly what you'd get by purchasing the British DVDs, there's really not a good reason to say it's because you can't get it here in the states. If you can watch a Torrent, you canwatch the DVDs from Britain

 

[WillsBabe]

Speaking of clothes, here's Servalan, played by Jackie Pearce. For my money, nobody is going to be able to replace her.

What a gal!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Yea, the pilot is there all in one chunk, and I saw numerous other episodes that have chunks of 10 minutes long and are named ... 1 of 5, 2 of 5, and so forth, so, it looks like there's a lot there, and very possibly most.

I used search term: Blake's 7 Season 1 Episode 1 playlist

to find the Pilot all in one shot, and numerous other episodes listed in 10 minute chunks (5 or 6 of these would make up a full episode, hence why they say "x of 5" or "x of 6")

Oh, just torrent it. It's just as illegal as watching it on Youtube.

They've been on YouTube for years, so they obviously don't have a problem with it, or they would be ordered down.

But, regarding the Torrent, you would get PAL Video, which is exactly what you'd get by purchasing the British DVDs, there's really not a good reason to say it's because you can't get it here in the states. If you can watch a Torrent, you canwatch the DVDs from Britain

Region locking sucks.