I thought it might have been since we've not heard anything about it in a long time. Not sure whether to hope someone else picks it up or not, but I'd certainly check it out if it did get made.
Sky Drops Blake's 7 Remake
- Thread starter Bob The Skutter
- Start date
I thought it might have been since we've not heard anything about it in a long time. Not sure whether to hope someone else picks it up or not, but I'd certainly check it out if it did get made.
Blakes 7 would fit well into the Dystopian style of NuBSG. If they did remake it I hope they have an overall plot arc. The original show had something of an overreaching story with the ebb and flow of the Federation's power base. A modern show could work with that.
I'll admit though, I'd be disappointed if they revamped the show in a way that didn't develop the pre-existing characters. I'm not sure I could cope if Avon became a woman or if Jenna was written out completely.
I'll admit though, I'd be disappointed if they revamped the show in a way that didn't develop the pre-existing characters. I'm not sure I could cope if Avon became a woman or if Jenna was written out completely.
Why on earth did the BBC sell the rights in the first place? B7 belongs on BBC.
Anyway, Sky are fickle and pathetic for letting this happen, but perhaps it will be for the best. I feel confident that somewhere it will go ahead some day - it's too big a brand to just be forgotten, and the recent revival of Doctor Who must have surely raised some eyebrows with regard to this type of thing by illustrating what is possible.
Anyway, Sky are fickle and pathetic for letting this happen, but perhaps it will be for the best. I feel confident that somewhere it will go ahead some day - it's too big a brand to just be forgotten, and the recent revival of Doctor Who must have surely raised some eyebrows with regard to this type of thing by illustrating what is possible.
I'm not sorry to see it fall through.
As a child, I loved Blake's 7 because it had Big Flying Spaceships in it. As an adult, I appreciate it for the underlying politics.
I'd love a remake which was even more political and paranoid than the original, but I don't think that was on the cards. The remake looked to be trying to be another, better, space opera, but we've had a lot of those in the intervening 30 years.
Blake's 7's USP is the Orwellian, paranoid politics. Either go with that, or leave it alone.
As a child, I loved Blake's 7 because it had Big Flying Spaceships in it. As an adult, I appreciate it for the underlying politics.
I'd love a remake which was even more political and paranoid than the original, but I don't think that was on the cards. The remake looked to be trying to be another, better, space opera, but we've had a lot of those in the intervening 30 years.
Blake's 7's USP is the Orwellian, paranoid politics. Either go with that, or leave it alone.
Oh you'd definitely need to preserve it's core of a band of anti-hero criminals/rebels/insurgents fighting a corrupt dystopia.
Perhaps we need to wait a few years before a concept like that doesn't cut so close to the bone. It's a risk a lot of broadcasters would rather not take in this day and age.
Still the concept is a very old one (goes back to ancient Greece and Rome at least) and has been re-used continuously throughout the history of storytelling, so I don't think we've seen the end of it nor the B7 brand just yet..
Perhaps we need to wait a few years before a concept like that doesn't cut so close to the bone. It's a risk a lot of broadcasters would rather not take in this day and age.
Still the concept is a very old one (goes back to ancient Greece and Rome at least) and has been re-used continuously throughout the history of storytelling, so I don't think we've seen the end of it nor the B7 brand just yet..
Did you ever hear the 1990s cassettes: The Final Act, The Mark of Kane and The Logic of Empire? Fan produced, unlicensed (and hence now unavailable) but Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Brian Croucher and Jacqueline Pearce, plus a few more, all reprised their old roles, with some script input from Chris Boucher.
[Declaration of interest: I helped make two of them.]
Alas, no I have not heard them. Any chance someone made mp3's of them? They sound rather interesting, to say the least - Boucher is one of my favourite B7 & DW authors, and I'd love to hear the cast reprise their roles.
Despite what the article says I'm unsure it was the BBC to sell, I mean don't B7 Productions (or whatever they're called now) own the rights?
^Same here. B7 Productions seem confident they can get it off the ground elsewhere though.
^ One of the ideas that was kicking around a few years ago was to have Avon in a 'Napoleon in Elba' role.
That was Terry Nation's idea, which Paul Darrow liked.
AFAIU, Pauil Darrown dropped out of the proposed remake as a) he'd asked for Chris Boucher to be involved in the absence of Terry Nation, and was turned down; b) He wanted it to be "Avon's Waterloo" - he escapes exile, he almost does it, but ultimately he loses (but some of his supporters survive to be the new cast).
The production team for the new series apparently wanted him to do the series, cameoing on the bridge like Mr Waverley or M as he sends the teams on missions. But he wanted Avon to meet an final, appropriate end - he dies inspiring the next generation of rebellion, the way Blake would have done - and hand over.
The rights to Blake's 7 belonged to the estate of Terry Nation, not the BBC; they licenced them to B7 Media for production.
And incidentally, when the BBC were approached some time ago about becoming involved in a new B7 series, they turned it down.
How about now? They seem a little more interested in Sci-fi shows lately.
Rights, schmites. The show's spiritual home on TV was, is and should be the BBC, imo.
What about the BBC/Space?Syfy backing a remake? Costs spread out, makes other locations more viable, and make it bigger.
I shall now be heretical, and say I'd like it to be a reboot, with a Blake that doesn't bail out halfway through. Hmm, well maybe. There is an argument for setting up Avon to take over, the whole character dynamic he had. And Blake turning up as he did in the final. Basically following the same arc while rewriting the stories or even replacing some of the more episodic ones.
You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that overall it was damn near perfect, and just fell down in some details, some eps, and things like effects.
I shall now be heretical, and say I'd like it to be a reboot, with a Blake that doesn't bail out halfway through. Hmm, well maybe. There is an argument for setting up Avon to take over, the whole character dynamic he had. And Blake turning up as he did in the final. Basically following the same arc while rewriting the stories or even replacing some of the more episodic ones.
You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that overall it was damn near perfect, and just fell down in some details, some eps, and things like effects.
yup I'm with you on that!
I'm glad the Sky version has fallen through, means my own continuation/semi reboot still has a chance
Yeah there's so much potential for darkness there, lets face it if Blake had won I doubt the galaxy would have become a better place. You only have to watch Shadow to see what lengths Blake would go to to topple the Federation.
If you did bring it back to have to wonder what the point would be? You couldn't end it the same way, and Blake actually succeeding seems implausible. I think Blakes 7 is about the only show (aside from maybe Angel) to have a set of bad guys you just can't ever defeat--but that doesn't mean you shouldn't fight them.