Watching Blake's 7 for the first time in ages... and loving it!

[Starkers]

*puts on twat hat*

Bugger.

*takes off twat hat*

B7 was the first sf show I have concsious memories of discovering and watching. For me, the dialogue is a gem of the show. My favourite characters are Avon (naturally), but also Servalan and Travis. Jacqueline Pearce is the only one of my childhood heroes who when I met I couldn't actually string a sentence together when I met her unexpectedly! One day I want to meet her again to apologise for my rudeness!

I'm not sure if its quite the first for me, I might have seen TOS first, but it had a lasting impact. Wow can't beleive you've met Servalan! How cool is that!

 

[Starkers]

Headhunter and Countdown (2nd ep of Series 4) was another.

*puts on nitpicker hat*

Headhunter was Ep406. Countdown was Ep209.

*takes off nitpicker hat*

I suspect that by Countdown Marc meant Power (S4ep2), which does involve a self-destruct device which is counting down, and has that dark line from Avon (to a woman who's upset that he's shot her just because she was pulling a gun on him): "If you didn't want the answer, you shouldn't have asked the question".

Ah Power, the episode where Avon gets knocked out about 15 times

That is a great line, and so's your sig btw.

Ok so the acting wasn't brilliant, but it didn't matter because everyone was just so perfectly cast.

Seriously I doubt anyone could do Avon as well as Darrow, and frankly the only person I've ever seen who could do Vila as well as Keating would be David Hewlett. Sure there are women who could pull off Servalan, but doubt they could look so elegant, so evil and so powerful. And special mention to Jan Chappell for managing to play and alien who's curiously more human than her human friends.

Tarrant "He's an animal."
Cally "Yes, and it's contaigious isn't it."

So come on then, own up, what are people's guilty B7 pleasures?

Have to admit, terrible though it is, that I love Stardrive, in fact I like rather a lot of S4!

I also quite sadly like Tarrant

It is interesting watching it as a child and now. I don't think I ever realised how much of a bastard Avon was as a youngster. Also Tarrant was more heroic and less arrogant, and I don't think I ever noticed how hot Jenna was, although I had (and still do) a major crush on Cally.

 

[James Swallow]

But I'm hoping that the remake/ reboot/ reimagining will really do the concept justice, much like the new BSG has improved on the fondly-remembered-but-not-actually-very-good original.

That's the plan.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

But I'm hoping that the remake/ reboot/ reimagining will really do the concept justice, much like the new BSG has improved on the fondly-remembered-but-not-actually-very-good original.

That's the plan.

Is there any news on how it's coming on? I've not seen any news about since it said the scripts were commissioned and that's about a year ago now isn't it?

 

[Starkers]

I think it was April last year when the announcement was made, so coming up for a year, with no further word, no casting etc. Anyone think it will actually happen?

Frankly it's sky so even if they do do it I expect them to frak it up! Ross Kemp is Travis!

I don't know why the hell they can't just come up with a new space opera, why remake B7 which was fine to begin with?

 

[Captaindemotion]

Captaindemotion wrote:
If you re-read my original post, I said that my problem when I re-watched the show was not with the SFX (which always looked crap but I excused when I used to watch it as a kid) but with the writing and acting.

I stand corrected, my point is that the two situations aren't the same.

On that we're agreed.

 

[Count Zero]

I don't know why the hell they can't just come up with a new space opera, why remake B7 which was fine to begin with?

Yeah, I keep wondering about that, too. The story of the B7 characters has already been told. And in a great way. The premise and the world building are attractive but surely, it isn't that hard to come up with something new or to make a new series with a similiar setting.

 

[Christopher]

It has always been the nature of human storytelling that worthwhile stories are retold and reinvented. In the days before writing, that was the only way a story could survive. "Doing something new" doesn't require using a concept that's never been done before, since there is no such thing; every "new" idea is in some ways a reworking of old ideas. Sometimes a retelling of an old story can be full of originality and innovation (e.g. Battlestar Galactica), and very often a wholly new story is just a rehash of earlier stories, with the names changed but the cliches intact (e.g. Eragon).

If a story is truly worthwhile, then it can have potential too rich for any single incarnation to explore fully. That's why the best stories can and do get retold many times across the generations.

 

[Starkers]

There's a difference between reinventing an old story (let's face it Blakes 7 is just Robin Hood in space, and original BSG is about Moses) and retelling the same story without even inventing new characters, situations etc.

If NuB7 is made I'll give it a change, but frankly it has an awful lot to live up to, and exactly how many reimaginings have actually been any good? BSG is about it really? Dr who at least had the decency to build upon the existing story rather than throwing it out and starting again.

Probably I'm just annoyed because this ruins my idea for a continuation series

 

[Bob The Skutter]

There's a difference between reinventing an old story (let's face it Blakes 7 is just Robin Hood in space, and original BSG is about Moses) and retelling the same story without even inventing new characters, situations etc.

If NuB7 is made I'll give it a change, but frankly it has an awful lot to live up to, and exactly how many reimaginings have actually been any good? BSG is about it really? Dr who at least had the decency to build upon the existing story rather than throwing it out and starting again.

Probably I'm just annoyed because this ruins my idea for a continuation series

It's been written by the same people as the audios from not too long ago, I believe, so if you liked them then maybe they have a chance?

 

[Christopher]

There's a difference between reinventing an old story (let's face it Blakes 7 is just Robin Hood in space, and original BSG is about Moses) and retelling the same story without even inventing new characters, situations etc.

Even with the same premise and characters, it's not exactly the same story. Originality isn't in what playing pieces you use, it's in what you do with them. Just look at, say, The Dark Knight. All its major characters (except Rachel Dawes) are from the comics, and its basic situations (Joker terrorizes Gotham, Harvey Dent is horribly scarred and becomes a psychopath) are as well. But the resultant product is a very fresh, original, satisfying take on the material.

And just because the new B7 has the same basic premise and characters, how does that mean it won't devise new situations? It's not like it'll be retelling the exact same episodes. The series' premise was open-ended; there are any number of possible stories you could tell about those characters in that situation. Also, just because the characters have the same names and basic roles doesn't mean their personalities and relationships won't be developed in fresh ways; indeed, a lot of the characters didn't get that much development in the original show, so there's plenty of room for innovation. And you never know what new twists the writers might discover along the way, or what new possibilities the casting will bring about, for instance, if two of the new actors exhibit a chemistry that their counterparts in the original series never had. The same characters played by different people can turn out wildly differently.

(And Galactica was based on the Book of Mormon, not Moses.)

 

[ITL]

One thing I always found intriguing about B7 was the sense of scale and depth the B7 'Verse offered for storytelling. So many stories yet to be told within that big, wide continuity.

 

[Candlelight]

Probably I'm just annoyed because this ruins my idea for a continuation series

Continuations are crap, and seldom work. I'm glad it's a reimagining, so it can be removed from the original series if it doesn't work. Still, season one will only be six episodes, so you can put you head in the sand for six weeks while it's on.

 

[Count Zero]

Six episodes? That's not much. How will they fit all the "Cally is possessed" story lines in so few episodes?

 

[Candlelight]

I'm still hoping it's only a temp number; they said 2 episodes will be expanded to 6 if it's good, but if it's really good it might get a full 13 episode compliment.

 

[Orac Zen]

If NuB7 is made I'll give it a change, but frankly it has an awful lot to live up to, and exactly how many reimaginings have actually been any good? BSG is about it really?

I'll be good and offer no comment whatsoever on that.

Dr who at least had the decency to build upon the existing story rather than throwing it out and starting again.

I'd rather see a continuation within a universe which, let's face it, offers a considerable amount of scope than an attempt to reinvent what already exists. In all honesty, B7 is pretty much the only show I feel that way about. After all, they're just TV shows, not matters of life and death. B7 is the exception that tests my personal rule, I suppose.

Continuations are crap, and seldom work. I'm glad it's a reimagining, so it can be removed from the original series if it doesn't work.

"Removed from the original series"? The original series will still exist in all its brilliance regardless of anything else. You could "remove" a continuation from the original series just as easily.

Still, season one will only be six episodes, so you can put you head in the sand for six weeks while it's on.

Awww, c'mon - he already said he'll give it a go if it happens, so I'm not sure why the head-in-the-sand comment was necessary. To each their own and all that.

 

[Candlelight]

Continuations are crap, and seldom work. I'm glad it's a reimagining, so it can be removed from the original series if it doesn't work.

"Removed from the original series"? The original series will still exist in all its brilliance regardless of anything else. You could "remove" a continuation from the original series just as easily.

But it's still part of the ongoing storyline. I'm sure there are some people out there who believe Dr Who finished with the 7th Doctor. If it's a reimagining then you can say you refuse to accept the new universe more easily.

Still, season one will only be six episodes, so you can put you head in the sand for six weeks while it's on.

Awww, c'mon - he already said he'll give it a go if it happens, so I'm not sure why the head-in-the-sand comment was necessary. To each their own and all that.

Well... well... he turned me into Mr Grumpy Pants.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Where did this 6 episode thing come from? I'm sure it was announced as only 2 1 hour episodes.

 

[Orac]

A continuation isn't really plausible considering...

Spoiler: Blakes 7

Everybody dies in the last episode.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^Sure it is. It's been 20 years Just move the story along and have a new cast of characters in the same universe.