This might sound awful, but I think if there's to be a revival of Blake's 7, then they should do it with a new cast and start again.



The revamp of Battlestar Gallatica has now been accepted despite the early backlash, so I think the same could be done with Blake's 7.



It was interesting to note Paul Darrow's comment on the Season 4 dvd, that he felt that Firefly/Serenity carried on the Blake's 7 mantle quite well.



I think Joss Whedon should pay royalties to the Terry Nation estate for ripping it off !!!

Blake's 7 without Blake?



Travesty, Axel F.!!!!!!!!



Wake up, man! You've been saying that it was when Blake left that the series went down - and I entirley agree with from the end of Series 3 onwards.



But to do it all again without Blake would be ridiculous and I would refuse to watch it........................................................................

But to di it all again with a new cast to play the original crew of Blake, Avon, Jenna, Cally, Vila, Gan, Zen, Orac, Travis ONE, Servalan - and a CGI version of the Liberator - YAY!!!! I'll be watching it with great eagerness.



Now why don't they don that?  I'm sure there'd be sufficient demand out there for a new run of Blake and the original crew vs the merciless totalitarian Federation!

Thats what I meant Jimmy - have a new cast play the same characters.  Any new version must have the Blake character in it.  To not have him in it, would go against the roots of the show.



Although I would find it amusing if Paul Darrow was cast as either the new head of the Federation or even Travis!!!!

LOL!!!!!



Darrow would make a good Travis, even though he'd be in a somewhat 'mature' state!!!!!



And good idea - sorry I misunderstood you. If that's what you meant - than why don't we start nagging the BBC. How about we put in a petition on the Blake's 7 website - do you know of one?

(I'm guessing that both you and Martin do, and have already tried this idea)

Yes, nagging the BBC might work  - it worked with

Dr Who, why not that?



Im reasonably certain that a B7 revival will happen soon - the mutterings about bringing back the show have been louder in the last few years, so fingers crossed.

If you are comparing it to Dr Who then they will make a crappy movie which makes no sense and in ten more years ther will do the right thing and bring it back good as new.

The situation with Who was quite straightforward; the rights to the concept belonged to the BBC, they just weren't willing to make the investment anymore. It took seven years for BBC Worldwide/Universal/Fox to get it rolling, and when the results were less sucessful than hoped about the same for BBC Wales to take it on.

Blakes 7 was entirley down to one man; Terry Nation. His estate sold its rights to the concept to Paul Darrow and a couple of producers; a mini-series was announced in 2003, and since then Paul Darrow's dropped out of the project. Without him it didn't happen.

So if you do want more Blakes 7 either convince Darrow to get back into the endless round of development, or find a sponsor willing to kick in a heap of money. BBC Wales might be the place to start...!

I only caught a few re-runs of Blakes 7. These were the episodes without Blake. To be honest, the idea of the crew fighting on in his name elevated Blake to hero status and was one of the more interesting aspects of the show.

Sod the original cast. It couldn`t realistically be done.

A new cast and new characters and certainly new sets would be required to make a new series work.

I would love to see a remake with the improved writing/production values.

They should do a battlestar galactica on it.  That is make a mini series to test the waters and then if it's a hit then go start the series up after that.



But if they do it this way does that mean avon will be female?

There are two ways I can see it working--at least one original cast member (the prevously mentioned project was set 20 years after the series with Avon gathering a new crew), or recasting with star potential. This usually goes something like:



Ewan McGregor as Blake (with his Scots accent as a kind of intestellar shop steward);

Lani Tupu as Avon (and probably all the computer voices too!);

Kevin Spacey as Villa (pretty much everyone says this after The Usual Suspects);

Sophia Myles as Jenna (hey!);

Lexa Doig as Cally (as revolutionary as you wanna be);

Michael Clarke Duncan as Gan (your mileage may vary);

Robert Carlyle as Travis (as per The World is Not Enough);

and Joanna Lumley as Servelan. If not Vanessa Wagner.



Unless of course they relocate production to the Gold Coast, in which case they'll find a Yank to play Blake and the rest'll be Aussies.

Im against any mini-series of B7 that doesnt have Blake in it.



The whole premise of the show was Blake leading his motely crew against the Federation.



Any follow-up show that doesn't have Blake in it is unacceptable in my book.

I totally agree with Axel F.



They'd also have to change the name of the show if they were to do it without 'Blake' - which leads me to a point, wht did they keep calling the show "Blake's 7" after Series 2 anyway????

P.S. I like Martin's cast suggestions!!!!!!



But who is Sophia Myles? (excuse my ignorance!)

Sophia Myles played Lady Penelope in the film version of Thunderbirds - but dont hold that against her!!



They should have re-named B7 after Blake's departure, but I dont think that 'Avon's 7' would have sounded quite right.....

Or in considering the variable quality of computer assistance, Avon's 5?



Hmm, maybe they could have given up the life of crime and gone into music. The Avon 5!

God no please, anything but that.



Im still recovering from hearing the Doctor In Distress single from 20 years ago!!!!!!!!!



The Dr Who related songs were quite enough thanks!

Sophia Myles also played the Lady in the Fireplace from this season, and is David Tennants girlfriend.

Lucky fellow, being in doctor who, playng doctor who and having a beautiful lady to love.

As to Thunderbirds, the actors had no say how to ruin a good TV show, only the director and producers do.

At least they did a good jod on the new series of WHO!!!



Brenton

axelf date=29/08/2006 13:37 : Sophia Myles played Lady Penelope in the film version of Thunderbirds - but dont hold that against her!! They should have re-named B7 after Blake's departure, but I dont think that 'Avon's 7' would have sounded quite right.....

Oh.......so that's Sophia Myles!

aaaah, lovely.



Tennant is such a lucky bloke - he geats to play Dr Who and date that fine specimen of femininity.

(Sophia Myles would be the perfect choice for Jenna - or for more things that I can dream of!)

I watched a few re-runs without Blake and a couple after his return and I honestly think Blakes 7 works without him.
It elevates him to mythical status, almost religious; he becomes an ideal rather than just a person. Upon his return I was slightly disappointed that the man didn`t live up to my impression of him but then that`s the way of things.
Anyway, why not Blakes 7 without Blake.
Charlies Angels were successful without ever really seeing Charlie (not quite the same I know but Charlie wasn`t the star,was he?)

To quote Axelf
"The revamp of Battlestar Gallatica has now been accepted despite the early backlash, so I think the same could be done with Blake's 7."
Regarding Battlestar Galactica; Saw the first extended episode of season 3 the other night. Quite topical regarding suicide bombers etc. This is almost what sci-fi is about. I say almost because I believe sci-fi should open our minds to possibilities rather than documented events.
The brave aspect of the series is that it is the good guys who resort to terrorism rather than the baddies. Do you expect the Western World will see themselves in the mirror, or somebody else?
Also, this subject has been explored in sci-fi before the events of 9/11 but, as H.E. once said,"They weren`t listening first time round."
Anybody want to discuss ?