Blake's 7 Returns

by Jordan Yerman | April 27, 2008 at 09:59 am

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Doctor Who has been beyond successful in its current incarnation, and now another old-school classic is on the re-imagination drawing-board: Blake's 7. Sure, it'll be a remake, but that's still a big step up from "unscripted programming". In the original, we were led to believe that the future had no fashion; perhaps the new version will address this...

It will hope to retain the addictive plots, realism and moral ambiguity of the original, which featured Roj Blake and his crew on the run from a totalitarian government called the Federation which rules the galaxy with an iron fist.

But it is likely that it will jettison the shaky sets and 1970s special effects which saw one of the spaceships constructed from hairdryer parts. And there is one other conundrum for the writers to solve: the eponymous Blake died in the final episode of the original series, when he was shot by fellow crew member Avon, and the rest of the main characters appeared to perish too.

As part of a drive to invest more in homegrown drama, Sky One has ordered scripts for two 60-minute pilot episodes. If successful, it will be expanded into a six-part series. The broadcaster said the show would not be a straight remake of the original but a "re-imagining" in the vein of Battlestar Galactica.

If its a re-imagining, then the actual events of the previous version aren't quite as relevant: after all, if Starbuck can switch genders, then why can't dead characters return for another go?(Thanks, Slashdot!)