Blakes 7

[zhadum (deleted)]

Does anyone here remember this brittish classic Sci Fi series??

i always loved it when i was younger...

its from the smae Era as the origional star trek, but not quite as cheesy...

[fayjprufrock]

OMG! Yesyesyes! My first fandom, when I was a tiny wee bit of a thing - I remember being GUTTED when it finally ended (and so tragically!).

I caught quite a few episodes on UK Gold a couple of years ago, and felt entirely justified in having adored it to pieces. It's like the Anti-Trek - a mismatched crew of criminals fleeing a manipulative Federation. The crew get on each other's nerves and have their own agendas. People get laid. s--- happens. Lots of s--- happens, actually.

Oh, man, I loved it. It's enormously cheesy, but in a different way from Gene Rodenberry's show. Much more moral ambiguity. And you've got to love the way that they decided to spend most of their miniscule budget on black leather fetishwear. And Servalan! Oh, man, I LOVED Servalan! She was just FABulous.

[tstone (deleted)]

Awesome show. Dying for a remake or continuation with modern production values.

[jeremy1969 (deleted)]

Blake's 7? Good show! Would like to see it remade. Don't know if it was intentional, but Farscape seemed to be a bit like Blake's 7 to me.

[twincarb]

There is only one problem, if there was a remake i bet somone would change the last show so there was a happy ending, tv today isnt keen on bad blowouts

[iswallowedabug (deleted)]

twincarb wrote: There is only one problem, if there was a remake i bet somone would change the last show so there was a happy ending, tv today isnt keen on bad blowouts

If someone like Joss Whedon took a crack at it, that wouldn't be
a problem.

The way Joss ends things always reminded me slightly of the
Blake's 7 finale. And what he's said about not giving the audience
what they want but what they need really rings true with how
things went in the final scene.

[twincarb]

Good point JW lokes to move the goalposts and as darker sci fi seems to be on the up thats a marvelous idea.
How about this one Mr B5 wants a crack at trek apperently he has written a massive story arc( no shock there) and was supposed to pitch to paramount just before ENT, strangly it all went quiet after. My feeling is that he coud'nt do any more damage than ENT and a fresh view is desperatly needed

[paddyknives]

paul darrow (avon) considers Firefly to be very Blakes7.

it dosnt look like the revival is gonna happen either, or the mooted cartoon series.

Blakes 7 was good for many reasons some are:
there was never 7 of them
Blake was only in 2 out 4 seasons (barring cameos)
Avon (promated to leader, never captain, in blakes absence) was essentially a baddie.
the leader of the evil federation and avon had a thing for each other.


it was great, Avon gladly let people lay down their lives, Villa got drunk, Orac (the galaxys greatest comptuter) had the personality of a cantakerous old man and would ofeten tell the crew to work things out for themselves if it felt their request was beneath him/it

there was no budget so it was all story and character

[lucifer666 (deleted)]

Blake's 7 was a great show and I can understand why people like Darrow see Firefly very like Blake's 7..... both shows are very similar!!
I was very disappointed when I heard the plans for a new remake was shelved apparently Darrow as part of a consortium had bought the rights to the show but due to arguments or as they put it 'artistic differences' between them they parted ways leaving the whole project up in the air. Darrow had made a statement afterwards stating that Terry Nation (Blake's 7 Creator) before he died had discussed with him bringing back B7 for a new generation to enjoy but the consortium was heading in so much of an opposite direction to what Nation envisioned that he felt he couldn't continue.
And I have to correct you Paddy I'm afraid there was generally seven in the crew...........
When Blake was about - Avon, Cally, Gan, Villa, Jenna, Orac and Zen (the ship's computer counted as one of the crew)
then when Blake was missing - Avon, Villa, Soolin, Tarrant, Dayna, Orac and Slave. Sorry Mate!!

The best character was easily Avon even when he was competing with Blake, he was charasmatic and brilliant ...... people do normally think of him as a cold intelligent criminal but he also displayed some good aspects of his character too, he had loyalties to the crew even though he would sacrifice them it wouldn't be done on a whim, he also goes and rescues members of the crew throughout the series and even in one episode threatens Tarrant for bullying Villa. The guy had great depth to his character you never knew sometimes what he was thinking the final episode is a prime example of this......he's after shooting Blake, everyone else is dead and he's surrounded by guards and what does he do - he smiles!!!

Who is everyone else's favourite character in B7???

[ninjabear]

Well, I knew there had to be a few other Blake's 7 fans out there!
Cheesy? Yes
Scene chewing, ham---smamming it, over the top acting? Oh yes.
Cheap sets, props, costumes and effects? Undeniably.
Funny, is it not, that everything wrong with the frelled over, "new" battlestar galactica, is why I love Blake's 7?
Go figure.

[ninjabear]

Blake's 7 had that tragic ending because it was a deep space version of the Legend of Robin Hood---not the Errol Flynn version, not the Kevin Costner version; the original story ends in bitter victory and death for Robin.
Still, I'd like to see it brought back---but not by "Joss the Buffy Slapper",
J.J. Abrams or that clown who frelled up battlestar galactica.
How about someone who knows how to do an eipc saga? My hope is for J. Michael Strazinski, creator of Babylon 5, to "reimagine" Blake's 7.

I liked Villa Reston---the poor guy was always being bullied and belittled by everyone. I always wanted to stand up for him and say, "Hey, leave the little feller alone." That's why I missed Gan, but Avon had the best line of the whole show:
"I'm not stupid, I'm not expendable, and I'm not going."

[cooky37]

I'd all but forgotten Blake 7. Thanks for the memories. Maybe with the revival of the other Science Fiction shows of the 60's and 70"s it will encourage the return of Blake 7

[ninjabear]

I would love to see it brought back---by anyone but those boneheads at Sci-Fi Channel!
I don't need to see another great show "reimagined" by some boob who read the Cliff Notes and thinks he's got a lock on the subject!
Maybe a real network---and get Jonathan Frakes! Say what you will, but Frakes at least has some production values. (first name off the top of my head, what can I say?)

[iswallowedabug (deleted)]

jamie77 wrote: Matthew Graham talked about plans he had for bringing this series back during an interview with Doctor Who Magazine about his episode 'Fear Her'. For those unfamiliar with the name he is one of the co-creators of 'Life on Mars'

"Had" as in past tense and no current plan, or meaning something
might be in motion?

Riley: I thought we had plans today.
Buffy: Plans? We planned plans?
Riley: Well, you said, "Come over tomorrow and we'll hang," and then I said, "Okay." Not the invasion of Normandy, but still a plan.

Does Graham have Normandy planned plans, or just hanging?

I've been in Avon withdrawal for too long....

[iswallowedabug (deleted)]

jamie77 wrote: MG : I did talk to some people about it a while back. But a lot of telly folk, especially the girls, hate B7. ''Oh not that awful show!'' But there have been talks. And my God it would be fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! It would be a whole new set of seven but with Avon. I would bring back Avon. I think Servalan kept him frozen cryogenically frozen for torturing purposes. You remember the last episode where they all got shot? I think Servalan had all the soldiers wiped out and took Avon - its a bit Iain M Banks this - so she could torture him for her own amusement for the rest of her life...She's maybe found a way regrowing his cells so that she can crucify him, then regenerate him, and then hang, draw and quarter him, then regenerate him... and this like goes on for about thirty years so he is completely insane.


How very Ba'al (from the "Abyss" episode of Stargate Sg1).

(incidentially, what a fun team Ba'al and Servalan would make, or
Ba'al and Avon for that matter)

We never actually see confirmed dead bodies, and the firing during
the credits after Avon's smile, well, classic, but I want Avon and
Vila back again, so I'd accept a cop-out where Vila has serious but
non-fatal wounds and crawls to hide behind something. And perhaps
Servalan or someone makes them use non-lethal force with Avon
because of aforementioned desire for torture.

They could also invoke old science fiction devices to bring Blake
back. How about the Federation made a Blake android to try to
root out the rabble and draw Avon et al. into the open? Martyred
blake wasn't the real one. Or maybe it was and android Blake convinces
himself that he's the REAL Blake, and starts more rabble rousing.

Okay, I'm reaching. At this point, I'd even accept Paul Darrow waking
up in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette having had a horrible
nightmare....