General / Off-Topic Blakes 7
- Thread starter Sir.Tj
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I like the audio stuff thats been done on Blake's 7. There was a great reboot with Colin Salmon and Derek Riddell.
Interestingly, one of the guys at the Radio Rassilon podcast made a good point. Viewed in a certain light, Firefly is essentially a remake of Blake's 7 already.
Thoughts?
Interestingly, one of the guys at the Radio Rassilon podcast made a good point. Viewed in a certain light, Firefly is essentially a remake of Blake's 7 already.
Thoughts?
not sure about it being set in 2136, i dont think we would even have a colony
on the moon by then. why do some scifi have unrealistic future dates.
Blade runner 2017
space 1999
Avatar 2158, almost plausable.
for me anything beyond the 24th century would be beliveable.
but going back to topic, this will be the third time Blakes7 is on for a remake. great news as i own all the original series on DVD. but still 2136 is a litle naff, I would be happy if it was 2783.
on the moon by then. why do some scifi have unrealistic future dates.
Blade runner 2017
space 1999
Avatar 2158, almost plausable.
for me anything beyond the 24th century would be beliveable.
but going back to topic, this will be the third time Blakes7 is on for a remake. great news as i own all the original series on DVD. but still 2136 is a litle naff, I would be happy if it was 2783.
Blake's 7 as is has to remain the way it was. The best option that a remake has is to have a nod and a wink to the original series just as Battlestar Galactica did but to totally reboot it.
If it were me I'd do the following:
Make the main character Colonel Blake of the Federation. Have him supress a rebellion on a planet that gains him acclaim by the public, but in doing so makes political enemies within the Federation for his actions of honour and mercy.
Have him then imprisoned and accused of crimes and have his close allies all testify against him, which are all untrue, but sets it up so that he's shipped off on a prison ship.
Cue the discovery of the Liberator and his escape.
You can then setup the overall story line to be Blake's revenge on the 7 people who ruined him.
To give it a nod and a wink to the old series you could have the original actress who played Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) cast as the Federation's President and have someone like Morena Baccarin play the new version of Servalan. Maybe even have a quip from the original to the new about "why is it always men called Blake that give me trouble"
Anyhoo, it probably stinks as a concept but it keeps me occupied
If it were me I'd do the following:
Make the main character Colonel Blake of the Federation. Have him supress a rebellion on a planet that gains him acclaim by the public, but in doing so makes political enemies within the Federation for his actions of honour and mercy.
Have him then imprisoned and accused of crimes and have his close allies all testify against him, which are all untrue, but sets it up so that he's shipped off on a prison ship.
Cue the discovery of the Liberator and his escape.
You can then setup the overall story line to be Blake's revenge on the 7 people who ruined him.
To give it a nod and a wink to the old series you could have the original actress who played Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) cast as the Federation's President and have someone like Morena Baccarin play the new version of Servalan. Maybe even have a quip from the original to the new about "why is it always men called Blake that give me trouble"
Anyhoo, it probably stinks as a concept but it keeps me occupied
I have been commissioned to do a 2 page comic for Blake 7, I'm working on it now. Here is the first opening panel, I haven't added text yet, but as you can see it opens with Roj and the Liberator
Ooh, Archamedes is doing a comic! Awesome!
As regards the B7 proposal, I'll repeat here exactly what I said on teh Oolite forum.
Oh, no. Not SyFy. Please.
When SyFy (or its previous incarnation, the SciFi Channel) get hold of a concept, they turn it into a shadow of its former self.
The dark, evil plots will all go out in favour of girls in skimpy costumes fawning over the criminal main characters. There will be Sex. It will be Blake's Threesome, with wobbly scripts and underpaid, overworked actors.
The sets and effects for B7 were rubbish, definitely, but what made it work at the time were the characters and the story. The acting could be cheesy, but then all 70s acting was cheesy by today's standards. Nowadays everyone expects perfection and there's no room for error. Sets, effects, acting, continuity and storytelling ALL have to be perfect.
I fundamentally protest at remaking old TV series for one good reason - classic TV series worked for the audience at the time, and updating them will always fail because for it to work in current society the base premise has to be changed - often beyond recognition. Another aspect of it to consider was that often most series were successful because they were ORIGINAL. By definition a remake can't capture that originality and make an audience say "hey, we haven't seen this before!"
As an example, look at V - the 80s series concept worked and was successful (until they tried to flog a dead horse with a weekly series). The 2009 remake was so different to Johnson's original concept that they tried to have his name removed from the "created by" credit!
It was panned for being a "poor copy" of the original. The newly crafted story was then panned for being rubbish (again often compared to the original). It was also panned for bad acting and characters that weren't consistent. So they tried to link it to the original by using some of the old cast - despite their previous attempts to "distance it" from the original!! what??
Sorry. High horse again.
It won't work. It's too late. The original audience won't like a new version and the new demographic will say it's all been done before.
Now an Elite TV series. That would be new and original for TV. I'll write the script and Allen Stroud's Students can film it.
Just looked at the press release:
If you want a definitive example of what SyFy does to good TV shows, look at what happened to Stargate SG-1 when it transferred there from MGM after season 8.
As regards the B7 proposal, I'll repeat here exactly what I said on teh Oolite forum.
Oh, no. Not SyFy. Please.
When SyFy (or its previous incarnation, the SciFi Channel) get hold of a concept, they turn it into a shadow of its former self.
The dark, evil plots will all go out in favour of girls in skimpy costumes fawning over the criminal main characters. There will be Sex. It will be Blake's Threesome, with wobbly scripts and underpaid, overworked actors.
The sets and effects for B7 were rubbish, definitely, but what made it work at the time were the characters and the story. The acting could be cheesy, but then all 70s acting was cheesy by today's standards. Nowadays everyone expects perfection and there's no room for error. Sets, effects, acting, continuity and storytelling ALL have to be perfect.
I fundamentally protest at remaking old TV series for one good reason - classic TV series worked for the audience at the time, and updating them will always fail because for it to work in current society the base premise has to be changed - often beyond recognition. Another aspect of it to consider was that often most series were successful because they were ORIGINAL. By definition a remake can't capture that originality and make an audience say "hey, we haven't seen this before!"
As an example, look at V - the 80s series concept worked and was successful (until they tried to flog a dead horse with a weekly series). The 2009 remake was so different to Johnson's original concept that they tried to have his name removed from the "created by" credit!
It was panned for being a "poor copy" of the original. The newly crafted story was then panned for being rubbish (again often compared to the original). It was also panned for bad acting and characters that weren't consistent. So they tried to link it to the original by using some of the old cast - despite their previous attempts to "distance it" from the original!! what??
Sorry. High horse again.
It won't work. It's too late. The original audience won't like a new version and the new demographic will say it's all been done before.
Now an Elite TV series. That would be new and original for TV. I'll write the script and Allen Stroud's Students can film it.
Just looked at the press release:
Angst and relationships in the FIRST PARAGRAPH! Not a good sign.
"Amazeballs"? Really? The CEO of a production company uses that word in a press release? I don't hold out much hope for a professional production.
If you want a definitive example of what SyFy does to good TV shows, look at what happened to Stargate SG-1 when it transferred there from MGM after season 8.
Or extremely tight and effective writing and scene-setting?
I have been commissioned to do a 2 page comic for Blake 7, I'm working on it now. Here is the first opening panel, I haven't added text yet, but as you can see it opens with Roj and the Liberator
Can I suggest that you giv Roj Blake some side burns, only small ones.
Ian Phillips
Volunteer Moderator
I loved Blakes seven when it first showed. Really great fun.
Then recently I found a video (cassette) of it and bought it. God, it is SO dated.
Might just have to break it out tonight to watch some of it again
Then recently I found a video (cassette) of it and bought it. God, it is SO dated.
Might just have to break it out tonight to watch some of it again
It sets the scene for angst and relationships, though.
The pilot of Eastenders or Footballers' Wives would be well suited to this sort of opening, but a series in space, about criminals on the run, would be better suited having an opening that focused on that aspect instead. And how do we, the audience, know that his wife is dead? Unless the actor is superlatively distressed...maybe a tear drops onto the photo frame in a close-up shot, then cut away to Blake drying his cheek... But then that doesn't really set up a character who is going to lead a ruthless gang of criminals on a crusade through the galaxy...
Rant, rant, rant.
It sounds very much like the situation comedy "Episodes" With Steve Mangan. The plot and characters was the only decent thing in Blakes7, and that's what they want to change?
I listened to the new radio plays as well. It just reminded me how good the characters were.
But knowing my luck, the fact that I can't watch Scyfy will mean that it will be the greatest television series ever.
It's on SyFy. It won't be. It'll be visually quite nice (as long as you like CGI) with shallow, 2-dimensional characters and rubbish dialogue.
That's exactly what I thought about Farscape at the time. Though Farscape was a bit more lighthearted than B7.
Hoping for a grittier return for B7, rather like the BSG reboot.
I want it to do for sci fi what game of thrones has done for fantasy
but it won't.........
na, Dragons
but i'll take naked female chest area's if you cant find any.the big B7 question for me is will black leather make a return as the bad guy materiel of choice?
I don't want naked female chest areas as I can find plenty of that on the internet. However I would like some more corrosive space goo. I would also like them to put it in Elite Dangerous, maybe as some kind of alien secret weapon?
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