Blake's 7 US remake gets 13 one-hour episodes
New details have emerged of the forthcoming Blake's 7 remake.
US cable network Syfy has developed the remake of the classic cult drama with FremantleMedia International.
Thirteen hour-long episodes - written by Joe Pokaski (Heroes) and directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) - will be produced by Georgeville TV.
The new Blake's 7 - set in 2136 - is described as a "revolutionary reinvention" of the BBC's 1978-1981 sci-fi drama, following seven criminals - 6 guilty and 1 innocent.
Led by hero of the rebellion Blake - who is mourning the loss of his dead wife Rachel - the crew acquire an alien ship which gives them a second chance at life.
"Blake's 7 was such a forward-thinking concept that the show continues to have resonance with audiences today," said David Ellender, CEO FremantleMedia International.
"Its complex characters and gritty storylines, coupled with the highly talented team and modern production techniques are sure to appeal to both original fans of the show and new viewers."
Blake's 7 was created by Terry Nation - also known for devising Doctor Who monsters the Daleks. The original show starred Gareth Thomas as Blake, alongside the likes of Paul Darrow and Jacqueline Pearce.
Blake's 7 reboot
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- Buzz Bumble
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Blake's 7 reboot
The American SyFy channel is making a rebooted, barely recognisable, in-name-only, Americanised version of the British show Blake's 7 ... that ought to be something well worth avoiding as yet another old show gets butchered.
- Buzz Bumble
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
Apparently Microsoft has taken over the funding of the Americanised Blake's 7 remake to have it on their own Xbox Live network.
Let me guess. Orac will now keep turning blue and stopping mid-sentence at the most urgent moment, and Blake has hop on one leg with a finger in one ear and humming the Telly-tubbies theme tune (note-perfectly) during the entire six hour re-install of Orac's programming from a pile of DVDs, then he spends another 12 hours downloading various patches and updates ... and then Orac works for five minutes before turning blue and stopping again.
Let me guess. Orac will now keep turning blue and stopping mid-sentence at the most urgent moment, and Blake has hop on one leg with a finger in one ear and humming the Telly-tubbies theme tune (note-perfectly) during the entire six hour re-install of Orac's programming from a pile of DVDs, then he spends another 12 hours downloading various patches and updates ... and then Orac works for five minutes before turning blue and stopping again.
Looks like TV as we know it is going to be disappearing (eventually), and you'll have to own lots of different and incompatible boxes plugged into your TV set so you can watch stupidly "exclusive" programmes.Microsoft to fund remake of BBC's sci-fi cult classic Blake's 7
Microsoft has agreed to finance a remake of the cult BBC TV science fiction series Blake's 7 for its Xbox Live digital network, according to people familiar with the situation.
The deal represents the latest move by the technology company to create new video programming for the Xbox, which it has repositioned as an entertainment hub. It has sold 76 million Xbox consoles and has close to 50 million subscribers to Xbox Live, a digital media network that allows users to compete against each other and download video.
Microsoft declined to comment, but a person familiar with the deal said the company had agreed to finance development and production of the show, although it had not committed to a full series.
Microsoft has replaced the Syfy cable channel, part of Comcast's NBCUniversal group, which was originally lined to up to remake Blake's 7.
Best known for its shaky sets and improbable storylines, Blake's 7 ran for four series on BBC TV in the late 1970s and early 1980s - surviving the departure of its eponymous hero halfway through, and culminating in the apparent demise of almost all its other characters in a final episode slow-motion shoot out. It was devised by Terry Nation - creator of Doctor Who's Daleks - who pitched it to the BBC as "The Dirty Dozen in space".
The series will be redeveloped for 21st-century viewers by Motion Picture Capital, a London-based film and television company backed by Reliance, the Indian conglomerate controlled by Anil Ambani. Martin Campbell, the director of Casino Royale has been enlisted to direct the series. MPC declined to comment.
Microsoft has already struck a deal with Steven Spielberg to produce a live-action series of its hit game series Halo, with the show to be distributed on the Xbox Live platform.
In acquiring rights to premium content that would have appeared on TV, Microsoft is pursuing a similar strategy to Amazon and Netflix.
Netflix won plaudits this year for its remake of the BBC series House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey, while Amazon has commissioned five original series, including Alpha House, a political comedy starring John Goodman. All of the programmes will be streamed to viewers over the internet.
Microsoft is also making a push into Hollywood, hiring Nancy Tellem, the former president of CBS Television Studios, to launch Xbox Entertainment Studios in Los Angeles.
Ms Tellem could not be reached for comment but she told the Fortune Brainstorm conference in Aspen recently that Microsoft wanted to create a "different kind of TV experience" for the Xbox which would be more interactive. "Instead of it being a passive experience you can choose to either passively watch or connect in real time with your friends or across the US or globally - with the content on our platform," she said.
Microsoft recently launched the Xbox One, a new version of its flagship games console, with greater video capability. Users can use or stream a variety of services on the Xbox, including Netflix, the BBC iPlayer and SkyGo, the streaming service.
- Reverend Strone
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
Forgive me for jumping on you Buzz, but until you have seen something, you're jumping to conclusions and guessing here buddy. Might be worth giving it a shot first before writing something off without so much as even giving it a chance.Buzz Bumble wrote:... a rebooted, barely recognisable, in-name-only, Americanised version of the British show Blake's 7 ...
- Buzz Bumble
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
Given the history of "remakes" / "reboots", the chances are about zero that it will be anything like the original. They all pointlessly re-use the old name for a very different show / movie.Reverend Strone wrote:Forgive me for jumping on you Buzz, but until you have seen something, you're jumping to conclusions and guessing here buddy. Might be worth giving it a shot first before writing something off without so much as even giving it a chance.
- Harvey Mushman
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
Nobody can win, it seems... if they stick too closely to the original, they get blasted; if they stray too far, they get blasted.
Who knows, maybe this will be like the Battlestar Galactica reboot, in the way that it's actually good.
Who knows, maybe this will be like the Battlestar Galactica reboot, in the way that it's actually good.
- Archon Revuge
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
Just started watching this last week. I've been missing out!Harvey Mushman wrote:Who knows, maybe this will be like the Battlestar Galactica reboot, in the way that it's actually good.
- Buzz Bumble
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
Case in point. Whether or not Ron Moore's version is "good" or not in it's own right (and personally I think it's over-sexed garbage), it's certainly a very different show to Glen Larsen's real "Battlestar Galactica", which means it's not really "Battlestar Galactica" at all. It should have had it's own name. There's absolutely no sense whatsoever in re-using an old name for a different new show ... unfortunately there's very little sense on this planet, and even less in Hollyweird and management.Harvey Mushman wrote:Who knows, maybe this will be like the Battlestar Galactica reboot, in the way that it's actually good.
- Reverend Strone
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
Yeah, it's astounding that anyone would make a modern show for modern audiences.
- oota goota
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
personally I think this is an awesome time to produce a show like this. Given the current political and economic climates around the world a rebooted blake's 7 is a great opportunity to do what the science fiction genre does best: examine the human condition through metaphor......
- Buzz Bumble
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Re: Blake's 7 reboot
You completely missed the point ... but then 90% of people don't seem to understand it, which probably explains why we keep getting these ridiculously silly, senseless "reboots" rather than Hollyweird actually creating new shows / movies with new names.Reverend Strone wrote:Yeah, it's astounding that anyone would make a modern show for modern audiences.
JJ Abrams (so-called) "Star Trek" movies are a case in point. They're titled "Star Trek" and have the same main character names and very basic idea, so most people blindly believe they're the same thing ... but in reality they aren't really "Star Trek" at all. They make lots of silly changes to the established facts of the franchise and try to get around the fact using a silly time travel storyline, making the movies simply another in-name-only reboot that doesn't fit with what's come before and spliting the franchise into two separate sub-franchises (technically three if you also include the first ill-fitting reboot of the franchise, the "Enterprise" TV series).