Martin Campbell resurrecting "Blake's 7" for Syfy

[Sawyer]

Deadline:

Syfy To Develop Remake Of Cult U.K. Sci-Fi Series ‘Blake’s 7′ With Martin Campbell
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: Blake’s 7, the Georgeville Television-produced reboot of the cult British adventure/sci-fi series, has landed at Syfy. The cable network will develop the remake, which will be written by Joe Pokaski (Heroes) and directed by feature helmer Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). The project was taken out to US networks last month by Georgeville, the independent TV studio co-founded earlier this year by Leon Clarance of Motion Picture Capital, the financing arm of Reliance Entertainment, and producer Marc Rosen. Blake’s 7 has a script-to-series commitment, meaning that if Syfy likes the script, it will greenlight the project as a 13-episode series. Georgeville employed the same model with its first series, Neil Cross’s Crossbones, which will premiere on NBC in midseason.

Originally created by prolific British TV writer Terry Nation (Dr. Who), Blake’s 7 premiered on the BBC in 1978, running for four seasons. Referred to as “The Dirty Dozen in space,” the series centered around hard-core renegades and criminals who escape from a prison planet, battling humans and aliens alike – and becoming heroes. Despite its no-frills, low-tech special effects, Blake’s 7 was an international hit and still enjoys a fan following a quarter of a century after its launch. (Watch the show’s famous title sequence below.)

GVTV acquired the rights to the Blake’s 7 franchise from rightsholder Andrew Sewell and his company B7 Media with funding provided by MPC. Campbell, Pokaski, Clarance, MPC’s Deepak Nayar and Sewell will executive produce.

[YT]pnautWFuEnQ[/YT]

Never have watched the original. I don't even know if it would be available here.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Very interesting. I kind of liked the original, what I could see of it.

Think of it like Firefly with British accents.

 

[obin_gam]

I'm all for more sci-fi series! I hope this gets the same treatment as BSG did, we are seriously lacking real and good sci-fis these days

 

[chamber-music]

If you've seen Firefly or Farscape you have seen Blake 7.

 

[Pink Ranger]

I wonder if they're going to adopt the "no bots, no aliens" rule that Firefly had and the "no aliens" rule the remade BSG had.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

it says in the description of the original show that they battled 'humans and aliens alike.'

 

[Pink Ranger]

it says in the description of the original show that they battled 'humans and aliens alike.'

So did the original Battlestar Galactica, but they purposely eschewed aliens in the remake.

I'm just speculating, really, because it makes sense these days when a SF show wants to become more "serious" they usually try to stay away from space monsters. I like Farscape though, but a lot of people I know never took the show seriously because of all the creatures.

 

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/geo...s-and-re-evaluates-pure-financier-role-in-tv/

That is one of two avenues Greenville TV has been pursuing, the other being developing and selling its own shows that the company is in control and own the rights of. In the other area, I hear Georgeville is nearing a series order at Xbox for its reboot of the cult British sci-fi series Blake’s 7. The project, which has Martin Campbell attached, was originally set up at Syfy. I hear negotiations are underway for Blake’s 7 to land at Xbox as one of the service’s first original series (The company also has a Halo series in the works with Steven Spielberg and his Amblin TV.)

 

[Teelie]

Going from SyFy to X-Box doesn't sound like a step up initially but it might prove me wrong. Microsoft has the money if they want to get serious in their in-house programming.

 

[The Squirrel]

Going to Xbox is great, if you want to limit your audience. I doubt anyone is going to buy a console just for this show. But going to Xbox isn't about the audience, it's about the giant wads of cash that Microsoft will throw at the producers.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Microsoft's game is the initial Xbox audience, and then likely box set sales and other online channel paid downloads afterwards. The traditional broadcast channel business model is no longer the only game in town.

 

[Destructus86]

YES!! More sci-fi shows!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!! =D

 

[Pink Ranger]

I'm curious about how they will update the key character of Kerr Avon.

 

[Siby]

I just read about this on the BBC this morning. I love this series and I think it is better than Firefly and as good as Farscape. The characters and the scope of the show is what I really loved.

I hope the remake can capture the essence of the original show with updated special effects. Although I liked the special effects of the original show.

I can't wait to see how they do Avon also. It's funny that the show is called Blake 7 but Blake was only in it for two and odd seasons.

 

[Teelie]

Microsoft's game is the initial Xbox audience, and then likely box set sales and other online channel paid downloads afterwards. The traditional broadcast channel business model is no longer the only game in town.

The XBone is meant to be more all-in-one set up than ever before with their plans to turn what used to be a gaming console into the "media center" of a home entertainment center. Netflix, Hulu, Blu-Ray player, music, etc. All of it requiring a yearly Live Gold membership of course.

It wouldn't surprise me to see them start promoting it more as a media center and less video games in the coming months.

That's their plan anyway. Whether they can pull it off is doubtful although they keep backtracking on the more controversial and crazy schemes like having that Kinnect always on (watching and listening to everything going on) or strict always-online limitations to the console.