One of the greatest sci-fi TV shows of all time, that overcame a tiny budget and low-fi special effects with superb writing and exceptional characters, is finally looking set for a return. Blake’s 7 is moving forward.
The cult classic 1970’s BBC TV show has made several attempts at a reboot in the past. All of come to nothing.
Now, things look more solid. Film and TV director Peter Hoar is spearheading this effort.
His newly launched production company Multitude Productions will do the heavy lifting.
The original series was created by Dalek designed Terry Nation.
Blakes 7 followed Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas), a long-term political dissident and sudden political prisoner. He leads a band of escaped prisoners.
They are not a plucky band of freedom fighters, but rather a morally ambiguous and cynical collection of murderers, mercenaries, dissidents, and thieves who are forced to work together but all have their own agendas while being deeply distrustful of each other.
They use a salvaged alien ship – the famous Liberator – to fight back against their previous captors, pursued by the ruthless Supreme Commander Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) of the Terran Federation.
Despite a famously low budget, the show was considered ahead of its time in terms of narrative quality.
Characters were betrayed, others were killed. Nobody was safe and the suspense was palpable.
Hoar intends to direct the project, which will go out to buyers soon for co-production funding.
Why is this such big news? Peter Hoar is the Emmy nominated director behind key episodes of The Last Of Us, and also The Umbrella Academy, Daredevil, Da Vinci’s Demons, Doctor Who, and The Defenders.
He’s probably got the heft to get this Blake’s 7 project off the ground.
