Director Martin Campbell Reviving Cult Brit Sci-Fi Series 'Blake's 7'

Television

by Joe Cunningham
July 25, 2012 10:22 AM
2 Comments

Okay, you’re planning to reboot an established property. Who do you call on? Well, after he managed to breathe new life into Bond on two separate occasions with “Goldeneye” and the frankly sublime “Casino Royale” – and not to mention 1998’s “The Mask of Zorro” - then you’d have to say Martin Campbell would be a pretty good shout, even after that “Green Lantern” debacle. This time Campbell’s been tapped up to direct a potential reboot of the cult British sci-fi series “Blake’s 7” which is being shopped to U.S. networks.

It’s getting to the stage where you’ll struggle to name a cult retro sci-fi show that hasn’t been rebooted. We’ve seen “Star Trek,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “V,” “Doctor Who,” and “The Prisoner” all return to screens in some form or another during the past decade, and they’re likely just the tip of the iceberg. For those unfamiliar with "Blake’s 7," it was a British sci-fi show which ran for 52 episodes on the BBC between 1978 and 1981 and followed a group of renegades and convicted criminals on their interstellar adventures. Think “Firefly,” but you know, more camp.

Indie TV studio Georgeville Television has got Campbell on board to direct a script penned by Joe Pokaski ("CSI," "Heroes") which will hopefully aim to modernise Terry Nation’s cult series. Sky1 in the U.K. previously attempted to revive the series but that fell through in 2010, and perhaps that was a good thing because we’d quite like to see the show through the big-budget prism of an American network if at all possible. Campbell’s a great name for them to get on board early on, but we’ll have to wait and see what kind of cast they can attract or if a network will be tempted to take a punt on reviving a cult British series. Our advice: don’t lose that kick-ass theme tune. [Deadline]

Television

More: Television, TV News, Martin Campbell, Blake's 7

2 Comments

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TL | July 27, 2012 4:48 PMReply

'weâd quite like to see the show through the big-budget prism of an American network if at all possible.' oh you would, would you? well that makes one of us.
Tyler | July 25, 2012 9:12 PMReply

Were you kidding or not at the end? I'm typically an all things sci fi fan but that theme sucks. We are each welcome to our own opinions but that tune to me is not catchy and has no value.