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Blake's 7 Remake In the Works
bowman9991 writes "Remember the BBC's Blake's 7? Looks like the classic space adventure series is being reworked by Sky One. If they get it right (like the recent Battlestar Galactica revamp), this one has massive potential. 'As part of a drive to invest more in homegrown drama, Sky One has ordered scripts for two 60-minute pilot episodes. If successful, it will be expanded into a six-part series.' Created by Terry Nation, the man responsible for the Daleks in Doctor Who, Blake's 7 ran from 1978 to 1981 and had cult appeal. The effects were average, but the story and characters were compelling."
I'm not sure what your complaint about the current Dr. Who special affects are. They are quite decent. Not to the level of a Hollywood movie, but quite decent for current TV budget sci-fi. They are definitley not to the level of Battlestar, but that's really high-end compared to about anything else you will see on TV instead of the big screen. They are much more on-par with U.S. efforts than the old days of Blake's 7.
I'm an American who loves Dr. Who, and I'm very excited to hear about a possible return of Blake's 7. Maybe because that's because I grew up watching Captain Kirk throwing styrofoam boulders at aliens. Cheesy special effects don't bother me if the script and characters are worth watching.
Describing the effects as 'average' is a bit of an exaggeration - they were absolutely terrible.
Actually the effects were "state of the art". Just that they were nearly 30 years ago.
This is what the rest of the world experiences when they try to watch shows on the websites of U.S. networks. It's a shame, too, as the alternatives - downloading high-quality torrnets you can watch in your player of choice, for example - is already more attractive than being forced to watch a lower quality stream in an embedded player, complete with commercials. I would truly like to support the producers of these shows (or those who finance their production) but I don't want to compromise on quality, and I don't want to be forced to watch some crappy stream in an embedded player that doesn't work in my browser/operating system of choice.
I don't care why you're posting AC
The 80s follow-up to Life on Mars is Ashes to Ashes and it is bad.
1) The main character (female John Simms replacement) is unlikable. Not a bang on the actor but the writers.
2) Gene Hunt et al are given too many hero shots. Long pauses while they strike a pose and music plays for them. It turns what was believable and enjoyable in LoM into a parody.
3) The ambiguity is gone. In LoM was he dead, coma, actual time travel? In AtA, there is no mystery. So, one of the dimensions of LoM is instantly gone.
As for B7, I agree Avon was the best part of the show. I got the DVDs a few years ago but the show had aged so badly I couldn`t make it through the first season. I assume the remake will be like most new SciFi remakes. The producer will have a political agenda to push that will distract and undermine the show.
Er, sorry, have you watched the new "Doctor Who"? The SFX are better than average, which can't be said for some/many of the scripts. I agree there are some good ones, but there are a few stinkers too.