A Blake's 7 Reboot?

Count me in!

Note: the first section is spoiler-free, and a warning is provided for when that is no longer the case.

As I am sure I made clear in our episode about series one of Blake’s 7, I am quite a fan of the series. So, I am rather intrigued, if not straight-up excited, about recent reports of a modern reboot of the series.

Deadline reports: ‘Blake’s 7’ Reboot In The Works From ‘The Last Of Us’ Director Peter Hoar & ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ Exec Matthew Bouch.

Emmy-nominated The Last of Us director Peter Hoar has launched a production outfit and is working on a reboot of cult British sci-fi classic Blake’s 7.

Hoar has opened “genre-based” indie Multitude Productions with A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder exec Matthew Bouch and West End producer Jason Haigh-Ellery. The trio have snapped up a wealth of IP including Blake’s 7, which last aired on the BBC 45 years ago.

Hoar, who directed the critically-acclaimed “Long, Long Time” ep of HBO’s The Last of Us, plans to direct the Blake’s 7 reboot, which will go out to buyers soon. Bouch would “love it to go to the BBC” and will likely seek co-pro funding from the American streamers and European players like RTL.

This is not the first time a reboot has been rumored (or, perhaps I should say, rumoured). However, this one is encouraging and seems more real given its association with known, successful TV producers.

Of course, if such a thing happens, the question will be: will it be any good?

Casting Thoughts

There are some initial core challenges. I think the most pressing would be the ability to properly cast and write the character of Kerr Avon, followed closely by the same concern for Supreme Commander Servalan. The rest of the characters are of lesser concern to me, and there would be more room to rethink them. The only other character that I would want to be especially close to the original is Vila Restal.

This is not to say that I don’t care how the others are cast, but the reality is that characters like Olag Gan and Jenna Stannis weren’t as deeply developed as Avon and Servalan, or even Vila. There are key character traits that could easily be ported over to a new version, and potentially a more interesting version of the character. This is true for Cally and later additions like Soolin, Dayna Mellanby, and Del Tarrant (more thoughts on those characters below.

It is noteworthy that I have yet to mention the name of the character for whom the show is named: Roj Blake.

While clearly an important character for casting, I am less concerned with his character than I am with Avon and Servalan in particular. I think that the character needs the resolve shown in Gareth Thomas’ portrayal, but there is room for variation that simply is less present for any tinkering with Avon. I feel like there is a chance to add depth to Blake in a reboot, not to mention the question of how much a rebooted Blake would be the same as series 3 and 4’s Blake.

Put as simply as I can: I am fine with most of the characters being of a similar relationship between the two versions of Battlestar Galactica rather than being like the crew of the Enterprise in the JJ Abrams movie.

An Opportunity

The main opportunity a modern reboot has, in my view, is being able to tell a more expansive story about Blake’s rebellion against the Federation. I have always thought that the major limitation of the original series was that it never could really show the progress of the rebellion. There were individual episodes, like series 1’s “Project Avalon,” that suggested that the crew was helping build a broader network. However, the limited budget and the constraints of a show that was supposed to be the weekly adventures of these seven characters meant that there couldn’t be too much actual rebellion-building.

Another limitation of the show was that the scale of the Federation was unseen. When we would visit the Supreme Commander on her space station, it was always just her office. And, at most, we saw a handful of others officiers and operatives. Often, for reasons that did not make narrative sense, but clearly were the result of budgetary constraints, Servalan would often go on missions with just Space Commander Travis and maybe a footsoldier or three.

Just like in classic Doctor Who, where the Daleks would often invade with a mere three pepperpots, the Federation likewise could only send three pursuit ships to go after the Liberator.

(Speaking of the Liberator, the reboot version of the ship better damn well retain the basics of that design!)

At any rate, a modern version of the show could, and in my view should, show both the scale of the Federation and the growing rebellion against it. And, hopefully, tell a complete story as a result.

Information! Forward Detectors Indicate Spoilers in Range

From here on out, if you don’t want spoilers, especially for series three and four, please change course. I also assume anyone who reads what is next has seen the entire series, so I don’t explain all the references in full detail.

The biggest question for a reboot is how much it follows what happens in series three and four. On the one hand, the events in question do end up centering the show around the best character it has, Kerr Avon. On the other hand, it ceases to be “Blake’s” seven.

Granted, for those who know the show, changing course and sticking with Blake in command means losing the emotional stakes of both the series 3 finale, “Terminal,” and the series 4 finale, “Blake.”

Both of those episodes clearly are making the case that, despite all the conflict between Blake and Avon and Avon’s seeming utter cynicism, Blake inspired Avon to really believe in the rebellion and to actually have an abiding respect for Blake. This is an interesting story that could be fleshed out far better in a modern prestige drama than was the case in the episodic TV of the early 1980s.

Granted, even if you stayed on that pathway, I can’t imagine having the reboot duplicate both “Terminal” and “Blake” as both have some similar story beats, not to mention the fact that “Terminal” was written as a series finale.

I could see the potential for a multi-episode arc wherein Blake disappears after the events in “Star One” and Avon goes looking for him in a way that replicates the emotional notes in both “Terminal” and “Blake.”

There is even a darker version wherein Blake leaves and ends up down a pathway that leads him to where he was in “Blake,” while Avon actually is able to build a real rebellion. There are a number of intriguing possibilities.

I would be fine with just a well-done weekly adventure show that does a good job of rebooting what we saw in the first two series. I would also recommend looking at the way Chris Boucher elevated the dialog and tensions among the crew in series 2.

I would be perfectly fine with Soolin, Dayna, and Tarrant never being a thing, and also avoiding the whole need for Scorpio and Slave.

Orac is a must-keep, as is Zen. I am ambivalent about whether Gan is needed from the get-go or not. I definitely would like to see the Jenna character better defined.

In terms of stories, I think a refresh of the basic origin story would be fine with me, and I would retain the start of series 2, which provides clues about Libertator (although I want to know more), and definitely say keep the Star One plot, and perhaps enhance it (as well as the invasion plotline).

What does everyone else think?

PS: I basically agree with the following: An open letter to the producers of the Blake’s 7 reboot.