Syfy Orders Blakes 7 Reboot Pilot

The proposed American remake of Blakes 7 has found itself a home as Syfy orders a pilot.
Earlier this summer it was announced that an American remake of Terry Nation’s classic sci-fi series Blakes 7 was in development and a broadcaster was being sought for the project. Well now the project has found itself a home in the form of Syfy the broadcaster was “re-imaged” Battlestar Galactica turning it from cheesy 1970s series into a critically acclaimed, post 9/11 series.
The deal with Syfy so far is for a pilot but if the execs are happy with the pilot they’ll order a full 13 part series. The pilot is to be written by Joe Pokaski and will be directed by Martin Campbell. British broadcaster Sky One showed some interest in reviving the series, a few years back, but the project stalled in development.
The original Blakes 7 ran on BBC One between 1978 and 1981 and was created by Terry Nation; the man who gave us Daleks and fellow drama series Survivors. The sci-fi was set in the future and followed a small group of rebels, initially led by Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas) and later Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow), in their fight against the tyrannically Terran Federation. The series was often dark and adult in nature though is now regarded as kitsch with the costumes often referred to as “Abba in Space”.
Blakes 7 memorably drew to a close in 1981 after four seasons with the final episode marking the return of Roj Blake and the entire cast of characters, bar the devious Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) who did not appear in the episode, gunned down in the closing minutes.