The Return of Blakes 7

Cult classic sci-fi series Blake's 7 is to be remade for the Syfy network, it has been announced.

FremantleMedia International said 13 hour-long episodes will be written by Heroes writer Joe Pokaski.

It added, in a statement, that Casino Royale and Goldeneye director Martin Campbell was also on board.

The original series, which ran on the BBC between 1978 and 1981, followed the exploits of a group of renegades and convicted criminals.

Roj Blake, played by Welsh actor Gareth Thomas, was a political dissident arrested, tried and convicted on false charges by a brutal totalitarian government, and then deported from Earth to a prison planet.

Stealing a spaceship, Blake and his team conducted a campaign against the ruling Terran Federation.

Peak audience

Comparing Blake's 7 with the hit US sci-fi series Star Trek, The Independent said in 1998: "No 'boldly going' here: instead, we got the boot stamping on a human face which George Orwell offered as a vision of humanity's future in Nineteen Eighty-Four."

At its peak, the series was watched by 10 million viewers and was sold to 40 countries. A range of Blake's 7 merchandise including books, magazines, annuals and toys were also released.

A radio adaptation, featuring This Life's Daniela Nardini as villain Servalan, was made in 2006.

According to FremantleMedia, the new series will be set in 2136 and will "tell the story of seven criminals - six guilty and one innocent - on their way to life on a prison colony in space, who together wrestle freedom from imprisonment".

It continued: "They acquire an alien ship which gives them a second chance at life and become the most unlikely heroes of their time".

Chief executive officer David Ellender said: "Blake's 7 was such a forward-thinking concept that the show continues to have resonance with audiences today."

The latest announcement is not the first time a remake of Blake's 7 has been attempted.

In 2003, a miniseries was shelved after actor Paul Darrow - who played Kerr Avon in the original show - left the project.

Later in 2008, Sky One announced it had commissioned two 60-minute scripts for a potential series but two years later said it had decided not to proceed.

Source: BBC News

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Doctor Who: series 7 Casting News

Three new names have been added to the guest cast for Doctor Who's seventh series...
Courtesy of tomorrow's edition of Doctor Who Magazine comes news of three guest cast members appearing opposite Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman in series 7. Those names? Jessica Raine, David Warner, and Liam Cunningham.

Raine, who was most recently seen as lead Jenny Lee in BBC drama Call The Midwife, will be popping up alongside Mission: Impossible II and Desperate Housewives' Dougray Scott in the Neil Cross-penned episode, which has already been filmed. Cross has migrated to Who from Luther and Spooks, and this episode marks his debut on the show.

David Warner, who's been in all sort of geek fare over the years from Tron to Twin Peaks, The Outer Limits, and more than one iteration of Star Trek, is to co-star with Game of Thrones' Liam Cunningham in Mark Gatiss' historical episode, the script for which Blogtor Who informs us has been teased to include the words "meat", "klaxon" and "Vienna". There, now with those three words to go on, how can we complain that Who's creators never reveal anything?

credit to : Den Of Geek

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Primeval: New World Casting

As filming begins on Primeval spin-off, New World, the first batch of casting has been announced.
The new team set to encounter prehistoric creatures includes Niall Matter (Eureka, 90210) as the enterprising inventor and visionary hero Evan Cross, and Sara Canning (Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Smallville) as Dylan Weir, predator attack expert and specialist in animal behavior.
New World will also star Miranda Frigon (Heartland) as Ange Finch, Geoff Gustafson (Hot Tub Time Machine) as Ken Leeds, Danny Rahim (EastEnders) as Mac Rendell.
Andrew-Lee Potts will reprise his role as Connor from the original series for a guest spot in the opener.
Stargate and Sanctuary director/executive producer Martin Wood has been brought on-board as one of the directors. Other directors who will helm various episodes include Andy Mikita and Amanda Tapping. Also confirmed is Mike Rohl, who has been involved with shows such as The Outer Limits, Smallville, Sanctuary and Eureka, Supernatural.
The 13-episode series will premiere on Canadian channel Space this Autumn. In the UK, Watch have picked up the show for broadcast late 2012.

Source: Cultfix

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