Rebel Rabble

Ooo, this will be fun.

Honestly? It could, and it could not.

There's no, "wow, you couldn't get away with that now," about it. You could easily make a show today about a political dissident framed and sent to prison teaming up with a handful of criminals and a stolen alien space ship fighting against a totalitarian dystopia in an ultimately doomed endeavor. I'm certainly hearing interesting things about Andor, for example. Hell, a lot of the stuff in Blake's 7 would be considered even more topical today than in the 70s.

But it wouldn't be the same. 70s dystopia isn't the same as 80s dystopia, or 90s, or today's. Every dystopia is formed from crap people are stressing about TODAY. What parts are focused on are also very much informed by a combination of what the showrunners care about vs what the media standards and practices of the time allow. Blake's 7 of today would probably be a much harder, darker, glossy show. Especially if it had a bigger budget.

Blake's 7 of 1978-1981 has it's own tone, formed by how dystopias of the time were generally envisioned. Its look is the unholy amalgam you get from 1970s grime, 1970s space opera sci-fi tropes, and massive enthusiasm funded by $2.75 and a sandwich. (And all the props you can snitch from the Doctor Who set next door.)

And its writing is also formed from its budget and the limits of the special effects. They had model ships that sometimes wobbled on their strings. There was great design and effort put into those models and props, but the audience is never going to think, "wow, that looks like they're REALLY in space!" So you go dialogue-heavy. You convey action and tone with the actors on set. And it works, because Blake's 7 got actors who were ALL IN on acting their hearts out. The Liberator might wobble a bit in that motion shot, but you are fully invested in the tension and joking happening on the Flight Deck, because the actors have disappeared into the characters and are living the scene.

A show written today doesn't usually have to write around its lack of FX. You get less talking, more "spaceship go wooooooshhh."

It's a bit like asking, "could you make Doctor Who today," if that wasn't already a thing. And that is the same answer. Doctor Who of today is NOT the same thing as Doctor Who of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And in fact, every era of Classic Who is quite different from the others. And yet...it's all perfectly recognizable as Doctor Who. Whichever version you prefer, you can look at any of it, and go, "yup, that's Doctor Who."

I would certainly watch Blake's 7 made today. Whether I liked it or not would depend on all the same factors that had to fall into place a certain way to make Blake's 7 1978 a show I loved.

Even if all those factors fell into place...it wouldn't be the same show. It might be better! It might be worse. It would be its own thing, because you can't capture magic the same way twice.

I saw this on Twitter a while ago and I've been meaning to share it.

Vila always looks uncertain when he holds guns because he's not someone who likes violence or conflict. He's out of his comfort zone holding a gun and that's different from most other sci-fi characters, confidently handling weapons and making perfect shots all the time.

Michael Keating 1947–2026 - News - Big Finish

RIP to Michael Keating, a fine character actor with a long career on stage and screen, but one who will be best remembered by we geeks as the wonderfully cowardly (or as the actor himself preferred: cautious), and very relatable, Vila Restal in Blakes 7.

A master at picking locks and security systems, and also usually a lot smarter than he let anyone realise, Vila's combination of cheerfulness, cynicism, and an overwhelming desire to keep his skin intact whilst still helping Blake and his friends (though for practical rather than political reasons) were always a delight.

He also got more than his fair share of excellent one liners.

"There isn't a lock I can't pick - if I'm scared enough"

And as for his trading barbs with Avon, well, where does one begin.

Vila: I have this shocking pain in my head

Avon: Have you considered amuptation?

Though it's perhaps appropriate to finish with Vila's own assessment of immortality:

"I plan to live forever, or die trying"

I'm sorry to hear that Michael Keating has just died.

He was the reason I first got into Blake's Seven. I'd been at college, in a broadcasting blindspot where someone had to hold the portable TV's cable in the air to get a chance of a picture, so I hadn't been following the new SF TV show (there were TV rooms, but I never got organised to go to them when anything interesting was on). So my first full episode of Blake's Seven was the beginning of season 3, when Vila is calling for help from the surface of a planet, and he's cold, and hungry, and he thinks he's broken his arm - and I thought that it was such a refreshing change from square jawed heroes being brave that I wanted to see more of him.

I'm sorry to hear that Michael Keating has just died.

He was the reason I first got into Blake's Seven. I'd been at college, in a broadcasting blindspot where someone had to hold the portable TV's cable in the air to get a chance of a picture, so I hadn't been following the new SF TV show (there were TV rooms, but I never got organised to go to them when anything interesting was on). So my first full episode of Blake's Seven was the beginning of season 3, when Vila is calling for help from the surface of a planet, and he's cold, and hungry, and he thinks he's broken his arm - and I thought that it was such a refreshing change from square jawed heroes being brave that I wanted to see more of him.