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In the distant future, the tyrannical Federation decides to do away with its most persistent opponent: freedom fighter Roj Blake. Blake is sentenced to exile on the prison colony planet Cygnus Alpha after a conveniently quick trial convicts him on false charges that he molested several children. Aboard the prison ship London en route to Cygnus Alpha, Blake meets fellow prisoners Jenna Stannis, a hard-bitten smuggler, and cynical computer expert Kerr Avon. When they’re enlisted as skilled cannon fodder for a mission to salvage an enormous alien spacecraft, the three prisoners take the opportunity to make an escape attempt. The Federation officer overseeing the prisoners, Mezen, is trapped aboard the alien ship with them. Blake decides to recruit more crew memebrs from the remaining prisoners ferried to Cygnus Alpha by the London, but he finds them under a different iron fist there, as prisoners already living there have set up their own strict society, ruling by the fear of God. Only two of the prisoners, master thief Vila Restal and convicted killer Oleg Gan, opt to join Blake’s crew. Across the galaxy, in the seat of power on Earth, Space Commander Travis - who hunted Blake before his capture by the Federation - warns the newly-promoted Supreme Commander Servalan that Blake is more of a threat than the Federation’s strategists think he is.

written by Ben Aaronovitch
directed by Andrew Mark Sewell
music by Alistair Lock

Cast: Derek Riddell (Roj Blake), Colin Salmon (Kerr Avon), Carrie Dobro (Jenna Stannis), Dean Harris (Vila Restal), Owen Aaronovitch (Oleg Gan), India Fisher (Lora Mezin), Daniela Nardini (Servalan), Craig Kelly (Travis), Michael Praed (Soris), Tim Plester (Clinician Havant), Sarah Matravers (Revella), Jonathan Rhodes (Prosecutor), Dominic Cotter (Reporter), Robert Lock (Captain of the London), Daniel J. Geduld (Trooper Tanzig), Barbara Joslyn (Sheeva / Computer voices), Frances Barber (Judge Helga Ramotswe), James Gaddas (Sub-Commander Raiker), Nick Brimble (Borchu)

Review: Anyone who wants to sell me on a “reimagining” of Blake’s 7, the classic BBC space opera which ran from 1978-81 and happens to be among my top five all-time favorite SF series, has an uphill battle in front of them. B7 Media, the entity formed by producer Andrew Mark Sewell to acquire and exploit the rights to Terry Nation’s Blake’s 7 charatcers and situations, almost has even more of an uphill struggle by default: after years of talk (and the hasty exit of Paul “Avon” Darrow as a staunch supporter), Sewell’s much-mooted revival of the series has borne very little fruit. This first installment of a reimagined Blake’s 7 in audio form rockets through the events of the original series’ first three episodes in record time - it reminds me of Tim Burton’s Planet Of The Apes remake, which compressed the first hour of the Charlton Heston original into something like 20 minutes. (more…)