BBC News reports that, together with B7 Media’s Andrew Mark Sewell and Simon Moorhead, actor Paul Darrow has bought the rights to Blake’s 7 from the estate of its late creator, Terry Nation. Darrow and the others in the consortium announce plans to relaunch the show as a miniseries, picking up the story 25 years after the 1981 series finale, with a budget of £3,000,000 and Darrow as the only returning cast member, surrounded by new characters. If the miniseries is a success, it is hoped that a full series revival, or future TV movies or miniseries, will result. The project is targeted for an early 2005 airdate, but – perhaps unaware that still-secret plans for the BBC to revive Doctor Who will steal the thunder of the Blake’s 7 announcement – the consortium will fall into disarray over creative and logistical issues, and Blake’s 7 will not be revived on television.
