It's Alive! Blake's 7 rises from the grave

No, not that, please...

Blake's 7 is returning to the TV screens, a mere 23 years after the cult Brit SF series ended its run on the BBC.

A consortium, including Paul Darrow, the actor who played Avon, the nasty-but-nice computer expert, has bought the rights from the widow of Terry Nation, creator of the show (and Doctor Who's Daleks and Survivors).

Next stop is a new TV mini-series, Blake's Seven - A Rebellion Reborn. This will feature the B7 crew years on, but only Darrow from the original cast has a role. What, no Jacqueline Pearce? There can be only one Servalan.

The budget is $3.5m to $5m, hopefully enough to ensure that special effects and costumes are better than the original B7, which was famously awful in both departments.

But don't hold your breath for A Rebellion Reborn. Planning is at an early stage. In a message on its flashy web site, B7 Productions says it will not be entering pre-production "until April/May 2004".

Which marks a step-up on the last time the show was supposed to return to the screens. Reg Reader Andrew Larcombe has pointed us to an almost identical piece of pre-production puff - from three years ago. ®