jacey | Booklog 10/2024: Ben Aaronovitch and others: Blake’s 7: A Rebellion Reborn

A selection of short stories dramatized with a full cast. Occasionally bringing back some of the original cast. This is a reboot, so it starts from Blake’s incarceration, trial and the journey to the penal colony on the London. It’s a slightly fresh take and the characters are voiced by new actors including Colin Salmon as Avon and Derek Riddell as Blake, with a gentle Scottish accent and distinctive voice. I like the way he plays the part, almost better than the original (if that won’t bring a ton of hate-mail down on my head). Colin Salmon is excellent, though I do miss Paul Darrow’s distinctive Avon-ness. (He will always be my definitive Avon no matter how many times it’s rebooted.) There’s a new crew-member, Mezzin, and, of course Zen. Callie doesn’t appear in the first season. The second season consists of a selection of character backstories (including Callie). It’s all very interesting. Some stories are shorter than others, some more complex and absorbing. I must admit I enjoyed ‘When Vila met Gan’ which featured Michael Keating (the original Vila). Many of the stories are written by Ben Aaronovitch, who apart from writing the Rivers of London series, was a Dr Who writer, so has a lot of experience with drama scripts. I gather from the making-of feature at the end, he also oversaw the other writers to bring coherence to the project. Well worth a listen, if, like me, you are a Blake’s 7 fan.