Special Hyperspace Sub-Beam from the BFI

[00:24]

Hello, dear listener and welcome to this special hyperspace subbeam transmission from the British Film Institute's Blake 7 screening.

We are here in the Space Corridor normally reserved for Doctor Who events, but it's been completely taken over and hijacked by Blake 7 fans, who you will not recognise at all.

We are, I'm Pete.

I'm Cy.

I'm Zoe.

I'm Mark.

I'm Ben.

I'm Dan.

I'm Tub, and I'm David.

And that's more or less 7 novers.

I mean, but I don't know who's Gan in his...

Who's the new supercomputer?

Super computer of the week.

So, yeah, so we have just been treated too.

Glorious new versions of Siklo Cake, Destroy, and Aurak.

And they did show the right versions, lots of jokes about the happiness patrol mishap from last time.

And then lots of guests as well on stage to speak to us.

What does everyone think?

Well now.

Get the ball rolling.

Okay.

First of all, apologies to everyone who was in the audience who heard me gasp very loudly in the middle of the title sequence of Secular Gate destroyed, when I realised that the model of the Liberator was being used to replace the cutout version, and I had a bit of a moment.

[01:42]

Having been here for so many Doctor Who events, it's so fantastic to see Blake 7 being given the same treatment and seeing the series scrubbed up so beautifully for the 1st time.

There are things that I found out today that more film exists for this series than we knew.

So basically everything from Cyclocate destroyed to the end of the series series A, not series one.

Oh there was a lot of that. exists apart from, of course, projects.

Avalon, obviously, because it's the best episode of the series.

And yeah, just seeing the new model effects in Situ was both brilliant and a very odd experience knowing the thing.

But also, we found out that when Seclocate Destroy was released on DVD, they put in some of the wrong film inserts.

So we're actually watching what is closer to the episode as broadcast than we have done in the last 20 odd years.

[02:51]

Yeah, it's um, it, it, and those film sequences for me were the thing that left out the most.

It was just the colours were so bright.

Even when they're going around that base in Seagler Cade destroyed, just even there's like the emergency signs are really bright red and things, things like that.

There's a sunset in the background or a sunrise, depending on how early or late they were recording.

Yeah, yeah.

Villa doesn't look very discreet in his bright orange.

Yeah.

I mean, to me, to me, it's so odd to see like a even with Doctor Who or Bloke 7, like a 1970s sci-fi show looking as good as, you know, some of the other archive TV we've seen on Blu-ray, like all the ITC shows and the stuff that was shot on film.

You can almost, there's so much film in Seek, Locate, destroy.

Yeah.

And we don't realise with all the all the E-Ling stuff is on film and that's all been restored.

Um, it's almost like you can kind of picture a series which is fully fully shot on film. almost.

[03:55]

Was it?

And the factor with all the new effects, model shots and bits of CGI as well, they seem to be quite subtly and fairly sort of integrated into everything.

I don't think there was anything that seemed too jarringly different about it.

But there was, but one of the things I like the most was when you saw Space Command.

There was a tiny little model of the Scorpio circling around.

I think you'll find that thing.

Mark full planet, planet hot house.

Oh, right, so canonics, I've cooked, so it's a generic...

So they've added it to that, which I'm being told that while they were refilming that model of server...

I know it's supposed to.

Serverland's donut spaceship was spinning around.

There's an episode title.

And but apparently a cat was trying to attack it in the in the in the shed in Belfast where it was. called a lazy Susan.

We need to get that in the extras, don't we?

We need actual footage.

Behind the scenes footage, just the new footage beams.

The models.

The modding in.

The models are done by the same person that did the Happiness Patrol, Chris Thompson. from our previous trap one.

[05:01]

Who will be coming to do a maximum power with us.

Do listen learn for that before as a preview of the boxer.

Yeah, you've got us discussing here as a load of fans, but we're actually going to be interviewing some proper grown-ups who've actually been involved in making this thing. in for an upcoming maximum power special.

You heard it here, but.

I thought it was quite funny to have both, you know, the new and the old.

You had Matt Irvine, who was involved in some of the special effects, although not as many in series A as you'd imagine.

And then Chris Thompson as well.

And they're both saying there's never enough time and money to do all these effects even on the new release because there's just there's like 400 odds.

Yeah, there's a lot of shots.

Yeah.

And I think the, one of the best shots is Silvan's house.

When that when that model comes off and they've got all these ships around it, got pursuit ships, it's just been lit and shot beautifully and it's like, you know, it's not a brilliant model effect in the original and it just looks absolutely gorgeous.

[06:06]

Now, all of the novel effects look gorgeous.

Some of the liberator flybys are just fantastic.

It's going to take me a while to get my head used to the idea that we've got this. the crew on the ship and in 625 line glory restored to, you know, may look better than it's ever looked.

But then they look out of the window and outside the window, there's an HDCGI effect going on.

My brain is not yet clicked in on that.

It's like, it's almost too good.

But I know they were talking about how they've insisted on getting a real cohesive vibe for the whole year.

So I'm sure, and you're watching it through, you're going to see that and sort of sort of just sort of reprogram your brain's expectations.

What I liked was the fact that, because I know the episode's quite well, that what they've done with the new effects is actually recreate the shots that would have been in those places quite well, but with new effects.

So, um, in Aurak, for example, where we've got the shots, mostly the 2D animation shots because they've run out of money at this point.

[07:12]

We've got those cheap.

But what they've done is replicate those without so many stars in the background, but the general feel of them is the same as those shots at the start.

So it feels authentic in lots of ways.

It's an enhancement.

What I was expecting, because a lot of the Doctor Who, CGI replacements.

There's lots of laser beams added and lots of extra bits.

There wasn't anything like that.

When they fire their guns, those effects are as they were.

And that's something I got, I was actually quite a little bit relieved at because sometimes laser beam effects that are added in, don't always work. they're like, yeah, they age as quickly as the original.

Yeah, so now, like, yeah, and a 90s laser beam that was added to an 80s Doctor Who looks really out of date now more than the 80s does, but then that's because we've trained our brains to, like, the original, but yeah.

I think part of what it comes down to with a lot of these things when they remaster them is the difference between, are they doing it as we do it if we were making it today versus what would they have done then if they'd had the money or that kind of tech?

[08:14]

How did they envision it then?

Which is often quite a different thing.

Yeah, it's been done really quite sympathetically.

It's not, they've not tried to do a 21st century upgrade.

They've just gone, can we do that and make it?

Look, there's just been a bit more spent on it.

Exactly.

And I think the fact that they went to the effort of doing it as models rather than CGI, because that would have felt jarring.

But actually something about models with new background, new space backgrounds that just sort of works.

The other thing I enjoyed about today is the fact that we got to see it with an audience.

And who knew that these episodes were quite funny.

There was so much laughter going on.

Even things like in Aurac, when they get the map out.

Someone closely burst into hysterics and I'm like, it was really... they could have put a new CGI mapping.

I'm very glad...

Oh yes, that is exactly, yeah, imagine if she'd unfilled it and it had been a three-dimensional CGI village.

I mean they could have done that.

They could have done it. glad they didn't.

[09:15]

How could you?

I think the biggest laugh came from Serverland's last line of Aorak, which is you're in a lot of trouble traps.

Just a brilliant moment, but it's just that seemed to get the biggest reaction from him.

Well, it's overlap, obviously.

And we've all had a line manager who's tried to do that.

But they never did it like Jackie Pierce, did they?

But it's lovely seeing the actors in proper HD and on a big screen and you can really see what they were doing and what they were bringing.

And Gareth Thomas's intensity really came out of the screen, even if Blake is still wrong. in so many places.

So the scenes where he's there in Seaclocate, Destroy, you really appreciate those location scenes where he's bouncing off Villa. and you've got the comedy of Villa and absolute clear cut seriousness of Gareth Thomas the whole time.

He still feeds the lines, but with absolute sincerity, and Villa's having a bit more fun with it.

Michael Keating.

[10:17]

There was a bit of a laugh in Cyclocape Destroy when Travis is watching Blake's torture video photos.

And the nightmare, someone where he said, is that all the information we've got?

Yes. going through the mates of that audience.

Yes.

It was a bit smutty.

Yeah, of course, just me then before that.

No, no, no.

Does someone have to say it out loud?

We've all seen his kung face.

I wasn't going to go there.

Sorry, everybody.

It was a Radakum face.

It was okay.

It was Torax and bangs and leaks comfy.

The bit I'd never noticed before, because obviously they teleport down, and Villas went to speak, and Blake says, you know, basically quiet, you've got to be quiet.

He then launches into basically this detailed set of instructions quite loudly as well.

I was like, you've just told Villa that, you know, silence is essential.

And then you leap into this whole thing.

And they also never notice how wobbly the robot head is.

[11:17]

It's in HD.

It's on the big screen.

The robot was not replaced.

The ship robot shipbot 5000 carries on.

You can still see the wire.

You can see the board.

But if they tried, it would have just been sad, wouldn't it?

And it was great having Sally and Jan on stage.

They just seem to have paused the passage of time about quite a few years ago.

They just look magnificent. 47 years, I say. 48, there was debate.

And one of the questions they were asked about, I remember someone asked them, what did you notice most?

And it was that thing of the time, I can't remember who it was, who said it, but it was the tiny micro movements in actors' faces that on the big screen looked so much...

Okay, it was Jan, because she was saying, I felt like a telepath.

I'm mind reading them because I can see exactly what he's thinking from that tiny movement of his eye.

Jan Chappell did reveal today that she is actually a child as well.

[12:18]

Sometimes.

Yes.

When the plot calls for it, and the budget...

I'd nipped to the loo between episodes, and I was at the cubicle, and suddenly I realised that I could hear voices, and it was the 2 of them.

They were in the cubicles either side of me and they were just having a chat and I couldn't go.

I mean, this is not something that I prepared myself for.

Sorry, TMI, but yeah, that's a fan experience.

But yeah, we had a whole series of guests today.

So we had Matt Irvin and Chris Thompson, which is really good, but we also had Jan Chappell and Sally Nemette and Roger Murray Leach, which was really good.

So Roger had a lot to say about making the series.

And about the disrespect with which his sets were treated by the by the scene sisters because they hated them because they weren't flat so they could just easily stack away at the end of the day.

They had to they had to put them in the they were much, much more hard work to put away.

So they tended to just fling them about from the sound of things.

[13:19]

Even Jan looked really, really angry about that.

Just what?

They crashed them into walls.

Yeah.

I mean, watching that, watching the liberator say on the big screen.

I do wonder how they even made Zen or made it all fits together.

Yeah.

Because it's so much more complicated than...

And that nobody broke it during the course of the 3 years.

Yeah, yeah.

It explains how battered it looks by the end of the series.

The corridor bits all the little stripes.

They're all coming off. and all the corners of the worktops.

Yeah.

Space Watch.

It stood up quite well considering how big a screen we were watching.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And it was lovely to hear Sally Nevette talk about the 2 men who were down at the down at her flight seat, holding the angle boys' land so that she could do standard by 4 acting without the set fall into places after she broke it.

I still don't know how the system speed works, because they're fleeing for their lives and they go, and Gang goes, stand up by six. 6 or five. yeah, whatever.

[14:21]

Just saunter away.

And we got one other thing we got was some previews of other moon balloon content coming up on the Blu-rays. including Stephen Grief, getting a full buyer, which looks really good.

There was the original interview footage with him, Intercut with people talking about him now.

As is usual in these extras.

His son is quite beautiful.

It's becoming a thing, isn't it?

Yes.

There was a bit of a...

But no, we've just had the Dot Who fans, the Graham Williams documentary, which was really sensitively handled, had like contributions from his family, from his friends.

So to do that with some of the missing actors of Blake Seven. hopefully, again, if there's a series B, Blu-ray, that would be really, really, really good.

Yeah, because as Jan and Sally was saying, they're the last 2 standing now.

[15:23]

So although Michael Keating is still with us.

He's not well.

And they're carrying the torch for the for the earliest part of the series now.

And so there are lots of people who need to be remembered.

With Stephen, it's still quite, it's not very long ago that he passed away.

So this would be quite raw for anyone sort of talking about him.

And Justin Johnson got to read out on stage letters from Peter Tunham's family and Dave Jackson's family.

David Jackson's wife.

That's right, yes, yeah. which is really nice.

Yeah, just to hear how much he loved being in the series because we don't hear his voice so much now.

Really?

Yeah.

So yeah, bring on the next three, basically.

Yeah, we had we had a lovely montage of motor work and music, which was really lovely.

So I've got some sneak peeks of what's become in some of the episodes that we haven't seen yet.

Can we talk about the choice of episodes?

Yeah, of course.

[16:23]

A lot of people were saying, seeklocate, destroy, you know, such an amazing episode, great re, you know, they use the soft reboot of the series, serve land for the 1st time.

I don't think in the comments anyone was expecting Aurac.

I don't think anyone picked all rag.

No, but I guess, I mean, it's the finale, although, yeah.

And it stood up quite well, yeah.

There's the film sequences, there's a tiny bit of effects.

I guess everyone has their own favourite episode of the series that they like to see on the big screen.

I suppose because it's quite film heavy.

It was maybe what Sweden?

I did wonder that.

Yeah, they've done a lot of work on the, yeah, and it really shows off the work on the film.

The sound quality is really good too.

It's not stereo, is it, from what we were saying.

It feels like they're just they haven't probably had the elements to do that.

No.

Like, uh, like, they can't be ages got clues.

The raw film sounds, which we didn't know, again, existed.

So Marquez was able to use that to replace dialogue wherever possible.

Yeah, it's pristine.

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's pristine quality.

Yeah, yeah.

I suppose the only downside is you have people like Sally and Paul that didn't really have a great much to do in the episodes.

[17:32]

No, Sally was on teleport duty.

Oh yeah, I know.

And she said in the interviews, didn't she?

But by that point, she'd already been telling them that she wanted to leave and she was not, there's no way to persuade us to stay, but they still, they forced her to stay for another year.

She was contracted.

Yeah, and they, but because of that, they were sort of parking her character. which is really unfortunate.

Such a shame she never got. proper end because it was just, you know, she just disappears and there's that throwaway line in black.

Jenna's gone with play.

Yeah, exactly.

And then they throw away right in the very last episode in that like, oh, Jenna, oh, she went off and that's it.

It's never really quite, you know, and she was such a good character.

It's so insist that she's still alive.

Yes, that's true.

I've seen her body.

She's concerned Jenner is still with us.

Does that mean the Blake finish, the big finish story isn't Canon?

With the one with their K?

Oh, I don't know what the rules often like.

We've only got 3 hours to go.

So, I hope you've enjoyed this taster.

[18:33]

Anything else we've forgotten to mention?

I think we've covered it.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I hope you enjoyed hearing what we've been up to here today and that you'll enjoy the Blu-rays if you get a chance to see them.

We'll be back on maximum power with some interviews with the Blu-ray producers and contributors in a special episode coming not too far away.

And following that, The 4th series of Blake 7 is awaiting us.

It's even really interesting.

The D series.

So hope you'll listen again. and until then, we'll see you around.

I would just like to say that breaking news.

I did speak to Lee Binding and complain that series A was not put on the bing.

And he did reveal that he did originally on his cover design, put series A, but was told by the BBC that it had to be series one.

So it's the tyranny of iPlayer or just people's expectations.

So hopefully we'll get alternative series 8 artwork that we put over.

Reversible. stickers.

[19:33]

Goodbye from us here on that bombshell.

Goodbye from the VFI.

Bye bye.

Bye.

Switching to Manny.

Maximum power on all drives.

Maximum power.