Classic British Sci-Fi Re-image Contest

[Encrypt]

Classic British Sci-Fi Re-image Contest

So I have decided what the hell.

I currently have an obsession with re-imaging the Liberator from Blake's 7. It has never really been organic enough for me.
I have also been hearing that the series might be on its way back, via a remake on the sic fi channel.

What with the all the re-makes of classic sci fi why not have a contest

The rules:
Of the four classic British sci fi vehicles listed below update and re-image one (or more) of the designs.
I have listed some characteristics that I think are indicative of the design, and make it identifiable as that vehicle to the viewer.
Simple....

Closing date for entries May 31st 2013.

The vehicles:
The Liberator: Blake's 7. Alien, powerful, three nacelles, glowing green ball thing at the back.
Hawk: Space 1999. "Realistic" that is to say the design looks like it could have been designed by NASA. Interchangeable mid section for mission specific ops. The nose/cockpit.
FAB1: Thunderbirds. Pink, 6 wheels, Rolls Royce, forward canted grill, bubble canopy.
Starbug: Red Drawf. Green, three segments, bug/insect appearance, fixed slenderly legs, tiny fins on the back.

Hopefully thats a mix of stuff. I was considering the Angel interceptors or SkyDive, but it was getting a bit Gerry anderson heavy.

Have fun.

 

[Encrypt]

For reference this is as far as I have gotten with my reimage of the Liberator.

 

[podperson]

Long ago when j michael straczynski was discussing his plans for Babylon 5 on usenet, someone pointed out that his ideas sounded a bit like Blake's 7. he'd never heard of Blake's 7 and after hunting down some tapes came back (apparently humbled) and said that if he could do something a tenth as good he'd b happy.

Blake's 7 had laughable production quality, literally "toys hanging on strings" special effects, awful gaps in continuity, and it's still one of the best SF series ever made.

 

[Encrypt]

I think it also goes to show, story first, second and third. I recently watched them via LoveFilm, and stories were still engaging, the different agendas of the main cast, some of the concepts!
It predicted a surveillance society, the CCTV camera being one of the motifs of the open credits.

Not sure how I feel that Sci Fi Channel might be trying to bring it back.

 

[podperson]

The British were absolutely obsessed with Orwellian dystopias in the late 70s through the 80s. Reading the Wikipedia entries on Blake's 7 reminded me of another series called 1990 that came out around the same time and which is now almost entirely forgotten (it also had the actress who played Servalan in it). Same themes.

While Blake's 7 was very good by SF series standards, it was still pretty mediocre in comparison with good mainstream TV (often produced on equally thin budgets – check out I CLAUDIUS from the same era).

 

[Encrypt]

Ah, I CLAUDIUS gets a lot of mentioned, for some reason I have been mixing it up with the Frankie Howard send up.
I agree some really great TV was made, not sure if it had a tight budget or not, I am guess not considering who played Smiley, but I watched the BBC's Tinker Taylor Solider Spy. It was very good.

Then I look at some of the stuff I watch, or have watched recently, and you see the same plot come up time and time again even in the same show, like when watching american shows, there is almost always a flashback episode, and not a flashback into something we havent seen before, a flash back into prior episodes.
The Hustle was pretty bad for this, there was always an episode where they are conning somebody for free to settle a score or help a friend, and the one were they nearly get caught by the police, and the one were they get conned by somebody else.

 

[Rene66]

Decided to give the Liberator a refit -- Could probably use more work on the textures. Cheers

 

[Encrypt]

Thanks for the entry

 

[podperson]

Ah, I CLAUDIUS gets a lot of mentioned, for some reason I have been mixing it up with the Frankie Howard send up.
I agree some really great TV was made, not sure if it had a tight budget or not, I am guess not considering who played Smiley, but I watched the BBC's Tinker Taylor Solider Spy. It was very good.

Then I look at some of the stuff I watch, or have watched recently, and you see the same plot come up time and time again even in the same show, like when watching american shows, there is almost always a flashback episode, and not a flashback into something we havent seen before, a flash back into prior episodes.
The Hustle was pretty bad for this, there was always an episode where they are conning somebody for free to settle a score or help a friend, and the one were they nearly get caught by the police, and the one were they get conned by somebody else.

If the Smiley series were cheap it could only be because Sir Alec Guinness agreed not to charge a fraction of his usual rate (after Star Wars, where he got a perecentage of gross, he bought his own island). The trick with the great British TV series, like I CLAUDIUS and the two Smiley series is adapting a great novel. That said, the standard of US TV series today is extremely high — Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc. are all insanely well made shows. Even back in the 80s, the US produced the best TV (e.g. Hill Street Blues), it just made an awful lot of dreck too (but hey, so did the Brits — Are You Being Served?).

SF is a special case. So little even barely decent SF gets made, we have to treasure it.

 

[Encrypt]

I dont know, I always kinda like "are you being severed"

I guess maybe I watch the dross then, as while I recognise the shows you mention of being of high quality, they have never really grabbed me and compelled me to watch.

I think you can recognise a show as being of high quality, but if it doesnt grab you, it doesnt matter who good the quality it is.