Hit 1970s sci-fi series Blake's 7 is to make a comeback - more then 30 years after it disappeared from TV screens.

A 13-part series, described as a "revolutionary reinvention" of the BBC programme, is now being developed with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell already on board.

There have been attempts to rejuvenate the show in the past but they have failed to come to fruition.

FremantleMedia International announced today that the series is in the pipeline with Heroes and CSI writer Joe Pokaski working on scripts.

It is being developed with US cable network Syfy.

The original series starred Gareth Thomas as Blake, a political dissident, although he was a regular character in only the first two of the four series. It was created by Terry Nation, a regular writer for Doctor Who who conjured up the Daleks.

The new series, set in 2136, tells the story of seven criminals heading to a prison colony in space who escape and take over an alien ship.

David Ellender, the CEO of FremantleMedia International said: "Blake's 7 was such a forward-thinking concept that the show continues to have resonance with audiences today.

"Its complex characters and gritty storylines, coupled with the highly talented team and modern production techniques are sure to appeal to both original fans of the show and new viewers."

Blake's 7 has been revived on radio but efforts to bring it back to the screen - including a Sky-backed return - have not got off the ground until now.

Doctor Who and sexy sidekick Clara roar down the side of London's Shard - on a motorbike.

It's just one of the sensational scenes coming up as the telly Timelord celebrates the big five-oh.

In fact, actor Matt Smith says fans can look forward to it being the "biggest, best, most inventive and most exciting year for the show" as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The first episode of the new series hits television screens next month and sees the timelord defy gravity by roaring up and down the Shard building on a motorcycle.

A special 3D anniversary show will also be broadcast in November but Smith and co-star Jenna-Louise Coleman, who plays Clara Oswald, are remaining tight-lipped about what viewers can expect.

Smith says he clapped when he read the script.

"It sort of does what it says on the tin," he grins. "You won't be disappointed!

"I think it's hilarious, I think it's epic and I think it's fast, and I'm telling you nothing more - but you will NOT be disappointed.

"I think it's going to be the biggest, best, most inventive and most exciting year for the show and I think this script delivers on all those points that you want it to for where the show is at this time, it's brilliant."

Jenna-Louise adds: "It pays homage to the last 50 years of the show and kind of really celebrates that, but at the same time as looking forward."

The pair have been speaking at a special screening of the first episode of series eight in London.

The Bells of St John is described as a modern day urban thriller and sees the duo battling a new adversary, the Spoonheads, against a backdrop of London landmarks including Westminster Bridge and the Shard as they discover something sinister lurking in the Wi-Fi.

Matt says: "It's sort of Doctor Who meets the Bourne Identity with motorcycles. We've got Celia Imrie being saucy and sexy, we have got aliens in your Wi-Fi, Westminster, the Shard, London in the present day, with the Tardis in the middle of it."

He says he thought Coleman had made a "brilliant" start in her role as Clara.

"She's inventive, she works tirelessly hard. And I'm really proud of what she's achieved," he adds.

"After the Ponds I think the doctor was a little blue. I think she's re-ignited his curiosity in the universe and her impossibility has sort of awakened his mind and his soul and that's something that we'll see grow and evolve as the series continues."

Former Emmerdale star Jenna-Louise says she has already had a "wonderful" time on the show.

"It's such a unique job," she smiles. "I can honestly say there really is no job like Doctor Who. You can be a big kid at work and run down the corridors being chased by monsters and the scripts are just absolutely fantastic."

Speaking of Matt, she adds: "He's just an absolute genuine joy, he's been absolutely so supportive and totally and utterly there for me and he's a really good friend."

Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat says the new series will see Doctor Who's biggest secret revealed.

"We're not kidding, we are actually going to do it, we're going to reveal his biggest secret," he says.

Our money is on his real name, something River Song already knows ...

And will the big anniversary episode feature ALL the Time Lord's incarnations, as we've predicted in the past?

No-one's saying. We'll take that as a good sign...

Being Human viewers will get a quick glimpse of new BBC Three drama In The Flesh on Sunday at 10:58pm.

The exciting new three-part drama tells the story of zombie teenager Kieren Walker (Luke Newberry) and his reintegration back into both the local community and the heart of his family.

The story follows the re-animation of the dead and the zombies gradually being returned to their homes.

The zombies are known as PDS sufferers (Partially Deceased Syndrome) - and they have to try and integrate back into society four years after violent and bloody battles when the zombie outbreak happened.

Writer Dominic Mitchell explains in more depth: "When I first came up with the idea, I was always 'what would really happen in a zombie apocalypse?' Not the movie version, but the real version. And in the real version, in my head, the scientists would always be trying to find a cure, or find some way to manage the undead.

"I want it to be for a really wide audience and to talk about real issues, real family issues, real domestic issues, and we play with the zombie methodology. We do have a few scenes of real great zombie genre stuff, but then you have a scene where it's really domestic and they're sitting around the table just trying to be a family again, and that's what I really wanted it to do. So, your Grandma can watch it, hopefully, and really enjoy it, and it can speak to her as well as speak to the teenage zombie horror fan.

"Kieren isn't comfortable in his 'undead' state, he didn't want to come back, he wanted to be dead. That's a journey for Kieren - here's someone who didn't want to be alive and now he's alive again, and he's discovering that life is worth living, weirdly, but now he's partially deceased.

"It's about redemption, forgiveness and battling against prejudices, and that prejudices can cause chaos if there is no forgiveness - that causes chaos to you and the community."

Tune into Being Human this Sunday at 10pm on BBC Three - the one-off teaser trailer for In The Flesh will screen straight after.

Click to embiggen.

Team Anorak is deeply unhappy about the news that JJ Abrams thriller Alcatraz has bitten the dust - victim of a ratings war with the US version of The Voice.

Just when the storyline was getting interesting, and questions started to be answered, we've been left in limbo. Fox has dropped the show, and no other takers look likely.

So we'll never know how those 340 inmates and guards disappeared from The Rock in 1963, why Tommy Madsen's blood has healing properties, why the 63s were seeded throughout America, if Rebecca can be brought back to life, if Hurley can eat another doughnut ...

After the demise of Stargate Universe, Terra Nova and Invasion in similar circumstances, you have to question the wisdom of ending with cliffhangers.

And, to rub salt into the wounds, they're bringing back Falling Skies, the sub-average Spielberg sci-fi melodrama which returns next month on Sky. And the interminable Touch, which goes on, and on, and on.

Fuelled by a lot of promotion, Alcatraz was launched in January in the US and drew good reviews and strong numbers.

The two-hour premiere attracted a 3.3 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic with 10.05 million total viewers. Opposite some tough competition from CBS, Alcatraz was in second place in its timeslots.

In week two, the demo slipped 9% to a still respectable 3.0 rating with 9.03 million. Week three dropped another 7% - and the ratings just kept falling.

In February, NBC launched season two of The Voice and Alcatraz's ratings took a big dive. They dropped 18% on February 6 and then another 17% on the 13. The numbers just kept falling after that.

The two-hour season finale was in fourth place in the timeslots and averaged a disappointing 1.6 demo rating with just 4.76 million total viewers.

You've watched the show, you've read the books.

Now you get to BE your heroes (and villains).

Yes, Game Of Thrones is coming to an xbox 360, PS3 or PC near you.

A new RPG out in June features two NEW stories from the Song Of Ice And Fire universe created by fantasy writer George R R Martin.

We're promised spectacular and tactical battles, loads of secondary quests and many of the locations and characters from the books.

That's right, the fate of the Seven Kingdoms and the Iron Throne will be in your hands.

Lauren Cohan (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

Lauren plays rebellious tomboy and farmer's daughter Maggie Greene on the award-winning zombie apocaplypse series, currently on its second season.

She also plays Bela Talbot in Supernatural, Vivian in Chuck and Rose in The Vampire Diaries.

Image via Wikipedia

Chandler plays Carl Grimes, the son of Kentucky police officer Rick and his wife Lori, in AMC's hit TV series based on Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning zombie apocalypse comics. Meanwhile Melissa plays Carol Peletier, wife of abusive bully Ed, and Madison plays their 12-year-old daughter Sophia.

Currently on its second season with a third already confirmed, The Walking Dead has met with critical acclaim as well as public success, scooping an Emmy and being nominated for Best Television Drama Series at the Golden Globes and Best New Series at the Writers Guild of America Awards.

Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride and Madison Lintz will be meeting fans at the MCM Birmingham Comic Con on the weekend of 31 March - 1 April. The brand new Birmingham Comic Con will run alongside the long-established Memorabilia show at the NEC - there's no need to choose between them, though, as ticket holders for either event will have access to the other show free of charge!

To buy tickets to the MCM Birmingham Comic Con and Memorabilia Birmingham, visit: https://www.mcmexpostore.com/store/

Image via Wikipedia

This was the moment on game show Bullseye when host Jim Bowen rubbed salt in the wounds of the defeated contestants by showing them the prize they'd missed out on. It's a phrase that has become part of popular culture.

Even if the participants were lucky enough to win, they often didn't come away with anything very useful. The ranged from the cheap - a remote-controlled toy car - to the superfluous, like the couple from Walsall who won a speedboat.

This was all part of the appeal of the 'super, smashing, great' darts game show, and is what makes the news that Bullseye is making a comeback in America so surprising. The Stateside producers are offering a huge jackpot of $1 million.

Warning

The Yanks have realised that 'you can't beat a bit of Bully' and the show is being re-made by the team who took The Weakest Link across the Atlantic.

Apparently, darts is much more popular in America than we might expect.

Bullseye was a Sunday afternoon treat that pulled in up to 19 million viewers and was, for the most part, made in Birmingham.

The first nine series were recorded at ATV, and then Central's, Broad Street studios. Then in 1990, production moved to Lenton Lane in Nottingham.

The show featured three pairs of contestants, each of which had a player good at darts and one good at general knowledge.

In the final round, the pairs were faced with Bully's Prize Board and the warning: "Keep out of the black and in the red, there's nothing in this game for two in a bed."

They won a prize for each red segment they hit, but if they hit that segment twice, the prize was lost.

The winning pair were then given the chance to gamble for the star prize, hidden behind screens, which they won if they scored 101 or more with three darts.

The consolation prize was a set of darts and a rubber doll of the show's mascot, called a Bendy Bully. If they lost out on the star prize, Jim also offered to throw in their BFH - bus fare home.

The show also featured a celebrity or professional darts player, who threw nine darts to raise money for charity. Some were better than others - a clearly drunk George Best managed to miss the board completely.

Darts commentator Tony Green kept score throughout.

Jim became known for his gaffes, such as this exchange with a contestant. "What do you do for a living?" "I'm unemployed, Jim." "Super".

Bullseye reappeared in 2005 as part of Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon, with celebrities Vernon Kay and Bill Roache taking part in an hour-long show with Eric Bristow and Andy Fordham.

Following this success, Bullseye was revived by digital channel Challenge.

Dave Spikey hosted two series of the show in 2006, using the original theme music and set.

ROZ LAWS

After years of ever-diminishing returns, Paramount decided to put one nail in the coffin of the Star Trek TV franchise with Star Trek: Enterprise.

To be honest, it was actually better than the dull-as-ditchwater Voyager, but I could never, ever forgive the show for the god-awful theme song.

I remember the first time I saw it I presumed the opening ditty was just for the pilot. I mean, there's no way they'd keep if for the series, right? Wrong.

The visuals were actually OK. But every time it came on I would always reach for the mute button.

Who wants a Rod Stewart soundalike singing some sugary-sweet balad? Buck Rogers it was not.

An all-time classic from the days of Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno.

It mixes a cool voice over, a big green bloke and, err.., melancholy, which is unusual for the sci-fi intro.

A friend of mine taught himself the piano just so he could play the theme tune!

Retro cool!

TV vampire Spike is heading back to his old London haunts for Christmas.

American actor James Marsters, who played the undead superstar in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, is planning a Christmas with all the trimmings in the UK.

He will be appearing in concert at St Paul's Church - fondly known as the Actor's Church - in Covent Gardeon on Saturday, December 3.

The TV favourite will also be hosting a Christmas bash earlier in the day with seasonal songs, photographs, autographs, performances ... and a free gift for everyone who attends.

Go to www.jamesmarsterslive.com for ticket details.

The Winter Memorabilia Show at the NEC this month is offering a star-studded line from film, TV and sport.

Doctor Who/Torchwwod's Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams) and Sir Derek Jacobi (the Master) will be among the sci-fi special guests meeting fans and signing autographs.

Kai Owen (Rhys Williams) shows how it's done