Voting

In the local electiion, I'll probably be voting for the candidates rather than a specific party, but I wonder if I'll be voting Conservative in the next general election.  If I do, it will be the first time since I was a teenager (they broke the electoral promise that had induced me to vote for them).


Conservatives and CO2 concentrations
The question is, have they got the guts to turn that awareness of the climate change risk into firm policy?  IF their policy is a waffle one, they won't get my vote, but if they can come up with a clear plan of action then I'll go for it.

Blake's 7

The new Blake's 7 audio adventures will debut on  Sci-Fi Channel from 7 May.  I have this from one of the producers, but the web page is still saying 'coming soon'.  (Do NOT confuse with the old Barry Letts audio adventures, which were crap)

There will be a chance to talk to the producers, and some of the cast and writers at  Sci Fi London 6 May at 11.30 in the Apollo cinema.

Having heard the trailers for the new audio series (which starts on Earth and follows essentially the same plot line as the original series), I was very impressed by it.  It was played at Redemption and I can still remember the sense of sheer joy at hearing Zen say "Confirmed".  It's an all new cast and their voices work well together.

I was very uncertain if I'd like it, until I heard extracts.  I've loved the original cast for many years, but I think this new production stands a good chance of being true to the legend.  The fact that the writiers are obviously familiar with the old series is a big plus.  The fact that they are not slavishly following it is also a plus.  When retelling a story, one should retain the best of the old, but also be willing to innovate to avoid stagnation.

Don't worry about Cally's initial absence.  Just as in the original series, it will take her a while to join the crew.  The writers want to give her a fully developed back story and that should be worth waiting for if the series is able to progress to a decent number of episodes.  There's also a brand new member of the crew - I think you'll like her.  She's got a very different background from the rest of Blake's crew.  Listen for yourself and find out!

I want to buy it!