The bloodbath of a final episode suggested a comeback was out of the question. But television's appetite for remaking sci-fi classics of yesteryear has extended to Blake's 7, the story of interstellar renegades which came to an end on BBC1 in 1981.

Blake's 7, which was dubbed "The Dirty Dozen in space", is being remade for the same US cable TV channel, Syfy, that successfully revived another 70s sci-fi show, Battlestar Galactica, in 2004.

Doctor Who was reinvented for a new Saturday teatime audience by BBC1, but not every reboot of a fondly remembered show has been successful – ITV1's new version of The Prisoner proved short-lived despite an all-star cast featuring Sir Ian McKellen.

It remains to be seen what form the Blake's 7 remake will take or how faithful it will be to the original. Veteran director Martin Campbell, who helmed Piers Brosnan's first outing as James Bond in Goldeneye, is set to direct the pilot.

The reworked Battlestar Galactica took the basic plot of the original – ragtag space fleet of humans struggle for survival after sneak attack by cyborg baddies, the Cylons, wipes out their home planets – but took it in a much darker direction than the cheesy 70s source material. It found extra resonance with a new audience with its storylines' parallels with the post-9/11 terrorist threat and war in Iraq.

Despite the shaky sets and basic special effects synonymous with many 70s TV sci-fi shows, Blake's 7 was watched by audiences of 10 million viewers in the UK and developed a loyal following which remains to this day.

Blake's 7, about a band of escaped convicts led by Roj Blake, played by Gareth Thomas, and later Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow) who wage war on the evil Federation, may or may not offer an opportunity for a modern-day allegory or two.

Created by Terry Nation, who was also responsible for creating Doctor Who's Daleks, Blake's 7 began on BBC1 in 1978 and ran for four series.

It ended on a bleak note, with all of the rebels apart from Avon shot by rebel guards. The final scene, in which Avon stepped over Blake's body, raised his gun and smiled before shots rang out, suggested Avon was killed as well.

It is not the first time the space opera has been earmarked for a TV revival. None have so far been successful, although it was revived as a series of audio dramas, some of which have been broadcast by the BBC, and books.

Darrow wrote a novel, Lucifer, based on the series and picking up from the end of the show, suggesting Avon wasn't killed after all.

The new version of the show, which will be produced by US TV producer Georgeville Television,.

It will be directed by Campbell and written by Joe Pokaski, whose credits include another TV sci-fi show, Heroes. If Syfy likes the script for the pilot, it will go straight to a 13-episode commission.

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