All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future - io9 Comments

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

I'm Waitin' for Dolemite — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:02:58 PDT

I could never really get into "Blake's 7" but one has to admit

Servalan, the bitch is fierce

[www.waveney.demon.co.uk]

I'm Waitin' for Dolemite

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

urukhaifive — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:42:57 PDT

Wait... did you just insult MacGuyver? Because if you did, you seriously need to be smacked around a little.

urukhaifive

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Beren72 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:22:49 PDT

@Lizzie24601: Love it!

Although I see it as more of a Dalek all-dancing all-singing show...

or a game show like Gladiators (Terminators?).

Beren72

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Lizzie24601 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:04:57 PDT

@Dunny0: @Klebert L. Hall: Gee thanks! Anyone wanna commission a tv pilot? Anyone? no?

Lizzie24601

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

nerdgaymer — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:04:43 PDT

just started watching Blakes 7, and am really liking it despite the less than stellar special effects. Why does this have to be remade though? There is more to life than computer generated effects...

nerdgaymer

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

jargonking — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:47:00 PDT

If you can try and find Nation's novel of Survivors...it's terrific although bleak as hell.

jargonking

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Evil Tortie's Mom — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:28:04 PDT

Terry was a fun guy (he was a FOAF, so I hung with him a little). He loved living in California, so "only" working on MacGyver didn't bother him. He did some other stuff too, he kept busy. And of course, getting all the booze on the con circuit was also fine by him.

Evil Tortie's Mom

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

firesign — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:17:01 PDT

ooo, maybe they'll be able to make orac even more annoying!

firesign

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Klebert L. Hall — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:31:11 PDT

@Lizzie24601:

Heh - that's funnier than anything I've seen on TV in years.
-Kle.

Klebert L. Hall

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Dunny0, ELE Hopeful — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:33:57 PDT

@Lizzie24601: o_O
Words fail.
Bloody brilliant!

Although the thought of a Dalek laughing does odd things to my brain.

Dunny0, ELE Hopeful

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Lizzie24601 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:19:58 PDT

@Slatz_Grobnik:

Dalek Sek: How. Was. School. Son?

Dalek Jr: The. Students. Mock. My. Excessive Punctuation.

Dalek Sek: You. Know. What. Will. Quiet. Them?

Dalek Jr: (hopefully) Ex.Ter.Min.Ation?

Dalek Sek: MID.TERM.In.Ation!

(both laugh metallically. Dalek Thay enters, wearing apron, with plunger-thingy still dripping wet)

Dalek Thay: (frantically) There. Is. A. MOUSE. In. The. Bathroom. Plumbing!!!

Dalek Sek: Better. Call. An. Exterminator!!!

(cue laugh track)

Lizzie24601

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Slatz_Grobnik — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:58:08 PDT

...I'm still trying to get my head around the all-Dalek television show. I keep seeing it as a 50s sit-com.

Slatz_Grobnik

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

russdanger — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:52:58 PDT

I too loved "Survivors", it was a cerebral and realistic view of people attempting to re-boot Human Civilization. Unfortunately I was only able to see a few episodes before it disappeared from PBS.
How would you run the local power-station to bring electricity to your home if there was no-one alive to show you how?...

Blakes-7 Rules too!

russdanger

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

jbq — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:43:43 PDT

@JennaW: Oh dear, that would be like Shakespeare being resurrected in "To cast a deadly spell" (or was it the other one, I forget), only with Dalek bumps...

jbq

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

JennaW, Internet Tough Girl — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:39:15 PDT

@Hekkashesh: Terry Nation is dead. It's his shows which are being resurrected, not him... that we KNOW of!

JennaW, Internet Tough Girl

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Dunny0, ELE Hopeful — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:37:13 PDT

@Hekkashesh: Considering he's been dead for about ten years, I too would be interested in seeing how that experience has influenced his writing style.

It's nice to see a revival being met with enthusiasm instead of the normal "omg out of ideas" rants that have become the norm.

Dunny0, ELE Hopeful

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

92BuickLeSabre — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:24:13 PDT

@SeeingI: Agreed. I find Graeme's anti-Dalek and anti-MacGyver tendencies disturbing.

92BuickLeSabre

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Hekkashesh — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:20:42 PDT

Nation's writing was strongest in his relationships between the characters (the classic confrontation between Avon and Servilan comes to mind immediately - two snakes acknowledging each other's venom...) I'm less concerned with the casting of Avon than I am with how Nation has matured as a writer. This should be interesting.

Hekkashesh

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

Hookey — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:18:55 PDT

I'm looking forward to this, and I'm pleased for the guys at B7 productions who've finally got this off the ground; they've been working towards this for at least five years. It'll be interesting to see who they cast as Avon; I know they had conversations with Paul Darrow that didn't go well.

Hookey

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

CSX321 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:13:40 PDT

Survivors -- One of the best British TV shows nobody's ever heard of. I got hooked on it when the local PBS station showed it back in the 90s. Bleak, maybe, but interesting.

CSX321

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

SeeingI — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:59:17 PDT

@Grame McMilan: "producer of MacGuyver... which, as we all know, is no success at all."

Tell that to Patti and Selma!

Seriously though - "to MacGuyver" has become a part of speech. That's got to count for something.

SeeingI

All Hail Terry Nation, Yesterday's SciFi Creator Of The Future

JennaW, Internet Tough Girl — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:50:18 PDT

Ooo, hopeless dystopian futur-ific!

I loved Blake's 7, but it holds up even less well than Classic Who -- the sets and costumes are horrifically dated.

Casting Avon is key, British TV people -- don't fuck it up!

JennaW, Internet Tough Girl