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blakes7-d Digest Volume 00 : Issue 180
Today's Topics:
[B7L] Sevencyclopaedia
Re: [B7L] DS9 crossover (was Re: Crew, Models and Liaisons)
[B7L] Re: Zenith Is Here
Re: [B7L] Greco-Roman comedy (back on topic?)
Re: [B7L] Greco-Roman comedy (back on topic?)
[B7L] Fav episodes
Re: [B7L] Re: Traves
Re: [B7L] Re: Prior & Steeleye Span
Re: [B7L] Priceline (was Posting fanfic?)
Re: [B7L] DS9 crossover (was Re: Crew, Models and Liaisons)
Re: [B7L] Sevencyclopaedia
Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Re: [B7L] Fave episodes/ class status
Re: [B7L] Re: Prior & Steeleye Span
Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Re: [B7L] Re: Prior & Steeleye Span
Re: [B7L] Sevencyclopaedia
Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Re: [B7L] Re: Stuart Jones (was Crew, Models and Liaisons)
Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Re: [B7L] Of Grants, Cops, Tangos and Valium (in no
particular order)
[B7L] Re: RoD
Re: [B7L] Greco-Roman comedy (back on topic?)
Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
[B7L] Re: [off-topic] Greco-Roman comedy
[B7L] Re: fav episodes
[B7L] Re: Traves
[B7L] Julia Lawson
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 19:12:46 +0100 (BST)
From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.com>
To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Sevencyclopaedia
Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-0627181246-199Rr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
If anyone has seen page 44 of the new Radio Times, then they'll know why I'd
like to stand up and say a serious thank you to Neil Faulkner, Murray Smith and
Richard Proctor.
Some of the work on the Sevencyclopaedia was mine, but the bulk was done by Neil
originally. Murray has contributed much additional material and Richard has
done all the layout work involved in adding the pictures, cross-references, etc.
Judith
PS. For those who don't get Radio Times, the Sevencyclopaedia was just listed
as SF site of the week - nobody was more surprised than me.
--
http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 - Fanzines for Blake's 7, B7 Filk songs,
pictures, news, Conventions past and present, Blake's 7 fan clubs, Gareth
Thomas, etc. (also non-Blake's 7 zines at http://www.knightwriter.org )
Redemption '01 23-25 Feb 2001 http://www.smof.com/redemption/
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 16:26:49 EST
From: "Jessica Taylor" <morgaine54@hotmail.com>
To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] DS9 crossover (was Re: Crew, Models and Liaisons)
Message-ID: <20000628062649.40817.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
>Betty:
>
> > > But, damn it, the problem is I can't write plot to save my life...
Una:
> > Plot schlmot. Plots write themselves.
Exactly, it's not like Blakes 7 was always big in the plot department, the
shows main appeal (in my opinion) came from the the character interaction
and also, like much science-fiction, its ideas, the setting was one of the
shows best aspects (IMO, I don't need to keep saying this, do I?). If you're
idea works, write it.
Jessica
ps Please write it, it sounds great!
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 02:28:14 EDT
From: JEB31538@cs.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Re: Zenith Is Here
Message-ID: <c3.6e0040a.268af4fe@cs.com>
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> ate: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 01:30:17 +0100
> From: "Andy Hopkinson" <andyrh@netcomuk.co.uk>
> To: "Lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
> Subject: [B7L] ZENITH IS HERE...
Wonderful. I am looking forward to ZENITH. I have already ordered my copy
from Judith Proctor. I hope that a lot of the rest of the list orders a
copy, too.
Joyce
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 00:06:56 +0100
From: "Isobel Gordon" <isobel@ussenterprise.ndo.co.uk>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Greco-Roman comedy (back on topic?)
Message-ID: <001f01bfe08c$7063dfa0$903229d4@gillyworld>
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Fiona wrote:
> Ahem. As a professional anthropologist, I'd like to say that opinion is
> currently divided on whether or not carnival type activities act as a
safety
> valve or whether they, as suggested in Mary Douglas' seminal work *Purity
> and Danger* (1966), in fact act to reinforce the status quo by presenting
us
> with images of what should not be in a lawless context (e.g.: it is not
> considered socially acceptable for men to wear dresses and makeup in
> everyday life in Western society, so by encouraging men to cross-dress
> during Carnival, when the normal rules are explicitly subverted, you make
it
> clear what those normal rules are). Alternatively they may, as Abner
Cohen's
> article "Carnival" (about the Notting Hill Carnival) suggests, be a way of
> expressing identity and working out conflict through performance.
>
> And here's me thinking I'd keep work out of this...
>
> Fiona
>
Hi Fiona,
Sorry, I was half asleep and just regurgitating what I remember of a lecture
delivered by a boring lecturer on popular culture in Early Modern Europe. I
hadn't even had one cup of coffee.
<bows to way superior knowledge and promises to check e-mail when at least
half conscious>
Izzy
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 16:32:40 EST
From: "Jessica Taylor" <morgaine54@hotmail.com>
To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Greco-Roman comedy (back on topic?)
Message-ID: <20000628063240.98876.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Dana wrote:
I can just imagine Gan leading them in a chorus
>of "Jerusalem."
Did anyone ever write a filk for "Blakes Jerusalem", I'd love to see it.
Cheers.
Jessica
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 00:55:22 -0600 (MDT)
From: Betty Ragan <bragan@aoc.nrao.edu>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Fav episodes
Message-Id: <200006280655.AAA19962@zia.aoc.NRAO.EDU>
Well, OK, my two cents on *this* suject... These are in only a very
vague and general sort of order. All evaluations and interpretations
are, of course, entirely MHO. Like Sally, I'm one of those unabashed
Season 2 fans who thinks everything in the entire series revolves
around the Blake-Avon relationship, whether Blake's actually on-screen
or not. So be warned. Also be warned that I tend to run on at the
mouth when discussing stuff I really like. :) Right, favorite
epsiodes:
"Shadow": A great ensemble piece. Everybody gets something to do,
and everybody's personality shines through brilliantly. (Admittedly,
they're not all at their best here: Blake's being short-tempered and
Vila's... well, you know... :) But, hey, I think these people's flaws
are some of the most interesting things about them.) Cally's
telepathy is used to good effect for once (I would have *loved* to
have seen more of the kind of trick she uses here), and she gets to be
wonderfully tough and threatening. It's got scads and scads of snappy
dialog -- some of the best in the series, and that's saying
something. I *love* the twist at the end -- so *very* B7ish -- and
that "where are all the good guys?" exchange, which just sums up the
whole series so well. The telepathic-takeover part of the plot is by
far the weakest element, and even that works pretty well in context.
I've used this one several times to introduce new viewers to the show,
with considerable success.
"Trial": I love abosolutely everything about this episode, right down
to the cheesy planet sets and the philosophical flea. It afforded me
many happy hours playing the ever-diverting "Just what the hell is
going on in Avon's mind?" game. Croucher gives a fine performace as
Travis, almost making up for his wince-inducing debut in "Weapon."
And I wouldn't have thought that a bunch of scenes with none of Our
Protagonists in them anywhere would have held my interest so well, but
the trial scenes are riveting. I also love the sense it gives that
events in the B7 universe (unlike in certain other shows I could
name), have *consequences*: Fallen comrades aren't forgotten the next
week. Large-scale failure has inevitable emotional fallout. The bad
guy can't go on failing to catch the good guys forever without
penalty. What else? Oh, yes: Bercol and Rontane! What more could
you ask for?
"Terminal": First and foremost, there's the beautifully intense
Avon-Blake stuff (yes, even though Blake's not actually there :)).
And I agree with Sally: Tarrant is at his absolute best here. He
frequently annoys me, I admit, but I like him a *lot* in "Terminal."
Vila's in great form here, too. Zen's death chokes me up everytime.
And, of course, Our Protagonists lose again. Gimme that angst, baby!
"Blake": Impossible to beat for emotional impact. This is *the*
defining moment of the series, and it casts its shadow back over
everything that goes before it. B7 just wouldn't be what it is -- and
wouldn't be half as memorable -- without it.
"Duel": Maybe it's mostly that I can't help comparing it to Star
Trek's "Arena," and it comes out *so* much the better for the
comparison. Actually, it could have felt like a simple rip-off of the
Trek episode, but for me, "Duel" just serves to highlight all those
things I love about B7 that make it so different from Trek. And then
there's that great exchange between Avon and Blake ("Do I have a
choice?"/"Yes."/"Then I agree.") which sums up their whole relationship
*so* well. Plus we get Avon practically admitting that he does care.
I really like Sinofar and Giroc, too, and the space battle at the
beginning (by far the best of the series).
"Star One": Even after multiple viewings, the plot still hooks me in.
And [sob!] it's got the last-ever set of Avon-Blake interactions
(well, last but *one*, anyway :)), and very interesting they are, too.
It's all so wonderfully sad for me, watching this and knowing what's
going to happen next, knowing that this is, in a sense, the beginning
of the end, and that poor ol' Avon never *is* going to be "free of
it." The whole thing just *feels* very much like the major turning
point it is.
"Rumours of Death": Even if it is the ideal Platonic version of the
episode that I *really* like. :) Just can't resist that Avon-angst!
"Spacefall": Sets up great character dynamics right from the very
beginning. That Blake-Avon-Jenna scene in the computer room is one of
the best in the show.
"Deathwatch": The *other* episode I really like Tarrant in (it's
totally impossible not to sympathize with him here). And another
great ensemble piece. Pacey gives a marvelous performance as Deeta
(frankly, I like him *better* as Deeta than as Tarrant). And there's
something just utterly charming about the sight of the Liberator crew
gathered together to enjoy the equivalent of a Super Bowl party (even
if do agree with Cally that the whole spectacle's kind of disgusting).
"Redemption": I remember being slightly disappointed by this the
first time I saw it, simply because it wasn't the sort of backstory I
wanted/expected for the origins of the _Liberator_ (though don't ask
me what kind of backstory I *did* want). I like it better and better
with every repeat viewing, though. It's just a good, solid,
entertaining story. Lots of action, lots of tension, lots of good
character stuff.
"Sarcophagus": *I* think the characterization is pretty good, anyway.
This episode could easily have fallen flat on its face, but instead
turns into something mesmerizing, thanks in large part to good
directing, good use of visual effects, and a great performance on
everybody's part, especially Michael Keating's. (Jan Chappel does a
good turn as the alien, too.) This is another one that's grown on me
a lot.
Honorable mentions to: "Killer" (for terrific Avon-Vila interaction
and great guest characters), "Pressure Point" (the scene of Blake
discovering the empty Central Control room is absolutely
unforgettable), "Orbit" (yes, just for the shuttle scene, though
Egrorian is entertainingly icky), and "The Way Back" (completely
atypical, yes, but I like it a lot).
And now that I've named half the series, I'll stop (although I *still*
have a niggling feeling that I've forgotten something).
--
Betty Ragan ** bragan@nrao.edu ** http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~bragan
Not speaking for my employers, officially or otherwise.
"Seeing a rotten picture for the special effects is like eating a
tough steak for the smothered onions..." -- Isaac Asimov
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:20:37 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Traves
Message-ID: <07c401bfe0d2$296fa5c0$0d01a8c0@codex>
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Fiona:
> In *my* fantasy-football version they'd've kept Brian Croucher and raised
> his salary.
Brian Croucher - the Terry Venables of B7.
Una
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:26:19 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Prior & Steeleye Span
Message-ID: <07c501bfe0d2$29b169b0$0d01a8c0@codex>
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Jason asked:
> Ok, someone's going to have to give us a 'brief' outline of what Steeleye
> Span was about - I can't be bothered trolling the net to find out.
Folk band.
Una
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 01:26:17 -0600 (MDT)
From: Betty Ragan <bragan@aoc.nrao.edu>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Priceline (was Posting fanfic?)
Message-Id: <200006280726.BAA27508@zia.aoc.NRAO.EDU>
Trish wrote:
> If PD starts thinking he can sing a la Shatner, I'm out of here ....
Oh, dear god, now I've got this horrible image (erm, what's the
auditory equivalent of "image?") of PD singing "The Ballad of Bilbo
Baggins," a la *Nimoy*... and a sudden urge to run away screaming
"aargh!"
--
Betty Ragan ** bragan@nrao.edu ** http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~bragan
Not speaking for my employers, officially or otherwise.
"Seeing a rotten picture for the special effects is like eating a
tough steak for the smothered onions..." -- Isaac Asimov
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 09:46:31 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] DS9 crossover (was Re: Crew, Models and Liaisons)
Message-ID: <082301bfe0dd$65f4cec0$0d01a8c0@codex>
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Betty wrote:
> Tiger M wrote:
>
> > How about Garak using those skills *on* Avon? ;-)
>
> Ohh! Ooh! But, no, then Avon would have to kill him, and I couldn't
> bear that. (Avon is just so much less forgiving than Odo...) 'Tis a
> lovely thought, though...
Easy: they need to keep Garak alive because only he can do something of
vital importance for them.
> Then Una wrote:
>
> > Mail me mail me mail me mail me! We can brainstorm! Want want WANT this
> > story!
>
> [LOL!] I'm not going to get out of this, am I? Well, OK, in that
> case, I can use all the help I can get... :)
:)
> Still Una (now responding to me):
>
> > > But, damn it, the problem is I can't write plot to save my life...
> >
> > Plot schlmot. Plots write themselves.
>
> Well, maybe *yours* do...
Plot is just what characters do to each other.
> > And who cares about plot when you can
> > have a series of scorching scenes made up of killer dialogue?
>
> Yeah, but they've got to have something to talk *about*, don't they?
> Besides fashion, presumably.
:) Just set them off at each other and see where they take you. You don't
have to write Garak, he does all his own talking.
Una
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 10:15:20 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: "Lysator List" <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Sevencyclopaedia
Message-ID: <085901bfe0e1$63aa6cc0$0d01a8c0@codex>
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Judith wrote:
> If anyone has seen page 44 of the new Radio Times, then they'll know why
I'd
> like to stand up and say a serious thank you to Neil Faulkner, Murray
Smith and
> Richard Proctor.
<snip>
> PS. For those who don't get Radio Times, the Sevencyclopaedia was just
listed
> as SF site of the week - nobody was more surprised than me.
So it is! That's really brilliant! I note it says 'this fan site beats all
contenders', and damn right!
Congrats all!
Una
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 02:38:27 PDT
From: "Sally Manton" <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Message-ID: <20000628093827.8484.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Minnie wrote:
<I get the impression that Blake had been on the planet for sometime.
(because of Jenna dying after running the blockade. >
Now, then, she *could* have died last Friday week ... but actually I do
agree that he's been there a few months, at least. How (and when and why)
did he get there? Why does he stay? What was he doing before then? We don't
know (but whatever it was, it hurt.)
<He told Deva that he had shot one of his own men and you get the impression
from Deva that the man that Blake had killed was perhaps a bit of a loose
cannon.>
Do you mean Tando? (Because I went through the transcript and that's the
only one I can find). Tando wasn't one of their people but a rival bounty
hunter and 'worse than the people he hunted' (Arlen calls him 'one of your
erstwhile colleagues, but then at this point she's supposed to think Blake
is a real bounty hunter too). As I said, grimmer and more detached - Blake,
like the Scorpio crew, kills more easily than he did before.
<Not only that but we heard from Soolin that the planet was lawless, and my
opinion is that the planet didnt really seem to harbour anyone other than
murderers and the like.>
Ah. *That's* where our opinions differ, and there's nothing in the series to
go either way. My opinion is that there *must* be an element of
law-abiding-wannabes (probably hiding in the cities that we don't see) or
else there wouldn't be this clean-up and bid to rejoin the Federation going
on (someone had to be organising that, and it wasn't the likes of Tando.)
People like Klyn. There are 'good' (or semi-good) people in countries waging
full-scale civil war, after all.
There were quite possibly also a fair level of semi-good (whatever
'good' means in the Federation) people who may have wanted law and order,
but hardly at the cost of bringing in the dictatorship, and are facing
having to go underground if they want to survive the faux-Anschluss (I hope
that's how it's spelt) and *that's* where Blake may have struck it richer
(except that Avon's little shooting party got in the way).
<Why was Blake there anyway??>
We don't know. Presumably he landed up there after whatever happened to
damage him so badly in the interim.
<So Blake is being a double agent then. If those he gets dont meet
his needs, he is quite happy to hand them over to the same power that
he is fighting.>
Again <chorus> we don't know what he did with rejects ('keep it vague'
could really be the Nation/Boucher motto :-)) My own opinion FWIW is
that he must have taken some bounties, but probably the *real* scum
that you believe (as you're entitled to :-) he was recruiting. One of
my favourite PGPs suggests that, since the bounty was for 'dead or
alive', he only handed over those already dead when he found them ('more
bloodthirst than sense') but it's quite possible he simply killed 'murderers
and rapists', outlaws convicted of really ugly crimes. He then recruited the
useful and semi-decent, and let the doubtful ones 'escape'.
And from another post:
<He didnt really seem to have a very good plan. Why question/test
Scorpios crew when he knew who they were anyway??>
Ummm... I can't see why he shouldn't. Deva's computers may be useful, but
they make mistakes (Arlen) and from off bits of information in 3rd season,
it appears that even the minor Powers-That-Be have scrappy and dated
knowledge on people such as the Liberator crew (Shrinker, Rumours; Grose,
Moloch). So it's more than possible that Blake didn't know how long Tarrant
had been with Avon.
And anyone who spent more than three days with Avon would realise that
the dear man's people skills weren't *that* great. Blake *has* lost faith in
his own ability to judge and trust people, that much is clear. He might
trust Avon personally, but not his ability to read other people (especially
when his own ability has been so badly cracked).
So ... he comes across the Scorpio. And finds one ex-FSA high-flyer-turned
mercenary/smuggler - *not* exactly a comfortable resume from Blake's point
of view - and *no sign* of Avon, Vila or Cally. He has no idea where they
are, what Tarrant is doing there or what Tarrant may or may not have done
with the people Blake knows.
Personally, I'd've shoved Tarrant in the nearest oubliette while I tried to
find out, but perhaps Blake didn't think he had that much time ... or wanted
to take a chance on Tarrant, but couldn't without something other than his
own instincts to go by. Hence the test.
(Yes, I'm biased. Did I ever deny it? But testing Tarrant is not a problem
for me - *letting him go* is).
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 02:39:14 PDT
From: "Sally Manton" <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Message-ID: <20000628093914.46105.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Judith wrote:
<I thought the whole point of Blake's tests (such as letting Tarrant have
the gems and the gun) was to try and filter the decent people from the
outright scum. It didn't always work (Arlen got through), but he did try.>
If he'd take just anyone, there wouldn't be any *point* to Deva's checks or
his tests.
<It's a close toss as to who was going down the slope fast enough, Avon or
Blake. They were both getting harder and more ruthless in spite of being
basically decent people. >
Absolutely (and throw in the rest of them. Except - maybe - for Vila.)
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Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 02:40:48 PDT
From: "Sally Manton" <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Message-ID: <20000628094048.73622.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
After Judith wrote:
<Decent? A compulsive thief, a murderer, an embezzeler (with other frauds
in his past too), a smuggler - I doubt the people he found on Gauda Prime
would have averaged out much worse. >
Neil answered:
<I'm with Min here. They were a thoroughly decent bunch of squeaky clean,
middle class (even Vila) make-believe criminals with all the glam of being
on the run from the law with none of the grimy banality that gets you
running in the first place.>
<chortle> as distinct from the *only* member of Blake's new group that we
see, the hardened lowlife desperado named Deva.
<Suppose Blake had had to crew his ship with the likes of Ted Bundy, Frankie
Fraser, the Krays, Ian Brady and fifty squillion England supporters, all of
them far more likely to get shipped off to Cygnus Alpha than the cuddly
munch bunch that did sail on the London. As I once said in a Horizon
letterzine - What did Nova do to get deported?
Step on the President's hamster?>
Arco's a smidge less cuddly (well, *I* don't want to cuddle him) but I've
always wondered about Nova, and Selman looks like a classics professor.
Maybe they had separate shipments for classes of criminals - First
Class/Nice (Our Heroes), Second Class/Not-So-Nice (theft, assault, being not
as pretty as our Heroes) and Third Class/Football Supporters.
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 10:02:04 +0100
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
Message-ID: <015d01bfe0df$b3691380$e535fea9@neilfaulkner>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
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From: Dana Shilling <dshilling@worldnet.att.net>
> But talk about blind faith in technology...if I understand what Servalan
> said
> correctly, NOBODY is supposed to know where Star One is, (what genius
> thought THAT up? I think I used to work for him) and the entire
> central computer control for hundreds of planets was supposed to be
entirely
> automated and would have been completely without personnel if a few people
> hadn't volunteered to be stranded there. Why not make the location
> classified,
> and treat it as an elite colony?
A point I covered in The Wit And Wisdom Of The Dead, in Star Three
(available from Judith P). Records were kept (the brainprints made by
Docholli). And then some terrorist group accidentally destroyed them.
Neil
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 09:53:18 +0100
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Fave episodes/ class status
Message-ID: <015c01bfe0df$b28ee020$e535fea9@neilfaulkner>
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From: Ellynne G. <rilliara@juno.com>
> Of the reams of gender power issues stories I've come across, there are
> the interesting Amazon stories (although Power was an exception, it's
> interesting that so many show an evil female hierarchy grinding down the
> males [hence, presenting a surface argument for the guys not to let
> females get to uppity] but they do this by presenting a role reversal
> that show the guys suffering an exagerated version of the women's
> position and finding it truly unjust and unbarable
If you can find it, check out the essay Amor Vincit Foeminam by Joanna Russ
for an analysis of some unintentionally hilarious examples. Harry Harrison
also offered a role reversal society in The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The
World, but with tongue stuck firmly in cheek (and minor plot significance
anyway).
Neil
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 09:44:44 +0100
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Prior & Steeleye Span
Message-ID: <015b01bfe0df$b1bdd480$e535fea9@neilfaulkner>
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From: Jason de Rooy <jjderooy@hotmail.com>
> Ok, someone's going to have to give us a 'brief' outline of what Steeleye
> Span was about - I can't be bothered trolling the net to find out.
Steeleye Span was one of the two major British attempts to fuse
post-Monterey rock with traditional folk (the other being Fairport
Convention). Lead vocalist was Maddy Prior. Their biggest UK hit was All
Around My Hat which reached no.5 in late 1975, though they released loads of
albums and developed a sizable cult following. Prior also sang large chunks
of Hiawatha on Mike Oldfield's Incantations LP, and probably did lots of
other things too but I'm not really into folk-rock. Fairport Convention was
fronted by Sandy Denny, who sounded a lot like Prior only better, and she
guested on Led Zeppelin's Battle Of Nevermore (1970). I gather she's dead
now.
Neil
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 09:31:26 +0100
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Message-ID: <015a01bfe0df$afb70800$e535fea9@neilfaulkner>
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Unsurprisingly, I prefer the episodes that offer something more substantial
than juicy Blake/Avon moments (the presence of any such in my faves is
unfortunate coincidence).
The Way Back - a pretty obvious choice, given the heaps of background,
political corruption, wanton brutality, general bleakness and such.
Shadow - another pretty obvious choice, given the heaps of background,
political corruption, wanton drug abuse, general bleakness and such.
Trial - I like the parallel plot structure, with both Blake and Travis up
before the beak (in Blake's case he's being tried by himself, of course). I
also like the way the convergence of the two plot strands is essentially
coincidental, Blake not knowing that Travis is on Servalan's HQ station.
Not much in the way of heaps of background, but the political corruption and
general bleakness is there. There's also Thania, who definitely had the
Best Boots in the entire series.
Star One - the absolute best ever episode in the entire series in its
entirety ever. A palpable sense of impending doom builds up through the
course of this one, making it clear that Something Big is going to happen
and it's probably not going to be all that nice. Tidies up the 2nd Season
story arc neatly , clearing the stage for the next season, and just for once
Deadly Dudley's musical score is genuinely atmospheric. Rather than save
the galaxy in time for tea, the crew are left holding the fort with an
uncertain future ahead of them. I just love the irony of Blake having to
reverse his plans completely. And there's Jenny Twigge as Lurena, and that
brilliant scene with Cally running down the corridors to ditch the explosive
charges before they blow.
City at the Edge of the World - endlessly rewatchable (if I had any means of
watching it) simply for its cracking script, brimming over with dark humour
and camp but genuine menace. Colin Baker is brilliant, and Cally gets some
of her best lines ever.
Rumours of Death - I don't go much on old walls, however patiently they
wait, but the rest of the episode is well above par. Another converging
plot structure, dark humour (not so funny for the squirrel, of course), a
decent gun battle, and lots of twilight atmosphere in the last gleaming of
Anna's doomed rebellion. Anna herself is fascinating, and this is probably
Servalan's most credible episode. I think the quality of this episode, for
me at any rate, is contained in one line - the crackly megaphone voice
saying "Attention in the house". The Establishment Uber Alles, because
that's the way it is.
Sarcophagus - I hated this one when I first saw it, reckoned it the worst
episode ever (even worse than Dawn, though only just), and it was quite a
few years before I did a complete U-turn. A decent plot which is actually
built on the mindjacked Cally syndrome, rather than just throwing it in as a
convenient plot device (as in eg The Web or Ultraworld), a good script which
exploits the potential within the characters rather than just running them
through the action, and lashings of ambiguity which can be interpreted any
way you like to make the episode science fiction or pure fantasy, according
to taste.
Terminal - bleak bleak bleak bleak bleak
Blake - the only really good 4th season ep. Not much of a plot, really, but
then the first 45 minutes are only there to build up the tension for the
last 5. No silly widgets or aliens, but good sets, sensible costumes,
practical no-nonsense dialogue, decent special effects, and lots of blood at
the end. A brilliant finale to a rather patchy final season.
So out of nine favourite episodes, only six were penned by Chris Boucher.
Odd.
Neil
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 03:19:57 PDT
From: "Sally Manton" <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Message-ID: <20000628101957.50860.qmail@hotmail.com>
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Neil wrote:
<Unsurprisingly, I prefer the episodes that offer something more substantial
than juicy Blake/Avon moments (the presence of any such in my faves is
unfortunate coincidence).>
<grin> I am so sorely tempted to say something like "yes, petal, *we*
believe you ..." here.
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 11:35:53 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Prior & Steeleye Span
Message-ID: <088301bfe0ec$e6d2c6a0$0d01a8c0@codex>
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Neil wrote:
> Fairport Convention was
> fronted by Sandy Denny, who sounded a lot like Prior only better, and she
> guested on Led Zeppelin's Battle Of Nevermore (1970).
Fab fab fab fab fab fab song...
> I gather she's dead
> now.
Yes, she died in the early 1970s, I believe.
Fairport are about the only band I make the effort to go and see and I was
proud to hear that they were called 'the most unfashionable band in Britain'
in a recent review. People take their two-year old daughters along with
them, or go with their great-grandad, it's that much of a rave.
Una
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 04:27:54 PDT
From: "Sally Manton" <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Sevencyclopaedia
Message-ID: <20000628112754.41957.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Heaps of congrats to you all ...
and I forgot to congratulate Una as well (hanging head in shame). This
humble little poster applauds you as well, Una.
Sally
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 12:37:04 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Message-ID: <08ef01bfe0f5$49a39590$0d01a8c0@codex>
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Neil wrote:
> Trial - I like the parallel plot structure, with both Blake and Travis up
> before the beak (in Blake's case he's being tried by himself, of course).
I
> also like the way the convergence of the two plot strands is essentially
> coincidental, Blake not knowing that Travis is on Servalan's HQ station.
Structurally, intellectually, 'Trial' is a classic. But that bloody alien...
I think it's an example of trying to do something beyond the capacity of the
show. And that mars 'Trial' for me. For something to be the best of the
best, it has to know its format and use it.
> There's also Thania, who definitely had the
> Best Boots in the entire series.
Unfortunately, she also had the Spottiest Chin and the Greasiest Hair
<handbag>
> Star One - the absolute best ever episode in the entire series in its
> entirety ever. A palpable sense of impending doom builds up through the
> course of this one, making it clear that Something Big is going to happen
> and it's probably not going to be all that nice. Tidies up the 2nd Season
> story arc neatly , clearing the stage for the next season
Did you see 'Star One' on first transmission, Neil? I wonder if I would love
it more if I had seen it then. Again, it's got all the things you list (and
my absolute favourite Liberator flight deck scenes: one at the start, one at
the end, which both *crackle*), but you run into them damn crappy aliens
again.
> Terminal - bleak bleak bleak bleak bleak
Hmm. 'Dull dull dull dull dull' is usually what springs to mind. Actually, I
think there's also an element of not being able to bear it. It's the same
reason that I can't reread 'The Last Battle'.
> Blake - the only really good 4th season ep. Not much of a plot, really,
but
> then the first 45 minutes are only there to build up the tension for the
> last 5.
No-o! There's loads of brilliant dialogue and your 'palpable sense of
impending doom... making it clear that Something Big is going to happen'.
And even tho' you know this is British TV and written by Chris Boucher you
keep on hoping that it's going to be OK, that they'll meet and sort out the
universe and all will be right with the world...
Of course, the best thing about 'Blake' is Gareth Thomas, who is just
astonishingly fab and so 'not-Blake'. 'What on earth happened to you...?'
> So out of nine favourite episodes, only six were penned by Chris Boucher.
> Odd.
Funny, that. I note four out of my top five were Boucher scripts also.
Una
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:07:54 -0400
From: "Christine+Steve" <cgorman@idirect.com>
To: "B7 Mailing List" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Stuart Jones (was Crew, Models and Liaisons)
Message-ID: <013d01bfe0f9$9086dfe0$b6069ad8@cgorman>
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Nyder added
> Hollywood frequently seems to operate, IMO, on the Dr Goebbels principle:
> that is, that "the intelligence of the public cannot be underestimated."
>
Too true. The American Dr. Who shows this off well - chuck in a few car
chases, a love intertest and some gangster shootings and the audience will
be happy. Hmmm!!
Can you imagine an American version of B7? Probably have fist fights
between Avon and Blake every other episode.
Steve Dobson.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:43:15 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] 'Blake' and beyond
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The Doctor wrote:
>avant-la-lettre == after the letter.
Um, before, surely?
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:43:27 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
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Ellynne voted:
>And (I know I'm the _only_ person who'll say this)
> Dawn of the Gods, mainly because I saw it late and
> night and apparently hallucinated a
>whole back story that makes sense of it.
Well, don't stop there!
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:43:33 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Of Grants, Cops, Tangos and Valium (in no
particular order)
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Pat Sumner commented:
>> Joanne, the happy event has now taken place;
>>Steve rang earlier today to announce he'd managed
>> to find two of the videos of Chris Boucher's Star
>> Cops for me. Only one to go!
>
>I'd be willing to bet (but not necessarily to pay up) that
>he found volumes 1 and 2.
All three, actually, but he was missing No. 3. So you half win.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:43:20 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re: RoD
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Sally wrote:
>She might well have been (I may have a low opinion
>of the planning of the coup, but she did get further
> than a lot of people - including me - would have).
What I *hope* is that her current lover was fairly high up in the military,
and that her actions were just phase one of the coup - capture Servalan.
Phase two would be him turning up and appearing to negotiate a political
settlement with her. But, er, he was too distraught to rethink the plan
when he found Sula was dead, so did nothing, but finally got his revenge on
Servalan in the rearguard action on Geddon. Or so he thought.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 14:22:38 +0100
From: "Alison Page" <alison@alisonpage.demon.co.uk>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Greco-Roman comedy (back on topic?)
Message-ID: <021701bfe104$887d6020$ca8edec2@pre-installedco>
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Interesting post Fiona,
>opinion is
>currently divided on whether or not carnival type activities act as a
safety
>valve or whether they,
>reinforce the status quo by presenting us
>with images of what should not be
These are both rational, teleological, explanations, but there is another
possibility - that there are some human needs that can not be satisfied in a
rational way. Perhaps people can't help wanting things that spoil what they
have set up.
It's probably true that the idea behind characters like Vila or Servalan
supports the status quo. But when they appear on screen they take on a life
of their own.
Alison
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 14:22:22 +0100
From: "Alison Page" <alison@alisonpage.demon.co.uk>
To: "b7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Fav episodes
Message-ID: <021601bfe104$87586820$ca8edec2@pre-installedco>
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I tend to agree with Neil about fave episodes. I like the pivotal story-arc
eps.
I think I'd pick Space Fall over TWB, because I like the prison-ship
scenario a lot, and finding the Liberator. In fact I'd construct a 1.5
episode here by bringing in the 'welcome to the Liberator' bits out of
Cygnus Alpha.
Then to these episodes I'd add Star One, Terminal, Blake. They just fit
together so satisfyingly into a big arc and they are each so pefectly poised
between optimism and pessimism. With pessimism winning in the last one of
course.
To these I'd have to add the 'Vila' episodes. Hmm.. Killer, Gambit, City,
Orbit seems a fairly good selection. And then I'd have to add 'Trial' to
create a good Travis 2 trilogy (with Gambit and Star One).
This is all starting to make sense.
Alison
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 11:45:36 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re: [off-topic] Greco-Roman comedy
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Thanks, Meredith, I was hoping you'd sort me out.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 11:47:11 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re: fav episodes
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This was down to Neil being positive, wasn't it? I wonder if it's all a
trick...
Anyway, I didn't need to do any thinking, because I'd found out last week
that I still had my reply to Una's Q-study, and looking through them my
tastes don't appear to have changed much in the past two years.
Top five in broadcast order:
Redemption, Gambit, Star One, City at the Edge of the World and Blake.
R, SO and B for the Blake & Avon stuff. Redemption beautifully sets the
agenda for second season, which I perceive as Avon's increasingly desperate
attempts to fight his way out of this unfortunate entanglement. This
climaxes at Star One and then, aren't we lucky, again on Gauda Prime.
Gambit is good fun all round, and IT'S GOT JARRIERE IN IT.
City at the Edge of the World is also good fun, especially Vila dealing
with (original) Kerril and Bayban, though Kerril going soppy spoils it a
bit later on. Platonic City is much better.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 11:45:27 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re: Traves
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Joanne wrote:
><mental linkage of Travis and the Procul Harum song
> "Conquistador" -minor mental meltdown ensues>
I was wondering if the "amazon six-triggered bride now searching for a
place to hide" might be Dayna.
And the recriminations of "The Milk of Human Kindness" seem to fit in
somewhere, though I haven't yet worked out who's singing it to whom.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 06:50:51 +0100
From: "DragonFly" <dragonfly@pond65.fsnet.co.uk>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Julia Lawson
Message-ID: <003e01bfe18d$fd058920$6c4d883e@oemcomputer>
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Hi again all,
just a quick couple of questions.
how many paper books have been published - 'The Novel' and 'Project Avalon'
are these the only ones?
also I have bought from EBay the 1980 B7 annual and I am currently Bidding
for the 1979 annual.....I know there is a 1981 annual how rare is this one
as I have heard it had a lower number published than the other 2. is 12
Pounds a fair price?
as many of you know I am trying to collect the illustrated covered release
videos (1991 / 1992) how hard is it to find 'Blake' and the series 4 videos
and I don't want to miss a chance of buying it if I see it, be it at a more
expenisve price. I am aiming to pay no more than 5 pounds (inc) per tape. I
have limited it to that price not cos I don't think it is worth it but to
make it more fun as I could and buy the whole 4 series if I wanted to but
that would take the fun out of hunting them down at a certain price. But I
rarely see the series 4 tapes around esp 'Blake', so if I have to pay more
because it hard to come by then I will.
hope that all made sence.
Julia Lawson in Loughborough
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