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blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 184
Today's Topics:
Re: [B7L] Casters anonymous
[B7L] Re: What if. . . ? (A non-canonic thought about the crew)
Re: [B7L] Brave New Worlds
[B7L] Brave New Worlds
[B7L] groaners
[B7L] Brave New Worlds
[B7L] Ancestry (was Even more casting)
Re: [B7L] Re: Buffy/Blake's 7
Re: [B7L] Re: Even more casting
[B7L] Re: Even more casting
Re: [B7L] oh my god, he killed blake!
Re: [B7L] Re: Even more casting
Re: [B7L] Re: Even more casting
[B7L] Re: What if. . . ? (A non-canonic thought about the crew)
[B7L] Casters anonymous
[B7L] A different what if...
Re: [B7L] Casters anonymous
Re: [B7L] A different what if...
Re: [B7L] Blake the Butcher?
Re: [B7L] Brave New Worlds
Re: [B7L] Casters anonymous
[B7L] Horizon newsflash
Re: [B7L] Re: What if. . . ? (A non-canonic thought about the crew)
Re: [B7L] A different what if...
[B7L] Cult TV
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1999 12:44:40 -0600
From: Penny Dreadful <egomoo@mail.geocities.com>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Casters anonymous
Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.19990606124440.0079d100@mail.geocities.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At 09:53 PM 6/5/99 +0100, Neil Faulkner wrote:
>Bah humbug and who the smeg is Willow?
Well, I might not have put it exactly like that (fearing the Wrath of the
List the way I do), but I *am* reassured to know I'm not entirely alone in
my Buffy-ignorance. Come on, all the rest of you televisually challenged,
speak up and admit it -- you have nothing to lose but the respect of your
peers.
I *have* been reading all the incomprehensible (to me) posts, though. I
simply cannot delete a post unread -- it would niggle at me to think that I
might have missed The Big Secret.
So -- that purple number Servalan was wearing in 'Harvest of Kairos',
what's the deal there...?
--Penny The Eggplant-Slayer
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 18:12:28 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re: What if. . . ? (A non-canonic thought about the crew)
Message-ID: <199906051812_MC2-7845-9898@compuserve.com>
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Sally Manton had some very good ideas about who we'd like to see on the
Liberator, all of which I like, especially Jarriere of course:
>Rashel and the clone. She's one of those characters I love
>because she's so ordinary. The way she stands up to
> Travis and Servalan, she's so scared you can almost see
>her shaking but trying very hard to be brave...I much prefer
>her to the Amazon type like Dayna. Rashel would make a
>*very* different type of freedom fighter, one every bit as
>scared as Vila, but going ahead with what she has to do
>(albeit on shaky legs).
This reminds me a little of Anna in Chris Boucher's Star Cops. I don't
suppose you've ever seen Star Cops, Sally? I've finally managed to watch
the whole thing thanks to Robert lending me his videos. And Devis - given
that you agree with me on virtually everything but Servalan, you'd have to
love Colin "Cuddly" Devis. Played by Trevor Cooper (who took my fancy
years ago when he did a lot of theatre work here in Manchester) - who
actually has a B7 connection as he played a minor role in the Horizon audio
play Logic of Empire. Imagine Vila and Gan rolled into one. With
attitude. Sorry, this started off as being about Anna... She's a bit like
Rashel, only probably rather brighter. But that determination to do the
right thing, however terrified she is, strikes a chord.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1999 14:22:53 -0600
From: Penny Dreadful <egomoo@mail.geocities.com>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Brave New Worlds
Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.19990606142253.00817310@mail.geocities.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At 07:21 PM 6/4/99 +0100, Una McCormack wrote:
>What compromises would he have made in order to secure power (if any)?
>
>How far would power have corrupted him?
Those two are basically the same question -- I mean I really can't see
Blake suddenly going all Servalan the second the opportunity arose, but he
certainly could have started getting his hands a lot dirtier/bloodier in
the name of keeping *ahem* The People in power...I think Blake could be a
real Lenin...
>What would have been the effect of his increasing cynicism on his idealistic
>programme for change?
See above.
>How long would he have lasted?
Seventy years, eighty at the outside.
>How would history have seen him?
Not as flatteringly as if he'd died a martyr. History loves a loser.
--Penny the Pessimistic Pinko
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1999 14:27:02 PDT
From: Sally Manton <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Brave New Worlds
Message-ID: <19990606212702.32465.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Una wrote:
<I'm sure this is a well-worn theme, but I've been thinking a bit recently
about what Blake's brave new world would have been like. Would he have
become the leader of an Earth with a shattered infrastructure? Or would he
have effected a coup, rather like Anna Grant intended?>
I don't really believe that Blake ever really intended to take any part in
the new government. From what Avon says in Pressure Point and LeGrand says
in Voice from the Past, it's likely he would have been pushed to *do* so,
even if only as a figurehead, but the same episodes indicate that he is
totally uninterested in power (so does the brief discussion of controlling
Star One in The Keeper.) and isn't convinced by their arguments anyway.
Maybe he'd have agreed to *be* a part of the new government to allow the
changeover, but I think he'd have pulled out as soon as he was able.
And quite possibly, he never expected to survive to see his brave new world.
______________________________________________________
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------------------------------
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 1999 19:28:30 -0700
From: Pat Patera <patpatera@netzero.net>
To: BuffyB7 <buffyb7@welkin.apana.org.au>, B7 Lysator <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] groaners
Message-ID: <3759DCCE.1F02FD2B@netzero.net>
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mistral wrote:
(already posting to the new list)
these bad Buffy/Blake crossover zine titles:
>"Buffy and Vampire Sleer"
>"Mission to Sunnydale"
>"Seek-Locate-Impale"
(oh grrrooooaaaannnn
>"Down and Undead"
oh grrrooooaaaaaannnnnn
>"Tranquilised Nightmares"
>"Mr. Pointy's Tales from Outer Space"
chortle! snort! tee hee hee
but missed:
"Stakedown"
"Voices from the Crypt"
"Dawn of the Ghouls"
"UnderWorld"
"Obit"
and what about the already perfect:
"Rumours of Death"
"Sarcophagus"
"Deathwatch"
"Headhunter"
Pat P
http://www.geocities.com/area51/1707
________________________________________________________
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------------------------------
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 1999 17:31:48 PDT
From: Sally Manton <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Brave New Worlds
Message-ID: <19990606003148.8090.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Una wrote:
<I'm sure this is a well-worn theme, but I've been thinking a bit recently
about what Blake's brave new world would have been like. Would he have
become the leader of an Earth with a shattered infrastructure? Or would he
have effected a coup, rather like Anna Grant intended?>
I don't really believe that Blake ever really intended to take any part in
the new government. From what Avon says in Pressure Point and LeGrand says
in Voice from the Past, it's likely he would have been pushed to *do* so,
even if only as a figurehead, but the same episodes indicate that he is
totally uninterested in power (so does the brief discussion of controlling
Star One in The Keeper.) and isn't convinced by their arguments anyway.
Maybe he'd have agreed to *be* a part of the new government to allow the
changeover, but I think he'd have pulled out as soon as he was able.
And quite possibly, he never expected to survive to see his brave new world.
______________________________________________________
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1999 15:47:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: J MacQueen <jomacqueen@yahoo.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Ancestry (was Even more casting)
Message-ID: <19990606224743.4530.rocketmail@web906.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
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> Kathryn suggested:
> >So does that mean that Avon *is* really a Jew,
> > like Leah suggested a couple of years ago?
> Have no idea what the rest of this bit of the
> thread's about, but Avon having Jewish origins has
> struck me as a plausible theory before now.
> Harriet
Kathryn, have you ever watched "Water Rats"? If so,
how about Detective Rachel Goldstein as his
how-ever-many-greats-it-is grandmother?
Reasons for suggestion: secular Jew, had to kill
fiance at end of first series lest he kill her and a
fellow detective (not to mention issue of broken
trust). Oh, and Avon wanted to investigate in "Mission
to Destiny" - an instinct for detection in the blood?
Well, just a thought.
Regards
Joanne
_________________________________________________________
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Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1999 13:00:12 +1000
From: Kathryn Andersen <kat@welkin.apana.org.au>
To: "Blake's 7 list" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Buffy/Blake's 7
Message-ID: <19990606130012.A1197@welkin.apana.org.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
On Sat, Jun 05, 1999 at 11:59:24AM -0700, Pat Patera wrote:
> Kathryn Andersen wrote:
> > (Kathryn starts thinking of names...
> > "Staked Blake" - hmmm...)
> Staked Blake. I *love* it!
"Staked Blake" it is. Unless someone comes up with something better.
> > so anyone who's interested in this project, mail me,...
> > This is so we can discuss things without boring everyone else to bits.
> Boring? I've not chuckled so much in weeks as over this Bf/B7thread. :-D
>
> Tramilla, a rabid Buffy fan, is coming to visit me in a few weeks. We'll
> see what we can do on this project. Kathryn, you keep cracking the whip.
<crack!>
Write! Write you scum! Write!
(oops, got carried away there)
<grin>
--
_--_|\ | Kathryn Andersen <kat@welkin.apana.org.au>
/ \ | http://home.connexus.net.au/~kat
\_.--.*/ | #include "standard/disclaimer.h"
v |
------------| Melbourne -> Victoria -> Australia -> Southern Hemisphere
Maranatha! | -> Earth -> Sol -> Milky Way Galaxy -> Universe
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 1999 21:24:03 -0600
From: Penny Dreadful <egomoo@mail.geocities.com>
To: B7 Lysator <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Even more casting
Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.19990605212403.007b2760@mail.geocities.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At 12:32 PM 6/5/99 -0700, Pat Patera wrote:
>Penny, I know *you* will write the slickest, sickest, snidest story in
>the collection.
Well (I'll construe 'slick, sick, and snide' as a compliment) I'd be more
than happy to oblige except for the fact I've never seen a single episode
of 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'. I did see the movie and greatly enjoyed it,
but I don't know any of these other characters to whom you all refer. Will
have to stick to slowly torturing Pratchett to death I'm afraid.
Slickly, Sickly, Snidely,
Penny Dreadful
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1999 19:43:36 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re: Even more casting
Message-ID: <199906061944_MC2-7859-5CF0@compuserve.com>
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Pat P wrote:
>So perhaps Servalan is a descendent of Ares and Discord?
I think Hope got a bit muddled in the maternity ward and walked off with
the monster by mistake. Obviously her true daughter by Ares was Servalan
all along.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1999 22:44:33 EDT
From: Pherber@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] oh my god, he killed blake!
Message-ID: <f7a320b8.248c8c11@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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In a message dated 6/2/99 1:10:03 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
patpatera@netzero.net writes:
> This sounds like a yard ornament for Penny Dreadful's Mad Poodle Farm
Oh yes!! That would be the *perfect* place for it!
Nina
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 00:40:28 EDT
From: Pherber@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Even more casting
Message-ID: <4b54a952.248ca73c@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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In a message dated 6/4/99 8:11:19 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
mistral@ptinet.net writes:
> Hmm. Three days with Joxer and Avon might start to really
> appreciate Vila a lot more. Nah, Joxer wouldn't last three days
> with Avon. <g>
True. But that's 2 days more than Jarriere would last with Avon. Hmm...that
conjures up some amusing possibilities for Avon-torture!
Nina
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1999 10:46:01 +0200
From: Steve Kilbane <steve@whitecrow.demon.co.uk>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Even more casting
Message-Id: <199906060946.KAA05869@whitecrow.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Oh, it's got to Britain, but it's SF, and therefore only watched by
> children and adults who ought to grow up, and therefore put on at 6pm
But not _every_ 6pm - that would be too easy. I don't think the beeb
managed to show more than two consecutive episodes before finding
some reason to bump it a week.
And as for stopping partway through season two... sheesh.
steve
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 00:55:30 PDT
From: Sally Manton <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Re: What if. . . ? (A non-canonic thought about the crew)
Message-ID: <19990607075531.42421.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Harriet wrote:
<Sally Manton had some very good ideas about who we'd
like to see on the Liberator, all of which I like, especially
Jarriere of course>
Of course.
Re Rashel...<This reminds me a little of Anna in Chris
Boucher's Star Cops. I don't suppose you've ever seen Star
Cops, Sally?>
No....
<I've finally managed to watch the whole thing thanks to
Robert lending me his videos. And Devis - given that you
agree with me on virtually everything but Servalan, you'd
have to love Colin "Cuddly" Devis... Imagine Vila and Gan
rolled into one. With attitude.>
Ooooohhhhhh....I’m beginning to feel a bounce coming on.
Tramila..... (Stop it. The last time you bounced, you hurt
yourself). Right. I feel sensible now. And a Vila-Gan
combination has - um - possibilities.
<She's a bit like Rashel, only probably rather brighter. But
that determination to do the right thing, however terrified
she is, strikes a chord.>
That’s it exactly. Now if Dayna had been more that way,
she *wouldn't* be my most-favoured-to-be-an-imitation-of-
a-doornail at Gauda Prime.
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 00:58:25 PDT
From: Sally Manton <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Casters anonymous
Message-ID: <19990607075830.16207.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Neil wrote:
<Am I the only one automatically deleting any post with
the word 'casting' in the subject header?>
And Penny replied:
<I have been reading all the incomprehensible (to me) posts,
though. I simply cannot delete a post unread - it would niggle
at me to think that I might have missed The Big Secret.>
And I have learned (the hard way) that the minute I start
ignoring a thread it turns into something fascinating and
I don't find out till it's too late to get back in. So I read them.
All. No sacrifice is too great and all that. (PS - I'm also
one of those who reads posts marked 'test'.)
<Bah humbug and who the smeg is Willow?>
Apart from my neice's pet caterpillar, I've no idea...
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 01:11:37 PDT
From: Sally Manton <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] A different what if...
Message-ID: <19990607081147.95068.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
An exercise for anyone who cares for it.
Imagine it's 2nd season - heading towards Pressure Point
and the decision has been made that Blake's going to lose one
of his Seven. Only two characters are safe - Blake himself
and (because some Power-that-Be's kid likes him) *Gan*.
So you are picking one of the other four to make the Ultimate
Sacrifice. And Gan will survive for the same length of time
that the other one does (i e, if Jenna, till the end of Series 2,
if Vila, right till the end).
[1] Who would you choose on the grounds of *dramatic*
expediency (not just because your unfavourite is...?)
[2] How do you think it would affect/change the storyline/
individual episodes as time goes on?
For instance...I'd pick Cally. Avon is needed for dramatic
tension (and he is and remains the most popular character,
so no programmer in his right *mind* is going to kill him
off this early) and Vila for comic relief. Due to (ahem)
Poor-Writing-Syndrome, both of the women are somewhat
expendable, each having only one 'good' episode thereafter
(and Cally does better with Voice from the Past than poor
Jenna with - shudder- The Keeper) but I can't see anywhere
in the rest of season 2 that Cally's really *necessary*.
Her part in Voice could have been done by Jenna (even
better, since Avon & Jenna teaming up to save Blake - still
with that underlying not-quite-hostility - would have made for
good watching.) Her qualms in Star One would have sounded
considerably better coming from Gan IMO. Except for her
one telepathic message "It's a trap" in Star One, she's
dramatically expendable.
Season 3? I *do* think that the Avon/Gan relationship there
- without Blake and his Cause as a buffer and as a purpose -
could have been worthwhile. Gan may be slower, but he's
very hard to shift when his mind's made up, and he'd have
been less likely to accept the empty drifting of the early
season (he'd have pushed harder than Cally seems to do to
look for Blake and Jenna). Plus he'd have put short shrift
to Tarrant's bullying of Vila (none of this rather sadistic
'they'll let me get rid of you' business), while supporting any
of Tarrant's sensible ideas (somehow, I don't think they'd get
on awfully well, though).
And would we have missed Dawn of the Gods and Children of
Auron that much? Sargophagus...mmmm. Can't see Gan in that
alien get-up, and the premise would have needed a *lot* of
rethinking (Dayna being taken over? Vila??? Ick. Scratch one
Sargophagus.)
Of course, if they still *had* three male crew members at
the start of Series 3, Toothy may have been turfed in favour
of another female pilot (Soolin could have been er - 'retrained'
as a pilot and brought in early. Which would have been a
good thing. I'd have liked to see Gan and Soolin.) Or they
could have gone back to six (which would also have been a
good thing.).
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 10:14:34 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Casters anonymous
Message-ID: <005201beb0c7$d90b27c0$0c01a8c0@hedge>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
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> Neil wrote:
> <Am I the only one automatically deleting any post with
> the word 'casting' in the subject header?>
>
> And Penny replied:
> <I have been reading all the incomprehensible (to me) posts,
> though. I simply cannot delete a post unread - it would niggle
> at me to think that I might have missed The Big Secret.>
I have no clue about any part of these threads - fortunately it's all
coincided with a really bad cold, so I've deleted without guilt. Penny, I
admire your persistence. I am much more of the 'can't be arsed' persuasion.
Una
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 10:32:32 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] A different what if...
Message-ID: <008201beb0c8$c2d85da0$0c01a8c0@hedge>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
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Sally asked:
>Imagine it's 2nd season - heading towards Pressure Point and the decision
has been made that Blake's going to lose one of his Seven. Only two
characters are safe - Blake himself and (because some Power-that-Be's kid
likes him) *Gan*. [1] Who would you choose on the grounds of *dramatic*
expediency (not just because your unfavourite
is...?)<
OK, I'm going to immediately cheat and break your first rule because it
really seems that the most interesing option in terms of affecting the whole
show/story for maximum effect
and 'where the hell do we go from here'? would be bumping off Blake. What on
earth would they do next? Jenna and Avon would immediately start a massive
power struggle for the ship; Cally would be intent on continuing Blake's
fight... And where would it leave the rebellion? Would they deny Blake's
death as Federation propaganda?
Just some feverish thoughts from someone with too high a temperature.
Una
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 03:44:39 PDT
From: Rob Clother <whitehorse_dream@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Blake the Butcher?
Message-ID: <19990607104440.46902.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Penny Dreadful:
>Those two are basically the same question -- I mean I really can't
>see Blake suddenly going all Servalan the second the opportunity >arose,
>but he certainly could have started getting his hands a lot
> >dirtier/bloodier in the name of keeping *ahem* The People in >power...I
>think Blake could be a real Lenin...
Blake? Lenin? Er, I might let you get away with comparing Travis to Lenin,
but Blake? No way. For a start, Blake had a genuine belief in the idea of
freedom: either that, or his "Not until free men can think and speak"
outburst in "Space Fall" was a very clever bit of posturing. Lenin was
never interested in such petty bourgeois notions as freedom. On 11th August
1918, for example, he wrote to the Comrades at Penza:
"The rising of the five Kulak regions must be met with merciless
repression... There's need to make an example. (1) Hang not less than 100
Kulaks [Bolshevik term of abuse for land-owning peasants -- Rob], rich ones,
blood-suckers... (2) Publish their names. (3) Take all their food away.
(4) Pick hostages according to yesterday's telegram. Do everything so that
the people will see, tremble and groan for miles around... PS. Search out
the hard people. Lenin."
Can you really see Blake talking and thinking like that? I always thought
of Blake as being a man who supported individuals' rights to control their
own destiny (His support of the rebellion in "Countdown" being an example).
Lenin massacred those who tried to assert such rights. And he did so with
the support of the people he dubbed "useful idiots" -- western intellectuals
who believed either that the end justified the means, or simply that
Bolshevik atrocities never happened in the first place.
You could try writing a story about Blake adopting similar tactics to
manipulate popular opinion, and inaugurating a bloodbath based on his
twisted idealism. But then you'd have Sue Clerc coming after you with an
axe. :-)
-- Rob the Reactionary
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Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 12:02:39 +0100
From: "Jenni-Alison" <Jenni-Alison@dial.pipex.com>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Brave New Worlds
Message-Id: <199906071103.NAA25397@samantha.lysator.liu.se>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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Una wrote:
> I'm sure this is a well-worn theme, but I've been thinking a bit recently
> about what Blake's brave new world would have been like.
>
> Would he have become the leader of an Earth with a shattered
infrastructure?
> Or would he have effected a coup, rather like Anna Grant intended?
I think he'd try very hard to take on the whole infrastructure, and go
through it with a fine toothcomb looking for genuinely bad people. This
would, of course, fail, since there are very few genuinely bad people, but
a great many very convincing opportunists who would quietly begin to build
their own little empires.
> What compromises would he have made in order to secure power (if any)?
I think he'd compromise, or at least that he'd be realistic enough realise
that some aspects of his ideals didn't work, and build new ideals around
the reality of the situation in which he found himself. This would probably
be an ongoing process - the world's like that.
After all, I wonder how many thieves, murderers and smugglers were in the
resistance before he was mindwiped?
Needs must when the devil vomits into your kettle.
> How far would power have corrupted him?
I don't think it would have corrupted him. I think he'd have found it
increasingly hard to justify the new actions he'd be forced to take. Blake
likes to trust people, he'd try very hard to keep on the existing
politicians and military, simply removing anyone who was overtly a
"baddie". Finding that everyone underneath is not as trustworth as he'd
hoped would really cause him problems, particularly as he seems to inspire
in people a desire to live up to his expecations (Avon, anyone?) even
against their will, but *only when they have a direct relationship to him*.
I think he'd end up exhausted and overworked, having spread himself far too
thin in an attempt to inspire these people to do their civic duty. Then
he'd be assasinated by some powerhungry faction.
>
> What would have been the effect of his increasing cynicism on his
idealistic
> programme for change?
He'd be standing on the shore trying to stop the tide right up until he
drowned.
> How long would he have lasted?
About 3 years, if he was lucky
> How would history have seen him?
The media would use the freedom of the press to slag him off constantly
when he was in power, then the moment he was assasinated it would be a huge
tragedy meriting enormous coverage and national mourning. Every tiny
positive attribute would be magnified into something unique and special,
and people purporting to wish to follow him and live up to his ideals would
utterly corrupt everything he ever stood for for political gain.
History would see him as someone who failed to achieve what they think were
his objectives, but they'd never understand what those objectives were.
Of course, if Avon were around and onside, that might increase his chances
somewhat.
Jenni
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 04:23:34 PDT
From: Hellen Paskaleva <hellen_pas@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Casters anonymous
Message-ID: <19990607112335.21697.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
>Am I the only one automatically deleting any post with the word 'casting'
>in
>the subject header?
Funny... Your letter was the first in my list. Just prior to open it, I've
deleted all the messages, subjected as "Cast...whatever...".
Hellen ;-)
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 15:26:41 +0100
From: Robinson Paula <Paula.Robinson@RCN.ORG.UK>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se,
"'space-city@world.std.com'"
<space-city@world.std.com>
Subject: [B7L] Horizon newsflash
Message-ID: <E9263E031959D211B5A80008C71E93C301BF7C42@rcn-london5>
Content-Type: text/plain
> Horizon Newsflash:
> The cast for episode 2 of the new SF Comedy series on CD - 'Soldiers of
> Love', entitled 'Deathtraps' is confirmed to include Michael Keating as
> Mydas Mydason, Gareth Thomas as Nermal Hammond (the next disguise of The
> Editor) and Jacqueline Pearce as Madame Deephole.
>
> Nicholas Courtney and Sammie Winmill also star in this episode, in which
> we
> see Mydas meeting Maureen in his flashback, where we also meet his
> brother,
> Jake...
>
> Part 1 'Genesis' is already out and available from Horizon (or direct from
> MJTV) and 'Deathtraps' will be out in July.
>
Paula
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 07:41:04 +0100 (BST)
From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: What if. . . ? (A non-canonic thought about the crew)
Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-0607064104-d07Rr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
On Sat 05 Jun, Harriet Monkhouse wrote:
> This reminds me a little of Anna in Chris Boucher's Star Cops. I don't
> suppose you've ever seen Star Cops, Sally? I've finally managed to watch
> the whole thing thanks to Robert lending me his videos. And Devis - given
> that you agree with me on virtually everything but Servalan, you'd have to
> love Colin "Cuddly" Devis. Played by Trevor Cooper (who took my fancy
> years ago when he did a lot of theatre work here in Manchester) - who
> actually has a B7 connection as he played a minor role in the Horizon audio
> play Logic of Empire. Imagine Vila and Gan rolled into one. With
> attitude.
>
Devis always makes me think of Vila. It's probably the dedicated desire to
avoid the strain of overwork, plus some of the humour.
Kenzie has a lot in common with Avon in spite of being female and Box *is* Orac.
The good news is that Chris says I can publish his second Star Cops novel which
will be the one that has all my favourite characters in. (The first one is
already available from me but is based on the first episode and thus only has
Spring and Theroux). I'm just waiting until he has a chance to get a disc to
me.
Judith
--
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.nas.com/~lknight)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 14:28:05 EDT
From: Tigerm1019@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] A different what if...
Message-ID: <370a0a92.248d6935@aol.com>
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In a message dated 6/7/99 1:13:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
smanton@hotmail.com writes:
<< Season 3? I *do* think that the Avon/Gan relationship there
- without Blake and his Cause as a buffer and as a purpose -
could have been worthwhile. Gan may be slower, but he's
very hard to shift when his mind's made up, and he'd have
been less likely to accept the empty drifting of the early
season (he'd have pushed harder than Cally seems to do to
look for Blake and Jenna). Plus he'd have put short shrift
to Tarrant's bullying of Vila (none of this rather sadistic
'they'll let me get rid of you' business), while supporting any
of Tarrant's sensible ideas (somehow, I don't think they'd get
on awfully well, though). >>
I think Tarrant and Gan would have gotten along very well. Gan would have
been able to smooth over some of the initial conflicts that Tarrant had with
other crew members. Gan was very perceptive and would have quickly seen that
Tarrant was willing to put the safety of the ship and crew as a whole and as
individuals ahead of his own welfare. Tarrant would have realized that Gan
would be a valuable ally in dealing with Vila and Avon. As for the empty
drifting, I think Gan would have backed Tarrant's efforts to achieve
something positive against what remained of the Federation while it was still
disorganized.
I think if Gan had been there, the quarrel between Tarrant and Vila would
never have come to Tarrant threatening to put Vila off the ship. Gan was
neither stupid nor foolish and would have been well aware of how vulnerable
the ship was without working weaponry. He was also well aware of Vila's
laziness and his attitude towards anything that resembled work. He would
have smoothed things over so that Vila went to Keezarn without being
terrified. He was quite willing to make Vila go down to Centero in
"Seek-Locate-Destroy" (arguably a much more dangerous mission) because Vila's
skills were needed to accomplish it.
Tiger M
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 20:17:01 +0100
From: Steve Rogerson <steve.rogerson@mcr1.poptel.org.uk>
To: Lysator <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Cult TV
Message-ID: <375C1AAA.253777B1@mcr1.poptel.org.uk>
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I've just been sent an updated guest list for Cult TV in
Weston-super-Mare, 17-20 September:
PETER DAVISON;
PAUL DARROW;
CATHERINE SCHELL;
MICHAEL BILLINGTON;
LOUISE JAMESON;
WILLIAM GAUNT;
SIMON MacCORKINDALE;
NICOLA BRYANT;
FRAZER HINES;
HARTLEY HARE (and NIGEL PLASKITT);
DESMOND LLEWELLYN;
MICHAEL SHEARD
More guests are promised
There's a link to their web page from mine if you want more info.
--
cheers
Steve Rogerson
http://homepages.poptel.org.uk/steve.rogerson
"What is it with you and holes?"
Xena to Gabrielle, Paradise Found
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End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #184
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