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blakes7-d Digest				Volume 99 : Issue 208

Today's Topics:
	 [B7L] Paul Darrow Interview
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 [B7L] Servalan
	 [B7L] b7 and x-files
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 Re: [B7L] b7 and x-files
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 [B7L] Servalan
	 [B7L] Zines and Misc.
	 Soolin [was Re: [B7L] Servalan]
	 Re: [B7L] Paul Darrow Interview
	 Re: [B7L] Four drabbles (was re: Fandoms crossed over with B7)
	 Re: [B7L] Zines
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 Re: Soolin [was Re: [B7L] Servalan]
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 Re: [B7L] Zines
	 Re: [B7L] Servalan
	 Re: [B7L] Zines
	 Brian Blessed

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 18:52:55 +0100
From: "Deborah Day" <d.day@ukgateway.net>
To: "blakes7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Paul Darrow Interview
Message-ID: <004901bec70f$36a6f1e0$3796bc3e@oemcomputer>
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
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Well, it sure was a nice surprise to read the Paul Darrow transcript from
Cambridge all those years ago.  In the immortal words of Max Boyce, "I know,
because I was there".  Unfortunately the only things I can remember now was
all the coming and going and that he said he had an auntie in Florida and he
was going there for a holiday.  So, it is really nice to be able to see all
the rest.  The room was absolutely packed, and although you were supposed to
be a Cambridge undergraduate, I managed to talk myself in as I had gone with
a friend who was studying there, but I think she was one of the ones who
sneaked out as she didn't really like Blakes 7 (but even so we are still
friends).  My grateful thanks to all the people who had to turn the knobs up
to 11, yes that is one of my fave films too.

Debbie Day.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 20:27:03 +0100
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <000201bec717$1a2bb5c0$cf1dac3e@default>
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	charset="iso-8859-1"
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Susan Riaz wrote:
<Certainly in the 70's, most female
television characters spent most of their time being infuriating,
useless and generally tripping over or fainting all the time.   I fail
to see how fainting whilst a huge monster is coming towards you is the
least bit useful - I'm sure I'd at least TRY to run away and I'm
completely sure I wouldn't trip during the first 100 yards!   B7 changed
all that - not completely, but radically.   Servalan was the best female
character I've ever seen and I'm sure that B7 was ground-breaking.
There would not have been the strong female characters, like those in
"Alien" for example, unless someone had started the trend.>

Surely fainting is merely the low-tech equivalent of Joojanta Superchromatic
Peril-Sensitive sunglasses?

And just how familiar were the makers of 'Alien' with B7?  I wouldn't be
surprised if they'd never heard of it.

To me, Servalan is one of the -worst- female characters in B7, because her
power is so firmly rooted in her sexual allure.  This perpetuates the myth
that women can only get to the top by lying on their backs, literally or
figuratively.  While there may be some real-world precedents for this (Eva
Peron being one possibility), it generally doesn't hold true.

I prefer Servalan in episodes where she's shown to be a powerful, decisive,
commanding personality without having to bat her eyelashes.  'Star One' is
probably her best in that regard.  Shame she wasn't in that mode more often.

Neil

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 21:47:31 +0200
From: Angria@t-online.de (Tanja Kinkel)
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Servalan
Message-Id: <m111EiB-0003fVC@fwd09.btx.dtag.de>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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Neil Faulkner schrieb:
>
> To me, Servalan is one of the -worst- female characters in B7, because her
> power is so firmly rooted in her sexual allure.  This perpetuates the myth
> that women can only get to the top by lying on their backs, literally or
> figuratively.  

Excuse me, but in which scenes does Servalan use her sexual allure to get to the 
top? We never see her sleep or flirt with any admirals or other men more 
powerful than her before she's president. When she's introduced, the only one 
she's flirting with is her aide, and while a case can be made against Servalan 
as a sexual molestor on the working place here, it hardly is a method to "get to 
the top by lying on her back". Servalan methods shown to gain more power while 
she's Supreme Commander are usually murderous plots (such as her idea of 
getting Orac for free by killing of Ensor Jr. and Marryatt), but they don't 
include her using her sex appeal to carry them through. As you yourself point 
out, her actual coup d'état is carried out efficiently and without any batting 
of eyelashes. 
Now Servalan's relationship with Avon from "Aftermath" onward certainly contains 
the element of using sex as part of the power struggle, but I'd say this is 
mutual. And in the fourth season, when she has to climb to the top all over 
again, she kills off one man who has the bright idea of trying to blackmail her 
for sex and shared power (the guy in "Traitor"), and the inspector in "Sand" who 
actually is in a position to harm her and placed at least on an equal 
level, if not higher in the Fed hierarchy to "Commissioner Sleer" doesn't fare 
much better. Her frightening him with nothing more than some words and a look 
when he has the technical advance is one of the highlights of the episode. 
Hardly the behaviour of a character who's supposed to sleep her way to the top.
So, overall, I'd say that, cold-blooded killer & megalomaniac that she is, the 
allegation that her power rests on her sexual allure is one charge the character 
of Servalan is not guilty off. 

Tanja

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 23:23:12 +0200
From: Steve Kilbane <steve@whitecrow.demon.co.uk>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] b7 and x-files
Message-Id: <199907052223.XAA18313@whitecrow.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Thinking about mapping onto X-Files, I contemplated Blake.

Determined.
Unbowed by threats.
Working against the established authorities.
Prone to withholding information from subordinates.
Willing to make the masses pay a high price for the greater good.

Hmm.

steve

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 19:09:41 -0700
From: mistral@ptinet.net
To: B7 List <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <37816565.8BA2634C@ptinet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
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Neil Faulkner wrote:

> To me, Servalan is one of the -worst- female characters in B7, because her
> power is so firmly rooted in her sexual allure.  This perpetuates the myth
> that women can only get to the top by lying on their backs, literally or
> figuratively.  While there may be some real-world precedents for this (Eva
> Peron being one possibility), it generally doesn't hold true.

Well, I agree that Servalan is an awful character, but I'll
have to say that I completely disagree with this reason. I
don't think her power is rooted in sexual allure at all (and
Tanja's listed the reasons so I'll pass on to my real point).

For me, the problem with Servalan as a character (apart
from the fact that I simply loathe her) is that she perpetuates
the myth that an intelligent, sexy, independent, powerful
woman *must* be evil, a la Snow White's stepmother,
black widows, etc. In my mind this makes her a dull cliché.
The conflict would be so much more interesting if Servalan
believed that she was acting in the best interests of the
Federation and its people, instead of serving her own selfish
and sensualist agenda. (This is why I infinitely prefer Travis
as the antagonist, and wish he'd gone four seasons and
lost Servalan at Star One, although of course, Travis was
set up as Blake's foe, and they subsequently set Servalan
up as Avon's. Travis had some honor, and was a worthy
opponent for Blake. To a certain extent, I've felt that
putting Servalan up opposite Avon is an insult to Avon.)

This bad stereotype is also the reason I'm so partial to
Soolin, who is intelligent, sexy, independent, dangerous,
and one of the *good guys*. I can never quite decide
whether I'd wish for another season for her to develop
more, or should be glad that they didn't have further
chances to weaken her, as they did Jenna and Cally.

Regards,
Mistral

P.S. Hmm. Hey Dreadful Penny! How 'bout writing us an
AU in which Servalan dies at the end of season two and
Travis survives?
--
"We all have something to hide, and we all have something to tell;
we all have a secret name; we all have a secret question--
one question that unlocks our heart."--Galen, 'Crusade'

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 18:37:38 -0700
From: mistral@ptinet.net
To: B7 List <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] b7 and x-files
Message-ID: <37815DE2.FCBE352@ptinet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Steve Kilbane wrote:

> Thinking about mapping onto X-Files, I contemplated Blake.
>
> Determined.
> Unbowed by threats.
> Working against the established authorities.
> Prone to withholding information from subordinates.
> Willing to make the masses pay a high price for the greater good.
>
> Hmm.

Hmm, indeed. Does this mean that Blake = CSM???

Wow. Interesting.

???
Mistral
--
"We all have something to hide, and we all have something to tell;
we all have a secret name; we all have a secret question--
one question that unlocks our heart."--Galen, 'Crusade'

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 07:35:59 +0100 (BST)
From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-0706063559-b49Rr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

On Tue 06 Jul, mistral@ptinet.net wrote:

> For me, the problem with Servalan as a character (apart
> from the fact that I simply loathe her) is that she perpetuates
> the myth that an intelligent, sexy, independent, powerful
> woman *must* be evil, a la Snow White's stepmother,
> black widows, etc. In my mind this makes her a dull cliché.
> The conflict would be so much more interesting if Servalan
> believed that she was acting in the best interests of the
> Federation and its people, instead of serving her own selfish
> and sensualist agenda.

I've always felt that in Star One, she was acting in the best interests of the
Federation.  I think she genuinely felt that a military coup was the only way to
get a fast, well-organised response.

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: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 03:18:04 EDT
From: AdamWho@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se (lysator)
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <f7028bc3.24b307ac@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

In a message dated 99-07-05 14:50:39 EDT, Neil Faulkner writes:

<< To me, Servalan is one of the -worst- female characters in B7, because her
 power is so firmly rooted in her sexual allure.  This perpetuates the myth
 that women can only get to the top by lying on their backs, literally or
 figuratively.  While there may be some real-world precedents for this (Eva
 Peron being one possibility), it generally doesn't hold true. >>

Servalan used her sexual allure to her benefit, but wasn't powerful because 
of it. Servalan gained so much power because of ruthlessness and 
intelligence. As a matter of fact, I think Serv's glamour worked for her in 
two ways, one being sex appeal helping her rise through the ranks, but also 
causing people to underestimate her. An enemy who saw Kasabi would 
immediately fear her, but Servalan could play on an enemy's emotions and 
prejudices, and knife them in the back as soon as she had the chance. 

Servalan is one of the first female characters I've seen who mix glamour and 
villiany in such a tough way. She walks through rooms in those white gowns, 
dictating orders and finding scapegoats, but in other episodes manages to 
singlehandedly outwit Avon, Dayna, the Sarrons on horseback, and Hal 
Mellanby. I think the complexities in Servalan are what make her so 
fascinating, perhaps more fascinating than a Kasabi or Ripley knockoff. 

Jacqueline Pearce definitely helps, she deserves an equal amount of credit 
with the writers themselves. Her strength and subtelty caused Serv to fall 
into a much higher class than the usual sci-fi villianesses. Especially The 
Rani, played by Kate O Mara as so hysterically over the top I thought she 
should have been named The Termite, for all her endless scenery chewing. 

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 03:25:17 EDT
From: AdamWho@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se (lysator)
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <458c00ed.24b3095d@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

In a message dated 99-07-05 14:50:39 EDT, Neil Faulkner writes:

<< I prefer Servalan in episodes where she's shown to be a powerful, decisive,
 commanding personality without having to bat her eyelashes.  'Star One' is
 probably her best in that regard.  Shame she wasn't in that mode more often. 
>>

My favorite Servalan episode is "Children of Auron", because that's 
Jacqueline Pearce's best performance. To go from giving a plague to an entire 
planet, then crying as you feel a part of yourself die, to killing the guard 
who lied to you, a wide range of emotions, and she played them all perfectly. 
That single tear rolling down her cheek, when she says "I felt my own babies 
dying.", superb. Almost as good as that chilling moment in Rumours of Death 
when we first see a bruised Servalan shackled in the wine cellar. 

As a side note, I also love Servalan's outfit in Children of Auron, the best 
outfit I've seen her wear so far. She should have worn black more often. 

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 03:36:54 EDT
From: AdamWho@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <152823d6.24b30c16@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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In a message dated 99-07-05 23:26:21 EDT, mistral@ptinet.net writes:

<< For me, the problem with Servalan as a character (apart
 from the fact that I simply loathe her) is that she perpetuates
 the myth that an intelligent, sexy, independent, powerful
 woman *must* be evil, a la Snow White's stepmother,
 black widows, etc. >>

Don't Cally and Jenna break that myth? I think did a fairly good job of 
representing both sides, even if they stuck Cally and Jenna with teleport 
duty too often. 

<<P.S. Hmm. Hey Dreadful Penny! How 'bout writing us an
AU in which Servalan dies at the end of season two and
Travis survives?>>

And gets plastic surgery to morph back into Stephen Greif....

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 10:11:51 +0200
From: Angria@t-online.de (Tanja Kinkel)
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Servalan
Message-Id: <m111QKV-0003IPC@fwd04.btx.dtag.de>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8BIT

AdamWho@aol.com schrieb:

> My favorite Servalan episode is "Children of Auron", because that's 
> Jacqueline Pearce's best performance. To go from giving a plague to an entire 
> planet, then crying as you feel a part of yourself die, to killing the guard 
> who lied to you, a wide range of emotions, and she played them all perfectly. 
> That single tear rolling down her cheek, when she says "I felt my own babies 
> dying.", superb. Almost as good as that chilling moment in Rumours of Death 
> when we first see a bruised Servalan shackled in the wine cellar.

I agree, though my choice for best performance and best Servalan episode is 
"Sand" (which you will see in the fourth season). Here, too, Jacqueline Pearce 
gets a chance to display the full range of ruthlessness to vulnerability, 
without appearing once as weak or helpless.  
>
> As a side note, I also love Servalan's outfit in Children of Auron, the best 
> outfit I've seen her wear so far. She should have worn black more often. 

Don't worry, she does, for the rest of the series. I don't know whether it's 
true or not, but SFX claimed that Jacqueline Pearce made the deliberate decision 
of changing Servalan's outfits post "Children of Auron" to black, as a sign of 
mourning for the embryos she killed. Anyway, another dark classic comes in 
"Terminal" - simple and elegant. Though my favourite remains the "Rumours of 
Death" dress, with the pearls. 

Tanja

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 20:23:38 +1000
From: Katling <katling@primus.com.au>
To: "blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Zines and Misc.
Message-ID: <3781D92A.E5D9EC22@primus.com.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Been sorta quietly following the threads about zines and submissions and so on.
I'm not going to talk anyone out of starting up one [even considered it myself -
but who hasn't?] but I would be mighty cautious - and take advice from those
with more wisdom on the matter than I. ;) Though I've got pieces lurking that
I'm willing to submit to any start-up zine. Gen only. I've never been able to
write non-gen. :P

Australian zines - can anyone confirm what's happening with Chronicles??

Pat Patera! Nice to see your name appear again. ;) I remember you from right
back when I made my first postings ever. Over a year now - I was the student at
Sydney Uni. :)

And many welcomes to those new to the list(s) - I'm a definate lurker but I do
contribute. Sometimes. When I remember to?


Katrina.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 20:23:34 +1000
From: Katling <katling@primus.com.au>
To: "blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Soolin [was Re: [B7L] Servalan]
Message-ID: <3781D926.781CDAE4@primus.com.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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> This bad stereotype is also the reason I'm so partial to
> Soolin, who is intelligent, sexy, independent, dangerous,
> and one of the *good guys*. I can never quite decide
> whether I'd wish for another season for her to develop
> more, or should be glad that they didn't have further
> chances to weaken her, as they did Jenna and Cally.
> 

Oooh. Another Soolin fan? It amazed me somehow, that out of a part which often
seemed rather generic [and some bits were originally written for Cally!] that
Glynis Barber managed to produce such a consistent, powerful and independent
character. I have to admit I's almost glad they didn't write more of her.
Imagine Soolin instead of Dayna in episodes like Animals. [not that I hate
Animals, it was just a dreadful story for character development]

She's also my favourite character for stories but there doesn't seem to be many
Soolin stories about. :(

Katrina.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 13:22:49 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Paul Darrow Interview
Message-ID: <015201bec7ab$4b8c6620$0d01a8c0@hedge>
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Debbie Day wrote:

> Well, it sure was a nice surprise to read the Paul Darrow transcript from
> Cambridge all those years ago.  In the immortal words of Max Boyce, "I
know,
> because I was there".  Unfortunately the only things I can remember now
was
> all the coming and going and that he said he had an auntie in Florida and
he
> was going there for a holiday.  So, it is really nice to be able to see
all
> the rest.

How great that you were there! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it.


> My grateful thanks to all the people who had to turn the knobs up
> to 11, yes that is one of my fave films too.

Indeed, many thanks to everyone who answered my plea and helped with this.
I'm pleased I got the side with all the politics in it, and I thought the
Edward Heath story was one of the best B7 anecdotes I've ever heard.


Una

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 13:26:23 +0100
From: "Una McCormack" <una@q-research.connectfree.co.uk>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Four drabbles (was re: Fandoms crossed over with B7)
Message-ID: <015301bec7ab$4bf2c910$0d01a8c0@hedge>
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
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> Nightmare's End?
>
>
> Surrounded by troopers, Avon raised his gun and...
>
> Avon woke up screaming.  Moaning, he stumbled from the bed and trudged
into
> the bathroom, unsurprised to hear the shower running.  Then he opened the
> door, startling the two people inside.
>    "Hey, Avon," Blake said, "have we reached Star One yet?"
>    "Umm..."
>    "Oh, hello," the other man said.  "I'm Bobby Ewing."
>
> Avon woke up screaming.  He tumbled clumsily to the floor and froze.
Someone
> was definitely using his shower.  He crawled into the bathroom and threw
open
> the curtain.
>    "My shower's busted," Gan explained, "so Blake said I could use yours
> instead."

The horror... the horror...


> Be glad my idea for "Cally McBeal" was just too big to turn into a
drabble.

<groan!> Can we have it as a double decker drabble, then?


Una

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 20:24:00 +0100
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Zines
Message-ID: <000701bec7b5$b0cebf60$80438cd4@default>
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="utf-7"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Murray wrote:
+ADw- I agree with you about Servalan, but would say that the trend in
strong female characters in science-fiction really started with that of
Princess Leia in 'Star Wars', a character seen by people of all ages. While
a princess, she was a tough cookie, able to insult Tarkin and Darth Vader,
able to stand up to torture, and able to fight once released. I always
loved her telling Han Solo that he was now to take orders from her+ACEAPA-g+AD4APg-

Far further back than Her Worshipfulness, I think (and her best line was in
Empire - 'I am NOT a committee').  Didn't Dale Arden once take the helm of
one of those spluttery firework things in the old Flash Gordon serials?  And
what about Maria in Metropolis, inciting revolution left right and centre?
(Can't comment on the title character of Die Frau Im Mond (1929) since I've
never seen it.)  B7 merely picked up and continued with a tradition that was
already well established.  Its apogee was probably Ripley in the Alien
films, before it dissolved into the Bikini Amazon Fetish Parade (which was
probably all it ever was anyway).

Neil

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 07:13:20 -0700
From: mistral@ptinet.net
To: B7 List <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <37820F00.E36441A4@ptinet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Judith Proctor wrote (re Servalan):

> I've always felt that in Star One, she was acting in the best interests of the
> Federation.  I think she genuinely felt that a military coup was the only way to
> get a fast, well-organised response.

I'd have to say mixed motives here, inasmuch as she did take
advantage of the opportunity, and knew she was doing it. She
has a line something like: 'I will not be ruler of a ruined empire.'
She doesn't seem to have any intention of releasing her hold
on the government when the crisis is over.

I'd say the best Servalan is when she's playing politics with
bureaucrats-- with Rontane and Bercol in Seek-Locate-Destroy,
and with Joban in 'Hostage'. In these scenes she seems clever,
ruthless, ambitious, and a dangerous enemy-- but not a sick,
twisted, 'tasteless megalomaniac', as she later appears.

Or perhaps I'm just prejudiced against people who are stupid
or vain enough to wear spiked heels and formal gowns to go
hiking?

Grins,
Mistral
--
"We all have something to hide, and we all have something to tell;
we all have a secret name; we all have a secret question--
one question that unlocks our heart."--Galen, 'Crusade'

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 09:01:05 -0700
From: mistral@ptinet.net
To: B7 List <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: Soolin [was Re: [B7L] Servalan]
Message-ID: <37822840.59B0506C@ptinet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Katling wrote:

> Oooh. Another Soolin fan?

Absolutely positively.

> It amazed me somehow, that out of a part which often
> seemed rather generic [and some bits were originally written for Cally!] that
> Glynis Barber managed to produce such a consistent, powerful and independent
> character. I have to admit I's almost glad they didn't write more of her.
> Imagine Soolin instead of Dayna in episodes like Animals. [not that I hate
> Animals, it was just a dreadful story for character development]

Maybe Glynis Barber could have kept her from the
deterioration visited on the other female characters,
as she did such a good job with what she was given.

> She's also my favourite character for stories but there doesn't seem to be many
> Soolin stories about. :(

Yes, it's really sad. I think she makes the best viewpoint
character, except for Vila.

As characters go, she's practically perfect. I'd just wish
for one or two more background details to hang some
personal backstory on. That may be why there's not
much of her in fanfiction, you pretty much have to make
her up out of thin air.

I love the way she interacts with each member of the
Scorpio crew; Soolin and Dayna teasing Vila in 'Orbit'
is priceless. She also handles Avon better than anyone
else except Blake does. (I quite like the idea of A/Soo.)
My only complaint is that to have Soolin and Liberator
in the same story, you have to go AU.

Oh, well, can't have everything, can you?

Cheers,
Mistral
--
"We all have something to hide, and we all have something to tell;
we all have a secret name; we all have a secret question--
one question that unlocks our heart."--Galen, 'Crusade'

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 08:22:12 -0700
From: mistral@ptinet.net
To: B7 List <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <37821F23.BBED44F4@ptinet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Adam wrote:

> In a message dated 99-07-05 23:26:21 EDT, mistral@ptinet.net writes:
>
> << For me, the problem with Servalan as a character (apart
>  from the fact that I simply loathe her) is that she perpetuates
>  the myth that an intelligent, sexy, independent, powerful
>  woman *must* be evil, a la Snow White's stepmother,
>  black widows, etc. >>
>
> Don't Cally and Jenna break that myth? I think did a fairly good job of
> representing both sides, even if they stuck Cally and Jenna with teleport
> duty too often.

<sigh> As far as I am concerned, they completely ruined Cally;
they took a passionate freedom fighter and turned her into a
whining wimp. The only places she gets my sympathy anymore
are Time Squad, Bounty, and the first halves of Duel and Shadow.
The Cally of Time Squad and Bounty would have blasted her way
into Servalan's palace and executed her for genocide, not whined
at Avon about the pointlessness of revenge. I was very nearly glad
to see her go, considering what a total drag she had become. (This
is probably because she was originally my favorite of the women.)
She should have been a strong counterpart for Blake, a committed
co-rebel amidst his reluctant gang of criminals. What a waste.

Jenna fared somewhat better, but she was supposed to be a
*smuggler*, for goodness' sake, a strong, independent woman,
and they should have made more out of her decision to go along
with Blake, instead of just having her cave in (apparently because
her hormones were on overdrive). Once or twice she should have
had a better idea, and Blake should have *listened* to her, as he did
to Avon, instead of patronizing her (as in Killer). It irks me no end
that in Killer, they gave Blake more understanding of the history
of spaceflight, exploration, and navigation than they did Jenna; it
falls under her area of expertise, after all. Avon at least treated
her as an equal, whereas Blake often treated her like a child; and
the weakest part of Jenna's characterization is that it never bothers
her. She complained 'Tarvin underestimates me', but Blake was
far more guilty of that. Another example is Blake's agreement to
hand Liberator over to Avon when he was through with it. Avon's
assumption that this should be done is consistent characterization,
but Jenna had IMHO *more* claim to Liberator than Avon, and
I think Blake should have taken that into consideration.

I'm happy to see that, from what I've read, Jenna comes off
better in fanfiction; but portrayals of Cally are all over the place.

So, no, I guess I don't think they break the stereotype, because
they're not anything like as strong as Servalan. Jenna, being
the female lead and second name in the credits, should have been.

IMHO,
Mistral
--
"We all have something to hide, and we all have something to tell;
we all have a secret name; we all have a secret question--
one question that unlocks our heart."--Galen, 'Crusade'

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 12:16:29 EDT
From: AdamWho@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Zines
Message-ID: <1c2a556e.24b385dd@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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In a message dated 99-07-06 09:44:48 EDT, N.Faulkner@tesco.net writes:

<< And
 what about Maria in Metropolis, inciting revolution left right and centre? >>

In a message dated 99-07-06 09:44:48 EDT, Neil Faulkner writes:

<< And
 what about Maria in Metropolis, inciting revolution left right and centre? >>

Were the two Marias ever more than stereotypes? Human Maria was sweet and 
kind, although she did try to help all the workers to fight for change, but 
she did it with kindness and understanding. Maria 2 was nothing more than a 
brazen, out of control robot fascimile who used the power and control of the 
workers the human Maria originally gathered. She used the power only to 
destroy Metropolis. 

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 19:19:26 -0700
From: Pat Patera <patpatera@netzero.net>
To: B7 Lysator <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Servalan
Message-ID: <378167AE.6AAEADA5@netzero.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Tanja Kinkel wrote:
re"
> Neil Faulkner wrote:
> > To me, Servalan is one of the -worst- female characters in B7, because her
> > power is so firmly rooted in her sexual allure. ...
> 
> Excuse me, but in which scenes does Servalan use her sexual allure to get to the
> top? We never see her sleep or flirt with any admirals or other men more
> powerful than her before she's president.
<big snip>
> Hardly the behaviour of a character who's supposed to sleep her way to the top.
> So, overall, I'd say that, cold-blooded killer & megalomaniac that she is, the
> allegation that her power rests on her sexual allure is one charge the character
> of Servalan is not guilty off.
> 
Tanja, your rebuttal was perfect. Wish I'd said it! :-)

I'd like to add: Servalan is portrayed with the same sexual behavior
that no one would find surprising in a man. A powerful man would flirt
with his young secretary (aka Supreme Commander Servalan and subordinate
Ray). He would take along a girlfriend/escort when vacationing at a
casino resort (aka President Servalan and Jerriere). He would flirt with
and bed any woman he found attractive at the moment (aka Servalan and
Jarvik). He would play highly enjoyable flirtatious games with any woman
his business/power equal, enemy or not - perhaps especially enemy! -
(aka Servalan and Avon). He would brush off any "inferior" woman who
attempted to attach herself to his money/power (aka Servalan and Travis
II in "The Keeper").

I enjoy watching Servalan use her sexuality as both pleasure and weapon
- exactly the same way men use theirs: to both charm and intimidate
women. Viva Sexy Servalan!

Pat Patera
http://www.geocities.com/area51/1707


________________________________________________________
NetZero - We believe in a FREE Internet.  Shouldn't you?
Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at
http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 09:02:21 -0700
From: Pat Patera <patpatera@netzero.net>
To: B7 Lysator <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Zines
Message-ID: <3782288D.FEE909EE@netzero.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Tigerm1019@aol.com wrote:
 
> It isn't quite the same.  Among other things, it's very hard to curl up in
> bed with a cup of tea and a computer monitor.;-)  
What I meant was that fen now write email posts *instead* of writing
zine stories.

> Seriously though, many fans do not have internet access, even if they have e-mail.  They only need the email access to spend all those hours reading and writing lists rather than reading and writing zines.

> Also, I've seen some
> excellent fanfic on websites like The Aquitar Files and the archive at the B7
> fanwriters' site, but there isn't too much B7 fanfic on the web.  
Fortunately, there is enough existing B7 fanfic to keep you busy
collecting and reading for the rest of your life!

> Another
> problem I've often encountered with netfic in various fandoms is stories that
> are um, less than good.
Perhaps this, too, is an outshoot of email, where we write fast and
fling.
It can get to be a habit in all one's writing.

> One thing I like about paper zines is that anything that gets printed has to
> have gone through some kind of editing process.  
You'd be surprised how many editors touch not a word, but print whatever
they receive.

Pat P

http://www.geocities.com/area51/1707


________________________________________________________
NetZero - We believe in a FREE Internet.  Shouldn't you?
Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at
http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 12:09:44 -0700
From: "pennyk" <pennyk@bigger.net>
To: "b7" <blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Brian Blessed
Message-ID: <002f01bec7e3$73210500$9aaaf5d1@behemoth>
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Brian Blessed is really making the rounds....Star Wars Episode I and
Disney's Tarzan.

Peace,
Penny

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End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #208
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