Blakes7 April 2001

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70 participants
295 discussions

Re: Blakes7 digest, Vol 1 #324 - 14 msgs
by kevs McCully 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

"Fiona Moore" <nydersdyner(a)yahoo.co.uk> said: <snippo- intro> Say every month we pick a B7 episode, and people who feel like talking about it, do. People don't have to go away and watch it, just read the script or make a few comments on what they remember about it or whatever, but it provides a common discussion point and B7-related activity for the Lyst. At the end of the month, we move on to the next one. In addition, it could provide a useful source of episode reviews and essays for people's zines and websites. If a month is too long,we could always make it a weekly or fortnightly thing <snip> Hi all, The residents of alt.fan.blakes-7 ng are already doing this. We are up to S-L-D atm, and watching one episode per fortnight. I guess the Lyst residents would rather start at TWB, however it may be interesting for some folks to look at the NG. David (gaudaprime) makes some interesting posts there... It is probably a daft idea, but would the Lyst wish to sync up with the NG..? Just a thought...*s* kevs ===== "Under an Aussie sky..." http://www.southernsky.fsnet.co.uk "afterglow", http://www.afterglow.fsnet.co.uk Kevin C McCully "The world is what you make it". _____________________________________________________________________________ http://my.yahoo.com.au - My Yahoo! - Have news, stocks, weather, sports and more in one place.

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More thoughts on Mellanby
by Fiona Moore 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Having just watched "Aftermath" back again, I've had a few more thoughts on the subject of Mellanby as a "good guy." Hal Mellanby tells Avon that the image amplifier he wears reminds him that "most men see what they only want to see, but the difference in my case is that I know my vision is limited." Mellanby recognises this fact, but one of the things that condemns him as a coward is that he has not done anything about it. Mellanby has failed to address, and take lessons from, his own past. He has had twenty years to think about what happened and the role he played, but he is till carrying two contradictory ideas in his head, and even those two ideas have not been thought through. The result of not confronting these questions is plain to see: His daughter Dayna has become a killer. But there's worse to come. We know Hal Mellanby is a liar. He has told Dayna that they left earth because he wanted "independence", and he has maintained that lie for twenty years. This suggests that all of Mellanby's statements have to be taken with a pinch of salt. But when you compare and contrast his statements, it reveals an interesting picture. At one point Mellanby says, "Before I left Earth I was taken in by Federation security. They suspected me of supplying weapons to resistance groups. And they were right. Anyway, in persuading me to talk, they were slightly overzealous. They destroyed my optic nerve." His statement, "before I left earth", taken together with his later statement about the revolt, "I had a chance to save Dayna," and then Dayna's statement, "I was born on Earth. My father brought me here when I was a baby," all confirm that the uprising Hal Mellanby lead was indeed on Earth and that when he left, he went straight into hiding. So what does all this tell us? Here is the likely scenario: Mellanby was an arms dealer. He lead a revolt. He was "taken in by Federation security." He was tortured. He told them what they wanted to know. They let him go. He left Earth. But why would the Federation let him go? When talking of the revolt Hal Mellanby said, "We made an honourable surrender. We were promised fair trial. Instead, the security forces massacred everyone, men, women, and children. That night I watched them all die. My own wife, my friends, everybody." Servalan says: "Everybody but you. Hasn't that ever made you feel guilty, Mellanby?" He replies "Of course it has. I've lived with guilt most of my life. I should have died with them, but I had a chance of saving Dayna. I took it." We have established that Hal Mellanby was "taken in by Federation security," but this was on a suspected gun running charge, not because he was leading a revolt. We also know that he didn't face a trial of any sort, and that he survived the massacre of his resistance group. Finally we know that he then left the Earth for good. But how come? Did he break out of prison? Unlikely. So what happened? Mellanby says, "I had a chance of saving Dayna. I took it." But who gave him that chance? Answer (who else?): the Federation. He struck a deal to save himself and Dayna, and sold the rebels out in the process. Mellanby states, "We were promised fair trial", but does that sound likely? I don't think so. First of all you can forget the "we", because Federation security let him go. There was to be no trial planned for him. But if he led the revolt, how could he not stand trial? Public immunity? No, that would reflect badly on the Federation. Therefore the Federation 'allowed' him to escape. But what about the "fair trial" for the others? Did he know what was going to happen to them? I think he knew. Why should the Federation lie? They took him along to the massacre after all. That, I think, is why he asked just for baby Dayna to be saved, and not his wife. A baby is too young to know what was going on. A baby can't condemn. The Federation fixed him up, repaired his sight, and then forced him to watch the killings, just so that he would have no doubt what he was responsible for. A good way to break a man. Then he was allowed to leave Earth, and go into hiding. Hal Mellanby told Avon that there was a reward of 3 million credits on his head. Why should the Federation release someone, and then put a price out on them? Because that's the way the Federation works. "We'll let you go. And then we'll put out a bounty. Now run and hide." But that isn't all they did. They also let it be known on the rebel grapevine what it was that he had done. As Servalan tells him, "They branded you a coward. Your name was universally despised." But then, what better propaganda is there than a criminal on the run? This may be why Mellanby was so reluctant to leave his hideaway, even after Avon told him the Federation was finished. Hal Mellanby was hiding not just from the Federation, but from the memory of what he had done. Mellanby wasn't only a coward, he was also a self-serving traitor. Usually at the end of an episode the story's villain dies. In Aftermath (a title with a curious double meaning) the one who dies isn't Chel, who, after all, was just a man trying to save his people from an ancient prophecy. It's Hal Mellanby. Fiona The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Ethically sound at http://nyder.r67.net _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [B7L] zine editing
by Bizarro7＠aol.com 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

In a message dated 4/1/01 10:59:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time, hflysator(a)jarriere.demon.co.uk writes: << Yes, I think I'm sharing Fiona's puzzlement and, er, sentiments, in what is intended to be a non-aggressive and inoffensive way. >> Suffice it to say that in the long run, actions will speak louder than declarations. Leah

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Re: [B7L] zine editing
by Fiona Moore 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

>From: Bizarro7(a)aol.com >How original signing back on under a new ID. > >*yawn* > Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any names on here that I haven't been seeing for months if not since I joined (and come to that, if anybody *has* just signed on yesterday, Calle would know, wouldn't he?). I *am,* however, seeing a few fewer names than usual. Leah, I think most people around here would like the atmosphere of paranoia to dissipate. Please? Fiona The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Just wanting to post about Blake's 7 at http://nyder.r67.net _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [B7L] surveillance cameras
by Tavia 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Julia wrote: >2001, and everywhere I go on the rail network >and the London Underground, there are security cameras >"for the protection of our customers and staff". I guess it depends whether hypothetical member of the public encounters them in the context of 'privacy invasion' or 'protection'. I've exited the London Underground at non-busy stations carrying several thousands of pounds-worth of computer equipment (on business) and been bloody glad of the security cameras on those dark deserted stairwells. Ditto airport car-parks. And I would probably rate myself on the personal privacy end of the spectrum. >It's given me an insight into one of the aspects of TWB >that I personally find deeply disturbing - that the population >seem to accept what's going on. I guess the Federation administration just has to persuade the average plus/minus law-abiding citizen that each *particular* usage lies on the protection end of the spectrum... Tavia

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Re: [B7L] fanfic on the list
by Marian de Haan 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Jacqui wrote: >A fanfic story in under a hundred words.< <snip> Enjoyed it and LOL. Is this the shortest piece of fanfic ever written? Marian

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surveillance cameras
by Julia Jones 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Something that's struck me in my recent intensive encounter with the British public transport system is the way public attitudes to surveillance systems have changed in the last twenty years. As recently as 1978, surveillance cameras in public areas were seen as a symbol of an oppressive government. There's ample evidence for that in The Way Back, and in the title sequence for the first two series. And then there's the way the same cameras that are seen keeping an eye on the general public in TWB are used to control prisoners both in the detention area on earth, and on the London. 2001, and everywhere I go on the rail network and the London Underground, there are security cameras "for the protection of our customers and staff". Large notices drew my attention to the presence of these cameras, and the management's willingness to use them to protect those using and running the trains. Watching the BBC documentary series on The Face, and there's a demonstration of the wonders of modern technology - the software system that can take an image from a security camera, and match it up against a database of faces, returning any match within a couple of seconds. Did I hear correctly when John Cleese mentioned "millions" in connection with how many faces are stored in this database? This software and database are up and running - it's what Neil and I were having a rant about last year. It's being used by the police right now. The documentary had nothing to say about the ethics of such a system. Just how does a face get into this database? And why? It's given me an insight into one of the aspects of TWB that I personally find deeply disturbing - that the population seem to accept what's going on. Doesn't seem to have taken much for *us* to accept similar uses of surveillance technology. It's wonderful for crime- fighting, and if you don't like it, what is it you want to hide? After all, only criminals would be worried about such a system. Well, yes. Only criminals would be worried, I'll grant you that. It's the definition of "criminal" that worries me. Are you quite certain that you'll never be defined as a criminal? Or that you aren't already? An awful lot of people who consider themselves to be upright honest citizens get most indignant about the police "wasting their time on speeding offences when they could be catching criminals". It's an offence, sometimes an extremely serious offence, to speed on the roads, but somehow that isn't a crime because it's nice middle class people doing it. Or to take an example a little closer to home for me - once, and only once, thank god, have I experienced what it's like to be classed as a criminal because of my race, by someone in a position to make my life unpleasant. UK passports list place of birth. I was travelling from England to Amsterdam a few years ago, at a time when the IRA was using the Netherlands as a base for terrorist attacks on British targets in Europe. The customs officer who examined my passport questioned me in an extremely unpleasant and threatening manner about the fact that I had an English accent when my place of birth was listed as Belfast. I've been asked about it by other customs officers, but politely and apparently out of curiosity, and this man's attitude was a frightening contrast. And now people are finding themselves considered legitimate targets by vigilante groups, because they have the same name as someone convicted of paedophile offences, or because they live at an address that was once used by someone convicted by paedophile offences, or just because a nice juicy bit of gossip has been doing the rounds of the estate. All at the instigation of a tabloid paper that has cottoned on to a wonderful way to boost sales. I wonder how many tabloid readers have stopped to consider that *they* might be reclassified as criminals in the next wave of hysteria against some outcast group. Somehow, I no longer find it implausible that Blake's lawyer was that naive about what was going on in his society. -- Julia Jones

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Re: Ethics and Hal Mellanby
by Marian de Haan 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Jacqui wrote: >As I said once before, taking one of the 'natives' as a playmate for his daughter, knowing the girl's likely fate, is debatable ethically.< But we don't know the circumstances of him adopting her. If he'd found her abandoned - the Sarrans seem savage enough for the practice of ridding themselves of superfluous baby girls - then taking her in would have been a charitable deed. Marian

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Re: [B7L] surveillance cameras
by Deborah Day 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

This email was delivered to you by The Free Internet, a Business Online Group company. http://www.thefreeinternet.net --------------------------------------------------------------- > >>Issuing fines for speeding is lucrative, however. Isn't there surveillance >>technology that can take a picture, recognize your registration plate, and >then >>issue a fine accordingly? What worries me about this particular technology >is >>that it can monitor your movements as you travel. > >But at least the damn things only take photos if you _are_ speeding. Be >grateful for our toll-free roads. On the French autoroutes, they can issue >you with a speeding ticket if you get from one toll booth to the next too >quickly, which means they must routinely register which vehicles go through >and when. This is what those small blue cameras do - at the moment they are for monitoring traffic flow but they do this by reading number plates and working out how long it takes you to get to the next one. Give it time and we will get tickets from them as well. And you can't see them as easily as the big grey ones ... Debbie

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internet zine sale
by JEB31538＠cs.com 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Several Unlimited has already started their annual internet zine sale. They have a lot of Blake's 7 items--gen, adult, slash. The prices in most cases are very reasonable and some are downright cheap. Some zines are only two US dollars. Postage is added afterwards and isn't included in the sale price. I can't buy anything, because I already either own it or I don't want it because it's Blakeless or doesn't have enough good Blake in it. http://members.aol.com/erikaf/su/ Overseas buyers, however, might have trouble paying for the items because they will not take international checks or money orders. In years past, items are sometimes added to the sale after it starts so it's sometimes a good idea to check it every few days for a while. I've ordered from this sale before and the people are reliable. I've been an out of state member of the Texas club for probably six years. Every April lst, they have this internet zine sale. They sell things on commission in case you are interested in that for next year. Joyce

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Blakes7 April 2001