Blakes7 January 2002

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Six Speculations on Belkov's Survival.
by seven＠gaudaprime.com 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

1. After Tarrant and the others arrive on Orbiter, Gambit gives a countdown to destruction of the Orbiter of 12 min. 20 sec. Soolin begins her shootout. After that comes the launch of Belkov's Alpha III and the Federation ships Slave: Scan reveals several launchings from the planet's surface. Initial launch, small cargo vessel, Alpha Three. Subsequent launches confirm Federation pursuit ships. Bearings indicate all ships heading in this direction. After that Soolin finishes her shoot-out and Tarrant launches a virtual craft. This is tougher than the real thing, apparently, since "these things chuck the lot at the student-pilot. Flying the real thing is nothing after one of these." Tarrant achieves virtual orbit. The implication is that Belkov and the Federation craft have achieved orbit too. After that Gambit gives the current countdown: 5 min 10 sec. Dayna teleports them off Orbiter, which has started to move. The next shot is of Belkov's craft well clear of the planet below. Belkov's clearance of the atmosphere triggers Gambit's next set of instructions, which were: Belkov: When I am clear of Mecron atmosphere, go to Condition Red. When all other tasks have been performed ... When all other tasks have been performed, go to self-destruct sequence as programmed. Gambit goes (if she hasn't already gone) to Condition Red, which is not defined. Probably in general it means some state of high security, and involves clamping down, restrictions of some sort. Specifically, it prohibits Gambit from doing the important thing, severing the guidance links. Belkov: Sever guidance links, give me automatic control. Gambit: Beginning self-destruct sequence. Belkov: I need automatic control first. Gambit. Gambit: I am not able to give it to you. This is true. She can't give it to him. Belkov insults Gambit when he equates Gambit's 'cannot' with 'will not' Belkov: I will be killed if you don't. Gambit now sees the red Gambit: Not willing to give it to you. Belkov: Gambit. Gambit: Self-destruct sequence in progress. Belkov: I am sorry. And Belkov apologises but it doesn't placate Gambit. Belkov has to think fast. He wants to sever guidance links because he will be dead if they aren't severed. There are two ways to free his craft from Gambit's guidance linkage: Gambit releases the craft; Or Something wrests the craft from her grasp. The first is no longer an option but the Black Hole can wrest the craft from Gambit. The Orbiter is moving, being pre-programmed. If the Feldon on the Orbiter were to draw from XL, the Black Hole will pull Belkov away from Gambit's unwilling hold. The option is fraught with danger, Belkov realises, but it is the only alternative to death. Gambit must join the various components: the Feldon on Orbiter, the Black Hole, and the White Castle. He gives her an instruction to lock - this is not in conflict with the self-destruct sequence - lock his controls and Orbiter's controls into Cygnus XL. She complies. The result is that both Orbiter and Castle race towards the Black Hole (and Scorpio and Federation Squadron). Belkov's laugh immediately afterward is not the laugh of a suicide, nor the smile of Avon. It suggests that he has achieved the necessary severance of guidance links. This is understandable, since, as Avon says, "there is nothing that won't be dragged in" to XL. 2. Gambit is sad when she says: "Panels locked on" because she knows the Black Hole will be awakened. Gambit wants to survive but she must complete all tasks set, which includes her self-destruction. Part of her has a half-decent chance with Vila, Slave and Orac (hence Orac's declaration of love in the next episode Sand). The rest of her has a slim chance in the Orbiter. Her systems are different from Orbiter's (Yes, I heard that, thank you Gambit. And Orbiter's defence is a lot better than yours). She wants and hopes Belkov to survive. 3. Perhaps Orbiter and Feldon over Belkov's twelve years parallel the Forbidden Zone on Earth and Central Control over the last half century. The Zone housed a great prize for a while, then the prize was moved. Likewise Orbiter housed large quantities of Feldon for a while, then the Feldon was used in research, spent for credits, or transferred to the Federation under terms of the contract. Under this notion, Star One corresponds with Cygnus XL. The finality of destroying Star One is echoed in the finality of racing into the Black Hole (although the Hole, presumably, survives). But since both Federation and rebel survived Star One, so both Belkov and rebel survived XL. 4. Referring to the necklace, Vila said: "Belkov won't be needing it where he has gone." Vila went into and out of a Black Hole in Dawn of the Gods; his meaning in here is unclear. Avon's final line - End game to Belkov - one of the best in the series, is also ambiguous, since it is reminiscent of his line about Dayna's father's death ("He got away from here after all" - Aftermath). And Belkov won the middle game too. The screen displaying his face blows up, suggesting that Belkov has died, but this may be a deliberate deception on the part of the Programme maker. 5. Belkov wants at the least his freedom to do research elsewhere. And if it comes his way, he will also take Orac, some Capital, and whatever is given. Belkov involves Gerren through some indirect method. Gerren involves Avon and co., whom Belkov will use to neutralise Sleer and co. He can then escape through the middle. Belkov pre-programmes Orbiter to move when he approaches it in his craft. Belkov has an exit strategy. It is executed in the episode. It is the episode. If Belkov doesn't escape with his life the episode loses much of its reason for being. 6. With the exceptions of Terminal and Animals, every episode has a winner at the end. Winner is defined as some improvement in the life or assets of the winner. The following list shows winners from the episodes, including Belkov and Gambit. The Way Back - Ven Glynd Space Fall - Jenna Cygnus Alpha - Gan Time Squad - Cally The Web - Decimas Seek, Locate, Destroy - Cally Mission to Destiny - Destinians Duel - Blake and Jenna Project Avalon - Avalon Breakdown - Gan Bounty - Tyce Sarkoff Deliverance - Meegatt Orac - Orac Redemption - Zen Shadow - Bek Weapon - Rashel, C-Blake Horizon - Ro, Selma, Silmarines Pressure Point - Veron, all Rebels Trial - Blake, Zil Killer - Passing Traffic Hostage - Inga Countdown - the Albians Voice From the Past - Servalan Gambit - Avon and Vila The Keeper - Tara Star One - Blake, Durkim Aftermath - Zen Powerplay - Tarrant Volcano - Servalan Dawn of the Gods - the Thaarn Harvest of Kairos - Servalan City at Edge of World - Kerrill Children of Auron - Servalan Rumors of Death - Avon Sarcophagus - Cally Ultraworld - Cally and Avon Moloch - Astrid Death Watch - Teal and Vandor Terminal - Slave (?) Rescue - the Monster Power - Soolin Traitor - the Helots Stardrive - Scorpio Animals - Og (?) Headhunter - Orac Assassin - Soolin Games - Belkov, Gambit Sand - Chasgo Gold - Sleer Orbit - Vila, T.Funnel victims Warlord - the Betaphilians Blake - Arlen DC, who is pretty tired.

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OT Legend of the Rangers
by Steve Rogerson 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

The new Babylon 5 spinoff TV movie Legend of the Rangers premieres in the US today. Could someone please video it for me and send me the tape - I'll pay for postage etc. My video player can handle US format. According to the Zocalo list, these are the times: "Legend of the Rangers" premieres tonight at 9pm ET. You'll be able to catch it again at 11pm ET and tomorrow at 5pm ET. -- cheers Steve Rogerson http://homepages.poptel.org.uk/steve.rogerson Redemption 03, 21-23 February 2003, Ashford, Kent Celebrating 25 years of Blake's 7 and 10 years of Babylon 5 http://www.smof.com/redemption

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Orbiter - Possibilities for Its Back-Story
by seven＠gaudaprime.com 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

Orbiter's back-story has alot of room to play with. At the time the crew arrived there, Orbiter was powered by Feldon, but this need not have been the case originally. Orbiter at various times could be powered by: Solar power (normal photo-voltaics); Stellar power; a feed from Alpha III (if Orbiter was Feldon-powered, surely Belkov's Alpha-III was similarly powered). Orbiter has several possible origins: an ancient civilsation built it; the Mecronians built it; Belkov built it; a recent manufacturer built it (to Belkov's design, or not). Orbiter can become Belkov's by: accident; gift (eg. of the Federation); swindle; purchase; commission; fortune (ie. through gambling / gaming). Orbiter is either; self-controlled; controlled by Gambit; or somehow united with Gambit. DC

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Orbiter - Final Act
by seven＠gaudaprime.com 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

In the James Bond movie 'For Your Eyes Only', in the opening sequence, there is a stunt. A small plane flies through the nearly closed doors of a hangar (and out again). The little plane flies from left of screen to right. Its right wing is down to minimise the plane's width through the opening of the Hangar doors. The stunt is an illusion. The right door of the hangar is a separate entity from the left door. The hangar is some distance (maybe fifty metres) away from the camera, whereas the right door is a small model door close to the camera (a metre or less). The stunt pilot flies through a hangar with the left door closed but the right door fully open. This right door is hidden from the lens by the model door. The two are so arranged as to produce the illusion both doors belong to the same building. There is a TV advertisement where a huge plate of green-leaf vegetable is placed at a distance from the camera, and a small plate of meat is near the camera. The vege is on the left; the meat on the right. The iron values of the two are compared and found to be equal. But then a pair of hands lifts the far plate and brings it next to the plate of meat, and the vegetable matter is seen to be several times larger than the other. These two items are analogous to the set-up in the final scene of the episode Games, except that the problem with the two analogies is that the relationship between the two items being compared is illusory. This is not true of the two sides in Games. Think of Belkov's black hole in Cygnus some huge distance away, and Belkov's craft - which will be called the White Castle - somewhat near to it. And think also of the Orbiter with its Feldon panels, and Scorpio much nearer to it. The former two stand in the same relation to the latter two as the two doors of the hangar do, or the two plates of food. But the thing that is different is that there is relationship between the White Castle and the Black Hole on the left side, and Scorpio and Orbiter on the right. It is Belkov's last act to arrange this relationship. He orders Gambit to lock the White Castle's controls in to XL. And he orders Gambit to lock Orbiter's controls in to XL. Gambit obeys (rather sadly) and confirms with: "Panels are locked in." So, we have a huge thing at a distance and a small thing nearby. The huge thing is the Black Hole that is now dragging everything into it; and the small thing is Orbiter with its Feldon panels being struck by Scorpio's rather small blast. Those same panels are locked into the Black Hole. The balance between the Black Hole plus White Castle versus the Scorpio plus Orbiter is shown in the following diagram. ______ ______ / \ / \ / \ / \ I I ================= Feldon Rays ================= I I \ / ^ F1 \ ^ F2 / \______/ \______/ Black \ /Orbiter \ / \ / CsL \_____ _____/ BlS | | | | | | ==== === Gambit + Orac === ==== | | |_____| |_____| White Castle Scorpio The diagram shows the balance between: a large body a small body on the left on the right far away near at hand imploding exploding dragging throwing things in, AND things out. To scale and perspective but not to size. CsL: Controls Locked in. BlS: Blast from Scorpio. Link between White Castle and Orbiter: omitted. Link between Scorpio and Black Hole: omitted. F1 : Fulcrum between Black Hole and Orbiter (in perspective). F2 : Fulcrum between Black Hole and Orbiter (in Orbiter). Fulcrum between White Castle and Scorpio, if any: omitted. As the panels are blasted, the Orbiter is vaporised Soolin: You have done it. Dayna: Yes, but what have you done? Avon: Proved my somewhat simplistic theory. Orac? Orac: Apparently so. It would appear that positive and negative inputs were balanced by the Feldon crystals. Indeed, the balance was so perfect, that they simply ceased to exist, along with everything in their immediate vicinity. Note the words 'immediate vicinity'. The Orbiter no longer exists but the Scorpio still does. It must not have been in the immediate vicinity. Since the White Castle was further away from Orbiter than Scorpio, it too still exists (as does the Black Hole). The point of balance was in the Feldon crystals / panels. The Feldon was the fulcrum. It was destroyed after it had achieved the balance. DC

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Orbiter - Powered by Feldon
by seven＠gaudaprime.com 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

Two Federation authorities, Avon and Orac acknowledge Feldon existed. Sleer admits that Feldon came from Belkov and Mecron II. The academic Gerren, who was attached to the Planetary Resources Commission, should know about Feldon. Orac and Avon both assume that there were Feldon crystals Sleer: On your own original estimates, you have delivered half the expected yield from this mine. Gerren: Unfortunately, they are not digging up anything much. There is virtually no Feldon left. Belkov has milked this planet for twelve good years. Avon: But a huge negative force a long way off could be balanced by a positive force close to the crystals. ... Blast those feldon panels with everything we have got. Orac: It would appear that positive and negative inputs were balanced by the Feldon crystals. ... They simply ceased to exist. Neither the Federation nor the Mecronians realised the gem they had in their grasp. The Mecronians never made the connection between Feldon and destructive power; the Federation came to the conclusion only a few weeks or so before the episode opened. Vila also did not know, hence his initial disinterest Tarrant: I could do with some rest. Vila [irritated]: We all could. Is the lecture over? Orac: Feldon is the hardest known subject in the universe. Avon: And currently the most valuable. Vila: Go on. You are just getting interesting. Even a top-notch thief says there is Feldon. By the time he came along to Mecron II, ship propulsion, for example, through Feldon was not yet a reality. For them (and the Federation too, for that matter) it was still theory Tarrant: Could you run a ship on it? Avon: You could run anything on it in theory. It was Belkov who discovered the true nature of Feldon, over ten years ago, and kept it to himself. For the bulk of Belkov's career on Mecron II, Feldon was regarded as a precious stone in the sense of a repository of wealth like gold, but not as an industrial agent. The crystals were a tradeable item but for jewellery, not energy. The crystal called Feldon existed and exists, but the essence, the power of Feldon did not exist in the minds of most people, until recently. So Belkov has, in his first year, this amazing product that he can't sell for its true worth. He can't tell people the truth about them because it would start a FeldonRush, and Belkov would lose his privileged position. If he sells the crystals, he must sell at somewhere between cost (of mining) and their eventual full commercial value. The price he gets for Feldon is not low, but it is lower than he wants, so he conceives a plan to get credits. He sells the rights to the Federation, overcharges them for Capital outlay whenever he commissions a new mine, uses free Mecronian labour, that sort of thing. Sleer is onto this when she asks just what sort of swindle he is working; Gerren too when he mentions the milking for twelve years; and Vila comes eventually to ask the same question Vila: What about the crystals? Avon: There aren't any damned crystals. There never were any damned crystals. Avon's statement seems to deny there ever was a thing called Feldon. It comes from one who escaped Belkov's threat Belkov: Orbiter is powered through Feldon crystals. By using them and reflectors on the moon I could set up a series of force fields. You would find getting away from this planet a lot harder than getting to it. Avon: Multiple traction beams. Tarrant: Powerful enough to stop a ship leaving orbit? I don't believe it. Belkov: Your friend Avon does. But Avon achieved orbit with consummate skill. The threat from Belkov was either not carried out or empty in the first place. Avon's negative statement above refers only to the Orbiter, for Avon mentions Feldon panels and crystals moments later (in his blasting order to Slave). These crystals were indeed on the Orbiter but they were not in a pile of loot ready for someone to steal or sell. They were powering Orbiter. DC

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Re: [B7L] Re: Character ages
by Anna Carkeet 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

My sister and I spent a lot of time thinking about this one last year around this time- we got bored with our summer holidays and had nothing to do. When we worked it out we hadn't talked to anyone interested in Blakes 7, and hadn't even thought that there might be webpages out there. Blake was 25- although the way he sees things as black and white, right and wrong he seems sort of younger, child-like kind of. Avon was 26- not really sure why Vila was 27- the receeding hairline meant he couldn't be younger Cally was around 30- although doesn't Blake say she's his mother in Star One? Fairly affending if she's the same age as him, or maybe it was a joke and we missed something. Jenna was 25- no idea how we came to that Tarrant was 22- he has the same arrogance as our 22 year old brother Dayna was 18- although when we first saw her we thought she was 16 Soolin was 24- she just looks that old Anzi _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

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Re: [B7L] Character ages
by Mac4781＠aol.com 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

Nico wrote: > 1) how old were the cast at the time I can't find my note with cast birthdates. These were easy to find on the net: Steven Pacey was born in 1957. Glynis Barber was born in 1955. I've heard that Jan was about Paul's age. Don't know if that's true. My memory could be wrong, but I believe Paul was born in 1941 and Gareth in 1944. Neil wrote: > Was lieutenant on the previous kairopan harvest, which would have been 15 > Earth years prior to the episode, as stated by Zen. The episode is a bit confused on that point. Zen does tell us the harvest is every 15 years, but Jarvik tells us that Tarrant served on the Kairopan shuttle only a few years ago: SERVALAN: You speak with familiarity, as one who knows him. JARVIK: Knew him. A few years ago. He served as lieutenant on the Kairopan escort shuttle. It was his first command. So apparently Tarrant's service on the shuttle wasn't at the time of the last harvest, unless one is to assume that 15 = a few. Perhaps it was a training exercise? Or a movement of Kairopan not related to the harvest? Carol

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re: character ages
by JEB31538＠cs.com 19 Jan '02

19 Jan '02

Gareth Thomas was born in 1945. The year is not in doubt. That makes him 56 now and soon to be 57. The day is in doubt though. I have trusted friends who claim it was Feb. 12, and others who claim it is Feb. 13. And one gets out of it by claiming that Gareth himself doesn't even remember which day it is. If you have bought one of the old Karen Rivers calendars, you will notice that she cheats and puts Gareth on the 12th block and Thomas on the 13th block. Blake and Thomas are the same age. Both are 33 series 1. Joyce

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Re: [B7L] Re: Character ages
by Sally M 18 Jan '02

18 Jan '02

Dana wrote: "that makes Justin look a little less awful ..." A little, yes. Mind you, he's impressively revolting all on his own ... _________________________________________________________________ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com

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Re: [B7L] Re: Character ages
by Tavia 18 Jan '02

18 Jan '02

Carol Mc wrote: >Avon refers to Tarrant as "young" in TRAITOR, >so he has to be younger enough than >Avon that there is a discernible difference. Sure, he has to be significantly younger than Avon, but then I put Avon nearly 40 by S3.... Tavia

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Blakes7 January 2002