Blakes7 January 2002

blakes7@lists.lysator.liu.se

60 participants
295 discussions

Re: [B7L] Re: Female Characters
by Sally M 07 Jan '02

07 Jan '02

Leia writes: "Lets see who else have we got. Kasabi?" <veg> Piri. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

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space is big ...
by Sally M 07 Jan '02

07 Jan '02

And another one. How much of the galaxy do you think is covered by the Federation at its height? Is there anything in the series to negate my impression, built on the fact that - space is big, as I think we were informed in another series), but the feeling of the series is that this part of it is also relatively small and enclosed; there are millions of stars but *not* all that many colonised worlds, few enough so that it appears every one has a name not repeated anywhere else (contrast our own little world - hell, my own underpopulated country which has more than a few duplicated town names!!) and that Avalon starting rebellions on 30 worlds in one sector is a big thing; - that the Federation only occupies a part, and possibly not a major one, of the spiral arm nearest to Andromeda? Or is this too patently obvious to everyone but me, and I have forgotten the episode where it's all laid as clear as day? How much space is there in our space opera? _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

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Fwd: Re: [B7L] Re: Female Characters.
by Sally M 07 Jan '02

07 Jan '02

Leia wrote: <It is a pity the potential of the female characters in B7 was never fully realised. They were all set up with an interesting background and should have been strong, independant, interesting characters.> (I take it you're *not* including Her Supremeness in this - even if I find her only adequate, the general consensus seems to disagree with me) All four of them had a lot of promise built in at the start ... Jenna was *never* IMO as good again as she was in those first scenes in The Way Back, but she was at her uneven best in S1 (I'd like to credit Terry Nation for this, since he wrote it all, but then he wrote Redemption, where she trails around playing Doctor's assistant to *both* Blake and Avon :-)). What I'd've liked to see was more of the light barbs she throws around in Cygnus Alpha, more of the skepticism, and way more of the underlying dislike between her and Avon (actually, given the way he tempted her in CA, 'twould have been fun to see her, disillusioned in trial, trying to tempt *him* away when it's too late). I have to say, though, much as I like Jenna, part of it is the acting, she just *clunks* sometimes. Cally - don't care for the character, but think Jan Chappell is the best actress on it (better even than Jacqueline Pearce - in their respective moments of 'psychic' pain in Children of Auron, Cally's is by far the subtler and better done). Given what she could do with just one simple line (in Hostage - "anything that moves") they should have kept Cally's fanatic, overwrought edges and push her further along the road to obsession than Blake, almost having her leading him in, but instead went for alien high-mindedness. In S3, it probably *should* have been Cally going planetside rather than Vila, in Pressure Point, Killer, Hostage, Countdown ... (of course, the problem there was that by then, Vila was writer and audience favourite, and always was much more fun to watch :-) Few people would have liked to see his or Avon's part cut for the women. That's show biz ...) (OTOH, I'm working on this theory that part of the reason Cally lost her way was that - like the rest - she'd been leaning on Blake's strength, almost 'feeding' off his drive and commitment and warmth. But after Voice - certainly as they headed towards the end at Star One - Blake is becoming drained and exhausted, nearing complete collapse from the accumulating stress and trauma, and doesn't have it to give anymore.) Dayna had the most detailed background of them all, but in a way, from the very start, the least room to develop, being given one point of reference - her vendetta against Servalan. I think it's relevant, in a way, that Dayna's *second* episode has her already playing Doctor's assistant. Soolin - it goes the other way. Soolin wasn't wimped out, but started as a blank page and gradually got better, but not better enough when compared with the older, richer characters, Avon and Vila. It was a fair way into the last series before she was more than a shadow. She's good with flip lines, but there's very little substance until half-way through. As I said in my Warlord post a little while ago, the colder, calculating aspects of her character were showing a lot of promise at the end, but that shooting party got in the way before she could really get going ... _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

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Re: Other SF
by Mel Saxby 07 Jan '02

07 Jan '02

> Tell the truth, I've nearly given up watching new SF stuff, although I do > occasionally dip into Farscape. Mainly because it's so hard keeping up when > you work alternating shifts. Doesn't a VCR help? This isn't a patronising question - having never worked shifts, I don't have a concept of the impact it might have. Surprisingly, VCRs aren't much help, at least for any long-running series. The only ones I've managed to keep up with that way are Babylon 5 and Space: Above and Beyond, and that took a lot of effort. The problem is, you have to find the time to watch what you've taped, and if you put a couple of episodes on the back burner because, say, you're not in the mood at the time, it accumulates, and can very soon get to the point where it's nearly impossible to catch up. I have to really like something to make the effort nowadays. > So many good shows only get as far as > Sky, which I can't really afford. Hmm. I dunno. As Louise and I often comment, there are some jewels to be found in the dead hours of UK terrestrial TV. 'Course, anything good gets cancelled after the first season, but that's another matter. A workmate of mine taped a lot of Millennium for me off Sky, after I'd seen some of it on ITV. That at least I do mange to watch whenever I get it. I was rather hoping the new Star Trek series might make it to the Beeb, but no luck. And as for hoping we might get some new home grown SF . . . in our dreams, I'd say. The BBC seems to have lost the plot as far as SF is concerned. Even in these more sophisticated days, you don't need huge numbers of fancy special effects to hold an audience, just an interesting plot and characters. They seem content to churn out soaps and medical dramas week in week out, ignoring the fact that programmes like Buffy, DS9 and Farscape have a respectable following. Mel --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/02

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Re: [B7L] Re: Other SF
by Steve Kilbane 07 Jan '02

07 Jan '02

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Re: [B7L] Re: fanfics
by Sally M 07 Jan '02

07 Jan '02

Before I begin, let me say that Anna's writing I have seen is very very good, and if it took no effort I am lime, olive and emerald green with envy :-) The following comments are only about the way I find the whole process, which is somewhere in between all the views I've read so far. I wrote primarily for me, true. My B7 focus is character intereaction, and fairly narrowly based - Blake and Avon first (there aren't, of course, *nearly* enough A-B stories in the world) with Vila next and the rest scattered somewhere behind. Simply letting one's imagination run is wonderful fun (not least of all because one can skip the need for rotten plotty bits and simply play with the good stiuff :-)) as is scribbling it down on my hard drive where no one but me will see it - pure and unabashed self-indulgence and nothing wrong with that. As I've said before, the buzz when someone else enjoys what I've written is wonderful in itself, as a separate thing from the pleasure of imagining the whole thing. But if they're going to enjoy it, they need those things I'm not so good at, they need a plot, they need clarity in the allusions I seem to throw in, they need something other than 5 pages of My Darlings playing complicated word games for my amusement :-) And *I* need it to be at least competent and coherent enough that it won't cover me with mortification <g> something that is not necessary when it's hidden in my head. The work can be enormous fun in itself, of course - like that 'ah hah!' when you think of a way to justify keeping in a piece of prose that *ought* to be pruned for the story's sake but which you love is nice - but then you still have to get it down in words that - if you do want to share it - someone else is going to appreciate as well. _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

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Re: Other SF
by Mel Saxby 07 Jan '02

07 Jan '02

Tell the truth, I've nearly given up watching new SF stuff, although I do occasionally dip into Farscape. Mainly because it's so hard keeping up when you work alternating shifts. I'm glad I first saw B7 as a teenager when it first came out. If it was showing today, I'd probably have missed it. And at least it was shown on mainstream TV. So many good shows only get as far as Sky, which I can't really afford. Mel --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.311 / Virus Database: 172 - Release Date: 12/27/01

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Re: Female Characters.
by seven＠gaudaprime.com 06 Jan '02

06 Jan '02

Leia > It is a pity the potential of the female characters in B7 was never > fully realised. They were all set up with an interesting background > and should have been strong, independent, interesting characters. > They have their moments but for the most part are sadly underused. David The fan-fiction related to them, however, can only rise. Would you like to pick one or two of the B7 women? Pick anything or anyone from high mythical females to lowly recalcitrant teenagers and I may write a back-story or other kind of story revolving around her. I have recently come to a pause in my writing about the female characters and could do with a new topic. In choosing, please avoid the following names: Jenna, Cally, Soolin, Dayna, Rashel, Veron, Sinofar, Arlen. As for who I write for, I write B7 fic for the characters (I sometimes view the cosmos as a character), who deserve to be read and written about. The plot and its devices, adjectives and adverbs, the reader and the writer - these are secondary to the characters. DC

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RE: [B7L] Female Characters (was Blake's 7 and Stargate)
by jacquispeel＠netscape.net 06 Jan '02

06 Jan '02

"Leia Fee" <leiafee(a)totalise.co.uk> wrote: >It is a pity the potential of the female characters in B7 was never fully >realised. They were all set up with an interesting background and should >have been strong, independant, interesting characters. They have their >moments but for the most part are sadly underused. > >Leia But they are more 'interesting'/developed than characters in some of the contemporary series (eg Dallas) Jacqui -- __________________________________________________________________ Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop@Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/

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Re: Other SF (Lexx)
by Steve Rogerson 06 Jan '02

06 Jan '02

I love Lexx, but admit the quality is sometimes variable. The four one-and-a-half-hour episodes that made up season one were excellent. Season two is a mix of good and bad episodes, including one absolutely brilliant episode. I found season three dragged a bit, stretching the one story line over too many episodes, but I liked it better when I watched it again and knew I was on a marathon rather than an episodic adventure. Season four so far has been very good. -- 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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Blakes7 January 2002