Blakes7 January 2002

blakes7@lists.lysator.liu.se

60 participants
295 discussions

Re: SFX readers poll (and Animals)
by Mel Saxby 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

> Animals does seem to be at the bottom of a lot of people's lists, mine > included. The only scene I really like is the one where Avon bursts into > Justin's base and boots a chair across the room, and then skids on a piece > of debris on the floor. And that apparently was a genuine blooper they left in. > I agree 100% with Marian about the glycolene ballast tank scene - the > two 'superior' Alphas ganging up on the convenient, easily bullied Delta. I > hate Avon's behaviour in 'Animals', even though I know it mainly stems from > the emotional difficulties he's going through at the time. That still isn't > much of an excuse, and they can't even be bothered to thank Vila, or to give > him a decent drink afterwards. But when did anyone but Blake ever thank poor Vila, even after a rescue? It's no wonder Vila had emotional problems of his own. I'm amazed he didn't drink more than he did. Sad but true. Vila is put upon by just about everyonr, but at least Blake shows some respect for him. 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: Og
by Steve Rogerson 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Dana wrote: "Should you venture to Louise & Simon's, DO NOT READ any thread involving Og." Oi, the Og threads are fun. Louise & Simon's bulletin boards is at: http://www.blakes-7.uklinux.net/phpBB/ Go give your views on Og. -- 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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SFX readers poll (and Animals)
by Mel Saxby 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Marian wrote: I think the trouble with 'Animals' is that is lacks any humour (I can't see anything funny in the way they're all ganging up to make poor Vila do the dirty job). All other episodes have these moments that make you smile and forget any bad plots / sexism / overacting etc. Animals has no humour at all and it's that factor that makes the episode so unwatchable for me. Animals does seem to be at the bottom of a lot of people's lists, mine included. The only scene I really like is the one where Avon bursts into Justin's base and boots a chair across the room, and then skids on a piece of debris on the floor. I think it had the potential of being a very good episode, but somehow the elements didn't gel in the way they should have. I believe Peter Byrne, the actor who played Justin, wanted to play the part somewhat differently from what we see in the episode - at the time he was well known in 'Dixon of Dock Green', and felt he should make his character substantially different from his usual screen image. Also, there were some production problems which hampered development. I did think the 'brainwashing' scene was badly handled, too - it was far too quick and easy to be convincing. Granted, Dayna is a young woman, quite likely still impressionable, and the level of mind-alteration was probably intended to be short-lived and superficial, but it still didn't work at all for me. (It's been commented on before, if I remember the archives rightly, that Josette Simon herself didn't act the scene well. I'd be inclined to agree, but to give the girl some credit, as she was only a couple of years out of RADA at the time, and B7 was basically her first job). I agree 100% with Marian about the glycolene ballast tank scene - the two 'superior' Alphas ganging up on the convenient, easily bullied Delta. I hate Avon's behaviour in 'Animals', even though I know it mainly stems from the emotional difficulties he's going through at the time. That still isn't much of an excuse, and they can't even be bothered to thank Vila, or to give him a decent drink afterwards. 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: SFX readers poll
by Marian de Haan 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Nico wrote: >'Animals' on the other hand is the only B7 ep I fast-forwarded.< I think the trouble with 'Animals' is that is lacks any humour (I can't see anything funny in the way they're all ganging up to make poor Vila do the dirty job). All other episodes have these moments that make you smile and forget any bad plots / sexism / overacting etc. Animals has no humour at all and it's that factor that makes the episode so unwatchable for me. Marian

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journeys underground
by Natasa Tucev 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

This occured to me while I was watching 'Orac' - I noticed that Ensor has a mechanical bird in his lab. OK, he's a nice guy who doesn't want to keep a real bird in a cage - but is there anything more to it? Then I realized it wasn't exactly a bird. It has the body of an animal and the head and wings of a bird. It could be a griffin. That made me think, and I realized that the whole imagery of this episode is suggestive of ancient Greece. I don't know if Aristo means anything in old Greek, but it appears in names such as Aristotle or Aristophanes. The central motif of the story - journey underground - is really a commonplace in Greek mythology. Griffin (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) ought to be the guardian to the underground world or the realm of the dead. Ensor's abode is underground. This is the realm of Hecate, who is also the goddess of medical herbs. The whole episode is about healing ill people - Ensor and the four members of the Liberator crew. Also, there are traces of another famous myth: an old artificer who builds (or, in this case, hides inside) a large labyrinth and then becomes imprisoned in it. (Ensor couldn't teleport from his lab because of the protective force field, which it would take five hours to disconnect; he couldn't reach the exit to the labyrinth in time, either.) His son dies of burns he got while flying. Sounds familiar? But let us go back to the journey underground. This is not the first nor the last time Blake undertakes such a journey. It occured to me that, whenever he does, he gains certain knowledge. In TWB, there is a maze of sub-level tunnels which take him outside the dome, where he finds out the truth about his past. The whole first part of this episode is suggestive of some initiation rite: the initiant has to abstain from food and drink, he crosses a stream (a kind of baptism), he gains new knowledge about himself. In 'Orac', Blake acquires Orac as the 'sum total' of human knowledge. Then there's 'Pressure Point', yet another journey underground. The obelisk which Blake notices in 'Orac' appears here again, inexplicably. It ought to symbolize the mastery over the four corners of the world and the zenith. Ironically, Blake doesn't gain such mastery by reaching 'Central Control'; but he certainly learns a lesson regarding his own quest in that empty room. All three journeys, also, are connected with death and loss. I'm not sure whether 'Star One' could qualify as the fourth. N.

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Lego
by Judith Proctor 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

We've just set up a special exhibition in the gallery on the Hermit site. We've been sent the most fantastic set of lego Blake's 7 photos that you can imagine. I thought I'd done some good B7 lego, but these are out of this world. The models were made by Steve Locke. Come and see interior and exterior views of Liberator and Scorpio and the cast. There's a direct link from the top page of http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 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.knightwriter.org ) Redemption '03 21-23 Feb 2003 http://www.smof.com/redemption/

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Announcement from Ashton Press
by Bizarro7＠aol.com 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

This from Annie Wortham: "Since AOL seems determined not to load any of my websites lately, I am in the midst of moving a lot of my sites to an independent server. I've begun the process by moving most of the Fanzine pages. Some of the graphics might not come up the first time (or at all) right now since many of them are on AOL and who knows what the heck is going on with AOL right now. Stay tuned later today or tomorrow for some announcements about new fanzines. One new update you can see right now, if you're a Blakes 7 fan: I've updated the Southern Comfort page to feature all of the covers for every issue we've done over the years. The new main page for our fanzines is: http://www.ashtonpress.ma-at.net/zines.htm The old pages are still there, for the moment (IF you can get AOL to load them), but please change your bookmarks if you have any of our fanzine sites bookmarked (you can see the new addresses for all of the subsites if you go to the main one and follow the links). I'll probably start moving some of the fan fiction sites next. Annie "

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Re: journeys underground
by Natasa Tucev 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Thanks for the quote, Alison. I also had Yeats's poem in mind, but I haven't got it at hand. I think the former verses could apply to Ensor as well (I quote from memory): An old man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, Unless he teaches his soul to sing, And louder sing for every tatter in its mortal dress. Ensor (it might be said) gains some kind of immortality by creating Orac. N.

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To be or not to be a Jarrigoth?
by Helen Atkins 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

I have been considering this matter carefully. On the one hand, I can see that Jarrigoths are in one sense the ultimate fans. Picking a character of no significance except to give Servalan someone to explain her actions to, with no story significance and only one appearance in the entire series, and building a fandom around that, is in some sense B7 fandom at its most extreme. It is far more elegant a concept than choosing, say, Carnell; because Carnell isn't hideously ugly and has a profound impact on the story, and therefore a Carnell fan club would lack the utter pointlessness that is the principal appeal of becoming a Jarrigoth. Nonetheless, I find it extremely disturbing to hear that Jarriere has been a topic of discussion on the Other List; perhaps I was fortunate Calle didn't sign me up for that one. There are some thoughts I really don't need cluttering up the inside of my head... :-) _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

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RE: [B7L] journeys underground
by Louise Rutter 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Natasa wrote: >I don't know if Aristo means anything in old >Greek, but it appears in names such as Aristotle or Aristophanes. IIRC, it means 'best' - which could refer to Ensor or Orac. Louise

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Blakes7 January 2002