Blakes7 January 2002

blakes7@lists.lysator.liu.se

60 participants
295 discussions

Re: [B7L] Re: Character ages
by Natasa Tucev 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Stephen wrote: > >Another possibility is that Blake's R&D work on the >Aquitar project was done in a university >(post-doctoral work, say) and he got involved in the >rebel movement via a radical student society. A group >of younger people would be less likely to see a 27 >year old as too young to be a resistance leader. Well, yes, this coincides with my private 'fanon'. I also tend to assume that there was a certain deal of disagreement between Blake and Foster - that Foster was in favour of some kind of peaceful civil disobedience (like the meddling with food rations suggested in TWB), while Blake favoured armed resistance and naturally, this was more attractive for the younger members of the party. They may have split into two fractions, which might explain why Foster wasn't caught when Blake was. N.

1 0

Pacey on tv
by Mac4781＠aol.com 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Apologies if this has already been sent to the list. Steven Pacey will appear in "Murder in Mind" on Saturday evening, Jan. 26th. BBC1 9:20 pm With thanks to Philippa, Jennifer and the Horizon Newsflash for sending me this information, Carol

2 1

Re: Fwd: Re: [B7L] Avon and the System
by Ellynne G. 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

On Tue, 22 Jan 2002 06:38:34 +0000 "Sally M" <smanton(a)hotmail.com> writes: > > Mmmmm ... that doesn't sound *at all* like Avon to me. I would > think he'd > be fairly indifferent to the child at least until it was born - I > really > don't see him getting gooey over anyone's pregnancy (not even had > *Anna* had > his child). Certaibly not one he was a passive and unwitting > 'specimen' to > (I think he'd loathe that). Possibly. When I started working with this idea (which, I admit, hasn't really gone anywhere), I was thinking more in terms of the interaction between Avon and Cally. The scene would go something like this: Avon connected another wire and adjusted the power settings, scanning the readout. He was still 10% off of optimum. The problem wasn't in the magnetic resonance. He'd checked that. Maybe in the imaging sensors? The crystals were all aligned properly, but what if he'd missed some fracturing? He started to test them, one by one, barely noticing when the door opened behind him. "Avon?" Cally said. "Are you done with Orac?" Avon said without turning around. "It's about time. I need it to analyze these readouts." "I - yes - I - Avon, I need to talk to you." No, it wasn't the crystals. Maybe in the spectrum analysis? "What is it?" "The tests I had Orac run. They - they were medical tests." The stress in her voice finally registered. Avon looked up from his work bench, frowning. Cally was pale, the skin across her face rigidly tight with the effort of holding onto her normal calm. "Medical tests?" he asked, a small knot of uneasiness starting somewhere inside him, though he wasn't certain why. Theoretically, there wasn't anything but old age that was incurable. Radiation, poison, plague, they'd survived it all. There shouldn't be anything the ship's medical scanners could tell show her that they couldn't at least hope to find a cure for. "What kind of medical tests?" "I -" she hesitated, swallowed. Closing her eyes, she finally forced the words out in a whisper. "I'm pregnant, Avon." Avon heard the words, but they didn't make sense. "What?" She opened her eyes, agitated. "That is the human word, isn't it? Pregnant? To have a child - inside me - growing - _my_ child. Is that the word?" "I - yes, that's the word - _pregnant_?" Tarrant or Vila, if he thought of them at all, were dismissed. He'd seen how Cally was around them. She thought of them as friends, nothing more. Besides, she wouldn't be here talking to him if either of them were responsible. The knot in his stomach turned to lead. Cally had been on her own in enough dangerous situations, facing Federation guards, outlaws and madmen. But she'd never said - he'd never thought - No, he realized, he'd never thought. "The father?" Avon asked. He could see the strain on her. For a moment, struggling to say it, she seemed like glass ready to shatter under an enormous weight. But he never expected her answer. "You are, Avon." Avon blinked, trying to find another meaning in that. "Cally . . . ." he began, wondering how to explain the facts of life to a sheltered Auron. But Cally wasn't quite that sheltered. "The Ultra," she whispered. There was a long silence as that sunk in. "Oh," Avon said at last. The Ultra, bizarre aliens interested in nothing but collecting information - and physical subjects - for their encyclopedia. He and Cally had both spent a fair amount of time unconscious in their labs. Awaiting disposal, after their minds were drained, Avon had thought. Apparently, he'd been wrong. "Orac - Orac was certain. About the time, I mean. And the DNA -" "I understand about DNA," Avon said. He rubbed his forehead. "Did Orac have any theories why the Ultra did this?" Cally shrugged helplessly. "Orac thought - humans and Aurons are similar but no one . . . no one's ever proven if we're different species or subspecies or . . . . Related species can interbreed, but . . . ." Her voice trailed off. "I understand," Avon said, sparing her the need to try and say more. It made sense. And the Ultra couldn't have expected to see any Aurons after Cally. She was almost the last. "What . . ." Avon groped for words, ". . . what are you planning to do about it?" he asked, not even sure what he meant. Cally seemed to shrink back into herself, but her voice was fierce. "Avon, this is my _child_. I have to - I _can't_-" Avon had a brief, intense memory of Cally's clone sister, Zelda. She had died on Auron rather than abandon the children entrusted to her care. And she had been the last family Cally had. All the rest, her parents - almost her entire race - were dead. She couldn't do anything but fight for its life. "I understand," he said. Which is about as far as I've taken it. Avon's initial involvement is more from the fact that Cally is about at the end of her emotional resources (and, frankly, I'm not sure what her physical resources are at this point. Going by her small build alone, she's at high risk for all sorts of delivery complications and there's plenty of room for more worries [after all, if she knows the _Auron_ word for pregnant it's probably only because she'd heard Zelda use it discussing her work. She grew up on a planet where no doctors she ever dealt with would think of protecting a patient's ability to bear children as a priority and where they might even have reasons to damage it (giving her some kind of boosters for her immune system when she went into exile)]). I still think of this as AU, mainly because I think it would temporarily derail Avon from going after Blake (I do like the thought of him telling Zen to be quiet before Zen can explain that the incoming call says it's from Blake). Whether he feels paternal or not, he wouldn't have time for other problems while he came to grips with the situation. As for Avon as a parent, as a _single_ parent he'd be pretty bad. Oh, I think he'd do his best. I just don't have much faith in his ability to provide decent emotional support without a lot of coaching. As for putting Cally down on Kaarn, it doesn't quite work for me. Besides, I think, once Avon decides to look out for someone, he likes to have them where he can see on a regular basis that they haven't gotten captured or killed. That's just me. Since I haven't been able to work this into a story (as I said, the whole problem is a conversation or two that are rather fun to write followed by Avon doing his best to derail any further complications or dangers resulting from this situation [sure, he may decide to find a decent doctor for Liberator but, since he'd probably only take someone Orac and every other resource he could muster cleared as gifted but nonthreatenting, this doesn't look like a fruitful plot device either]). Ah, well. Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

5 6

Re: Re: Avon and child
by Betty Ragan 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Warning! Much incoherent character-junkie rambling ahead! :) Dana Schilling wrote: > Ummm, no spoilers or anything, but the current-in-US-season of > a show with a protagonist who isn't always terrible nice either > has him getting completely sappy about a baby. I believe I know which show you mean, although it's not one that I've been watching. What this makes *me* think of is my current-favorite show, _Farscape_ (which I know I'm always wibbling on about, but hey). You've got D'argo, who's a huge hulking warrior guy: impatient, impulsive and much more inclined towards head-breaking than anything touchy-feely. And then we find out that he's got a kid, and (even though that particular relationship ultimately, um, doesn't turn out very well) there's an early episode where he's hallucinating that his son is there with him and is still a small child. And we suddenly see this tough, often rather immature barbarian warrior guy turning into a patient, gentle, utterly doting father. And, while it's surprising, it's totally believable. (Much credit due to Anthony Simcoe, who plays D'Argo; a *terrific* actor, and a B7 fan to boot!) Anyway, the point is, yes, people (real and fictional) *do* often act differently and sometimes surprisingly when they're dealing with babies, particularly their own babies. And it can be done believably on-screen, and, presumably, in fanfic. But I *still* simply can't pciture Avon entering into the spirit of pattycake. :) In a different post, Helen Krummenacker wrote: > I suspect the Snarly One would be undemonstrative, but would besides > protecting the child, take a great deal of interest in preparing baby > for life. In fact, that would be one reason he wouldn't be very > affectionate-- he sees the world as cold and wants junior to be ready > for the feelings of rejection etc that come in life. I definitely agree with this. It reminds me of my ex-boyfriend's dad (who, I ought to add, is nevertheless a considerably warmer person than Avon). He used to do things like taking the kids out into the woods and getting them to navigate the way home, because "someday your life may depend on being able to do this," and just generally attempted to turn every possible situation into a survival-skills lesson. Which is fine, until you get to the point where it becomes: "I don't care if you're frightened or you don't know what you're doing or you don't like this game. Suck it up and stop snivelling. If this was for real, you'd be dead by now." The ex occasinally used to do that sort of thing to me, and even for an adult, it's not a pleasant experience (certainly not when it's coming from someone whose respect and love you place a great emotional value on). It can definitely mess up a little kid. But it's *exactly* the sort of thing I can imagine Avon doing. I think I've said this before at some point, and nobody seemed to agree with me, but, heck, I'll say it again, anyway. I think Avon has a definite streak of "cruel to be kind" attitude. I think we see it in "Trial," for instance. My interpretation of that episode is that Avon never seriously did consider ditching Blake for a second. Indeed, he seems to me by that point to have pretty much made and accepted a conscious choice to stay with Blake. And, while I know that not everybody agrees about this, I really *do* think that the main reason he stays is because he cares about Blake, a lot more than he would ever admit. And yet, he really is incredibly cruel to Blake in "Trial," taking all Blake's pain and guilt over Gan, sticking a barbed knife into it and twisting. Why? Because if Blake hurts enough, if the experience is painful enough, maybe it will keep him from making the same mistakes a second time, and getting himself or the rest of them killed. And for Avon, I think, that's the most important thing. He regards emotions as trivial at best and as a weakness at worst, and considers survival the highest goal. So it stands to reason that when it comes to people he loves (friend, lover, child, whatever), their survival is going to take precedence in his mind over their emotional happiness. If he has to hurt Blake emotionally to help keep him safe physically, so be it. And I think he'd likely take very much the same attitude towards a child. I can see him being very, very hard on any child of his, even taking the attitude that having them experience and survive a little emotional pain is a good thing, a step towards building the emotional toughness that he also considers to be a survival trait. Poor kid. The good news is, if it were also Cally's child, I could easily see her as a moderating influence on Avon, and see her providing the safety net of unconditional love and acceptance that kids need and that I don't think Avon could really provide... -- Betty Ragan ** bragan(a)nrao.edu ** http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~bragan Not speaking for my employers, officially or otherwise. "Seeing a rotten picture for the special effects is like eating a tough steak for the smothered onions..." -- Isaac Asimov

6 6

Re: [B7L] RE: Jarrigoths
by Ellynne G. 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

On Wed, 23 Jan 2002 19:57:47 +0000 "Sally M" <smanton(a)hotmail.com> writes: > > *Impressive* nose. Like Avon's. And lots of curls and teeth as > well :-) The horrible truth just hit me. This is why Servalan likes him so much. She had the Clone Masters whip out a cross between Avon and Tarrant. No wonder the poor guy's so confused. Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

4 3

'Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy Television'
by Judith Proctor 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Hi, the B7 link on this isn't major, but I know a lot of people here have read 'Blake's 7: the Inside Story' by Joe Nazzaro and Sheelagh Wells. Joe's just written a brand new book called 'Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy Television' which is full of interviews with the people behind various shows. People like Joss Whedon (Buffy), Rockne O'Bannon (Farscape), J Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5), Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (Red Dwarf), Chris Carter (X-files) and many more names that you'll probably recognise. I'd tell you more about it, but I'm too sore to type much now. I got stock in this morning and you can buy it from 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/

1 0

Re: [B7L] Re: Re: Avon and child
by Sally M 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Anna wrote: "The Liberator isn't a very practical place to raise children, and Cally's a dedicated revolutionary--the only one in the crew besides Blake who chose to dedicate herself to fighting the Federation." Not so much, however, by the time Ellynne's talking about - she lost a lot of her fire when they lost Fearless Leader. Though I take your point about choosing not to go to Kaarn. It's something to remember, of course, that being 'Earth-Mother'-y does no necessarily equate with being motherly in the ordinary sense, and Cally, not by nature a warm person, is emotionally distant during the latter part of S3 anyway. She would be conscientious of course, but mightn't *necessarily* bond with what would be as much a half-alien offspring forced on her as it would be to Avon. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

1 0

Avon, Zen and Sopron
by jacquispeel＠netscape.net 24 Jan '02

24 Jan '02

If Zen is Sopron based where would the System have got the Sopron? Or are there Sopron-equivalents elsewhere? Would Sopron -creatures breed elsewhere (assuming that there are/were occasional contacts between the System and its predecessors and the Federation)? And as for Avon and Zen - from 'Killer' it appears that Terran interstellar space travel has existed for over 700 years and there must have been a number of independent technologically advanced societies that the Federation and its predecessors encountered (Auron and possibly Cephalon and UIltra among others are shown, so there #must# be more). Therefore any 'sufficiently knowledgeable' computer persons would encounter 'non-Terran architecture' computers (even as historical curiosities). Avon, being logical and a 'sufficiently knowledgeable' computer person would not be starting from scratch. 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/

1 0

Re: [B7L] Avon and the System
by Ellynne G. 24 Jan '02

24 Jan '02

On Wed, 23 Jan 2002 23:46:23 -0500 "Dana Shilling" <dshilling(a)worldnet.att.net> writes: > > Ummm, no spoilers or anything, but the current-in-US-season of > a show with a protagonist who isn't always terrible nice either > has him getting completely sappy about a baby. Which, of course, had nothing to do with starting this train of thought in my mind in the first place :-) Actually, I think of Snape in the Harry Potter books as an Avon avatar. Rereading them after book four, I also came to the rather horrifying conclusion that Snape is trying to have a positive impact in the lives of two of the kids who have the most difficulty with him, Harry and Neville. So, you can imagine how I think Avon might manage as a father on his own. I think, teamed up with someone like Cally (or Lily Potter) to provide balance and point out emotional realities, he'd be OK. But do _not_ let him do this on his own. As for Avon's own background, I think Avon had a father with Blake-like, heroic tendencies who was killed when Avon was young. I think Avon's feelings towards his father are mixed. On one side, I think he saw his dad as this heroic figure who had stepped in and saved him a time or two when all seemed lost. On the other side, I think he has these feelings of resentment and anger - his dad died because of his commitment to the cause. Emotionally, it felt like abandonment for the cause. I think this is there in his relationship with Blake and with Hal Melanby. With Blake, the negative part is a lot more prominent - he keeps telling himself not to trust someone like this, that they _don't_ stick with you, etc. With Melanby, who's older than him (easier to unconsciously think of as a father figure) and who saved his child and protected her (and then helps save and protect Avon), he's able to relate to the things he loved and respected in his father. Yes, I can just imagine how this made Avon feel when _he's_ responsible for creating the situation where Melanby dies trying to protect Avon from the situation Avon's involvement in Blake's rebellion has helped create (ie, Servalan as an enemy trying to acquire Orac, Blake and Avon's secret weapon). I'd guess this effected his later relationship with Dayna. He's not going to abandon her but he's not going to encourage her getting too close to him either. Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

1 0

Re: [B7L] Re: Character ages
by Natasa Tucev 24 Jan '02

24 Jan '02

A suggestion: some time ago we discussed the characters' signs in the Chinese horoscope. Since these change every year, they could also suggest the age difference between the characters. For instance, if Blake was born in the year of the (fire)horse, and Avon in the year of the snake, as I recall we 'determined', what would be the difference in age between the two of them? BTW, I think Blake's actually 32 at the beginning of the series. Blake et al. must have been fighting the Federation for at least a year before they acquired Orac. Then, in 'Pressure Point', Blake says he's been gathering information on Central Control - with the help of Orac - for about a year. These are two years to be subtracted from the age the clone reports in Weapon. Which I find rather interesting, because Bran Foster says Blake was arrested 4 years before the events in TWB - that is, when he was 28. Presumably at the time of that first arrest he must have been the leader of the Freedom Party for at least one year, to become so popular and annoying to the Federation. This means that Blake was leading one of the most influential rebel groups on Earth ('the only one that really meant something', as Foster says) at the age of 27. This is rather young for a leader, isn't it? N.

5 4

← Newer
1
...
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
...
30
Older →

Jump to page:

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

Blakes7 January 2002