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5511 discussions

Re: [B7L] writer and director
by Alison Page 07 Apr '01

07 Apr '01

Tavia said - >So what are the real strengths of the televisual medium? A long TV series like B7 has the big advantage of long drawn out character and plot development. And developing the characters, plots and ideas through multiple slightly different 'takes' on the same story. That each item is more or less throw-away, but they accumulate together to create a whole. I don't think you could do that in a film, or even a novel. Alison

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Re: [B7L] Writer and Director
by Tavia 07 Apr '01

07 Apr '01

Alison wrote: >It is my feeling that the British tradition emphasises dialogue much more, >coming as it does on a strong and high status theatrical tradition. This has >changed quite a bit over the past thirty years, with greater emphasis >nowadays on telling a story through visual cues as well as dialogue (cf >'Trainspotting') , but obviously B7 comes well before this time. One thing I wonder is if there's a difference between UK and Europe here. I'm supremely unknowledgeable in this area, but I've seen a lot of European films which are incredibly visual and fairly low on dialogue. (I watched some 70s Kieslowski shorts once where the simultaneous translations that the cinema had set up didn't work, but the films' messages were remarkably clear in the absence of any clue from the dialogue [which was in Polish, I guess].) You do get occasional flickers of the art-film style intense visuality in B7. The mud scenes in 'Traitor', and Deeta's fantastic death scene in 'DeathWatch' spring to my mind. >On the other hand (as we can see in B7) it may damage the >credibility of the action sequences, as insufficient thought is given to >developing them. I don't think it's just the thought, but also the intrinsic capabilities of the actors chosen -- though I suppose it's strange that the initial casting didn't try to take the action aspects into account. Few of the actors move well, especially out of doors -- PD, of course, but it's also apparent for GT and JC (eg the beach scenes in 'Orac', or the outside bits in 'Bounty'). Tavia

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Re: [B7L] writer and director
by Tavia 07 Apr '01

07 Apr '01

Neil: >Now there is a lucrative video market, so there's more >cause to spend money on prestige productions because >it will help them to sell. Not to mention the lucrative reselling of beeb productions to other countries. P&P and other costume dramas make a fortune that way. I'm hoping that the cheapness of DVDs to produce will encourage the reselling of all sorts of old stuff: television from the golden days of my youth, not to mention all those films that I saw once at festivals that never even made it to the UK art circuit. >I got the 4th Season on this thing called 'Betamax' >which greying Lysters might remember Hey, watch who you're insulting! I used to use a Betamax, and I've never had a single grey hair! Tavia

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Re: [B7L] Fanfic on the lyst
by Tavia 07 Apr '01

07 Apr '01

Jacqui wrote: >Following recent discussions on Mission to Destiny and detection, >how about putting a detective fanfic on the lyst? Fanfiction hasn't exactly embraced the detective genre. There's a nice Susan Cutter piece 'Traitor to the Cause' in Pressure Point, and one could probably count Paula & Steve's excellent 'Blake's Se7en' in their zine, 'Paula and Steve Go Down to the Pub'. And Una, weren't you writing something detective fiction-like?? The closed system genre doesn't really leave a lot of possibilities for B7 fic. Tavia

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Must Dash
by Stephen Date 07 Apr '01

07 Apr '01

Typical isn't it - Just when the list gets back to discussing Blake's 7 I have to push off for a week. Have Fun. Stephen. ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie

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Re: [B7L] Mad Gan
by Jenny Kaye 06 Apr '01

06 Apr '01

Fiona wrote: >Furthermore, given that the Guardians outnumbered him and that they have no >scruples in killing (and they don't show signs of a struggle at all), if he >attacked them, why is he still alive? Perhaps he didn't attack them, and it >was something else setting his limiter off. So what you're saying is that Gan is using the guardians to terrorise Jenna? But she didn't seem very terrorised, does she? >In "Breakdown," Gan attacks Jenna, and is restrained; he attacks Blake too, >but that's after Blake tries to pull him off. Later on, he tricks Cally >into >releasing him, and attacks her. In "Duel," only Gan sees Giroc and Sinofar, >and they only appear to people who are intending to kill (*having* killed >would not seem to be a qualification, since the others don't, and Blake and >Travis see them only when they engage in a fight to the death); Jenna is on the surface of the planet, and Gan is with her-- so you're saying he wants to kill her and that's why he sees the women? when he >does, he says "I hope my limiter hasn't malfunctioned." In "Project >Avalon," >we see Gan washing down a pill with water, after Avalon's appeared on the >ship, and fairly shortly before he attacks her. That's right-- he goes for her throat with both hands, doesn't he? But the android looks like a woman, so how is it he can do that? In >"Time Squad," his limiter begins to kick in, not when the Guardians are >released, but when he's left alone on the ship with Jenna. Interesting... >could it be that the limiter isn't intended to prevent him from attacking >people per se, but attacking women? People on their own, OK, but in Breakdown he attacks Avon. Doesn't fit. >It's also interesting that he says, in "Time Squad," that he needs to be >with people. In Project Avalon, he only attacks when Jenna says "Gan, >that's not Avalon"; in "Deliverance" and "Cygnus Alpha," he is also told to >attack. In "Redemption" he does not get a direct order, but still he is >with >a group who are attacking the guards. In "Time Squad," Jenna gives Gan a gun and tells him to deal with the guardians, and he takes it, but doesn't do it. Isn't that a bit against the grain? >"Time Squad" could, interestingly, be like the Mellanby discontinuities in >"Aftermath" writ large. Gan acts very much out of character in it-- but >this >is a bit of an odd thing, as not only would Terry Nation presumably have a >reasonable grip on his own characters (and he seems fine with the others), >but it's >early enough on in the series that one wouldn't expect the bits of >backstory-contradiction etc. that one finds later. It's safe to say that the Mellanby story *is* pointed up by the discrepancies between Mellanby's own story and Dayna's version as wrung out of her by Servalan, and also the hypocrisy over the guns. But here, I don't know. See below. >Interestingly, in "Survivors," Terry Nation includes a regular character >who >rapes and murders a woman... and who gets away with it, due to somebody >else >being blamed. One thing Nation does do a lot is reuse ideas. I don't know about that, though, Fiona. I remember "Survivors," and IIRc, the tramp acted pretty lascivious before that, and then it built to a climax with the murder, and then it built up again when he was found out and then he dies a couple of episodes later. So there's hints along the way, a climax and a resolution. You don't get that with Gan in B7-- what you're saying is you get the flagging, but no resolution. Jenny _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

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Re: [B7L] Re: Mission to Destiny
by Marian de Haan 06 Apr '01

06 Apr '01

Tavia wrote: >Murray wrote: >>What I particularly liked was the fact that the murderer was Sara, in conventional terms the least likely suspect due to being a small, screaming blonde.<< >Clearly tastes and attitudes differ -- this was one of my unfavourite bits, it just screamed cliche' at me.< Yes, tastes do differ, that's what makes the discussions on this list so interesting :-) On my first viewing I dismissed Sara from the list of suspects because of her screaming, so it worked for me. >(And re Buffy, one of the nice things about BtVS is Buffy's competence in fights -- pointedly unlike Sara.)< I haven't seen Buffy, so I can't compare them. It seems to me though that, in her wrestle with Avon, Sara does manage to hit him where it hurts. (And because of that I can't really blame him for enjoying whacking her :-) ) Marian

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Re: [B7L] Re: Mission to Destiny
by Tavia 06 Apr '01

06 Apr '01

Murray wrote: >What I particularly liked was the fact that the murderer >was Sara, in conventional terms the least likely suspect >due to being a small, screaming blonde. Clearly tastes and attitudes differ -- this was one of my unfavourite bits, it just screamed cliche' at me. (And re Buffy, one of the nice things about BtVS is Buffy's competence in fights -- pointedly unlike Sara.) Tavia

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Re: [B7L] Re: Mission to Destiny
by Marian de Haan 06 Apr '01

06 Apr '01

Steve Rogerson wrote: >Haven't watched this for a while, but I have alsways considered it a vert enjoyable, though a bit offbeat, episode. The bit that always gets me is Avon turning his back on sarah before announcing that she did it. Bit daft.< At that stage he hadn't yet grasped that there's a trick for hiding bulky weapons in skin-tight clothes. But he'll catch on. :-) Mission to Destiny is one of my favourite episodes. I like the plot and on first viewing I didn't guess who did it. I thought the characterisations of the Ortega crew were done quite well. It isn't easy to set down such a large group of suspects, but here all have specific traits and all get something to do. Even Levett, who only had two lines, is quite memorable. Cally is intelligent and resourceful and she doesn't scream when that body suddenly drops on top of her. I like the way she takes part in the unravelling of the mystery - it isn't Avon's one man show. This is the first example of Avon and Cally working together, something I always enjoy watching. (Their teamwork is one of the few things that makes Voice from the Past watchable for me.) Also we get the first indication that there may be more to Avon than his facade of cold self-serving cynicism. I do like Agatha Christie's work. Her books are easy to read and don't leave you feeling depressed. :-) Marian

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Website Updates/Cartoons
by Ashton7＠aol.com 06 Apr '01

06 Apr '01

I've posted two more of Leah's Blakes 7 cartoons to the Ashton Press website, as well as a new Highlander cartoon in honor of Spring. I've also posted some details about how to order Ashton Press zines that are no longer available from Linda Knights, including links to a new Blakes 7 price list and the like. Check it all out at: http://members.aol.com/ashton7/ashton.htm Annie

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