Blakes7

blakes7@lists.lysator.liu.se

5511 discussions

Re: [B7L] Mission to Destiny (was Terry Nation as Writer)
by Fiona Moore 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

>From: Tavia <tavia(a)btinternet.com> >Fiona: > >Maybe that's what RONTANE could stand for. > >Redheads Objecting to Negative Typecasting of > >Auburn Nutted Ectresses (*almost* works...) > >Hmm. RONTANA. Sounds like a Doctor Who companion. Appropriate? I think Una's "Entertainers" works, that way we could include the men. Unless you think it sounds too much like a euphemism. > >That having been said, I absolutely *loathe* Mission to Destiny :). > >However, we can have a look at it if you like... > >Me too...but then I thought much the same 'bout 'Deliverance'. Perhaps we >should adopt it as the Lyst 'ep of the week' -- it must have *some* hidden >depths? Hm... let's try it out. One possible interesting hidden depth is actually the theme of the simple explanation being the best. Throughout the story, Cally and the crew keep trying to come up with convoluted explanations for everything which occurs, but the correct explanation, as presented by Avon, turns out to be actually quite simple. For instance, the story begins with the crew puzzling over how Rafford could have been killed and the ship sabotaged. When Dortmunn and a life rocket go missing, they concoct a convoluted explanation that Dortmunn killed Rafford, sabotaged the ship and fled-- this despite the fact that the neutrotope is still in the safe and Dortmunn did not have any reason to sabotage the ship or bear a grudge against Rafford, and in any case the ship is miles away from a habitable planet, so taking the life-rocket is a dangerous risk. The crew still seem to accept this despite the obvious holes, as does Cally-- but Avon does not think this is the answer and in the end he is right; the murder was an accident and the launched ship a decoy. Once this is proven, Grovane suggests that a stowaway did it. Again, there is no evidence for this, and as Avon points out it would be difficult to hide away for the whole duration of the voyage. However, everyone else takes it seriously enough to send out search parties. Avon's simpler explanation-- that it's a crewmember-- turns out to be correct. Later on, Cally and Grovane come up with a variety of convoluted explanations for why Sonheim could have murdered Mandrian, but in the end Avon's simple explanation-- he didn't, he was framed-- is the right one. Similarly, the justly derided "54124" scenes. Cally and the crew puzzle over the meaning. Is it a "Call sign, transmission frequency, navigation index"? No, as Avon points out-- in a panic situation, a dying man thinks only of the familiar, and so, it's a name. Finally, this theme is pointed up by two quotes, one early on in the story: Vila: I can always sense danger Gan: Yes, even when there isn't any. And later on, the following: Cally: The answer is here. If only we could see it. So in other words, "Mission to Destiny" is a story which does have a message under the facile surface, and that message is: Occam's Razor. When faced with a mystery, it's the simple explanation, the one that's staring you in the face, that usually does the trick; the convoluted one is likely to send you running around in circles and concocting danger where there is none. Fiona The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary RONTANE Ginger females rule at http://nyder.r67.net _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

1 0

Grovelling Apology
by Stephen Date 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

Dear All, Sorry, my last post should have ended up on the spin list. My apologies for any confusion caused. Ob.B7 I bet this sort of thing never happened to Orac ! 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

1 0

Re: [B7L] Re: sex and evangelism
by Bizarro7＠aol.com 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

In a message dated 4/4/01 2:06:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time, sthompson162(a)mindspring.com writes: << However did it get promoted from a minor prohibition that many Christians feel does not apply to them anyway, to something worse than the activities prohibited in the Ten Commandments??? And do the people who believe that also keep the kosher dietary laws? >> That's an easy one. The latest worldwide figures have shown that about 40% of all married men commit adultery during the course of their lives. By the claims of the church itself, only 2% of the population is gay (the gays themselves claim a figure closer to 10%). An aggressive attack by the Church on adultery, on a level and intensity reserved for homosexuality, would alienate a much larger proportion of their membership, so the truly vehement campaign is reserved for the minority they see as more vulnerable and expendible. Jesus spoke out repeatedly against adultery, and with great conviction. There are no documented words by Jesus on the topic of homosexuality. Not one. Leah

3 2

Interpretation (Tarrant Nostra)
by Andrew Williams 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

Carol wrote: >Sorry, Andrew, my post should have carried a ;-). I wasn't serious. Oh, I know that - nor was I. But it still beats me how some (other) people manage to use that one little bit to say Tarrant is illiterate. I'm sure we see him reading from computer screens on Scorpio. >The Tarrant as >a sopron carrying bald dwarf was also clever and appreciated. I think that if ever there was a B7 fairy tale, it should begin "Once upon a time there was a bald dwarf named Orac...."

1 0

Re: [B7L] Interpretation (Tarrant Nostra)
by Mac4781＠aol.com 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

Andrew wrote: > That was in defence of Tarrant - how can anyone say he is illiterate > based on one line in DotG? Sorry, Andrew, my post should have carried a ;-). I wasn't serious. I thought the "proof reader" reference in Chronicles was cute. The Tarrant as a sopron carrying bald dwarf was also clever and appreciated. Carol Mc

1 0

Terry Nation as Writer
by Tavia 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

Fiona: >Maybe that's what RONTANE could stand for. >Redheads Objecting to Negative Typecasting of >Auburn Nutted Ectresses (*almost* works...) Hmm. RONTANA. Sounds like a Doctor Who companion. Appropriate? >That having been said, I absolutely *loathe* Mission to Destiny :). >However, we can have a look at it if you like... Me too...but then I thought much the same 'bout 'Deliverance'. Perhaps we should adopt it as the Lyst 'ep of the week' -- it must have *some* hidden depths? Tavia

2 1

re: [B7L] Terry Nation as Writer
by Fiona Moore 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

>From: Tavia <tavia(a)btinternet.com> >Fiona wrote: > >So yes, you're right about there being more blondes in S3... > >I'm surprised it was *that* marked. (A good 30% of the female one-offs I couldn't remember well enough to work out their hair colour...) This was going through my programme guide-- for some reason I seem to have no problem remembering hair colour. > >...redheads are, grouse grouse, a negligible presence). > >Yeah, we should form a redheads alliance with Una....We need an acronym! Maybe that's what RONTANE could stand for. Readheads Objecting to Negative Typecasting of Auburn Nutted Ectresses (*almost* works...) > >We've only looked at three Nations thus far. I think we might have some > >surprises coming... > >How 'bout Mission to Destiny ? I think Terry Nation is a greatly underestimated writer. That having been said, I absolutely *loathe* Mission to Destiny :). However, we can have a look at it if you like... *Tomorrow,* however :). Fiona The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane "5...4...1...2...4...?!?" at http://nyder.r67.net _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

3 2

Re: [B7L] Re: Ethics and Hal Mellanby (off on a tangent)
by J MacQueen 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

>>From: "Dana Shilling" <dshilling(a)worldnet.att.net> >>(Mellanbies?) Reading more carefully suggests the attribution should be Ms Kaye. Sorry, Dana. Regards Joanne _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

1 0

Re: Ethics and Hal Mellanby (off on a tangent)
by J MacQueen 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

>From: "Dana Shilling" <dshilling(a)worldnet.att.net> >(Mellanbies?) No, sounds marsupial, sadly. Skippy the Alien Bush Kangaroo, armed with a biiiig gun. File under Blake's 7, aliens in - see also Spider, Boris the; Thaarn; Andromedan jellysquidfish thingies; etc. Regards Joanne _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

1 0

Re: sex and evangelism
by Sarah Thompson 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

Julia said: > I have, for various reasons, largely stayed away from this thread other > than to try and divert it into less contentious matters and to complain > when someone claims to speak for me. But this has now reached *my* limit > of tolerance. I see the hatred of homosexuals displayed by some members > of this list to be not just immoral but *evil*. This is nothing to do > with my sexual orientation - I'm straight. It comes directly out of my > moral code formed by my upbringing as a Christian. I also am not > impressed by the views of some of the Christians on this list that their > religious sensibilities are to be protected, while they freely attack > those of other members. In my opinion, the bigotry and hatred being > preached in the name of religion is what children need to be protected > from, if we are to run this list on the assumption that parents are > devoid of all responsibility for their children's access to a > communication medium designed for adult purposes. Thank you, Julia! One of the things that bothered me very much as I slogged through the last two months of digests was the repeated claim-- by both sides-- that the idea that homosexuality is a sin is a Christian position. It is nothing of the sort. I was brought up as a very ordinary mainstream Protestant, probably typical of the majority of American Christians, and no one ever told me that any particular form of sex was a sin. In fact, very little was said about sin, but a great deal was said about God's love for everyone, and about treating other people nicely, as you would wish to be treated yourself. Over the years I have largely lost the theology, but largely kept the ethics. I am horrified by the way the Gospel has been hijacked by hate groups disguised as churches. Anyone who has the slightest doubt about the evil that the religious right is capable of should have a look at the infamous hate site, <http://www.godhatesfags.com> Now, that's an obsession with sexuality that has done far more harm than fannish lust for actors and/or characters, however explicitly expressed, is ever likely to do. On a milder but still disturbing level, I was very surprised by Kathryn's statement that she considers homosexuality worse than adultery. Huh? Adultery is one of the really big no-nos specifically banned in the Ten Commandments (as is bearing false witness, i.e. malicious slander, something that many rightwingers are very fond of). Homosexuality, on the other hand, is in a class with eating pork and shellfish, wearing clothing made of mixed fibers, etc. However did it get promoted from a minor prohibition that many Christians feel does not apply to them anyway, to something worse than the activities prohibited in the Ten Commandments??? And do the people who believe that also keep the kosher dietary laws? Just in case anyone on the list ever again wishes to say something like, "As a Christian, I consider homosexuality a sin," please rephrase your statement to something like, "As a member of the Westboro Baptist Church (or whatever), I consider homosexuality a sin." The more general statement is inaccurate and is insulting to the many Christians (probably the majority, I suspect) who do not in fact believe anything of the kind. Sarah

1 0

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