Blakes7

blakes7@lists.lysator.liu.se

5511 discussions

Re: [B7L] More thoughts on Mellanby
by Fiona Moore 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

>From: "Dana Shilling" <dshilling(a)worldnet.att.net> >When talking of the revolt Hal Mellanby said, "We made an > > honourable > > surrender. We were promised fair trial. Instead, the security forces > > massacred everyone, men, women, and children. That night I watched them >all > > die. My own wife, my friends, everybody." >Sounds just like TWB...Hal (and Dayna) could have turned up late for >the meeting and hidden just like...well, you see where this is going. Ah, but you see, that's the beauty of it. It does. So naturally we sympathise with Hal. But that explanation is given the lie by other things he does. First of all, Mellanby was the leader, and it's not that likely that he turned up late for the meeting (and what's he doing bringing a baby to a siege in any case?) Secondly, remember, Mellanby was caught same as the others, and tortured. But not only did he survive, he was not sentenced or punished. As I said, given what we know of the Federation he's unlikely to have escaped with a baby in tow-- it took the concerted efforts of five people on the London and even then they were lucky. Finally, I rather doubt that Blake would have spent his exile making weapons of destruction and then sanctimoniously not using them-- when we see him on GP he may not be actively pursuing the Federation, but he's certainly preparing to have a go again. > > Mellanby says, "I had a chance of saving Dayna. I took it." But who gave > > him that chance? Answer (who else?): the Federation. He struck a deal to > > save > > himself and Dayna, and sold the rebels out in the process. >A more benign interpretation is that they didn't consider either a mind- >wiped Hal Mellanby or baby Dayna much of a threat. Where's the evidence that Mellanby was mindwiped? Anyway, if he was capable of escape, I don't think they'd be that lax in guarding him. >No wonder Avon likes him. But *does* Avon like him? He's polite to him, yes, but so would you if you were somebody's guest (at least I'd hope). When Mellanby dies, Avon's hardly shedding any tears-- his response is a bit callous even by Avon standards. Fiona The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Available for public perusal at http://nyder.r67.net _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

2 1

Re: [B7L] Re: Ethics and Hal Mellanby
by Jenny Kaye 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Marian wrote: I wrote: > >Good point, Marian-- but I'd like to say that while that could be the >situation, but the girl's the same age as Dayna,< > >It's some time since I watched Aftermath, but do they say there that she is >Dayna's age? (I'm hopeless at estimating people's age but I think she may >be a few years younger than Dayna, who must be twenty at least.) Well, same age group, give or take a bit :-). > >and if he was that tender-hearted and they did expose their superfluous >girls, why didn't Dayna have *lots* of little adopted sisters?< > >Possibly Lauren was the only abandoned girl in that whole generation. :-) Maybe one of the people who knows more about social sciences than I do could say something, but it sounds a bit weird to me to just abandon one girl in twenty years? >(IMO one of the most silly claims in Power is that the Hommiks abandon all >their new-born daughters. That would bring the tribe to extinction pretty >fast, especially when they run out of Seska to abduct.) I haven't seen Power for a long time-- but maybe they were leaving them out knowing the Seska would find them, and then kidnapping them back when they were adults? >If Lauren is the same age as Dayna, that could indicate that Mellanby has >abducted her. But that seems a risky business - if he'd been caught Dayna >would have been left unattended and probably died, unless she was old >enough >to fend for herself. But in that case it seems strange that Lauren didn't >run back to her family at the first opportunity. Maybe she preferred to >stay with the Mellanbys rather than go back to her own people? If she was a baby, she wouldn't know any other family, whether or not she was kidnapped. Anyway, the Mellanbys seem to have the population terrified of coming near, so would she ever have met them? >The phrase "adopted daughter" may also indicate that Lauren came along with >her mother to live with Mellanby. Maybe he wanted a woman to care for the >young Dayna and either abducted or more probably charmed Lauren's mum into >coming and live with them. Don't know-- the Sarran are afraid of people who come from outer space because of their prophecy, so they wouldn't be too likely to want to come by on their own :-). >The episode doesn't give us much clues. Actually, I've always wondered why >Terry Nation brought Lauren into the story at all, as - apart from being >pretty - her only function seems to be that her death provides extra grief >for Dayna. It could have been a deliberate reverse of those old colonial stories where a white man adopts a native child :-). >Maybe Terry Nation was getting fed up with writing for the show, or he was >too busy with other projects, but to me both this story and Terminal feel >rushed and not properly thought through. Not IMO-- I think Terminal's one of the best stories *ever*! Creepy, well-paced-- almost like Blake's 7 does The Prisoner! Jenny _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

2 1

RE: [B7L] surveillance cameras
by Louise Rutter 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Julia wrote: >They *have* been abused in this country, although middle England >probably thinks it a jolly good thing that the people who've been >followed this way have been under surveillance even though they haven't >committed any criminal offence. At least, some parts of middle England >did until they found that their concern for the welfare of veal calves >in the live export trade made *them* worthy of surveillance. Anybody who wanted to monitor my movements would soon get extremely bored.... :-) Louise

2 1

Back again
by Jacqueline Thijsen 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Didya miss me? Don't you all yell "No!" too loudly, I might hear you. The prozac seems to be kicking in now, so yelling "boo" won't scare me off anymore. I dunno who invented prozac, but I hope they got a Nobel prize for it. They've more than deserved it. Erm, ObB7.: They may not have carried drugs for radiation sickness, but I'll bet that the crew got a full load of prozac or drugs like it on board somewhere within the first ten episodes. There's no way they could have kept on functioning as well as they did otherwise. Hmm, maybe that's what the soma was all about. Vila didn't seem to know about it until Cally started administering it. BTW, another thank you to all those who mailed me for your support when I was feeling down. It helped just about as much as the medication. I'll answer privately when the tired feeling has worn off a bit more. Jacqueline

3 3

Re: [B7L] Re: Ethics and Hal Mellanby
by Jenny Kaye 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Marian wrote: >Jacqui wrote: > >As I said once before, taking one of the 'natives' as a playmate for his >daughter, knowing the girl's likely fate, is debatable ethically.< > >But we don't know the circumstances of him adopting her. If he'd found her >abandoned - the Sarrans seem savage enough for the practice of ridding >themselves of superfluous baby girls - then taking her in would have been a >charitable deed. Good point, Marian-- but I'd like to say that while that could be the situation, but the girl's the same age as Dayna, and if he was that tender-hearted and they did expose their superfluous girls, why didn't Dayna have *lots* of little adopted sisters? Jenny _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

1 0

Re: 7 Challenge RR (was Re: [B7L] Fanfic on the Lyst?)
by Una McCormack 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Sorry about the double post on my addition to the RR; my email package told me it hadn't been sent Susan Beth wrote: > you used four of the Challenge items.... I wonder how long that record will stand? <g> I actually meant to have the coins falling out of Vila's pocket, but forgot them - d'oh! > how about if you are ready to play, BEFORE you put time into writing, you post to 'claim' the next turn? And then try to get your piece posted promptly. (Better to have a paragraph long piece within a day than a four page masterpiece a week and a half later.) If we get several volunteers in short order, they can have the next few turns, based on order they posted. Good plan - I'll happily sign up for a bit later on in the sequence. > > Avon raised an eyebrow. 'At last some common sense. And I always thought Auron > > proverbs contained slightly less meaning than white noise.' > > <G> Reversing the sense of quotes is fair game, if sneaky. ;) > >'Blake, if this is what I think it is - ' > > > >'I want you here,' he said. 'Cally, you go and check.' > > Tsk. Favoritism? Or is he just preserving their pilot? Favouritism on my part - Cally never gets anything exciting to do. > > '*It's a trap, Blake!*' > > <gasp!> I can hardly wait for piece three.... <g> Da-da DAR!!!!! Una ---------------- "I think it's great that there are people who leave their boring old jobs and get dressed up in costumes and live a fantasy life for a moment. God knows that' s what I spend my life doing." Alan Rickman

1 0

Re: Blakes7 digest, Vol 1 #324 - 14 msgs
by kevs McCully 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

"Fiona Moore" <nydersdyner(a)yahoo.co.uk> said: <snippo- intro> Say every month we pick a B7 episode, and people who feel like talking about it, do. People don't have to go away and watch it, just read the script or make a few comments on what they remember about it or whatever, but it provides a common discussion point and B7-related activity for the Lyst. At the end of the month, we move on to the next one. In addition, it could provide a useful source of episode reviews and essays for people's zines and websites. If a month is too long,we could always make it a weekly or fortnightly thing <snip> Hi all, The residents of alt.fan.blakes-7 ng are already doing this. We are up to S-L-D atm, and watching one episode per fortnight. I guess the Lyst residents would rather start at TWB, however it may be interesting for some folks to look at the NG. David (gaudaprime) makes some interesting posts there... It is probably a daft idea, but would the Lyst wish to sync up with the NG..? Just a thought...*s* kevs ===== "Under an Aussie sky..." http://www.southernsky.fsnet.co.uk "afterglow", http://www.afterglow.fsnet.co.uk Kevin C McCully "The world is what you make it". _____________________________________________________________________________ http://my.yahoo.com.au - My Yahoo! - Have news, stocks, weather, sports and more in one place.

3 2

More thoughts on Mellanby
by Fiona Moore 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Having just watched "Aftermath" back again, I've had a few more thoughts on the subject of Mellanby as a "good guy." Hal Mellanby tells Avon that the image amplifier he wears reminds him that "most men see what they only want to see, but the difference in my case is that I know my vision is limited." Mellanby recognises this fact, but one of the things that condemns him as a coward is that he has not done anything about it. Mellanby has failed to address, and take lessons from, his own past. He has had twenty years to think about what happened and the role he played, but he is till carrying two contradictory ideas in his head, and even those two ideas have not been thought through. The result of not confronting these questions is plain to see: His daughter Dayna has become a killer. But there's worse to come. We know Hal Mellanby is a liar. He has told Dayna that they left earth because he wanted "independence", and he has maintained that lie for twenty years. This suggests that all of Mellanby's statements have to be taken with a pinch of salt. But when you compare and contrast his statements, it reveals an interesting picture. At one point Mellanby says, "Before I left Earth I was taken in by Federation security. They suspected me of supplying weapons to resistance groups. And they were right. Anyway, in persuading me to talk, they were slightly overzealous. They destroyed my optic nerve." His statement, "before I left earth", taken together with his later statement about the revolt, "I had a chance to save Dayna," and then Dayna's statement, "I was born on Earth. My father brought me here when I was a baby," all confirm that the uprising Hal Mellanby lead was indeed on Earth and that when he left, he went straight into hiding. So what does all this tell us? Here is the likely scenario: Mellanby was an arms dealer. He lead a revolt. He was "taken in by Federation security." He was tortured. He told them what they wanted to know. They let him go. He left Earth. But why would the Federation let him go? When talking of the revolt Hal Mellanby said, "We made an honourable surrender. We were promised fair trial. Instead, the security forces massacred everyone, men, women, and children. That night I watched them all die. My own wife, my friends, everybody." Servalan says: "Everybody but you. Hasn't that ever made you feel guilty, Mellanby?" He replies "Of course it has. I've lived with guilt most of my life. I should have died with them, but I had a chance of saving Dayna. I took it." We have established that Hal Mellanby was "taken in by Federation security," but this was on a suspected gun running charge, not because he was leading a revolt. We also know that he didn't face a trial of any sort, and that he survived the massacre of his resistance group. Finally we know that he then left the Earth for good. But how come? Did he break out of prison? Unlikely. So what happened? Mellanby says, "I had a chance of saving Dayna. I took it." But who gave him that chance? Answer (who else?): the Federation. He struck a deal to save himself and Dayna, and sold the rebels out in the process. Mellanby states, "We were promised fair trial", but does that sound likely? I don't think so. First of all you can forget the "we", because Federation security let him go. There was to be no trial planned for him. But if he led the revolt, how could he not stand trial? Public immunity? No, that would reflect badly on the Federation. Therefore the Federation 'allowed' him to escape. But what about the "fair trial" for the others? Did he know what was going to happen to them? I think he knew. Why should the Federation lie? They took him along to the massacre after all. That, I think, is why he asked just for baby Dayna to be saved, and not his wife. A baby is too young to know what was going on. A baby can't condemn. The Federation fixed him up, repaired his sight, and then forced him to watch the killings, just so that he would have no doubt what he was responsible for. A good way to break a man. Then he was allowed to leave Earth, and go into hiding. Hal Mellanby told Avon that there was a reward of 3 million credits on his head. Why should the Federation release someone, and then put a price out on them? Because that's the way the Federation works. "We'll let you go. And then we'll put out a bounty. Now run and hide." But that isn't all they did. They also let it be known on the rebel grapevine what it was that he had done. As Servalan tells him, "They branded you a coward. Your name was universally despised." But then, what better propaganda is there than a criminal on the run? This may be why Mellanby was so reluctant to leave his hideaway, even after Avon told him the Federation was finished. Hal Mellanby was hiding not just from the Federation, but from the memory of what he had done. Mellanby wasn't only a coward, he was also a self-serving traitor. Usually at the end of an episode the story's villain dies. In Aftermath (a title with a curious double meaning) the one who dies isn't Chel, who, after all, was just a man trying to save his people from an ancient prophecy. It's Hal Mellanby. Fiona The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Ethically sound at http://nyder.r67.net _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

2 1

Re: [B7L] zine editing
by Bizarro7＠aol.com 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

In a message dated 4/1/01 10:59:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time, hflysator(a)jarriere.demon.co.uk writes: << Yes, I think I'm sharing Fiona's puzzlement and, er, sentiments, in what is intended to be a non-aggressive and inoffensive way. >> Suffice it to say that in the long run, actions will speak louder than declarations. Leah

1 0

Re: [B7L] zine editing
by Fiona Moore 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

>From: Bizarro7(a)aol.com >How original signing back on under a new ID. > >*yawn* > Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any names on here that I haven't been seeing for months if not since I joined (and come to that, if anybody *has* just signed on yesterday, Calle would know, wouldn't he?). I *am,* however, seeing a few fewer names than usual. Leah, I think most people around here would like the atmosphere of paranoia to dissipate. Please? Fiona The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Just wanting to post about Blake's 7 at http://nyder.r67.net _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

2 1

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