In a message dated 2/13/01 9:56:50 PM Eastern Standard Time, ragan@sdc.org writes:

<< On the other hand, it is entirely possible to go to far in the opposite direction. Some of the things I really like about B7 are the subtlety of the characterizations, the multiple layers of meaning in the things they say to each other, the fact that they *don't* sit around discussing their emotions like touchy-feely Trek characters. In attempting to make everything explicit in dialog, it's very easy to completely ruin all of that, and make the characterizations feel wrong, to boot. It's a difficult balance to achieve, really. >>

So the question arises: If BLAKES 7 had begun its existence solely as a SF series in novel form, rather than the screen, would it have had the same impact, on the same people?

I'm not sure about that. What seems to make a TV show "fannish" usually involves the chemistry between the basic milieu, the character's visual presence and portrayal and the writing. Some people are wired in right-brain, some left. One side is analytical, the other visual. Your mileage will always vary.

Leah