Honey Bunny "Sally Manton" Wrote:
At the risk of flogging what is unquestionably now a dead horse,
This horse is very much alive and about to bite you on the arse.
we might
let the last word go to ...
Terry Nation.
"Gan, the big guy, was the physical presence and great physical strength, but the gentle baby of the piece, based a little on Lenny from 'Of Mice
and
Men''." (Blake's 7: The Inside Story).
He was. Sally, have you ever *read* "Of Mice and Men"?
Lenny is the mentally retarded giant with enormous strength, who is continually killing pets and small animals by accident, unable to understand what he is doing. He crushes a man's hand in a rage, and, in the climax of the book, when a woman gets into a sexual clinch with him, he strangles her and hides the body in a desperate panic-- knowing that he has done wrong but being unable to stop himself. If this is who Nation has based Gan on... I think you need to rethink your fanon. And I need to rethink my earlier statement that Nation never suggested that Gan was a murdering psychopath. He has, but he's playing the double game still.
Either Nation and Boucher are just playing a game with us, or it was all leading up to something. If it was leading up to something, what was it? and why didn't it happen?
Any guesses?
Jenny
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--- Jenny Kaye wrote: >
Honey Bunny "Sally Manton" Wrote:
For someone who claims to be a disinterested seeker of truth in the company of headless chickens you seem to have an inordinate fondness for name calling.
At the risk of flogging what is unquestionably
now a dead horse,
This horse is very much alive and about to bite you on the arse.
Death throes, nothing more.
we might
let the last word go to ...
Terry Nation.
"Gan, the big guy, was the physical presence and
great physical strength,
but the gentle baby of the piece, based a little
on Lenny from 'Of Mice and
Men''." (Blake's 7: The Inside Story).
Lenny is the mentally retarded giant with enormous strength, who is continually killing pets and small animals by accident, unable to understand what he is doing. He crushes a man's hand in a rage, and, in the climax of the book, when a woman gets into a sexual clinch with him, he strangles her and hides the body in a desperate panic-- knowing that he has done wrong but being unable to stop himself.
A somewhat inaccurate and sensationalist retelling. Lenny crushes the man's hand because he has the mind of a child in the body of a giant. He kills the woman by accident for the same reason. They are not in a sexual clinch. The story is a tragedy of plans which go awry "The best laid plans of mice and men go aft agley" (I'm quoting from memory). Not a psychological thriller with Lenny as a rural version of the Boston strangler.
If this is who Nation has based Gan on... I think you need to rethink your fanon. And I need to rethink my earlier statement that Nation never suggested that Gan was a murdering psychopath. He has, but he's playing the double game still.
Two points - firstly Nation described Gan as being "based a little on Lenny". Not as being just like Lenny. The quality Nation points to are Lenny's strength and gentleness, qualities Gan shares. If Lenny and Gan bore a greater resemblance however, this would not make Gan a psychopathic killer. Lenny is a sympathetic character, a victim of fate.
Either Nation and Boucher are just playing a game with us, or it was all leading up to something. If it was leading up to something, what was it? and why didn't it happen?
The one discussion on the subject I recall reading - I think it was the book Sally cites (I'm sorry, lightweight that I am I was reading it in Forbidden Planet !) - suggests that the production team decided to kill one crew member off in season 2 and decided that Gan was the best choice as there wasn't a lot else they could do with his character. This would seem to indicate that the production team saw Gan as being a gentle giant. If there had been a Boston Strangler sub-plot to be unfolded then obviously they could have done rather more with him.
Stephen
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From: Jenny Kaye jennycat55@hotmail.com
Either Nation and Boucher are just playing a game with us, or it was all leading up to something. If it was leading up to something, what was it? and why didn't it happen?
Any guesses?
Why don't you tell them?
Neil
-
Jenny Kaye -
Neil Faulkner -
Stephen Date