Betty wrote:
Sally Manton wrote:
<grin> I spent some time trying to work out in my own mind what he would do if someone tried to use innocents (say, a spaceship full of children, and a self-destruct button) against him. Came to the conclusion he'd give himself up fast enough (from the evidence of Horizon)
Or rather, he'd try to, and Avon would try to stop him, and then things would get *really* interesting. IMO. :)
In a story by Cami, the Federation troops defending a besieged base have imprisoned a number of civilians whom they threaten to kill. Blake wants to give himself up, but then Avon uses his computer (of course) to design a battle strategy which will enable the rebels to save the hostages.
In a story by Shiela Paulson, Blake, Avon and three kids are cornered into a cave by Travis and his troops. Again, Blake is willing to surrender if Travis lets the kids go. Just then (of course) Jenna brings the Liberator back into the planet's orbit.
This motif seems to have been used many times over. The problem with such stories, however, is that they very often neglect Blake's intelligence and present him as foolish and sentimental. Whenever Blake's afraid someone might die because of him, he hurries to surrender, without even considering other options, until someone wiser (usually Avon) points them out.
Sometimes, however, there are no other options and then the story requires some deus ex machina to be resolved.
N.
On Sun 17 Jun, Natasa Tucev wrote:
In a story by Cami, the Federation troops defending a besieged base have imprisoned a number of civilians whom they threaten to kill. Blake wants to give himself up, but then Avon uses his computer (of course) to design a battle strategy which will enable the rebels to save the hostages.
In a story by Shiela Paulson, Blake, Avon and three kids are cornered into a cave by Travis and his troops. Again, Blake is willing to surrender if Travis lets the kids go. Just then (of course) Jenna brings the Liberator back into the planet's orbit.
This motif seems to have been used many times over. The problem with such stories, however, is that they very often neglect Blake's intelligence and present him as foolish and sentimental. Whenever Blake's afraid someone might die because of him, he hurries to surrender, without even considering other options, until someone wiser (usually Avon) points them out.
Which is unlike his behaviour in Cygnus Alpha. He refused to hand Liberator to VArgas in spite of threats - though he did feel that the convicts had some control over their own fate. If they refused to sieze the opportunity, then he wasn't going to let that stop him.
Sometimes, however, there are no other options and then the story requires some deus ex machina to be resolved.
Not in my stories. This is why my stories sometimes have such a high death count. I don't believe in deus ex machinae and frequently refuse to use them. I want to see what the characters will do when really pushed into a corner, when there is no cavalry to come to the rescue, when their declarations are put to the test and there's no bluffing.
I don't believe that having the moral high ground means you will always win. That's one of the reasons why I'm a B7 fan. It's closer to what I can believe in. (I like UFO for the same reasons - hard choices have to be made and the consequences accepted. I today's episode - square triangle - some one dies as a direct result of Straker's refusal to breach Shado's cover. He knew the risk and he still made the decision.)
Judith
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Judith Proctor -
Natasa Tucev