Blakes7 October 2001

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274 discussions

Rutherford and Son
by Judith Proctor 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

This is a very brief review as I'm knackered after a late night Saturday and all day Sunday clearning rhododendron on a nature reserve. We went to see Rutherford and Son purely because Gareth was in it. The blurb didn't honestly sound all that interesting and a friend who'd read the play said it sounded horribly bleak and depressing. In actuality, it was amazingly good - the kind of play that has you analysing the characters and their lives long after it has finished. The characters are complex and the strong cast really show you the depths of the characters. There is humour in unexpected places, deeply-rooted passions (one friend said he was expecting a murder at any moment), and the loneliness of isolated people. On the surface, it's a play about Rutherford and his son arguing over who has the right to exploit the son's invention. Actually, it's a play about the position of women in Edwardian society and the ways in which people can get trapped. It also looks at the relationships between the classes. Rutherford is a self-made man who has brought up his sons as 'gentlemen'. Rutherford's treatment of his family is in many ways appalling. He can be an absolute bastard. Yet, one also comes to understand him, to see what drives him and to occasionally feel a degree of sympathy for him. (And then see the bastard all over again as he manipulates and punishes people.) There some wonderful touches in the play. The turning point was something as simple as the laying of a tablecloth (a touch of genius on the part of the playwright to make something so simple carry so much meaning). This is a play in which the strong characters are not always whom they seem at first. Rutherford's respect is finally reserved for the least likely person - the one character who can fight with him as an equal. I'll try and write a fuller review later, but if you have the chance, get to see the play. It still has a week to run. Even my 14 year old son said it was worth it (and he's not easily impressed by old plays). It's on in Salisbury playhouse and there's lots to see and do in Salisbury. We went round the cathedral (and spent ages looking at a 14th century clock to see how it worked - a massive thing made of cast iron and you could see every part clearly), and a National Trust house just around the corner, but there's also museums and so forth in easy walking distance of the theatre and cathedral (and they're still open in October). We had a chat with Gareth before and after the play. He looked really tired after the matinee, but there was no trace of that in his evening performance. He puts an incredible amount of energy into Rutherford. The reviews of this play have been very good, and I can now understand why. Go and see it! Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 - Fanzines for Blake's 7, B7 Filk songs, pictures, news, Conventions past and present, Blake's 7 fan clubs, Gareth Thomas, etc. (also non-Blake's 7 zines at http://www.knightwriter.org ) Redemption '03 21-23 Feb 2003 http://www.smof.com/redemption/

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Re: Stuck-in-a-cave stories
by Tavia 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

There are a few of this general genre that are quite plausible and readable. Offhand I'd recommend Julia Stamford's 'Frozen in Hell', in Forbidden Star 2, where the underground retreat is some sort of abandoned mining base, suitably cold and miserable, and the denoument is rather believable. As I recall, the story's gen, though the zine isn't. Tavia

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Orbit and the choice of Vila, plus caves
by Helen Atkins 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

If I'd been Avon planning a double-cross, I would have chosen to take Vila too. Would you really want the inventor of the Tachyon Funnel mad at you when there might have been a prototype still at the base or enough parts available to knock another one up? Given the weapon's unlimited range, ensuring that you were able to steal or destroy any such items and that transport and communications at the base were knocked out permanently so that another one couldn't be built later would seem prudent, and Vila's presence might have been necessary to get past any security systems. Perhaps Avon was having one of his "Aftermath" style don't-take-life-unless-it's-absolutely-necessary days anyway, in choosing to take a handgun onto the shuttle instead of a base-destroying bomb :) Re cave stories, I am an experienced caver, and I can assure you that creepy-crawlies only live near the entry points of deep caves. Creepy-crawlies need to eat too, and there usually isn't much food further in (no sunlight=no plants=no things that eat plants=no higher level predators). If you want to introduce some added tension in a cave story, perhaps you could set the story in a multi-level cave system. It is possible to get trapped underground by water if it rains unexpectedly while you are underground, so you don't know it's happening. Getting out may require going to a low point or crossing an underground river in order to get to an exit. I know of a number of cavers who have been drowned trying to cross an underground river in flood. The characters could thus be forced to retreat to a higher part of the cave, and have to decide whether to wait, hoping that the water level will fall, or to chance being swept away, etc. Lots of opportunities for angst, heroics, and character death as well as heart to heart chats :) Other than that, deep caves are usually at around the average annual temperature (say 9 degrees Celcius), and frequently, though not invariably, wet and muddy. The water always feels icy, and is certainly cold enough to make your legs go numb if you stay in it long enough without protective gear. Not my preferred venue for a romantic tryst... _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

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Re: costume help requested
by Steve Rogerson 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

Sally said: "The only thing I can think of is that it's from Gambit: maybe that dress was a two-piece?" 'Fraid not. The Gambit dress is too smooth. This one has loads of little glittery bits running in lines down it. -- cheers Steve Rogerson http://homepages.poptel.org.uk/steve.rogerson Redemption 03, 21-23 February 2003, Ashford, Kent Celebrating 25 years of Blake's 7 and 10 years of Babylon 5 http://www.smof.com/redemption

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Re: Re: [B7L] Stuck in a Cave Stories
by Ellynne G. 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

Just curious, does it still count as a cliche if one of the characters realizes they need time alone to talk with one of the other characters and manages to arrange something - say a mission that involves a great deal of waiting around while nothing happens - in order to give them a chance to talk? Also, given this bunches incredible ability to kamikaze, is it still a Mary Sue if you introduce a character whose main purpose is to thwart their usual, lemming instincts? And if a Mary Sue falls in a cave when there's no one there to hear, does she still make a sound - er, I mean, sprain her ankle? And does making a Zen question joke out of a B7 cliche count as a double pun? Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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Fwd: Re: Re: [B7L] Stuck in a Cave Stories
by Sally Manton 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

Ellynne asked: <Just curious, does it still count as a cliche if one of the characters realizes they need time alone to talk with one of the other characters -> <grin> no, but who among Our Heroes is masochistic enough to want that much time alone with *any* of the others (at least on *this* list?) <Also, given this bunches incredible ability to kamikaze, is it still a Mary Sue if you introduce a character whose main purpose is to thwart their usual, lemming instincts?> Not if she completely and stupendously fails, I guess. <And if a Mary Sue falls in a cave when there's no one there to hear, does she still make a sound - er, I mean, sprain her ankle?> No, breaks her neck. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

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More zine review: B7 Complex #2
by Betty Ragan 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

'Nother zine review... I've still got a *huge* stack of the things to work my way through... B7 COMPLEX #2 (gen, US, 1984, 100 pgs, ed. Deborah M. Walsh) Note that this is actually the revised reprint edition of the zine. Apparently the original 1982 edition had slightly different contents, including an episode guide that didn't appear in the reprint. The stories are the same in both editions, though. Overall, this was a decent, enjoyable zine. Long out of print, I assume, but definitely worth taking a look at if you can find a copy. Fiction: "Dioscuri" by Mary A. Fall: The _Liberator_ responds to a distress call from a Federation training facility whose complement of cadets has discovered that the Federation has something extremely unpleasant in store for them and has chosen to rebel. Of course, as always, it turns out to be a trap, but this time it's one that features both Travis and a disturbing face from Avon's past. An interesting story featuring a really great premise, good dialog, a strong showing from all the characters, and lots of Avon-angst. Unfortunately, the writing style, while grammatical and perfectly readable, is rather awkward and detracts quite a bit from the story's impact. (Note to aspiring writers: the word "said" is your friend. Really. Reading "Gan laughed, "Vila mourned," "Vila sighed," "Gan protested," etc., etc. used as dialog tags in the space of half a page is *really* distracting.) "Good Clean Fun (part 1)" by Patricia Cash: Vila plays some practical jokes on Avon, and then has to endure the agony of waiting for Avon's wrath to descend upon him. Silly but fun, with some *very* amusing and memorable images. "Split Infinitive" by Deborah M. Walsh: This is by far the longest story in the zine, but that's fine because, IMO, it's also the best. It's an "Ultraworld" AU in which Tarrant does mix up the tubes containing Avon and Cally's consciousnesses, leaving them stuck in each other's bodies. I've always liked this as a story concept, and this is a good treatment of it, albeit a somewhat dark one: both Avon and Cally suffer considerably from the experience, and the others aren't exactly having a happy time of it, either. The method they pursue to get themselves switched back again is very well thought out and believable, as is the answer to the question of who gets Cally's telepathy, making for a pretty satisfying story all the way around. "Good Clean Fun (part 2)" by Patricia Cash: More silliness as Avon uses his considerable technical skills to extract his revenge on Vila. "The Last Stone" by Mary A. Fall: Brief missing scene from "Terminal" as Avon goes down to look for Cally's body. Familiar territory, but not too badly done. Poetry: "Decision" by Linda M. Lanzi: A poem from Vila's POV as he contemplates leaving the rebel life for a nice, safe, boring planet. Excellent Vila-voice, and, unlike the majority of fan poetry (or even poetry in general, really) it works quite well for me, probably because there's no attempt to force it to rhyme. "Reflection" by Elizabeth Carleton: Another poem, this one featuring Avon angsting over Anna. Not as good as the Vila one, IMO, but not bad, probably because it doesn't rhyme, either, but does display a pretty good feel for the rhythm of words. Artwork: Quite a bit of artwork in here, both illos for specific stories and a few stand-alone pieces. Artwork is by Robin Belyea, Mary D. Bloemker, Patricia Cash & Deborah M. Walsh. Some of it's not really to my taste, and some of it's quite good. There is an "art portfolio" section featuring portraits of several characters with relevant quotes from the show which is nicely done and attractively laid out. Non-B7 content: There is also a "Tomorrow People" story in here ("Rift" by Mary D. Bloemker), and the first part of a "Tomorrow People" episode guide, but not being a "Tomorrow People" fan, I can't really comment on those. -- Betty Ragan ** ragan(a)sdc.org ** http://www.sdc.org/~ragan/ "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now." -- an "anti-inspirational" poster

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Re: [B7L] Re: Blakes7 digest, Vol 1 #673 - 11 msgs
by Ellynne G. 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

On Tue, 16 Oct 2001 10:59:30 -0700 Helen Krummenacker <avona(a)jps.net> writes: > > "There was a young sailor from Ithaca > > Who found leaving Troy was quite trickia > > He sailed for ten years > > In very slow gears > > Till his whining made Olympus quite sickia. > > > > "Let me read you the next three thousand verses- > > > > Avon: AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!! > > > > Ellynne > > > Ellynne-- you are a Black Widowers fan aren't you!? Actually, I haven't read those. I was borrowing/imitating/inspired by Dickson and Anderson's Hoka books (one of the Teddy bear like Hokas translated the Iliad into lymric verse). Of course, they may have well been Black Widower fans. Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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Re: [B7L] Re: Top Ten
by Sally Manton 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

After I wrote: <Short answer, I thought about it, and no. My favourites are all either in that Little List, or would have been had they appeared in time :-).> Natasa wrote: <No, I didn't ask you (or anyone else) to *exclude* A-B stories. I was just looking for a comprehensive list which would *include* all the other categories as well. For instance, I think 'Dupe' and 'Game of Humanity' are very good stories by any criteria - and they're both on your list.> <grin> Okay ... Sally's Current Top Ten - errr, Twelve - errr - Sixteen (subject to change depending on mood, current reading, and probably the weather) Gen Stories: Neil Faulkner, 'How to be Topp on the Liberator' (Star Four) Pat Fenech, 'Remember Me' (Rites of Passage) Linda Knights, 'Dante's Madness' (Questions of the Past) Bryn Lantry, 'Parting (After Star One)' (Chronicles #21) Bryn Lantry, 'The Thirteenth Hour' (Rites of Passage) Suzann Lovett - 'Doppelganger' (The Road to Hell and Other Stories) Suzann Lovett - 'Lightbridge' (The Road to Hell and Other Stories) Suzann Lovett - 'The Road to Hell' (The Road to Hell and Other Stories) Una McCormack - 'Under the Influence' (Star Four) Marian Mendez, 'Dupe' (Pressure Point) Merlyn, 'Three Time Loser' (Airwaves #30) Morrigan, "Benediction' (ttba) Helen Parkinson, 'The Thousandth Man' (Gambit #13) Sheila Paulson, 'A Game of Humanity' (Probability Square) Liz Sharpe, 'Curtain Call' (Southern Seven #3) Lillian Shepherd, The Macchiavelli Factor _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

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Re: [B7L] Re: Top Ten
by Sally Manton 21 Oct '01

21 Oct '01

Steve wrote: <Just got round to watching this. I mean, how often do you get Og and Jarriere in the same programme?> Not nearly often enough, of course. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

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Blakes7 October 2001