Blakes7 July 2001

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55 participants
273 discussions

Re: Orbit
by Betty Ragan 03 Aug '01

03 Aug '01

Responding to me, Helen Krummenacker wrote: > > And seems to get *far* less than his share of the blame, IMO... > > "Him"? I thought ORAC was generally called "it". I assume ORAC was the > one being referred to as coming out of it the same. Yes, I was referring to Orac there... And, actually, the crew are pretty inconsistent about which pronoun they use with Orac. Avon always sticks to "it" for all of the computers (although it's possible that even he slips at some point or other), but the others often use "he," particularly Vila. I have a vague memory of *somebody* actually using two different pronouns for Orac in the same sentence, but I may have invented that in my head. (Hmm, obviously this is a question which merits considerable research. Which I am, I must admit, far too lazy to do.) Personally, I generally use "he" or "she" to refer to anything sentient/sapient (which Orac, IMO, certainly is). So it'd annoy Avon. What do I care? :) > And I think ORAC is > always accredited with a fair amount of blame. Avon seems to get the bulk of it, though. "How could he do such a thing!" and so on. It often seems to me (in fanfics and so forth, anyway) that people tend to overlook the fact that it was all *Orac's* idea... -- Betty Ragan ** ragan(a)sdc.org ** http://www.sdc.org/~ragan/ Dr. Hibbert: "You need some friends that aren't printed on paper." Comic Book Guy: "You mean action figures?" -- _The Simpsons_

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Re: [B7L] Shadows of Blake
by Natasa Tucev 03 Aug '01

03 Aug '01

Stephen wrote: >> Someone on the >> Lyst suggested the name of the episode, apart from >> the drug, also alludes to >> the Terra Nostra being the Federation's 'shadow'. > ><bows modestly> Oops, sorry, Stephen, I forgot it was you. At any rate, I thought it was a very shrewd observation. >I think that Blake's darker side had been hinted at >earlier in Mission to Destiny, Breakdown and Bounty >for example. I can't remember anything naughty Blake did in Bounty - apart from breaking Sarkoff's records. Could you remind me? >I think Boucher is more >detached from Blake. Nation's Blake is a bit like the >wartime view of Churchill - shown fighting for freedom >in a heroic light. Boucher's version is more like >Churchill as shown by modern historians - yes he was a >good guy but he could be ruthless, nasty and just >plain wrong on occasions. So I think that Boucher is a >revisionist, subverting the orthodox view I'm all for subversion - but what do you get when you subvert the idea that people should oppose totalitarianism and big, powerful states which tend to control the world? I view B7 as a subversive discourse in itself. Practically all of the pop-culture heroes of today are law abiders, police officers, star fleet officers, army officers, always upholding status quo. On the other hand, B7 confronts us with a world order which is fundamentally wrong and which *has* to be opposed. I don't think you can compare this to Churchill - he also defended status quo against the bad guys. Even Robin Hood doesn't jeopardize the given order, since he just opposes the usurper of the throne, not the concept of the throne in itself. The idea behind B7 is much more radical. No, I don't think it was a good idea to subvert Blake and everything he stands for. N.

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Re: [B7L] Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
by Nic Mayer 01 Aug '01

01 Aug '01

From: Harriet Monkhouse <hflysator(a)jarriere.demon.co.uk> > Jacqui wrote: > > Is on BBC 2 (UK) tonight. > And very nice it was to see it, though I'd rather they'd paid tribute by > rebroadcasting the radio version. For one thing, it's a lot longer. I heard that they were planning to. We almost need someone from Blakes 7 to pop their clogs and maybe the BBC might repeat it. Although they do have a habit of repeating old series, but only the episodes I've seen. > For another, the actors look better. Though I did enjoy seeing the Its quite worrying when you can recognise actors that were in the radio series and not the TV series before they utter a word. Although it took me a few minutes to realise it was Trillian in Casualty last Friday. Nic sig missing, presumed fed

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RE: [B7L] Orbit (or who knows what evil lurks in a little plastic box ...)
by Louise Rutter 01 Aug '01

01 Aug '01

James wrote: >More to the point is why Avon didn't consider the possibility until he >(quite literally - the writer's joke?) tripped over it. Even Avon Panics :-) Expecting a logical analysis of the possibilities was a bit much under the circumstances..... Louise

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Re: Orbit
by Betty Ragan 01 Aug '01

01 Aug '01

Sally wrote: > Given that [a] Orac's first priority - by about a trillion miles - is its > precious self, but that [b] of all its humans, it appears to like Avon best, > what would the result have been had *Vila* been closer to the gun in Orbit > and had asked the fatal question? My immediate reaction is that - in > self-interest - it would have been 'Avon weighs more than 70 kilos', but > would Orac have been so certain of Vila's ability to win any fight for the > gun and/or shoot Avon if he *had* to? (my further opinion is that yes, Vila > would have killed Avon to save himself, but would the rat in a box agree?) Me, I think that, while Vila possibly might have been psychologically able to kill Avon in order to save himself, whether or not he would be *physically* capable of it is an open question. If he was lucky, he might be able to come up behind Avon and get a shot off before Avon's aware of anything, but if Avon's overheard the conversation as Vila did, or if Vila hesitates or gives him any reason to be suspicious... Well, in a confrontation between Vila with a gun and Avon without one, I'm honestly not sure which to put my money on. Frankly, I'd be inclined to call it 50-50 odds on each of them, really. Vila's not very good with guns, and Avon *is* very good with survival. And if Avon *did* manage to get the gun away from Vila, I have no doubt that he would have *no* compunction whatsoever about promptly turning it upon Vila. Either way, of course, Orac wins... > If Orac *had* nudged Vila into trying it, and they'd survived as they did in > the real Orbit, would Avon have shown any anger towards Orac? (BTW, would he > have done so towards Vila? I really aren't sure that he would - he is honest > enough to realise that Vila's self-interest exceeds his own) I don't think he would have shown any anger towards Orac, because, trhoughout the series, he makes a point of hanging on very strongly to his "It's only a machine, it doesn't have any feelings, I hate it when people anthropomorphize" atttitude. He might have been miffed, but he'd probably figure that Orac, being a machine, was simply doing the logical thing. Of course, if that reasoning lets Orac off the hook, it ought also to apply to Vila, who was following exactly the same logic... I rather suspect that the attitude he would take towards Vila -- at least outwardly -- would be one of sneering condescention for having botched the job of killing him. > While Orbit isn't on my Top Ten episodes (no Blake :-)) I do like the fact > that it has our three most blatant examples of self-interest smashing > head-on, and only one comes out of it the same ... And seems to get *far* less than his share of the blame, IMO... -- Betty Ragan ** bragan(a)nrao.edu ** http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~bragan Not speaking for my employers, officially or otherwise. "Seeing a rotten picture for the special effects is like eating a tough steak for the smothered onions..." -- Isaac Asimov

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RE: Re: [B7L] Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
by jacquispeel＠netscape.net 31 Jul '01

31 Jul '01

There is another episode tonight. __________________________________________________________________ Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop@Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/

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B7 bugs
by jacquispeel＠netscape.net 31 Jul '01

31 Jul '01

"Dana Shilling" <dshilling(a)worldnet.att.net> wrote: >Jacqui asked: >> What sort of computer viruses would Star One have had? >"Ishootatyouwithateakettle.exe"? > >-(Y) > (Repeat my joke about Orac having the 'I love you virus' in Sand) So why didn't Avon use whatever the local equivalent of computer viruses against the Federation. (and does the proverbial 'Printer's Demon' (whose name I forget offhand)look after computer viruses?) Jacqui __________________________________________________________________ Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop@Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/

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Re: [B7L] Frame capture vote results
by Natasa Tucev 31 Jul '01

31 Jul '01

Stephen wrote: > --- Natasa wrote: > >> Another naive detail in the series, IMO, is that the >> rebellion's leaders all get on so >> well. From the very beginning, the whole >> anti-Federation movement is so >> harmonious: > >The exception being the crew of the Liberator of >course ! Yes, it has often occured to me that Blake's idealism wouldn't stand out so much if he weren't surrounded by such 'untypical' rebels. In the galaxy which must be full of discontent with the Federation government and millions of angry, deprived citizens who would be more than willing to help Blake in his fight, he somehow ends up with a small group of eccentrics who don't give a monkey's about changing the world. >Blake never has to >worry about the morality of his allies torturing >Federation prisoners or blowing up civilians. Whereas this happens quite often in fanfic. Fanfic writers seem to have a taste for positing moral dilemmas and depicting the rebellion in shades of gray. >In fact >he has to do a deal with an organised crime syndicate >to encounter morally dubious individuals. It seems we primarily have to thank Boucher for introducing such individuals - and also for making Blake himself morally dubious. Blake's 'transformation' designed by Boucher starts with 'Shadow'. Someone on the Lyst suggested the name of the episode, apart from the drug, also alludes to the Terra Nostra being the Federation's 'shadow'. I think it's also because Boucher has decided to turn Blake into a 'dusky' hero, past his zenith of perfection and moral purity, whose shadow starts becoming visible. The next step in the transformation is Star One, with those weird scenes in which Blake's so successful in pretending he's Travis. Blake wants to destroy Star One. Travis wants to enable the Andromedans to do the same. As Avon would say, there must be a subtle difference which escapes me at the moment. And then there's 'Blake', where Our Hero appears as an unshaven one-eyed bounty hunter who shoots people in the back. I wonder what would have become of Blake in Boucher's interpretation had the series continued. I try hard to incorporate the changes he introduced into the character, but sometimes I give up. In my hours of darkness I've concluded that Boucher is really a Federation's secret agent assigned to destroy Blake's reputation. N.

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Im New
by Leia Fee 31 Jul '01

31 Jul '01

Welcome Tony. > We are big fans over here at my uni, we even have 3 library servers names after the >blakes 7 computers, lol. I named the computers on one of the networks at work after B7 characters too. We keep getting new ones though and I'm begining to run out of names!<grin> Leia

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Headhunter & Assassin (was: (no subject))
by Marian de Haan 31 Jul '01

31 Jul '01

Jacqui wrote: > Does nobody have anything to say then? > > Where have all the controversies gone (g)? It's summer holiday here and everyone has gone abroad to escape the bad weather (which then promptly changed for the better). Summer always is a quiet time, isn't it? February seems to be the time for fireworks :-) But here are some musings: In Headhunter, why does Avon say that the robot's head has to be put in place by Vila or him? As weapon designer Dayna must be a good enough technician for the job - and far more likely to volunteer. :-) I think Avon has decided all along to do it himself, and is merely teasing Vila. In Assassin, why are the two slavers who are holding Avon not surprised when he addresses "Sleer" as Servalan? And does this mean that she later kills them to keep their mouths shut? Or even kills all the slavers? And if the latter is the case, would she get a medal for it, or would the Federation elite be peeved about having lost its illegal slave market? Marian

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Blakes7 July 2001