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5511 discussions

journeys underground
by Natasa Tucev 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

This occured to me while I was watching 'Orac' - I noticed that Ensor has a mechanical bird in his lab. OK, he's a nice guy who doesn't want to keep a real bird in a cage - but is there anything more to it? Then I realized it wasn't exactly a bird. It has the body of an animal and the head and wings of a bird. It could be a griffin. That made me think, and I realized that the whole imagery of this episode is suggestive of ancient Greece. I don't know if Aristo means anything in old Greek, but it appears in names such as Aristotle or Aristophanes. The central motif of the story - journey underground - is really a commonplace in Greek mythology. Griffin (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) ought to be the guardian to the underground world or the realm of the dead. Ensor's abode is underground. This is the realm of Hecate, who is also the goddess of medical herbs. The whole episode is about healing ill people - Ensor and the four members of the Liberator crew. Also, there are traces of another famous myth: an old artificer who builds (or, in this case, hides inside) a large labyrinth and then becomes imprisoned in it. (Ensor couldn't teleport from his lab because of the protective force field, which it would take five hours to disconnect; he couldn't reach the exit to the labyrinth in time, either.) His son dies of burns he got while flying. Sounds familiar? But let us go back to the journey underground. This is not the first nor the last time Blake undertakes such a journey. It occured to me that, whenever he does, he gains certain knowledge. In TWB, there is a maze of sub-level tunnels which take him outside the dome, where he finds out the truth about his past. The whole first part of this episode is suggestive of some initiation rite: the initiant has to abstain from food and drink, he crosses a stream (a kind of baptism), he gains new knowledge about himself. In 'Orac', Blake acquires Orac as the 'sum total' of human knowledge. Then there's 'Pressure Point', yet another journey underground. The obelisk which Blake notices in 'Orac' appears here again, inexplicably. It ought to symbolize the mastery over the four corners of the world and the zenith. Ironically, Blake doesn't gain such mastery by reaching 'Central Control'; but he certainly learns a lesson regarding his own quest in that empty room. All three journeys, also, are connected with death and loss. I'm not sure whether 'Star One' could qualify as the fourth. N.

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Lego
by Judith Proctor 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

We've just set up a special exhibition in the gallery on the Hermit site. We've been sent the most fantastic set of lego Blake's 7 photos that you can imagine. I thought I'd done some good B7 lego, but these are out of this world. The models were made by Steve Locke. Come and see interior and exterior views of Liberator and Scorpio and the cast. There's a direct link from the top page of http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 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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Announcement from Ashton Press
by Bizarro7＠aol.com 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

This from Annie Wortham: "Since AOL seems determined not to load any of my websites lately, I am in the midst of moving a lot of my sites to an independent server. I've begun the process by moving most of the Fanzine pages. Some of the graphics might not come up the first time (or at all) right now since many of them are on AOL and who knows what the heck is going on with AOL right now. Stay tuned later today or tomorrow for some announcements about new fanzines. One new update you can see right now, if you're a Blakes 7 fan: I've updated the Southern Comfort page to feature all of the covers for every issue we've done over the years. The new main page for our fanzines is: http://www.ashtonpress.ma-at.net/zines.htm The old pages are still there, for the moment (IF you can get AOL to load them), but please change your bookmarks if you have any of our fanzine sites bookmarked (you can see the new addresses for all of the subsites if you go to the main one and follow the links). I'll probably start moving some of the fan fiction sites next. Annie "

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Re: journeys underground
by Natasa Tucev 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Thanks for the quote, Alison. I also had Yeats's poem in mind, but I haven't got it at hand. I think the former verses could apply to Ensor as well (I quote from memory): An old man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, Unless he teaches his soul to sing, And louder sing for every tatter in its mortal dress. Ensor (it might be said) gains some kind of immortality by creating Orac. N.

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To be or not to be a Jarrigoth?
by Helen Atkins 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

I have been considering this matter carefully. On the one hand, I can see that Jarrigoths are in one sense the ultimate fans. Picking a character of no significance except to give Servalan someone to explain her actions to, with no story significance and only one appearance in the entire series, and building a fandom around that, is in some sense B7 fandom at its most extreme. It is far more elegant a concept than choosing, say, Carnell; because Carnell isn't hideously ugly and has a profound impact on the story, and therefore a Carnell fan club would lack the utter pointlessness that is the principal appeal of becoming a Jarrigoth. Nonetheless, I find it extremely disturbing to hear that Jarriere has been a topic of discussion on the Other List; perhaps I was fortunate Calle didn't sign me up for that one. There are some thoughts I really don't need cluttering up the inside of my head... :-) _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

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RE: [B7L] journeys underground
by Louise Rutter 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Natasa wrote: >I don't know if Aristo means anything in old >Greek, but it appears in names such as Aristotle or Aristophanes. IIRC, it means 'best' - which could refer to Ensor or Orac. Louise

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Re: [B7L] journeys underground
by Alison Page 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Natasa said - >This occured to me while I was watching 'Orac' - I noticed that Ensor has a >mechanical bird in his lab. OK, he's a nice guy who doesn't want to keep a >real bird in a cage - but is there anything more to it? Then I realized it >wasn't exactly a bird. It has the body of an animal and the head and wings >of a bird. It could be a griffin. > >That made me think, and I realized that the whole imagery of this episode is >suggestive of ancient Greece. This reminds me of one of my favourite poems, Sailing to Byzantium, by Yeats Once out of nature I shall never take My bodily form from any natural thing But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make Of hammered gold and gold enamelling To keep a drowsy emperor awake Or set upon a golden bough, to sing To lords and ladies of Byzantium Of what is past, or passing, or to come Alison

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Re: SFX readers poll
by Mel Saxby 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Louise wrote: Doesn't seem to vary a great deal from the favourite eps lists of people on this Lyst, although I think City normally scores more highly here and the inclusion of Sand comes as something of a surprise. Gambit should have been there instead. Truth to tell, I rather like Sand, mainly for its atmospheric sets, not to mention Avon's horror at Orac's declaration of love. I also rate Sarcophagus highly, though I know a lot of fans hate it. I can only say, I loved it when I first saw it. I remember trying to work out what the dreamlike opening sequence meant, in relation to the rest of the episode. The writer, Tanith Lee, was something of a fan herself I believe, and produced a fine fantasy novel with openly ackowledged avatars or Vila and Avon. I bought it in paperback in 1980 from a small independant shop called Fantast (Medway). Anyone else heard of it? The owner produced a book list/review of his stock to anyone interested for the annual sum of a quid, I think, and was extremely friendly and informative to anyone who dropped into his shop. Returning to B7, favourite episode lists are extremely subjective. I think it depends on the elements of the episodes in question which the individual focusses on as significant. I'm rather fond of Moloch, though I know it can hardly be classed as a top piece of writing. I remember a long-ago Horizon club questionaire on S3 where in my reply I mentioned the scene between Avon and Dayna concerning the dead mouse and the apple. That scene just happened to be a favourite of mine. Moloch is not a 'great' episode, but it still entertains me in lots of ways. I generally try to look for the good points in an episode before the bad. Mel --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/02

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RE: Re: [B7L] Re: Avon and child
by jacquispeel＠netscape.net 26 Jan '02

26 Jan '02

"Marian de Haan" <mariandehaan(a)chello.nl> wrote: >Jacqui wrote: >>Would Avon have anything against having said child fostered to a good home >until it was past the 'poking sticky fingers where it shouldn't' stage? >(Orac would second this idea no doubt).< > >He might decide to keep the child on Liberator just to annoy Orac (and >Tarrant) :-) > >Marian > 'You are a pilot Tarrant. #Surely# you can make a better paper plane?' 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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Hacks
by Dana Shilling 26 Jan '02

26 Jan '02

Of course, in RL the answer is "because they couldn't imagine desktop publishing" but...within the series' own terms, why did Avon need to buy visas in the first place? If he was so bloody clever, why couldn't he just create his own (or, more likely, hack the central computer to show that he and Anna already had visas)? -(Y)

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