--- Sally Manton wrote:
Thinking about some of my favourite politicians (I believe there's an elecion going on in the UK at the minute? Hands up anyone who'd be tempted to vote for Secretary Rontane :-)), I'm wondering what other people's mental picture of the Federation's ruling group is. We have very little to go by (as usual), but what we have is rather fascinating: Bercol and Rontane and their scheming, Joban (one of the good things about Voice from the Past - wonder if he survived Servie's coup?)
A pedant writes: er, actually it was Hostage... My money is on Joban surviving and being part of the counter coup that overthrew Servalan (assuming that he wasn't Ardus)
and the bit of information he gives us about Servalan's appointment. Then there's Chesku and Anna ... and would anyone agree with me that the Chairman in Shadow *might* also be a member of the President's clique?
I rather like the idea of Servalan purging the old regime but losing her nerve when it comes to the head of the Terra Nostra. Dastor: With respect Madam, *no-one* purges the Terra Nostra.
(And that Durkim followed Servalan's breif triumph to become part of *her* court?)
If there was any justice in the world...Oh I suppose not. Actually I suspect that Durkim would have gone as he knew the truth about that transmission from the Liberator. The official line would probably have been:
Blake, in collusion with the renegade Travis, today shut down the Federation's defences and let in an Andromedan attack....I can't see Servalan letting Blake claim to be saviour of the galaxy and she'd have to explain the presence of the Liberator on the front line somehow.
The amount of scheming and backstabbing that goes on is very Roman to me (as in I Claudius, most of whose characters would fit beeeutifully into Servalan's world IMO)
Oh yes....Brian Blessed can act, now why didn't he do that in Cygnus Alpha. Livia (as has been suggested) as a cleverer version of Servalan. Or Servalan as Sejanus in drag ? Jarriere as Claudius anyone ?
For the Avon fans - I know there's a few of us around - just what *is* it about him that you find makes him that much more interesting? (And no fair pointing to the leather :-))
He gets the best lines for one thing :) I like the moral ambiguity that hovers around him. I didn't like season 4 Avon, mainly because he was much less interesting. I prefered the idea of someone who was essentially amoral but kept finding himself doing the right thing anyway. (As far as leather is concerned I always preferred Jenna :))
Stephen.
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