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.