On Sat, 3 Mar 2001 Sestina94@aol.com wrote:
Really, I've always felt that they took the easy way out by marking Blake so strongly as a fanatic by the time Pressure Point and Star One rolls around, Then, B7 as a popular show on the BBC, couldn't possibly be considered "political" in the sense of condoning so-called "terrorist" actions against the British State. In raising the gray area of Blake's commitment and fanaticism, I think Nation and Boucher were trying very hard to make viewers NOT read the Terran Federation as a metaphor of 20th Century British Society -- for to do so would implicitly condone and legitimate the actions of those so-called "terroristic" groups who were in armed struggle against it. Hence, I think we get a pronounced marking of Blake's ego investment in the cause in the ep "Pressure Point" where he says "we did it; I did it" (So much for collectivity here) as well as his similar remark to Cally in "Star One" where he says that not to blow up Star One would then mean that everything he's done was just meaningless acts of terrorism. (Again, I think he speaks in terms of I and not we)
I don't think it's a cop-out at all. Rather, I think it's a focus on drama rather than politics.
Cranking up Blake's fanaticism is dramtically interesting, and attacks the conventions of the action-adventure genre. His increasingly self-centred justifications may be unsatisfying from a revolutionary politics point of view, but they give us convincing insights into what drives this character.
I think both Chris Boucher and Gareth Thomas were interested in getting the show away from the cosy conventions about white and black hats -- conventions which Terry Nation didn't particularly question.
And, well, the truth of the matter is, Blake doesn't blow up Star One -- he leaves it intact so as to help the forces of humanity fight off the Andromedan invasion.
This is the big decision point for Blake. As in all drama, it's when a character is faced with an acute dilemma that we find out about him by the choice he makes.
Iain