Natasa wrote:
Marian wrote:
That seems unlikely as the countdown was still at fifty and didn't go that
fast. But it would be an argument for letting Vila teleport up immediately, so he couldn't clog the system later. It seems to be a good argument for having Blake teleport up also, to leave the system free for Avon and Grant when they would need it :-)<<
from 'Why Blake Stayed on Albian', an essay by Sondra Sweigman:
< quotation partly snipped>
By staying Blake ensured that the teleport would not
be in use (transporting Vila and/or himself back to the ship) when Avon needed it. Since that "need" could have become very urgent indeed and it takes time to reconfigure the teleport coordinates,<
Not if they could lock on to the bracelets.
Blake's decision was actually a highly pragmatic one. An argument has
been made that the teleport coordinates don't need to be reconfigured for pick-up, only for put-down. While there are episodes which seem to support that contention, it was never explicitly stated on the show, and inconsistences of that sort are abundant in B7. Within the context of the episode COUNTDOWN itself, it seems clear that Blake stayed in order to give Avon and Grant first call on the teleport -- whether that involved time for resetting coordinates or simply the delay involved in making two sequential pick-ups.'<
This essay may be found on Judith's site. It's probably the best
explanation I could think of.<
Sorry, but it doesn't convince me. I maintain that the best way to prevent clogging up the teleport when it was needed in an emergency, was for Blake and Vila to teleport up *in time*. To me Blake's decision to stay seems a hollow gesture. That's his choice, but he shouldn't have forced Vila to stay. Just IMHO, of course. And I'm always happy to agree to disagree :-)
Marian