Posting mainly to get this off my chest, and in case anyone's still interested. Anyone who wants to can cc this to Annie, as she won't get it.
Annie said:
In a message dated 3/7/01 1:58:09 PM Eastern Standard Time, wilsonfisk2@yahoo.com writes:
<< Hang on. In the space of a few days you've gone from arguing that the intentions of the authors/actors are irrelevant (dead author theory) or at the very least concurring with the views of those who do, to demanding I provide evidence that the cast/crew didn't intend it?>>>
I made no such demand, because, as you've pointed out, I don't really give
a
fig what the "intent" of any of those people was. I see the show as I see
it.
I was responding to your contention that you seemed to somehow "know" that intent.
I'd assume that Kingpin has read the same magazines that the rest of us have, some of which do tell us what the author's intent was. From the horse's mouth, usually. But if you don't care what the intent of the author, etc., was, why bring it up at all?
<<< Very well. Paul Darrow's attitude to slash is well known, and has caused the poor man no end of trouble with those who just won't let it go. Chris Boucher has rubbished the idea publically and Gareth Thomas doesn't think that Blake and Avon were lovers. They have all said that they never intended such an interpretaion to be taken from thier text. OK? >>
No, not okay. As I very succinctly pointed out, unless you know the intent
of
the director (of every episode), the actors, the editors, and every single writer, you can't speak for what the "intent" of the show was.
Oh, now, to quote Neil Faulkner, you're just talking bollocks here. You evidently have no idea how a television programme is put together.
Firstly, if you argue that the intent of every director/writer/whatever was different, then the argument that Avon was gay falls apart completely, because then you can't argue for a single unified thread throughout the programme, and you have to take every single episode totally without reference to any other.
Secondly, the presence of many contributors makes for a unified vision. If, to take a hypothetical example, a single director said "I want Avon to play this as if he was Norwegian," then Paul Darrow would say "hang about, nobody told _me_ Avon was Norwegian, and I haven't played him as Norwegian at all before in the series." Chris Boucher, as script editor, would say to the director, "Look, stop insisting on the funny accent, the script does not indicate that Avon is Norwegian and anyway that contradicts the previous episodes." If it's early enough in the series, Terry Nation might weigh in and say "I created the character and the character is not Norwegian." The producer, David Maloney, would say to the director, "you're sacked." Etc.
What you get on a TV show is a system of checks and balances; a team of people all working towards the same end. If one member of the team starts to deviate from this end, the others usually bring him back to it. Therefore there is no need to know what _all_ the production people, actors etc. think to know what the intent of the series was.
And, FWIW, most if not all of the directors, writers, script editors, effects people etc. have been interviewed at one point or another in connection with the series. None of them that I know of (if you know otherwise, please tell me) have said that Blake and/or Avon were meant to be gay or bi. Not insignificant.
A television
show is not the work of any single individual. It is the work and effort
of
many, including many behind-the-scenes crew that I didn't even mention.
The
end result is often (perhaps even usually) quite different that what the writer originally envisioned.
A script is admittedly the skeleton which is fleshed out by other people involved. However, if a script suggested something as far out of line with the rest of the series' creators' intent as, say, that Avon and Blake were gay, then it would either be heavily altered or rejected outright by the script editor. As for your suggestion that the scene-shifters, costume designers etc. are the people behind the intention of the series... well, that's so ludicrous as to defy belief. "Avon and Blake were gay-- the tea-lady says so!" Honestly.
I would be very interested, btw, to know the "no end of trouble" that
Paul
Darrow has experienced from the existence of slash stories and fanzines, other than the trouble he has made for himself. For instance, have slash
B7
fanzines stopped Paul Darrow from getting further jobs in the acting community? Have they caused him to be recognized on the street as a homosexual? In what way have they impacted his day to day life, especially since they depict a character he played over 20 years ago on a TV show?
While I think it's a bit low to bring the actors into it, it is on record that the knowledge that his character is depicted in slash fiction, and particularly explicit artwork, has caused Mr Darrow and his wife considerable emotional distress. Isn't this "no end of trouble?" Isn't this something that impacts on his life?
Anyway, the show has been repeated since (most recently, last year on BBC2) and Mr Darrow does attend conventions full of people who _do_ care about the character he played 20 years ago. The presence of slash in this community impacts on Mr Darrow's life every time he attends a convention. Whether or not it has affected his career, only he can say.
Shane
"Avon, you were my only friend..." --Blake