Thanks Betty, you've summed up quite succinctly for me. This is why my initial reaction was for Dr Plaxton, but then you realise you're in the morally grey area once you follow the argument through to it's natural conclusion. I wonder too, as an audience we're accustomed or conditioned to "accept" certain types of death...or expect some types of characters to die. galaxy quest with tim allen does that with an extra who reappears. (Throughout the movie the guy was paranoid he was going to die at any instant becuase of his type cast.)It was a parody on star trek extras who're killed off. Often as security team members in red shirts who beam down to the planet with away teams, especially in the Captain Kirk episodes...and then get zapped into oblivion. The audience is not concerned becuase if anyone was going to be zapped, it's that guy at the back i've never seen before who clearly has no influence on my enjoyment of watching the unfolding episode. In fact his or her continual survival might irritate my enjoyment of the unfolding episode.

B7 does this with the "security grades" if you like. The guards on shadow were masked(a few look a little podgy - not that this the reason for their demise.) we have no connection with them. Like the guards on Gold. They were canon fodder for someone like Soolin. we have no relationship with them and their dying doesn't disrupt our moral enjoyment. Yet in B7 it's not always so clear cut. Which is what makes it so interesting. One of the first things Avon does when he gets freedom and discovers the guns on board Liberator is point one at Blake. The Gold episode again when avon explains to Keeler that they were together for mutual convenience. '...if I tried to cross them, I would imagine they'd try to kill me.' there is this constant struggle to rationalise and justify action or point of view in a morally diverse universe where extremes are both tolerated and rejected at the same time.

In a way I feel Avon killing Blake is kind of fitting. Avon achieved what the entire resources of the federation failed to do. His own chasing of Blake ended up getting himself and Blake killed, like Travis. It has a perverse kind of irony don't you think. nathan.

'Dudu' said nothing, as/Her talants were of the more silent class.'Byron.

'Dudu' said nothing, as/Her talants were of the more silent class.'Byron.

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