From: Steve Rogerson steve.rogerson@mcr1.poptel.org.uk

I agree almost totally with Fiona's comments on the radio shows,

Thank you :).

however, being badly written and acted does not influence whether they are canon or not,

This is true, but my opinion wasn't particularly based on bad writing or acting :). It does have to be said, however, that for something to be accepted as canon, the overall quality should match up with the original. "Bad" stories within the series itself are nonetheless better described as variable; I regard Voice from the Past as having an incredibly poor script and a laughable costume for Travis (sorry, Harriet-- no offense meant), but still it is filmed on the same set as other episodes within that series; it uses the design conventions of the show as a whole; and the actors (whatever one may feel about their abilities) are all accredited and trained proffessionals. Had "Voice from the Past" been filmed using a Handycam [forgive the anachronism] in a parking lot using the producer's mates in the supporting roles (while Countdown and Gambit are filmed in the manner we recall from the series), then one could make a case for excluding it from canon, even within the series. In terms of their imagery (marketplaces and purple robots), quality (doubling up the actors as extras) and general production values, the plays do not match up with the rest of the series.

Furthermore, there is the point of outright contradiction. Discontinuity is one thing--arguably, it is no more ridiculous for the Federation troopers to develop a nickname unused before or since, or Avon to develop a seedy past, than for Dayna to suddenly play the harp for a single episode only. However, if a story were to be written, set between "Stardrive" and "Animals," in which Dayna dies, it would be impossible to claim it as canon; the same would hold true for a first-series story in which the Federation had teleports in all their ships, or in which Travis receives a genetically-engineered replacement hand. In the plays, not only is the sudden physical transformation of Dayna and Soolin (to say nothing of Avon becoming a Hercules) for two stories only completely inexplicable, but the Scorpio suddenly develops the capacity to go into hyperspace. So what? you say. Perhaps they never had occasion to use it elsewhere in series 4. Possibly, but it would have come in fairly useful in a number of episodes, and it is therefore surprising that it remains unused. In short, discontinuity is one thing, but flat contradiction of what comes afterwards is another.

There is also the point that simply because something is produced by the BBC, it is not therefore canon. In the case of Doctor Who, for instance, the original series was produced by the BBC, as was a spinoff story. These are generally accepted as canon. However, there are also a number of spoofs, parodies and sendups, ranging from "Curse of the Fatal Death" through to sketches by Lenny Henry and the League of Gentlemen. These were also produced by the BBC, and yet anybody attempting to claim them as canon would be laughed off the stage. Similarly, were Victoria Wood or French and Saunders to do a B7 sketch, I doubt anybody would particularly regard it as canon, simply because it was produced by the BBC. Perhaps the radio plays are simply a pair of parodies :)?

Finally, it's a minor point, but several of the principal actors involved in the production, not to mention several of the people involved in the production of the original series-- including Vere Lorrimer, producer on the fourth series and therefore probably the best placed to comment, have all criticised the Letts/Lighthill radio plays with greater and lesser degrees of politeness. Inasmuch as their opinion counts for anything, the radio plays are best forgotten.

The discussion at Redemption asked the question if the radio plays were

canon or

bull. A clear majority regarded them as both, in other words they were

canon

despite not being very good and having a number of flaws and

discontinuities.

I'm still interested to know what was said to make them canon, other than their being made by the BBC (see above for why this need not count).

Fiona

The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Utterly noncanonical at http://nyder.r67.net

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