Stephen wrote: <What about Bek ? Or Zil, who risks her life to protect a child ? Or Norl in City ? Klyn ? Deva ? Hob ? None of us is wholly good (he said in an uncharacteristic outbreak of Augustinian theology) but I think that none of the characters I've cited were exactly card carrying members of the dark side.>

Oh. Um. I'll grant you Deva (I like Deva, I love Deva's interaction with Blake and I'd adore seeing how Blake's two computer experts got on :-))

The rest I'd call the 'middling' rather than the bad: Bek probably more in my own mind than from what he does (which - apart from his determination to protect his own - isn't really good or bad); Zil's more instinctive, a mother animal rather than an actual moral creature; Norl may have a good purpose, but his methods of getting what he wants from Tarrant and Vila are pretty unedifying; Klyn is a receptionist in a vigilante police base, and doesn't really show any leaning towards good or bad; Hob is a rather less than impressive rebel who seems unable to say no to either his corpse-kicking men or to Sula. None of them come under the heading of 'essentially good' (which of course is very different from *wholly* good) at least, not for me :-)

I admit freely, I haven't seen any of Star Cops and don't recall much, good, bad or ambiguous about Leela in Dr Who (hi, Louise, I did read your post :-)) so was talking about Boucher in his role as B7 writer *only.* I defer on those to anyone who has seen them ...

<I think Boucher casts her as the conscience of the group so she gets to ask all the awkward questions like "have we the right to cause all these deaths" and "who died and made Avon the Angel of Retribution".>

I actually agree with this, but am still firmly of the opinion that she only got lumbered with it because *someone* had to after they lost David Jackson (Jan Chappell is a far better actor - in fact, I'd place her among the best, *the* very best of the female cast - but couldn't do unaffected moral certainty like he could); she was chosen because the other three were out of the question (Vila with a attack of the High Moral Ground would be rather fun, though), and she kept it because the new two would be no better. But it does come over to me as affected (as it also does in Breakdown) and a tad superior. Which brings us to ...

<I think you once pointed out we were all issued with slightly different versions of the tapes.>

True; I really don't *insist* that everyone agree that I Am Right - at least not all the time :-).

<One of the few bits I dislike about Deathwatch is that Tarrant who has stabbed a man in the back in Powerplay suddenly gets qualms about shooting a robot in the back in Deathwatch.>

Yep, that's annoying all right.

Me: <And the only member of the crew he *invented* was a woman who killed for money and didn't show any positive human qualities till near the end of the series.>

and Stephen: < If Boucher is God then I can only suggest that his followers hunt down all copies of that statement and burn it in order that his imperfections be not exposed to the profane gaze of the heathen ! As far as Soolin's concerned she's the one who objects to Avon using Dayna and Vila as bait in Stardrive and IMO comes across as being quite sympathetic in Headhunter, sympathises with Neebrox in Assassin and objects to Keillers cold blooded murder in Gold.>

<grin> I don't recall that she objected *very* strenuously in Stardrive (will also admit, I only watch it when I absolutely have to). Assassin and Gold are towards the end of the series (and I tend to lump Headhunter in with them too; there seems to me to be a natural break between the episodes up to Animals and those afterwards - mostly, I will concede, because Solin starts showing real character [she'd have been great in S5, IMO] and Avon begins to thaw out after the trauma-driven deep freeze of the post-Terminal period). And incidentally, Soolin can't talk in Gold IMO - she's the chief gunhand in a plan that involves - as far as they know - pure murder for gain (Gold is a fast, exciting, and very pretty episode, which tends to obscure that little fact).

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