Stephen wrote:
--- Natasa wrote:
Another naive detail in the series, IMO, is that the rebellion's leaders all get on so well. From the very beginning, the whole anti-Federation movement is so harmonious:
The exception being the crew of the Liberator of course !
Yes, it has often occured to me that Blake's idealism wouldn't stand out so much if he weren't surrounded by such 'untypical' rebels. In the galaxy which must be full of discontent with the Federation government and millions of angry, deprived citizens who would be more than willing to help Blake in his fight, he somehow ends up with a small group of eccentrics who don't give a monkey's about changing the world.
Blake never has to worry about the morality of his allies torturing Federation prisoners or blowing up civilians.
Whereas this happens quite often in fanfic. Fanfic writers seem to have a taste for positing moral dilemmas and depicting the rebellion in shades of gray.
In fact he has to do a deal with an organised crime syndicate to encounter morally dubious individuals.
It seems we primarily have to thank Boucher for introducing such individuals - and also for making Blake himself morally dubious. Blake's 'transformation' designed by Boucher starts with 'Shadow'. Someone on the Lyst suggested the name of the episode, apart from the drug, also alludes to the Terra Nostra being the Federation's 'shadow'. I think it's also because Boucher has decided to turn Blake into a 'dusky' hero, past his zenith of perfection and moral purity, whose shadow starts becoming visible. The next step in the transformation is Star One, with those weird scenes in which Blake's so successful in pretending he's Travis. Blake wants to destroy Star One. Travis wants to enable the Andromedans to do the same. As Avon would say, there must be a subtle difference which escapes me at the moment. And then there's 'Blake', where Our Hero appears as an unshaven one-eyed bounty hunter who shoots people in the back. I wonder what would have become of Blake in Boucher's interpretation had the series continued. I try hard to incorporate the changes he introduced into the character, but sometimes I give up. In my hours of darkness I've concluded that Boucher is really a Federation's secret agent assigned to destroy Blake's reputation.
N.
--- Natasa wrote:
It seems we primarily have to thank Boucher for introducing such individuals
- and also for making Blake himself morally dubious.
Blake's 'transformation' designed by Boucher starts with 'Shadow'. Someone on the Lyst suggested the name of the episode, apart from the drug, also alludes to the Terra Nostra being the Federation's 'shadow'.
<bows modestly>
I think it's also because Boucher has decided to turn Blake into a 'dusky' hero, past his zenith of perfection and moral purity, whose shadow starts becoming visible.
Neat. I hadn't thought of that. Of course part of that transformation involves Blake's actions paralleling (shadowing ?) those of the Federation. The episode's denoument with the revelation that the Federation control the evil drug trade absolves Blake from the fact that he was planning to do exactly the same.
The next step in the transformation is Star One, with those weird scenes in which Blake's so successful in pretending he's Travis.
Of course, on one level they show the alienness of the aliens who are taken in by Blake because they don't really understand human beings. But the two interpretations aren't mutually exclusive. On one level Blake and Travis are polar opposites. On the other they have a great deal in common.
Blake wants to destroy Star One. Travis wants to enable the Andromedans to do the same. As Avon would say, there must be a subtle difference which escapes me at the moment. And then there's 'Blake', where Our Hero appears as an unshaven one-eyed bounty hunter who shoots people in the back. I wonder what would have become of Blake in Boucher's interpretation had the series continued. I try hard to incorporate the changes he introduced into the character, but sometimes I give up. In my hours of darkness I've concluded that Boucher is really a Federation's secret agent assigned to destroy Blake's reputation.
I think that Blake's darker side had been hinted at earlier in Mission to Destiny, Breakdown and Bounty for example. I think that Blake was always capable of shooting people in the back. What I think is different about Boucher's portrayal is that he is more interested the ambiguities in Blake's character. So in Trial he takes more effort to make Travis seem sympathetic. In Star One he shows air traffic and weather control being disrupted as opposed to, say, the Federation military. I think Boucher is more detached from Blake. Nation's Blake is a bit like the wartime view of Churchill - shown fighting for freedom in a heroic light. Boucher's version is more like Churchill as shown by modern historians - yes he was a good guy but he could be ruthless, nasty and just plain wrong on occasions. So I think that Boucher is a revisionist, subverting the orthodox view, rather than a propagandist seeking to replace it with a dark legend.
Stephen.
____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie
-
Natasa Tucev -
Stephen Date