From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #310 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume98/310 Precedence: list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se Reply-To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se ------------------------------ Content-Type: text/plain blakes7-d Digest Volume 98 : Issue 310 Today's Topics: Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. Re: [B7L] Avon the genius? Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... [B7L] ? Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... [B7L] Gilbert and Servalan [B7L] Travis has three faces [B7L] Re: High Council Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. [B7L] Re: High Council Restoration Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... [B7L] Avon the genius? [B7L] OT : Pat F and other Sydney ladies RE: [B7L] Travis has three faces Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... [B7L] B7L-Breakfast with Blake and Co ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 03:31:30 PST From: "Rob Clother" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. Message-ID: <19981216113130.9074.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Kathryn: >* Avon's probably a coffee person. The fourth series Avon is probably more of a pork pie person. -- Rob ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 06:51:31 EST From: AChevron@aol.com To: Tigerm1019@aol.com Cc: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Avon the genius? Message-ID: <9a5f70ce.36779ec3@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 12/15/98 2:14:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, Tigerm1019@aol.com writes: << This list would be boring if everyone agreed on everything. :-) >> Alas, I've failed in defending my icon! as you say however, it wouldn't be much fun if we all agreed. Especially on those rare instances when one side or another concedes to the opposition's viewpoint, as should happen on some issues. This topic, I agree, is not one of those that has a "right" answer to it. On to the next topic!!!:-) D. Rose ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 09:11:08 -0600 (CST) From: Susan.Moore@uni.edu To: BLAKES7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. Message-id: <01J5EETOYKC88WZMX0@uni.edu> In the ongoing discussion of what people would eat for breakfast: Servalan: Caviar (or something else expensive and not too fattening) or incompetent underlings Travis: Nails Avon: definitely a "coffee only" person Jenna: I agree with Judith, grapefruit Gan: Eggs, toast, broiled tomatoes, etc. Cally: Apparently nothing Vila: Beer and twinkies Vargas: The scenery All I can think of for now. Susan M. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 08:33:14 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Wed 16 Dec, Penny Dreadful wrote: > >Why is Travis so interested in Keera? > > I always saw that as a seriously inept come-on. A hostile, half-hearted > pick-up line. It's in keeping with my diagnosis of Travis' personality > disorder (I'm not a psychologist, but I *do* have a second-hand copy of > the "DSM-III-R Training Guide"). And I think after being "rejected" by > the poor thing his pointless refusal to let her drink Jenna's blood is > subconscious revenge. With a mutoid, a pick-up line would be irrelevent. They are conditioned to obey orders. If he'd wanted sex, he would just have had to command it. Thus, I think it was company he desired. Travis, like Blake, was dome bred (actually that's an assumption on my part - he might have been from a frontier world). How does the dome dweller cope with an outside environment? Travis had been a soldier and had obviously spent a lot of time out of doors, but night alone on a strange planet must always carry some fears. I agree with you that his refusal to let the mutoid drink Jenna's blood could well have had a subconscious revenge element. Why did Travis prefer mutoids? Was it simply because they were well trained and never questioned orders or was there more to it than that? I think he once claimed that he felt part mutoid himself because of his cybernetic arm, but I think there was a bit more to it than that. Was it more that he felt rejected by normal people and thus turned to mutoids because they weren't repelled by him? And that brings us onto the question of why he refused plastic surgery for his eye. What do you think his motives were there? I think it was a bit more complex than the reason he gave Servalan. Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 13:35:11 EST From: Tigerm1019@aol.com To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... Message-ID: Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-12-16 13:28:09 EST, Judith wrote: << Why did Travis prefer mutoids? Was it simply because they were well trained and never questioned orders or was there more to it than that? I think he once claimed that he felt part mutoid himself because of his cybernetic arm, but I think there was a bit more to it than that. Was it more that he felt rejected by normal people and thus turned to mutoids because they weren't repelled by him? >> Perhaps it was because he didn't consider them to be people the way he would a human crew and he could thus be more ruthless with their lives. Or perhaps he didn't have to worry about a mutoid crew mutiny the way he might have with a human crew. Rai did say in "Seek-Locate-Destroy" that many officers would refuse to serve with Travis. Tiger M ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 11:07:45 PST From: "Rob Clother" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] ? Message-ID: <19981216190746.24437.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Anyone got any theories on why the High Council was alive and kicking in "Rumours of Death", and yet it had to be "restored to power" later on, as reported in "Traitor"? Perhaps Servalan dissolved it after the coup, in retaliation for Sula's betrayal. -- Rob ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 11:55:59 PST From: "Penny Dreadful" To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... Message-ID: <19981216195600.858.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Judith said: >With a mutoid, a pick-up line would be irrelevent. They are conditioned to obey >orders. If he'd wanted sex, he would just have had to command it. I think it's more complicated than just "wanting sex". It's, um, wanting to get someone to want to have sex with one. Hmm. Otherwise the world of procreation would be much more straightforward than it is. >Why did Travis prefer mutoids? >Was it more that he felt rejected by normal people and thus turned to mutoids >because they weren't repelled by him? I think he felt isolated from, and (psychologically) threatened by, normal people even when he was physically "normal". I think he felt more empathy for the mental processes of mutoids than he did for those of normal people. >And that brings us onto the question of why he refused plastic surgery for his >eye. What do you think his motives were there? I think he perceived himself as a machine even before he got shot up, and was glad of a chance to overtly display this inhumanity. - Penny "I Feel Your Pain" Dreadful ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 19:23:31 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List cc: Space City Subject: [B7L] Gilbert and Servalan Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII I'm delighted to announce that Chris Blenkarn's opus, the Gilbert and Servalan Song Book is now available. This is a genzine and does not contain adult material. Space City members in particular will have seen many of Chris's hilarious Gilbert and Sullivan parodies this last year. Who could forget Servalan's version of 'For I'm called Little Buttercup' or Travis's 'I am a Renegade' to a tune that formerly belonged to the pirate king in Pirates of Penzance. Or Vila's Nightmare Song - When you still have the shakes from that last scheme of Blake's and you can't get to sleep for anxiety, You've consumed a relaxant, the effect's not apparant, you're still in a state of sobreity, Your nerves are all shot, the bedclothes they plot of your usual sweet dreams to deprive you, Your bedspread hits the floor, scatt'ring bottles galore and the sheet follows shortly from under you, - and gets wilder and wilder Avon jumps on a horse, drinking neat Worcester Sauce, followed up with a large whisky sour, Then you turn to find Blake, who is munching fruit cake and a plateful of cold cauliflower, He asks you to dine, but you have to decline for you're falling into a large cavern, Feeling somewhat unstable you grab a chess table in what seems a late maniac tavern, etc. If you know Gilbert and Sulliva's Savoy operas then you'll be rolling on the floor. If you don't know the original songs, then you'll still find these parodies funny, but you may find a sudden dertermination to go out and buy a CD of 'The Pirates of Penzance' or 'The Gondoliers'. The originals had great tunes as well as having some of the most delightfully improbable plots of all time. Speaking of improbable plots, this volume also contains the storyline for 'The Pirates of Gauda Prime' a tale of amazing deeds that introduces the Scorpio crew plus Blake, Cally, Servalan and Carnell in a PGP that shamelessly rips off the plot of The Gondoliers and coms out with something even more improbable. This book is A4 in size, has laminated card covers and wire binding and cartoons drawn by Michael Blenkarn. It's available from Judith Proctor, 28 Diprose Rd, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3QY, England for 5 pounds in the UK, 5.70 pounds to Europe, or $11 cash to the USA, 6.80 pounds to Australia. Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 19:35:28 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: [B7L] Travis has three faces Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit On Tue 15 Dec, Julie Horner wrote: > Judith said: > > >There's an interesting comment in 'Weapon' where Travis refers to his visits > >to the 'retraining therapist'. What's that about? Did it involve some kind of > >mental manipulation. On days when I'm treating the two Travisis as separate > >individuals (which I do occasionally for purposes of writing a story) then I > >assume that the 'retraining' was to make the second man believe that he was > >the first as this is the first episode in which Brian Croucher appears. The > >first Travis became unstable or died in a fight or accident (or Servalan had > >him killed). Brain prints are a given technology in Blake's 7, as is memory > >adjustment, so it woud not be impossible to create a second Travis. The fact > >that Servalan used the first Blake clone to test Travis is also indicative. > >Why test unless you have a reason to? And what was the involvement of the > >clonemasters? Did they create the second Travis as well as the Blake clones? > > That is a really interesting theory but surely if the clonemasters had > created the second Travis they would have made him look like the first (after > all they managed that with Blake) Also how would one explain the fact that > other characters knew that it was Travis? I was waiting for that question . I worked out a hypothesis that I'm rather fond of and developed it into a story a while back. Southern Comfort 9.5 'The Travis Affair' which is (as far as I know) the only Travis/Travis story in existence. Here's some (slightly censored) extracts that explain one possible theory as to why each Travis looked the way he did. The story opens during 'Aftermath' Avon stood over Servalan as she lay sprawled on Hal Mellanby's floor. "Imagination my only limit? I'd be dead in a week." "But you have to admit, it would be a fascinating week." He allowed himself to laugh, the smile spreading over his face. Servalan had style, you had to grant her that. She held out a hand, graciously permitting him to assist her from the floor. The seduction wasn't over yet: the opening negotiations had been concluded, their basic bargaining positions established; now the game began in earnest. Avon took the proffered hand, with the slightest mocking hint of a courtly bow. They had plenty of time until the Mellanbys returned from their foray against the Sarrans. Perhaps she would convince him to abandon Blake, perhaps she wouldn't, but the game, with its multiple overtones of power and sex, was worth playing for its own sake. "All you want is another Travis, just someone to follow your orders." "Not true." Her voice was low and throaty as she caressed his cheek with a long slender finger. "I need a man with a mind of his own, someone whose skills complement my own. Someone™" her eyes traversed his figure up and down, and then gazed directly into his own, "™ someone I find attractive." Avon tilted Servalan's chin up and kissed her ruthlessly. "Was that why you had him changed?" he inquired. "Changed? I can't imagine what you're talking about." He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. "Can't you?" Warm and firm, her body conveyed a message that had nothing to do with the spoken conversation. "The records of Travis' trial are conclusive. No one challenged his identity ™ the judicial computer confirmed both fingerprint and retina scan." Servalan's hands moulded themselves against him. "Don't you think we should continue this conversation elsewhere?" But Avon's curiosity had been piqued. "So, you had the records altered." "On the contrary," her smile was pure innocence, "the records were not only genuine, even men from his own unit identified him when they were called upon to give evidence." "You're telling me that the original Travis was the fake?" "Correct." "Then why..." His words petered out. "Ah!" "I knew you'd see it." Her hands worked on his black, silk shirt, opening it and caressing the warm skin inside. "That's why I need you. Working with slow minds is so tiresome." "You needed to get rid of the original Travis; he knew too much about your fiasco with Orac. But you didn't actually have the original Travis, only a man who thought he was Travis. To put him on public trial - it would have been too suspicious had he died suddenly ™ you needed the real thing. A clone then." "Exactly. The real Travis died in a space accident three days before he was due to take charge of the hunt for Blake. I needed him. His hatred and obsession for Blake gave him that extra edge. So, I made a new Travis." Which answered everything. The Federation were experts at memory manipulation. No doubt they'd taken what they could get from the dying man's mind and then topped it up with every detail possible from Travis' service record. Who their victim had been before the transformation didn't really matter. Avon found himself unable to care greatly about the man, although Blake would probably have found countless ironies in the situation. Blake, who had seen only the eyepatch that distinguished Travis so strongly, and never wondered about the man behind it. And what would Blake think now, if he could see Avon caressing Servalan? The thought was perversely delightful; thumbing his nose at Blake gave Avon a great sense of freedom. Travis' fate could wait for another day. Bending down, he scooped Servalan into his arms, and carried her into the bedroom. ----------------------------------- Explosions blossomed across the sky, strange exotic flowers that could never have grown on the surface of this world. Fen stood amongst the low clipped hedges of the formal garden and watched with the patience of the very old. Why the invaders had come to this galaxy she did not know, but the ancient compact that the clonemasters had relied on for five centuries was over - each falling shard arcing bright against the sky was another step closer to death. The Andromedans had no need of those whose skill lay in cloning human tissue. When one side could use a weapon and the other could not, the balance to be gained by protecting it was gone. They were old. They were all old. Perhaps it was right that their time should come. Another deadly flower exploded, sending crimson showers flaring bright against the stars. It might have been possible to seek shelter against the radiation, but she chose not to go; her world was passing and she would pass with it. The human race in all its genetic diversity would continue. Life would continue, and that was all that mattered. People who demanded her services never realised that cloning was ultimately a form of stagnation. It was not for man or woman to determine the ultimate form of humanity; such hubris sowed the seeds of its own downfall. The clonemasters had realised that long ago. Manipulate men solely to gain strength and you lost versatility. Breed for one feature and there was always a cost elsewhere. The Rule of Life said 'copy, but do not create' and there was wisdom in that rule. Natural selection was slow, but it was certain. She wondered idly, how many people realised that the ultimate purpose of the clonemasters had been to prevent cloning? Promise to clone soldiers for one side if the other developed cloning techniques, and you had the key to stagnation in the art. A fine balance, one dependent on politics as much as threat. Fen had been a master in the art of diplomacy. She knew that, and had no qualms regarding pride. Making the occasional clone had always been necessary for political reasons, both to bribe leaders and to remind others of her power. Somewhere out there were men that she had created. Somewhere, buried in the soil of the garden, beneath the carefully trained roses, there lay the bodies of men whom she had allowed to be destroyed. She felt a mild regret for the death of the first Blake clone, but he had been newly formed with no memories of his own. Had Travis ever realised that that clone had been made, not to test her accuracy in making Blakes, but to test his own reactions as a newly formed Travis? To make a clone who was unaware of his own nature was the harder art - the memory transfer had to be an exact and painstaking process. She had spared the original Travis by way of atonement for the death of the living Blake clone. The clone she had created of the first Travis had never come to wakening, but its dead body had been sufficient to convince Servalan of the man's death. Where was he now, the man to whom she had granted life in accordance with the Rule of Life? A new star burst directly overhead and she welcomed it with open arms even as the impact burst around her. The mysteries of this life were over, but she had faith in the next. ----------------------------- Travis laughed aloud as the ship flipped over in a tight loop. The sheer exhilaration of being in space again was worth any price. An alien ship flashed briefly into view and his co-pilot sent a short, sharp laser burst towards it. Twist and turn, the old skill hadn't deserted him yet. What did he care for the people in Krantor's corrupt empire? He hadn't volunteered for their sakes, but to be in space once more. The scanner showed a second ship moving to bracket him. A three second burn on the retros and he dropped back, evaded the trap, and headed low into the planet's gravity well. The Andromedans fought badly close to atmosphere, he'd already learnt that. Their ships might have been ideal for crossing deep space, but their total lack of aerodynamics gave them too much drag to manoeuvre well. Unheeding of his danger, the Andromedan pilot followed. Travis held his course, down, straight down, until the man beside him clenched at the arms of his seat in terror. Energy bolts streaked past them, fiery trails marking their passage. Only when the hull sensors showed a temperature approaching the safety maximum did he begin to pull his ship's nose up. A pursuit ship, he would have taken past the safety margin, but this aged blockade runner was twenty years out of date and in need of a good overhaul. The hull vibrated as the ship resisted the turn, the short stubby wings barely holding up under the strain. With the momentum gained from the dive, he sped upwards, twisting into another loop to come suddenly past the alien ship, allowing his partner to rake her flanks with laser bursts. Fire burst from the aft of the vessel, spreading in jagged tongues across her hull. Three seconds later, she exploded. Travis didn't wait for applause, not that there would have been any. There would be more of them out there. A tight orbit to lose any that were waiting for him to emerge, and then back into the fray. He hadn't had this much fun since... Since he'd met his counterpart. It had been the week after Christmas, shortly before Mardi Gras. Freedom City didn't operate by any normal calendar, it simply moved from one festival to another. The croupiers had all put away the red suits which seemed to be traditional for the season and were wearing what passed for their normal attire. Establishments around the rink were busy, but far from overflowing. He'd heard about Travis almost as soon as the man had landed. It would have been hard not to. Every third client passing through the brothel where he worked took pride in informing him that he had a twin brother hanging around Chenie's place: another man with an eyepatch and an artificial arm. And every one of them thought that the joke was original to him. He'd nearly broken the fifth man's arm. It would have been so easy to claim that he'd tried to leave without paying his girl, but then too many people roughed up were bad for business and it was a good job, he even got a free night with the girls when he wanted it. Once his duty shift ended at 2am, he'd gone to Chenie's to investigate for himself. The woman behind the bar was statuesque and blonde, not his type at all. She raised an eyebrow at him as he pounded a fist on the wood to attract her attention. "Don't say it," he growled. She tossed her head carelessly and looked him in the eye. "I wasn't going to." "Where is he?" "Travis?" The amount of contempt she managed to get into the word was amazing. "Why should I know?" He dropped a ten credit piece onto the counter, where it span and finally wobbled to a halt. She pocketed the coin disdainfully, dropping it into some hidden recess in her overfrilled costume. "He's a spacer, always after news of incoming ships. You'll likely find him at one of the spaceport flophouses; him and Kline." "Kline?" "Never heard of him." Impatient with her obvious play for more money, Travis snatched out with his left arm, grabbed a handfull of frills and pulled her up against the bar. "Tell me!" Her eyes bored into him, unintimidated. "I don't pay protection money for nothing. There'll be someone here in less than a minute if you don't let go." She was probably bluffing, but he almost respected her for the ploy. He released her abruptly and watched as she patted the low-cut shoulders of her dress back into position before deigning to pay him further attention. "Kline," he growled, showing her another coin. "He's a doctor, saved a lot of passengers when there was an explosion on the Bari. They always hang out together." A doctor. His mind flicked back to Mariott. That was when he'd first suspected something was wrong. Mariott had saved his life, but he'd felt nothing, nothing at all, not even when he knew that Mariott was dead. It was as if the man had never really existed for him. And of course, he hadn't. Mariott was a part of the false past they had given him, part of the memories to make him hate Blake. If he had Blake here, now, he'd kill him. Not because of the manipulation, he could fight that, but because Blake had broken through. Blake remembered. And Travis knew nothing of his real past. Fen had been unable or unwilling to help. "You must find your own life," she had said. He despised her for that. And the other Travis? If there was anyone he hated more than Blake, it was the man who had been given his identity, the Travis who had an identity. ------------------- The rest of the story isn't particulary germane to the theory, but it does give one possible motive why Travis contacted the Andromedans. Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 20:21:20 GMT From: mjsmith@tcd.ie (Murray) To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: High Council Message-Id: <199812162021.UAA08477@dux1.tcd.ie> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Dear Rob, I was very interested in your question concerning the Federation High Council: >Anyone got any theories on why the High Council was alive and kicking in >"Rumours of Death", and yet it had to be "restored to power" later on, >as reported in "Traitor"? > >Perhaps Servalan dissolved it after the coup, in retaliation for Sula's >betrayal. The problem with the High Council is that so much of it is speculation, we not being furnished with enough facts in the episodes. Was it a legislative body, independent of the President, or an executive body controlled by him? How does someone become a member of the High Council? By election or appointment by the President? If by election, it would very probably not be fair and free, if a large number of potential voters are on drugs. Once in office, how long could one stay there? For a fixed term, for life, or at the President's pleasure? Although there were individually strong councillors, such as Joban, we don't know where their authority came from. Whatever it was, the Council appeared to wield considerable authority, such that Servalan bothered rebelling against it as well as the President. Presumably she retained it, but made it into a more subservient body, if Chesku was anything to go by. Once she was ousted from power, a more independent High Council emerged. I presume this is what is meant by 'restored to power'. It is not necessary for Servalan to have dissolved it for this to happen. Also, I don't see what Sula's coup would have to do with this suggested action of Servalan; for the former was not a member of the High Council. Her husband was, but he took no part in the coup and was killed. Yours, Murray ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 10:55:07 -0800 From: Pat Patera To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. Message-ID: <3678020B.333E@geocities.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Several posters wrote: ha he ho (to which I add my own) > Servalan: incompetent underlings > > Travis: Blake's guts > > Avon: vinegar & lemon juice (most efficient way to set a day long scowl) > > Gan: Panchakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, hash browns, etc., etc., etc., etc. > > Cally: Apparently nothing :-D > > Vila: Beer and twinkies > Jenna: French crepes suzettes Tarrant: fruit loops Dayna: roasted rack of Sarran Soolin: ICEd tea and lemon TARTs ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 19:31:10 -0500 From: Cam MacLeod To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: High Council Restoration Message-ID: <367850CA.3DC551B3@ilap.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit My opinion is the old High Council (the one Servalan displaced in her coup) wasn't completely destroyed. Some managed to escape and hide, or maybe they even conformed to the new order ("Those members of the council who are unable to accept the reality of the situation are even now being arrested" - if you could accept the reality you were spared). A core number were biding their time until Servalan was weak enough for them to move against her. Seems to me that a group of well-organized former High Counsellors would be better positioned to create a rebellion against Servalan that Blake ever could, given their previous connections and resources. Hence Servalan's desperate gamble in Terminal to take the Liberator and rumours of her death in the "fighting" at Geddon. The old Council was indeed restored. Too bad Blake hadn't managed to get in on the inside action! Rob Clother wrote: > Anyone got any theories on why the High Council was alive and kicking in > "Rumours of Death", and yet it had to be "restored to power" later on, > as reported in "Traitor"? > > Perhaps Servalan dissolved it after the coup, in retaliation for Sula's > betrayal. > > -- Rob > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 19:11:24 -0500 From: Cam MacLeod To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... Message-ID: <36784C28.F268512@ilap.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Penny Dreadful wrote: > >Why is Travis so interested in Keera? > > I always saw that as a seriously inept come-on. A hostile, half-hearted > pick-up line. I never saw Travis' interest in Kiera's past life as a come-on or sexual at all. On the contrary to me it appears as deliberate cruelty, like a person going up to someone else with a disability or disfigurement and deliberately mocking it. But this makes Travis all the more real to me. He is disfigured and is bitter, so he lashes out cruelly at someone else who can't fight back. ------------------------------ Date: 16 Dec 1998 14:29:56 -0800 From: "Ma.James" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Avon the genius? Message-ID: GREETINGS FROM AVON'S ANGELS !!! (Southern California Branch) Courtney Buck Carol Kinkade Berta de Leon Jill Reinking Stephanie Bach Candace Suzanne Thoms & Shela Ma (who insists on being noted as ALSO adoring Tarrant) >Tiger M wrote: >Deborah, I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree on >this one. I'm willing to concede that Avon was a very smart man and >that he was very good in his areas of expertise, but despite all the >persuasive arguments that have been presented, I still wouldn't call >him a genius. This list would be boring if everyone agreed on >everything. :-) Avon is, of course, a genius in his field. It's just his bad luck that the writers didn't make this clear. But all the pre-production material clearly states that Avon is a computer genius -- it just wasn't reflected in the storylines as well as it should have been. However, I think that all his adaptions to the existing systems on Liberator AND his ability to learn and understand them in so short a time certainly qualifies him as "genius in his field." I admit he absolutely has no common sense, but then, most geniuses don't. :) But that (along with all his other flaws) is what makes Avon so endearing. >Sally Manton wrote: >And anyway, most of his creative energies went first into crime, >then into survival, sharpening his tongue, This is true...when all Avon ever really wanted was to be left alone to tinker and research and invent...and be rich. Poor baby...if he'd been able to accomplish that goal, then HE would have come up with some truely mind-boggling, amazing innovations. On the plus side, it's lucky he didn't...otherwise we wouldn't have been treated to all those years of Avon angst and A/B & A-B dynamics. >and his favourite hobby of annoying the hell out of everyone, especially >Blake. At which no one can deny he *was* a genius. Also, Avon would have made a better showing as a leader if the producer of season 3 (Vere Lorrimer?) hadn't decided the rebels needed to lose once in a while. He complained that in season 1 & 2 Blake and company always won in the end and made a fool of the Federation (Servalan) -- and he felt that wasn't realistic. What they really needed was Blake's leadership and fanaticism, tempered by Avon's logic and sarcasm. Add Tarrant's "gung ho" and piloting/tactical skills, and they MAY have had a chance. Carol K (AVON RULES!!!) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 17:52:00 +1100 (EST) From: Lisa Darby To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] OT : Pat F and other Sydney ladies Message-Id: <199812170652.RAA21901@anugpo.anu.edu.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Profuse type apologies for bringing this to the list yet again, I've just managed to delete my entire in-box and consequently the replies from Pat Fenech and the other two ladies that were interested in getting together in Sydney in January. Could you ladies please contact me again off list? I shall be unsubbing from both lists tomorrow as I am going on leave until the end of January but if you send me a direct email I should still get it as I will probably pop in every now and then and I shall certainly come in before I leave for Sydney to see if there are any messages. Otherwise if you don't mind an STD phone call my home number is (08) 89856502. Really looking forward to seeing you in January Lisa Lisa Darby Librarian North Australia Research Unit PO Box 41321 Casuarina NT 0811 Australia lisa.darby@anu.edu.au Ph : +61 8 89220031 Fax : +61 8 89220055 http://online.anu.edu.au/naru/welcome.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 09:44:13 +-100 From: Jacqueline Thijsen To: Lysator List Subject: RE: [B7L] Travis has three faces Message-ID: <01BE29A1.D1EE9560@nl-arn-lap0063> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit In a great story, Judith wrote: >Blake, who had seen only the eyepatch >that distinguished Travis so strongly, and never wondered about the >man behind it. I'm sorry, Judith, but this is a weak part in your otherwise beautiful story. Blake is the one who shot Travis up so that the eyepatch had to be put there. The next time he sees a Travis, it is (according to your story) already the fake Travis. The eyepatch would be just as new to Blake as the rest of the face, and would therefore not cause him to mix up the fake Travis with the real one. Jacqueline ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 21:00:11 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Wed 16 Dec, Tigerm1019@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 98-12-16 13:28:09 EST, Judith wrote: > > << Why did Travis prefer mutoids? Was it simply because they were well > trained and > never questioned orders or was there more to it than that? I think he once > claimed that he felt part mutoid himself because of his cybernetic arm, but I > think there was a bit more to it than that. > > Was it more that he felt rejected by normal people and thus turned to mutoids > because they weren't repelled by him? > >> > > Perhaps it was because he didn't consider them to be people the way he would a > human crew and he could thus be more ruthless with their lives. Or perhaps he > didn't have to worry about a mutoid crew mutiny the way he might have with a > human crew. Rai did say in "Seek-Locate-Destroy" that many officers would > refuse to serve with Travis. Certainly Jarvik had that view of mutoids, prefering not to lose human beings in actions. Travis didn't come over to me as being the same in that regard though. I agree with you that the impossibility of mutoids mutinying may have been a factor. I hadn't thought about it with regard to humans possibly being unwilling to serve with him. That's a good point. Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 18:17:10 -0000 From: "Debra Collard" To: "B7L" Subject: [B7L] B7L-Breakfast with Blake and Co Message-ID: <000401be29e9$b341b820$6210883e@whisson1globalnet.co.uk> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0004_01BE29E9.7664F840" This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0004_01BE29E9.7664F840 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On 15th Dec Kathryn Andersen asked what we thought each of the = characters would eat for breakfast. I thought that Vila would eat anything he could scrounge from the others = to save getting it for himself. Debbie ------=_NextPart_000_0004_01BE29E9.7664F840 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
On 15th Dec Kathryn Andersen asked = what we=20 thought each of the characters would eat for breakfast.
 
I thought that Vila would eat = anything he could=20 scrounge from the others to save getting it for himself.
 
Debbie
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