From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V99 #301 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume99/301 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 99 : Issue 301 Today's Topics: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Re: [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" [B7L] Neglecting Gan. Re: [B7L] Neglecting Gan. Re: [B7L] Fandom... online vs in person Re: [B7L] Re: b7spin: spin airlines [B7L] Re: squash ladder Re: [B7L] Wonderland Re: [B7L] Fandom... online vs in person Re: [B7L] Re: squash ladder [B7L] Sales figures for the tapes Re: [B7L] Minor inconsistencies. [B7L] Minor inconsistencies. [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" [B7L] Animals for pole position ? [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Re: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! [B7L] avatars and suchlike [B7L] Re: Avatars away! [B7L] off-topic Spaced Re: [B7L] avatars and suchlike Re: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Re: [B7L] off-topic Spaced Re: [B7L] Minor inconsistencies. [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" [B7L] Neglecting Gan. [B7L] Squash Ladder Re: [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" Re: [B7L] off-topic Spaced Re: [B7L] avatars and suchlike ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 09:38:31 -0500 From: Reuben Herfindahl To: "'blakes7@lysator.liu.se'" Subject: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Message-ID: <16D5E9ABE65ED311A6DA00A0C9DD630D0133C3@STPNT4> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >Finally acquired a copy of John M Ford's "How Much For Just The Planet?" > >How the hell did he get away with *that*? >-- >Julia Jones It's been a long time. What's the avatar reference in it? Reuben Herfindahl reuben@reuben.net http://www.reuben.net/blake/ P.S. They did just reprint this so it should be readily available again. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 15:43:29 +0100 From: "Una McCormack" To: Subject: Re: [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" Message-ID: <006801bf1c9b$d10ea610$0d01a8c0@hedge> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Rob said: > >In this house, 'mechanics of power' = 'Una sez'. It's a simple rule, and > >you'll get to like it once you've tried it out ;) > > > I see. I *will* get to like it. Whether I like it or not. > > Good system! Halfway there already, Rob. Doesn't it feel just fine? Una ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 19:07:16 +0300 (EET DST) From: Kai V Karmanheimo To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Neglecting Gan. Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Hello The fact that we learn Gan's first name as late as "Bounty" while everyone else gets a formal introduction in the first episode s/he appears just goes to show how neglected Gan is when it comes to developing and rounding out a character. After revealing the limiter and the reason why it's there in "Time Squad", Nation seems to lose interest in Gan and he often ends up just hovering about in the background, a strong, silent figure only needed for the occasional physical task or plot device. Even in "Breakdown", an episode which basically revolves around him, Gan is mostly confined to being a passive object, an unconscious lump of meat for others to prod and ponder over. Between "Deliverance" and "Pressure Point" the writers often seem to be at a loss what to do with him, so that directors have to throw in fight scenes just to give him something to do. Tellingly, Gan's departure from the series is really the only time one of the crew is removed rather than replaced. Dayna is another character who is left rather sketchy, but at least she has an active role in most episodes she appears in. Too often Gan seems like just another set piece. Even a stereotypical mad henchman like Travis has more character depth than Gan. A shame, really. Blake and Avon dominate the series during the first two seasons, their towering egos often eclipsing everything around them. As interesting and complex characters as they are, it's usually nicer to see the whole group's synergy exploited or other characters given some room to manoeuvre. For example, I always like it when Vila gets, if only for a moment, to do more than just providing comic relief and absorbing verbal abuse like a human sponge (it's usually those brief bursts of back-against-the-wall determination like in "Breakdown", "Bounty" and "Volcano", or getting an occasional last word over Avon, as in "Killer"). Kai Karmanheimo ------------------------------ Date: 22 Oct 1999 18:13:01 +0200 From: Calle Dybedahl To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Neglecting Gan. Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >>>>> "Kai" == Kai V Karmanheimo writes: > The fact that we learn Gan's first name as late as "Bounty" Er, no. As Neil pointed out, we learn it in "Time Squad". But it is slightly interesting to note that we hear his full name exactly twice, both times from Zen. "Olag" might be a title, not a name. -- Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-177 52 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se "Then I dream of a world where idiots are hunted like wild pigs" -- Stephen Edwards, scary.devil.monastery ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 07:32:52 +0100 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "b7" Subject: Re: [B7L] Fandom... online vs in person Message-ID: <000601bf1cb1$817e7240$7214ac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Una wrote: >Neil wrote: > >> Una wrote: >> >I want to be a March Hare. >> >> You'll need a sex change first. >> Still keen? > >Well, do you have any better offers? Hmm, let's see ... Una ... small ... spikey ... vicious ... Have you ever considered becoming a water shrew? Neil ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 13:00:12 +1000 From: Kathryn Andersen To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: b7spin: spin airlines Message-ID: <19991022130012.A17309@welkin.apana.org.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Ooops! Wrong list! Sorryyyyy! -- _--_|\ | Kathryn Andersen / \ | http://home.connexus.net.au/~kat \_.--.*/ | #include "standard/disclaimer.h" v | ------------| Melbourne -> Victoria -> Australia -> Southern Hemisphere Maranatha! | -> Earth -> Sol -> Milky Way Galaxy -> Universe ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 18:27:20 +0100 From: Steve Rogerson To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: squash ladder Message-ID: <38109E78.E1909E44@mcr1.poptel.org.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Apart from seconding Una's proposal to put Animals above Blake, I'd like to propose Mission to Destiny goes above Harvest. Mission was a jolly good detective story and Avon's comment after htting Sara was priceless. Harvest on the other hand was silly. Brian couldn't catch a fly let alone be a serious threat. And as to the lunar module... -- cheers Steve Rogerson http://homepages.poptel.org.uk/steve.rogerson Be inconsistent, but not all the time ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 18:45:36 +0100 From: Nicola Collie To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Wonderland Message-Id: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I helpfully said: >> (Geographical note - March and Ely are towns near Cambridge.) and Una said: >Showing us up as playing possibly the most tragic game currently on the >Lyst. Tragic? Ain't no tragedy around here! oh, except the continuing sto-o-o-ory of a bunch of motley rebels, I suppose, but that's getting dangerously on topic. Who wants to be the Bury St Edmonds Badger? Or the Stow Cum Quy Stoat? This country makes me giggle sometimes ;) Nicola ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 19:09:39 +0100 From: "Una McCormack" To: "b7" Subject: Re: [B7L] Fandom... online vs in person Message-ID: <014501bf1cb8$a08fc4c0$0d01a8c0@hedge> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Neil braved: > Una wrote: > > >Well, do you have any better offers? > > Hmm, let's see ... Una ... small ... spikey ... vicious ... > > Have you ever considered becoming a water shrew? I'd advise being a bloody hedgehog next time you see me, Neil. Una ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 19:08:33 +0100 From: "Una McCormack" To: Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: squash ladder Message-ID: <014401bf1cb8$a0510e10$0d01a8c0@hedge> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Steve wrote: > Apart from seconding Una's proposal to put Animals above Blake What are you after, Rogerson? Una ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 20:04:19 +0100 From: "Una McCormack" To: "lysator" Subject: [B7L] Sales figures for the tapes Message-ID: <016301bf1cc0$4465bd00$0d01a8c0@hedge> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Someone, I recall, was wondering what the sales figures for the BBC tapes were: The Sevenfold Crown: 12,000 The Syndeton Experiment: 3,500 No surprise the BBC aren't making any more! Una ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 22:46:31 +0100 From: "Andrew Ellis" To: "b7" Subject: Re: [B7L] Minor inconsistencies. Message-ID: <015001bf1cda$b43fedc0$2b2c63c3@leanet.futures.bt.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >Judith wrote: >>eg. Newton was not the only person to independently invent calculus. to which Neil said, >I thought it was logarithms rather than calculus but that's beside the >point. I don't know about logarithms, but Newton needed calculus to do gravity, was not aware of anybody else's work and so had to develop it himself. (or so the story goes). Neil also said... > Simultaneous inventions like these tend to be made by two people >working in the same intellectual circles. They might not know each other >personally, but they're working from the same starting point, have access to >the same references, share the same currents of thought flowing through the >scientific community. and sometimes the person credited with doing something first hides the fact that somebody else actually did it first (one of my soap box's). Some people are techno theives (Avon ?). and Neil said > >The System, OTOH, has been estranged from the rest of humanity for quite >some period of time (probably nearer centuries rather than decades?) possibly centuries, that fits the Earth origin view better, but only a few since we know from Killer that 400 years ago we had slower than light travel. Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 22:28:21 +0100 From: "Andrew Ellis" To: "Lysator List" Subject: [B7L] Minor inconsistencies. Message-ID: <014f01bf1cda$b33c8780$2b2c63c3@leanet.futures.bt.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Judith Said ..... Care to elaborate ? Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 22:53:32 +0100 From: "Andrew Ellis" To: Subject: [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" Message-ID: <015201bf1cda$b5c99b00$2b2c63c3@leanet.futures.bt.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Una and Rob were nattering .... Una - Hey, I argued that should be the other way round! Rob - Er. Surely, Una, you understand the mechanics of power well enough to know the dangers of challenging the Neutral Arbiter? Una -In this house, 'mechanics of power' = 'Una sez'. It's a simple rule, and you'll get to like it once you've tried it out ;) Rob - I see. I *will* get to like it. Whether I like it or not. Good system! I must protest, where oh where in the cannon does it say that the Neutral Arbiter needs to be Neutral. They have an awfully sinister habit of operating to their own agenda's. Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 23:06:55 +0100 From: "Andrew Ellis" To: Subject: [B7L] Animals for pole position ? Message-ID: <015301bf1cda$b6d62900$2b2c63c3@leanet.futures.bt.co.uk> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0136_01BF1CE2.228B3BC0" This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0136_01BF1CE2.228B3BC0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I'm going to let the defence have time to submit more evidence to the = Judgement Program before the Neutral Arbiter enacts the obvious = decision. The case for the prosecution - Animals didn't stick in my mind, Blake = made me sad. Una deserves a break. The case for the defence - all the hero's are dead dead dead. Andrew Blake =20 Animals =20 Space Fall =20 Time Squad =20 Power Play =20 Trial =20 Duel =20 Killer =20 Sarcophagus =20 Weapon =20 Power=20 =20 The Way back =20 Volcano =20 The City at the Edge of the World =20 Star One =20 The Web =20 The Keeper =20 Gold =20 Orbit =20 Sand =20 Ultraworld =20 Terminal =20 Games =20 Stardrive =20 Assassin =20 Dawn of the Gods =20 Aftermath =20 Headhunter =20 The Harvest of Kairos =20 Mission to Destiny =20 Rescue =20 Shadow =20 Children of Auron =20 Death Watch =20 Bounty =20 Rumours of Death =20 Project Avalon =20 Breakdown =20 Seek Locate Destroy =20 Horizon =20 Warlord =20 Deliverance =20 Pressure Point =20 Orac =20 Hostage =20 Redemption =20 Voice from the Past =20 Countdown =20 Gambit =20 Cygnus Alpha =20 Moloch =20 Traitor =20 ------=_NextPart_000_0136_01BF1CE2.228B3BC0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
I'm going to let the = defence have=20 time to submit more evidence to the Judgement Program before the Neutral = Arbiter=20 enacts the obvious decision.
 
The case for the prosecution - Animals = didn't stick=20 in my mind, Blake made me sad. Una deserves a break.
The case for the defence - all the = hero's are dead=20 dead dead.
 
Andrew
 

Blake

Animals

Space Fall

Time Squad

Power Play

Trial

Duel

Killer

Sarcophagus

Weapon

Power

The Way back

Volcano

The City at the Edge of the = World

Star One

The Web

The Keeper

Gold

Orbit

Sand

Ultraworld

Terminal

Games

Stardrive

Assassin

Dawn of the Gods

Aftermath

Headhunter

The Harvest of Kairos

Mission to Destiny

Rescue

Shadow

Children of Auron

Death Watch

Bounty

Rumours of Death

Project Avalon

Breakdown

Seek Locate Destroy

Horizon

Warlord

Deliverance

Pressure Point

Orac

Hostage

Redemption

Voice from the Past

Countdown

Gambit

Cygnus Alpha

Moloch

Traitor

------=_NextPart_000_0136_01BF1CE2.228B3BC0-- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 99 02:23:00 GMT From: s.thompson8@genie.com To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Message-Id: <199910230246.CAA06796@rock103.genie.net> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Julia Jones asked: >Finally acquired a copy of John M Ford's "How Much For Just The >Planet?" > >How the hell did he get away with *that*? What did you have in mind, exactly? All the avatars in the book that I know about are the author's real-life friends, who gave their permission. Many of them were also writing Trek books around that time. Let's see-- the princess and her man are Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, who were married shortly after =How Much= came out; the innkeepers are Pamela Dean and David Dyer-Bennett; the pirate queen and her henchman are Janet and Ric Kagan; and the skinny fellow in black, directing things behind the scenes, is of course the author. There are probably more that I don't recognize; you might ask Beth Friedman, who knows these people better than I do. Oh, and the songs are not filks of anything known; the author had made up his own tunes for them. Are there B7 avatars?? It's possible; the author was a big fan. I haven't reread the book myself in years, so I could well have missed something interesting. Sarah T. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 11:19:51 -0700 From: Julia Jones To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Cc: "'blakes7@lysator.liu.se'" Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Message-ID: In message <16D5E9ABE65ED311A6DA00A0C9DD630D0133C3@STPNT4>, Reuben Herfindahl writes >>Finally acquired a copy of John M Ford's "How Much For Just The Planet?" >> >>How the hell did he get away with *that*? > >It's been a long time. What's the avatar reference in it? Amongst other things (some of which I'm sure I missed because I was too spaced out on fatigue to cope with a *serious* book), that's the first time I've seen a Meegat avatar. Sort of. I managed to buy the book second-hand, having been looking for it on and off for a year or so. There is this enormous second-hand bookshop about ten minutes walk from here, which I hit every time I come to California. Combination avatar hunt and looking for old classics. Lots and lots of out-of-print books, and lots and lots that were never readily available in the UK. There was also a UK edition of Banks' Inversion, obviously bought by someone to read on the plane. I've just bought it to read on the way home, so it wil be a very well travelled book. I've already bought more books than I really have room for in the suitcase, so I suppose other half is going to be complaining again about me littering the house with my books. -- Julia Jones ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 16:45:57 -0700 From: Julia Jones To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] avatars and suchlike Message-ID: Acquired three of the Secret Books of Paradys. Skimmed Book 4. Oh my! I've had quite a good haul from the bookshop so far this trip, but one regret - I left the Trek novel _Ishmael_ where it was, because I had a vague feeling I might already have a copy. Changed my mind today and went to get it - it's gone. And there was a copy of Della van Hise's Killing Time, but judging by the 10 9 8 7 6 5 on the copyright/printing page, I don't think it's the first print run. Can't remember if _Ishmael_ was one of the ones with covert references to B7 in particular, just that it demonstrated that the author had encountered SF as well as ST. -- Julia Jones ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 23:25:20 -0700 From: Julia Jones To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Cc: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Message-ID: In message <199910230246.CAA06796@rock103.genie.net>, s.thompson8@genie.com writes >Julia Jones asked: > >>Finally acquired a copy of John M Ford's "How Much For Just The > >Planet?" > > > >How the hell did he get away with *that*? > >What did you have in mind, exactly? I was referring to the pisstake aspect, rather than the use of real people:-) >All the avatars in the book > that I know about are the author's real-life friends, who gave > their permission. Many of them were also writing Trek books around > that time. Let's see-- the princess and her man are Diane Duane > and Peter Morwood, who were married shortly after =How Much= came > out; Ah, I wondered if that's who the Peter and Diane on the credit page were - one of my fondest memories of last year's Discworld con is a very strange conversation with Peter and a couple of other guys in the bar on Saturday night. I like Peter:-) > >Are there B7 avatars?? It's possible; the author was a big fan. > I haven't reread the book myself in years, so I could well have > missed something interesting. > There's a sequence with the slave girl in the dungeon that sounds remarkably like Meegat interpreting everything Avon says as evidence that he's god. I was suspicious about the very tiny queen in an outrageous costume and even more outrageous high heels, but wasn't sure since I had the impression it was one of the author's friends. Not sure about other stuff - I read the book because I was too knackered to do much other than a little light reading, so a lot of the references passed me by. Although I did notice the British military officer with a sidekick by the name of Sergeant Benson. -- Julia Jones ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 22:10:16 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: [B7L] off-topic Spaced Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII I've just found a sit-com that I like! Anyone else seen 'Spaced' on channel 4 on Friday evening? It's about a group of SF fans and is happily dotty without going too far in taking the micky. Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 - Fanzines for Blake's 7, B7 Filk songs, pictures, news, Conventions past and present, Blake's 7 fan clubs, Gareth Thomas, etc. (also non-Blake's 7 zines at http://www.nas.com/~lknight ) Redemption '01 23-25 Feb 2001 http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 1999 09:37:52 +0200 From: Calle Dybedahl To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] avatars and suchlike Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >>>>> "Julia" == Julia Jones writes: > Acquired three of the Secret Books of Paradys. Skimmed Book 4. Oh my! There's B7 stuff in "The Book of the Mad"? I completely missed that. Where? -- Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-177 52 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se Truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction has to make sense. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 08:40:24 +0100 From: "Una McCormack" To: Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Avatars away! Message-ID: <02cf01bf1d2a$383591d0$0d01a8c0@hedge> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Julia wrote: > I managed to buy the book second-hand, having been looking for it on and > off for a year or so. There is this enormous second-hand bookshop about > ten minutes walk from here, which I hit every time I come to California. > Combination avatar hunt and looking for old classics. Lots and lots of > out-of-print books, and lots and lots that were never readily available > in the UK. Curses! I should have asked you to look out for the only Barbara Paul / Holland book I'm missing! As if there'd be room in your suitcase for it! ('Just a tiny one, waffer thin...') > There was also a UK edition of Banks' Inversion, obviously > bought by someone to read on the plane. I've just bought it to read on > the way home, so it wil be a very well travelled book. Hehehe. Indeed, a friend has *two* copies, on the grounds that he was halfway through, left it at home at the start of a journey, and was enjoying it so much he picked up another one at the airport! Una ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 09:30:06 +0100 From: "Alison Page" To: "Lysator List" Subject: Re: [B7L] off-topic Spaced Message-ID: <006201bf1d31$0f2d6720$ca8edec2@pre-installedco> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >Anyone else seen 'Spaced' on channel 4 on Friday evening? I love it, Judith. It's the TV prog with characters most similar to the people I have met from this list (if that convoluted sentence makes sense). Alison ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 09:48:00 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: Re: [B7L] Minor inconsistencies. Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Fri 22 Oct, Andrew Ellis wrote: > Judith Said ..... > > reasons to believe it.> > > Care to elaborate ? Ouch! You're asking me to recall stuff that I worked out in detail 3 or 4 years back and have now largely forgotten. Let's see what I can recall. Firstly and most obviously, the occupants of the tri-system are human. If they look human, it seems reasonable to assume that they are human (I also believe the Auronar to be human, but from much further back - Cally says that the 'Gods' brought them to Auron, so that can predate human space flight). It is implied in some of the programme background information (which I accept is not canonical) that there was a major nuclear war and that the New Calendar started when stable government was re-estalished. I assume that contact with many colonies was lost during the time of chaos and never regained. My sums (based on the work of others using mainly the computer screens in the first episode) place 'The Way Back' in the year 252NC. They speak English. All planets visited during the series either have a population of Earth origin and thus speak English or else have other reasons for being able to do so. eg. Sinofer is a ghost and thus allowed to speak any language through use of her powers. Zil actually had to learn English (presumably through an inate telepathic ability) as she starts out speaking something that Blake cannot understand. The existence of tiny snatches of other Earth languages like French ('Gambit') argues against the existence of any kind of universal translator. Interestingly enough, I think the written language had diverged, possibly into something more phonetic. We see the symbols here and there eg. on teleport bracelets - and they aren't much like our own lettering. (I'm trying to remember and I can't. Do we see the letters DSV1 on the ship that is destroyed? That may be memory playing tricks on me.) It took a very short period of time for the Liberator crew to learn the controls - Avon worked out almost immediately that the life capsules had been launched. This suggests a large degree of conceptual similarity. Zen has elements of the Buddhist in his personality - the sort of thing where he is inclined to make statements that wisdom must be learnt and not given. This suggests that whoever gave him the name had heard of Zen Buddhism. Last, but not least, the fact that Orac was able to take over Zen shows that Zen used tariel cells. This suggests a common scientific background that allowed the development of similar concepts. The System itself is like Orac in many ways. SLAVE: Then one of the planets developed a computer so powerful it was able to take over the weaponry computers of the other two. BLAKE: So all three became one? SLAVE: One gigantic System that totally governs the three worlds. The System is ahead of Federation technology by perhaps a generation, but no more (it happened before the slave's father was born, but Ensor developed tariel cells 30 years ago.) So, that's it really. I think the System is a lost human colony from around 300 years ago. They developed tariel cells about a generation before the Federation, had their own Orac-equivalent, were human to ten decimal places and spoke English. Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 - Fanzines for Blake's 7, B7 Filk songs, pictures, news, Conventions past and present, Blake's 7 fan clubs, Gareth Thomas, etc. (also non-Blake's 7 zines at http://www.nas.com/~lknight ) Redemption '01 23-25 Feb 2001 http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 04:12:20 PDT From: "Sally Manton" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" Message-ID: <19991023111221.48718.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Rob wrote: This is one thing I *do* like about 'Blake'- I've always been glad that Servalan was not in it, since by having it finished[1] by the impersonal, unknown forces that Blake was fighting at the start is waaayyyy more satisfying than making it one more step of the personal vendetta between the crew and the ex-President. Brings the circle fully round to what the whole series was really about... having Servalan set it all up would have (IMHO-*only*) cheapened the sheer tragedy and lessened the impact. Much as I want to make Una's day (month? year?) 'Blake' must stay at the top of the list, BTW. Mainly because when all it said and done it *was* the ending to end all endings, with an impact like nothing else I've ever seen. [1] If in fact one accepts that Our Heroes were finished. Which, as you all probably know, I don't. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 04:17:49 PDT From: "Sally Manton" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Neglecting Gan. Message-ID: <19991023111753.98880.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Kai wrote: and there is something wrong with this? Some of us (in our less sensible moments) think that Blake&Avon are the entire raison d'etre of the series, and the Federation, rebellion, Liberator, plots, Season 3 & 4, etc etc etc are just window dressing... To be honest, the first time I saw the series, I was so busy watching Avon, Blake and Vila that the others didn't really register much...I would probably not have recognised Gan if I fell over him in the street (me? biased? Oh all right). Having just studied the Blake/*other* relationships for an APA, I've come to the conclusion that there *is* a fair amount going on with the other characters if you stop and look for it - if you can take your eyes off you-know-who for long enough (this for me is not easy) Shadow, for instance is a really good episode for Gan (and for Cally). I also like him in Deliverance, resisting the urge to tease Avon over Meegat (Vila, of course, gives in at once to the temptation). Ironically, Pressure Point is also good for Gan. Breakdown, on the other hand, which was *supposed* to be about Gan, got completely taken over Dark and Dysfunctional's story thread. That's one of the things I like about Weapon - the discussion at the start, with the whole crew together throwing ideas and comments at each other, Blake guiding it but making sure that everyone gets a say (but you will notice who gets the last word ). ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 04:19:01 PDT From: "Sally Manton" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Squash Ladder Message-ID: <19991023111902.28930.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed The Way Back over Power. Does *anyone* want to argue about this??? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 12:56:21 +0100 From: "Una McCormack" To: Subject: Re: [B7L] Why I'm a "Way Backie" Message-ID: <037f01bf1d4e$64d41b20$0d01a8c0@hedge> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sally wrote: > Much as I want to make Una's day (month? year?) 'Blake' must stay > at the top of the list, BTW. Millennium, actually. But don't let that stop you. Una ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 13:05:41 +0100 From: "Una McCormack" To: "Lysator List" Subject: Re: [B7L] off-topic Spaced Message-ID: <038701bf1d4e$f0a73dd0$0d01a8c0@hedge> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Judith wrote: > I've just found a sit-com that I like! > > Anyone else seen 'Spaced' on channel 4 on Friday evening? > > It's about a group of SF fans and is happily dotty without going too far in > taking the micky. 'Spaced' is fabulous. Apart from all the SF gags, it's really stylishly made, so there are lots of sharp cuts and edits that make it even funnier. There was a wonderful bit in a job interview where the female lead, who is stoned, starts to see the interviewers' mouths going in quick time, whilst she begins to hallucinate the theme to 'The Magic Roundabout'. There's tons of stuff like this all the way through. Una ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 17:31:19 +1000 From: Kathryn Andersen To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] avatars and suchlike Message-ID: <19991023173119.C2303@welkin.apana.org.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Fri, Oct 22, 1999 at 04:45:57PM -0700, Julia Jones wrote: > Can't remember if _Ishmael_ was one of the ones with covert references > to B7 in particular, just that it demonstrated that the author had > encountered SF as well as ST. It was a crossover with "Here Come The Brides", no Blake's 7 references. -- _--_|\ | Kathryn Andersen / \ | http://home.connexus.net.au/~kat \_.--.*/ | #include "standard/disclaimer.h" v | ------------| Melbourne -> Victoria -> Australia -> Southern Hemisphere Maranatha! | -> Earth -> Sol -> Milky Way Galaxy -> Universe -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #301 **************************************