From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se
Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #31
X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se
X-Mailing-List: <blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se> archive/volume98/31
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 31

Today's Topics:
	 Re: Re[2]: [B7L] Blake and Manipulation
	 Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
	 [B7L] Avon Ads (was Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult)
	 Re: [B7L] Cygnus Alpha Cult
	 [B7L] B7 as the Norse gods
	 Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
	 Re: [B7L] Avon Ads (was Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult)
	 [B7L] vilification
	 Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
	 Re: FW: [B7L] Blake and manipulation
	 Re: [B7L] B7 as the Norse gods
	 [B7L] Avon in Red Dwarf
	 Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
	 Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
	 [B7L] Horizon Letterzine
	 Re: [B7L] Avon Ads (was Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult)
	 re:[B7L]: Avon Ads
	 Re: [B7L] Ad Campaigns...
	 [B7L] Blake's 7 & Myers-Briggs
	 Re: [B7L] Blake's 7 & Myers-Briggs

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 22:17:53 -0600
From: "Lorna B." <msdelta@magnolia.net>
To: "blakes7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: Re[2]: [B7L] Blake and Manipulation
Message-Id: <199801310419.WAA05980@pemberton.magnolia.net>

Patti said:
>List diplomat?  What's it pay?  I AM an Avon fan, after all.

LOL!  A few credits more than Vila's position--on the floor, prone.

Lorna B.
"You ever flown a flying saucer?  After that, sex seems trite."

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:18:54 -0500 (EST)
From: adering@ziplink.net (Alex Dering)
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
Message-Id: <v01000001b0f8186a8eb5@[208.196.105.42]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

As to the whole cult/religion thing:

Well, as I recall (vaguely, so get ready with the spikes and hammers), the
difference between a religion and a cult is that in a religion, when you
decide to leave, they may disapprove, they will almost certainly try to
convince you to stay, and they may request that you not stop by again after
leaving the community, but that's it. In a cult, if you decide to leave,
the entire community will harass you until you rejoin, or they will engage
in a "dirty tricks" campaign to ruin your entire secular life.
Additionally, many religions frown heavily upon being forced to have sex
with the leaders or work 12 hours a day and turn over everything you make.

Personally, I have very little patience with religion (or, I should
clarify) with the way many people improperly use religious belief to
justify all manner of awfulness. Most of my neighbors are orthodox Jews,
and although, to be honest, I find the entire concept of not using the
phone, or scissors, or the lights, etc., one day a week to be, well,
questionable, it is what they choose to do and as such, I have no right to
tell them that they're incorrect to do so. And the few friends I do have
who are born again Christians I can recall several er, um, lively,
discussions concerning the eventual disposition of my soul (if I have one).


But I digress.

And have any of the computer companies approached Paul Darrow about doing
an ad? You know, something like the "I never would have gotten caught,
swindling the Federation Banking Cartel if I'd only had a Macintosh
PowerBook with Tarriel Cell 64330 Memory Enhancement?"


Alex


At 12:20 PM on 1/30/98, penny_kjelgaard@juno.com wrote:

> John wrote:
> ****
> Perhaps, using the current terminolgy, we should refer to it as a New
> Religious Movement, though the fact that it had been around a century of
> two (I forget how long exactly) might belie that phrase.  A bit like LDS
> really -- considered a cult (or NRM) for a long time, it is now entering
> the religious mainstream, in part beacuse it has been around for nearly
> 200
> years.
> ******
> We are 158 years old this April, John.  Some still call us a cult, which
> befuddles me since people join and leave the church all the time.  Nice
> to know there are enlightened individuals, such as yourself,  who know
> otherwise.
>
> Then again, you are a B7 fan, so, how much more enlightened can you get?
> <G>
>
> Penny
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
> You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
> Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
> Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

----------------------------------------
To fall in love is to create a religion
that has a fallible god.

-- Jorge Luis Borges --
----------------------------------------
website: http://www.ziplink.net/~adering
----------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 16:39:04 +1100
From: Kathryn Andersen <kat@welkin.apana.org.au>
To: "Blake's 7 list" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Avon Ads (was Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult)
Message-ID: <19980131163904.34084@welkin.apana.org.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

On Sat, Jan 31, 1998 at 12:18:54AM -0500, Alex Dering wrote:
> And have any of the computer companies approached Paul Darrow about doing
> an ad? You know, something like the "I never would have gotten caught,
> swindling the Federation Banking Cartel if I'd only had a Macintosh
> PowerBook with Tarriel Cell 64330 Memory Enhancement?"

No, they tend to latch onto the "space" thing rather than the "computer"
thing: Paul Darrow has done ads in the UK as Avon, for a car, and for some
fast-food chain, but I don't know if he's done computers.  Tom Baker as
Doctor Who did some computer advertisements, though.  With Lalla Ward.

-- 
 _--_|\	    | Kathryn Andersen		<kat@welkin.apana.org.au>
/      \    | 		http://connexus.apana.org.au/~kat
\_.--.*/    | #include "std/disclaimer.h"
      v	    |
------------| Melbourne -> Victoria -> Australia -> Southern Hemisphere
Maranatha!  |	-> Earth -> Sol -> Milky Way Galaxy -> Universe

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 09:51:56 GMT
From: kawm@dove.mtx.net.au (Ken Minne)
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Cygnus Alpha Cult
Message-ID: <34d218fd.11212822@mail.mtx.net.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Good day all,

On Thu, 29 Jan 1998 08:46:50 -0700, John Doherty wrote:

<snip>

>>I disagree with Jackie about comparing Vargas' organisation to a
>>proper religion. It was prefectly comparable to the Holy Inquisition,
>>the Taliban ( of Afganistan ) or any number of other loony cults.
>>They may be barbaric, brutal, deluded and led by a megalomainiac liar,
>>but none of that ever stops it from being a religion.
>
>The Inquisition was not a religion, just an aberant wing within a religion.
> I am not too sure what the Taliban is, I'll have to go look that up.

The Taliban are a Islamic faction that rules a fair chunk of
Afghanistan. Their doctrine is similar to that of the Ayatollahs of
Iran, only more extreme ( no woman may work outside the home, strict
dress codes etc ) 

>Vargas's religion is, indeed, much more comparable to a cult -- and perhaps
>that was what Nation was trying to get at when he wrote the story.  I have
>always looked at the drug he feeds his people as a "mind control" analogy.  
>

Like it or not, cults are "proper" religions. Even mainstream
religions use force, intimidation, and lies in their dealings with
their believers. The Holy Inquistion was a legitimate part of the
Christrian Church of the time, even if the modern church is backing
away from it now. 
Any objection to a cult would apply equally to a mainstream religion
that shared the objectionable characteristic.

>Perhaps, using the current terminolgy, we should refer to it as a New
>Religious Movement, though the fact that it had been around a century of
>two (I forget how long exactly) might belie that phrase.  A bit like LDS
>really -- considered a cult (or NRM) for a long time, it is now entering
>the religious mainstream, in part beacuse it has been around for nearly 200
>years.
>
>-- John
>
My turn now >;-), who or what are the LDS?


Catch you later,
Walter Minne

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 22:41:52 +1000
From: Tim Richards & Narrelle Harris <parallax@wire.net.au>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] B7 as the Norse gods
Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19980131224152.007bc230@wire.net.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Elise said:
>I'm not sure whom we could cast as B7's Loki.

You'd have to have some weird teleport accident that mixed Avon and Vila up
as one person...  or maybe have Servalan mix with someone a touch less
poisonous.

I've cast Blake as Prometheus in a song before now... but which gods in
general might they be most like...?  A can see Servalan as Circe, and Dayna
could well be Diana.

If you stretch it a bit, you could cast Blake as Osiris and Travis as Set.
Considering Osiris' dismemberment at the hands of Set in the original
story, there may be at last an explanation for Blake's apparent lack of
interest in Jenna....

Relle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               Tim Richards and Narrelle Harris  
 parallax@wire.net.au   http://www.wire.net.au/~parallax
          "Look, he's winding up the watch of his wit;
            by and by it will strike."  - Shakespeare
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 12:21:40 -0000
From: "Heather Smith" <Heather.Smith@btinternet.com>
To: "Blake's 7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
Message-Id: <E0xyc3A-0003Au-00@snow.btinternet.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

John Wrote:

>> Perhaps, using the current terminology, we should refer to it as a New
>> Religious Movement, though the fact that it had been around a century of
>> two (I forget how long exactly) might belie that phrase.  A bit like LDS
>> really -- considered a cult (or NRM) for a long time, it is now entering
>> the religious mainstream, in part because it has been around for nearly
>> 200
>> years.

To which Penny replied:

> ******
> We are 158 years old this April, John.  Some still call us a cult, which
> befuddles me since people join and leave the church all the time.  Nice
> to know there are enlightened individuals, such as yourself,  who know
> otherwise.

Not wishing to sound disrespectful in anyway, but who the hell are LDS?

Heather 'can't think of a clever quote to go here' Smith

'There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish'
-The fourth Doctor  

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 12:38:11 -0000
From: "Heather Smith" <Heather.Smith@btinternet.com>
To: "Blake's 7" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Avon Ads (was Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult)
Message-Id: <E0xycJB-0000Iv-00@snow.btinternet.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Kathryn wrote:
 
> No, they tend to latch onto the "space" thing rather than the "computer"
> thing: Paul Darrow has done ads in the UK as Avon, for a car, and for
some
> fast-food chain, but I don't know if he's done computers.  Tom Baker as
> Doctor Who did some computer advertisements, though.  With Lalla Ward.

Recently (in the last two or three years that is) all the (then) surviving
Doctors did an ad for the new Polo, it featured them all peering into said
car, looking bemused at how much space there appeared to be inside.

Heather 'can't think of a clever quote to go here' Smith

'There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish'
-The fourth Doctor  

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 23:56:13 +1100
From: Fran Myers <algemy@ozemail.com.au>
To: B7 <blake7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] vilification
Message-ID: <34D31F6D.637D@ozemail.com.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Lisa sez: >Might I add that it's also unnecessary to vilify *any* of the 
>characters.

Can we vilify the ones we really, really can't stand?

	As long as it isn't Tarrant, yes.  For some reason the Tarranostra seem
to take it all very personally!

Fran M

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 13:48:13 -0000
From: Alison Page <alison@alisonpage.demon.co.uk>
To: Lysator <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
Message-ID: <886257089.1027649.0@alisonpage.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Heather 'insert text here' Smith said - 

> Not wishing to sound disrespectful in anyway, but who the hell are LDS?

I was thinking the Church of the Latter Day Saints = Mormons. Is that
right?

Alison

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 09:50:52 -0500 (EST)
From: NWOutsider <sclerc@bgnet.bgsu.edu>
To: "Blake's 7 list" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: FW: [B7L] Blake and manipulation
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.980131091519.27522A-100000@alpha.bgsu.edu>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Fri, 30 Jan 1998, Louise Rutter wrote:

> >	Sorry, could you point out the scenes in the series where Blake
> >claims the moral high-ground for himself so we could discuss them? As
> 
> you want a specific example, how about the exchange between Blake and Avon 
> in the London computer room, when Blake is so scathing about Avon's plans 
> to look after himself? When Blake gives his speech about how he isn't free 
> until all men can think and speak freely?
> I'm fairly sure that Blake is feeling very morally superior right then, and 
> probably justifiably. But for someone who holds such high morals, Blake can 
> conveniently forget them when it suits him.

	Well, in that scene, I think the moral indignation is directed
at the Federation. The Freedom for Men (this is either like Hairclub for
Men or a male hygiene product 8-) bit is vehement and about the
Federation. Then Blake immediately backs off and says "You asked me what I
plan to do. What you do is up to yourselves." So he's not making a
judgment about whatever they plan to do. When he says "you don't really
believe that" to Avon, IMO, it's more of a challenge to Avon's myopia...
like if a some independently wealthy guy was to say to me "Everyone has
the same chance to buy a Ferrari as I have" I might question his grasp
of fiscal relaity, without it being a moral judgment.

	My favorite Blake on the High Ground is in "Hostage" when he
says "If I can't, I might as well be a Federation slave like everybody
else. As might you all." 8-) I like this because it's such a nice
zip about coawrdice when he's the only one taking a risk, and it's totally
superfluous--everyone has agreed to head for Xbar, except Avon. I'm not
sure, but I like to think of it as a reminder that if he hadn't had the
guts to try to escape on the London and then go to Cygnus Alpha, they
would all be literally slaves of the Federation. Which is true, but not
nice to say.

	If I can go back to your original point, that the excess
manipulation by Blake in fan fic is a result of its subtlety on the show,
compared to Avon's blatant manipulation, combined with a penchant on
Blake's part to become morally indignant...I don't know. In part, I guess
so, and yet the theory doesn't seem to cover the whole question. The
equation of subtle + expressing aversion to activity = stories
highlighting activity, doesn't hold up in other circumstances. For
example, Avon often seizes the intellectual highground and makes as many
mistakes as anyone, which are not always obvious in the series or at least
only as abvious as the Blake indignation moments, but there isn't a huge
body of fan fiction about it. So I guess I'm back at the double standard
thing.

	On the other hand, I thought for a while maybe it's that each
writer thought she had made this brilliant discovery for herself and sat
down to write about it. That would account for the mass within the genre
and sort of go along with your theory. But it would mean that the writer
never read any other stories and was totally cut off from fan debate. 

	On the other other hand, when reading in other fandoms I've also
seen a lot of interest in manipulation as a theme, whether it seems
inherent to the universe or not. So maybe it's one of those ideas that's
big with fan writers regardless of canon...like slash. I can't think of
another example.

Sue
sclerc@bgnet.bgsu.edu		http://www.bgsu.edu/~sclerc/Blakes7.html

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 13:04:59 +0000
From: Julia Jones <Julia.lysator@jajones.demon.co.uk>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] B7 as the Norse gods
Message-ID: <kPApiAA7Fy00EwMw@jajones.demon.co.uk>

In message <3.0.1.32.19980131224152.007bc230@wire.net.au>, Tim Richards
& Narrelle Harris <parallax@wire.net.au> writes
>
>If you stretch it a bit, you could cast Blake as Osiris and Travis as Set.
>Considering Osiris' dismemberment at the hands of Set in the original
>story, there may be at last an explanation for Blake's apparent lack of
>interest in Jenna....
>
There is a piece of fanfic along those lines, although it's the
Federation, and not Travis in particular.

There's this quote from Horizon:
KOMMISSAR:      So you're a Resister. Some malfunction of the genes, I
                suppose. It throws up a Resister about every hundred
                thousand. Mostly they're detected in infancy.

which is rather suggestive as to what the Federation might do to a
Resister who can't be simply executed. After all, you wouldn't want
those faulty genes to spread, would you?

Someone who's got the full run of Oblaque can give the citation.
-- 
Julia Jones

"Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!"
        The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 01:25:57 +0800
From: Chris <thompc@nw.com.au>
To: "Blake's 7 Mailing List" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Avon in Red Dwarf
Message-ID: <34D35EA5.ABA8B75@nw.com.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Hi this is the first message i've posted to the list even though i've
been subscribed for about 2 months.  Well i just wanted to say i was
watching an old episode of Red Dwarf the other night called "STASIS
LEAK" where there was a picture that  lister was showing the of him
marrying Kochanski and i noticed that Paul Darrow was also in the
picture in a best man sort of role, I just wondered if anyone else had
noticed this.

My Dr Who website : http://www.internet-club.com/australia/time_vortex

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 12:17:22 -0600
From: "Lorna B." <msdelta@magnolia.net>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
Message-Id: <199801311845.MAA27386@pemberton.magnolia.net>

Alex said:
>And have any of the computer companies approached Paul Darrow about >doing
an ad? You know, something like the "I never would have gotten >caught,
swindling the Federation Banking Cartel if I'd only had a Macintosh
>PowerBook with Tarriel Cell 64330 Memory Enhancement?"

LOL!  What an image!  I'd like to see Vila doing an ad for beer or whiskey,
myself.

Lorna B.
"You ever flown a flying saucer?  After that, sex seems trite."

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 13:50:49 +0000
From: Reuben <reuben@reuben.net>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult
Message-ID: <34D32C33.1524@reuben.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Alex Dering wrote:
>
> But I digress.
> 
> And have any of the computer companies approached Paul Darrow about doing
> an ad? You know, something like the "I never would have gotten caught,
> swindling the Federation Banking Cartel if I'd only had a Macintosh
> PowerBook with Tarriel Cell 64330 Memory Enhancement?"
> 

I'd LOVE to see that.  Kinda like those 80's computer ads with Tom Baker
and Lila Ward in full costume.  Really funny to see in retrospect.
 And now to toatally go off topic...
I watched Mission Impossible last night and was forced to cringe over
their total lack of computer knowledge and trying to sound high tech. 
(...and I'll need one of those new RISC based Pentium P6 laptops...) How
many flaws can you spot in that phrase.  Especially funny since he ended
up using a PowerBook 5300 (at least the RISC part is right then)

Reuben (appolgies for going so far off thread, but I just needed to yell
about that) Herfindahl

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 16:48:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Sondra Sweigman <sweigman@world.std.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Horizon Letterzine
Message-Id: <Pine.SGI.3.95.980131164736.26096A-100000@world.std.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

	Since I asked yesterday if anyone in the US had received LZ #21
yet, I thought it only right to mention that my copy finally showed up
today.  

	Sondra

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 13:52:44 +0000
From: Reuben <reuben@reuben.net>
To: Kathryn Andersen <kat@welkin.apana.org.au>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Avon Ads (was Re: Cygnus Alpha Cult)
Message-ID: <34D32CA6.7225@reuben.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Kathryn Andersen wrote:
Paul Darrow has done ads in the UK as Avon, for a car, and for some
> fast-food chain,

I'd love to see those ads.  Anyone have any of them on tape?

Reuben

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 23:40:48 -0800
From: Jackie <jackiew@termlow.co.uk>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: re:[B7L]: Avon Ads
Message-ID: <34D42700.733E@termlow.co.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Kathryn Andersen wrote:
> 
> On Sat, Jan 31, 1998 at 12:18:54AM -0500, Alex Dering wrote:
> > And have any of the computer companies approached Paul Darrow about doing
> > an ad? You know, something like the "I never would have gotten caught,
> > swindling the Federation Banking Cartel if I'd only had a Macintosh
> > PowerBook with Tarriel Cell 64330 Memory Enhancement?"
> 
> No, they tend to latch onto the "space" thing rather than the "computer"
> thing: Paul Darrow has done ads in the UK as Avon, for a car, and for some
> fast-food chain, but I don't know if he's done computers.  Tom Baker as
> Doctor Who did some computer advertisements, though.  With Lalla Ward.

Are we talking "on-screen" ads here or "voice overs"?
"on screen ads" include Hamlet, American Express and Wimpey.
"voice overs" include Halogen Hob cookers, Airtours, Peugeot, Cellnet 
(the X-files send ups). Plus all the BBC2 programme ads from the last 
year or so. There was another car ad for a different manufacturer 
(BMW or other German one). There have been others that I cannot remember 
off hand- no doubt I will as soon as I`ve hit *send*.
He has also done ads on and for Talk Radio, as well as a radio ad for 
Halfords (I think it was for them, I only caught it twice, both times too 
late to stick an audio tape in machine).
Which one did he *do* as Avon?

Bye 
Jackie

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 19:56:59 -0500 (EST)
From: adering@ziplink.net (Alex Dering)
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Ad Campaigns...
Message-Id: <v01000000b0f92d5813e2@[208.196.104.243]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I started thinking about it and I realized that there's a vastly untapped
market for Blake's 7 stars and advertising.


Blake: American Express Travelers Checks.

Blake: After the Andromedan Fleet Invasion, I lost everything: my ship, my
friends, everything. Fortunately, I had American Express Travelers Checks.
Good at over one million locations in the Federation, and easily replaced
if lost or stolen. How else could I have set everything up on Gauda Prime?

Avon: Hallmark Cards

Avon: When you're as cold and calculating as I am, people sometimes don't
believe you (stop to shoot someone) when you try to say you're sorry.
(shoot two more troopers). That's why I depend on Hallmark Cards (punch
woman in stomach, poke man in eye). The right card for every occasion.
Orac, teleport now.

Servalan: Clorox Bleach

Servalan: As Supreme Commander and President of the Terran Federation, I
need to always look my best. Whether it's while waiting for pick up on the
planet Saron or while meeting mad scientists in out of the way locations to
pick up secret weapons, I need my whites to stay their whitest. That's why
I depend on Clorox to keep me white, bright, and out of sight.

Gan: Tranquilizers

Gan: Sometimes, I flip out. Thank the Federation for Valium. (pops two,
swills them down with some water). It keeps me calm, so I can do my best,
without killing anyone.

Vila: Locksmiths

Vila: Now, when I lock myself out of my transport (locksmith working on
lock of car) and I don't have the tools to trip the lock, I call my
friendly, (locksmith opens door and Vila smiles) neighborhood locksmith.
Quick, convenient service, at a reasonable price. (Vila gets in and drives
off without paying).

Cally: Psychic Friends Hotline

Cally: Should I follow Blake? Will Servalan try to kill me? Sometimes, I,
like the rest of you, need some guidance, a friend to turn to. At the
Psychic Friends Hotline, I can get confidential, helpful, friendly advice,
when I need it. $3.99 a minute, for entertainment purposes only.

Dayna: Self Defense Courses

Dayna: It's a dangerous world out there. (Someone grabs her from behind.
She throws him over her shoulder. Cut to him falling off a cliff and
bouncing, a la HOSTAGE). A girl's got to protect herself. (Knife-wielding
maniac approaches. Dayna breaks his leg and kills him). At the Mellanby
School of Self Defense we teach you ALL the moves. (Throng of troopers
close in) From simple holds and throws to ways to kill someone with a
rubber band, we'll keep you safe. (Fade to black, sound of shots. Then cut
back to Dayna, standing amidst a pile of dead and wounded troopers. Dayna
winks.) See you there.

Travis: Optometrists Shop

Travis: When you're a big, bad thug for the Federation, like I am, you need
everything working perfectly. That's why (Travis walks into an optometrist
shop) you need to keep your eyes in their best shape. So twice a year, I
take my left eye in for a check up, just to make sure. (Travis puts his
fake arm on a man's shoulder. The man turns around and it's...) Hal
Mellanby. How are you, you old space dog? Checking the supply of
sunglasses? (Travis turns back to camera). See you at the optometrists. Or
else you might never see anything again. (Travis shoots camera).

Soolin: Gun Club

Soolin: (Shoots troopers left and right for thirty seconds. Voice over....)
At the Lexington Gun Club, you'll learn the right way to shoot. Reasonable
prices, good people, lots of guns, plenty of accident insurance. Minutes
from Central London.

Slave and Orac: Triple A

Slave: My humble apologies, but Scorpio appears to be unable to move. I am
trying to rectify the fault.
Orac: The fault is that you don't have a membership in Triple A. If you
did, we could be receiving help from one of their many qualified roadside
assistance crews and be on our way by now.
Slave: I'm most terribly sorry.
Orac: Oh, do be quiet.

Any suggestions for Zen or Jenna?

Alex

----------------------------------------
A man I am, cross'd with adversity.

- Act IV, Scene 1
Two Gentlemen of Verona
William Shakespeare -
----------------------------------------
website: http://www.ziplink.net/~adering
----------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 19:54:54 -0800
From: "Adam L. Fuller" <adfuller@ix.netcom.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Blake's 7 & Myers-Briggs
Message-Id: <3.0.32.19980131195452.006a6d24@POPD.ix.netcom.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi,

"Idealism is such a wonderful thing. All you really need is someone
rational to put it to proper use." - Avon ("Blake")

Does anyone here know about the Myers-Briggs personality preference theory,
which divides humans into 16 different types of people, and 4 different
temperaments? Well, let me suggest that Blake's 7 is the classic example of
character's Myers-Briggs temperaments. In many ways, these characters'
temperaments are so clear and apparent, it's almost as if Terry Nation knew
about Myers-Briggs. Avon's quote in "Blake" is too perfect to be
coincidental.  For those that know quite a bit about MBTI, as I do, you'll
probably be very interested in this.

Blake: Idealist, Avon: Rational, Vila: Artisan, Jenna: Artisan, Cally:
Idealist, Gan: Guardian, ORAC: Rational, Zen: Guardian, Servalan: Artisan,
Travis: Artisan, Tarrant: Artisan, Dayna: Artisan, Soolin: Artisan, Slave:
Guardian.

The reason why there is only one human guardian in the group is because
Blake's 7 is a show about rebellion and the hopeful destruction of order.
Guardians crave rules and order, whereas artisans rebel against it. Gan is
a rebel because he was pushed too far when his lover was killed, but now he
finds a new duty, a new loyalty - Blake. The Idealist-Rational difference
was the reason for Blake and Avon's disagreements, and they are so typical
of NF-NT conflict. And when Tarrant comes into the picture, it is the
difference in their temperament's core needs that creates problems between
Avon and Tarrant. Anyway, I've written a lot more about this and I plan to
put something together for an in-depth analysis of the Blake's 7 characters
and their relationships with one another. Feel free to write me if you
would like to discuss it.

-Adam L. Fuller (ENTJ)  

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 01:20:53 -0600
From: Lisa Williams <lcw@dallas.net>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Blake's 7 & Myers-Briggs
Message-Id: <3.0.32.19980201012014.006867c8@dallas.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Adam L. Fuller wrote:

>Does anyone here know about the Myers-Briggs personality preference 
>theory, which divides humans into 16 different types of people, and 4 
>different temperaments? Well, let me suggest that Blake's 7 is the 
>classic example of character's Myers-Briggs temperaments.

I think most fandoms, this one included, have extensively Myers-Briggsed
their characters in recent years. It's hard to resist, and such fun to
argue over who is which type. 

So -- which side of the INTJ vs. INTP camp do you fall into for Avon?
Personally, I place him as an INTP who wants people to think he's an INTJ.
Blake, probably an ENFJ. And you're right; they're pretty typical of NT-NF
conflicts. (I'm a strong INTJ myself, and NFs drive me crazy even when I
like them.)

I haven't thought about the others as much. Agree that Tarrant, Dayna, and
Soolin have SP written all over them, though Dayna's a stronger P than the
other two. Tarrant's probably ESTP, your typical man-of-action type.
Soolin, probably ISTP. Dayna's an F; I don't get a strong sense of
polarization on the I-E scale from her, but probably closer to ISFP than
ESFP. Vila's more a typical ESFP. Cally, maybe an INFJ? Jenna, another ESTP
or ISTP, not sure which. 

I don't see Servalan as an SP temperament, though. Closer to an SJ, with
that urge to control and regulate things, but she's got a big dose of NT as
well. In fact, I'd probably place her as an ENTJ, not too strongly
polarized on the S-N scale, so having some crossover with the ESTJ.

--
	- Lisa
	  <lcw@dallas.net>
	  <lwilliams@mcopn1.dseg.ti.com>
	  Lisa's Frame Capture Library: http://lcw.simplenet.com/

--------------------------------
End of blakes7-d Digest V98 Issue #31
*************************************