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blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 40
Today's Topics:
Re: [B7L] Re: mutoids
Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
[B7L] Barman
Re: [B7L] Barman
[B7L] Re mail
[B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus
RE: [B7L] Re mail
Re:[B7L]Sarcophagus
Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Re: [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus
Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Re: [B7L] B7 & the Discworld
Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 14:11:02 +0200
From: "422ami" <422ami@nt52.parliament.bg>
To: <steve.rogerson@MCR1.poptel.org.uk>, <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: mutoids
Message-Id: <199901221209.NAA27032@samantha.lysator.liu.se>
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> Taina asked: "Were all the mutoids female?
> I can't recall seeing any male ones."
Travis' ship in "Duel" has two pilots. The one was Kiera. Other one was
male mutoid.
Hellen
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 04:18:06 PST
From: "Rob Clother" <whitehorse_dream@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Message-ID: <19990122121810.18264.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain
Pat on Sarcophagus:
>The scene exploring the alien ship gets a bit long, probably because
>it looks like the day after scene of a tawdry New Years Eve party.
>And Cally's red hair dye job is truly horrible.
I loved even that scene. The alien ship was very, very eerie -- it was
as if you could reach out and touch the silence. The sense of
claustrophobia seemed to carry itself through into the Liberator.
I had the impression that the Liberator was far out in deep space, out
of range of the Federation, and out of range of any human contact at
all. The episode captured that sense of isolation perfectly.
Pat goes on to say:
>I even find the end quite touching, when the alien makes her tragic
>plea for life. It is redolent of the long lived android in
>Bladerunner. How can we know how precious life may become if you've
>"owned" it for a millenium? I understand how she could look at short
>lived humans as white mice suitable for pets.
And here, I think you've hit the nail right on the head, Pat. I said
earlier I thought that "Sarcophagus" was the creepiest TV SF I'd seen.
In fact, I'd go further than that, and say it's the creepiest SF I've
seen -- more disturbing that the "Alien" and "Event Horizon" genre. I
sat through "Event Horizon" at the cinema, feeling a deep sense of
frustration. The film was brilliantly atmospheric, the sets were a
masterpiece and the acting was commendable. Yet, there was something
lacking. It wasn't scary. For me, it was a very impressive, very
well-crafted failure. And the madly frustrating thing was, I could't
understand why. I couldn't understand why a shot of Vila crouching on
the Liberator with his head in his hands could be more shocking than a
film that was designed so explicitly to shock.
Having read the analyses of "Sarcophagus", I'd say the missing
ingredient is sympathy. What the alien is doing to the crew is
despicable, but we can understand why. It's not just "evil for the sake
of evil", which just seems silly at the end of the day. There's a
reason behind the spirit's madness and despair: and the crew know it as
well as any human beings. They weren't quite as cut off as Cally, but
they were all terribly lonely. The spirit was playing on that -- using
it to strengthen the connection between herself and the crew.
Sympathy, loneliness, chronic despair. If the makers of "Event Horizon"
had touched on those, they might have made a truly horrific film.
Shame. :-)
Right -- that's my recreation for the day -- time to hand in my thesis.
Yesss!!!
Cheers,
-- Rob
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 13:35:46 +0100
From: Steve Rogerson <steve.rogerson@MCR1.poptel.org.uk>
To: Lysator <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Barman
Message-ID: <36A870A1.B86227E5@mcr1.poptel.org.uk>
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My local pub goes through a regular stream of junior bar staff, most
only stay a month or so, some up to six months. They are often
travelling students or Australians on their year abroad. As such I,
along with others, have great difficulty remembering their names. No
such problem methinks with the one I was introduced to yestreday. He is
called Travis. I made some reference to B7 when I was introduced, but
just got blank looks back. Ah well, he is young. Maybe I should educate
him about his namesake.
--
cheers
Steve Rogerson
Redemption 99: The Blakes 7 and Babylon 5 convention
26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Ashford, Kent
http://www.smof.com/redemption/
"Get in there you big furry oaf, I don't care what you smell"
Star Wars
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 07:55:32 PST
From: "Penny Dreadful" <pdreadful@hotmail.com>
To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Barman
Message-ID: <19990122155532.7848.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain
Steve said:
>Maybe I should educate
>him about his namesake.
Scream "DEATH TO THE FEDERATION!!!" and stick a pickle fork in his left
eye.
--Penny "And Be Sure And Mention My Name At The Trial" Dreadful
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 17:43:07 -0000
From: "Debra Collard" <Debra@whisson1.freeserve.co.uk>
To: "B7L" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re mail
Message-ID: <000101be462e$aebe4e60$e612883e@whisson1globalnet.co.uk>
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charset="iso-8859-1"
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Help,
can anyone tell me why I keep getting the same posts over and over in ever
increasing amounts. Is it just my server or is everyone affected. I have
just logged on 4 hours after collecting 54 messages to find another 114
duplicates of duplicates.
I love Lysator and Space City but not that much!
Debra
PS Maybe I have been BAD?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 14:37:02 -0500
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus
Message-ID: <199901221437_MC2-67A9-ABEE@compuserve.com>
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Rob wrote:
>She's a versatile actress -- as well as playing Gentle Cally and the
>Lost Spirit, she did a sterling job of playing Psycho Cally.
Did I hear the other day that Jan Chappell was appearing in the dramatised
version of the Stephen Lawrence enquiry?
I don't like Sarcophagus much, but do like Sand, even though it's fourth
season. One of Servalan's best episodes, though I think she plays the last
line wrong - it ought to be when she snaps back into control.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 19:35:14 -0000
From: Louise Rutter <Louise.Rutter@btinternet.com>
To: "'B7 Lysator'" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: RE: [B7L] Re mail
Message-ID: <01BE463E.75418F20@host62-172-63-40.btinternet.com>
Debra wrote:
>Help,
>can anyone tell me why I keep getting the same posts over and over in ever
>increasing amounts. Is it just my server or is everyone affected. I have
>just logged on 4 hours after collecting 54 messages to find another 114
>duplicates of duplicates.
I'm only receiving things once. Maybe it's your server.
Louise
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 19:45:39 -0000
From: "Julie Horner" <jihorner@dial.pipex.com>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re:[B7L]Sarcophagus
Message-ID: <005c01be463f$e76e44c0$d44695c1@orac>
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charset="iso-8859-1"
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OK. OK.
I know I said I didn't like it but I have only seen it once.
I give in.
I will go and watch it again.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 19:17:32 -0600
From: "Lorna B." <msdelta@magnolia.net>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Message-Id: <199901230111.TAA05465@pemberton.magnolia.net>
Rob said <after some snippage>:
>I had the impression that the Liberator was far out in deep space, out
>of range of the Federation, and out of range of any human contact at
>all. The episode captured that sense of isolation perfectly.
I especially liked the shot of the Alien's ring enclosing the ship in space,
which I think helped underly that sense of isolation you mention. Hated the
song, though!
<another snip>
>I sat through "Event Horizon" at the cinema, feeling a deep sense of
>frustration. The film was brilliantly atmospheric, the sets were a
>masterpiece and the acting was commendable. Yet, there was something
>lacking. It wasn't scary. For me, it was a very impressive, very
>well-crafted failure. And the madly frustrating thing was, I could't
>understand why.
Event Horizon was one of the movies I've been to recently where I wished I
could get my money back. It lost me very early on. I won't go into
details, but when even Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne couldn't save it, I
knew it was hopeless.
>I couldn't understand why a shot of Vila crouching on
>the Liberator with his head in his hands could be more shocking than a
>film that was designed so explicitly to shock.
That was *such* a lovely shot. Still gives me a chill even now.
>Having read the analyses of "Sarcophagus", I'd say the missing
>ingredient is sympathy. What the alien is doing to the crew is
>despicable, but we can understand why. It's not just "evil for the sake
>of evil", which just seems silly at the end of the day. There's a
>reason behind the spirit's madness and despair: and the crew know it as
>well as any human beings. They weren't quite as cut off as Cally, but
>they were all terribly lonely. The spirit was playing on that -- using
>it to strengthen the connection between herself and the crew.
I've often thought the underlying theme of B7 is that of loneliness. And I
agree the Alien used it very well, most especially with Cally. I think
that, had she "won," the crew would have eventually fallen into their new
roles fairly easily, just to have a sense of belonging that they didn't have
before.
>Sympathy, loneliness, chronic despair. If the makers of "Event Horizon"
>had touched on those, they might have made a truly horrific film.
>Shame. :-)
Definitely.
Lorna B.
"Cookies and porn? You're the best mom ever!"
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 19:59:04 -0700
From: Helen Krummenacker <avona@jps.net>
To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus
Message-ID: <36A93AF7.4582@jps.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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My own 2 cents on "Sarcophagus" and "Sand"... I find the presence of
fantasy in a generally straight SF series a little jarring, but,
although I sometimes laugh at the strangely-garbed-flashbacks of the
archetypes of the characters, I find Sarcophagus enjoyable. There is
that wonderfully loneliness about it, which was pointed out earlier, and
loneilness is one of the strong reoccuring themes in Blake's 7. Maybe
that theme is one of the things that draws many of us to it.
That theme is echoed by Servalan in "Sand" and while I enjoy _her_ part
in that episode, I really can't stand to watch Avon playing with
something that's little different than a Ouji board and taking the
results of his 'subconscious mind' (I think that's why he explained
randomizing words could get an answer) seriously.
That's just plain not the Avon way of doing things.
--Avona
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 14:45:31 +1100
From: "Afenech" <Fenech@onaustralia.com.au>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Message-Id: <06411750967074@domain2.bigpond.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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Lorna said, amongst lots of interesting things,
> I've often thought the underlying theme of B7 is that of loneliness.
which did make me stop and think... and then understand why I so often
write stories saturated with loneliness and longing -smile-
Lorna continued:
> And I
> agree the Alien used it very well, most especially with Cally. I think
> that, had she "won," the crew would have eventually fallen into their
new
> roles fairly easily, just to have a sense of belonging that they didn't
have
> before.
First reaction was Avon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but then I thought no, no, 'the
crew' *must*
needs mean the others -smile-
I really don't think 'Sarcophagus' needs any defending - it's different of
course, not quite the usual 'Blakes 7' but to my mind still very much in
the spirit of it which is to my perception anyway as much exploration of
character as anything else.
Pat F
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 18:53:29 +0000
From: Julia Jones <julia.lysator@jajones.demon.co.uk>
To: "Blake's 7 list" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Message-ID: <3F$5nHApkMq2Ew3q@jajones.demon.co.uk>
In message <us3e54dvev.fsf@sara.lysator.liu.se>, Calle Dybedahl
<calle@lysator.liu.se> writes
>She's written a couple of dozen more, but this is a representative
>sampling. And "Death's Master" is a must-read for any fantasy fan.
I'd have mentioned that one, but the thread started on SF. One of my
favourite fantasy novels.
Another nice piece of work is "The Silver Sky", a radio play written
with Paul Darrow in mind for the male lead.
--
Julia Jones
"Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!"
The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 19:49:57 +1100
From: "Afenech" <Fenech@onaustralia.com.au>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] B7 & the Discworld
Message-Id: <11365893781709@domain5.bigpond.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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Hellen said:
>
> May I object you, Pat?
Of course you may Hellen, that's what these lists are for - discussion -
smile-
> It seems to me, that, if we make correlation, Avon would be much closer
to
> Captain Vimes (see Cpt. Vimes' behaviour after his second conversation
with the Patrician - "Men at arms").
I shall have a look -smile-
but I still dont see much close correlation between the Discworld
characters and the B7 ones - however, as Julia mentioned, there are a few
descriptions of Greebo - Nanny Ogg's cat - which when read made me think
- oh! that sounds just like Avon! -smile-
> And, whom would Blake look like to - may be to Carrot (from "Guards!
> Guards!", "Men at arms", "Interesting times")
There are traces of Blake in Carrot - especially as he is being developed
in later stories like 'Jingo' but not much, not to my mind, Blake is
*much* more interesting -smile-
>
Pat F
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 09:48:13 EST
From: VulcanXYZ@aol.com
To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus
Message-ID: <3853b954.36a9e12d@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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Rob wrote that " Sympathy, loneliness, chronic despair" were essential
ingredients of Sarcophagus, and, as many have now agreed, of B7 in general.
Avon and Cally were perhaps the most cutoff of all the crew. I think they
recognized this in each other and that is one of the reasons why a special
bond formed between them, as suggested in a recent post of mine.
Spock is another character that suffers from this, and I think that is one
reason why he is so tremendously popular, even today. Being a "half-breed" of
two such different cultures was a constant conflict for him, the battle
between emotions and logic. I think we see the same battle between Blake and
Avon, Blake being more emotional, trying to always do the right thing, fight
for his cause even when logic told him it was impossible, and Avon being
coldly logical (usually), wanting to cut his losses and run from this lost
cause where a small band of outlaws were fighting the gigantic and powerful
Federation.
I've had the idea the other day that Spock and Avon suffered from the same
thing, alienation and loneliness, but Spock was headed toward "redemption,"
the resolution of this conflict and wholeness of person, while Avon was headed
toward destruction and fragmentation of personality, complete isolation, and,
basically, "hell." What do the rest of you think of that?
Gail
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End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #40
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