From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V99 #42 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume99/42 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 42 Today's Topics: Re: [B7L] Re: Con envy.... [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] Barman [B7L] Re: The Silver Sky and Spies [B7L] Cheerio, chaps [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] Barman [B7L] B7 RPG and sundry Re: [B7L] Re: Con envy.... [B7L] Locations where 'Guards, Guards' is being performed OT:Web Security (was RE: [B7L] Linda Knights' web page) Re: [B7L] Locations where 'Guards, Guards' is being performed Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus [B7L] Julia Ecklar Re:[B7L]Locations where 'Guards !Guards!' is being performed Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] Locations where 'Guards, Guards' is being performed [B7L] F and SF (Re: Sarcophagus) Re: [B7L] F and SF (Re: Sarcophagus) ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jan 1999 20:42:22 +0100 From: Calle Dybedahl To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Con envy.... Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII "Edith Spencer" writes: > PS to Calle: So after seeing all the little references to Kate Bush, > I sastified my curiousity and listened to some of stuff at the local > music shop. Very interesting stuff; It is, isn't it? Try "The Dreaming", if you didn't. > for a while I thought she was the grandma of Tori Amos. KaTe's only 40, and she doesn't have any kids, so she's unlikely to be anybody's grandma :-) "Tori is just a cheap plastic imitation of Kate!" is one of the most long-running flamewars in both the KaTe-related and the Tori-related newsgroups. -- Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-177 52 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se Maintainer of the Blake's 7 mailing list. Mail for info. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 19:50:43 -0000 From: "Susan Bennett" To: "Lysator" Subject: [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee Message-ID: <001901be47d2$dfe0aba0$bb92cbc1@compaq> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Carolyn, thanks for the booksellers URL. I've been trying to get a copy of The Silver Metal Lover for ages and it was great to find one. Susan Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------- "One's real life is often the life that one does not lead." Oscar Wilde ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 20:12:11 -0000 From: "Susan Bennett" To: "Lysator" Subject: [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <000101be47d7$166f82a0$c690cbc1@compaq> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Tiger M wrote: >>>Soolin did mention the crew possibly being under a curse in "Sand." Perhaps that shot is the fate of all the crew being sealed, ending at Gauda Prime.<<< Hmm... I originally discounted that because the liberator was destroyed, but it makes sense that the curse would have been on the crew as well, not just the ship. I like it. Soolin became part of the gestalt and thus came to share their doom in the basement room in "Rescue." It may be fanciful, but a little fancy now and then is good for the soul.<<< Agreed :-) Susan Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------- "One's real life is often the life that one does not lead." Oscar Wilde ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 15:54:54 EST From: Mac4781@aol.com To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <8e880ea2.36ab889e@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Candace wrote about THE SILVER SKY: > Oh, yes! yes! This is lovely!!! I just recently listened to it. At first I > wasn't interested because I didn't think just 'listening' to a play would be > very entertaining. But after months of badgering from my friends, I FINALLY > broke down and listened to it. It's SUPERB!!! A MUST for Avon fans!!!! I hope you get to try my favorite PD radio play, which is the dramatization of Jeffrey Archer's NOT A PENNY MORE, NOT A PENNY LESS. The twists and turns of plot never fail to entertain me, and I've listened to it several times. I was most happy to find a copy of the book while in England this summer. Regarding Tanith Lee, what I like of hers I really like, but she's as apt to leave me cold as hot. I do like her B7 episodes. She's probably my favorite B7 scripter after Chris Boucher. I'm of the impression (and I could be wrong) that writing B7 was more than just a job for both of them. I think they were genuinely fond of the characters and enjoyed exploring them. Mary Ridge among the directions gives me the same impression. My favorite book of Tanith Lee's is THE SILVER METAL LOVER. Julia Ecklar has a beautiful SML filk, "Silver," on her Divine Intervention tape. I don't know if that's still available. I bought it at Worldcon in Chicago, which was around '89 or '90. That same tape has many songs that have inspired B7 music vids, such as the very wonderful Mary Van Deusen Blake vid to "Lullaby for a Weary World." Lorna B. wrote: > I've often thought the underlying theme of B7 is that of loneliness. What an insightful perception. It certainly gets to the heart of the matter. Though I'm not sure they recognized how lonely they were. It's almost as if they had grown used to that being the norm, all of them. When reviewing MOLOCH for the Tarrant APA it occurred to me that one of the reasons Vila latched onto Doran so quickly is because they shared a common background: criminal from the lower classes. He didn't have that on the Liberator. > 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. If she had given that to them, yes. I'm not sure she was that benevolent or that empathic. I had the feeling she just intended to use them until she wore them out. She seemed to regard humans as a lesser species who were incapable of understanding the deep emotions she felt. And the way the vision of Dayna treated Vila suggested that the Alien might enjoy encouraging strife among her menials, as if she might have a sadistic streak. Carol Mc ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 16:11:55 EST From: Mac4781@aol.com To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <99d2e5a7.36ab8c9b@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Tigerm wrote: > Soolin became part of the gestalt and thus came to share their doom in the > basement room in "Rescue." It may be fanciful, but a little fancy now and > then is good for the soul. There's a wonderful B7 story, "The Scars That Won't Heal," by Sandy Hall in Fifth Season 2. It postulates that Avon, Tarrant, Dayna, and Soolin became linked during the attempt to form a gestalt. (It didn't affect Vila because he wasn't down in the room at the time.) Blake describes Orac's findings as "That room didn't just strengthen an emotional bond, it created an actual physical link." For fans of 4th season dynamics (I know there aren't many of us, but we do exist), I highly recommend all of the Fifth Season zines for both the 4th season stories and the way the fourth season crew is depicted in PGPs. Carolyn, thanks for the URL for the out-of-print bookseller. It didn't have the book I'm looking for, but I shall keep it in mind when I want other hard- to-find titles. Carol Mc ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 08:41:01 +1100 From: Kathryn Andersen To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <19990125084101.37670@welkin.apana.org.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Sun, Jan 24, 1999 at 12:16:07PM +0000, Julia Jones wrote: > In message <19990124084544.40184@welkin.apana.org.au>, Kathryn Andersen > writes > >On Fri, Jan 22, 1999 at 06:53:29PM +0000, Julia Jones wrote: > >> Another nice piece of work is "The Silver Sky", a radio play written > >> with Paul Darrow in mind for the male lead. > > > >Oh yes! That was good. Must listen to it again sometime (I got a > >tape + script of this in a con auction; I couldn't believe that nobody > >else was interested!) > > > > I'd have been interested. I've only heard it as an nth generation tape. > It falls under the heading of "Of course I'd buy a legitimate copy if > they were available". Was it ever available as an official tape? I don't think so. If I recall correctly, one of the conditions of the sale was that it not be copied. It had been donated as part of the charity auction for one of the Brisbane cons run by Annie Hamilton & co, I can't remember if it was Event Horizon or Parliament of Dreams. But it actually arrived too late to be auctioned at the con. So it, along with some other late items, were offered by a mail auction after the con, so I jumped in as soon as I could. So there probably wasn't as much competition as there might have been if it had arrived in time for the con; but as it was, if I recall correctly, I was the only one who put a bid on it. Maybe I was the only one who read the post-con newsletter who recognised the title or something. The script that I have looks as if it is a photocopy of a working script: it has hand-written alterations of the words - additional lines, and crossings-out of unused lines, and a few notations about time. But it doesn't have any names on it, so I don't know whose it might have been. I cannot remember who it was who donated it to the auction; it might have been Tanith Lee herself. I'm pretty sure it wasn't Paul Darrow: he would have signed it, in that case. > I love it as a play - it's a beautiful piece of work. That the BBC then > used the two actors the writer had had in mind makes it superb. Tanith > Lee described it in an interview: Thanks for that interview quote! -- _--_|\ | 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: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 14:23:06 PST From: "Joanne MacQueen" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Barman Message-ID: <19990124222307.4947.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain >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 If he's Australian, Steve, you may have to listen to a lot of country and western music. Either that, or the culprit is a soap opera character, but I think he's a bit too old for that. Not B7 at all. Unless his Mummy and Daddy have a deep, dark secret they're too scared to share with young Travis, of course... Regards Joanne I'm walking backwards for Christmas Across the Irish Sea. --Spike Milligan ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 00:37:18 +0000 (GMT) From: "U.M. Mccormack" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: The Silver Sky and Spies Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Andy said: >..And did anybody notice PD voicing a Russian Spy in 'The Spying Game' C4 >@7.25pm Saturday? Certainly did - and uncredited as well. It took as a couple of minutes of Matthew saying 'That's Darrow' and me utterly denying it before I was convinced! Una ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 00:52:43 +0000 (GMT) From: "U.M. Mccormack" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Cheerio, chaps Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Just a quick note to say that as I'm off to New Zealand and Oz for a few weeks, I'll be unsubbing for a little while - but back in time for Redemption! Speak to y'all soon, Una ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 01:16:24 -0000 From: "Susan Bennett" To: "Lysator" Subject: [B7L] Re: In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <003001be4803$cd8faec0$0292cbc1@compaq> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Carol said: >>>I hope you get to try my favorite PD radio play, which is the dramatization of Jeffrey Archer's NOT A PENNY MORE, NOT A PENNY LESS.<<< I liked that, although I wondered about Paul's American accent. Did it sound authentic to you? >>>My favorite book of Tanith Lee's is THE SILVER METAL LOVER. Julia Ecklar has a beautiful SML filk, "Silver," on her Divine Intervention tape.<<< It was that song, together with a few recommendations, that inspired me to look for a copy of the book. >>> I don't know if that's still available. I bought it at Worldcon in Chicago, which was around '89 or '90. That same tape has many songs that have inspired B7 music vids, such as the very wonderful Mary Van Deusen Blake vid to "Lullaby for a Weary World."<<< The vids to her songs are some of my favourites. I have old copies of "Divine Intervention" and "Walkabout", and there are a lot of songs on it that seem to suit B7. (Sorry Carol, but you said the fatal words "music video"...) "Overture/Ladyhawke" would make a lovely Vila/Kerril, "Daddy's Little Girl" seems perfect for a Servalan vid and "The Phoenix" for Zen. And although it doesn't seem to fit B7 very well, my favourite choice for a vid would be "The Hand of God". Perhaps because of the cynicism it would fit Avon and the rebellion? Susan Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------- "One's real life is often the life that one does not lead." Oscar Wilde ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 18:43:23 -0800 From: Pat Patera To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Barman Message-ID: <36ABDA4B.4DAC@geocities.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Penny Dreadful wrote: re: Travis at Page's Bar > >Maybe I should educate > >him about his namesake. > > Scream "DEATH TO THE FEDERATION!!!" and stick a pickle fork in his left > eye. > This is the only thing that made me laf out loud all day! I gotta get a life. Pitiful Pat P ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 22:43:13 CST From: still unknown To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] B7 RPG and sundry Message-Id: <9901250443.AA06933@isuad1.iastate.edu> Greetings from across the pond in deepest, darkest Iowa. Just recently rejoined this list and I've been reading with intense interest the thread involving B7 as a roleplaying game. So a couple of questions for whoever has any answers: 1. What's your review of the RPG for sale down the street at Horizon? And the tech manuals? 2. Have any of you adapted characters to R. Talsorian's Interlock system (Mekton II, Cyberpunk 2020) and would be willing to share them? (I'm kinda wanting to use Mekton II as my system of choice.) 3. I'd really like to see other system adaptations (GURPS, etc.) if anyone has them. Thanks in advance! :) Respond to the list or in e-mail as warranted. It's good to be back, even if I seem to be courting bronchitis. Take care all. grim "Remember Baldrick, you're always safe--with me!" --Kerr Blackadder, "Blackadder's 7" --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |"Just me,| grimjack at iastate | Sometimes gamer, writer, reader. | | my Muse,| All rights reserved.| I don't speak for ISU. | | and I." | Copyright 1999. | ISU doesn't speak for me. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 20:00:02 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Con envy.... Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Sun 24 Jan, Edith Spencer wrote: > > To all attending getting Redeemed: > I can't go, student loans and master degree studying got > in the way- despite saving my pennies like a miser, I am still not able > to do it. I really feel for you. It's a real pleasure being able to catch up with frineds, and a real bind when you can't. > Waaahhhh. I wanna go England again... waaahhh....and see Gareth Thomas in the > Flesh, drinking beer.....auuugghhh...and see list people in the flesh, > especially the way out Steve R. Well, Gareth is now working, so it's Brian Croucher at the actual convention, though a small contingent of us are going to Wales the day after the con to see Paul and Gareth's plays. (I've still got a few spaces on this trip if anyone else wants to spend Monday and Tuesday in Wales) It's been proposed that Gareth be present in effigy. We couldn't resist the suggestion, so we're seeing what we can manage... > Oh Hell's bells, I hope everyone has a great time at Redemption ! We'll do our best 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: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 09:26:02 -0000 From: "Josh Tildesley" To: "'Lysator List'" Subject: [B7L] Locations where 'Guards, Guards' is being performed Message-ID: <002301be4844$bc0e91c0$95b4cdc2@josh-s-pc> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, This is a first posting. I have been lurking for about three months now. I think that it's about time that I actually posted a message isn't it? Anyway, let's get straight to the point. I recently read that Paul Darrow was playing in a production of Terry Pratchett's 'Guards, Guards.' I have limited collateral and have never actually been to Darlington before. Does anyone know if the play is being performed anywhere slightly more close to home? By the way, I live about 10 miles west of Bradford in West Yorkshire close to the border of Lancashire. Thanks, Josh Tildesley. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 10:01:20 -0000 From: peter.borg@barclayscapital.com To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: OT:Web Security (was RE: [B7L] Linda Knights' web page) Message-Id: Content-Type: text/plain Judith Said: > All data that is stored by page (such as your address) is encrypted. > Nobody > will be able to read the details except yourself and the person you're > ordering > zines from. > Some clarification: the data stored is indeed secure, however the data transmitted is in no way secure. Potentially your personal details and credit card details could be intercepted. The risk is not high, however. Some servers do provide encrypted communication (such as Amazon). If a URL starts with HTTPS rather than HTTP then your transaction is much more secure. Personally, I wouldn't give my card details to a non-secure server. There is one other issue: if the data stored by the server is encrypted, the encryption algorithm must also be on the server somewhere. If the server were compromised, this could be exploited. The only way for completely secure data to be held on the server is for a public key encryption mechanism to be used where the private key (i.e. what's used to decrypt the data) is not held on the computer. However, this makes the data unusable to the server once it's stored. If the server can remember your details between visits it can decrypt them. If the server can decrypt them, so can anyone who gains access to the server. Peter. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet communications are not secure and therefore the Barclays Group does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Barclays Group unless otherwise specifically stated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 10:13:08 -0000 From: "Alison Page" To: "'Lysator List'" Subject: Re: [B7L] Locations where 'Guards, Guards' is being performed Message-ID: <002a01be484b$9ff60480$ca8edec2@alisonpage.demon.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit It's doing the rounds isn't it? I know it's coming to my town (Coventry) for a start, so it's bound to be somewhere near you. I'm sure Horizon would have the details. Alison ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 10:27:16 +0100 From: Murray Smith To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-Id: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I've been very interested in the many opinions about 'Sarcophagus', and was intrigued to read that many people found the fantasy elements to be a turn-off. For my part, I found them quite appropriate to the story of a being from a society far in advance of any human one. Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology was 'indistinguishable from magic'; so the showing of it in fantasy type terms was, I thought, very good. In the 'Star Wars' films, for example, while the plot has a great deal to do with it, many of the things in it are seen by us in fantast terms. For example, a lightsaber is a variety of magic sword, while the Emperor, due to his appearance and powers, is an evil wizard. Murray ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 07:49:10 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: [B7L] Julia Ecklar Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Mon 25 Jan, Susan Bennett wrote: > >>>My favorite book of Tanith Lee's is THE SILVER METAL LOVER. Julia Ecklar > has a beautiful SML filk, "Silver," on her Divine Intervention tape.<<< > > It was that song, together with a few recommendations, that inspired me to > look for a copy of the book. > > >>> I don't know if that's still available. I bought it at Worldcon in > Chicago, which was around '89 or '90. That same tape has many songs that > have inspired B7 music vids, such as the very wonderful Mary Van Deusen > Blake vid to "Lullaby for a Weary World."<<< Thats one of my all time favourite song vids. I bought a copy of Divine Intervention this year at Ecclecticon, so it's still available. I only wish there were sleeve notes to identify the origins of the songs. I could work out some, like 'Terminus Est' (from 'The Shadow of the Torturer), but was puzzled by others even though I enjoyed the songs. 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: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 14:15:05 -0000 From: "Julie Horner" To: Subject: Re:[B7L]Locations where 'Guards !Guards!' is being performed Message-ID: <01be486d$1ad563a0$170201c0@pc23.Fishnet> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Josh said: >I recently read that Paul Darrow was playing in a production of Terry >Pratchett's 'Guards, Guards.' >I have limited collateral and have never actually been to Darlington before. >Does anyone know if the play is being performed anywhere slightly more close >to home? >By the way, I live about 10 miles west of Bradford in West Yorkshire close >to the border of Lancashire. The latest confirmed dates, taken from the Avon Club page are as follows: 21ST JAN 1999 - COLCHESTER, MERCURY THEATRE (01206 573948) (28th is not a good day to go!) 1ST FEB 1999 - BRIGHTON, THEATRE ROYAL (01273 328488) 8TH FEB 1999 - WIMBLEDON THEATRE (0181 540 0362) 15TH FEB 1999 - BELGRADE THEATRE, COVENTRY (01203 553055) 22ND FEB 1999 - DARLINGTON, THE CIVIC (01325 486555) 2ND MAR 1999 - SWANSEA, THE GRAND (01792 475715) I think Darlington is your closest. It's only about an hour or so up the A1 isn't it? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 21:46:31 +0000 From: Julia Jones To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: In message <8e880ea2.36ab889e@aol.com>, Mac4781@aol.com writes >Regarding Tanith Lee, what I like of hers I really like, but she's as apt to >leave me cold as hot. I do like her B7 episodes. She's probably my favorite >B7 scripter after Chris Boucher. I'm of the impression (and I could be wrong) >that writing B7 was more than just a job for both of them. I think they were >genuinely fond of the characters and enjoyed exploring them. Mary Ridge among >the directions gives me the same impression. The interview I quoted earlier certainly gives that impression: Since she'd mentioned Blake's 7 I asked how she had started writing for the programme. 'They asked me if I would be interested in doing it. Id watched almost all the series and was au fait with and interested in the characters. It was rather nice to be asked to develop a theme that every time i watched, other scripts were already developing in my head. i had a lot of fun doing it, especially the first one.' -- Julia Jones "Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!" The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 13:32:48 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: Re: [B7L] Locations where 'Guards, Guards' is being performed Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Mon 25 Jan, Josh Tildesley wrote: > I recently read that Paul Darrow was playing in a production of Terry > Pratchett's 'Guards, Guards.' > > I have limited collateral and have never actually been to Darlington before. > Does anyone know if the play is being performed anywhere slightly more close > to home? Colchester, Brighton, Wimbledon, Darlington, Swansea. There may be extra places added later, but those are the ones currently known. You can get the dates and theatres from my web page or from Horizon's. I really really wish it would come near Dorset. The last time Paul was down this way was when I saw him in Macbeth. Those who've seen Guards Guards speak very highly of it. I'm going to see it in Swansea and I'm looking forward to it (and to seeing Gareth Thomas in 'Hosts of Rebecca') 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: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 10:49:10 PST From: "Penny Dreadful" To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] F and SF (Re: Sarcophagus) Message-ID: <19990125184911.23954.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Murray: >was intrigued to read that many people found the fantasy elements to be >a turn-off. For my part, I found them quite appropriate to the story of a >being from a society far in advance of any human one. Arthur C. Clarke said >that any sufficiently advanced technology was 'indistinguishable from >magic'; so the showing of it in fantasy type terms was, I thought, very >good. In the 'Star Wars' films, for example, while the plot has a great >deal to do with it, many of the things in it are seen by us in fantast >terms. For example, a lightsaber is a variety of magic sword... Star Wars was absolutely stereotypical Fantasy with a technofetish veneer, and it was this (very well executed) juxtaposition which earned it its place in history. Cf. 'Dune' (the book! Not the movie!) which appears to be Fantasy but is in fact science fiction of the most obsessive-compulsive variety -- that is, every apparently magical aspect of Herbert's future universe is explicated in scientific terms. No matter how unfeasible they are, the point is that the effort was made to show how that future could be extrapolated from Now. The main difference between Fantasy and SF is presentation, particularly on TV where a *lot* of shorthand/symbolism has to be used. To my mind a vehicle that moves faster than the speed of light is far less feasible than a flying carpet is. But B7 starts out claiming to be science fiction, and thereafter we expect all of its plot contrivances, however fantastic, to broadly adhere to the conventions of SF. For instance, the alien-ghosts in 'Duel' are at least on a par with the ghost-alien in 'Sarcophagus' in terms of their powers, but they give us a typical Star Trek spiel to explain themselves, so we permit them to be SF. --Penny "If It Walks Like a Cyberduck And Quacks Like A Cyberduck..." Dreadful ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:39:14 +1100 From: Kathryn Andersen To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] F and SF (Re: Sarcophagus) Message-ID: <19990126103914.37197@welkin.apana.org.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Mon, Jan 25, 1999 at 10:49:10AM -0800, Penny Dreadful wrote: [snip] > The main difference between Fantasy and SF is presentation, particularly > on TV where a *lot* of shorthand/symbolism has to be used. To my mind a > vehicle that moves faster than the speed of light is far less feasible > than a flying carpet is. But B7 starts out claiming to be science > fiction, and thereafter we expect all of its plot contrivances, however > fantastic, to broadly adhere to the conventions of SF. For instance, the > alien-ghosts in 'Duel' are at least on a par with the ghost-alien in > 'Sarcophagus' in terms of their powers, but they give us a typical Star > Trek spiel to explain themselves, so we permit them to be SF. To be fair, Sarcophagus used technological spiel as well as symbolism; I think if the bits with the symbolic figures had been left out, the objectors would have less to object to -- but the story wouldn't have been half so good, either. As you point out, the Alien in Sarcophagus is very similar in some ways to the aliens in Duel, so what is it that people are objecting to? Probably, to the tone of the episode, and to the symbolism/prophecy bits ... and the fact that they are given no explanation of them whatsoever, neither a fantasy one nor an SF one. I mean, if the scenes with the figures were shown to be a computer projection, would that have made it acceptable to the people who don't like the Fantasy-like nature of Sarcophagus? I had a few thoughts on the origins and backstory of the Alien, which I put in my story, "The Butterfly Effect II: Out of the Dark"... but that was an attempt at an internal explanation, not thinking about whether it was Fantasy and therefore Didn't Belong. -- _--_|\ | 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 #42 *************************************