From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #247 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume98/247 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 247 Today's Topics: [B7L] Re: [B7L] Re: Jenna as Bimbo [B7L] Chris Boucher and Westerns [B7L] Australia [B7L] Voices ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 16:35:44 PDT From: "Joanne MacQueen" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Message-ID: <19980927233545.3689.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Carol says: >There are all of those wonderful Tarrant moments (Joanne, >are you paying attention? ; ) But of course, Carol, and thankyou. The vision of Stephen Pacey in a plastic rain bonnet is making me smile right now. It's not quite as funny, to my mind, as the idea of a crispy Avon sandwich (I've been unzipping archive files from mid-'94, and many thanks to Annie and Leah for contributing the recipe to that one! ). >Maybe one of the scenes from his cell in "The Way Back", >where he's holding his head and looking pained. Very, very appropriate, as it happens. One line from the first (and last) verse goes: "He is holding his head like it's going to explode". Mind you, I did suggest "Voice from the Past" simply because rather more head holding took place in that episode. Poor Blake. Judith Rolls said: (about Stephen Greif) >Stephen is also going to be making an episode of The Bill Well, that's more than a year away for us Antipodeans. >playing the Assistant Commissioner of Police Makes a change from the corrupt lawyer he played in another episode. >(basically Chris Ellison's boss). What!?! The legendary Burnside's back? Good grief! Julia said: >Noooo!!!! Commiserations, Julia. Hope the headache will get better, though I suspect that won't be until Chris Boucher, or anyone other than Barry Letts, writes one of these radio plays. I see what you mean about Dr Who, though, because the title strikes me as more like DW than B7. And if Roger the Shrubber has been finding B7 tapes at his local shopping centre, I'm going to have to look harder. Although $45 seems a bit much to me too. Damn exchange rates! That's the only reason for sticking the price up by $15 that I'd accept. Regards Joanne The silicon chip. It's been called the most awesomely breathtaking human invention since *Blake's 7*. --Pick of Punch, 1980. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 10:25:31 +0100 From: "Alison Page" To: "Lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Jenna as Bimbo Message-Id: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Heather (not sure which one) said - > Considering the time period of late > 1970s to early 1980s - in England, none the less - most women were > looking at careers as receptionists, secretaries, teachers, and > nurses, or of course, being a homemaker. Pilots, soldiers, assassins, > mercenaries, weapons specialists etc. - those careers were never an > option for a "proper English lady" :). Hmm.. I dunno. I was an English woman, though admittedly not a proper lady, coming of age at that time. I must say that the careers of receptionist, nurse etc. never occurred to me or any of my friends. My mates became fire fighters, executives, teachers admittedly, one of them helps run Middlesborough football club, and so-on. I think it would be more accurate to say that in the 1970s girls' attitudes had changed, but the portrayal of women in the media had not caught up. After all at that time the media (like for example the judiciary) was run by middle aged men from public schools who didn't have much of a clue about women at all. B7 was one step in the long adjustment of the portrayal of women which is still (IMHO) going on. To us its flaws are manifest, but in its day it was refreshing - just one stage on the route. This doesn't stop me adoring the program of course. Alison ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 10:17:23 +0100 From: "Alison Page" To: "Lysator" Subject: [B7L] Chris Boucher and Westerns Message-Id: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Just after Christmas I saw a western called 'Vera Cruz' (well in fact I only saw ten minutes of it). I was immediately struck by how very close the two main characters were to Blake and Avon. As far as I could tell the plot was about the uneasy alliance of two men, one of whom (Gary Cooper) was committed to the Mexican revolution, and the other of whom (Burt Lancaster) was only in it for the money. The Burt Lancaster figure was very reminiscent of the character into whom Avon developed, and he had a kind of love-hate relationship with a venial and untrustworthy woman. In the little bit I saw he was snogging her with his black leather trousers on, then the next minute they were trying to steal some gold from each other. At 'Redemption' Chris Boucher was talking about how he was influenced in the way he developed B7 by some of the westerns of the 50s and 60s. To my amazement he actually mentioned Vera Cruz by name. I would definitely heartily recommend this film to anyone who can get to see it - the parallels just in the small amount I saw were very striking and exciting. I'd love to get hold of the entire film on tape. While other westerns of the period are not quite as close in detail to the dynamics of B7 I think many of them share a kind of amoral and ruthless spirit which I think Chris B tried to capture. The reason I'm posting this is that I just saw another Burt Lancaster western, 'The Professionals' with Lee Marvin, which is in the same vein (and interestingly also set in the context of the Mexican revolution). I think that prior to the sea-change in Hollywood signalled by films like MASH and Easy Rider, many directors used the western as a way of expressing cynical and critical themes, in a context which was safely removed from the present day. A character could be portrayed as outside the law and opposed to established authority, without raising as much anxiety in the audience as it would if he were (say) a Black Panther or a member of the contemporary underground. I would suggest that in late 1970's Britain Science Fiction offered a similar safe remove from real life, and allowed Chris Boucher to slyly offer the same critical themes and explore the same questions about rebellion, terrorism, and self-interest. Alison ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 17:39:35 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: [B7L] Australia Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Last call for anyone who wants anything taken over to Australia without paying air-mail postage. I need any last minute requests by tomorrow. (e-mail me and I'll trust you to get a cheque to Pat) I've got most of Sheelagh Well's tapes (Action, Kingmaker, Elements and Liboratored) as well as the usual zines. Sheelagh's tapes would be Aus $24.60 each (payable to Pat Fenech) Sorry, I can help with the air mail postage, but the Aus dollar exchange rate is beyond my control. For those who aren't familiar with Sheelagh's tapes, they are interviews with various members of the cast. Paul and Gareth are on all the tapes. Liberatored has Michael Keating. Action has Stephen Greiff. Kingmaker has peter Tuddenham and David Maloney (the producer of seasons 1-3). Elements has Jackie Pearce and David Maloney. I really can't recommend these too highly. I listen to them far more often than I listen to any of the audio plays. Frequently hilarious and always enjoyable. If yu want to hear about the teddy bear and all the other things that happened during filming, then hear the stories from those who were there. These tapes are a godsend for those who can't get to conventions and still highly enjoyable for those who can. The joys of explosives going off behind you; the thrills of filming in nuclear power stations; what Paul Darrow's fans sent him in the mail; how Travis and Blake knew one another long before Blake's 7. Heck, they're worth it just for the voices. Stephen Greiff has a wonderful voice that you never really notice when he's Travis. Paul's goes without saying, and I could sit and listen to Gareth all day long. Judith PS. I'll be bringing some of the tapes over to Ecclecticon as well. -- 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: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 03:27:24 PDT From: "Rob Clother" To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Voices Message-ID: <19980929102724.11572.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Hope you have an excellent trip, Judith! >Heck, they're worth it just for the voices. Stephen Greiff has a >wonderful voice that you never really notice when he's Travis. You certainly notice it when he isn't Travis any more. :-( The characters' voices are one of the most pleasing aspects of B7. If there's one thing about an actor that draws you into their world like a moth, it has to be the voice. And in B7, most of the voices were consistently stunning. I'd like to add Jackie to your list. Perhaps it doesn't come across so much on the tapes, but in the series her voice takes you elsewhere -- for me, it's the main ingredient in her extraordinary charisma. Shame Servalan was such a murderous zealot, really. Otherwise, she might have made a most pleasurable acquaintance... -- Rob ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V98 Issue #247 **************************************