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blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 228
Today's Topics:
Re: [B7L] Return of the Avon/Soolin debate
Re: [B7L] Good news!
Re: [B7L] Return of the Avon/Soolin debate
Re: [B7L] Return of the Avon/Soolin debate
Re: [B7L] Good news!
[B7L] Off-topic, Londo & G'Kar (was Re: Outside the canonic game)
Re: [B7L]Avon and Soolin
Re: [B7L] Good news!
[B7L] Horizon
Re: [B7L]Avon and Soolin
Re: [B7L] Greedy is as greedy does? (was Re: Avon & Vila)
Re: [B7L] Greedy is as greedy does?
[B7L] Harriet's Pella essay
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 08:10:22 EDT
From: Mac4781@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Return of the Avon/Soolin debate
Message-ID: <788bd27.24c9b5ae@aol.com>
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Rob wrote:
> I'd rather based my point on that assumption. I thought it was stated, or
> at least hinted at, but my VCR's up the duff at the moment, so I'll take
> your word for it. Anyway, for the moment, let's assume he did know,
because
>
> I don't really have a point otherwise...
It's not explicitly stated that Avon knew Soolin was from Gauda Prime, but it
is strongly hinted that he knew. Soolin says she knows Gauda Prime. She
notes it's a bad place to visit. She knows it well enough to refer to it as
GP. (Which is what the natives call it, but it's also something a visitor
could have picked up.) But she doesn't tell us it's where she is from. The
first inkling we have of that is when Avon looks at Soolin and says: "I
imagine that is what the locals call Gauda Prime, your home planet." It's
not said in the form of a question; it's said with factual certainty. IMHO,
Soolin didn't give us enough information for Avon to be so sure that she was
a GP native as opposed to someone who had simply spent time there. He had to
know it ahead of time.
Avon also tells us that he's used Orac to research Gauda Prime. I would also
assume that he used Orac to check out Soolin's background, and that he's
known where she was from for a very long time.
> For someone as professional as Soolin, being visibly hurt in front of
> colleagues whose respect you've worked hard to earn adds insult to injury.
I didn't see her as visibly hurt so much as pragmatically displeased. She
doesn't consider GP to be a safe place to visit. She doesn't appreciate that
Avon didn't respect her opinion enough to consult her if he was planning to
visit a place she knew.
> She was not pleased with Avon.
She wasn't, but I think it goes deeper than his slight about Gauda Prime.
She's keeping a close eye on Avon. She's seen him make mistakes in the past
(Zerok gold and warlord alliance to name just two); she thinks going to GP
could very well be another mistake. She also saw what he did in "Stardrive"
and "Games." She may even know or have guessed what happened on the shuttle.
She doesn't trust him any further than she can throw him. The words she
uses when she indicates her lack of trust refer right back to using Dayna and
Vila as bait for the spacerats: "I really could be quite annoyed if I
thought we'd been the bait in a trap you'd laid for them, Avon." She hasn't
forgotten what he did then; she believes he's capable of doing it again.
Soolin doesn't react to stressful situations by making rash accusations.
Stress shows her getting cooler, calmer and more calculating. When she
challenged Avon, it was because she believed it was a viable possibility
based on what she knew of his priorities and his past behavior.
> Avon is one of these people whose (It chokes me to use this word to
describe
> one of my least favourite characters) *charm* overrides people's better
> judgement.
But we never see that his charm overrode Soolin's better judgement.
> Of course, I remain completely unbiased in all of this. The fact that I
> want to have Soolin's babies, and can't stand Avon's guts, hasn't affected
> my point of view at all. No, never.
What a truly liberated male. But...uh...Rob, do you have the right equipment
to have her babies? ;-)
At any rate, *I* don't want to have her babies, and I suspect Joanne doesn't
either, and we both agree with your view of little chance for Soolin/Avon. :)
I think Soolin can do better than an untrustworthy employer. She's bright,
sophisticated and beautiful; she can probably have her pick of the crop.
While Avon may have noticed *her* looks (he also noticed Tarrant's!), there's
no indication that she finds him attractive or appealing. Her tastes in men
may run in other directions; we know Glynis' did. ;)
Carol Mc
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 08:16:38 EDT
From: Bizarro7@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Good news!
Message-ID: <277e96e1.24c9b726@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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In a message dated 7/23/99 6:51:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time, master@sol.co.uk
writes:
<< "SOME of the finest moments of vintage television drama will soon be
returning to the small screen, thanks to a deal signed yesterday.
Classics that include the science fiction series *Blake's 7*, Lovejoy,
Howards Way, Poldark and Bergerac are about to enjoy a rerun on the BBC >>
Get ready for a whole new wave of brand new generation B7 fans....
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 05:42:08 -0700
From: mistral@ptinet.net
To: B7 List <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Return of the Avon/Soolin debate
Message-ID: <3798631F.89479956@ptinet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Rob Clother wrote:
> Now that there's precious little work to be done in this office, I've got
> time to return to this thread. Having an argument with me takes rather a
> lot of patience!
Doesn't everything worthwhile?
> Mistral, Re Avon going to GP and springing it on Soolin, out of the blue:
>
> >Even assuming that he knew she was from GP, which is never >explicitly
> >stated...
>
> I'd rather based my point on that assumption. I thought it was stated, or
> at least hinted at, but my VCR's up the duff at the moment, so I'll take
> your word for it. Anyway, for the moment, let's assume he did know, because
> I don't really have a point otherwise...
You can really read it either way, based on tone of voice
and the wording; which is why I said *explicitly*; I've no
objection to assuming he knew.
<snip>
> There's more than one way to skin a cat, though. How about consulting her
> in private beforehand? Saying something like, "Soolin, what can you tell me
> about Gauda Prime?" That's not being rude or condescending, or even
> unprofessional -- but it is saving her the embarassment of discovering
> Avon's plan in front of the rest of the crew.
What a marvelous idea! But you must be very good with
people; it would never have occurred to me, and IRL, I
daresay I'm marginally better at people-handling than Avon
(no, honest! stop laughing!), so I doubt he'd have thought of
it either.
> And she *was* visibly upset
> by the revelation. Otherwise she wouldn't have threatened Vila over his
> choice of semantics, and she wouldn't have allowed Dayna to get physically
> close to her. Both acts were out of character.
It's not a bit unusual for a person to be upset by a topic
without being upset at the person who brought it up.
There's no reason to specifically think she's upset with Avon.
Her lovely little snarl at Vila points up yet *another*
similarity between her and Avon ;-)
Must disagree about the personal space bit. Late in the
season, she's quite casual about getting close to them,
particularly Dayna, IIRC.
> For someone as professional as Soolin, being visibly hurt in front of
> colleagues whose respect you've worked hard to earn adds insult to injury.
> She was not pleased with Avon.
Dear me! You've never been seriously ticked off at
someone and then still liked them after? (But I still think
to say angry *with Avon* is a big stretch.)
> For every similarity you come up with, I bet I can come up with a deeper
> dissimilarity. It might take me a few weeks, though! :-)
Let's just wait till they come up :-)
> >Soolin's got both the mindset to understand and appreciate Avon's
> >strengths and the compassion to forgive his weaknesses. In all
> >honesty, I can't think of another female character in the series
> >that has both. Just IMHO.
>
> Avon is one of these people whose (It chokes me to use this word to describe
> one of my least favourite characters) *charm* overrides people's better
> judgement. On the first viewing of Series 3, it's easy to say, "Tarrant,
> what a bastard", and excuse Avon for worse behaviour.
:-) Urkk... I'll be nice here and just assume that you *really*
don't mean that to be *nearly* as patronising as it reads.
Avon's *charm* is pretty nearly a non-issue to me, although
I'm aware of it. It's the behaviour I like; he displays values
I approve of. I didn't even like B7, or find him *charming*,
until I realised that. And I'm nowhere near first viewing; the
one I've watched the least, Animals, is at about 18th. Please
don't assume that my hormones are overruling my brain cells;
I'd never be so crass as to suggest your liking of Soolin is
based on the fact that she's stunningly beautiful; I assume
you have more depth. :-)
> Because Soolin is (as
> you correctly pointed out) so pragmatic, and because she has the ability to
> see through people, she'll see Avon's weaknesses more clearly than others.
> And she'll find them less easy to forgive.
I don't follow your logic. Soolin will see *both* his strengths
and his weaknesses quite clearly. She'll *understand* them;
and they share several of both. As she has the sensitivity
and compassion that we appear to agree on, how do you
think it follows that she'll find them hard to forgive? Mightn't
you be projecting your dislike of Avon onto Soolin when it
really doesn't fit? (Okay, okay, call that remark revenge.)
> >Er, addendum to that. Soolin is perhaps the only one who
> >wouldn't see as weaknesses some of the qualities in Avon
> >that he himself thinks of as strengths. Also IMHO.
>
> For Soolin, read Servalan. Then I'll agree with you.
Servalan is a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Neither
Avon nor Soolin fits that description.
They both value cold, calculated, tenacious vengeance
for lost loved ones. They both value making decisions
based on reason rather than feelings. They're both
pragmatists. That should be enough for starters.
> Of course, I remain completely unbiased in all of this. The fact that I
> want to have Soolin's babies, and can't stand Avon's guts, hasn't affected
> my point of view at all. No, never.
ROTFLOL!!! How refreshing!
Avon would say your taste in women is impeccable :)
Grins,
Mistral
--
"Let's play a mind game."--Soolin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 06:47:48 PDT
From: "Rob Clother" <whitehorse_dream@hotmail.com>
To: mistral@ptinet.net, blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Return of the Avon/Soolin debate
Message-ID: <19990723134748.76510.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
> > On the first viewing of Series 3, it's easy to say, "Tarrant,
> > what a bastard", and excuse Avon for worse behaviour.
>
>:-) Urkk... I'll be nice here and just assume that you *really*
>don't mean that to be *nearly* as patronising as it reads...
>[Paraphrase: I like Avon for his *mind*! How dare you suggest my hormones
>have anything to do with this! (Said much more politely, and with a lot
>more humour, I should add -- Rob)]
Just to put my statement into a bit of context, my remark about Series 3 was
based on my own initial reaction to Avon. He's a clever sod, who can come
up with blistering lines. At first, I disliked Tarrant and excused Avon --
but a bit of conditioning c/o the TN opened my eyes to the fact that I was
straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. I don't *think* this was due to
any kind of hormonal reaction, but then again, who knows what kind of latent
traits are bubbling away in the depths of my psyche? [What a grim
thought...]
-- Rob
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 15:27:25 +0100
From: "Julie Horner" <jihorner@dial.pipex.com>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Good news!
Message-ID: <000001bed518$1b2fc740$975095c1@orac>
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-----Original Message-----
From: David A McIntee <master@sol.co.uk>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Date: Friday, July 23, 1999 11:51 AM
Subject: [B7L] Good news!
>From today's Times:
>
>"SOME of the finest moments of vintage television drama will
>soon be returning to the small screen, thanks to a deal signed >yesterday.
Classics that include the science fiction series
>*Blake's 7*, Lovejoy,Howards Way, Poldark and Bergerac are
>about to enjoy a rerun on the BBC
>The Stage adds All Creatures to the list of repeats due as well.
Wonder where that leaves UK Gold? A re-launch as UK Silver?
Julie Horner
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 12:51:30 -0400
From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com>
To: "Blake's 7 (Lysator)" <BLAKES7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Off-topic, Londo & G'Kar (was Re: Outside the canonic game)
Message-ID: <199907231252_MC2-7E0E-11E8@compuserve.com>
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charset=ISO-8859-1
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Judith wrote:
>You have got to be joking! How many episodes of B5
>have you missed? I certainly saw transition. (Sharing
>a drink has enormous significance because of earlier
>episodes)
Precisely. By "drinking cronies" I meant the scene associated with Delenn
& Sheridan's wedding, where they're suddenly quite matey. And the reason
why I was so startled was that the previous occasion when G'Kar took a
drink from Mollari was so emotionally charged (following straight on from
the incident where he poured it out) that I wasn't ready for them to have
moved on so quickly without further examples of overtures awkwardly
accepted. I could only accept it by imagining that there had been a lot of
development off-screen. In fact, the preparation consists of Londo telling
Vir "G'Kar and I have a strange relationship." This annoyed me, because it
was a case of a character telling us something instead of showing it.
(Similar to Deep Space Nine where Quark once told some customers that being
Odo's enemy made him the closest thing Odo had to a friend. Which was
probably true, but I wasn't convinced Quark would have formulated the
thought, never mind actually told people about it.)
Reuben wrote:
>Even at the very end they do not seem to be that close.
>There is respect, but not a close friendship.
I think we are supposed to believe that they've become close (without, of
course, acknowledging it); eg the maintenance men in "View from the
Gallery" remark something like "so how long do you think they've been
married?", the way Londo refuses to abandon G'Kar in the cell after their
return to Centauri Prime, their embrace when G'Kar forgives Londo as an
individual just before he becomes Emperor - and G'Kar is the person with
whom he comes closest to warning about his own imminent fate.
Harriet
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 23:07:02 +1000
From: Kathryn Andersen <kat@welkin.apana.org.au>
To: "Blake's 7 list" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L]Avon and Soolin
Message-ID: <19990723230702.A16162@welkin.apana.org.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
On Thu, Jul 22, 1999 at 11:21:50PM -0700, mistral@ptinet.net wrote:
>
> As to her name, Sue Lynn is also common in the US,
> and isn't AFAIK particular to any ethnic group.
That would be fine except for the fact that it's spelt "Soolin".
As for Avon and Soolin getting together, I just don't see it at all.
Whether or not one is applying the argument that they are alike and
that like attracts like; that they understand each other and therefore
would get on -- seems completely irrelevant to me. The thing is,
there ain't no *spark*. I can see them working absolutely smoothly as
collegues, and maybe even growing towards friendship, but falling in
love? - not on your life!
Perhaps they are too alike. Because I think both of them have been
hurt so much and are so closed and absolutely determined not to be
vulnerable, that *neither* of them is going to be able to crack the
armour of the other. Both of them need someone who is (a) supportive,
(b) willing to be vulnerable *first* and (c) understanding and
forgiving.
The argument that they understand each other, and that "to know all is
to forgive all" would work except that in this case, understanding is
not enough. You have (c) without (a) and (b).
The other contentious point here is whether understanding *would* in
this case lead to forgiveness. Some say it would, and some say it
wouldn't. I think part of that is tied up with (a) whether any given
trait is *considered* to be a fault by the other, and (b) even if it is
something that *both* of them do and understand, it might be something
that they wouldn't forgive *themself* for, so they certainly wouldn't
forgive the other.
Kathryn (yawn) Andersen
--
_--_|\ | Kathryn Andersen <kat@welkin.apana.org.au>
/ \ | 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, 23 Jul 1999 14:08:53 -0500
From: Lisa Williams <lcw@dallas.net>
To: <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] Good news!
Message-Id: <4.1.19990723140726.01548dd0@mail.dallas.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
David A McIntee forwarded:
>The old favourites will replace American classics such as Ironside and UFO
>at off-peak periods in the afternoons and at weekends.
Since when did UFO become an *American* classic?
- Lisa
_____________________________________________________________
Lisa Williams: lcw@dallas.net or lwilliams@raytheon.com
Lisa's Video Frame Capture Library: http://lcw.simplenet.com/
From Eroica With Love: http://eroica.simplenet.com/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 15:33:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: Sondra Sweigman <sweigman@world.std.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Horizon
Message-Id: <Pine.SGI.3.95.990723152755.1021C-100000@world.std.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Jenni-Alison asks why Blake showed no concern for the plight of
the people being worked to death in the monopasium mines.
I think this is an incorrect conclusion. When Ro justifies the
abusive treatment by saying, "They're only primitives", Blake replies
something like, "Aren't they human beings too?" Beyond that I think
we're meant to assume that when Ro wakes up to his own oppression and
casts off the colonialist mindset, he simultaneously becomes more
sensitive to the plight of the "primitives." At any rate, even if this
were not so and the cast system continued, the monopasium mining operation
would have been shut down with the departure of the Federation from the
planet, so Blake no longer has any *reason* to be concerned.
Sondra
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 20:26:17 GMT
From: dixonm@access.mountain.net (Meredith Dixon)
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L]Avon and Soolin
Message-ID: <379bcf4f.60819159@access.mountain.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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On Fri, 23 Jul 1999 23:07:02 +1000, you wrote:
>On Thu, Jul 22, 1999 at 11:21:50PM -0700, mistral@ptinet.net wrote:
>>
>> As to her name, Sue Lynn is also common in the US,
>> and isn't AFAIK particular to any ethnic group.
>
>That would be fine except for the fact that it's spelt "Soolin".
That's not a death-blow to the argument by any means. Spelling
has obviously changed quite a bit over the centuries. E.g.,
Deeta (= Dieter), Roj (= Rog, diminutive of Roger)
--
Meredith Dixon <dixonm@access.mountain.net>
Check out *Raven Days*, for victims and survivors of bullying.
And for those who want to help.
http://web.mountain.net/~dixonm/raven.html
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 22:32:55 EDT
From: VulcanXYZ@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Greedy is as greedy does? (was Re: Avon & Vila)
Message-ID: <6a595a2b.24ca7fd7@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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Snipping a bit past the lovely consensus -- On P/J traits, I had asked:
> Interesting. But I thought the P rating suggested a certain amount of
> disorganization, and Avon never seemed anything to me but organized. Am I
> off on this?
And Mistral replied:
<Not off on it being a P trait, no, but you don't have to have all
the traits for your end of the scale.
I thought this was a good observation. We humans are, after all, very
complex, and the 4 letters can only describe us in part.
Re Big Brother Blake, Mistral commented:
<I'll agree with you he was conflicted about Blake; but
what I meant is, Blake gave Avon some input, at least,
whereas in Federation, Avon would have felt a cipher.
*Some* control is better than *no* control; and he was
probably fooling himself he had more control than he
actually did, and a chance of getting even more. Within
Federation society, however, he'd already hit the point
where he felt he had to break free, hence his turning to
crime.
Well, yes, Blake did allow Avon some input (although Blake usually seemed to
do what he wanted regardless of the input). But even so, I think that Avon
would have found Blake's control much more alarming than the Federation's
because it was up close and personal. We all agree, I think, that Avon
valued his independence and liked keeping others at a distance, and yet he
found himself being attracted to Blake and doing many things that went
against his own selfish interest. This resulted in his giving up some of his
personal control to Blake, something that must have conflicted with his own
self-image. When a person does this, he or she starts to feel like someone
else and may begin to wonder who he/she really is. A scary thing.
In discussing Blake's personality, Mistral said: <with some snips>
<Yes, there was an emotional appeal tugging at Avon;
what I mean is that Blake's *approach* wasn't emotional.
Respect for the INTP mind is nearly guaranteed to strike at
the INTP heart. Blake was not afraid to argue his opinions,
but also made it clear he valued Avon's opinions. That's a very
powerful combination, that.
I always felt that Blake was using emotional blackmail with Avon, but don't
ask me to come up with examples. It would require actually watching some B7!
<Gail beating her head against the wall in frustration for not finding time
to do so!!!> That is certainly an emotional approach. Does anyone else out
there think so, too?
On obsession and greed:
> Mistral says about greed & Avon:
> <Ack! Not obsessed. But true greed. Not the same thing.
And I reply:
No, I can't see this Webster says greed is *excessive or reprehensible
> acquisitiveness* and how can you achieve this is you are not obsessed with
> money?
Mistral responds:
<It's not the definition of greed that's messing us up, it's the
definition of obsession. Obsession means it's achieved a
degree of importance that it blocks out pretty much all else;
I might let you get away with calling him obsessed with
Blake, but that's the only thing; and I don't think I'd agree there.
Well, I think we are splitting hairs here. Whether we call greed a minor
obsession (depending on the amount of greed, I suppose) or just an excessive
interest in money, we both think Avon had it.
Gail, who thinks that 2nd Doctor was awfully cute!
<skip> <hop> & a <jump>
========================== >>
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 02:39:36 PDT
From: "Sally Manton" <smanton@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Greedy is as greedy does?
Message-ID: <19990724093940.53680.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Re Big Brother Blake, Gail wrote:
<But even so, I think that Avon would have found Blake's control
much more alarming than the Federation's because it was up close
and personal. We all agree, I think, that Avon valued his
independence and liked keeping others at a distance, and yet he
found himself being attracted to Blake and doing many things that
went against his own selfish interest.>
By whose (albeit unwilling) choice, may I ask? Blake never
demanded a personal, emotional commitment. He had it - oh, yes,
he knew he had it, and he used it when he needed to (forcing his
trust on Avon as early as Time Squad). But he never *manipulated*
Avon into caring about him personally. It happened because of the
type of men they both were, and IMO it worked both ways. But if
Avon found it so intolerable, why did he search for Blake after Star
One - and *why* did he go to the enormous risk of the almost-
certainly-a-trap of Terminal on the off-chance that Blake was there?
He valued his independence, yes. But somewhere along the line he
found he valued Fearless Leader more.
Mistral said:
<Yes, there was an emotional appeal tugging at Avon; what I mean
is that Blake's *approach* wasn't emotional. Respect for the INTP
mind is nearly guaranteed to strike at the INTP heart. Blake was not
afraid to argue his opinions, but also made it clear he valued Avon's
opinions. That's a very
powerful combination, that.>
Followed by Gail's:
<I always felt that Blake was using emotional blackmail with Avon,
but don't ask me to come up with examples. It would require
actually watching some B7! <Gail beating her head against the wall
in frustration for not finding time to do so!!!> That is certainly an
emotional approach. Does anyone else out there think so, too?>
No way. Noooooo way. Too right I'm going to ask you to come up
with examples, if you're going in for Blake-bashing like this. Blake
*likes* Avon (he is exasperated and infuriated on a regular basis,
yes, but they do like each other. Sally's First Rule.) So why on earth
must his liking and his respect for the other man's opinion be
twisted into 'emotional blackmail'? Why do you need to see devious
motives in the simple fact that they respect each others' minds and
opinions?
***Blake is not to blame for the fact that Avon cares about him.***
Sometimes I wonder if anti-Blake fans sincerely believe he should be
slammed for simply being what he was - fiery, passionate, caring -
just because his *being* that way was what drew Avon in.
In Breakdown, he's willing to let Avon go, without trying in the
slightest to stop him by either physical means or emotional ties (in
fact, he's extremely short with Avon, almost pushing him away,
*until* it's clear that Avon had made his decision). In Pressure
Point, he allows Avon the pleasing fiction that getting the Liberator
is the *only* reason for helping with the attack on Central Control.
They fight, yes. And Blake usually ends up making the decisions,
equally yes (he's the leader, and like it or not, he is better at
leading than Avon, who knows it and doesn't *want* the job).
Blake does not 'manipulate' anyone lightly. He has a gift for it - it's
part of what he is, along with the generosity of spirit, the
ruthlessness, the warmth, the calculation...the everything. But he
uses it sparingly IMO, and not on Avon. He's got far too much
respect for Avon's intelligence and acuity to try it, even if he was
tempted, because he knows Avon wouldn't stand for it. When you
work through the verbal games and sparring, they are (again IMO)
remarkably honest with each other about what they're doing and
why. Avon *may* have felt something like emotional compulsion,
but surely he's far too honest to try and blame Blake for what *his
own* feelings are pushing him into.
Right - now I�ve got that off my chest...(and no, I will neither bounce
nor skip. Having stamping my metaphorical feet will do.)
______________________________________________________
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Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 23:11:01 EDT
From: AdamWho@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Harriet's Pella essay
Message-ID: <fb4f651a.24cbda45@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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After watching Power for the first time (a very strong contender for worst B7
episode), I read Harriet's essay on Pella, and the pathetic turn taken with
the character in her final minutes. It is a wonderful essay, and I completely
agree.
Only the misogny of Ben Steed could produce an episode where every female is
killed, except the real "woman", Nina, who tolerated her husband's abuse and
treatment of her as a servant. I actually did like the actress, she deserved
a better role. One of the only women left who stood up to the Homites, Pella,
became a villianess caricature in her final minutes, before being killed by
Avon.
The worst moment is the death of Kate, killed for no other reason than
Steed's pattern of "kill this character off because I'm not creative enough
to write a better exit for her".
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End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #228
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