From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #298 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: <blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se> archive/volume98/298 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 298 Today's Topics: Re: [B7L] Re: Voyager and B7 Re: [B7L] Languages [B7L] Herstmonceux [B7L] Re: Peladon [B7L] Re: Brian C's one man show [B7L] Radio Times [B7L] Carnell ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 23:21:03 -0000 From: "Dangermouse" <master@sol.co.uk> To: <ShilLance@aol.com>, <blakes7@lysator.liu.se> Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Voyager and B7 Message-Id: <199811302342.XAA23206@gnasher.sol.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > What do you mean "shagging Robert Beltran?" "Having extramarital sex with" > Maybe they've been in space longer than 3 years. Perhaps the time discussion > on Blake's 7 should also apply to Voyager. No they've always been careful (or foolish) to make sure the numbers add up. They're now in their fifth year of flying home. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 15:13:42 +0000 (GMT) From: Una McCormack <umm10@hermes.cam.ac.uk> To: Lysator <blakes7@lysator.liu.se> Subject: Re: [B7L] Languages Message-ID: <Pine.PCW.3.96.981201145242.12127B-100000@umm-pc.jims.cam.ac.uk> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Judith asked the fascinating question: >What languages might have persisted until the time of the Federation and >why? I read a wonderful story called 'Conversation Piece' by Claire Jordan (?) from, I think, the Slave zine, published around 1980, which speculated the continuance of Celtic language and custom into the Federation era. [Sarah T. can no doubt correct me on my zine facts here! ;) ] Most interestingly, it considered the status of the individual Celtic parliaments under Federation rule. I also recall another story (can't for the life of me remember where) which suggested that Governor Le Grand was a French name, and that Outer Gal was originally a French colony. Tied in very nicely with the names. Latin might exist in the form of a handful of surviving manuscripts, but whether anyone would have sufficient scholarly expertise to read them, or whether such expertise would be allowable, I doubt. Mainly, I think, because most of these manuscripts would be religious texts, and the destruction of such things would be a necessary part of the Federation's attempts to eradicate religion. Perhaps the same would go for Hebrew. I imagine a form of intellectual destruction and iconoclasm *at least* on the scale of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, or the Puritan period in England in the 1640s. Neil: I liked your mention of Esperanto a lot. This is one of my favourite gags from the Stainless Steel Rat books. Isn't in 'Red Dwarf' as well? I also liked your remark that: >Even if the Federation might want to obliterate all other languages, a >pragmatic Space Command might bend the rules if they could see the point. which I thought was spot on. Incidentally, and I'm not sure how this works in terms of canonical references to Federation history, but don't forget that language shifts pretty quickly. If some of these planets were settled in a wave of expansion, and then were left alone for a period of Federation contraction, then once the Federation came back again, it's perfectly possible for these languages to have developed, at the very least, hugely distinct accents and even have become unintelligble. I can barely make out a broad Northern Irish accent! Alison said: >However something about the feel of the Federation in the B7 Universe >makes me agree that language, and even accent, would be used as a means >of social stratification. Definitely. Particularly within Earth society, which seems very rigidly stratified. Una -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't know where I'm going, or who I'm meeting - but I know I'm late. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Judge Institute of Management Studies Tel: +44 (0)1223 766064 Trumpington Street Fax: +44 (0)1223 339701 Cambridge CB2 1AG http://www.sticklebrock.demon.co.uk/una United Kingdom http://www.jims.cam.ac.uk/research/ion/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 09:15:53 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.demon.co.uk> To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se> cc: Space City <Space-city@world.std.com> Subject: [B7L] Herstmonceux Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-1201081553-0b0Rr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Moday turned out to be quite an interesting day: cold, but interesting. I dumped the boys at their respective schools as early as I possibly could (including Kelvin with stacks of wargaming stuff for his after school club - he was not happy at the prospect of having to carry it all home himself...), drove into Poole and parked at the station. Buying a ticked, I discovered, not really to my surpise, that the railway telephone enquiry line had got it wrong as usual. They'd given me the correct train, but had wrongly informed me that I could use my railcard on this journey. <sigh> Ten quid more than what I'd hoped. Several changes of train later, I'd survived the toyal lack of any buffet thanks the the kindness of a fellow traveller who fed me a chocolate and orange flapjack. We ended up having a very interesting discussion on geology all the way to Brighton. (At least I wasn't thirsty. One of my unbreakable rules is never embark on any rail jouney, no matter how short, without taking a bottle of water.) I finally got to Polgate station around midday and was collected by a man from the BBC who drove myself and a couple of other fans to Herstmonceux. Talk about the perfect place to film a Blake's 7 episode. This used to be the home of the Royal Greenwich Observertory (prounounced Grennich, just to confuse foreigners) and some of the stuff is still here. The copper covered domes that housed the telescopes are green with verdigris now and look fantastic. Round each dome there's a small balcony and we could see a group of fans standing on the balcony as we drew in. We waved to them (Hi Steve) and went on into the canteen (the place is now a science centre and obviously open to the public most of the time). Patrick Moore was already there, though I'm sorry to say that we were all so busy discussing fannish things with on another that we said very little to him. We gossiped and laughed and as more fans arrived, we gossipped even more. I'd brought a few bits and bobs along with me. Sheelagh Wells had originally been going to appear on the programme as well, but unfortunately work committments got in the way. I brought a few of her tapes along for good luck. I lent Fiona the one that I'd been listening to on my Walkman, waited for the inevitable laugh and then went in for the kill and promptly sold her two tapes. You don't need a sales pitch for those tapes - they sell themselves. Reminds me. Sheelagh is planning her next tape now. She won't be drawn as to who will appear on it as that depends to some extent on people's work committments at the time of recording, but it will be called 'Solstice'. The dictionary says of a solstice that it is a moment of pause and reflection. People ordering the tape from her in advance will be entered into a draw for a B7 related prize. More fannish chat. I passed Sheelagh's regards onto Patrick - she knows him of old and rather regretted not being able to see him again (I guess make-up artists get to know all sorts of interesting people). Various invividuals vanished to be interviewed. I passed my Gareth photo collection around and sold a couple of fanzines. Several of us had been asked to bring photos, fanzines, costumes, etc. but in the event none of these were used as the weather remained dry and Ralph decided to film everything outside and use the local scenary as a backdrop. We ate a rather sorry-looking ploughman's lunch courtesy of the BBC and more fans arrived. I think there were ten or fifteen of us in all, though I suspect at least half will get lost in the editing as I believe there's only going to be about ten minutes of fan stuff in the final programme. When my turn came, I was very glad I'd brought a warm coat. I was warmer than Ralph Lee was as he crouched behind the camera on the narrow balcony of a telescope dome. A white fabric reflector leaning against the camera and added a little to the light levels as the day was a bit cloudy. We talked about Blake's 7 and the reasons for its continuing appeal, which from my viewpoint are the scripts and the quality of the acting and the relationships between he characters. We discussed 'The Web' which is the episode they will be showing. I believe there were several reasons for the choice, one of which is that it isn't a continuity based episode. Many of the most popular episodes require you to have seen other related episodes in order to get the most from them. From the questions I was asked, I think the topicality of the issue of genetic engineering was another aspect that appealed. When does a genetically engineered race reach a level where it has human rights? Ralph also showed me inside one of the domes as he knew I was interested. The telescope is amazing. He told me that Patrick Moore had mapped most of the moon using that particular telescope. (The programme will be called 'Over the Moon', so it's a nice connection). The floor of the dome can rise and fall. This was to allow the astronomers to be at the right height to use the telescope (which is about 15 feet long) whatever angle it is at. There was an old chair with an unusual shape to allow astronomers to look down the telescope for long periods while lying virtually flat on their back. Back to the canteen to thaw out and swop notes. Do you suppose they'll use the bit about Tarrant's bum... Diane had brought various bits of Horizon stuff, so I stocked up on memo pads and looked at her latest Gareth photo. We saw a preview of some bits of the next Horizon newsletter. There's a really groan-indicing pun in one article, but I promised I wouldn't give it away. (I have a great weakness for bad puns). Andy arrived, somewhat later than anticipated with some splendid Federation trooper outfits. Three fans prmoptly donned these and went out to be shot patroling the domes. I was originally slightly dubious about this idea, but to be honest, it would have been a terrific waste of the setting not to do it. Those domes were just made for Federation patrols. Jenni, in her silver Avon outfit, borrowed my son's replica Liberator gun and went out to be filmed being arrested. The rest of us watched and gradually froze. We weren't allowed to talk when they were actually shotting so as to not be picked up on the soundtrack. Then we watched Patrick recording the voiceovers. Back indoors to drool over Horizon's replica Orac and to take a quick peek at some costumes Rob had brought. I also had great fun playing with a replica Federation gun. Who wants to grow up anyway? Then it was all over and time to head back to the station. I'd swear those winding Surrey roads had doubled in length from the first journey. Or maybe the driver got lost and wasn't telling... Four hours of so later, I staggered home, having survived once more without a buffet. Kelvin had managed to get a lift home from school so he was happy. I had a chat with the baby sitter and then collapsed to answer the e-mail. With excellent timing, Sheelagh phoned up just as I'd finished reading the e-mail, so I passed Patrick's regards back to her, chatted about the events of the day and then crawled off to bed. It was fun. I believe the programme will be broadcast in January on the BBC digital channel. Heaven knows if anyone will ever see it, but if you want to know what a Blake's 7 episode looks in a digital quality broadcast, then you'll have to find a friend with a digital set or get one yorself. -- 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, 01 Dec 1998 22:32:26 +0100 From: Steve Rogerson <steve.rogerson@MCR1.poptel.org.uk> To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: Peladon Message-ID: <36646061.422E303E@mcr1.poptel.org.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Carol asked re Peladon: "Steve, thanks for passing along the news that the next B7 radio play might be delayed. :( I've been looking forward to it. Are you going to tell us anything more about the convention?" Well it was mostly a Dr Who con despite it being billed as a B7/Dr Who con. Jacqueline was the only B7 guest, though some of the many minor Dr Who peeps had been in B7. And Colin Baker was also one of the guests and was asked what it was like to work on B7 and he said they were great people to work with (stock answer, yes I know I'm cynical). Jacqueline was a bit downbeat about the radio play. She didn't comment much on it directly, just to say that when you get a Dr Who writer writing Blakes 7 it's hardly surprising if the characters don't come across right. She was selling an audio cassette for a fiver called "Jacqueline Pearce in conversation 1: Servalan". I bought one but I haven't got round to listening to it yet. I also picked up for a fiver a vinyl LP (remember them?) of BBC theme tunes including B7. It's called BBC Space Themes and came out in 1978. The record itself is very badly scratched but the cover has a great picture of the Liberator on it and really small Tardis and USS Enterprise. -- 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: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 22:43:21 +0100 From: Steve Rogerson <steve.rogerson@MCR1.poptel.org.uk> To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: Brian C's one man show Message-ID: <366462EE.59CE11E@mcr1.poptel.org.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Carol asked: "did anyone go to Brian Croucher's one-man show? I was hoping to see reports on that." Yep I did. He was very good. He really has had a varied career, and the beard suits him. He used to live in Battersea, London, where the show was, which is why he was doing it. But he's moved to a remote part of Kent because he became too well known after being in Eastenders, so it was becoming a bit of a pain living in a crowded area of London. The guy interviewing him, interviewed the group of us from Horizon unexpectadly before Brian came on. He just walked into the audience and asked who we were, so we told him and he spent a few minutes talking with us. The interview took Brian through his career interspersed with video clips from things he'd been in. The B7 clip was from Trial were he is in his cell and the guy comes in offers him a drink. I can't remember the name of the actor at the moment, but Brian said afterwards that he died not long ago. After the formal bit, he threw it open to the audience for questions. I asked if he'd like to recreate the role of Travis for a radio play. He said he'd love to and said can we let the right people know. I had to shoot off at the end, but he joined the rest of the Horizon people in the bar for a chat afterwards. I've saw at the BBC B7 Over the Moon shoot yesterday a group photo of him in the bar with the fans, so I was miffed at not staying. Not that miffed cos I had so much fun yesterday dressed up as a Federation trooper, but I'll save that for another email. -- 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: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 23:39:45 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.demon.co.uk> To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se> cc: Space City <Space-city@world.std.com> Subject: [B7L] Radio Times Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-1201223945-9eeRr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII This week's Radio Times has a brief Blake's 7 reference and a small picture of Blake on page 7. No, not a repeat showing. This is the BBC after all. 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: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 17:18:27 PST From: "Joanne MacQueen" <j_macqueen@hotmail.com> To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Carnell Message-ID: <19981202011829.2692.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Hello all. Just a question: Jean Graham has put a story called "Mirage" up on her site, and I'm reading through it. The trouble is that I'm having trouble with the description of one character. Not having seen "Weapon", can I ask what the hell Carnell looks like? The description so far seems to involve almost as many teeth as the senior and junior Toothy Ones (ie Avon and Tarrant respectively) put together, but all that conjures up is a vague mental picture of Carker the manager from "Dombey and Son" (it's so hard to read a book when you have to put it down whenever a particular character appears), or the Corinthian from The Sandman graphic novels (and that's another nightmare altogether! <wince>). Anyone care to describe Carnell? Or is he indescribable? <smile> Regards Joanne Gross Domestic Product: The Footy Show --Glossary, Good News Week Vol. 2 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V98 Issue #298 **************************************