The Way Back to Blake's 7

[vilakins]

A few people here are rewatching Blake's 7, and some of them are doing so because of kerravonsen's excellent idea of reviving the moribund B7 mailing list 'The Lyst' by watching and discussing an episode a week. Several Lyst members including me have jumped at the chance. I've been rather slack myself and have in the last couple of years only broken my DVDs out to check the occasional scene for a story. I really need to get back into it again, and an ep a week (with one definite exception in my case, still unwatched in its entirety) is very doable.

We begin this week with 'The Way Back' and start discussion on Monday the 10th. If anyone's interested in joining us on the Lyst, here's the sign-up and FAQ page. Note though that the posting address is wrong is completely valid, but the new one is blakes7@lists.lysator.liu.se.

[Edit] The address on that page works fine, as does the new one I gave. I got confused with another mailing list whose old address no longer works.

Comments

[spacefall.livejournal.com]

Yesterday I convinced my Mum to rewatch the series with me. I don't think she realises it'll take a year -- I haven't mentioned that bit yet.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

:-D It'll be just like watching a series on TV! We've got TWB on the play list here tonight.

[satan-pingu.livejournal.com]

In a kind of not-quite synchronicity, I'm rewatching them. I've reached up to Duel though, so I'll have to wait for everyone to catch up in, er, 5 weeks!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Cool, you can join in the discussions! Are you on the Lyst? I might post my thoughts on each ep here too, but as kerravonsen said, a mailing list is a better way of carrying on a week-long discussion. On LJ if you're off the current flist page, you're history. :-)

[satan-pingu.livejournal.com]

I have just joined! It's turning into a very B7 week---the new audio series fell through the post yesterday!

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Hm. I watch them quite a lot (though my one exception is not the same as yours! I wonder if everyone has one exception?) and the idea of discussion is cool. But as I recall, there were issues you weren't meant to discuss on the Lyst; if someone genuinely thought such and such a scene was slashy, and said so, war would break out, no?

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Please do post your thoughts here as well - they'll be interesting to read even if they don't turn into a fully-fledged week-long discussion.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yay! And I've just watched TWB. Excellent script, Federation iPods, and one pretty good special effect. :-D

I listened to some of the audio series on line but it was too disconcertingly Just Not B7 for me with a Scottish Blake and Servalan, an American Jenna, an Avon lacking in wit (as far as I listened anyway), a Vila that sounded like an aged smoker, and really confusing Foley work. People said it improved, but I gave up on it. Let me know what you think.

[kalinda001.livejournal.com]

An Avon lacking in wit? Horror of horrors!!! That would definitely turn me off listening to it altogether.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Ah, but do you know what my exception is? It's not Blake, which I have actually watched all the way through--twice (once as a kid and once in reruns) and will again if we're still doing this in a year.

I believe there were flame wars before my time, though it was run by Calle who is certainly not against slash. It has an FAQ. [goes to read] Ah, there's quite a lot about spam and netiquette and not top-posting. There is one para however:

Sex. Some of us like to imagine the characters of Blake's 7 getting it off every now and then (or constantly, as the case may be). Possibly with each other, and not necessarily limited to couples of opposite genders (or couples, for that matter). Other people on the list really don't want to talk about or even hear about that sort of thing. In the past, we used to have regular flamewars about it. After a couple of years, some people got tired of that and started a separate, smut-friendly B7 mailing list. Please keep the smutty stuff on it, just to keep the peace. More about how to reach it below.

Sadly, the links are no longer valid. I have no idea what happened, but if it's smut that's banned, that doesn't mean people can't say a scene is slashy. IMO anyway.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

He may have improved. I can't tell you though since I gave up.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I will! I'll hold off till the discussion's started on the Lyst though so as not to lure members away.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna try and get involved... it's been a while since I had a good B7 diatribe :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I look forward to seeing the snarky sparks fly!

[kerravonsen]

Heh, very appropriate icon. (grins)

[satan-pingu.livejournal.com]

and one pretty good special effect
Do you mean the dome sequences? I love those.

Just Not B7 for me with a Scottish Blake and Servalan
The Scots are certainly in vogue at the mo! Okay, enough of the political jokes. I've only listened to a little bit (I couldn't get the B7 interweb player to work on linux, so I had to wait for the CDs). I am certainly struggling to disengage the BBC casting... they're fantastic after all!

I'm fond of Daniella Nardini, but Jacqueline Pearce would eat her for breakfast! Also, it's a shame they have her using contractions, Servalan's mannered and precise diction always added the requisite goose-bumps.

I haven't given it a fair chance yet (I dropped off, it was late), so I'll see how it goes!

[satan-pingu.livejournal.com]

Ah, but do you know what my exception is? It's not Blake
Is that an episode you can't watch/don't like? Harvest of Kairos?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It's one that was so disgusting and boring (yes, at the same time) that I FFed through it. Life is just too short. I loathe Ben Steed, the sexist waste of skin, but this ep takes the prize for sheer mind-numbing eye-glazing awfulness, even for its season. Now there's a clue.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yep, the dome is very cool. Domed cities rule!

The London's not bad, and there's also an effective little bit where cell M3 sort of morphs when it's cleared for Varon to talk to Blake.

I'll post more next week once the Lyst discussion's going so I don't distract members who are here.

[satan-pingu.livejournal.com]

Power. I'd expunged it from my memory.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

I might join in, even though I've been a lurker on the Lyst for so long that I imagine everyone's forgotten me by now. :) But it'll depend on whether or not I get the time to re-watch the episode... which is by no means certain.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It wasn't one of his. It makes 'Power' look... just offensive. At least Gunn-Sar was funny.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Just one little tiny episode, Ms Creosote! Just one sliver of B7.

Greg watched it too. It's a damned good piece of writing and almost standalone as an SF story. Terry Nation is so underrated by the Boucher fans.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm a Boucher fan, and I appreciate Terry Nation! Although slightly more for "Genesis of the Daleks" than for "The Way Back," I'll admit. Still, it is a good episode.

[kalinda001.livejournal.com]

I'll try to join in. Can't guarantee I'll be able to watch all the eps.