B7 on Mastermind

[vilakins]

One of my friends is appearing on UK Mastermind with the specialised subject of Blake's 7. Go, her!

When the contender comes back to the black chair for their second round of questions (the general knowledge round), John Humphrys, the question master, likes to have a little chat with them. He will probably want to talk about B7. My friend would like some ideas of what likely questions might be, and some suggestions for answers to them. So far she's thought of:

1. What was so good about B7?
   
2. Wasn't it really cheap and ropey?
   
3. Is it relevant today?
   
4. What makes it different to other SF shows?
   
5. Why has it become a cult?

To clarify her answers, she would like input from other fans, and someone's bound to think of something she hasn't thought of. John Humphrys is a political journalist and that sometimes carries over into his little chats on Mastermind. She would like to be able to defend B7 well, and put forward some good arguments.

So far I've come up with::

1. The complex and witty characters of moral ambiguity.
   
2. The sets and the SFX were, but the plots, characterisation, and dialogue more than make up for that.
   
3. The series carries the initial message that we should fight against injustice and oppression, and that sometimes the people on the right side aren't exactly angels, yet ends with the very bleak and cynical message that the fight is a hopeless and doomed one. Do we accept that?
   
4. It was the first to use plot arcs and morally ambiguous characters living in a dystopia.
   
5. Because the characters are so interesting and snarkily witty, and because we are not told everything we need to know so there's so much room for speculation and discussion.

What do you think?

Comments

[hafren.livejournal.com]

I've always thought I might do OK on B7 as a specialist subject. My general ignorance would do for me, though. Good luck to her.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I think I'd choose B7 too, but you have to have several subjects to get through which would stop me. She's already done well on a book series--'The Romney Marsh Novels of Monica Edwards'--and will do 'The Life of Alex Harvey' if she gets further.

I suppose I could do B7 and the Marlow novels of Antonia Forest but I'd be stumped for another one. Perhaps Asimov's Foundation series? Both of those I could bone up on.

But I'd be far too nervous to do well anyway. I was once on a winning school team, but that's different, being one of four.