More Blake's 7

[bagheera_san]

I've now seen most of the first season of Blake's 7. So far I'm still not feeling very fannish about it, even though I have gone looking at some fanfic, mostly to discover that there is not enough Vila fic (possibly only on AO3 - fanlore says that Avon/Vila is a popular pairing. I can sort of see why. but at the moment I don't ship anyone) and not

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[aralias]

ok - so obviously this post is like a terrible flame to which the moth of my comment is drawn... i'm afraid i must arrive and tell you my MANY FEELINGS about breakdown, and how i love it, because it is not actually about gan and his limiter (in fact, a less gan episode it would be impossible to imagine), but in fact about how one day avon thought 'I MUST LEAVE BLAKE. FOR REAL THIS TIME' but then it didn't work out for him and blake went out of his way not to look like he'd even cared, but not well enough because cally noticed <3. all the rest is flim-flam to distract you from this plot

[bagheera_san]

I've discovered the hermit library already - and their incredibly weird search function :/ What *is* that thing with the radio buttons and the min/max?! So maybe there are scores of awesome Vila fics and I just don't know about it.

Yesterday I watched "Redemption" and is it just me or was there a sudden jump in quality? Or at least, in pace and maybe dialogue? I really liked this episode. It had action, and aliens (or strange humans ruled by machines - I can never tell in Blake's 7 whether people are supposed to be aliens or just humans who have been out of contact with the rest of humanity for a long time... anyway, I'm pleased that the Liberator was built by strange aliens) and Orac saving the day and everyone had matching black and white costumes.

[aralias]

As for radio buttons - I think it stems from an old school way if thinking about slash and het and gen. People who make zines seem to think that if I like a/b I am likely to also like a/v and certainly more than I would like a/j which is not true (a/j is hot and funny - because avon thinks he is cool but jenna doesnt - and not a serious threat). But if you didn't want to read slash you could vote it out. And if you only wanted to read gen... H you could vote out large swathes of the library. I want to... Be able to easily search by author and have the pairing clearly marked. So it's basically useless. I'm always finding b/a fic I missed on hermit.

[bagheera_san]

I've watched S2 now (up to and including "Aftermath") and NOW I'm hooked :) "Shadow" was an awesome episode that made me like Cally (unfortunately she never seems to get that good again), "Pressure Point", "Trial" and "Gambit" made me love Servalan and Travis (I thought Travis was an interesting character from the beginning, but now I'd really like a fic where Travis somehow ends up on the Liberator and working with them against the Federation and Servalan) and I like Avon and Blake more with every episode I watch - especially when it's clear that Blake is charismatic and heroic and certainly right about the Federation but that doesn't mean they should all follow him because his judgment is... not good. At all. Which isn't really a surprise given the things he's been through - if I ever write B7 fic, I think I'm going to be massively into Blake's trauma... In S1 I thought Avon was just being contrary and needlessly an ass to everyone (and he is, seriously, it's like Gregory House in Space whenever Avon opens his mouth - except he's

[aralias]

i wrote a first half of that comment that was talking about how series 2 was the best one! but it seems that LJ decided you didn't need that part, and indeed... it seems ok

[aralias]

ok! i have come back with at least one more point that i have remembered - which is that i too used the vervoid to tell me what was likely to be a good or bad episode! i think it is often right, and does (mostly) identify the ones that are really good and the ones that are really bad, but i also think it's wrong because i have a lot of time for episodes like time squad (1x4) or hostage (some point in series 2), which are dismissed as rubbish. in fact, i wouldn't skip any episode of series 1 and 2, not even 'voice from the past', which i like more and more every time i watch it. and i actively like 'hostage'. i see he also insults 'countdown' - there's nothing wrong with countdown! and both it and hostage are lynch pins in my 'blake fancies avon' arguement'. also - i see in the summary of 'voice from the past' that he says that it doesn't feel as dull as some of the episodes that proceeds it - HOW DARE YOU. i love all the episodes that proceed it

[bagheera_san]

I watched Hostage now (I had indeed skipped it based on the Vervoid's scathing review) and it is a bit weird in places but you're right - that was the shippiest episode yet! And it's exactly the sort of thing I like, from Avon's "We might not come down to save you when you get in trouble... okay, I'm going down to risk my life to save Blake and no one is allowed to question this!" to Cally's "I thought so" moment (I know she doesn't mean "I knew it, Avon has a massive crush on Blake!" but it sure sounds like she does) to Blake's complete lack of surprise that Avon has come after him. And also the bit where Avon gets shot and is all, "Leave me!" Plus I liked the last scene with Servalan and Travis

[aralias]

\o/ writing in iPhone so will be brief (and almost incomprehensible but hopefully this is better) but hooray for hostage and the good episodes of series 3! Re tarrant - he is actually a good guy (see him apologising to Vila in city and he getsless awful). In fact, thanks to fandom I Increasingly like him - and I love all the discount Blake jokes that are available (Lols, and seriously - a lot of a/t is about b ). Also he has a v good episode in death watch - have you seen that? And have you seen terminal??? My not secret favourite for Avon feels.

[bagheera_san]

Wooow, okay, that was devastating... I've just seen Terminal. The Liberator's 'death' was horrifying, srsly, not okay. It was such a nice ship! And I'd just grown really fond of it, too. As for Avon, that just turned from "slightly irrational crush on Blake" into "gigantic insane obsession with Blake" - it's tragic, but I also love it. And I love Avon going crazy in general, though I also want them all to have a happy ending (and am spoilered enough to know that that'll only happen in fanfic)...

I still don't like Tarrant very much, but "Death Watch" was a brilliant episode nonetheless! I liked Tarrant's brother and the whole concept of it (Space Hunger Games that actually make sense!).

Also, I've seen Moloch. So now I understand all those references to Ben Steed (well, the couple I've come across.) Although I didn't completely hate it... it was just very gross.

[aralias]

Although I didn't completely hate it... it was just very gross. that is actually how i feel about all of the ben steeds. there's usually something quite fun there. it's not as boring as plenty of other boring episodes (volcano, that one in the other universe that i never remember the name of, it's so boring) and then there will be something about women that is just so awful you almost can't bear it

[bagheera_san]

I just read a review of terminal in some blog and it also said that about the intended finale - what a strange way to end the series! I mean, Servalan is defeated (though she survives, apparently, that is one of the ways in which I am spoilered), the Liberator destroyed, Blake appears one more time, so, yes, an ending - but all of the characters except Servalan are left hanging, and it's neither completely tragic nor completely happy. I love Blake's 7 for being this strange, btw, after watching so much TV for so many years it's great when something is this unusual

[aralias]

there is, actually, at least one s/v that i think is pretty good. it was written by vilakins who writes all the best vila, and you may have seen it already because it is on AO3. corngold wrote a tiny s/v scene into one of her larger a/b, aaaaaaand... i prompted vila leaving servalan at the altar on the kink meme ;)

i like 'terrible things happen in some place called Gauda Prime' as a summary. and soolin's sort of a space pirate... i guess. she's a gunfighter for hire, basically. and i think of her as the avon that avon wishes avon were. (i said i would neither confirm nor deny but... soolin is real. i'll give you that one).

[here is a part where i wrote some things and then deleted them]