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A new recruit, and a new blog in progress.
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Zonda |
Posted on 12 October 2017 21:08:29
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
Thanks Angry Angel, much appreciated, and Joe too - I can assure you I will be back. I've a couple of posts half finished, which I will return to soon, and I know what I want to be publishing in January 2018 too. It's simply a case of needing a breather, so I can recharge the batteries and keep it being something that is enjoyable to do, and the writing a fresh as I can, rather than trying to juggle it between being a Dad, husband, professional, cat owner blah blah blah. But as the evenings draw in it'll be prime Blake's 7 watching time, so I will be moving forward as the clocks do too! All the best! T |
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Drasko |
Posted on 15 October 2017 08:53:41
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![]() Ungraded ![]() Posts: 39 Joined: 15 August 2017 |
Zonda wrote: Hi Drasko. Thanks so much. I always try to write a bit about the music and sound towards the bottom of each post - I really love the incidental music, and some of the little motifs that pop up from time to time. And yes, I enjoy the different pronunciation of 'Vila'- it actually reminded me of some of the early scenes with Gan in Space Fall, who is clearly learning the correct way of saying his name! It's interesting about how you mentioned about comics - growing up I really enjoyed the John Ridgeway drawn comic strips of Colin Baker's Doctor Who - and there is something about the vice of Freedom City that reminds me of some of the landscapes. I might write about that at some point in a future blog. Hope your daughter had a good day! Cheers! Thank you Zonda Forgive me for replying so late We had a very nice day in a cool playing/hangar for kids I will continue to enojy your blog ![]() Edited by Drasko on 15 October 2017 11:56:32 |
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Joe Dredd |
Posted on 15 October 2017 13:21:53
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![]() Moderator ![]() Posts: 2799 Joined: 15 January 2014 |
Zonda wrote: I've a couple of posts half finished, which I will return to soon, and I know what I want to be publishing in January 2018 too. We run an Advent calendar through the forum in December, where charitable souls take turns to kindly post something vaguely B7-y and/or Christmassy/Hanukkah-y. It's all totally voluntary with no obligation on anyone, but I hope you will keep it in mind if you get inspired to write anything around December! Here's some past examples: Horizon B7 Club Advent Calendar 2014 Horizon B7 Club Advent Calendar 2015 Horizon B7 Club Advent Calendar 2016 |
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Zonda |
Posted on 19 October 2017 20:31:55
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
Joe Dredd wrote: Zonda wrote: I've a couple of posts half finished, which I will return to soon, and I know what I want to be publishing in January 2018 too. We run an Advent calendar through the forum in December, where charitable souls take turns to kindly post something vaguely B7-y and/or Christmassy/Hanukkah-y. It's all totally voluntary with no obligation on anyone, but I hope you will keep it in mind if you get inspired to write anything around December! Here's some past examples: Horizon B7 Club Advent Calendar 2014 Horizon B7 Club Advent Calendar 2015 Horizon B7 Club Advent Calendar 2016 That's great to hear Drasko. And Joe, thank you. I would be very happy to contribute to this! T> |
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Zonda |
Posted on 26 October 2017 19:46:11
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
It's been almost a month since my last post, and I found some head space to turn a half finished blog post into a fully completed one. This time I've turned my attention to the second series Travis - a fascinating character and portrayal. This is also an opportunitiy to explore the in's and out's of space command cuisine and canteen facilities. I hope there is something of interest within the usual ramblings. https://watchingb...he-second/ All the best, Tim. ![]() |
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Joe Dredd |
Posted on 27 October 2017 13:16:14
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![]() Moderator ![]() Posts: 2799 Joined: 15 January 2014 |
Another great analysis, Tim. I've always liked Travis II - perhaps because as a fickle young man, it seemed he had better hair and a better eye patch. "Trial" is a fantastic episode too. I love the physicality of Travis leaping through the doorway as the emergency shutters slam into place. He spends most of the episode lounging around, conserving his strength, but when an opportunity presents itself - BAM! He's a blur. There is something about Croucher’s delivery of lines that sometimes feels slightly laboured, or maybe over pronounced, but I feel this works perfectly with the character. I've never noticed this with the TV episodes, but it's something I've often picked up on in the audios he's done. Speaking of which, Croucher is able to deliver a range of smoothly spoken but menacing lines that hint of his instability – take the climax of ‘Pressure Point’ “You see, it’s the great illusion, Blake. You give substance and credibility to an empty room, and the real thing becomes undetectable, virtually invisible.” It’s his delivery of those last words that is seductively chilling, and a nice contrast from Greif’s more straightforward – but equally effective – nastiness. Have you heard the "Travis: The Final Act" tape? At one point Brian Croucher mentions how much Gareth Thomas liked his "It's all an illusion" line and got him to repeat it over and over. If there is one personal element that doesn’t work for me in Croucher’s performance, it is when he has to shout or raise his voice. He's relentless in "Hostage" ("The word! The word!") but I have to admit it's Michael Keating's acting that sells it. He looks genuinely scared out of his wits, especially when he caves in and shouts out the answer. Time was clearly a luxury that was seldom afforded Croucher, but he reacted instinctively, rather than duplicating what had gone before. His actions, his decisions, all instinct – nothing more. I love what you've done here. It’s interesting to hear Par’s observations about how Travis tried to ensure his men didn’t get killed under his watch. It adds a complexity to his comments in ‘Seek-Locate-Destroy’ about giving a Mutoid priority over a man every time. A great observation. I've never thought of it before. Somehow this kind of alien doesn’t feel it should be in Blake’s 7 B7 seems at its best when it's just mankind all alone in the universe, unless the aliens are really bad and mean - the Andromedans, the Epinaarl, etc the introduction to Federation division It took me a second to work out what you meant there. I had brief visions of some kind of maths textbook. One other design element I like about this episode is the uniforms of Thania and the arbiters, with those interesting high collars. |
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Zonda |
Posted on 28 October 2017 22:33:43
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
Joe - I always really enjoy your dicection of my dicections! Thanks for taking the time. I absolutely loved your description of Travis' physicality throughout the episode, I like the observation a lot. I also love the typical 1970's BBC judo chop to the shoulder as the epitomy of early evening violence. You know, I was so busy concentraing on Brian Croucher's performance, I'd not even noticed the collars, even thought it was something right in front of me. The costume design - including Zil - is pretty good in this one. I think June Hudson had left by this point? I've not heard of The Final Act tape, but I love the the stories of how the regulars got on with each other, but also helped each other along - no time for prima donnas in this type of series. Ha! Maths was never my strong point. Division was the most problematic for me. And I did have to look up Epinaarl - another name lodged in the memory banks! All the best, Tim |
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Joe Dredd |
Posted on 01 November 2017 12:08:45
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![]() Moderator ![]() Posts: 2799 Joined: 15 January 2014 |
Zonda wrote: I absolutely loved your description of Travis' physicality throughout the episode, I like the observation a lot. Thanks Tim. I was half-thinking of a lion stuck in a cage at the zoo, but in retrospect I think a panther padding up and down is a better analogy. Travis II's uniform has a black, sinewy look to it more in keeping with that kind of big cat. Zonda wrote: I also love the typical 1970's BBC judo chop to the shoulder as the epitomy of early evening violence. Ha, true! |
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Zonda |
Posted on 04 November 2017 17:24:46
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
Joe Dredd wrote: Zonda wrote: I absolutely loved your description of Travis' physicality throughout the episode, I like the observation a lot. Thanks Tim. I was half-thinking of a lion stuck in a cage at the zoo, but in retrospect I think a panther padding up and down is a better analogy. Travis II's uniform has a black, sinewy look to it more in keeping with that kind of big cat. Zonda wrote: I also love the typical 1970's BBC judo chop to the shoulder as the epitomy of early evening violence. Ha, true! The black panther. Nice. I have a lot of time for this description! |
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Zonda |
Posted on 04 November 2017 17:36:14
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
Hi all, This time around we have a two part blog post. Last night, as I published this post for 'Sarcophagus' I learned of the death of director Paddy Russell, someone who was responsible for a number of my favourite televisual moments, and also an important figure in a then very male orientated industry. And I felt that Sarcophagus was a fitting episode to review at this time. And also I think this episode is really good, but I can see why it might divide opinion. https://watchingb...ry-things/ The other post is a bit of a departure, and might be something that only has limited appeal. It is a post about scary childhood memories. I started writing it in the Sarcophagus post, but it became an increasingly long list, so I started to wonder whether it would dwarf the post about Tanith Lee's episode. Then I managed to get an interview with the director of an early 1980's advert for Maxell tapes, and a number of significant campaigns of the era. The Maxell adverts not only had a lasting impact on me but also made me aware, at an early age, of the power of the small screen. That settled it. It needed its own post. A directors cut. So whilst it might not be strictly Blake's 7 in it's content, it certainly contributed to the fact that I write this blog series in the first place. https://watchingb...xell-post/ Hope there is something of interest somewhere in the usual ramblings. Best wishes, Tim. |
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Travisina |
Posted on 04 November 2017 18:32:00
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![]() Adminstrator ![]() Wordsmith ![]() Posts: 11508 Joined: 08 January 2014 |
Excellent blogs again, Tim. Sarcophagus is one of my fave episodes for all the reasons you've mentioned. I even like the space harp - its slightly off-key weirdness fits the ep well, IMO. Tanith Lee really gets the characters, and as a Vila fan, I like the Alien's comment that he has a very high IQ, but plays the fool. I enjoyed the other blog about scary things. Being of an older generation, the things that scared me were in black and white, but were no less disturbing for being monochrome! Twitter: @TravisinaB7
Tumblr: tumblr There's no point being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes |
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Zonda |
Posted on 04 November 2017 22:14:57
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
Travisina wrote: Excellent blogs again, Tim. Sarcophagus is one of my fave episodes for all the reasons you've mentioned. I even like the space harp - its slightly off-key weirdness fits the ep well, IMO. Tanith Lee really gets the characters, and as a Vila fan, I like the Alien's comment that he has a very high IQ, but plays the fool. I enjoyed the other blog about scary things. Being of an older generation, the things that scared me were in black and white, but were no less disturbing for being monochrome! Thanks so much Travisina. Much appreciated. I'm sure the scary moments were enhanced though black and whiteness. Definitely with you on how Tanith Lee got the characters, and her take on Vila was matched by only a few other writers - she really brought out an extra dimension to all of them. If only I could learn to love the harp a bit more! |
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Zonda |
Posted on 08 November 2017 13:27:06
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
Hi all, This is an extra blog post, as I was touched by the passing of Dudley Simpson, and I felt that I wanted to write something that celebrates his contribution to Blake's 7. This is something that had been in my mind for a future blog post, but after putting a bit of extra work over a few late nights I've come up with this little tribute to Dudley. https://watchingb...-blakes-7/ Bests, Tim |
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Travisina |
Posted on 08 November 2017 14:35:51
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![]() Adminstrator ![]() Wordsmith ![]() Posts: 11508 Joined: 08 January 2014 |
Zonda wrote: Hi all, This is an extra blog post, as I was touched by the passing of Dudley Simpson, and I felt that I wanted to write something that celebrates his contribution to Blake's 7. This is something that had been in my mind for a future blog post, but after putting a bit of extra work over a few late nights I've come up with this little tribute to Dudley. https://watchingb...-blakes-7/ Bests, Tim Lovely blog, Tim. One of my fave moments in the entire series is our first sight of the Liberator with its accompanying musical announcement. Another thing - years ago, when we interviewed writer Colin Davis ('Gold' ) he especially mentioned the music. And not just for his episode, which he loved. When we asked if he'd watched B7 before being commissioned to write an ep, he said that he'd seen about seven or eight eps from the first 3 seasons - "If I was in another room and it was on, I couldn't help going in to have a look - the music was so super!" Twitter: @TravisinaB7
Tumblr: tumblr There's no point being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes |
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Zonda |
Posted on 08 November 2017 19:37:21
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![]() Gamma Grade ![]() Posts: 243 Joined: 07 February 2017 |
That's so lovely to hear. I have a handful of old Horizon back issues, and I think Colin Davis was one of the ones I have - interviewed in a cafe in Devon I think? And of course 'Gold' has it's own wonderful slice of Dudley muzak. Also the video should be working now. I think I set it to 'private' not 'public'. T> |
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Angry Angel |
Posted on 09 November 2017 08:53:31
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![]() Moderator ![]() Posts: 1146 Joined: 08 January 2014 |
Great review of Sarcophagus - I enjoy Tanith Lee as a writer, and I would have liked to have seen her original script before they took out the expensive bits! It would also have been good if she'd done a DW episode. I really like your idea that this could have been the penultimate episode, it would have led into Terminal very well. I can't remember Blake's 7 scaring me as a child, or any adverts. I guess you have to be very young to find pre-watershed stuff frightening, I know I hid from the Daleks when I was 3 or 4, but I was 7 by the time B7 started. |
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Angry Angel |
Posted on 09 November 2017 09:06:17
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![]() Moderator ![]() Posts: 1146 Joined: 08 January 2014 |
Thanks for your post about Dudley Simpson - the compilation of the music used in B7 was very interesting. I'm someone who doesn't notice background music unless it's bad (the same with special effects), so it was revealing to hear it on its own like that. |
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Travisina |
Posted on 09 November 2017 21:00:04
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![]() Adminstrator ![]() Wordsmith ![]() Posts: 11508 Joined: 08 January 2014 |
Zonda wrote: That's so lovely to hear. I have a handful of old Horizon back issues, and I think Colin Davis was one of the ones I have - interviewed in a cafe in Devon I think? That's right - we had fab Devonshire Cream Tea and great time chatting with Colin. It was great to meet up with him again at last year's Cygnus Alpha convention. He remembered doing the interview, and signed my copy of the Newsletter. ![]() Twitter: @TravisinaB7
Tumblr: tumblr There's no point being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes |
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Travisina |
Posted on 09 November 2017 21:11:28
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![]() Adminstrator ![]() Wordsmith ![]() Posts: 11508 Joined: 08 January 2014 |
Angry Angel wrote: I guess you have to be very young to find pre-watershed stuff frightening, I know I hid from the Daleks when I was 3 or 4, but I was 7 by the time B7 started. When I was very young, I was afraid of the robot in Fireball XL5, especially when steam came out of its head. Gave me a lifelong nervousness of pressure cookers. There was also Sara Brown and Hoppity - Hoppity was a one-legged doll that did naughty things for which Sarah got blamed (and punished, 1960s style, by being sent to bed without supper). It was so horribly unfair, I found it disturbing and rather upsetting. Monochrome childhood traumas! Twitter: @TravisinaB7
Tumblr: tumblr There's no point being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes |
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littlesue |
Posted on 09 November 2017 22:09:27
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![]() Alpha Grade ![]() Posts: 5704 Joined: 08 January 2014 |
Travisina wrote: Angry Angel wrote: I guess you have to be very young to find pre-watershed stuff frightening, I know I hid from the Daleks when I was 3 or 4, but I was 7 by the time B7 started. When I was very young, I was afraid of the robot in Fireball XL5, especially when steam came out of its head. Gave me a lifelong nervousness of pressure cookers. There was also Sara Brown and Hoppity - Hoppity was a one-legged doll that did naughty things for which Sarah got blamed (and punished, 1960s style, by being sent to bed without supper). It was so horribly unfair, I found it disturbing and rather upsetting. Monochrome childhood traumas! Torchy, Twizzle; they don't make 'em like that anymore....in one episode of Fireball XL5, Steve asked Venus over to cook dinner for all his friends...and she said Yes!!! Cue my two young daughters throwing things at the screen! A close relation of my Hubby wrote to the BBC about the Teletubbies and how they could cause serious problems with youngsters speech...to which both Hubby and I said that we had watched the old Flowerpot Men show and it had never affected us..flubberdub!! That didn't go down too well; we both received hard looks. Cold.....you don't know the meaning of cold. Cold is when you have ice on the INSIDE of the window!!! sues stories http://sjlittle.w... sues youtube channel http://www.youtub...e54/videos sues book shelf https://www.media...ne%20Shelf rebel run video http://www.youtub...prqS-XZtLo Lara and Sue's Stories http://lectorisal....webs.com/ |
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