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RIP Servalan


Wolfie

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On 04/09/2018 at 18:18, StivePesley said:

Aaaaah Servalan - she was the first lady on TV that made my tummy tingle

 

Really? I can assure you it wasn’t my tummy that Servalan used to tingle..☺️??

Seriously though, this is sad news. Another icon of my childhood has left us. May Ms Pearce Rest In Peace.

I ‘discovered’ Blake’s 7 relatively late; I happened across it late one Saturday night on the ABC after watching the previous week’s edition of Match of the Day. (In those days, MOTD was broadcast in Australia the week after the matches were played.)

My first impression was that it was hilariously dreadful just like Dr Who (of which I’ve never been a fan). The acting seemed hokey; the sets were cheap and nasty; and the special effects risible. I think it was the fact that I thought it found it amusingly camp (I was around 11 or 12 or so, in my defence!) that I took to watching the start of the occasional episode rather than turning the TV off after the soccer.

Initially, too, it’s fair to say that I noticed the characters of Servalan and Cally and, being of a certain age, gradually developed a certain fascination with them. (As I look back now, I’m certain that I lusted after Jenna too but, since I had no idea who the ‘Blake’ of the title was until the series finale, I don’t think I could’ve seen Jenna in the show; she and Blake left at the same time I believe.)

Over time, I grew to enjoy the show, enjoying it for all of the reasons that I’d initially laughed at it.

And the character of Servalan, in particular, was the single most important factor in drawing the near-teenage me and keeping me interested. (I suspect the character was the origin of my attraction to strong (and slightly dangerous) women.)

So...Vale Jacqueline Pearce.

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On 18/11/2018 at 02:40, EssendonRam said:

My first impression was that it was hilariously dreadful just like Dr Who (of which I’ve never been a fan). The acting seemed hokey; the sets were cheap and nasty; and the special effects risible.

Totally agreed - but the script! Some utterly wonderful exchanges between Avon and Villa that still make me laugh every time I see them.

It's also funny looking back, when you see people bleating about a female Doctor Who and how it's "all about being PC these days" - yet who batted an eyelid that in Blake's 7 forty years ago - the leader of the galactic federation was a woman?

 

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18 minutes ago, StivePesley said:

Totally agreed - but the script! Some utterly wonderful exchanges between Avon and Villa that still make me laugh every time I see them.

It's also funny looking back, when you see people bleating about a female Doctor Who and how it's "all about being PC these days" - yet who batted an eyelid that in Blake's 7 forty years ago - the leader of the galactic federation was a woman?

 

Agree!

Once I absorbed the characters, some of the interplay between them was wonderful. Interesting that you nominate those two; the conflict between them was a key part of the show. I’d add the exchanges between Avon and the computer were similar (except the computer was more able to stand up to Avon) so much so that, once I learned who Blake was in the series finale, I almost didn’t like that it pushed Avon back to play second fiddle. I understand why; those who’d watched it from the first series would have loved it.

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On 20/11/2018 at 09:39, StivePesley said:

Totally agreed - but the script! Some utterly wonderful exchanges between Avon and Villa that still make me laugh every time I see them.

I loved it as escapist Sci-Fi as a kid growing up. When I re-watched them 10 years or so ago, the darkness & political nature of the scripts is what struck me. I'm tempted to buy them on DVD.

On 20/11/2018 at 09:39, StivePesley said:

It's also funny looking back, when you see people bleating about a female Doctor Who and how it's "all about being PC these days" - yet who batted an eyelid that in Blake's 7 forty years ago - the leader of the galactic federation was a woman?

 

OK I'll bite, seeing as you'll have me painted as a bleater....

It's totally different. A woman was leader of the federation. No problem. That's how the character was always written & I loved her.

Where as Dr Who has been changed after 50 odd years or whatever, for no good reason.

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11 minutes ago, Wolfie said:

Where as Dr Who has been changed after 50 odd years or whatever, for no good reason.

The good reason being that it'd been the same for 50 years. 

If you want to meta think it, in terms of the character and the story, how likely is it that a time lord, dealing with all of human culture and history, as well as the rest of the universe, would regenerate as an English speaking, white male, every ducking time!

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4 minutes ago, Lambchop said:

The good reason being that it'd been the same for 50 years. 

If you want to meta think it, in terms of the character and the story, how likely is it that a time lord, dealing with all of human culture and history, as well as the rest of the universe, would regenerate as an English speaking, white male, every ducking time!

I think the 'English speaking' bit is essential

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53 minutes ago, Wolfie said:

I loved it as escapist Sci-Fi as a kid growing up. When I re-watched them 10 years or so ago, the darkness & political nature of the scripts is what struck me. I'm tempted to buy them on DVD.

OK I'll bite, seeing as you'll have me painted as a bleater....

It's totally different. A woman was leader of the federation. No problem. That's how the character was always written & I loved her.

Where as Dr Who has been changed after 50 odd years or whatever, for no good reason.

I watched it as a kid in much the same way

Then when my eldest was a baby in the mid-late 90s they repeated them on UK Gold early in the mornings, so I got to watch them most of them again in my mid-late 20s while I was up and about anyway! I didn't catch them all but it made me realise how much of that darkness I'd missed as a kid

I got the DVDs a few years back and watched them all again in full when I was off work ill for a couple of weeks. A very intense binge-watch. The DVDs have some brilliant extras too - like the Blue Peter segment on how to make your own teleport bracelet! ?

Servalan vs the new Doctor Who - I'll give you that, but I suppose it comes down to what you mean by "no good reason". That implies that there has to be a reason. I don't find it hard to suspend disbelief when watching sci-fi (unsurprisingly!) so I'm quite happy to not need a reason and just believe that the Doctor suddenly being female is no different to the Doctor suddenly being Scottish. It's just a story

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On 20/11/2018 at 09:39, StivePesley said:

Totally agreed - but the script! Some utterly wonderful exchanges between Avon and Villa that still make me laugh every time I see them.

It's also funny looking back, when you see people bleating about a female Doctor Who and how it's "all about being PC these days" - yet who batted an eyelid that in Blake's 7 forty years ago - the leader of the galactic federation was a woman?

 

You see there is your problem.

The Galactic federation isn't real, where as Dr Who is!!

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1 hour ago, StivePesley said:

I watched it as a kid in much the same way

Then when my eldest was a baby in the mid-late 90s they repeated them on UK Gold early in the mornings, so I got to watch them most of them again in my mid-late 20s while I was up and about anyway! I didn't catch them all but it made me realise how much of that darkness I'd missed as a kid

 

That's when I saw them again. Bloody hell was it really that long ago?!. I am getting old!

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1 hour ago, Lambchop said:

The good reason being that it'd been the same for 50 years. 

If you want to meta think it, in terms of the character and the story, how likely is it that a time lord, dealing with all of human culture and history, as well as the rest of the universe, would regenerate as an English speaking, white male, every ducking time!

However, when you consider that the Tardis (which has a symbiotic connection with the Doctor) has a glitch which means it always appears as a police box, instead of changing every time to fit in with the surroundings - as The Master's one did, it sort of makes sense that the Doctor would also always be similar too......

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1 hour ago, Wolfie said:

However, when you consider that the Tardis (which has a symbiotic connection with the Doctor) has a glitch which means it always appears as a police box, instead of changing every time to fit in with the surroundings - as The Master's one did, it sort of makes sense that the Doctor would also always be similar too......

So you're saying the Doctor should be a policeman...

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