The Anorak Zone Forums

[Anorak]

I was once dragged along to a convention where I saw the most horrific members of society you've ever seen... all the mentally deranged, hygenically challenged stereotypes known to man. Whenever I walked into a room I'd feel like Brad Pitt... all but two of the convention goers were as ugly as sin. I'm not a shallow person but it was as if the con was organised by Todd Browning.

Even worse is a mailing list I'm on. Christ knows why I'm on it, really. It's a real "the tail wagging the dog" scenario, whereby a load of self-aggrandising non-lipstick lesbians regard their own self-worth by how far up in the fan ladder they are. One of them actually once said the reason why they wouldn't want them to do a sequel to the series is that it would contradict their fanfic.

Nothing's ever as good as these self-concerned pompous idiots and their own circle of twee ideas. A book by John Kenneth Muir was trashed because his discussions weren't - so they claimed - as good as those on the list. Quite apart from the fact that it wasn't a book for afficionados (something they didn't seem to comprehend) and so wouldn't have the inner workings of Avon's fingernails as a converse, the conversations on the list are utter shit.

This week someone suggested that "the success of the new series of B7 can be judged by how many people it brings to the mailing list". Can you believe such a combination of arrogance and delusion in one sentence?

I once asked a question about why the list had no "reply to list" feature (if you hit "reply" it would go to the person who posted and you'd have to type in the address every time). I politely put "may I ask?" but some rude bitch on the list assumed that I was saying "may I" in a terse, schoolmasterly way (presumably because they're a rude pompous c*** they assumed the same on there... bear in mind I wasn't posting as the gobby Anorak, just asking a Q). They chewed an absolute strip off me, REALLY tore into me. They apologised, but no, the damage was done. They showed what an ass they were. The list is like that... lots of people who think they're a big fish in a small pond because in 1985 they wrote some shite fanfic and gave a copy to Darrow at a con.

On a private discussion with someone on the list I expressed how disappointed I was in the con and was told I was being a snob, and that it's a place for people to be themselves. When I told them the list's "character" didn't wash his hands after he took a piss I got told that "you'd hate me then... I sometimes go two weeks without bathing or showering." And this was a GIRL.


B7 is quite an imaginative, fun show. But it's fandom seems to be largely made up of the most self-regarding socially inept pompous ass shats I've ever come across. And that's a real shame.

[Brian-Flynn]

I have been a fan of the programme for a while but (thankfully, it sounds like) I haven't really been exposed to its fan base. Looks like I've been lucky not running into them...

[Anorak]

It's really soul destroying, Brian. It's all weird how people will judge their own worth as to how big a fan they are of a TV show. Particularly one that - with all due respect - ain't exactly high art. I do like B7 a LOT but I wouldn't put it in the same sentence as the likes of The Prisoner.

[MatSmith]

Yeah, they can be... aggresive.

Over on Oh Gee someone asked why the crews search for Blake in season 3 is so half-hearted. A fan of the type you describe replied rather snootily:

It seems fairly obvious to me that [once] Star One had been destroyed, [Blake] took off his Liberator teleport bracelet and destroyed it so that he could not be found. His deal with Avon was that if Star One were destroyed, Avon could keep the Liberator.

I replied that that isn't exactly supported by what we see on screen, no such agreement was reached by the crew (quite the opposite!), and running off like that would be slightly out of character for Blake, and I described the theory as 'fan speculation'.

The guy went nuts!

Its not "fan speculation", it's there on screen in Boucher's script. They do all agree, hence the mission to the surface of "Star One" to destroy it. You were actually watching that episode, I trust? And you do know what Star One is?

I've pretty much destroyed his argument (just by quoting the episode!) but he still flung insults around for a few more posts without disputing any of my actual points.

This same guy had posted several times earlier, spouting all this stuff about 'time distortion and ionic reefs' to explain the differing durations of the Galactic War, and stating as matter of fact the exact duration of the entire series. All of which was pure speculation, with no actual on screen evidence.

Blakes 7 fans seem to have this thing about coming up with elaborate theories to explain holes in the writing, and then treating them as gospel, as if the production team actually intended these things! (like all that bollocks about Gan being a serial rapist) They then get all defensive and childish if anyone disputes them.

[Anorak]

There's a guy who's pretty much like us and did his own fanzine.

When the list got a copy and reviewed it - it was a good fanzine - we got reviews of the staples used and typeface. The poor bastard was horrified, I'm sure he won't mind me saying.

[Brian-Flynn]

Wow, some scary stories there! I adore Blakes 7 but I'm never that concerned with explaining plot holes and the like. They are what they are: plot holes created by a television series that didn't have a whole lot of time to conceive, write, shoot and edit an episode. So what? There's no need to speculate elaborately on why it's NOT a plot hole. Plot holes are a certain part of these kind of shows' charm.

[Professor_Thascales]

Just out of curiosity, what are all the signs I've heard so much about that Gan is a serial rapist (and maybe murderer of women)? Is there anything besides the fact that he shows some signs of attraction to women, such as the Avalon android?

[MatSmith]

Just out of curiosity, what are all the signs I've heard so much about that Gan is a serial rapist (and maybe murderer of women)? Is there anything besides the fact that he shows some signs of attraction to women, such as the Avalon android?

I think the main argument comes from the scenes in Time Squad where he gets headaches when he's alone with Jenna (because he wants to kill her but the limiter is stopping him, of course).

The theory is mainly the work of Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore, and they spend a lot of their book 'Liberation' changing the facts to suit this theory. A shame really as it's otherwise quite a good book. David Malloney wrote an intro for it, in which he practically states that he has no idea what the f*** they're talking about. They went on to write a couple of audios where they continue to try and force this idea, claiming Gan was known as the 'Cat-Strangler', and that he was some kind of Prostitute murdering Jack the Ripper. So wrong it's untrue.


The truth is that the facts they cite for this theory are either coincidences or, in the case of the above example, there for other reasons (leading up to the limiter going haywire in 'Breakdown).

I don't mind fans having these theories, it's just the way that they seem desperate to claim that they're 'fact' and that the production team actually intended this character to be a gruesome mass-murdering rapist psychopath.

[Anorak]

Yeah, wasn't there a hint of "if you don't agree you're wrong" with that book?

[MatSmith]

Yeah, wasn't there a hint of "if you don't agree you're wrong" with that book?

Yeah, they, and some other fans, have this attitude of "This is what he was, it's right there on screen. It's obvious that this is what Moloney, Nation and Boucher intended. No question." Like the guy I mentioned ealier...

Its not "fan speculation", it's there on screen in Boucher's script.

I think this happens because Blakes 7 fandom didn't get 'official fan-fic' in which to spurt their ideas out, like Who fans did with the NAs. So they try and force these ideas out in other ways. If we didn't get the NAs we would probably get the likes of Jon Blum writing reference books and fan-made audios trying to claim that it was quite clearly JNT's intention that the sixth Doctor was murdered by the seventh, or that a billion stories and several companions are supposed to fit in the gap between 'Planet of Fire' and 'Androzani.