The Anorak Zone Forums

[Gloster_Gladiator]

I'll REALLY have to find out wot the f*** the "Sleer plotline" is.

[Anorak]

She comes back, looking exactly like she always does, but says "I'm not Servalan, my name's Sleer". It gets even more camp than ever.

I like the character okay, but kind of prefer it without her - I prefer gritty B7 to high camp B7. Just a preference.

[ITSTOOLATEBRIGADIER]

Gan was alright. I preferred it with him and there were others who were worse. He was a cliché 'gentle' giant and David Jackson portrayed him very sympathetically even if he didn't have anything distinctive about him apart from his limiter.

Let's be honest, apart from Servalan the women were average at best though the originals were adequate given the nature of the show. Servalan returning as Sleer was a bit naff (to use a British term I'm not overly familiar with). Tarrant didn't fully work, either, especially for a fan of the Blake character.

[Pex]

What I liked about the Sleer arc was the implication (as I saw it) that although she was obviously Servalan, everyone was too scared of her to say anything about it. How did a writer like Terry Nation, who let's be fair, often lacked originality, come up with such a terrifying creation? Or was it all down to the performance?

[Tone]

I think Nation was reasonably good at writing villains. I think making the villain female and casting someone with that tightly cropped skullcap of hair was the materstroke. A woman who has the relentless ruthlessness and coldness of the Daleks is a great idea. I mean, the dirty dozen with a star ship is also a great idea. Nation knew a great idea, he just wasn't the greatest writer.

The only Nation interview I recall about B7, he said something like "My idea for Blake's character was he was just the hero. I don't think I wrote him terribly well, good heroes are hard to write and make interesting. But I did think we had some very good villains."

It's a common idea in writing classes that bad guys are easier to write...and more interesting than heroes.

Certainly, I really enjoy stuff where they focus on the baddies talking among themselves and discussing their plans to bump off the hero and get revenge.

Tarrant may be my least fave character, too, now I come to think of it...while Avon was enjoyably psycho, camp/sarcastic and anti-heroic, and Vila was lovably cowardly and Blakes was "the hero", Tarrant seemed like a macho posturing dick with no purpose other than to take up space.

I liked Blake, Vila, Avon, Servalan, Travis, Orac and Jenna. The rest...they were okay...

[ITSTOOLATEBRIGADIER]

I liked Jenna, too, at the time but, I dunno, I'm just a picky bastard and she doesn't exactly have the looks of Madeline Smith.

[Tone]

No, but then again, who does?