--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5400000Date: 05/02/97 From: RAY LEDFORD Time: 07:44am \/To: JANADA OAKLEY (Read 1 times) Subj: Red Dwarf 7 ... Not knowing where the smeg the ship was, Janada said this: ... JO> I have most of the Red Dwarf episodes on those 3 and hopefully they JO> will replay them all so I can fill in the blanks. Between our VCR, the local PBS station, and videos we've purchased, we've managed to get all of the episodes of the previous six series, including the Smeg-Ups and Smeg-Outs tapes. We've also got Series Seven taped now. I just wish we had all the books! JO> Oh, I loved them too. I've watched them all at least 3 times on JO> tape. You may not believe I'm going to say this, but I actually JO> *miss* Rimmer! He is such an unbelievable git! Yes, he is. I've noticed that they seem to have transferred some of that git behavior over to The Cat and Kryten. My wife misses Rimmer, too. It's different without him, but I'm willing to see where the show goes. JO> ! Origin: COLUMBIA SPITFIRE * Dallas, Texas * (214-275-5040) Texas? My wife was born in Tyler. Nice place! Ray ... "Of course there's a "H" on my forehead, you git! I'm dead!" --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5400001Date: 05/03/97 From: STEVE QUARRELLA Time: 12:30pm \/To: RAY LEDFORD (Read 1 times) Subj: RE: Red Dwarf 7 On May 01, 1997 04:27pm, RAY LEDFORD wrote to STEVE QUARRELLA: RL> Sorry we've been silent for so long. Helen had an auto accident near RL> the end of August -- she didn't begin working full-time until just RL> before Christmas. I remember that...more in a second. :) SQ>> He comes back. I just saw about 3/4 of the episode where Lister SQ>> misses Rimmer, and there's a ROFLMGDAO scene where Rimmer comes back, RL> I believe it's called "Blue" isn't it? We saw that one, too. It was a RL> hoot! I didn't catch the name, as we got started about ten minutes into the story. We get a new episode tonight, so hopefully that'll be the one. Given that he story ended with Lister's saying that he never wanted to see Rimmer again, it'll be interesting to see what happens when Rimmer DOES return. I'll be curious to see how he weaseled out of being Ace Rimmer. RL> Really? I haven't worked with anyone like that, but I did work with RL> someone to whom I gave a nickname from a _MASH_ novel. Great minds think alike: This "Rimmer" with whom Joe Siegler and I worked (Joe still does) ALSO was called "Major Burns" behind his back. He was more like Larry Linville and Chris Barrie than he was Robert Duvall, though. :) ... Platinum Xpress & Wildcat!..... Nice!!!! --- Platinum Xpress/Win/Wildcat5! v2.0 * Origin: Valencia: "Easy as pi." (1:124/9005.100) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5400002Date: 05/03/97 From: STEVE QUARRELLA Time: 12:32pm \/To: HELEN LEDFORD (Read 1 times) Subj: RE: Red Dwarf 7 On May 01, 1997 09:03pm, HELEN LEDFORD wrote to STEVE QUARRELLA: HL> Thanks!:) It's good to be posting in here again! :) And doing better, I hope. :) HL>> I think I must be the only person in the universe that really misses HL>> Chris Barrie. And I used to think he was such an annoying jerk! I never HL>> realized what an integral part of the crew he was. He and Craig Charles play straight man for each other, and as has been said n the show several times, Rimmer was the best candidate to keep Lister sane. HL> Yes, NOTA and I saw that episode! It's called "Blue", and so far, it's HL> the only episode in Season VII that I want to watch. My favourite thus far has been "Stoke Me a Clipper." When Ace goes air surfing on the alligator, I just about wet 'em, and of course, they got that great it from "Goldfinger" in there. "No, Mr. Rimmer, I expect you to die." ROFL! HL> "I didn't come here looking for trouble -- I just came here to do the HL> Red Dwarf shuffle!" "We're smart!" HL> ... It's Rimmer's mind out there. Expect sickness! - Lister :-) ... Platinum Xpress & Wildcat!..... Nice!!!! --- Platinum Xpress/Win/Wildcat5! v2.0 * Origin: Valencia: "Easy as pi." (1:124/9005.100) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5400003Date: 05/03/97 From: STEVE QUARRELLA Time: 12:34pm \/To: HELEN LEDFORD (Read 1 times) Subj: RE: Red Dwarf 7 On May 01, 1997 09:03pm, HELEN LEDFORD wrote to RAY LEDFORD: RL>> Just in case no one has seen Series 7 yet, I'm putting in the RL>> obligatory spoiler RL>> spaces.......................................................... . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . RL>> . HL> In all the episodes we've seen, I think he's only been in two of them. We saw the one last week where they had to crawl through the ship. I don't think Rimmer was in that one, but he's been in all of the rest. Of course, you've seen more than I have. :) RL>> I already know you're not fond of Kochanski. Too many people on board, although Kryten's "You're lying" bit slays me. :) HL> The Cat and Lister are still there, and now Holly's in the RL>> groove, too. I can't WAIT to see Norman Lovett again. If he doesn't say "What's appening, dudes?" in that story, I'll pull my hair out! HL> Well, I hate to always be complaining, but I like the female Holly! :) So do I...I wish they had gotten both of them into a story somewhere. If I understand correctly, season eight WILL be the last Red Dwarf that we'll get. ... Platinum Xpress & Wildcat!..... Nice!!!! --- Platinum Xpress/Win/Wildcat5! v2.0 * Origin: Valencia: "Easy as pi." (1:124/9005.100) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5400004Date: 05/03/97 From: STEVE QUARRELLA Time: 12:35pm \/To: JOHN GILBERT (Read 1 times) Subj: RE: BBC sued? On Apr 29, 1997 11:39am, JOHN GILBERT wrote to COLLEEN HILLERUP: JG> Isn't it heart breaking that it didn't come off? Nimoy worked wonders JG> with the trek films he directed and I think he really would have done JG> well with DW. Their plans were so far advanced as well, makes you weep! I'm -still- not clear on that. Can you give me the nitty gritty? ... Platinum Xpress & Wildcat!..... Nice!!!! --- Platinum Xpress/Win/Wildcat5! v2.0 * Origin: Valencia: "Easy as pi." (1:124/9005.100) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5B00000Date: 04/29/97 From: ED HARMAN Time: 11:31pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Test Message This is a test message to help work out the bugs in our e-mail tosser. Please acknowledge... Ed Harman --- SLMAIL v5.01 (#1307) * Origin: DaySpring BBS BBS (1:261/1605) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5B00001Date: 04/30/97 From: MIKE SMITH Time: 10:22pm \/To: JAMES DIXON (Read 1 times) Subj: Blakes 7 Hi James, Thursday April 24 1997 20:51, James Dixon to Mike Smith: MS>> Never noticed the wobbly sets either, JD> The only people who mention that are kiddies who have nothing better JD> to say... Pretty much the same crowd who curse out CGI work and cry JD> that it's too "fake looking"... Yes, IKWYM - I've never really had much time either for those folks who slag something off on purely technical grounds, though I do think that the FX quality an audience expects has shot up dramatically in the last fifteen years or so. OTOH, the one *huge* problem that creative people face is that whenever a piece of work is put up for public scrutiny everyone and his dog has an opinion on it, and it's often those that are the least interested in the subject who are ost vocal in disapproval. MS>> the original Star Trek, which I thoroughly hated, and still do. JD> BOO! HISS! Soz, but I think it's awful. JD> Talk about being contrived... There's a novel which picks up where JD> that episode left off... Called "Afterlife" it's a pathetic piece of JD> garbage highly Not recommended! Lemme guess... either the Federation guns were only stun guns (that at least had a precedent in the series) or the shots were in fact the Federation roops being wasted by the people Blake had already recruited? Regards, Mike JD> OLXWin 1.00a James T. Dixon...Don't you read Trek History? ... Ensign Expendable, press that button. --- * Origin: Cyberpunks With Attitude (2:250/368) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5B00002Date: 04/30/97 From: MIKE SMITH Time: 11:24pm \/To: MARK BLACKBURN (Read 1 times) Subj: Blakes 7 Hi Mark, Thursday April 24 1997 04:13, Mark Blackburn to Mike Smith: MS>> Hi Mark, MB> How ya doin Mike ? Not so bad. Fair to middlin' :-) MS>> Never noticed the wobbly sets either, until people started MS>> mentioning them :-) MB> That was not a problem, you have to look beyond those ( production MB> type ) things .. these were not that important ... I've got a few episodes from the first two series that I taped off the Super channel a few years back, and I do have to go hyper-critical to spot things like that. You don't notice them unless you're looking for them. MS>> I found the series to be a huge breath of fresh air MB> I think it still is, Mike,... i find it captivating ( still ) How well do you think it compares with later sci-fi series? Not so much in terms of FX, but in storylines, characterisation and overall credibility? I think it's aged very well indeed. MB> ST was ( and is ) always trying to hard to make a point, the MB> characters are'nt *interesting* enough for me,... It was certainly trying, I'll give yer that ... my parents used to rave about it, but it just used to wind me up... if it hadn't been such blatant propaganda in some places and formula Hollywood in so many others, I might have taken it seriously.... anyway, enough of that, let's not lower the tone of he echo :-) MS>> The tension between Blake and Avon was very well done; MB> And the way Villa and Avon bounced off of each other too, the (very) MB> subtle humour i love(d) Yes! How could I have forgotten that? There were some fantastic one-liners passed between those two. I'll have to dig my tapes out and watch them all again. MB> Terry Nation's best works (IMHO) were the Darker ones, of which MB> Blakes 7 is a prime example, the Anti-hero, Avon, and Blakes struggle MB> for freedom, the crew were all villians... murderers, thief's,, MB> smugglers, liars, and the **bad guys** were not green monsters, but MB> they were portrayed as facists .... I'd go along with that, although it's possible to draw some interesting conclusions about how much of a villain each of them was, and whether any of them was inherently evil... with the possible exception of Servalan I'd say probably not. They were sworn enemies of the Federation, trying to destroy he one computer system that held it all together, but they still tipped off the battle fleet when they discovered the uninvited guests hanging around outside... MB> The show was bleak, and, ** uniquely** Blake, and/or most of his MB> crew are killed, .. ie... they lose. Yes, but the audience is left hating the Federation... maybe that was the subtext of the whole thing... don't trust autocratic governments.... MB> i loved Peter Tuddenham's " Zen " - the Liberators computer MB> too,lots,... Agreed - I thought that was a wonderful creation. I remember watching the final episode of the third series - can't remember the title off the top mf my ead, but it was the one where Avon manages to total the Liberator by flying it through that corrosive goo in an effort to find Blake - and thinking "this can't be happening" when Zen finally gave up the ghost "I have failed you... I am sorry". MS>> Katy Manning was the first :) ) MB> Who ?? Jo Grant in Dr Who. I remember being seriously traumatised when she left, because I was in lurrrve with her, and that's a serious business when you're nine years old :-) MB> Jenna was never found after the fal of the empire either, - last MB> seen picked up on a " Ambulance " ship, and trying to keep out of MB> another refugee's way ... Servalan ... And failing, IIRC, or is my memory playing tricks on me? We did find out what happened to her in the end though, when Blake told Tarrant she had been killed in a fight with Federation ships. MB> The apologetic " Slave Computer " was a nice touch, with a Southern MB> English accent too ! IIRC, Orac used to give it a rough time as well. Poor thing :-) MB> (note the BBC connection) and the ( blast from the past ) **Oric 1*** MB> computer ??? Hey, I had one of those! Very nice little machines they were too, if you ould ignore the horrible little tic-tac keyboard. MB> this was allegedely named so, - as to be identified with the " Orac MB> " computer in Blakes 7 ... or so the story goes... (although i MB> thought it was Terry Nation spelling " Oracle ", but just got fed-up MB> :) ) ISTR reading the same thing, BICBW. MB> But they wont ... only a Independant company would be able/willing MB> to do that.. John Birt and his clan at the BEEB seem much more MB> interested in making money , and stuff, and forgetting what excellent MB> work the BBC has done, and improving upon that ... they seem almost MB> *ashamed* of it now, and it's extremely sad, indeed, if it MB> just get's regarded as a period piece ... very sad indeed. MB> Look what happened to Dr.Who ....what a strange thing to do ! MB> i *liked * Dr, Who, but to make the film in the USA... i understand MB> why.. i think ,... - trying to take it to a bigger market ? ,probably MB> ... but part of the interest was that it **was'nt** American ... I'm not so sure... it was a pretty fair effort, and the FX were wonderful, ut I thought the film was trying too hard to cater to both British and American audiences, and not really succeeding with either. It was very well done, but thought the protrayal of the Master as an Arnie type figure was appalling. he *real* Master would have employed Arnie type expendable musclemen to knock people around... MS>> I've got the tenth anniversary Dr Who magazine lying around MS>> somewhere... it's a bit tatty now, but it does have an MS>> interview with TN in it. I could dig it out and type it up if MS>> anyone's interested? MB> i bet we'd all be interested Mike !!!! MB> Should be interesting .... Okey doke. Coming up after the break >>>>>>>>>>> Regards, Mike --- * Origin: Cyberpunks With Attitude (2:250/368) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5B00003Date: 05/02/97 From: MIKE SMITH Time: 10:57pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Terry Nation interview Hi All, This is a transcript of the interview with Terry Nation that was printed in the Dr Who tenth anniversary magazine back in 1973. I hope folks find it interesting. ================================= cut ================================ TWO OF THE DALEKS LIVE IN MY FRONT DRIVE "The Daleks came into my life in 1963, bringing with them the first taste of fame that Kate, my wife, and I had experienced," says Terry Nation, pictured here with Daleks outside his home near Sittingbourne, Kent. "I was invited to write the second Dr Who serial, and having read the brief could only predict disaster for the celebrated Doctor. How could this crazy fellow, who passed his time travelling all over the Galaxy in a police box last more than a dozen episodes? I was close to turning down the offer, but then y not very creditable sentiments took over: take the money and fly like a ief. "Given the power of hindsight? I would like to have created a more romantic setting for the birth of the Daleks. Edgar Rice Burroughs did spectacularly well, dreaming up Tarzan whilst lazing in his garden hammock. "I had no such rich picture, so I was forced to invent a story afterwards. In a desperate attempt to satisfy persistent journalists, who wanted some profound explanation for my naming the Daleks, I told them that I'd been inspired by the letters on a volume of an encyclopaedia. But the fact is that no ncyclopaedia in print covers those letters DAL-LEK. Anyone checking the facts could have found me out. "My only source of inspiration came from TV - a wholesome case of the medium creating its own image. I'd been watching a performance by the Georgian State Dancers and they seemed to me to be gliding across the floor, their feet invisible under long costumes. It was the strangeness of this movement that I wanted to recapture in the Daleks: creatures with no apparent motive power. "As for the name, it simply rolled off the typewriter. Once the blueprint for the Daleks - 'hideous machine-like creatures ... legless ... with no human features' had appeared on paper Ray Cusick, the programme designer, took over and he was the man who must take the credit for the Daleks' startling pepper-pot design. It wasn't until I saw them that I realised they were just what I'd ad in mind from the start. "There must have been magic in 1963. Like everything else I touched that ear, the Daleks went down like a house on fire. I was amazed by my own luck. Suddenly I was in demand from all sides, besieged by offers to write comedies, plays, science fiction. We worked out that there was some work of mine shown on television for 40 weeks out of 52 that year. Fortunately I work very fast, nd work best under pressure. The Dr Who scripts became my Saturday job. They ere written one a week, each Saturday. "It would be wrong to claim, as many people have, that I've grown wealthy on the strength of the Daleks. I've been earning my living as a writer for early 20 years, and of that time perhaps three months in all have been devoted to Who scripts. But I don't resent the inextricable link with the Daleks, who have brought me privileged recognition and provided my family with the gilt on the gingerbread. "The revenue from the Dalek merchandise, 132 products in all, included jelly babies, wallpaper, drawing books, children's slippers and dressing-up utfits, and it brought in money 'beyond the dreams of avarice.' My family had taken a long time to accept the fact that sitting at a typewriter constituted an honest living, and now here I was receiving cheques without working for them at all! "I have been asked more times than I could count to explain the success of he Daleks in philosophical terms. The answer is very simple: kids love to be frightened. To them it's like creeping up to the top of the stairs in the dark, which is surely a healthy emotion. "Life with the Daleks has not been without problems. Their continued xistence means that I find it impossible to write another successful monster into Dr Who. It would be difficult, and foolish, to rival the Daleks. Then, in the first series I wrote, I killed off the Daleks completely, having no idea popular demand would insist on their return. Nobody has ever killed off their brainchild so thoroughly as I annihilated mine, unless it was Conan Doyle, trying to rid himself of Sherlock Holmes. Fortunately the trusty Tardis came to the rescue: I brought the Daleks back in a time era /before/ the date they were exterminated! "To begin with we received sackfuls of readers' letters posing impossible problems. Children were always much smarter than I was at pointing out anomalies in the plot. I'd scratch my head and eventually write back: 'I think you must be forgetting the secret formula X divided by 375 multiplied by 279, which I'm sure you'll agree overcomes your objection fully." =================================== cut ========================= Regards, Mike --- * Origin: Cyberpunks With Attitude (2:250/368) "Life with the Daleks has not been without problems. Their continued xistence means that I find it impossible to write another successful monster into Dr Who. It would be difficult, and foolish, to rival the Daleks. Then, in the first series I wrote, I kSEEN-BY: 259/66 280/100 440/7 222 410 601 441/80 442/103 401 403 404 615 621 --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 270 DR WHO/BRIT SCIF Ref: E5B00004Date: 05/05/97 From: BOB GLOVER Time: 09:14pm \/To: AARON EGNOR (Read 1 times) Subj: RE: OTHER ENGLISH PROGRAM TOPIC: Re: OTHER ENGLISH PROGRAM BG>> I noticed that the guy who played Mr. Lucus had aged rather badly. H BG>> pretty rough. I was wondering if John Inman had experienced somethin BG>> those lines. But some of us age better than others. I for example , BG>> every morning and wonder what this 18 year old kid is doing in this BG>> old body. AE> AE> Inman was the host for that 24hour "Are You Being Served?" marathon I AE> mentioned earlier. He was there for a pledge-drive and hosted the AE> marathon via pre-recorded clips between segments. He did fill us in on AE> what everyone is doing lately. Most of the cast is still alive (scary AE> thought heheh) and doing stage productions in the West End of London. AE> Inman himself will be working on an "updated" version of Macbeth for AE> the stage (a pseudo-comedy at that). He plays one of the witches =) How appropriate! He is really quite an excellent actor. BOB GLOVER ... Party at Chez @TF@! * Silver Xpress V4.3 SW24478 * LAKOTA v1.5 --- Alexi/Mail 2.02b (#10000) * Origin: COLUMBIA SPITFIRE * Dallas, Texas * (214-275-5040) (1:124/3271)