"I plan to live forever. Or die trying...

[thisbluespirit]

Sunday... must be time to provide shiny distractions in the shape of recs... And I've decided it's a good day to talk about Blake's 7 and Vila Restal...

Vila fanvid that sums everything up brilliantly, is spoiler free, and safe for newbies (how much sense some of the clips might make, I can't vouch for, but it's fun and very well edited.

The Adventures of Pink Pancho Vila (by Zukalis):

"rose clip" (Watch on YouTube)

He's the most obvious 'type' on board: the lovable, cowardly, lower-class thief... but this is B7, and Vila, and you can never be quite sure. He's probably every bit as dangerous as the rest of the crew... except he scares himself, too.


Nightwatch by valderys
(All ages, 2062 words, spoiler free, newbie friendly)
"Would you believe being accosted by beautiful women in the middle of the night makes me nervous?"
Short, Vila-centric fic, with everyone being wonderfully sneaky on board the Liberator.

Box of Tricks by AstroGirl
(All ages, 3083 words, DW crossover - Fourth Doctor).
"Can I ask why you're standing inside a large box in the middle of a quarry in the middle of nowhere? Or is it personal?"
I've recced this before (more than once, I think), but AstroGirl's Vila-voice is spot-on, and it's a DW crossover. In a quarry.

Time for a Change by vilakins
(All ages, 932 words, Red Dwarf crossover).
"The Cat reeled back. "You like being ignored and unnoticed? Because, tell you what, I bet it's working!"
Vila gets sent for supplies, and comes back with a change of image. (And it's Red Dwarf and Blake's 7 - and there's more, but I'll save that for another day when it's Avon's turn.)

Comments

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

Vila is my favourite.

Thank you so much - I am off to reacquaint myself with some Vila fics.

[thisbluespirit]

Mine, too! :-)

Yes, I don't think there's probably anything you won't have seen already, but they're all short and fun.

[belantana.livejournal.com]

Went to add this to the list but of course it's already on it, so I just bumped it up a little! Would the fics make sense to me, or should I wait? :)

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, I think you might like it! It's hard to tell, as it's so old, and such a weird mix. But it does have some surprising stuff (and it even has two episodes written by Tanith Lee).

But you do have to bear in mind that the first series (and especially about eps 3-5) are painfully, 1970s slow. I enjoyed them, because I have sat through well-padded 70s era DW six-parters and found stuff to love, and these are only 50 minutes, and people are sarcastic. Plus, a Classic Who fan can play 'spot the Terry Nation cliche'*. Just fast-forward them a bit, and trust me, there will be a stunning season cliffhanger! (And washing up spaceships, and Michelin Men and snark, and planets where Brian Blessed is god, and sarcastic bleakness... and... Yes. Sorry. *cough*) Some people would say start with S2, but I like the opening eps, where we meet most of the crew, and it's very 1984 - also the Terry Nation Cliche-fest that is the final episode, too. I think you have to at least catch those eps to make proper sense of S2.

I'm not sure the last fic there would make any sense, as it also involves Red Dwarf & assumes knowledge of some B7 costumes in the humour. I think the first two are safe to try, anyway, and I like the sneakyness of the first one - very true to the show!

(*TN Cliches - Tick off as spotted:
Mutants
Corridors
Nuclear fall-out
Someone is watching me.
The beautiful girl is evil! *shock*
Squidgy mutant green things in corridors
The peacemaker is murdered!
There is a traitor!
Someone is inventing a horrible virus
Society has broken down due to a horrible virus
A centuries old space war
Everything happens in a quarry
Or a swamp with squidgy green things
Or planets with weird temperatures
There are robot doubles!
Who have betrayed us (probably while running along corridors in the bunker after the nuclear fall-out, which were blocked by the mutant squidgy things who are about to release a virus created by a mad scientist, backed up by a band of soldiers)
:lol: Seriously, the man is the most glorious hack ever - he recycles all these old B-Movie stuff, but comes out with ideas for the Daleks, Davros, Survivors and Blake's 7 - and Avon, Vila, Blake and co. And it was edited by Chris Boucher, who fills in the gaps with giving random guards backstories, and having outrageous snarky bickering.

PS. It has a singalong theme! da da dah da-da!

PS2: A way to test the water might be (depending on time, accessibility etc), to try and find the DW episodes Genesis of the Daleks (by Terry Nation) and Robots of Death (by Chris Boucher). If you don't like either of these, there's a strong possibility you won't like B7. Although how anyone could not like Genesis and Robots, I don't know... ;-D) Of course, not that that introduces you to the B7 characters, who are, after all, the point of the show.

[thisbluespirit]

I'm sorry. That was a bit long. I couldn't sleep last night, and wound up thinking about how much I liked B7... Erm, well. I am strange.

EA. Eek. Sorry. I think I may have gone mad. I'll not confuse you by deleting the comments, but sorry. *bangs head*

[belantana.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, don't apologise! I asked for it and now I am even more excited to try watching this. Especially intrigued by the cliche Everything happens in a quarry...

I'll definitely start with series 1; I don't think I've ever dived half-way in to a show, it would be Chronologically Incorrect. (Except for DW, of course, which is the very definition of Chronologically Incorrect!) What with finishing the WW, and a whole bunch of Yuletide rewatching, I should be getting on to Blake's 7 in January sometime...

[thisbluespirit]

Everything in 1970s British sf TV happens in a quarry. But Terry Nation has more than most. :-)

Well, I was being a little bit crazy. Whoops...

Yes, but if you DO find S1 too slow for your liking, and you skip stuff, remember to stop for at least the last couple of episodes. ;-)