> Agnes Tomorrow writes
> : There has been, over the years, considerable discussion
> : amongst fans of Blake's 7 ... of this class/name phenomenon.
> : Rog Blake and Kerr Avon, both 'Alpha' class, and Olag Gan, Beta,
> : are referred to by surnames; Vila Restal, Delta, is referred to
> : by his given name. ...
>
> When was this class structure mentioned in the show?
Mention _Blake's 7_ and I just have to look.
Blake's class (Alpha) and Vila's class (Delta) are explicitly
mentioned in, I believe, the second series episode "Shadow."
Jenna's is implied to be Alpha in, I think, "The Keeper"
(something about being a "superior-grade citizen of the
Federation"). It's just generally assumed by fans that Avon
is an Alpha because of his attitude, and it's further inferred
that Gan must be of inferior rank because of the way Avon
treats him. However, I believe the only other explicitly
mentioned rank is that of Coser (Beta), the weapons designer
in "Weapon" who is consumed by class resentment.
> : obSandbaggers: There are also certain similarities between Avon and
> : our Neil: an emotional distance, coldness, and a deep-seeded idealism.
> : There are, of course, also many differences. <shrug/grin>
>
> One of which is that NB wears his idealism on his sleeve and Avon
> insists he is purely a self-interested opportunist. Evidently Avon's
> ideals include fair play, requiring him to warn his allies of his
> intent to double-cross them. ;)
Heh. I'd say they both embody compromised idealism, but they've made
different choices. Burnside is proud to stand up for the national
anthem, but he's made hard choices about what he's prepared to do
to protect his country. He has nightmares about what he's done,
but he's prepared to live with them. Avon ostensibly stands for
nothing but himself, but he hasn't completely come to grips with
what this demands from him in extremis. Before the fourth series
he usually waits to be fired on before firing back. He usually
waits to be betrayed before betraying in return. This changes in
the fourth series. But whereas Burnside immediately reconciles
himself in his own mind to the compromises he makes (he already
knows going into a situation that he may sacrifice a friend for
his stated goals), Avon's compromises come to him with greater
difficulty and a surprising lack of forethought (only seriously
considering the sacrifice of a friend once a given situation
develops in that direction, a big problem being, however, that
his pessimism leads him to give up hope before he should).
-Micky
P.S. No, I haven't found the SB books yet. I'm starting to
scratch my head over it, but there are still a few places I
haven't checked.