That's all really interesting. When I start thinking of eps I think I can see something running particularly through the Nation and Boucher ones. With Boucher especially, a habit of not seeing in black and white, of giving the opposition its voice too (Par, Grenlee) and a rather lovely line in irony. And with both of them, for want of a better word, a moral dimension; I don't think there was one of their eps that didn't have a moral question at the root of it. Which is one reason I can forgive most of the flaws in Allan Prior's; I think he was the same in that respect, especially in Horizon and Volcano.
Boucher's stories are often beautifully structured too: 'Shadow' is a two-parter, 'Trial' has those wonderful interlocking storylines that connect together at the end, and I think you've probably heard my spiel about 'Death Watch' many times!
And I think you're right - for all the jokes I make about Nation's hackery, and for all he reuses the same themes and plot devices across many of the series he wrote for, I think there is a moral dimension to many of his stories. Survivors was probably the show he cared most about, and where he writes his most thoughtful stuff. And 'The Way Back', too, of course. And on the subject of Allan Prior, can I note that 'Animals' has a moral question at its core? ;-D
Giving the opposition its voice is an interesting one: they're usually in double acts (Par and the other trooper, Bercol and Rontane, Forress and Grenlee). It's a device that Boucher most likely got from Robert Holmes and writing on Dr Who but Holmes's double acts perhaps aren't as problematizing: Egrorian and Pinder are grotesques, Bellfriar and Gambril evade the politics... perhaps Colonel Quute and the guy he's playing the game with. But even they're not there to give the opposition its voice - they're there for us to dislike.
And, thinking further about your original question, Holmes's scripts for B7 are probably much more in his own voice than in the B7 voice (like Tanith Lee's). Which, now I think a bit more about it, is consistent too with what I was saying about unique fanfic voices being able to find expression using B7.
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Date: 2005-02-16 01:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-17 03:16 am (UTC)And I think you're right - for all the jokes I make about Nation's hackery, and for all he reuses the same themes and plot devices across many of the series he wrote for, I think there is a moral dimension to many of his stories. Survivors was probably the show he cared most about, and where he writes his most thoughtful stuff. And 'The Way Back', too, of course. And on the subject of Allan Prior, can I note that 'Animals' has a moral question at its core? ;-D
Giving the opposition its voice is an interesting one: they're usually in double acts (Par and the other trooper, Bercol and Rontane, Forress and Grenlee). It's a device that Boucher most likely got from Robert Holmes and writing on Dr Who but Holmes's double acts perhaps aren't as problematizing: Egrorian and Pinder are grotesques, Bellfriar and Gambril evade the politics... perhaps Colonel Quute and the guy he's playing the game with. But even they're not there to give the opposition its voice - they're there for us to dislike.
And, thinking further about your original question, Holmes's scripts for B7 are probably much more in his own voice than in the B7 voice (like Tanith Lee's). Which, now I think a bit more about it, is consistent too with what I was saying about unique fanfic voices being able to find expression using B7.