New Soul for the Faith?

[altariel]

the_wild_iris has bravely expressed an interest in seeing some Blake's 7.

*rubs hands*

My friends, this is your chance. Name the five episodes most likely to turn someone into a devotee. And why.

Comments

[bethos.livejournal.com]

Oh, my!

I wish I could rightly communicate how I was turned. A friend and I just sat and watched the whole first season in a weekend. Good times ...

I am less than helpful. I got my brother with just the first two episodes, which I feel was an accomplishment. Also I've only seen the first season and the first four episodes of the second plus "Gambit", so...

[calapine.livejournal.com]

Well, when I saw The Way Back last year I was converted within the first five minutes, being somewhat weak, yes.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

I've used "Shadow" as an introduction to the show with some success, though if you're going to show that to somebody as their first ep, it helps if you give them a brief rundown on who the characters are first. (And don't forget to mention Orac!)

[fifitrix.livejournal.com]

Difficult....

I would say:
The Way Back,
Space Fall,
Orac,
Redemption,
Star One,
Aftermath,
Powerplay...

Oh bugger thats 7 already. Well 7 is a much more apt number anyway.
Seriously - I would suggest starting at the beginning and working through from there.

If they're not hooked by Cygnus Alpha its probably not going to happen.

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Redemption? Really? I'd probably go with your S1 & 2 choices, except that I'd take Pressure Point or Countdown over Redemption. And no Season 3? Not even Deathwatch or Terminal?

Anything from S4 to an unbeliever might be problematic, it's so early-80s-tastic...

*much, much icon love* (I'm newly converted to Farscape)

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

Seek, Locate, Destroy turned me. Mmm... Servie...

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Thinking narratively:

The Way Back, because you need to know what he's fighting.
Breakdown, which shows a lot about him.
Shadow, more evil Feds and silver tunics
Pressure Point, necessary plot development plus more evil Feds plus Gan's death
Star One, which should leave anyone wondering what happened next.

And thinking frivolously:
The Web (such lovely cuddles)
still Breakdown (our heroes in hissy fits, and lovely Renor)
Weapon (Carnell, just Carnell)
Horizon (Vila with his shirt off)
Hostage (white tunic and artistic suffering)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

While The Way Back is vital to really understanding the series and the character Blake, a lot of people find it slightly indigestible at first sight - you know your friend so maybe you can judge best, but my suggestions are:

Either The Way Back or Spacefall;

Seek-Locate-Destroy or Project Avalon as the other introductory one and a good look at the villains of the piece (I'd probably choose SLD - it's got Bercol & Rontane as well, so she gets to find out how good the guests can be. On the other hand, Project Avalon's got mutoids.);

Shadow, definitely Shadow, 'cause Shadow is one of the best if not the best - murky politics, great dialogue, characterisation as sharp and layered as it gets, some good stuff for everyone in the crew, and all of them looking gorgeous as well;

Gambit, for many of the same reasons as Shadow :) plus some of the most spectacular guest characters and a chance to fall for the Avon-Vila partnership :)

And for number 5... either Aftermath or Powerplay would probably give her an idea of what the third series is like. Aftermath is good for prospective Avon/Servalan fans, but Powerplay has yet another great guest (Klegg) and a good story and you never know, she might fancy Tufty...

If you want to stay pre-Star One (which though a wonderful episode is second after Blake in ones you watch after the buildup) I'd think about Horizon; some people wince, but it's got torture, ambiguous politics, ambiguous relationships, Blake and Avon fighting...

[fifitrix.livejournal.com]

Well Aftermath and Powerplay are season 3 and I only stopped cos I realised I had more than 5 already...

Probably would've added deathwatch to the list.

I like Redemption - Avon gets to be smug in it and there are mad bitches in lycra.

Help yourself to the icon.... :)

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't do Star One without the leadup episodes; I think it undercuts all the things that make Star One interesting, like the political and interpersonal issues. You certainly can't do Star One without at least Pressure Point and Gambit first.

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

That's actually a really good one from a lot of perspectives - it introduces the ongoing villains, and is a fairly representative political-terrorism plot, with some quite dark references to the Federation's methods of dealing with dissent.

[executrix.livejournal.com]

It might be argued that "The Web" should be included because, even though it's pants, they might as well start with the run of the mill rather than The Best Of.

That said, I'd pick:
SpaceFall (TWB is better drama, but it's the pilot for a different show)
Seek-Locate-Destroy, because where would B7 be without Blake Not Being Got by Travis?
Horizon, because they're really arguing about something important
Pressure Point, because it's at or near the peak of Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal
Gambit, because it's about the only time Avon gets to have any fun.

FWIW, Terminal is the episode that made me the A/B shipper that I am so if that's either your goal or something you think your proselyte would be interested in...

[fifitrix.livejournal.com]

Well no not from a story arc sense.
But the outfits are cool...

[executrix.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about this a lot (well, it was either that or *work*). I presume you mean "five plus Animals."

I'm surprised no one said "Duel," but then I guess all your friends have seen it in the other eight series it was in. Speaking of which, "Galaxy Quest" is essential supplementary viewing.

If it's possible to name half-episodes: Voice From the Past until Shivaun of the Dead shows up, and, to make up for Deleted Travis, Trial except for the parts with Zil. Hmmm, of course that would make it a little difficult to explain Blake's return to the colors, but...

If the_wild_iris is a Firefly person (or you're doing a dual recruitment run), Deliverance/Our Mrs. Reynolds back to back.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

I got hooked on B7 in reverse order: started watching at the end of season 3, saw season 4 twice, bought season 3 episodes from a friendly pirate, then season 2, then season 1.

And yes, I think you need to start on The Way Back, because when I finally saw it I suddenly got why half my B7fan friends liked Blake so much. Lock him up in a cell and give him loadsa mental torture, oh, yes...

Moving swiftly on: I think starting at season 1 and moving onwards for as long as she'll let you has a lot to be said for it, really. (Except I think you can skip The Web.)

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions - it sounds like a feast in waiting.

I've seen the series, but at such a young age that I have no lasting memory of it bar a few vague images, and the more I read on LJ the more it seems like it's a cultural phenomenon one can't afford to miss :)

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Well, the first episode I saw was Orac, because I was usually out on Tuesdays (or was it Mondays?) in 1978. So the second episode I saw was Redemption, and those two got me hooked, and I told all my friends to watch the next one. Which was Shadow, and they all came into school the next day and said "That show is complete crap."

Um... the only time since then that I've tried to get someone into it, I made her watch the first four, because they introduced the crew, and I think the fifth one you need to see is S-L-D because it introduces Servalan and Travis, not to mention Rontane and Bercol. Hey, how could anyone not get addicted to B7 after meeting Rontane and Bercol? Though actually I don't think I did get her hooked, partly because she was living in another city and we didn't see each other often enough to keep the supply of junk videos regular.

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

Of course, what you really have to do is figure out which of your Q study categories she fits into.

With me, it was watching Star One that got me hooked. Other ones you might consider:

The Way Back, on the grounds that it's good. The problem is it's so atypical of the series.

Shadow, which is where the series really steps properly into gear and starts to fulfil its potential.

Trial. I don't think you necessarily need to know the background to get this one, and it's a very strong episode.

Blake, if you want to be a bit cheeky.

Actually, after watching that lot in chronological order there's probably not much need to bother with the rest of the series.

Episodes to avoid:

Anything between The Way Back and Shadow, because they're not very good.

Pressure Point. I rewatched this recently, during i_smell_shite's induction into the series, and it really is horribly structured and terribly flatly directed.

Aftermath, because it's shit.

Rumours of Death, because you and Calle did it so much better.

In fact, anything between Star One and Blake, because of the lack of Gareth. Terminalis an exception, of course. I don't like the pacing of it much, but it has its merits. In my list of five above, you might consider replacing Blake with Terminal.

Do not be distracted by arguments along the lines of "you need to watch episode X to understand the background to episode Y", for two reasons:

1) As a competently constructed television series, every episode contains what you need to understand it if you just happened to come across it without ever having seen it before. Sure, there was loads of detail that I missed when I watched Star One without having seen the preceding two seasons, but I understood and enjoyed the story.

2) There is certainly nothing you need to understand any episode that couldn't be covered in a sixty-second briefing while you wait for the copyright notice on the DVD to go away.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I haven't looked at any others (I will when I've posted this) but here are my choices:

1. The Way Back - for an intro to Blake and the Federation and how far it will go.
   
2. Shadow - for how far Blake will go (deal with the Terra Nostra, kill the moondiscs which enabled Cally to save the ship); also an excellent episode for Cally
   
3. Killer - for the human side to the Federation (Bellfriar and Gambrill), some nice Avon-Vila interaction, and a chiller of an ending
   
4. Gambit - for the sheer fun of it
   
5. City at the Edge of the World - for an insight into what makes Vila tick, OTT Bayban, and a clever plot.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Redemption is extremely slashy. If you think this would be a plus, or your friend might take to Avon&Blake in any form, go for it...

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

If you have a fairly newish VCR, have you checked to make sure it doesn't play UK tapes? I'm in Australia, so ours are the same as the UK, and only realised last year that it plays (doesn't record but does play) American tapes... I don't know if there are those that go the other way, but I imagine most people don't even think about it :)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Yup, Blake does the Beautiful Mental Suffering rather well (as long as the camera man can be dissuaded from nostril shots and yes I am talking about Voice from the Past, how did you guess...?)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

We need to fix a date to start your aversion therapy the initiation process.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Mmm, not weak, I think: 'The Way Back' is such a fantastic piece of telly.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

don't forget to mention Orac!

Hee! Good point!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Wow, you have so many brilliant episodes to come!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

80s-tastic-ness of season 4 is a real problem. Perhaps I should stick 'Stardrive' on and see what happens.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Aha - this will be why its merits have passed me by. It's just two men with a live wire between them... um...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

And Stephen Greif...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I came into B7 in much the same way - watching some repeats of episode 3, and then both transmissions of season 4. It was ten or twelve years before I saw all the early ones.

It's so tricky with TWB. It is just such a brilliant episode, and yet I'm not sure its representative of the show as a whole.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Shadow, and they all came into school the next day and said "That show is complete crap."

Wow, imagine thinking that about 'Shadow'!

how could anyone not get addicted to B7 after meeting Rontane and Bercol?

This in particular makes S-L-D or Trial very tempting...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Seems to be a broad consensus about 'Shadow'. I think 'Blake' should be saved until a lot more of the show has been watched - it has a better impact that way. Entirely agree about 'Pressure Point': it drags like a draggy thing.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Shivaun of the Dead

*splutters over monitor*

Firefly initiation has already been done.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

They also get to do their special brand of team-working.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I really don't do 'Breakdown' justice in my head - as soon as I think of it, I think of all that interminable faffing about going through the vortex, when in fact there's loads of other good stuff happening, like Julian Glover, and the Avon plotline.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

There is definitely a consensus around 'Shadow', and not surprising really, it is so utterly brilliant. And 'City' is such a tempting one... I love it to bits. Oh, season 3 has some really cool episodes!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I thought I would do some taster episodes, and then pass on the DVDs. I have to admit I find season 1 a bit of a slog when watched back-to-back.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I really hope you manage to get to see some B7. I'd love to know what you think of it.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

I'll bring the Beethoven!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I really had not expected so many people to pick out S-L-D, and yet when I think about it does make loads of sense, for all the reasons you suggest. I remember it was one of the episodes that appeared on those compilation tapes that came out in the '80s, so the people producing them must have had the same ideas!

I'm tempted to stay pre-Star One partly because that's where the DVDs go up to, and video looks so rubbish these days.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I agree about TWB, tho' it is so good... S-L-D just hadn't crossed my mind and yet it does make sense *ponders further*

'Horizon' I just find terribly slow: I wish it had pacier direction, it could be a really strong episode.

'Gambit' is just joyous, I'm not going to be able to resist that one, I think.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'll supply the electrodes!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I watched 'Shadow' this week (for my Blakathon story) and realised all over again how great it is. 'City' is almost perfect but for Kerril's fast transformation, but then I've explained that to myself by having her put on a deliberate act to seduce Vila--a tough gunhand screaming at spiders and whimpering at the sight of skeletons, come on!

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Cityis very good, true... in fact, I propose it instead of Powerplay now.