Sevencyclopaedia - H
(various episodes) by Murray Smith
In many religions, the place or state of eternal punishment of the wicked
after death. Twenty-one characters made 62 references to hell in the
series: Avon (17), Vila (12), Del Tarrant (9), Blake (4), Leylan, Deeta
Tarrant, and Casgo (2 each); and Provine, Servalan, Raiker, Par, Thania,
Gambrill, Tek, the Nova Queen's pilot, Dayna, Grenlee, Doran, Dorian,
Plaxton, and Soolin (1 each), which can be divided into 5 categories. While
the first two indicate a link with the origin of the word, the other three,
comprising the majority of the references, indicate a complete break with
the origin, probably due to the passage of time and the Federation's
anti-religious policy.
1. The use of the word in the belief that one is actually in hell: Vila,
when he recovered consciousness in Dawn of the Gods, saw numerous images
of Avon and muttered, 'I'm in hell - and it's full of Avons!' From what was
seen of Vila in the series, this reference did not presumably indicate any
religious belief on his part, including a belief in the existance of hell,
only a belief that a place full of Avons was his vision of hell, if it existed.
2. The use of the word as a wish of evil:
- In Countdown, a dying Provine told Blake to 'Go to hell'.
- In the same episode, Blake, after Provine died, said, 'See you in hell'.
- In Rumours of Death, Servalan told Avon to 'Go to hell', to which he
replied, 'Probably'.
3. The use of the word as an expression of anger or astonishment:
- In Space Fall, after a nearby explosion, Raiker asked, What the hell
was that?'
- In the same episode, Leylan asked Artix, 'What the hell's going on?'
- In the same episode, Leylan demanded, 'Where the hell is that backup man?'
- In Redemption, after the attack by the two System ships, Avon
demanded, 'What the hell is going on?'
- In Horizon, Avon wondered what a Federation freighter was doing so far
out. 'He's in Zone Eight already. Where the hell is he going?'
- In the same episode, Blake said, 'Oh, hell, I'm tired of running, Jena'.
- In Trial, when Samor appeared, Par exclaimed, 'Blazin' [g] [h]'ell,
look at this!'
- In the same episode, Thania asked Travis 'What the hell' he thought he
was doing.
- In Killer, Gambrill demanded of Blake 'What the hell' he thought he
was doing.
- In the same episode, Tek told Gambrill, 'To hell with orders!'
- In Hostage, Avon asked 'where the hell' a plasma bolt came from.
- In the same episode, Avon asked 'Where the hell' was Blake.
- In Countdown, Avon stopped hauling on a chain and commented, 'Hell,
it's jammed'.
- In The Keeper, Avon asked Blake, 'What the hell happened' after the
latter was teleported back aboard the Liberator.
- In the same episode, Blake asked Cally 'where the hell' was she.
- In Star One, when Kelden Control told the Nova Queen's pilot that
the computer didn't make errors, the latter's response was 'To hell with that!'
- In Dawn of the Gods, Tarrant asked Orac 'where the hell' they were.
- In the same episode, Tarrant again asked Orac 'where the hell' they were.
- In the same episode, after something with a 'claw' knocked out the
Liberator's scanner, Dayna asked, 'What the hell was that?'
- In The Harvest of Kairos, Avon asked Tarrant, 'what the hell is
that?' pointing to a landing module.
- In the same episode, Tarrant asked, 'Where the hell' was Avon.
- In City at the Edge of the World, Vila asked Kerril 'what the hell'
it was he was meant to have done.
- In the same episode, after a shot was fired, Avon asked, 'What the hell
is that?'
- In Rumours of Death, Major Grenlee asked 'Where the hell' was the
squad he sent out.
- In Sarcophagus, when Cally drew and fired at something not there,
Avon remarked, 'What the hell!?'
- In the same episode, after he and Vila were brought back to the
Liberator by Cally, after the teleport had mysteriously failed, Avon
demanded, 'What the hell was going on here? Afternoon tea?'
- In Ultraworld, when the artificial planet was revealed on
Liberator's main screen, Tarrant exclaimed, 'What the hell is that?'
- In the same episode, Vila demanded to know 'what the hell' was going on
from Tarrant.
- In Moloch, Doran told Vila that he thought, 'what the hell, Vila
likes a woman'.
- In Death-Watch, Deeta asked Max 'what the hell' was Vinni.
- In Terminal, Tarrant demanded, 'What the hell is he [Avon] up to?'
- In the same episode, Tarrant asked 'where the hell' was Avon.
- In Rescue, Dorian said that he had never been able to work out 'what
the hell' something was for.
- In the same episode, Tarrant said 'if we knew what the hell was waiting
for them' on Xenon.
- In the same episode, Vila stopped trying to open a door, remarking, 'To
hell with it'.
- In Traitor, Avon asked 'How the hell' Servalan had managed to get off
the Liberator.
- In Stardrive, Plaxton said 'What the hell' did she care that the
Space Rats would complain to Altan.
- In Animals, Tarrant said, 'What the hell' in response to Slave's
obsequious behaviour.
- In Headhunter, Vila asked Muller 'What the hell' was the matter with
him.
- In Assassin, Soolin said that the question was 'where the hell' was
Cancer.
- In Games, Vila told Avon that they had been trying to contact him for
'an hour', demanding, 'What the hell have you been doing, taking a nap?'
- In the same episode, Vila demanded of Avon, 'What the hell's going on?'
- In the same episode, Avon asked Orac, 'what the hell is going on?'
- In Sand, Vila demanded of Soolin 'what the hell' she knew about
Liberator's destruction and Cally's death.
- In the same episode, Casgo asked Servalan 'what the hell' happened.
- In Warlord, Vila asked 'What the hell' was killing the Betafarlian
technicians in the freight bay.
4. The use of the word as a phrase telling someone to make a quick retreat:
- In Project Avalon, Avon said, 'let's get the hell out of here'.
- In Traitor, Vila said that if Tarrant did not 'get the hell out' of
Hellotrix, they were finished aboard the Scorpio.
- In Stardrive, Avon told Tarrant and Vila to secure Dr. Plaxton's
photonic drive and 'let's get the hell out of here'.
- In Blake, Vila suggested that they lay in a course and 'get the
dignified hell out of here [Xenon]'.
- In the same episode, Tarrant told Avon to 'get the hell out of here
[Scorpio]'.
5. The use of the word as a description of something tremendous, serious,
great, or important:
- In Trial, Blake admitted that he had taken 'one hell of a risk' with
his crew when he went ahead with his attack on Central Control.
- In Moloch, Avon said that Moloch had made 'a hell of a stupid mistake'.
- In Death-Watch, Vila explained to Cally that the combatants under the
Teal-Vandor Convention didn't just step up and 'beat hell out of each
other' with big wooden clubs.
- In the same episode, Deeta said to Max that the stuff put inside his
head frightened 'the hell' out of him.
- In the same episode, Avon said that when Vinni was revealed to be an
android, 'all hell' would break loose.
- In Sand, Casgo said that it was going to be 'a hell of a bumpy ride' down.
- In the same episode, Avon said that they did know that what they were
going to do was 'one hell of a risk'.
See RELIGION.
(D-2: POWER)
A remnant of the pre-war technology on Xenon. Avon used one, protected by a
glove, to defeat Gunn-Sar in single combat, and described it as "ordinary"
and "domestic", although this might have been irony on his part.
(D-3: TRAITOR)
One of the oldest Earth colonies, colonised when the Stock Equalisation Act
was still in force. The Federation spent years subduing the population
during their first expansion. Avon added that the Helots were among the
first to gain independence from "the Empire": this might refer to the
Federation in the aftermath of the Intergalactic War, or possibly some
pre-Federation power bloc. Hunda mentioned an old monorail tunnel being
sealed off "a hundred years ago", showing that the planet had been colonised
for over a century (though since Chenga had been colonised for two hundred
years in Powerplay, Helotrix's pioneer settlements were almost
certainly older).
Helotrix was served by Magnetrix Terminal 4006, situated in an unnamed city
on the planet. What little was seen of the city indicated buildings of a
pyramidal shape. It can be inferred that Helotrix was in Sector 4, and was
the target of the Pacification Programme after Luba and Porphyr Major.
Helotrix was visited by Tarrant, Dayna, and Servalan (as Commissioner Sleer).
Named Helots were Practor (President-elect, relieving the military as ruler
of the planet for the Federation), Star Major Hunda, Hask, Avandir and Igin.
Named places were Leedenbrank and the White Mountains.
The General had previously led a squadron of Helots and regarded them as good
fighters, especially in hand-to-hand combat. Of the rebels on the planet at
the time of Scorpio's visit, only Hunda's 4th column was still
fighting. Column 2 had been virtually wiped out, with 1 and 3 withdrawing to
the White Mountains.
(A-9: PROJECT AVALON)
One of the prisoners held on the unnamed planet in this episode, detained in
cell S8. Others noted were Distar, Kalor and Pelar.
(various episodes)
Described by Avon in Dawn of the Gods as "the strongest known metal in
the universe", the outer skin of the Liberator was made from it. It
was stated to be an alloy, although it could apparently be found occurring
naturally in some asteroids. Zen identified the landing module from Kairos,
fitted with an analogue of Sopron, as having a herculanium hull.
In Power Vila identified the door to Scorpio's hangar as being
made of herculanium, and added that it could not be cut, burnt or blasted.
(D-12: WARLORD)
|
A border system, represented by Lod at the meeting of warlords called by
Avon. Avon noted that Herriol, along with Serrus and Sentha, was threatened
by the Federation's pacification Programme.
| 
Lod is on the left |
(B-7: KILLER)
Mentioned by Blake as a means of coping with the stresses of lengthy
confinement in early infraluminal space flights.
(C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH) by Murray Smith
'High Admiral of the Galactic Fleets' was one of Servalan's presidential
titles, mentioned by Tarrant in 'Rumours of Death'. This title seems quite
similar to that of 'Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom', a title held
by the monarch of that Earth state since 1 April 1964 AD.
The office was established in the fourteenth century, when the English
fleet first came under a single admiral's command. The title became fixed
as 'Lord High Admiral' by the sixteenth century; previously the titles
'High Admiral' or 'Lord Admiral' were used interchangeably. From 1628 to
1964, except for certain periods, the office was in commission, the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty being vested with all its jurisdictions and
powers.
See also Rank.
(various episodes)
Governing body of unspecified size, at the top of the Federation's hierarchy.
Among the Presidential titles listed by Tarrant in Rumours of Death,
one was "Ruler of the High Council". No details were given as to the
composition of the High Council, or how its members were chosen. Other
references include:
- Pressure Point: Servalan requested a direct link to the High
Council in order to ask that the Forbidden Zone's defences be deactivated.
- Trial: Senator Bercol (not High Councillor Bercol) stated that he
was head of the Information Bureau and "ex officio member of the High
Council".
- Voice from the Past: Servalan told LeGrand that the High Council
were aware of what she and Ven Glynd were planning from the very beginning,
suggesting that planetary governors were not members of the High Council.
- Star One: Durkim was summoned to a meeting of the High Council, a
summons he called "a Presidential order-in-Council". Servalan refused to
give him clearance to leave her command station.
- Rumours of Death: Major Grenlee noted that Chesku was a High
Councillor, although his wife "Sula" apparently was not. The High Council
had, therefore, survived the Intergalactic War.
- Traitor: Practor told Leitz of how the High Council was restored
to power at the time Servalan was deposed, which rather contradicts the
evidence suggested in Rumours of Death. Perhaps Servalan had
abolished the High Council at some point after that episode, or the High
Council under President Servalan had no effective power.
- Animals: Ardus wanted authorisation from the High Council to
disclose information on Bucol-2. Sleer threatened his family, forcing him to
change his mind.
- Blake: Orac informed the crew that the authorities had placed a
formal application for Federation membership before the High Council on
Earth. Blake and his allies were expecting a High Council representative to
arrive on the planet at any moment.
(B-5: PRESSURE POINT)
|
Part of Control's defences, surrounding the bunker entrance for a radius of
"fifty yards, maybe more", at least in Vila's estimate. Avon stated that the
rays could burn an individual up in seconds, and noted that it was completely
self-repairing in eight seconds. An inbuilt sensormesh was weight and
disturbance sensitive. The grid also had the apparent ability to fix people
to the spot, preventing their escape. Responsible for the deaths of Arle and
Berg, it very nearly claimed Avon as well. It was deactivated to allow
Travis and two mutoids to enter the bunker, and Servalan, Jenna and Veron
later crossed it unharmed. If it remained deactivated after Blake's escape,
then Veron may have been able to get away unharmed, otherwise she would have
been trapped in the bunker or killed.
| 
Arle & Berg being blown up. |
Back to Sevencyclopeadia Intro
Back to Blake's 7 Top