Down and Unsafe #1

Mini Review By Sarah Thompson

This is a very nice zine that I recommend highly. I think it's still in print, but I'm not at all sure. Used copies turn up from time to time and are not very expensive because it's a digest-size zine. It is profusely illustrated by the editor, Kathy Hanson, who does an excellent suffering Avon (this just might have a little something to do with why I like the zine so much :). I like her cartoons, too.

Review By Julia Jones

The first Down & Unsafe is also the thinnest (57 non-editorial pages) and least interesting of the series, but worth getting if it's a reasonable price. None of the stories really struck my fancy, but no real duds either. The art isn't as good as in the later issues, although there's a nice portrait of Dayna on the back cover that I was taken with.

The Eternal Game - Mary Moulden
Brief story about Servalan dreaming of a chess game, as the events of _Terminal_ are set in motion.

In the First Place - Kathy Hanson
The crew have stumbled across a crashed Federation scoutship, and Avon, Vila and Tarrant are searching it for information - providing Avon with an opportunity to demonstrate just how cold-blooded he really is. My favourite of the zine.

D&U looks at Roj Blake - cartoons by Kathy Hanson
Tongue-in-cheek look at Roj Blake and his devoted crew.

The Cache - Helen Pitt
Long story (32 pages, making it over half the zine) set in third season some time after _Children of Auron_. Cally has told the crew of a cache hidden by the Auronar, holding the information on techniques such as telepathy and cloning. Things go wrong during the attempt to retrieve it, and Vila is stranded on the Ice Age planet where the cache is hidden. I'm not that taken with the story, particularly as I don't agree with the author's view of how strained the relationship between Avon and Cally is, and I don't buy the suggestion that Franton Jr was effectively committing suicide, not founding a colony. Others may well like it, though.

Reflection - Helen Pitt
One page poem, accompanied by a rather nice Suffering Avon illo.

The Goddess - Karen McCutcheon
Short piece about Vila asleep on the flight deck of Scorpio. Does he only dream of Cally, or is it something more?

Xmas through the seasons with B7 - cartoons by Kathy Hanson
I do like the one of Servalan waking up on Christmas morning to find a wind-up Avon in her stocking...

Limericks - Kathy Hills
Sequence of limericks about the crew.

There's also a trivia quiz, "meet the contributors", and editorial.

Contents

Editor/publisher: Kathy Hanson (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Date: [1984?]

Fiction:
Mary Moulden, "The Eternal Game" (S3; Se)
Kathy Hanson, "In the First Place" (S4: A)
Helen Pitt, "The Cache" (S3)
Karen McCutcheon, "The Goddess" (S4; V)

Nonfiction:
Kathy Hanson, "Down and Unsafe Looks at Roj Blake" (cartoons)
Kathy Hanson, "Tricky Trivia-- Quiz"
Caroline Hills, Harvey Kong Tin, and Kathy Hanson, "Xmas Through the Seasons with B7" (cartoons)
"Meet the Contributors"
Helen Pitt, "Wordsearch" (puzzle)
Ads for clubs & zines
Kathy Hanson, "Enditorial"

Poetry:
Helen Pitt, "Reflections"
Kathy Hills, "Limericks"
Harvey Kong Tin, "The Ultra"

Art:
Kathy Hanson front c.? Liberator
p. 1 illo for "Game"
p. 3 Se
p. 4 A
pp. 9-14 "Roj Blake" cartoons
p. 15 illo for "The Cache"
p. 35 A
p. 48 A
p. 50 V
pp. 54-5 Xmas cartoons
p. 58 A
p. 64 pursuit ship
p. 66 A
back c. D
Harvey Kong Tin tp B (as in credits)
p. 8 J
p. 23 C
p. 44 V
p. 54 Xmas cartoon (with KH)
p. 57 B
p. 60 C
p. 67 Liberator
Caroline Hills P. 53 Xmas cartoon
p. 54 concept of Xmas cartoon
Dave Bowden p. 52 Spacerat

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