Colin Baker was the first person to ever tell me you couldn't be trusted.

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Title:	Colin Baker was the first person to ever tell me you couldn't be trusted.
Creator:	Linda Terrell
Date(s):	December 1988 or January 1989
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Blake's 7
Topic:
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Colin Baker was the first person to ever tell me you couldn't be trusted. is a letter by Linda Terrell that was sent to Paul Darrow and Janet Lees Price. It includes Janet Lees Price's handwritten comments at the end.

It is just one example showing how heated, raw, and emotional this controversy was for fans. For an example of vitriol from "the other side," see Remarks in "Southern Seven".

Some Topics Discussed

• The Blake's 7 Wars
• the open letter: Open Letter by "Name Withheld By Request"
• people defining what makes a good fan and a bad fan
• pseuds
• power imbalances
• hurt feelings and unwise words

The Letter

So, why do actors act under pseudonyms? Are they ashamed their families?

Colin Baker was the first person to ever tell me you couldn't be trusted. As he often made fun of you and mocked you to us in "private (and sometimes in public), I disregarded his advice, putting it down to him being "jealous" because I dared to turn my attention to another actor. When he found out I liked Blake and Gareth, he never said another mocking word. About Blake or Gareth.

Turns out that that may have been the one real truth he ever granted me (gawd knows he didn't tell the truth about me behind my back. Nor about many others for that matter. You're not setting any precedents for trashing your own fans).

You prefer to believe the "snitchers" and the "tattletales" - Ze informantz, ja? - rather than the working fans who dare call it as they see it.

Ah, but Good Little Fans are supposed to toe the Party Line and turn in the "rebels". Well, I was raised in Boston and married a "Confederate", so I'm a "rebel" - twice!

What do you pay your stoolies? Or do you merely promise them special favors? The "Australian Fan" who so thoughtfully provided you with the names of slash writers is a New Zealander and she's proud of betraying a confidence. She should fit nicely into your New Epoch.

I don't betray confidences. I leave that for the Fan Quislings you prefer to do business with.

And I didn't accuse Janet of trying to "control" the writing. That's something attributed to you. I resented Janet's transparent attempts to weasel names out of me! I don't rat on fellow writers. Or my friends.

Janet Lees Price's Comments

This is the sort of delightful prose which makes opening a letter from out of blue a real joy! Colin Baker is a great friend of ours -- I suspect Ms. Terrell will be hearing from him!