Judith Seaman

Fan
Name:	Judith Seaman
Alias(es):
Type:
Fandoms:	Blake's 7
Communities:
Other:
URL:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Judith Seaman was a Blake's 7 writer who was known for being very much a fan of Kerr Avon, and not Roj Blake.

From the 1991 mainstream press article, Fans Flock to Paul:

Judith Seaman, of Derby, has researched and documented every single appearance Paul has ever made. He said: "She knows more about my career than I do!"

In the Blake's 7 Wars

Seaman was thanked in Magnificent Seven #9 because she "stood up for Right," a reference to The Blake's 7 Wars.

Works

• Let We Forget!, essay (1991)
• Blake's Seven: The Movie
• Faith, Hope and Charity

Fan Comments

1992

Of the zines that I have managed to get hold of so far, I find that my favourite stories are written by just one author; I can spot them now without having to look at the index. I find that if I begin a story and feel a 'tingle' within the first couple of paragraphs and the hackles rise on my neck and I know it's a Judith Seaman. In my opinion her work is excellent. Her portrayal of all the B7 characters is faithful to the nature of the originals in the programmes. An achievement bordering on the impossible when you remember that the programmes themselves had a variety of writers. What I particularly enjoy though is her DEVELOPMENT of the characters, especially through all of her Program and Ghost series. I feel that her grasp is so accurate when she writes within the four season framework that I'm happy to let her lead me on beyond Blake feeling that she knows enough not to do them any disservice. Add to this her ability to see and express the funny side and you have a very considerable talent indeed. So full marks to Judith and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE may we have Ghost 6?

1995

I enjoyed Judith Seaman as a fan (she did wonderful detailed analyses of the human relationships on the Liberator and off it) but not so much as a writer (because for all the wonderful detailed analyses, etc, she just didn't seem able to get inside them and write the Avon and Vila she obviously knew so well). Also, she was virulently anti-slash, which is always unpleasant. But then a lot of British fans were, thanks perhaps to [the zine] E-man-uelle.

On B7 fiction, must agree that many Brit-authored efforts are less, well, juicy than the U.S. production. Several large-scale stories (including Seaman's Ghost exercise in masochism for Avon and the reader) were well-constructed and admirable for a number of reasons, but I just couldn't get into them emotionally. I put it down to a difference in style: dry, dystopic SF is a British tradition. I still wonder (vaguely) how some of those stories worked out in the end. But I can't make myself read 200 pages to find out.

So you think Judith Seaman's long PGP is an "exercise in masochism for Avon and the reader"? Snicker. Well, that explains why you tactfully refrained from saying much about it when I inquired! I love it myself, but I have specialized tastes. As you know. Bad Things Happening To Cute Guys is one of my hottest fictional turn-ons.

1997

For Avon fans, I also strongly recommend anything by Judith Seaman, especially her ongoing PGP (post-Gauda Prime) series, =Program= and =Ghost=. They are extremely well written, very science-fictional Avon wallows. Two warnings, just in case: she =really= likes to make Avon suffer, so you have to be a bit of a "get-Avon" fan to enjoy them (as many of us are, since he suffers so prettily); and she hates Blake. Her best stories are the PGP ones that don't have Blake in them but deal with interactions between the Scorpio crew. If this sounds good, get these.

1998

[Pat F] lent me "A Ledge Between the Streams" by Judith Seaman, and (my apologies to those yet to read it) I found it impossible for me to like it because an inner voice was screaming, "She killed off Vila, you can't do that!!!". Not a rational reason for disliking anything, I know, but one Vila would be happy with <smile>

I liked that one - but then I'm the kind who likes Shakespearean plays with bodies all over the stage in the last act.

I think my love of killing characters off occasionally gets mistaken for me disliking them. I kill Avon the most often becuase I like him the most. Being killed in one of my stories is a compliment <grin>. (The question is, would the Godmother thank me if I killed Tarrant?)

If anyone ever wants to understand why I occasionally complain about Blake-bashing, a study of Judith Seaman's work will probably explain why. I have to mentally edit out all references to Blake in her work - and have to pass entirely on some stories. She's an excellent writer which makes her hatred of Blake all the more frustrating. She's the only writer I know who seriously believes that Blake intended to kill Avon at Gauda Prime. The first time I read one of them I thought: 'that's an interesting idea'- I'll try most ideas once myself. Then I realised that it was a common thread in all her stories. Then I realised that you could predict the end of any of her stories that had both Blake and Avon in them by assuming that whatever Blake was doing would turn out to be stupid, misguided, and cause Avon to suffer.

I was a die-hard pure Avon fan in those days, and I still found it irritating because it didn't mesh with what I saw on screen.

I know I've said it before - but Judith Seaman was a major factor in converting me to liking Blake. I had to reassess him because he simply couldn't be as bad as she wrote him.

I'd still recommend many of her zines though (there's several available through the Avon club). She does wonderful Avon angst. Nobody makes him suffer quite so well as she does. I just wish she'd finish 'Ghost' but I don't think she ever will. She said to me once that the thought of having to check through the whole saga to make sure she'd got all the continuity points correct was very daunting and I know what she means.

'Program' was a zine that made a massive impact on me when I first read it.