Oracle (Blake's 7 resource zine)
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Oracle |
| Publisher: | Seveners, then Horizon |
| Editor(s): | Carole Fairman |
| Type: | |
| Date(s): | 1979/1980, last official reprint was in 1986, then bootlegged in 1987 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Blake's 7 |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Oracle is a 74-page Blake's 7 resource zine by Carole Fairman.
It contains information about the first three seasons of the show.
The zine contains articles, official photos, and several illos by Ian Scoones.
About
Oracle was conceived and originally printed by Carole Fairman (SEVENERS), who then passed the rights on to HORIZON, who reprinted twice as A4 duplicated, then once as an A4 professionally printed and once as an A5 professionally printed booklet. The first printing was around 1979/1980, and the last OFFICIAL reprint (ie. by HORIZON) was in December 1986. It is 74 pages long, with a beautiful photo collage cover (9 photos) and containing many photos inside also. Horizon is currently charging £2.00 plus postage for this. Oracle is an info guide on the first 3 seasons of B7, with biogs, interviews, information, letters, etc. from & about the cast and BBC crew who worked on seasons 1,2 & 3. HORIZON HAVE NEVER, NOR WILL WE EVER pass this permission on to anyone else to reprint.
Contents
- General Notes (5)
- The Earth Federation, article by Duncan Webster (7)
- Descriptions of the actors, writers, and producers, as well as characters (10)
- Interview with David Maloney (13)
- The Making of "Blake's Seven," article (This article was re-printed by kind permission of the author. Judith Cross, and originally appeared in Issue 5 of Standard by Seven") (18)
- Special Effects, article by Ralph Denyer (21)
- letters (and extracts from letters) from various people who have been associated with “Blake’s Seven” written to Carole Fairman, original editor of “Oracle” (Roger Parkes, Allan Prior, M.A.C. Adams, Mat Irvine) (24)
- Interview with Chris Boucher (26)
- The Swap Shop Interview (Noel Edmonds, with Jacqueline Pearce and Gareth Thomas) (32)
- Interview with Paul Darrow (43)
- The Blake/Avon Relationship (45)
- Interview with Sally Knyvette (48)
- Interview with Jan Chappell (50)
- Interview with Michael Keating (52)
- Interview with Steven Pacey (56)
- Interview with Josette Simon (58)
- Interview with Peter Tuddenham (60)
- Interview with Jacqueline Pearce (64)
Later Bootlegged
See much more at The 1988 Blake's 7 Bootlegged Zines Discussion.
It was discovered in late 1988 that this zine had been bootlegged by a company in the US in December 1987.
The intro in the bootleg copy reads:
A complete information guide on the series, cast and views from people who have worked ‘front’ and‘backstage’ on the earlier series of Blake’s Seven.
ORACLE was conceived and originally printed by Carole Faimian and reprinted by HORIZON, the Blake’s Seven Appreciation Society.
Third professional reprint - December 1987
Cover and interior photos are copyright to the BBC, or telepics copyright individual photographers.
From the Horizon Newsletter, after the discovery of the pirating:
The bootleg has been copied from the Horizon print run, so we will only use this as a basis for the description.
THE BOOTLEG: looks identical to ours - they have copied from one of our zines the actual photo collage cover (which suffers in the transition, as they are copying copies of copied photos!!) The contents page actually acknowledges Carole Fairman AND HORIZON, but then goes on to say: "3rd professional reprint December 1987 - cover & interior photos are copyright to the BBC, or telepics copyright individual photographers". The bootleg zines are all typed using a double column per page, whereas HORIZON print straight across the page. (And always have our address on our zines, of course).
PHOTOS/ARTWORK - the bootleg has 7 photos inside, plus copies of original FX diagrams by Ian Scoones. Our original has 26 photos inside. Our photos all relate to the text (eg. photos of Jan Chappell/Cally next to the Jan Chappell interview/biography; photo of Liberator next to Plat Irvine information, etc.) The bootleg photos appear with no rhyme or reason, however. Next to the Terry Nation interview is a photo of Soolin, and under the Paul Darrow section is a 4th Series crew pose - this in a zine specifically only relating to Series 1,2 & 3! In the middle of & after the Jacqueline Pearce interview are 2 photos of Jenna and Cally, and a photo of Avon and Blake in the middle of the Josette Simon interview.
AN ADDRESS... Possibly the most interesting thing in this bootleg copy of ORACLE is the last page - but one. This page gives an address to order all the other bootlegged things, plus other B7 material. It list's [sic] BETWEEN BLACK & WHITE, SANCTION, OMNIBUS VOLS. 1 & 2 plus other 'legal' merchandise available through them. SPECIAL OFFER - any 2 B7 fanzines for $11, 3 for $16 or 4 for only $20 plus postage, (or only $9.60 if you bought them from-HORIZON!)
It then says: to order from this list, send a check or money order at the above prices plus $2.00 for shipping and handling. Thank you. BLAKES SEVEN OFFER, P0 BOX 652a, DUNLAP, TN 37327, U.S.A."
AND AT LAST WE HAVE A CLUE. [1]
Other Directly Bootlegged Blake's 7 Zines
These are bootlegs that were specifically reprinted using a different "author," and sold for profit.
At least two of them were bootlegged by "Keith Black," and it is likely the other three were as well.
- Omnibus #1 (1987), is a bootleg of Horizon #8
- Omnibus #2 (1987), is a bootleg of Series 5 #1
- Sanction (1986), is a bootleg of story from Spacefall #5, and Best of Spacefall #1, by Linda Webb-Taylor
- Between Black and White (1986), is a bootleg of a story in Spacefall #4, and Spacefall #9, by Ann O'Neill
- Oracle by Carole Fairman
Sample Interior: Bootleg Version
Ian Scoones
Ian Scoones
References
- ^ Horizon Newsletter #21 (December 1988)