Forgotten Seven

Zine
Title:	Forgotten Seven
Publisher:	Clever Trevor Press
Editor(s):	Teresa Ward
Date(s):	1990
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake’s 7
Language:	English
External Links:
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cover by Leigh Moto'Oka

flyer

Forgotten Seven is a gen 145-page Blake's 7 zine published in 1991.

The art is by Leigh Moto'oka (front cover), Adrian Morgan, Derrin, and Kate Knepper.

It is an anthology focusing on the less popular characters of B7, namely anyone other than Blake, Avon, Vila, Cally, and Servalan.

A 1991 ad in The Neutral Arbiter #3 said it is "center stapled, gorgeously laid-out and printed!"

Contents

• Debt and Obsession, fiction by Leokadija (20 pages)
• Paradigmatic Duplicity, fiction by C.K. Smith ("Servalan has a plot to use the great Shivan to trap Blake, but there are more players in this game than she bargained for.") (12 pages)
• Crossroads, fiction by Cami ("Travis is returning to Earth after medical leave when the ship he's on is forced to crash land. Now it's up to him and a green young cadet to care for the survivors.") (14 pages)
• Truce, fiction by Lorna B.
• Pilot of the Storm, fiction by Peggy Hartsook ("The Scorpio crew survive Gauda Prime, but Tarrant is having second thoughts about keeping this motley group together.") (11 pages)
• Certainties, fiction by Leigh Moto'oka ("Avon, Gaily, and Dayna are trapped a cave in. Will Tarrant and Vila rescue them? Avon doesn't think so...") (6 pages)
• A Difference of One, fiction by Teresa Ward ("What if Zeeona' hadn't died?") (5 pages)
• A Friend in Need, fiction by Roxie Ray ("Vila needs someone to talk to, and so does Soolin.") (6 pages)
• Friends, fiction by Rebecca Reeves ("Life on Gauda Prime is about to change for two young girls.") (2 pages)
• Stiff Competition, fiction by Anne Collins Smith (3 pages)
• Deluge, or, 'Twas a Dark and Stormy Night, fiction by Lorna B. ("Stuck in a thunderstorm with two nervous crewmembers, Jenna must find away to help pass the time. (Not what you think!)") (2 pages)
• Streets of Forbes, fiction by Jenny Gallagher ("Jenna is relaxing in a bar, until a Federation news special interrupts the vis-cast she was enjoying.") (3 pages)
• Jenna's True Love, fiction by Eugenie Nicholas (3 pages)
• Breakthrough, fiction by Lorna B. (8 pages)
• A Happy Ending, fiction by Leokadija ("Gan was dead when the others left him at Central Control. Wasn't he?") (5 pages)
• London Calling, fiction by Anne Collins Smith ("What happened to the prisoner transport ship and her crew after they left Cygnus Alpha?") (4 pages)
• What If...?, fiction by Ros Williams ("Blake reckons Avon needs to see a psychiatrist. Who's he gonna call? (Three guesses.)") (10 pages)
• Considering, fiction by Rebecca Reeves (3 pages)
• The Obligatory Editorial and Credit Where Credit Is Due Page by Teresa Ward
• Fanfic Presents: Super Avon"
• Cyclops, poem by Lorna B.
• The Pain, poem by Michael J. Macomber (5 pages)
• Reflections: Terminal/Gauda Prime, poem by Leigh Moto'oka
• Travis' Plan by Angela Reese (filk, Bella Notte)
• For Deeta, poem by Michael J. Macomber
• The Middle Man, poem by Lorna B. (7 pages)
• Barnstormer, poem by Lorna B. (Ta)
• I Saw Tarrant Kissing Servalan by Angela Reese (filk, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus)
• Musings and Choices, poem by Melissa Mastoris
• Lost Huntress, poem by Lorna B.
• Redemption: For Dayna, poem by Michael J. Macomber
• Metamorphosis, poem by Derrin
• The Wall: A Memory, poem by Michael J. Macomber
• Deeta's Last Thoughts, poem by Melissa Mastoris
• The Deathwatch, poem by Melissa Mastoris
• Vinni, poem by Michael J. Macomber
• Deva, poem by Michael J. Macomber
• The Tarrant Confusion by Angela Reese (filk, The Rainbow Connection")

Reactions and Reviews

[Paradigmatic Duplicity]: Although I do wonder who the real Shivan was. The only story I've read where he turned up was a perfectly dreadful piece by C.K. Smith in (I think) FORGOTTEN SEVEN.

This zine is devoted to the less popular characters of B7, namely anyone other than Blake, Avon, Vila, Cally, and Servlan! The fiction features, in order, Travis (the editor's fave), Tarrant (her second fave-- but I don't think he'd qualify as a "forgotten" character today!), Soolin, Jenna, Gan, and some of the guest characters. Dayna doesn't star in any of the stories, but a couple of poems are devoted to her.

As usual it's hard to choose a favorite story, but I do especially like Leokadija's ironically titled "Happy Ending," which is actually an angsty death story for Gan. On the smut front, Roxie Ray's series develops a nice Vila/Soolin relationship, which is amusingly parodied in Anne Collins Smith's story. Ros Williams's tale of how the Liberator crew is psychoanalyzed by Carnell is also very funny. Both "Paradigmatic Duplicity" and "Crossroads" postulate encounters between Travis and Tarrant back in their Space Command days; "Duplicity" gives Tarrant a special relationship with Servalan.

Recommended for fans of any of these characters. I think the zine is out of print, but used copies can be found with a little searching.

"This is a zine with short stories and poems "dedicated to the forgotten characters in Blake's 7 fandom." As you'll see from the very brief plot synopses, the characters honored are mostly Jenna, Soolin, Travis, and Tarrant, with a few others thrown in including Gan, Nova, Shivan, and Leylan and Artix. If you ask me, Tarrant isn't forgotten nearly enough...I'm joking! Just a joke!

Some of the cartoons are cute, a bit primitive artistically, but cute. I offer no opinion on poems and filk.

BEST STORIES:

"Streets of Forbes" by Jenny Gallagher was the best story and possibly one of the best I've read. Certainly one of the best I've read recently. Anybody know what else she's written and where to get hold of it or get in touch with her? I thought this was fantastic! It's Jenna's thoughts as she sees the news of GP and it's moving, not sappy, and I liked it even though I disagreed with some of the outlook. Really good.

I also liked (in alphabetical order by author and trying to avoid spoilers):

"Deluge" by Lorna B.. Jenna keeps Avon and Vila's minds off a thunderstorm (they're both dome dwellers, not used to storms) by telling them spooky stories. If you know the story of the guy with the hook, this is really funny.

"A Happy Ending" by Leokadija. Gan at Central Control. It's a killer, plenty of angst. Nice job with the Fed worker.

"Crossroads" by Carol McCoy. Travis and Tarrant -- on his first mission as a cadet -- are stranded with some other Feds on a planet. Nice job with Travis. And I'm not just saying that because I know and like Carol. She does some great videos, too, BTW.

The other stories, in order of appearance:

"Debts and Obsession" by Leokadija. Travis bonds with Maryatt and family and their fates only fuel his obsession with Blake even though most of what happens is Servalan or Avon's doing.

"Paradigmatic Duplicity" by C.K. Smith. The only story I've seen about Shivan. Cool. What a bastard.

"Truce" by Lorna B.. Tarrant learns some respect for Vila on a long flight home to Xenon.

"Pilot of the Storm" by Peggy Hartsook. Tarrant gets everyone off GP. Blake is very nasty but I only object because he doesn't win 8-) The sequel in _Roads Not Taken_ (review forthcoming) is better IMO.

"Certainties" by Leigh Moto'oka. Love her videos. Avon, Dayna, and Cally are stranded. Will Tarrant rescue them...

"A Difference of One" by Teresa Ward. Zeeona's survival changes the outcome at GP.

"A Friendship Begins" (set in the Friend in Need universe created by the author) by Roxie Ray. Vila and Soolin become very close. Vila met her sister. That could be a spoiler...

"A Friend in Need" by Roxie Ray. More Vila and Soolin. Vila gets over Cally.

"Friends" by Rebecca Reeves. Soolin as a girl just before all hell breaks loose on GP.

"Stiff Competition" by Anne Collins Smith (set in the Friend in Need universe). Soolin and Kerril shoot it out over Vila, sort of. It's a comedy...

"Jenna's True Love" by Eugenie Nichols. Jenna is fed-up with Blake after the Inga Incident and realizes that he isn't her true love anyway.

"Breakthrough" by Lorna B.. Jenna leads Avon, Gan, and Vila on a mission.

"London Calling" by Anne Collins Smith. Leylan and Artix decide returning to Earth is not a good idea.

"What If...?" by Ros Williams. A comedic piece that starts with Blake upset over Avon's popularity with fans.

"Considering" by Rebecca Reeves. Nova's thoughts about his fellow prisoners on the London."

Another zine I remember liking at least bits of is _Forgotten Seven_.

I don't know if it's still available--I got it used and there's no date on the title page. It was edited by Teresa Ward and is dedicated "to the forgotten characters in Blake's 7 fan fiction." If I remember right, that mostly meant Tarrant. 8-)

I posted a review of it last year, right after I'd read it. The two best stories, I thought, were "Deluge" by Lorna B. (very funny if you're up on urban folklore) and "The Streets of Forbes" by Jenny Gallagher. I think this is one of the best stories I've ever read--it's stayed with me all this time.

[inside back cover]: Did you ever see "Super Avon" on the inside back cover of the old zine "Forgotten Seven"? It featured a boldly poised, pumped-up cartoon Avon, hands on hips, and surrounded by banners with such statements as: "More telepathic than Cally; a better pilot than Tarrant; a better shot than Soolin ..." I loved it. A wonderfully sarcastic way to make a point about how ridiculous is the whole UberAvon cliche, IMO.

"The Good, the Bad, and the Unique" (A blatantly prejudicial, biased non-review of some recent zines.) Before going on, please read this disclaimer. I admit that this considers zine stories for only three things: if they are fair in characterizing Tarrant (The Good) if they greatly misunderstand, malign, or ignore Tarrant (The Bad), if they have some refreshing premise or twist (The Unique). I will not comment on quality of good writing and will ignore or pan stories that are better written than some of "The Good" ones. All ratings are based on my own personal impressions, tastes, and interpretations.

All of this zine has to fall into The Unique, because the whole purpose was to devote some time to the less explored B7 characters.

• [The Good]: Paradigmatic Duplicity by C.K. Smith - cameo appearance by Tarrant in early season story. Servalan has the good taste to show interest in him.
• [The Good]: Cossroads by Carol McCoy - Cadet Tarrant meets Major Travis shortly after the accident that cost Travis his arm and eye.
• [The Good]: Tarrant poetry by Leigh Motooka, Michael J. Macomber, Lorna B., and Melissa Mastoris
• [The Good]: Tarrant art by Motooka, Derrin, Lorrie Jones and Kate Knepper
• [The Good]: Truce by Lorna B. - Tarrant gets to know Vila better as they share a mission on Scorpio.
• [The Good]: Pilot of the Storm by Peggy Hartsook - Tarrant reluctantly leads a spiritless crew after the Gauda Prime disaster.
• [The Good]: Certainties by Motooka - Tarrant proves his loyalty to his Liberator shipmates.
• [The Good]: A Difference of One by Ward - An alternate Warlord that allows a less tragic reunion with Blake.
• [The Good]: Tarrant filks by Angela Reese

[The Streets of Forbes]: One of my favorite Jenna stories is "The Streets of Forbes" by Jenny Gallagher in the zine "Forgotten Seven." Although a very short story, it has a lot of impact. "Forgotten Seven," as the name implies, focuses on the so-called "lesser" characters: Tarrant, Jenna, Soolin, Travis for the most part.