pj> The seven in the original series were Avon, Blake, Cally, 
 pj> Gan, Jenna, Vila and Orac.  I don't believe Zen was 
 pj> sentient, which is probably why he wasn't counted.

 PE> Tsk tsk tsk.  Time to rewatch the videos I think.  You've 
 PE> lost your "expert" tag now!  :-)

 pj> I don't recall the videos ever actually explaining that Zen 
 pj> was the seventh member - although obviously Zen was a 
 pj> "part" of the group *before* Orac.  In "order of 
 pj> appearance", first there was Blake (in the first episode), 
 pj> then Jenna, Villa, Gan and Avon (in the second episode), 
 pj> and then Zen (in the third episode).  Cally arrived in 
 pj> episode four, and Orac in the final episode of the first 
 pj> series, completing (I believe) Blake's 7.

Tsk tsk tsk.  Time to rewatch the videos I think.  When Cally came on
board, Villa dubbed the group "Blake's 7", Gan said there's only
6, Villa said Zen, Avon said "You're not counting that machine as a
person are you?".

 pj> If you think about it, Zen was, after all, only the voice 
 pj> of a spacecraft computer, and obviously not sentient.  How 
 pj> could you consider that he might be a member of the group? 
 pj>  Have you been drinking too much Soma? :-)

Nope, watching and remembering the videos off by heart.

 pj> Orac, on the other hand, was clearly and demonstratably 
 pj> capable of independent thought and action.  If he wasn't 
 pj> sentient, he was close enough for me!

 pj> Nope - whether I'm right or not, I really do believe Orac 
 pj> was more a member of the seven than Zen ever was or could 
 pj> be.  And in the unlikely event that I *am* wrong, at least 
 pj> we're livening up this area by discussing it :-)

Tsk tsk tsk.  By the time Orac came on board, "7" had no meaning
whatsoever.  It lost its meaning when Gan died.  BFN.

Paul

---