This article researched/written by Jessica Leenstra.

No character exemplifies the woman-on-top ambiance of Blake's 7 so much asServalan. Although Servalan was never one of the crew and doesn't appear inevery episode, she was a critical element in the series. In Blake's 7,absolute power becomes the most feminine of attributes.

Training

"Pressure Point"

SERVALAN: Kasabi. At last.TRAVIS: Worth an eighteen-day wait, Supreme Commander?SERVALAN: Oh, Travis. I've waited longer than that. That woman was a senior political officer in Space Command.TRAVIS: I am aware of her background.SERVALAN: She taught officer cadets. But what she was teaching was treason.TRAVIS: Until a very bright young cadet reported her.SERVALAN: [smiles] Yes, Travis, I was. A very bright cadet.TRAVIS: You? You reported her?SERVALAN: There was an official inquiry, during which the stupid fools let her escape.TRAVIS: I'll make sure that doesn't happen this time.SERVALAN: You'll stay here, Travis.TRAVIS: But--SERVALAN: Kasabi is mine.

KASABI: But don't try and browbeat me,Servalan. Or have you forgotten that I knew you as acadet? You were a credit to your background: spoilt,idle, vicious. [Pushes Servalan to the floor. ToTravis.] My confidential assessment listed her asunfit for command. But I forgot how well-connected shewas.TRAVIS: That is no concern of mine.KASABI: Then it should be. It should be everyone's concern.The Federation is degenerate, run by creatures likeher.

Servalan came from a privileged social background and is almost certainlyan alpha. She trained as an officer cadet under Kesabi, a senior politicalofficer in Space Command. When Kesabi listed her as unfit for command,Servalan had Kesabi arrested for treason.

Servalan is quite at home issuing orders to spaceship captains and fleetsand can pilot a space cruiser well enough to fly to Malodar by herself. Sheis proficient at handling a standard Federation handgun, leaving a numberof dead bodies in her rampage on Sardos. She also had a knowledge oftorture and interrogation techniques.

Servalan's Position

"Project Avalon"

SERVALAN: Nothing is safe any more. You've heard, of course, that there have been two attempts on my life.TRAVIS: I have. I was very concerned.SERVALAN: I consider Blake to be responsible. [Slides fur coat off and drops it on the floor.] Oh, not personally, of course; but stories of his exploits are still circulating. They excite people. The fact that he is still free gives them hope. And that is dangerous, Travis. Hope is very dangerous.TRAVIS: The loss of it can be fatal, and the source of it all is about to be wiped out.SERVALAN: I think you should know that there's been considerable criticism of your handling of the Blake affair.TRAVIS: What?SERVALAN: Well, so far your operation has been very costly and there have been no worthwhile results.TRAVIS: That's not entirely just. There have been two occasions where I could have destroyed Blake. It was only the Administration's insistence that the Liberator be captured undamaged that stopped me.SERVALAN: I have made that point in your defence but I can't go on making excuses. I've been under considerable pressure to replace you.TRAVIS: Oh?SERVALAN: Oh, so far I have resisted that pressure. But now, I need your reassurance that my confidence has not been misplaced.TRAVIS: I think Project Avalon will silence the critics.SERVALAN: It does seem an excellent plan. It should have every chance of success.TRAVIS: I'm glad you approve.SERVALAN: Oh, Travis, you know better than that. In my position one never approves anything until it is an undisputed success.TRAVIS: Yes.SERVALAN: However you have my full support, unofficially, of course.TRAVIS: Of course.SERVALAN: Officially, you have my presence and my attention.

"Deliverance"

 TRAVIS: Orac?SERVALAN: There've been rumors about it for years. A scientist called Ensor has been working on it. Despite considerable investigation, we've never been able to locate him. TRAVIS: And you want me to find him for you.SERVALAN: Mm-mm. It's no longer necessary. A little while ago, Ensor's son came to see me. His father was ill. He needed medical help and equipment. While he was here, he showed me plans of his father's creation -- Orac. It is a brilliant achievement. There is nothing else like it in the universe. And he wanted to sell it. [Travis begins to say something.] Expensive, Travis. He wants one hundred million. TRAVIS: One hundred million? Are you sure whatever it is, is worth that much?SERVALAN: It's worth ten times that much. TRAVIS: Oh.SERVALAN: So I agreed to buy it. TRAVIS: Do you have the authority?SERVALAN: No. Now listen, Travis, I've told no one of this. Ensor and his father live alone on the planet Aristo. He made it clear that if there was any attempt to take Orac by force, he would destroy it. TRAVIS: Would he do that?SERVALAN: Oh, yes. He thought it through very carefully. He wouldn't even reveal the location of the laboratory until I'd agreed to all his terms. TRAVIS: Which were?SERVALAN: A Space Surgeon was to go with him. I sent Maryatt. TRAVIS: How much did you tell him?SERVALAN: Only what his orders were. TRAVIS: He's a good man.SERVALAN: Maryatt was to remain with Ensor as a hostage until the transaction was complete. I was to get the hundred million, take it in an unarmed ship, and in return I'd get Maryatt and Orac. TRAVIS: So now all you have to do is to persuade the Federation to let you spend one hundred million.SERVALAN: That could take years. TRAVIS: You have an alternative?SERVALAN: Yes. It occurred to me that if Ensor didn't get back in time, then in a very little while his father would die. So I took the precaution of placing a small explosive device in his ship. TRAVIS: You said Maryatt was on board.SERVALAN: Yes, that was unfortunate, but unavoidable, I'm afraid. Oh, don't you see? Orac is ours for the taking. TRAVIS: When do we leave?SERVALAN: Start making arrangements, maximum security. No flight plan is to be filed. When we do leave it must be in total secrecy. However long it takes, Travis, you must cover our tracks completely. No one must know anything about it.

"Pressure Point"

 TRAVIS: Supreme Commander, I don't know how he did it, but Blake has penetrated the Control complex. I want to go in after him. I'll need the zone deactivated.SERVALAN: I don't have the authority to order that. TRAVIS: Then get the authority. I'm so close now. The only way out is the way Blake went in. I can shut him off. I want that authority.SERVALAN: Stand by.FEMALE VOICE: Central.SERVALAN: This is Supreme Commander Servalan. I want a direct link to the High Council, priority rating one.

"Trial"

 LYE: [laughs] Thought he was going to run for it. PAR: Pity he didn't. You could have shot him. LYE: A top politico? PAR: Don't worry about them. Space Command runs the Federation. LYE: Reckon so? PAR: Know so. And we look after ourselves.

 RONTANE: One almost has to admire that woman. BERCOL: What, Thania? RONTANE: Servalan. BERCOL: Oh. RONTANE: We know that she's sending Travis to his death in order to keep his mouth shut, but she is doing it with such an impeccably honest and painstaking tribunal that her real motives can't even be hinted at. BERCOL: Has, um, a date been set for the Blake inquiry? RONTANE: Does it matter? Without Travis' evidence the mishandling of the Blake affair becomes a matter of conjecture. The inquiry becomes a formality. BERCOL: A Presidential stay of execution so that Travis can give evidence? After this, he should be more than willing. RONTANE: After this he'll be a convicted mass murderer. BERCOL: It could still damage Servalan. 'Slime sticks,' as the old saying has it. RONTANE: Yes, but the President can't be seen to throw it. BERCOL: Servalan picked Travis. RONTANE: The President picked Servalan. BERCOL: So she's outmaneuvered us once again. RONTANE: Let's say she's outmaneuvering us, but it's not over yet. She could still make a mistake. BERCOL: Which is presumably why we came. I was beginning to wonder. RONTANE: We came, Bercol, because Servalan's ambitions threaten us all. And the President particularly dislikes being threatened. Shall we dine?

"Hostage"

 JOBAN: Some members of the council are concerned that many of our citizens now know of Blake's activities, and those of the renegade Travis. SERVALAN: But there have been no public spacecasts on either Travis or Blake. JOBAN: People talk, Servalan. There's no way of stopping them. SERVALAN: This is a major breach of security. The punishment is total. Who are these people who have been talking? I want their names, Councilor. JOBAN: All sorts of citizens from Alphas to labor grades know of Blake's defiance of the Federation. They talk of him as a sort of...hero, many of them. SERVALAN: What rubbish. JOBAN: His men impede progress, and more importantly order. Order, Servalan. It is all that matters. SERVALAN: I do not need you to remind me of that. JOBAN: I supported your appointment. Perhaps I was wrong.

"Voice From The Past"

 GLYND: The evidence, my friends. [Holds tapes] Surveillance report on Supreme Commander Servalan's attempt to cheat the Federation of one hundred million credits in return for the supercomputer Orac. Confidential report on your trial, Blake, and the subsequent elimination of your defense lawyer when he discovered that the evidence against you had been falsified. Need I continue? [Closes case of tapes] Enough, as I have said, to convict the Terran Administration -- and Space Command.

"Keeper"

 TRAVIS: You will soon know, and when you do, you could control the Federation, you and I.SERVALAN: Don't be ridiculous, Travis. TRAVIS: Look, Star One is the computer control center. It controls the climate on more than two hundred worlds, communications, security, food production, it controls them all. It is the key to our very lives. Think of all that power.SERVALAN: You can see why the Council themselves don't know where Star One is. In the wrong hands -- TRAVIS: Yes, but in the right hands: yours and mine.SERVALAN: Be very careful you don't overreach yourself, Travis. TRAVIS: There'll come a time when such ideas seem unambitious. One day, Servalan --SERVALAN: Yes? What are you talking about, Travis?

"Star One"

 DURKIM: I find that just a little distracting, Supreme Commander. What's all this about?SERVALAN: Time to defend ourselves. DURKIM: Against whom?SERVALAN: Each other. Now what is it you want? Quickly, you're wasting time. DURKIM: There's an emergency meeting of the High Council.SERVALAN: I am aware of that. DURKIM: I've been summoned to appear before it. You put Headquarters on full security restriction. I can't get off this satelite without your direct clearance.SERVALAN: No. DURKIM: Well, 'no' you agree with what I'm saying or 'no' you refuse my clearance.SERVALAN: Both. Now get back to your work. I am still waiting for your theories about where Star One may be located. DURKIM: That summons is a Presidential Order in Council. I have to go.SERVALAN: Space Command no longer recognises the authority of the President or of the Council. DURKIM: I don't think I understand.SERVALAN: We are the only force capable of handling the present emergency. DURKIM: I doubt if even we can do that.SERVALAN: The President and those members of the Council who are unable to accept the realities of the situation are even now being arrested, as are those of our own people whose loyalties may be divided. At a time like this complete unity is an absolute essential.

 DURKIM: May I offer you my personal congratulations, and loyalty, Madame President?

"Aftermath"

 AVON: Surely not. Once they realize the President is marooned they will be coming in droves. SERVALAN: I don't think so. You see, there's something you probably don't know. Star One was destroyed. AVON: Are you sure? SERVALAN: Positive. An alien counterattack, it took us by surprise. They reduced the entire planet to so much space debris. Nothing survived. AVON: And Star One was the basis of Federation power. It controlled everything. SERVALAN: Exactly. And now it's gone, so is most of the Federation. From now on there will be chaos in the star systems. No central control, no unifying force. Over half the civilized planets left to their fate. AVON: So Blake's rabble finally get freedom of choice. He won after all.[They both stand] SERVALAN: Forget Blake. YOU have control of the Liberator now. There's no more powerful ship in the galaxy. You have Orac. Avon! Don't you see what that means? AVON: You tell me about it. SERVALAN: You could rebuild it all. All those worlds could be yours, Avon, they're there for the taking. You and I could build an empire greater and more powerful than the Federation ever was or ever could have been. Now, Avon. At this moment we can take history and shape it in our own image. Think of it: absolute power. There is nothing you can imagine that we couldn't do. AVON: [Takes her glass and sets it aside] I am thinking of it. SERVALAN: We can do it, Avon. AVON: I know we can.

"Powerplay"

SERVALAN: I am President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. I want to see a senior official. I want to see him here and I want to see him now.

"Volcano"

 SERVALAN: Remember, you will be my supreme commander, if you succeed.

"Rumours of Death"

 CHESKU: [Rehearsing] ... a question of leadership. The rabble which sought to challenge the established order lacked our inspiration, our unity, our leadership. They are crushed. Earth and the Inner Planets are once again united. Gentlemen, I give you a toast. Our inspiration, our unity, our leader: President Servalan. [To Sula] What do you think?

 TARRANT: I'm talking about the President of the Terran Federation, Ruler of the High Council, Lord of the Inner and Outer Worlds, High Admiral of the Galactic Fleets, Lord General of the Six Armies, and Defender of the Earth.

"Moloch"

SERVALAN: Liberator, this is Servalan, President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation.

"Traitor"

 PRACTOR: Years in the civil service have turned me into something of a pedant. You mustn't let it worry you Leitz. [Leitz turns on a display picture of Servalan] LEITZ: [In surprise] The Supreme Empress? LEITZ: Servalan? Is Your Excellency certain? PRACTOR: Of course, I knew her well. Killed in the rear-guard action at Gedden. LEITZ: I knew she was reported dead, sir. I never heard any details. PRACTOR: There was a great deal of confusion when the High Council were restored to power. Most of the Old Guard were killed in the fighting. They remained loyal to Servalan right till the end. LEITZ: And a lot were executed later, weren't they? All the leaders were purged. PRACTOR: The penalty for choosing the wrong side. I myself was under arrest for a short time. LEITZ: Well, I suppose it's better to die bravely in the field than to face execution later.

 LEITZ: If you need a witness, Commissioner, I can swear it was self-defense.SERVALAN: What are you doing here? LEITZ: I followed you from the concourse. Those two offworlders seemed very anxious to find you as well. They seemed to think they recognized you.SERVALAN: Really? [turns her back on him] LEITZ: And of course, Practor recognized you as well. That's why you killed him. [He comes up behind her and fondles her, she shows no displeasure.]SERVALAN: What do you want, Leitz? LEITZ: The presidency.SERVALAN: Anything is possible. LEITZ: After all, somebody has to take Practor's place. You could use your influence, I'm sure. And of course you'd know that your secret would be safe with me - Servalan.SERVALAN: I'm sure it would. But I don't submit - to blackmail. LEITZ: There's always a first time. And it's better than being executed. [She turns to face him and puts her arms up behind his neck. They kiss] LEITZ: After all, how many people've you killed to conceal your secret? [She slips a crystalline dagger from her sleeve.]SERVALAN: You mean now? [She jabs it into his neck - he falls] Twenty-six. So far.

 TARRANT: You can't afford not to believe me, Avon. AVON: How the hell did she get off the Liberator? TARRANT: I don't know. DAYNA: Look, we both saw her. It was Servalan. TARRANT: You're just running away from the truth! AVON: All right, I believe you. I didn't want her to die like that anyway. I need ... to kill her myself.

"Animals"

 ARDUS: If I seemed to make a mistake in mentioning Servalan, I am sorry. An old man's memory is suspect, Commissioner Sleer. Especially an old man whose eyes were burned from his head.SERVALAN: Naturally, it is forgotten. ARDUS: I know Servalan is now a non-person. I was incorrect in mentioning her name.

"Sand"

 SERVALAN: Reeve, you apparently think this is a new, exciting experience for me. It isn't. I've confronted several maniacs with guns. REEVE: Oh, I'm sure you have ... Madam President. [She smiles.] I'm right aren't I, Servalan? We never actually met. But I was at one of those official receptions for good and faithful servants that you occasionally graced with your presence.

When we first meet Servalan in "Seek-Locate-Destroy," she is addressed as"Supreme Commander" and is in charge of Space Command, a job she wasappointed to by the President, supported by Councillor Jovan. She notesthat there have been attempts on her life but by who and why is unclear.Space Command is clearly answerable to the Terran Administration, whichissues directives concerning the capture for Blake and no doubt othermatters. The authority of Space Command extends to Earth however: Travis'first encounter with Blake was on Earth, for example. But Servalan does nothave the authority to spend 100 Million Credits on Orac, or to deactivatethe Control security zone. Interestingly, Servalan is under surveilance,and the President and the High do know about her attempt to obtain Orac. Onthe one hand, this belies Par's simple notion that Space Command runs theFederation, but on the other, there is some truth in his words for thePresident clearly believes that Servalan is ambitious and a threat to hisown authority. Blake and Travis are political footballs in this moreimportant power struggle.The President establishes an official inquiry intothe handling of the Blake affair to embarrass Servalan and Joban impliesthat news about Blake and Travis is being leaked by the President,or sources close to him. However, Servalan and the High Council are stillcapable or working together when they are both threatened, as in thecrushing of the Glynd-LeGrand plot, which threatened them both.

When the Star One crisis erupts, Servalan arrests the President and theHigh Council and seizes power, becoming President herself, combining theroles of President and Supreme Commander. Servalan offers her post ofSupreme Commander to Mori as a reward at one point, but is still SupremeCommander as well as President on Sardos. While she is stranded on Sarran,Servalan is briefly overthrown by rebels. However, she fights back andreestablishes her power on Earth and the Inner Worlds. Servalan is captured and imprisioned by rebelsin her own palace but is later freed, in partly due to the intervention ofAvon. She adopted the title of Supreme Empress, a title sought by theThaarn, so it may have had some official status. Egrorian refers to her bythis title. A third, successful rebellion occurs and the High Council isrestored to power. All of Servalan's supporters are purged and Servalanherself is reported killed in a rear-guard action at Gedden. Thiscontradicts the story she tells Tarrant.

Servalan adopted a new identity, that of Federation Security CommissionerSleer. To protect her identity, she kills Leitz, Ardus and at least 25others. She would also have killed Reeve but Tarrant kills him for her.

Meeting the Crew

Servalan boarded the Liberator twice, over Kairos and Terminal. She met:

Blake in:

"Project Avalon", "Weapon", "Orac" and "Pressure Point";

Avon in:

"Weapon", "Orac", "Pressure Point", "Aftermath","Harvest of Kairos", "Children of Auron", "Rumours of Death", "Deathwatch","Terminal","Assassin", and "Gold";

Jenna in:

"Pressure Point" and "Keeper";

Vila in:

"Orac", "Pressure Point","Keeper","Powerplay", "Harvest of Kairos","Terminal" and "Moloch";

Cally in:

"Orac", "Powerplay", "Children of Auron", "Rumours of Death" and "Terminal";

Gan in:

"Weapon" and "Pressure Point";

Dayna in:

"Aftermath", "Harvest of Kairos", "Deathwatch", "Terminal", "Traitor","Assassin", "Animals", "Sand" and "Gold";

Tarrant in:

"Harvest of Kairos", "Children of Auron", "Rumours of Death", "Terminal", "Traitor", "Sand" and "Gold";

Soolin in

"Gold"

Is Servalan a Telepath?

"Dawn of the Gods"

 CALLY: I did say it was just a legend. The gods returned and were pleased with what they saw, and they bestowed on the people of Auron great gifts: new types of crops, which ended hunger, constant peace --TARRANT: And telepathy? CALLY: -- and telepathy was promised. But one of the gods was very

"Children of Auron"

 DERAL: The man may suspect. Don't forget, all Aurons are telepathic. ORAC: Reproduction by Clinician Franton's method of group cloning has resulted in highly developed psychic faculties, telepathy being the most obvious example. These faculties are, of course, limited to the young since cloning was developed relatively recently.

SERVALAN: Ginka. Ginka! GINKA: We got them!SERVALAN: You lied. You lied to me. They were mine. I felt them die.

All Aurons are telepathic, whether cloned or not, but the clones have morehighly developed faculties. Servalan can feel her embryos die, so it seemsthat Servalan is at least weakly telepathic.

Servalan and men

Servalan likes to surround herself with pretty boys.

"Seek-Locate-Destroy"

SERVALAN: Yes, of course. But why so formal, Rai? What can be so important that we can't discuss it in a more relaxed way? Oh, Rai, come here. [She beckons him to join her on a couch.]SERVALAN: [stroking his shoulder] Rai, I thought we were old friends. RAI: I value our friendship a great deal.

 TRAVIS: I'm a field officer, not one of your decorative staff men.SERVALAN: You're certainly not decorative.

"Aftermath"

 SERVALAN: We'll be answerable to no one. Ours will be the only voice. Imagination our only limit. [They kiss. Avon grabs her by the throat and pushes her to the ground] AVON: Imagination my only limit? I'd be dead in a week.

"Harvest of Kairos"

 JARVIK: Woman, you're beautiful. [grabs and kisses her]SERVALAN: Guards! Take this primitive to the punishment cells!

SERVALAN: But first, there is the question of that degrading and primitive act to which I was subjected in the control room. I should like you to do it again.

"Death Watch"

SERVALAN: But I don't think of YOU as an enemy, Avon. I think of YOU as a future friend. AVON: [puts his arm about Servalan and pulls her against him] Your plan had better be fireproof, Servalan, or I'll see you burn with it. [Kisses her. While continuing to hold Servalan he activates com in bracelet behind her back.] Cally? CALLY: [V.O., over comm] Yes, Avon? AVON: I'm ready to come up now. CALLY: [V.O., over comm] Stand by.SERVALAN: [strokes finger across Avon's lips] Threatening an arbiter is a violation of the Convention, you know. AVON: So report me. [releases her]SERVALAN: I'll overlook it this time.

"Sand"

 TARRANT: Would this be the point at which we break down and tell each other the stories of our lives? SERVALAN: To soulful music? TARRANT: Oh preferably. How did you get away from the Liberator? SERVALAN: It was difficult. TARRANT: It was impossible. SERVALAN: Manifestly not. TARRANT: So how? SERVALAN: The teleport. A malfunction. A power surge. Suddenly I was back on a Federation world. TARRANT: What a lucky little commissioner you are. SERVALAN: Aren't I, though? TARRANT: What happened to the presidency? SERVALAN: It was stolen in my absence. I shall take it back eventually. TARRANT: If the new boys don't spot you first. SERVALAN: I'm dead. And anyone who was ever directly involved with me has been purged. TARRANT: Yeah well, it's somewhat academic at the moment anyway while we're prisoners here. SERVALAN: Prisoners? TARRANT: What else? SERVALAN: If anyone can find a way out of here, you will. TARRANT: Will I? SERVALAN: Naturally. You are both resourceful and decorative. TARRANT: Thank you. I might say the same about you. But then I'd also say you're possibly the most unscrupulously venomous woman in the galaxy. Being shut in here with you is rather like being locked in a cage with a panther: a black cat with large golden eyes and long silver talons. SERVALAN: Oh, Tarrant. I'm just the girl next door. TARRANT: If you were the girl next door, I'd move. SERVALAN: Where would you move to, Tarrant? TARRANT: Next door?

 SERVALAN: Don Keller, he was my lover. I was eighteen. TARRANT: He's the reason you're here. SERVALAN: He left me. I grew up. Power became my lover. Power is like a drug. It is beautiful. Shining. I could destroy a planet by pressing a button. I loved him. TARRANT: This isn't going to help either of us. SERVALAN: I don't care about either of us.

"Orbit"

EGRORIAN: Supreme ruler again, Highness, with me constantly by your side. Your most loyal and dare I say it... loving consort.SERVALAN: When I regain power, you will be well rewarded. I shall appoint you my Chief Minister for Science.EGRORIAN: [Kneeling] Servalan, my steel queen, my empress, the only reward I crave is a place in your affections.SERVALAN: But you already have that, Egrorian! Ten years ago I risked my position to help you continue your work.EGRORIAN: And not a day has passed since then that I have not yearned for the time, when I would be able to repay your trust by laying all the world and the galaxy at your feet.SERVALAN: Oh, get up!

Servalan in her own words

"Deliverance"

 TRAVIS: Right. [Starts to leave, then pauses.] You're almost as ruthless as I am.SERVALAN: You underestimate me, Travis. TRAVIS: It begins to look that way.

"Hostage"

 JOBAN: I've always admired your willingness to take risks. SERVALAN: Calculated risks. JOBAN: I add up to a dangerous enemy. SERVALAN: [Smiles] Mmmmmm. So do I, Councilor.

"Aftermath"

 SERVALAN: After all, we're very alike, you and I. AVON: I doubt that. [While Servalan speaks, Avon sets Orac's case down in front of a chair and then sits with his feet up on the case] SERVALAN: You are ambitious, ruthless ... you want power and you'd never let conscience stand in the way of achieving it. Well? AVON: You overestimate me. SERVALAN: You have one other quality I admire. Very much. AVON: Yes? SERVALAN: You are infinitely corruptible. You'd sell out anybody, wouldn't you?

Servalan as others see her

"Weapon"

CARNELL: One last thing, Supreme Commander. I must tell you this. You are undoubtedly the sexiest officer I have ever known. Goodbye, Servalan.

"Pressure Point"

SERVALAN: Very soon now, you are going to die. Do you understand me? KASABI: Always understood you. You're vicious, greedy, sick.

"Trial"

 RONTANE: Any attempt to embarrass her personally is an exercise in total futility. BERCOL: Oh, quite. She has all the sensitive delicacy of a plasma bolt.

"Harvest of Kairos"

 JARVIK: Woman, you're beautiful.

"Rumours of Death"

 SULA: She is, after all, a tasteless megalomaniac.

 [Looks at Residence One.] SULA: A grotesque anachronism, like its owner.

"Death Watch"

 CALLY: What about Avon? VILA: [V.O., over comm] Gone to visit a sick friend. CALLY: A sick friend? VILA: [V.O., over comm] That's what he said. And let's face it: any friend of Avon's got to be sick, right?

 DAYNA: How was your friend? AVON: Sick as ever.

"Gold"

 SOOLIN: Avon, why didn't you tell us that you knew who it was who was setting us up? AVON: Would it have made any difference if I had? TARRANT: You know damn well it would. Servalan's not just some greedy gangster AVON: Surely that is exactly what she is.

"Blake"

 DAYNA: But Servalan told us he was dead. AVON: And you believed her? DAYNA: Well, she had no reason to lie. AVON: She doesn't need one. It comes quite naturally to her, like breathing.

orac@plover.com:
Maybe all high officials are under some kind of surveillance, at leastenough so that they can never guess when they're not being watched. Poweris dangerous, after all, and powerful people are more likely to try andoverthrow the Administration, as Servalan eventually does.

Ellie Richards:

Possibly the following can be added to the Servalan and the Pretty Boy's section:

TRAVIS: Blake.
KASABI: Who?
TRAVIS: You were to rendezvous with him.
KASABI(to Servalan): Is he young? More in your line surely.

I've always wondered if this meant Kasabi had been keeping up to date withthe gossip on the Supreme Commander or whether Servalan had had a blatant'eye for the boys' even at an early age.

On a different note there's this from "Aftermath":

AVON: The woman who is with me is Supreme Commander Servalan. She may even be President Servalan by now.
MELLANBY: Servalan? I've heard of her. Yes, she came into power some years after my defection. It's possible she doesn't remember my case.

So assuming she went into 'power-crazy overdrive' after her affair withKeller, that would make her erm... 18+20-5ish (for the 'some')... 33ish?

I never got the impression that Servalan was telepathic at all from theseries, but maybe that was because she had to ask Travis what he was up toso many times in order that we could find out, too.

The nice thing about Servalan's interest in babies and genetics in "Childrenof Auron" is how it resonates with her fascination with the Clonemasters and'The Rule of Life' in "Weapon." The only other time she's seen with childrenis that bit from "Pressure Point" where she says 'Kasabi's child' in whatseems to me a half fascinated, half gleeful tone of voice. I've neverunderstood that.

Whilst I'm on the subject of "Weapon," I just love her interest in the BlakeClone. She seems pretty keen on establishing its 'credentials':

SERVALAN: He's very polite.
FEN: He is not a clone in the true sense.
SERVALAN: But is it a man?
CLONE: Oh, yes, he is.

Always reminds me of the 'fully functioning' Data .

To further babble on about Blake. I know she was a bit nasty about thebloke (what did she call him? Just a man. ) but there's evidence toshow that she saw the third season crew as less of a personal threat to herpowerbase.

"Volcano"

SERVALAN: Without Blake the Liberator's no immediate threat to our plans.
MUTOID: No, Madam President.
SERVALAN: Well, the crew have no political ambitions.
MUTOID: They are merely criminals.
SERVALAN: So they'll keep. Until the rule of law has been restored. Until MY rule of law has been restored.

Misha:

I don't think Servalan needed to be telepathic. I believe all that was said was that all Aurons were telepathic, and clones were more so. It may be that Servalan had a telepathic connection only with her clones, and no other latent telepathicability.

I've always thought of Servalan's interest in Veron as a role reversal irony--Kasabi was her teacher, Servalan turned on her, and Kasabi fought the Federation, and now Servalan gets to be the 'teacher' of Kasabi's child. I suppose she didn't expect to get the same treatment from her student that she gave to Kasabi.

"Always reminds me of the 'fully functioning' Data ."

I've always been of the opinion that her reference to his training is akinto the way she usually samples her toy boys.

Sabrah n'ha Raven:
On the subject of Servalan's interest in clones and children, remember too her line in "Aftermath": "At this moment we can take history and shape it in our own image." An interesting contrast with her remark in "Sand" ("I don't care about either of us.").

I've always wondered why she chose to clone herself rather than use more "traditional" technological methods. Perhaps if Terra has banned cloning, other artificial means of conception are also outlawed; more likely, she may have wanted as few of her enemies as possible to learn of the babies' existance. It's also likely that someone with as high a regard for Order as Servalan would have been put off by the random element that someone else's genes would have added to her plans. However, that all assumes she wanted children, when she may have merely wanted tools, as she did with the Blake clones. Surely she wasn't expecting there to be a telepathic connection. And in a world where you have both clones and brain-prints, there are more ways than children to shape the future literally in your own image.

Servalan

If you know of a piece of information we have overlooked, please let me know so I can include it in future updates.

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