Frienz/Issues 47-48
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Frienz is a gen and non-explicit slash Starsky & Hutch letterzine.
They contain letters, want ads, con reports, clippings, flyers, and occasional fiction.
Issue 47 (March 1998)
Frienz 47 was published March 1998 and contains 23 pages.
- TOTM: What New Year's resolutions do you think Starsky would make? How about Hutch?
- about half the content is photocopied clippings
- there must have been heated discussion or action elsewhere between gen and slash fans, as there are many comments in this issue and the next about tolerance, censorship, and narrow-minded fans
Issue 47: Sample Fan Comments
The Internet:
Personally, I hate the idea of "dashing off a quick note", or whatever it is they do. Ah well, we letter-writers must soldier on a dwindling band, I fear.
About songtapes, see more at List of Starsky & Hutch Early Songvids:
Music Videos! I love them! I now have about one and a half hours worth of SH songtapes. I love the ones which explore scripted themes from the series, and also I love the ones which tell their own story, by re-interpreting the body language in certain scenes.
My favourites include the following... "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" (Air Supply). This belongs to the former category. Hutch makes love out of nothing all the time, and his feelings just aren’t returned by many of his girlfriends. This contrasts with the depth of love and affection from Starsky who stands by supportively as Abbie and Jeanie leave. [1]
"After The Thrill Is Gone" (Eagles) deals with Hutch’s failed marriage to Vanessa, and her reappearance in his life. [2]
"How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" (Michael Bolton also sings this, but it's a female singer on my tape) belongs to the latter category. This one has Starsky on the point of leaving one very distressed Hutch. It’s very well done indeed, taking scenes from "Running," "Gillian," "Hutchinson: Murder One" and "Pariah" amongst others. Very moving. [3]
"When You’re with a Friend" and "You've Got A Friend" are perfect song choices, and the music vids live up to the expectations raised by the titles.
My favourite SH songtape of the moment uses "Trouble In Paradise" (Romanovsky and Philips). This one has S&H as lovers dealing with Hutch’s affair with Kira. [4]
Like you, I'm not really sure where they’re from and whose work I’ve made copies of. I would gladly pay for good copies of this sort of thing, but they remain elusive. If anyone has any PAL format stuff like this - I’m definitely interested! I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who makes them. If what I’m told is true - that it takes eleven hours to make a three minute music video, then you have my RESPECT!
About crossover cameo characters in pro novels:
When I read the Star Trek novel Ishmael, I had no idea that the other characters were borrowed from another t.v. series (HCTB) as I don’t think Brides was ever shown over here, at least not here in the East Midlands region [in England]. None of my Star Trek friends caught on either, until they saw a video of Barbara Hambly speaking at WorldCon in Glasgow. To anyone in the know, however, it would be twice the pleasure, both Spock and David’s character! Was Mark Leonard [sic] also in Brides? Or am I hopelessly confused?
One of my Trek friends did say, however, that the ST novel The IDIC Epidemic by Jean Lorrah has an un-named walk-on part for Starsky and Hutch as medics. So far. I’ve not got round to re-reading the book and checking this one out.
Happy for an active fandom:
Great news last time round about new zines coming out. I can never have too much SH reading and anticipating something brand new is half the fun. We always seem to have been blessed with so much incredible writing talent in SH fandom - I wonder if it's the same for other fandoms - as I'm strictly an SH girl, I don't know, although I am aware that many of "our" authors write in other fandoms also.
Whatever! S&H and S/H certainly seem to have got lucky in the "outstanding" category over the years - long may they continue.
In awe of a con report in the previous issue:
What a wonderfully funny account of ZCon leading to a further attack of the "God, I wish I could've been there". When you're mentioning names such as Linda, Kat, Flamingo, Clo, Martha, Rosemary all on the one line for pete's sakes, I mean, a girl is dealing with names that have become synonymous with some of the most excellent reading I've come across. For me, it'd be tantamount to rubbing shoulders with Hollywood glitterati. I'd have to forcibly restrain myself from dropping to the floor and kissing feet! is, undeniably, an enormous ambition of mine to someday meet all these folks myself (and if I do, I promise I'll try not to ask for autographs!)
A OTC fan:
I am well known for being completely besotted with Hutch (alone in a sea of Starsky-lovin' friends) and yes, you're right, I'd love every single quirky, grumpy. Irritable, guilt-stricken, know-it-all inch of him (and then some!)
Regarding AUs:
The subject of A/U. I understand completely what you're saying about this medium but I still feel that Starsky and Hutch, as we know them, were 1970's LA detectives. If you take their characteristics and personalities and transfer them into new" people with "new" names then you are therefore creating 'new' characters whose relationship happens to be as close as S&H's is.
Decorated for Death is slightly different because it at least started out with the same characters who were then altered by circumstance, but I still didn’t really enjoy it. I hope I'm not sounding obtuse or obnoxious about this but it’s just really a preference of mine.
Fandom is for me:
[I am] happily married, have many non—fandom friends and a generally satisfying life (raising kiddies these days) but the incredibly instant and close friendships I've made with people who all seem on the same wavelength as me, being understood without having to explain, quoting lines of dialogue and having someone appreciate exactly what you're referring to etc. etc. And yes, too, the feeling of having a support system of people who care, who like you not because your someone's mum or someone's wife but just for you. My family,including my dear hubby, all think I'm nuts or I'm reliving my teenage years or something. No-one seems to truly understand what you get from fandom. At the time it came along for me, it saved me from a lot of negative feelings I was having about myself and my life.
So, like the men who gave us it all to begin with, I've made friends [in fandom] I'll have forever.
More on fandom as a place to be one's self:
Here I am, happily married, with 2 great kids and a pretty hectic social/working life & the only time I ever feel like I’m being myself is when I’m visiting with, writing to or telephoning SH fan friends. During that time I’m the real Viv -not mommy, not wife & not daughter, but just me. And, in just a short space of time, I’ve made some really terrific friends; the kind you just know will be there for you no matter what. People at work have commented how much I’ve changed in the past year. There’s no way I can tell them why - what would I say? "Oh yeah - well that’s because I really dig this 1970’s cop show called Starsky & Hutch & ever since being encouraged (thanks Tabby) to write stories & put together a couple of zines I’ve gained an incredible amount of confidence." Can you imagine what they’d think? - I can guarantee that these people from the “real world’’ would fall about laughing.
The fourth season:
The 4th season widened the show's horizons in comparison to the earlier seasons. Not only were more characters introduced, they were given rather more significance, in 1st season especially, other characters were peripheral, they had to be there for the particular story-line, but were not given much substance, The two-parters perhaps began the change. Later episodes, like "Deckwatch," "Black and Blue," "Ballad," placed less emphasis on S&H themselves. We did miss seeing them together in nearly every scene, yet for a wider, less-committed audience perhaps the changes were necessary. For us, fanfiction broadened the horizons still further, taking the characters into realms undreamt of by the series producers. It
is certainly the fan writers who have "kept the flag flying" as much as anyone. The many new zines now being published are surely testimony to the show's, and its characters', enduring qualities.
A plea for tolerance, and likely in reference to the tensions with gen-only fans [5]:
... I know others have probably said it before, but there is one thing which is, in my opinion, derogatory to the world of SH fandom. Why are some fans intolerant of the opinions of others? Yes we all have aright to air our opinions/beliefs -that’s what I like so much about this fandom &this letterzine -but I think it’s wrong to force those opinions/beliefs onto others. I mean look - I personally do not see S&H forming asexual relationship with each other; not because I think it’s wrong, but because I don’t see the characters developing in that way. However, I do not demand that other people should agree with that opinion & I do not advocate branding those people who do see the relationship in that way as some sort of sexual deviants. They are not. They just happen to believe that the love between the 2 characters, expressed so deeply within the show, could progress to another level - they could become lovers. And that’s the key word here, isn’t it? LOVE. Within most S/H fiction I have read that is certainly the focus. The love of 2 people for each other. It doesn’t matter (& it shouldn’t matter) that they’re both men, as long as they love each other.
In addition (and most importantly of all) I do not agree that their views, expressed within S/H story writing, should be censored. Freedom of speech is very, very important - it shouldn’t be taken for granted. There is a lot of great SH fan fiction talent out there &, in my opinion, we should do all we can to encourage it - ALL aspects of it. It would be sad/disastrous for SH fandom if authors were made to feel so uncomfortable re: publishing their work that they decided to take it “underground” - sharing it only with close friends. Surely it’s quite simple - for those who disagree strongly with the idea of S/H there IS an option - don’t read it. BUT don’t seek to deny others the right to read it.
Okay I’ll come down off my soapbox now. It’s just something that I’ve wanted to say for along time.
Issue 48 (May 1998)
Frienz 48 was published May 1998 and contains 20 pages.
- TOTM: Discussion of the episodes "Pariah" and "Kill Huggy Bear."
- this issue's content is nearly half photocopied clippings
Issue 48: Sample Fan Comments
AUs:
A/U doesn't seem to be very popular in this fandom. The reason being, for most people, that the characters are so firmly rooted in their own time and place, i.e. 1970s LA. This must be a bit discouraging to writers who want to explore the activities and personalities of S&H in another time and dimension. But I can't help thinking there is no real need to do so. There is plenty of scope and variety right where they are and in what they do.
Music vid fodder:
"Pariah" gave us so many lovely little moments, not to mention loads of wonderfully intense looks which help out music videos to no end.
Song Tapes:
I've got one tape that's about 2 ½ hours long with nearly all the songs you mention on it. Admittedly, the quality looks to be about 25th generation, but beggars can't be choosers.
I don't think I've seen or heard the "Trouble in Paradise" one you mention. I have to say that there's a few of the songs on my tape that I wasn't familiar with and I still don't know what they're called or who sings them. Maybe someone out there can help - the ones I particularly like run consecutively and are all sung by women.
The first may be called "Surround Me With Love" and the first lines are "Sometimes when life's poison arrows shoot me to the ground, rains come failin' down, friends just can't be found...."
The next could be "Just to Feel this Love from you" (I’m guessing at titles here folks) and starts, "I've never held love so closely, never knew so well (something I can't make out in there) I'd never dreamed love could really, bring me to heaven from hell...."
The third is really muzzy and the words are hard to make out, but its title may be "Halfway Home" It appears twice in a row on the tape and seems to begin something like this "you so long, I hope I will be strong, afraid, on my own, I think of you, I'm halfway home..." If anyone can enlighten me, I'd be grateful as I’d like to actually get copies of these songs.
Tolerance:
Great comments about being more tolerant of all the differing ideas about the SH relationship. All the more interesting, coming, as it does, from one whose own sympathies don't truly lie with the slash premise, but who nevertheless doesn't condemn those who do enjoy this idea. It is surely the great range and diversity of ideas and talent that have kept S&H fandom alive and kicking for 20 some years. And , yes, whatever else happens in an S/H story, it always comes back to that original relationship, the Love they felt and expressed for each other. Censorship is rude and wrong - it is surely up to each individual to decide what is right or not for their personal enjoyment. We have been blessed by having some truly exceptional authors writing S/H fiction for our pleasure and I, for one, would hate to think that up and coming writers and those who've been around forever would stop or hesitate to write again because of the opinions of an intolerant few.
Tolerance:
People are different, and the human diversity is an enriching fact of life. We are not clones! There's surely no need for some rigid, either/or approach to "gen" and "slash." I've never been a "gen fan" or a "slash fan" -- just a general-purpose SH fan -- welcoming lively discussion and enjoying reading and artwork in both genres, grateful for the varied gifts which produce them, whether "gen" or "slash." Neither has any monopoly of truth, validly, and talent.
Tolerance:
Don't worry, there have always been intolerant fans, but they are, thank goodness, in the minority. They usually drift away in the end, but over the years have caused spasmodic disruptions, dismaying to the majority of fair- minded people. Fandom should be able to accommodate all viewpoints, and promote discussion without becoming a war-zone. Believe what you want, write what you want, agree or disagree. Lively argument is the lifeblood of fandom, intolerance its biggest enemy.
References
- ^ This is a songtape by Kendra Hunter (1983)
- ^ This is a songtape by Elke Müller and IrisS.
- ^ This songtape is by Linda Brandt (as part of the Three Sisters) (1980s, possibly the first constructed reality vid)
- ^ This songtape is by Megan Kent 1987/1988.
- ^ Many of these fans were self-sequestered in Black Bean Soup -- Some context: GARBAGE LIKE THAT HAS NO PLACE IN FANDOM (1996), a BNF's fandom flounce (1996), comments in #38, #39, some comments in BBS and more