Zine: Scotch Doubles.

[moonlightmead]

I bought Scotch Doubles: A Professionals & Champions '/' Zine second-hand (it was first published in 1993) in September, knowing nothing about it beyond the title. I have now finished it, and am not terribly likely to keep it. But, before I get rid of it, can anyone who has seen this - or perhaps Champions, the other half of the crossover - tell

Comments

[byslantedlight]

You know, I thought I'd read this zine, partly because it's been on my shelf for years and years, and partly because I thought I remembered getting over what I expected to be a Cowley-bias in the reading, and... but apparently not. Definitely not! It sounds fairly dire, from pretty much every angle...

I don't know The Champions at all, but I do wonder if the author had actually watched Pros (I gather not all Pros writers have, which just makes me wince in most cases, though The Hag seems to have pulled it off - it probably helps to be a Brit if you've never seen the show, mind, and I strongly suspect that "Ty and Paige" aren't... *g*)

I was going to say that I wonder what the point is of giving two canon-based characters a set of powers that would completely change them, and what they could do, but I suppose we're venturing into AU territory, which has its own place... It should be interesting to see how characters would cope in a completely different/overwhelming situation - but I think the key thing there is that they'd remain

[moonlightmead]

If you do pull it off the shelf, there is some talk in the preamble about being fans of British accents which made me assume they had seen it (the bits by Ty and Paige), and that both authors had written in Pros before: these were just their latest noms de plume (the bit by the publisher).

That's a good point about AUs. But this doesn't read like an AU at all. On the other hand, it doesn't read like 'real' CI5 at all, either.

It should be interesting to see how characters would cope in a completely different/overwhelming situation - but I think the key thing there is that they'd remain themselves despite the external changes, we'd see the kernel of who they are - okay, there was one quote I considered using which is exactly about their reaction to seeing other people's superpowers, and now I can't find it. (As I said, there is a lot to wade through.) But I was fairly unconvinced.

[gilda_elise]

I read the zine years ago and I don't think she watched either show. *g* I really liked "The Champions," and her characterizations are as far from the three characters of that show as they are from Bodie and Doyle.

[inamac]

If "Ty and Paige" are writing about people grabbing each others asses then they certainly aren't British writers (though, given The Champions 'Tibetan monastery' scenario it's possible the guys might have been riding donkeys...)

Both The Champions and Pros are Berman/Spooner/Clemens productions, so I can see the logic in combining them - though in every other way they are entirely different universes - the former is pure superhero comic-book style fantasy which exists in a sort of Avengers (the TV one not the comic book) universe, while Pros was deliberately gritty, modern and 'taking plots from the headlines'.

I love both series (and must go and hunt up some Richard/Craig slash, now that you remind me), but this zine sounds like a mess.
I will never understand people writing shows which they've never seen or books they've never read.

[moonlightmead]

How weird - you are (I think) responding to a version of my comment which I thought LJ had eaten. I rewrote it. I still don't see that original, but for baffled viewers, it was much the same, but I also referred to the authors talking about ass comparisons as something that made me think they'd actually seen the programme rather than just read the stories. I'm absolutely sure the authors are American.

I hadn't realised the connection between the programmes' production teams at all! Interesting. Also interesting that you mention The Avengers, because I did have a think about what might crossover more effectively with The Champions and that was one I thought of.

[inamac]

LJ is being weird - I've learned to put up with it.

Brian Clemens, Dennis Spooner and Terry Nation pretty much dominated British TV in the 1960s/70s. Dennis freelanced for a huge number of programmes (including Dr Who). Terry Nation swanned off to the US and made McGyver*, while Clemens last big series was Bugs.

The phrase 'British Cult TV' is pretty much synonymous with those names.

*Those of us who are credit junkies also noticed a lot of names from the Pros production side in a number of US programmes - Ray Austin for example...