Another recs post - Press Gang
For various reasons (including explaining the unexpected ficlets I wrote for 50ficlets this week), I feel it's time for the Press Gang edition of these posts. There won't be much I haven't mentioned previously, because it's a rare fandom, but I've not put it all together before.
Also because this returned to YouTube, and it's one of my favourite scenes from anything, and can be watched and enjoyed even if you don't know what I'm on about with this show, or don't want to. Basically, Colin (Paul Reynolds) asks Julie (Lucy Benjamin) out on a date, but ruins everything in a record one minute. (Any spoilers are in that line I've just typed. And, yeah, no Kenny, Lynda, or Spike!)
"Act normal, say nothing dumb, don't scare her..."
(Plus a further 30 seconds of random Colin if wanted).
I've mentioned Press Gang a lot this year, and a few of my flist are already fans, so I probably don't need to say, but it was a British (ITV) Teen show from the early 1990s, written by Steven Moffat, and starring Julia Sawalha and Dexter Fletcher. (Don't give me that DW rubbish - this is the best stuff he's ever written! ;-D)
So here goes (and actually, since last time I looked, a sudden new batch of vids have sprung up - there was choice!):
Fanvids
While on the subject of Colin, he has his very own fanvid here, to The Merchandisers from Chess, and it gives a good idea of the random and surreal existence of Colin Mathews:
Because of Colin being Colin, I don't think there's anything that's a real spoiler out of context. All of the following, however, contain clips from S1-5 (with one exception) and so may be spoiler(ish).
Lynda Day Tribute: Head Over Heels
There's some lovely editing, and nice nods to all of the other characters. (Love that someone in the comments, who's never watched the show wanted to know if Lynda was being bullied... Um, no...)
Also: Ban the Tube Top - a tribute to Lynda's total lack of fashion sense. One of my faves (especially the last clip):
With amusing subtitles.
Then, of course, what Press Gang fanvids are really for: Spike & Lynda...
"Wake Me Up" - great use of song & lyrics (and the use of dreams in the show).
(Spoiler warning - an actual clip from S4 opener 'Bad News' at the end.)
"Lost Without You"
Chronological, so more spoilerish in context.
And 'Need You Now'
This one covers Spike and Lynda's story over eps 1-6 of S2.
Plus: The Struggles of Lynda Day which sort of summarises There Are Crocodiles into a creepy 2 minutes. (So, yes, MAJOR SPOILER ALERT.)
Fan fic
Anything post series is by default a spoiler for TAC (although by the nature of that ep, what a spoiler is depends on your point of view, but that's Press Gang for you.)
General
Some stories that read like missing episodes or scenes, which, in my view makes them need no more recommending - with very little in the way of spoilers:
Hoops and Bumps by paranoidangel42
(5447 words, all ages. S2. Lynda Day, Spike Thomson, Colin Mathews, Sam Black, Tiddler. Pairings: Spike/Lynda, Sam/Kenny). It doesn't matter if there's a deadline approaching, it doesn't stop Spike and Lynda from arguing, Sam manipulating Kenny or Colin selling something he shouldn't have bought.
Toys and Trinkets by Dessie
(All ages, 6830 words. Spike, Lynda, Colin. S5.) "See?" said Lynda. "He just wants to kill Colin. I'll tell him that Colin's not here and that he should add his name to the waiting list. No problem."
Remembrance Day by bethamphetamine.
(All ages, 3957 words. Spike, Lynda, Colin, Tiddler, Sam, Kenny. S2. Spike/Lynda, Sam/Kenny. Okay, so it has a spelling mistake in the title, but it also has a typical Press Gang craze, Sam/Kenny, Tiddler, the fan on Lynda's wall, and that S2 feel, so it gets a rec here.) Colin's at the war memorial, Spike and Lynda are trapped together, and Kenny keeps getting called a strawberry milkshake... and Sam is prepared to explain why.
Spike/Lynda
Grief in reverse by unoriginal-elisabeth.
(PG for mature themes. 4166 words. Post TAC, so SPOILERS. Spike Thomson, Sarah Jackson, Lynda Day. Spike/Lynda.) See, the thing about Lynda, the big thing, the thing most people miss, is not that she's a completely amoral, psychotic bitch. That's an important thing, yeah, but it's not the big thing. The big thing about Lynda is that she sticks. Sometimes literally, as Spike knows from experience. Lynda's not crazy about letting go, and she's got a killer grip. (If it weren't for this author's End of The World News - see below - this would win Best Press Gang fic hands down, but as it is, I'm torn.)
Memories are not made of this by paranoidangel42
(All ages, 1002, Spike/Lynda.) "Spike, I very much doubt I'd have agreed to go out with you and forgotten about it." Spike and Lynda in typical early form.
Other
Hunting Wabbits by hhertzof
(All ages, 1556 words. Sarah Jackson, Sarah Jane Smith, Colin Mathews, Lynda Day, Julie Craig, Spike Thomson. S1. Crossover with Doctor Who. Some spoilers for A Night In.) Sarah Jane Smith investigates rumours of a giant rabbit in Norbridge.
Business As Usual by lmx
(All ages. 2183 words. S1/2. Kenny, Lynda, Spike, Colin, Frazz Davis. Post Shouldn't I Be Taller.) Lynda is taking Matt Kerr's advice and being careful what she says - and nobody's sure they can take any more of it. "When he was younger, Kenny'd actually dreamt of Lynda apologising to him. He'd had no idea how disturbing it would be when it eventually happened."
End of the World News by unoriginal-elisabeth.
(PG. 5723 words. Lynda, Kenny, Sarah, Colin, Frazz. S3? Apocalypse AU.) As big a worrier as Kenny was, he'd never really given any thought to the end of civilization. Worrying about Lynda, though, that was part of his routine... It's the actual End of the World, and it's Press Gang, and funny, and heart-wrenching, and Kenny-and-Lynda, and even note-perfect Sarah (at her best), Colin and Frazz. I've recced many fics for many good reasons, but there are only a handful I have to keep reading, and this is one. Probably newbie safe, as it could be read as: group of people face the End of the World in their own unique, defiant way.
Oh, and, after saying that the Kenny-Lynda-Spike triangle was pretty unique, and there wasn't even Kenny/Lynda fic (though there does exist Lynda/Colin, Colin/Kenny, Colin/Sarah, Sam/Lynda, and Spike/Kenny... yep... wash your brains out here), it turns out I was wrong. I'm not sure what I think about it, but I approve entirely of the very PG streak of irony running through this. (And this was written apparently because if Kenny had come back from Australia, as he was intended to, they might have gone this way...)
Past and Future by nic
(All ages, 3552 words. Post series. Lynda, Kenny, Tiddler, Frazz. Kenny/Lynda.) Kenny/Lynda, and a case of really bad timing.
Also... there are loads of lovely icons at press_gang_icon.
Well, this post certainly got epic - but I did fish out one or two new things, at least.
Also because this returned to YouTube, and it's one of my favourite scenes from anything, and can be watched and enjoyed even if you don't know what I'm on about with this show, or don't want to. Basically, Colin (Paul Reynolds) asks Julie (Lucy Benjamin) out on a date, but ruins everything in a record one minute. (Any spoilers are in that line I've just typed. And, yeah, no Kenny, Lynda, or Spike!)
"Act normal, say nothing dumb, don't scare her..."
Click to view(Plus a further 30 seconds of random Colin if wanted).
I've mentioned Press Gang a lot this year, and a few of my flist are already fans, so I probably don't need to say, but it was a British (ITV) Teen show from the early 1990s, written by Steven Moffat, and starring Julia Sawalha and Dexter Fletcher. (Don't give me that DW rubbish - this is the best stuff he's ever written! ;-D)
So here goes (and actually, since last time I looked, a sudden new batch of vids have sprung up - there was choice!):
Fanvids
While on the subject of Colin, he has his very own fanvid here, to The Merchandisers from Chess, and it gives a good idea of the random and surreal existence of Colin Mathews:
Because of Colin being Colin, I don't think there's anything that's a real spoiler out of context. All of the following, however, contain clips from S1-5 (with one exception) and so may be spoiler(ish).
Lynda Day Tribute: Head Over Heels
There's some lovely editing, and nice nods to all of the other characters. (Love that someone in the comments, who's never watched the show wanted to know if Lynda was being bullied... Um, no...)
Also: Ban the Tube Top - a tribute to Lynda's total lack of fashion sense. One of my faves (especially the last clip):
With amusing subtitles.
Then, of course, what Press Gang fanvids are really for: Spike & Lynda...
"Wake Me Up" - great use of song & lyrics (and the use of dreams in the show).
(Spoiler warning - an actual clip from S4 opener 'Bad News' at the end.)
"Lost Without You"
Chronological, so more spoilerish in context.
And 'Need You Now'
This one covers Spike and Lynda's story over eps 1-6 of S2.
Plus: The Struggles of Lynda Day which sort of summarises There Are Crocodiles into a creepy 2 minutes. (So, yes, MAJOR SPOILER ALERT.)
Fan fic
Anything post series is by default a spoiler for TAC (although by the nature of that ep, what a spoiler is depends on your point of view, but that's Press Gang for you.)
General
Some stories that read like missing episodes or scenes, which, in my view makes them need no more recommending - with very little in the way of spoilers:
Hoops and Bumps by paranoidangel42
(5447 words, all ages. S2. Lynda Day, Spike Thomson, Colin Mathews, Sam Black, Tiddler. Pairings: Spike/Lynda, Sam/Kenny). It doesn't matter if there's a deadline approaching, it doesn't stop Spike and Lynda from arguing, Sam manipulating Kenny or Colin selling something he shouldn't have bought.
Toys and Trinkets by Dessie
(All ages, 6830 words. Spike, Lynda, Colin. S5.) "See?" said Lynda. "He just wants to kill Colin. I'll tell him that Colin's not here and that he should add his name to the waiting list. No problem."
Remembrance Day by bethamphetamine.
(All ages, 3957 words. Spike, Lynda, Colin, Tiddler, Sam, Kenny. S2. Spike/Lynda, Sam/Kenny. Okay, so it has a spelling mistake in the title, but it also has a typical Press Gang craze, Sam/Kenny, Tiddler, the fan on Lynda's wall, and that S2 feel, so it gets a rec here.) Colin's at the war memorial, Spike and Lynda are trapped together, and Kenny keeps getting called a strawberry milkshake... and Sam is prepared to explain why.
Spike/Lynda
Grief in reverse by unoriginal-elisabeth.
(PG for mature themes. 4166 words. Post TAC, so SPOILERS. Spike Thomson, Sarah Jackson, Lynda Day. Spike/Lynda.) See, the thing about Lynda, the big thing, the thing most people miss, is not that she's a completely amoral, psychotic bitch. That's an important thing, yeah, but it's not the big thing. The big thing about Lynda is that she sticks. Sometimes literally, as Spike knows from experience. Lynda's not crazy about letting go, and she's got a killer grip. (If it weren't for this author's End of The World News - see below - this would win Best Press Gang fic hands down, but as it is, I'm torn.)
Memories are not made of this by paranoidangel42
(All ages, 1002, Spike/Lynda.) "Spike, I very much doubt I'd have agreed to go out with you and forgotten about it." Spike and Lynda in typical early form.
Other
Hunting Wabbits by hhertzof
(All ages, 1556 words. Sarah Jackson, Sarah Jane Smith, Colin Mathews, Lynda Day, Julie Craig, Spike Thomson. S1. Crossover with Doctor Who. Some spoilers for A Night In.) Sarah Jane Smith investigates rumours of a giant rabbit in Norbridge.
Business As Usual by lmx
(All ages. 2183 words. S1/2. Kenny, Lynda, Spike, Colin, Frazz Davis. Post Shouldn't I Be Taller.) Lynda is taking Matt Kerr's advice and being careful what she says - and nobody's sure they can take any more of it. "When he was younger, Kenny'd actually dreamt of Lynda apologising to him. He'd had no idea how disturbing it would be when it eventually happened."
End of the World News by unoriginal-elisabeth.
(PG. 5723 words. Lynda, Kenny, Sarah, Colin, Frazz. S3? Apocalypse AU.) As big a worrier as Kenny was, he'd never really given any thought to the end of civilization. Worrying about Lynda, though, that was part of his routine... It's the actual End of the World, and it's Press Gang, and funny, and heart-wrenching, and Kenny-and-Lynda, and even note-perfect Sarah (at her best), Colin and Frazz. I've recced many fics for many good reasons, but there are only a handful I have to keep reading, and this is one. Probably newbie safe, as it could be read as: group of people face the End of the World in their own unique, defiant way.
Oh, and, after saying that the Kenny-Lynda-Spike triangle was pretty unique, and there wasn't even Kenny/Lynda fic (though there does exist Lynda/Colin, Colin/Kenny, Colin/Sarah, Sam/Lynda, and Spike/Kenny... yep... wash your brains out here), it turns out I was wrong. I'm not sure what I think about it, but I approve entirely of the very PG streak of irony running through this. (And this was written apparently because if Kenny had come back from Australia, as he was intended to, they might have gone this way...)
Past and Future by nic
(All ages, 3552 words. Post series. Lynda, Kenny, Tiddler, Frazz. Kenny/Lynda.) Kenny/Lynda, and a case of really bad timing.
Also... there are loads of lovely icons at press_gang_icon.
Well, this post certainly got epic - but I did fish out one or two new things, at least.