also there was a lot of grudgewank, apparently.
This book is so cool! The research was gathered in the late 80s/early 90s, and it was published in '92, so- obviously- it's pre-internet. Fandom was extremely different back then, but also EXTREMELY THE SAME.
e.g. 1986 Blake’s 7 wank report:
“When he obscured the line between performer and audience, [Paul] Darrow (Blake 7 actor) unwittingly added to the schism already taking place between the pre-telecast and post-telecast fans. More importantly, he contributed to the split along genre lines when he discovered that some fans within his “inner circle” were writing explicitly sexual material involving his character with other male characters on Blake’s 7. Distressed at what he viewed as a breach of friendship, Darrow banished the offenders from his circle, and he further demanded that those who would remain close to him likewise sever all ties with the writers of the erotic material.
The Blake’s 7 fangroup fragmented; even members of the club who were not involved with fanzining found themselves affected by the dispute as their friends took sides. Some fans supported Darrow’s position, some supported the fanziners who were working in a small but well-established subgenre, and the vast majority backed away, simpled disgusted at what had become known as “The Feud.””
e.g. 1986 Blake’s 7 wank report:
“When he obscured the line between performer and audience, [Paul] Darrow (Blake 7 actor) unwittingly added to the schism already taking place between the pre-telecast and post-telecast fans. More importantly, he contributed to the split along genre lines when he discovered that some fans within his “inner circle” were writing explicitly sexual material involving his character with other male characters on Blake’s 7. Distressed at what he viewed as a breach of friendship, Darrow banished the offenders from his circle, and he further demanded that those who would remain close to him likewise sever all ties with the writers of the erotic material.
The Blake’s 7 fangroup fragmented; even members of the club who were not involved with fanzining found themselves affected by the dispute as their friends took sides. Some fans supported Darrow’s position, some supported the fanziners who were working in a small but well-established subgenre, and the vast majority backed away, simpled disgusted at what had become known as “The Feud.””
- -Camille Bacon-Smith, Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth, pp.35-36