"...and Stonetree had to admit he sounded sincere."brightknightieJuly 20 2011, 18:28:51 UTC
As told here, Nick's start under Stonetree's command through the eyes of the assembled human characters -- especially minor and original characters -- gave me the same kind of feeling that I enjoy from looking at episode stills. There's a leisurely opportunity to see things in detail that usually flash by as impressions. It solidifies the fictional world around its edges and slowly widens the places observations perch
( ... )
Re: "...and Stonetree had to admit he sounded sincere."greerwatsonJuly 20 2011, 23:30:53 UTC
"the c.1990 historical/canonical moment"As I was writing, I realized how long ago all this was. It seems as though it happened only yesterday....
Of course, it helps to be able to draw on my own memories of typewriters. I got in the platen turning; but you also have to hear the clickety of keys (all round the squad room!) and the periodic ting of the carriage return as someone reaches the end of a line. "Of course this story pays particular attention to the places where the fictional world's seam with the real world is particularly strained"As soon as you actually think about it you realize how little thinking the writers did. I mean, who on earth takes a pipe bomb to a robbery? A gun of any kind, a knife-sure, these one expects. A baseball bat, a barbecue fork, a box cutter....
Pipe bombs have to be made in advance, and they have only one purpose: to blow something up. That's hardly consistent with robbery.
It didn't take much thought to come up with the possibility that the store owner might have run foul of a protection
( ... )
Re: "...and Stonetree had to admit he sounded sincere."ext_114567July 21 2011, 06:39:04 UTC
Wasn't Schanke's previous partner the guy who had left the police and gotten into the far more lucrative private detective business in the States? I forget the name of the episode, but Don considered quitting the Force and joining him in his business, before he figured out that the guy was involved in some sort of corrupt business practices.
Re: "...and Stonetree had to admit he sounded sincere."greerwatsonJuly 22 2011, 21:10:49 UTC
You're thinking of "The Code". We meet a couple of Schanke's former partners during the course of the series (and they do seem to come to sticky ends, one way or another).
According to Judith Freudenthal's Episode Guide-which I consulted, rather than rewatching a tape-Patrick Delehanty "taught Schanke all he knows before moving to Montreal. Then, sometime later, quit the force and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he became a wealthy Private Investigator." When he drops by the precinct in "The Code", Schanke introduces him to Nick.
Somehow, if Delehanty had been Schanke's partner while Nick was working at the 27th, I don't think it would have been necessary to introduce them! That suggests that he was a previous partner. Schanke has, after all, been on the force for quite a number of years.
I loved this! I always enjoy pre-Dark-Knight stories. It was interesting to get a glimpse of everyone's first impression of Nick. From the fear of being transferred, to Stonetree's "The man before him stiffened, in obvious (albeit suppressed) alarm; and Stonetree’s cop instincts went on alert." and Schanke's "Yeah, just the sort of cop he loathed, all flash and attitude".
Having Nick be part of the "pipe bomb" investigation added another intriguing touch.
I had the idea years ago to do a flashback to Nick's first few days on the force. However, it simply didn't fit into an FK5 script. There's no way that they could rebuild the set for the 27th Precinct police station just for one episode; and, to keep the illusion of a virtual season, it is necessary to preserve a high level of verisimilitude. Really, the idea works far better as a short story.
My original notion had Schanke working the pipe bomb case. However, it's implicit in "Dark Knight" that the two have never had to work in tandem before. (Indeed, they rather dislike each other until Stonetree forces them into partnership.) So, if I had written the story back then, Nick would simply have had to observe Schanke's investigation, wondering whether he'd come up with some evidence that was overlooked in the cover-up.
Here, though, Nick is actually part of the investigation...into his own murder! It may scare Natalie, but I hope Nick himself has a sense of humour about it.
I really like the various perspectives and the way you took characters who were little but names and turned them into fully-formed *people*. Like brightknightie, I loved Nick getting coffee.
It's the sort of petty hazing that new people are often subjected to, isn't it? Partly to assert the relative position of the "establishment", but also to test character. Who takes it in good part? Makes a joke? Kicks up a fuss? Insists he's too busy? And so on.
Huh. I never realized it was that layered. I know that fire departments fob off the least-favored jobs on whoever the current "probie" is, but I thought it was a RHIP (Rank Hath Its Privileges) thing and never contemplated it as a testing of character, feeling someone out... I think that my lack of understanding of those nuances is part of why I find human interaction so difficult. (And why I totally didn't get Stonetree's response or what he was listening for.)
What I liked about this was Nick just casually *getting* the coffee for everyone, doing it like they liked it, not making a thing out of it because it was a little thing. And you're totally right: he proved something about himself to them there...and I missed it, even while enjoying the moment and my mental picture of Nick just deciding it wasn't a big deal.
Oh, there's definitely a "rank hath its privileges" element to it, especially from the perspective of those of the same rank, but just a little more seniority. They've so recently been through it themselves that they're glad to see someone else in that position, and would never dream of letting the new guy off his bounden duty of doing "probie" chores.
However, the more savvy know there's another side to it-and Stonetree, in particular, is pretty savvy!
What a terrific missing-scene type story! I loved the footnotes explaining the character references, and I also especially loved the way you did Schanke and Stonetree. Wonderful! And thank you for writing it!
Oh, this is absolutely great! You did a fabulous job of capturing a sense of place and time, and all the character voices (canon characters and OCs) were perfect. I loved how you worked in so many of the characters, too, and their reactions to Nick. Great story!
I'm glad you liked all the characters. Initially, I had thought I'd do the whole story from Stonetree's perspective: Nick's first case, that sort of thing. However, I got stuck after the first scene because I realized that most of the action would be taking place outside Stonetree's office. When it dawned on me that I could work the same basic plot with multiple POVs, the whole thing came together. (Well, it came together eventually, after I'd watched a lot of Season One episodes tracking down people to include.)
I really wish I could have used canonical bit parts for the two detectives Nick shadows; but there weren't any, at least not with names (just faces in the background). Finding Persevich was a stroke of luck, though!
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Of course, it helps to be able to draw on my own memories of typewriters. I got in the platen turning; but you also have to hear the clickety of keys (all round the squad room!) and the periodic ting of the carriage return as someone reaches the end of a line.
"Of course this story pays particular attention to the places where the fictional world's seam with the real world is particularly strained"As soon as you actually think about it you realize how little thinking the writers did. I mean, who on earth takes a pipe bomb to a robbery? A gun of any kind, a knife-sure, these one expects. A baseball bat, a barbecue fork, a box cutter....
Pipe bombs have to be made in advance, and they have only one purpose: to blow something up. That's hardly consistent with robbery.
It didn't take much thought to come up with the possibility that the store owner might have run foul of a protection ( ... )
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According to Judith Freudenthal's Episode Guide-which I consulted, rather than rewatching a tape-Patrick Delehanty "taught Schanke all he knows before moving to Montreal. Then, sometime later, quit the force and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he became a wealthy Private Investigator." When he drops by the precinct in "The Code", Schanke introduces him to Nick.
Somehow, if Delehanty had been Schanke's partner while Nick was working at the 27th, I don't think it would have been necessary to introduce them! That suggests that he was a previous partner. Schanke has, after all, been on the force for quite a number of years.
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Having Nick be part of the "pipe bomb" investigation added another intriguing touch.
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My original notion had Schanke working the pipe bomb case. However, it's implicit in "Dark Knight" that the two have never had to work in tandem before. (Indeed, they rather dislike each other until Stonetree forces them into partnership.) So, if I had written the story back then, Nick would simply have had to observe Schanke's investigation, wondering whether he'd come up with some evidence that was overlooked in the cover-up.
Here, though, Nick is actually part of the investigation...into his own murder! It may scare Natalie, but I hope Nick himself has a sense of humour about it.
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What I liked about this was Nick just casually *getting* the coffee for everyone, doing it like they liked it, not making a thing out of it because it was a little thing. And you're totally right: he proved something about himself to them there...and I missed it, even while enjoying the moment and my mental picture of Nick just deciding it wasn't a big deal.
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However, the more savvy know there's another side to it-and Stonetree, in particular, is pretty savvy!
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I really wish I could have used canonical bit parts for the two detectives Nick shadows; but there weren't any, at least not with names (just faces in the background). Finding Persevich was a stroke of luck, though!
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