Sorry, Bodie

The Professionals Fanfiction
Title:	Sorry, Bodie
Author(s):	Gil Hale
Date(s):	16 August 2002
Length:	20 K
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	The Professionals
External Links:	online here
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Sorry, Bodie is a gen Professionals story by Gil Hale.

Author’s Notes: "Written for the PROSFanFic List Combinations Challenge, using Marty Martell, a silk scarf, and boat on the Thames."

A well-received story, it generated many comments at the Ci5HQ Reading Room in 2012. Some of this discussion was about whether fans considered it gen or slash, as well as about the use of slang and period-appropriate racial slurs in fiction. Some of these comments are included below.

Reactions and Reviews

I give you a light-hearted romp through south London’s criminals in the company of one Mr. Marty Martell, gentleman and arms dealer. His attempts to rescue Doyle – why, he’s not really sure – have bad results for his temper, his reputation and his business. Written from Marty’s point of view, it follows him as he is conducting negotiations with a “motley assortment of eyeties and local oiks”, into which Doyle intrudes, battered and suddenly attracting the attention of the one dangerous person in the room. Marty’s rescue attempt leads him into complicated scenarios in which his sense of disbelief is clear – and very amusing.

The things I love about this story are the humour and Marty’s bafflement. Gil gets Marty’s voice perfectly, for me. She manages to replicate and develop his slightly camp, world-weary delivery. He has a view of Bodie and Doyle that we don’t often see – he thinks they are slightly incompetent: “But once again I find myself out of pocket and considerably inconvenienced, for no better reason than Bodie and Doyle reducing a perfectly simple assignment to disaster and chaos.”

She gives him a sly sense of humour, and reproduces his superior tone of voice perfectly. I enjoy the glimpses of Marty’s past, particularly his public-school upbringing, and I laugh every time at some of the phrases, such as “At my school, in the lower forms our affections were directed solely at matron (young, blonde plaits, bosom like a Valkyrie) and butterscotch tart (usually Thursdays).” There is much humour throughout the story, and too much to quote here, but I love this image: “I didn’t get my room back ‘til late the next morning, and then only because I sent my grenade expert to the launderette with Doyle’s clothes.” Fantastic!

Given that in Hunter/Hunted, Marty is not on screen for very long, and his friendship is with Bodie, I’m not quite sure why Marty decides to rescue Doyle. [Although, thinking back to the episode, perhaps it was the ‘rape all the men’ comment? Anyway, back to this review.] Marty himself says, “In spite of the fact this really shouldn’t have been my problem, I felt an entirely illogical need to act.” Poor Marty, every action he takes seems to be the right thing to do at the time, and everything he does has an unexpected consequence, ending with him thumping Bodie.

Gil’s description and choice of words are great. The language she uses and the way she names some of the minor characters – “the shark”, for the one dangerous person in the room, the Italian mamas surging up out of the kitchen, and Marty’s men are also described well. I like the glimpses we see of Marty’s men, particularly Jean-Pierre, who gets back at Bodie for “the Gulf deal he messed up.”

There’s a bit of a tendency to go with the fanon view of fragile, suffering Doyle, although I was pleased to see that Gil has him lean on both Marty and Bodie. This sentence also amused me: “for a man from a covert organisation, Doyle showed a marked lack of stoicism.”

We see Doyle battered and hurt, and the description of him here is luscious: “Doyle chose that precise moment to wander out of the shower. He’d ignored the pyjama top and dressing gown, and was inadequately dry for the trousers. His hair was dripping over his bare shoulders, and he was almost asleep on his feet. He looked rather like a dissolute model for a pre-Raphaelite painting. Burne-Jones would have loved that battered and drooping look, and the wet curls.” Can’t you just see it?

I love the last scene as well. Marty spots Bodie and Doyle and knows that “one of my oiks was about” so goes to say hello. There is more banter and then a change of mood. “I see you’ve got your voice back,“ I said to Doyle.

“Yeah,” he said “and ...thanks.” I never quite know what to do with these sudden changes of tone.”

This, for me, is part of the appeal of this story. I see it as true to the episode and to the characters. Bodie and Doyle are tough blokes, but in the very brief glimpses of their relationship the on-screen partnership and care for each other shines through. Bodie’s reluctance to move Doyle when he is beaten up and zonked out on the couch rings very true for me.

This story was quite hard to review, in that it’s fairly fluffy so I couldn’t come up with any deep and meaningful thoughts, but I do have some questions for you:

Do you find Marty’s language offensive – specifically, “eyeties” ?

Can you sympathise with Marty’s view that Bodie and Doyle aren’t particularly clever? What about Marty’s sympathy for Cowley?

What do you think of the brief glimpses we get of Bodie and Doyle’s relationship?

What about this? Gil implies the relationship between Bodie and Doyle without ever being explicit. Bodie’s reaction when he sees his semi-clothed partner in Marty’s room is instantly to believe the worst. He has followed Doyle and Marty throughout the evening, hearing more and more evidence to support the theory that Marty has seduced his partner, and then he sees a sleepy, half-dressed Doyle in Marty’s room. Bodie is already feeling guilty because he was late, and so his partner was hurt without Bodie there to watch his back. However, here’s an anomaly for me – Marty says, “He’d been late showing up to join Doyle because of some amorous exploit” and refers earlier to Bodie’s heterosexuality. So why does Gil lead us to believe that Bodie is upset that Marty has seduced Doyle? That’s how I read this scene, anyway:

“Bodie stared at him over my shoulder, and went even redder in the face than before.

“You bastard!” he said to me, furiously.”

Do you see it differently?

I love this story (and all of Gil's). I end up giggling out loud at several of the lines even after many readings; Marty's voice is so wryly distinctive. And the beautifully described image of a just-out-of-the-shower Doyle is delicious. The story was written for a challenge on the Gen site, but I have no problem with Bodie considering that Marty took advantage of his partner when he wasn't capable of consent. And while I'd never think of using Marty's language to describe his business clients, it works for the times and from Marty's POV.

I think it would be odd to read Pros without the occasional sign of the times, and some stories that seem to be nice and modernly careful by using other epithets can actually grate on me, so I wondered what you thought of the actual writing of it... whether you thought perhaps writers shouldn't include such language.

Gil Hale is a great favourite of mine, and this particular story makes me giggle no matter how many times I've read it. I'm not usually very fond of outsider POVs, but she pulls this one off admirably. Marty's whole tone of world-weariness and being put-upon by his (somewhat) tenous relationship with Bodie which leads him to assist Doyle despite the side of him that thinks this is a bad idea is beautifully depicted, and I love the way Gil plays with the stereotypes through Marty - the scarf, the boarding school etc. - while making it plain that they don't actually apply.

This story is just so funny and warm, and your review is wonderful!

I love Marty, how Gil wrote him, and he sounds so canon, at least what I feel is canon. I had to look up so many words, because they´re just so important, I agree with you totally that Gil choose the words very carefully. Can´t talk about the offensive really, never heard eyeties before, but I do think it fits so wonderfully into the way this story is written, and it´s fiction, so I don´t mind. (I´m not overly fond of weapons and violence usually, but with Bodie and Doyle it´s just necessary and fun. I hope you get my meaning...) I do sympathise with Marty´s view on the lads! It´s just so funny and the thing with Cowley drinking just cracked me up. The lads themselves insult each other all the time, why should´nt any one else do it? I really, really love it, that Doyle is trying to suppress his laughter when Marty tells everybody they´re together.

Thank you so much for introducing this story to me, it is absolutely delightful!

The relationship. I wondered about that, too. Either the lads are not yet together together, or they still hide it and Bodie tells Marty about his amorous exploit as an decoy. It´s great either way that he defends Doyles virtue and I had loads of fun imagining them later on alone.

I like this one too - it's witty, and decently written and very in character and time. And I don't tend to remember to re-read it, so excellent choice, thank you!

Do you find Marty’s language offensive – specifically, “eyeties” ? Of course - but Marty's a) not a good guy; and b) of his time (as Etain said). That's the language people used back then, and it's half the reason the world was as it was (I'm not saying it's got better - sadly - but parts of it have changed) and the lads were who they were too. We know Bodie's got racist tendencies from Klansmen, and Doyle makes some very dubious remarks in Need to Know (which are very rarely picked up on). I tend to think of it along the lines Doyle was thinking in Where the Jungle Ends (bear with me... *g*) When Bodie's complaining about the state of the council flats where they're waiting for Thingie, Doyle says "All kids make a mess when they're growing up, don't they?". It's one of the things I love about Pros, that they drop wee insightful lines in like that... *g* Anyway - all kids say stupid things when they're growing up, don't they, and the seventies were rather like teenage years - excited by potential freedoms, not yet smart enough to have thrown off things they'd been told by people who'd experienced less... It's not an excuse, it doesn't make it right, but that was what it was like, and I think we need to accept that in order to understand it and then be able to take the next step. So offensive? Yes - but hopefully we've learned from it and are better now. Well, I said "hopefully"...

Can you sympathise with Marty’s view that Bodie and Doyle aren’t particularly clever? I don't think I took that from the story! He's definitely condescending about them, but for me it was more because they weren't of his world, they didn't really know how to behave - they were neither gentlemen, nor had a proper understanding of the ways of men (ie, where gunrunning is okay), though of course they came closer than most, and if Bodie hadn't rather stupidly decided to change sides, well he was alright... *g* He doesn't think they're particularly clever, but not because he thinks they're stupid as they might define it - they're just not as bright as he knows he is... *g* Except he isn't, cos he does always end up doing what they need, so as Marge might have said They've got something.. *g*

And I love that Marty identifies with Cowley! An older, more discerning gentleman with the right background... *g*

What do you think of the brief glimpses we get of Bodie and Doyle’s relationship? Yeah, this throws me a little bit, in an out-of-the-story way, and it's why I so hate labelling - once done, it's difficult to undo... I tend to think of Gil as a Pros gen writer, because that's how she's labelled (and presumably labels herself) - but yeah, to me this is slash, and that may or may not have anything to do with her as a writer. I suppose I can see a gen Bodie still being mad that Marty might have taken advantage of his mate - especially if Bodie were as macho-ly het as he'd have us believe ("no mate of mine" and all that). But I think one of the reasons I like Gil's stories so much is that they read like the episodes - and to me the episodes are pure slash, the lads are so together in the eps! So of course there's slash in her stories, just as there is in the eps. It doesn't have to be explicit to be there (and then we get into the definition of gen vs slash... *g*)

I'm afraid I adore her descriptions of bashed-and-doped-up Doyle here, though I can't help but think he might have done a better job of fighting off Beppi if Beppi's really as incompetent as Marty would have it (but then that's just Marty's opinion, so... *g*) I think he really does have to be sleepy/dopey/drunk/something to be described accurately the way she described him, cos otherwise he's an arrogant, aggressive (beautifully bendy) boy (who we adore just as he is) but I can totally see and believe the description you quoted! And then it's all redeemed when Marty sees them in the street, as you say, and we see normal everyday Doyle... *sighs happily*

The 'eyeties' word made me wince, first time through, but I agree with what many of you have said - it is of its time. I guess it's like the episode where I knew there was something odd, but couldn't quite identify it - until I realised that they were smoking in an airport terminal building. We don't do it now, but it happened then all the time. And I think this is why Gil's story rings so true - it is just like one of the episodes. Yes - this is very slashy, to me, even though there is nothing explicit at all.

Really enjoyed the story and the review - but the story did confuse me...

Do you find Marty’s language offensive – specifically, “eyeties” ? - I have no problem with "eyeties" (ETA: in the context of this story, I mean). I may be wrong, but I have always understood it to be somewhere on the continuum from "jocks" to "taffies" to "frogs" - hardly the most courteous, but reasonably inoffensive unless prefaced with "you bloody..." I really don't see these in the same league as some of the words which are now practically taboo but which I heard regularly in the seventies and eighties (and nineties! And some people shout them as insults even now). Given the background Gil gives Marty, it's totally in keeping. And it's the seventies. Lots of the terms I think of as army terms from the war were still in use then, and this is definitely one I think of in that context.

I loved "oiks"! Brilliant, and fits in well with this Marty. I still have a sneaking suspicion that many of the products of the public school system do think of the rest of us as oiks. I think the author captured a particular sort of English upbringing and class brilliantly. The funny thing for me is that it made me realise that I tend to imagine Marty as having a French background. I have no idea why - except that to me, Martell is the cognac! (I have been there. Alas, my souvenir sample is - hic - long gone.)

Can you sympathise with Marty’s view that Bodie and Doyle aren’t particularly clever? What about Marty’s sympathy for Cowley? - "I wonder if Cowley drinks" made me laugh. Yes, I can sympathise with Marty. From his point of view in H/H, they're just a hindrance - and come to think of it, that whole affair is partly triggered by Doyle's Mensa-level decision to stash the supergun in the airing cupboard (in which Bodie cheerfully acquiesces). And in.. erm, that one with the seven dwarfs joke... yes, of course you should call in sick and make Doyle do the surveillance, Bodie, genius decision: he'll never guess you're with your girlfriend - and we have an echo of that here, with Bodie's late arrival.

What do you think of the brief glimpses we get of Bodie and Doyle’s relationship? - It totally confuses me. For some reason I knew it was not going to be a slash story the first time I read it - I think I must have seen it linked as 'gen' or something - but then it plays with all sorts of conventions beloved of slash: must pretend to be gay to get out of trouble, one of the lads sees the other in a state of abandoned disarray, It's Not What You Think, and the like.

I realised I am too much of a slasher to get the gen stuff in Pros when I got as far as the arrival of Jan, Doyle's mysterious brightening and Jan's solicitousness, and thought "oh yes, Doyle, and how do you know him?" As for Jan's amusement at the rather complicated story to spin, well...

If it were not for the fact that I knew - or thought I knew - that this story is gen, I would read it as slash and a brilliant example of the third party narrator relating events which the reader construes entirely differently. I am not sure the author will be delighted at this, but I can't help it.

Do you find Marty’s language offensive – specifically, “eyeties” ?

(I spent my entire career working in anti-racist education so I feel qualified to pronounce on this.) First, the vocabulary is ascribed to Marty, and tells us about him. You can't be offended at the author's use of language like that when what they are doing is showing us how certain people thought at certain times in history. In narrative, in the author's voice, it would be offensive. In dialogue, even internal dialogue, it might make us feel offended at Marty but not at the writer/writing. To disallow the use of this kind of thing would be tantamount to encouraging writing about Hitler without ever allowing him to express a hatred of Jews. Secondly, while the language (specifically 'eyeties') is symptomatic of bullying etc. it is not and cannot be racist because racism requires a power dynamic which is not present between Brits and Italians. It is xenophobic and therefore realistic for the times. In contrast, the frequent use of 'golly' (as short for golliwog)does offend me in pros-fic because it is racist and is so rare in the show that it should not really be picked up on and broadcast, but that's another matter entirely. (I was personally involved in the campaign against Robertson's golliwog icon in the 70s/80s).

Can you sympathise with Marty’s view that Bodie and Doyle aren’t particularly clever? What about Marty’s sympathy for Cowley?

I love Marty's sympathy for Cowley and sometimes feel it myself now though on first airing of the show my sympathies were all with the lads. I think Marty's view of them as not particularly clever again tells us more about Marty and his view of himself and the world. This is clearly a flawed view and the author does not share it! What do you think of the brief glimpses we get of Bodie and Doyle’s relationship?

What about this? Gil implies the relationship between Bodie and Doyle without ever being explicit.

I agree with byslantedlight that the canon relationship is pure slash! And there all sorts of subtexts here that are deliciously implied.I'm not convinced that this author's work is completely gen in intention! Altogether an extremely clever piece of writing.

This is a favourite story of mine and never fails to make me giggle. Gil is such skilled wordsmith, her use of words and characterisation is usually spot-on and that goes for other characters as well as the lads. Some of her original characters are wonderful, too - do read "A pugnacious angel" - another favourite with me. I think you are spot-on to say that Gil writes with a very English voice, and the many little details in Marty's descriptions fit in with that. There is an interview with her somewhere online where she says that she lives in Oxford where her husband is a Professor so she will come into contact in academic circles with that accent and a fair number of people who have been to boarding school so I'm sure she's heard a lot of stories and attitudes like Marty's, toned down I expect these days but possibly not as much as you might think! Having said that, I can remember my (very working class) dad certainly referring to Italians as Eye-ties when I was growing up, a bit earlier than this, in the 1950s. And it wasn't complimentary. (And he may have mentioned frogs and even wops too on occasion). But as others have said, that was how it was at that time. And you have to remember that we had been at war with Italy only a few years before, my dad had served in the forces during the war. It wasn't surprising if many ex-servicemen carried forward their contempt for their former enemies as the war was relatively fresh in their minds and Marty obviously had many service connections in his profession. I have a vague memory that the Italians were regarded with particular contempt because they had a bad reputation for surrendering! So, although it jars with us now, to me it rings absolutely true for Marty with his background both to use this particular word and in his general attitudes. Yet he isn't wholly xenophobic - look at his comment about Jan and his immigrant standing and not being accepted as a doctor in this country.

I've always liked this story. I agree with you that Gin's portrayal of Marty is spot on - and I love him! I also like the way she (intentionally or not) left it up to the reader to interpret the relationship between the lads. Bodie's jealousy of finding Doyle "inadequately dry" could either be because he thought Marty had taken advantage of Ray, or because it was Marty that had to protect Ray in Bodie's place. (I guess there's no secret as to which way I'm leaning!)

I love this story and I'm glad it's popped up here. I think it's great that nearly everyone likes it. Gil does a great Marty, she developed a small role beautifully and I generally think of him in the way she has portrayed him. In the episodes there was always this is he?, or isn't he? sort of thing with regards to his sexual preferences. I always took it as a yes he is, so Gil delving into this part of Marty is a great background piece for him.

Any time I read Pros, I transport myself back to the 70's, where slang and language were as different from today as the cars and dress. I don't take offence at the terminology used, it was after all, used back then and I can quite easily separate it from modern day ethics. To remove it all from Pros writing would be a shame as it then changes the dynamics of the time period in which they were filmed. Eyeties, came from the pronunciation of Italian by some as Eye-talian, which was then shortened down to Eyetai. Whether it was meant offensively I think depended on the person's intention when using it... (at the time). Gil's use of it is appropriate, Marty is a snob and he thinks he's better than anyone, even D&B.

The story has always been gen to me, it's listed on the gen yahoo site. I always saw Bodie's objection to Marty's supposed seduction of his doped out partner as outrage that Marty would do such a thing. I think Bodie himself was never sure of Marty's inclinations, but had his doubts, which to his mind were confirmed by taking advantage of his partner, a partner who was in no state to defend himself and was put in the situation solely because Bodie was late.

The whole story is cleverly written and full of humour.