Flashpoint (Starsky and Hutch zine)
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Flashpoint |
| Publisher: | Nut Hatch Press |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Jane of Australia |
| Cover Artist(s): | |
| Illustrator(s): | |
| Date(s): | 1995 |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Starsky and Hutch |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Flashpoint is a slash Starsky and Hutch 75-page novel by Jane of Australia. It originally appeared in a Nut Hatch media zine, Full Circle #3 before being re-published as a stand-alone zine.
Summary
A figure from the past, whom Starsky had believed dead, proves to be very much alive, and the nightmare for Dave Starsky has just begun. For Hutch, the ordeal wears three faces: he must watch his partner torn apart by decades-old events that took place in Vietnam, he must launch an investigation into the mystery of a man called Bonelli, in the hopes of bringing Starsky back from the edge; and he must confront his own feelings toward his partner. Nothing is as it seems, and as Hutch digs deeper, getting closer to half-buried facts, a shattering truth is revealed. For some time, Starsky hovers on the edge, staring vacantly at a hospital ceiling, and while Hutch attacks the mystery with Dobey's support, there are also personal matters which, Hutch fears, have been addressed too late. Author's guarantee: this is not a death story, it's a feel-good piece. Anyone who knows my pen-name knows me better than to expect death stories and dismaying conclusions! [1]
From the Zine's Editorial
...a belated but warm and affectionate greeting to a fandom that has been beckoning to me for years, and which I've been longing to join for a long time. Many of you will know me from B/D, in which I've been very busy for around twelve years. I simply never had the chance to become out of the closet, and join S/H, because ... well, it's a long and complex story.
Starsky and Hutch screened for the last time in South Australia in 1979. In the days of the late 1970s, that show and those characters were my life, literally. But with the best will in the world, although one's affection for a show never really fades, memory does! Fans here were never able to persuade (coerce, pressure, force by means of bomb threat!) Channel 9 to put S&H back on the air,and quite naturally I, and many more like me, went on to other shows. In my case, I became deeply involved with The Professionals, and since The Nut Hatch was born in 1987, most of my work appeared through that press. But always waiting there in the back of my mind, ready to leap out and ambush me, was the old addiction for Starsky and Hutch. (This story should have begun, 'Once upon a time,' or 'A long time ago in a strange faraway kingdom called Australia ...')
Anyway, one drear and stormy day in a winter that was hanging on and on, long after spring should have begun, just when my life had hit an all-time low and I thought I was going to go cuckoo and be abducted by nice men in white coats... I opened the mailbox, and discovered the first of many packages of videotapes.
Right here, I want to acknowledge and thank the two ladies who are responsible for saving my sanity if not my life, and making it possible for me to become involved with a fandom I'd always longed to join. The tapes arriving in my mailbox came from Tabby Davis in England, where the video format is so similar to the format we use in Australia (PAL Secam/PAL Dor), that tapes are compatible; and Tabby was sending these tapes to a then-stranger, because Linda McGee, knowing how much I loved S&H while being totally isolated from the show, had arranged for me to receive them. 'Joy' isn't a powerful enough word to describe what happened next. 'Bliss' comes close. Ever fallen in love for a second time? Linda and Tabby, or Tabby and Linda: thank you!! Those words are woefully inadequate, but what else can I say?
And then, my brain being what it is, plots started to coalesce. I can't really express here what I feel for the show and characters, so I'll have to let my writing speak for me. I have many, many stories to tell — a whole file full of plots! Two other novellas are complete, and are in the hands of Linda and Tabby, intended for their '20th Anniversary zine,' later in 1995. [2] But several other stories are underway too, and these will be appearing in a 20th Anniversary issue which I'd like to do myself.
Reactions and Reviews
This was a good novella, very hurt/comfort, dealing with trauma Starsky experienced in Vietnam... 'Flashpoint' was a good story, but the ending left me cold. Call me a romantic, but Starsky's refusal to be faithful to Hutch, who loves him desperately and got him through a hellish situation, just irritates me. Starsky basically says he plans to go on dating women, eventually marrying a woman. If Hutch wants they can still get together at times, but that's it. After all Hutch does for him, the fact that Starsky instantly starts treating Hutch like a mistress *really* ticks me off. I know, I know - things were different in the 1970's, and that was the way things were. Okay, fine. But he doesn't have to be so danged *heartless* about it! I wanted to bash Starsky's head in and 'save' Hutch from such heartache after this story was over... So, I really enjoyed this story, until the last five pages.[3]
References
- ^ from the publisher
- ^ There is only one story, "Return to Journey" by Jane in that zine.
- ^ "Raonaid's Zine Recommendations". 2004-02-27. Archived from the original on 2013-01-12.