Survival of the Fittest (Starsky and Hutch/Emergency! zine)

You may be looking for Survival of the Fittest, a Stargate SG-1 zine.

Zine
Title:	Survival of the Fittest
Publisher:	Venice Place Press
Editor:
Author(s):	Kaye Austen Michaels
Cover Artist(s):	Lorraine Brevig
Illustrator(s):	Lorraine Brevig
Date(s):	2006 (print), 2013 (online)
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Starsky and Hutch/Emergency!
Language:	English
External Links:	Online here at Starsky & Hutch Archive
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

cover by Lorraine Brevig

Survival of the Fittest is a 343-page crossover slash novel by Kaye Austen Michaels. The cover is by Lorraine Brevig.

This novel begins in June 1976, shortly before the second season of S&H and before the sixth season of Emergency!

From the Author's Notes

The characters of John "Johnny" Gage, Roy DeSoto, Kelly "Kel" Brackett, Joe Early, Dixie McCall, Mike Morton, Chet Kelley, Marco Lopez, Hank Stanley, Mike Stoker, Joanne DeSoto, and Henry the hound dog were created by Jack Webb and Robert A. Cinader for the television show Emergency!, and are respectfully borrowed for the enrichment of this fandom story. I'm delighted to have these characters as "honored guests" in this Starsky/Hutch novel.

The television show Emergency! ran from 1972-1978 with two spinoff movies in 1979. The series pilot, "The Wedworth-Townsend Act," aired in 1972, depicts a fictionalized account of real life events that led to the groundbreaking Wedworth-Townsend Act that allowed trained firefighter paramedics to operate in California. LA County was in many ways the birthplace of the paramedic program. I place season two of the series in 1972-1973 based on canon evidence, and from there I have tried to follow the canon timeline based loosely on the episode airdates.

In present day emergency medicine, ER physicians and trauma surgeons are usually the products of different specialties. However, in Emergency! Kelly Brackett, M.D., carries F.A.C.S. (Fellow of the American College of Surgeons) credentials and is shown performing surgical procedures in many episodes. I have chosen to follow the show's canon in this, and therefore refer to him occasionally as a surgeon.

For my medical research surrounding the "Sweet Revenge" episode in Starsky & Hutch, I depended on actual paramedic cardiac protocols from several rescue departments across the country. For other rescue scenes, I depended on Emergency! canon, internet resources regarding emergency medicine in the 1970s, and nursing school texts circa 1982.

Excerpt

Hutch sat behind the wheel in his parking spot beside the muddy Land Rover and tried to concentrate on the scenery. Out here, roughly one hour and five minute's drive from Venice, he could pretend he wasn't one of LA's finest. He was Ken--an out-of-practice closet case who needed a little attention and understanding from a man who reached for him with sex on his mind, not a man who reached for him with his heart and soul and pushed every platonic boundary before drawing back to the safe side of heterosexuality.

Johnny Gage stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the doorjamb and giving him a come hither smile. This was a man, certainly, but a different man, with different selling points and attractions. This was no substitute for the straight, straight, forever and ever amen, straight ideal.

Satisfied, Ken left the car.

Reactions and Reviews

2013

I just finished reading your entire story, and I have to tell you, it was wonderful. When I was growing up, I was not only a big fan of Starsky and Hutch, but also of Emergency. I loved both shows, and the way you put them both together into a story was just so marvelous. For over a week now, I have looked forward to the time of night when everyone was asleep and I got to read some more of this story. You made every character come alive, but none more so than Starsky, Hutch, Johnny, and Kel. The story of their lives and love for each other was truly a work of art. I was sorry when I came to the end. I wanted it to never end.

I started reading this when it was first announced here and I have savored every word throughout the entire, what seems like forever, three weeks. This is a beautiful story about two men who finally get together. Why it took Starsky so long lends so much to the whole plot of the story. I really wished it hadn't ended.

KAM you did a beautiful job on this story and I give credit to all who was involved from the beginning to get this story to us to enjoy.

Thank you!

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this story. It was beautifully crafted and held my interest every every inch of the way. I know nothing of Emergency but I came to care about Johnny and Kel. I thought Starsky's line that he 'gets shot at more than the entire Kennedy clan' was great. I read it on my Kindle and thank you Flamingo and the site mods for making that possible.

Wow, what a thorough, well thought through story that answers a alot of questions left open in the S&H series. I'm amazed at the way the details were woven around the episodes, both S&H and Emergency! Combining the two series, following all the timelines, and interlocking them to make a masterfully crafted story. Just beautifully done! I think the m/m couplings were believable and intense in the scenes between them.

Spoiler alert:

I totally believed in the H/J pairing, and honestly, though I feel I'm being deceitful, I was sort of rallying in the background hoping Johnny and Hutch would find their way back to each other. I understood the initial break up, and I guess because I'm more attached to the character of Hutch, I wanted him to be happy. I knew he couldn't love Johnny the way he needed to early on, but I hoped maybe he'd find that with the lack of Starsky's love. Sigh. Not to say I didn't love the ending, because I did. I just wanted you to know how much you kept me in suspense in the middle and towards the end. Wonderful!

Oh, and I meant to mention the lovely artwork by Lorraine Brevig. She's always been a favorite of mine, and these were beautifully done!

2014

OMG! This story has been an obsession for me since I started it days ago!! RL kept getting in the way! The character detail is amazing. So much work and love went into this, obviously. Thank you so much! I so intensely enjoyed it. Other stories will pale by comparison - I may need a break in order not to judge others too too harshly :)

2016

I don't even know where to begin! This story has occupied my every available moment for about a week. I have been cursing RL, just dying to get back to the story. At times, like while driving or doing mundane necessary things I'd just think about the story, mulling over details of this beautiful piece. I'm telling you, I was an Emergency! fan and an S&H fan and I can't believe how masterfully you wove both of these shows together, being true to canon and yet giving us an inside look between the scenes. Your explanations for all that happened in canon is just... god, I don't even have the words to express how perfect.

I'm not normally a crossover reader, and I only mildly like heavy slash. But I trust you as an author. I love many of your stories, especially the Affirmation series. Plus, as I said, I loved Emergency! too.

From the first pages you had me hooked and I could think of nothing else for the better part of a week. I never wanted this story to end! It is brilliant and believable and different.

Thank you for this treasure!

2017

Okay, I have to say, right up front, I almost didn't continue reading this story because, in my head canon, Hutch wasn't gay until Starsky; and they didn't become lovers until after Gunther. If I start a story and discover the author has put either one of them in m/m relationships prior to finding each other, I quit reading. Here though, since I greatly admire your writing and love your plotting and dialog, the way your exquisite use of words draws such lovely mental images, I figured I was in safe hands and kept going. And I'm really glad I did! I haven't watched an Emergency episode since the series aired, and I've never read any stories in that fandom so my memory of specific Rampart scenes and references was cloudy, at best. But I was a Robert Fuller fan as long ago as 'Laramie' (does anyone remember it?) and your wonderful descriptions of Kel had all my lustufl memories re-surfacing after all these years.

I loved the depth of backstory you gave us about Starsky's childhood, his mother's skewed disapprobation, his father's love, his aunt's strength, courage and approval, all rang absolutely true! I was also glad to read a more gentle rendering of Hutch's mother than most other stories.

This is really a masterful work and will have to be read many times in order to savor all its intricacies. I'm already looking forward to those re-reads. Thank you, KAM, as well as everyone who helped make this story available to us 'out here.'

2019

Thank you for this amazing story! I've been into S/H for a few years now, but I hadn't read this one before because a long crossover with a show that I didn't know at all didn't sound appealing. I'm so happy I finally gave it a go when I stumbled upon it again: really, what could be better than discovering a long, new-to-me work by one of my favorite writers, especially one in which Hutch gets involved with another man - that's always a selling point for me! I really mourned the loss of Hutch/Johnny and wanted Starsky to get the hell out of there for a while - H/J was so good! But of course I'm glad Hutch and Johnny both got their separate happy endings (and became friendly neighbors).

As other reviewers here, I put my RL on hold for days until I had finished reading the story (though at the same time I never wanted it to end!). Even without knowing Emergency!, the way you've meshed the two shows together is awe-inspiring (I had never before given any thought to all the rescue operations omitted from S&H, lol), and I particularly enjoyed the way you gave new interpretations to many canon S&H scenes - there are now many episodes I'll view differently the next time I watch them. And how refreshing it was that here Hutch's S4 look is about him being proudly himself instead of "letting himself go", as it is often interpreted (I usually like to see the mustache go asap post-SR, but now I was glad it stayed).

Your story was such a thrill and joy to read! To think I almost missed on it because I wasn't familiar with the crossover fandom at first. Thank goodness for Mortmere's rec! *_* What a long, intense, satisfying read! How lovely to see our boys (and Johnny, and Kel too, in a way) go through such a deep journey of discovery and self-acceptance and OMG the things you do with canon! What have you done with that little, half-joking tidbit about Starsky remembering hiding in a closet as a child! *_* And Hutch's relationship with his mom! (Hutch's comment about his mom watching his movie never collated well for me with the general assumption of Hutch's having had a problematic/neglected childhood and your headcanon just makes *so much* sense!) *Everything* makes so much sense! Especially Hutch's change in season 4 regarding clothing and attitude, even him purchasing Belle and OMG his speech to Marianne!

Also, the way you made me *feel* Johnny and Hutch's heartbreak! And Starsky's complex web of emotions: feeling trapped and loving Hutch so much and hating to be hurting him! *_* The way all the threads finally find a resolution after the facts of Sweet Revenge and, boy, Starsky remembering the exact moment he fell in love with Hutch! So touching! And I love Hutch and Johnny together and just the way you got into Johnny's head and what we saw of Emergency! in the story, so fascinating! And the masterful way you meshed the two canons, OMG, I'll never be able to watch again Survival or SR without imagining Johnny's part in it!

You definitely enriched my view of S&H and I won't lie when I say this has definitely become one of my favorite fics in fandom. <3