TLC
You may be looking for the K/S zine awards, TLC Awards.
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | TLC |
| Publisher: | Amapola Press, In Person Press |
| Editor(s): | April Valentine |
| Date(s): | May 1992 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Starsky and Hutch |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
TLC is a 172-page gen and slash Starsky and Hutch anthology. The initials stand (as they usually do in English) for "Tender Loving Care", which is the zine's subtitle. Inside is the dedication, "To anyone in Starsky and Hutch fandom who has ever listed "Coffin" or "Shootout" among their favorite episodes."
The cover by Merle Decker, other art by J. Jones and SVE. (The editorial notes that "artwork is increasingly hard to come by.") Proofreading was by Nancy Kippax, MRK, Ellen Morris and MJB. Collating was by Betsy Ramsey, Barbara Presgrove, Marilyn Hartsell, Nancy Kippax and SVE. Art samples are included on Fanlore with the publisher's permission.
A Long Time in the Planning
Submissions were first requested for this zine in early 1987. From Who Do We Trust Times #7:
TLC, planned for publication in winter '87, is seeking submissions of fiction with hurt/comfort themes. Stories may involve physical or psychological h/c, show Starsky and Hutch working as cops, take them out of L.A., or explore "scenes we didn't see" from televised episodes. S&H and S/H premise stories both acceptable. (If interested in receiving only "&" portion of zine, indicate when sending SASE.) Deadline for stories is mid-October, Zebra Con 7.
A 1989 submission request from Tell Me Something I Don't Know! #14:
TLC: It stands for tender loving care, and that's the kind of fiction it will include. One partner caring for another, offering tenderness and love for the hurts, both physical and emotional, that life throws their way. S&H or S/H acceptable, just so the story has hurt/comfort - touching as a way of healing, of getting past barriers -- as its core. No publication date yet on this one; if you have an idea that you're thinking of working on, write and let's discuss it, as I'd like to have a balance between various facets of h/c included. Please include an appropriately sized SASE with all submissions and send to editor [April Valentine] at the above address.
From the Editorial
Tender Loving Care... also known as T.L.C. has always to be the main hook to Starsky and Hutch. It was 1976 and I had just learned of the term "hurt/comfort". And a show called "Starsky & Hutch" had just about the best hurt/comfort anyone could ever recall seeing. Never before did two actors pull out all the stops the way Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul did, allowing themselves such close and intimate contact, hugging, holding on for dear life. Their brand of caring was totally believable. And then there came the zines. First? ZEBRA THREE, edited by Lorraine Bartlett. That one contained a gem: "Mojave Crossing" by C.R Faddis, still held up today as the ruler against which all h/c stories are measured. Hurt/comfort took up a lot of space in those early SH zines, but by the time I came into this fandom in 1984, the theme had for some reason gotten a bad name. Hurt/comfort was sublimated slash, hurt/comfort was immature writing, hurt/comfort's been done... I heard it all. Yes, many wonderful stories don't contain a bit of hurt/comfort. Many wonderful stories explore other themes engendered by the characters of Starsky and Hutch. And if you want slash, you don't need hurt/comfort to get there. But I still missed those thigh grabs as Starsky writhed in pain, those tender words of Hutch's: "buddy. I'm here." Just as fourth season wasn't quite the same with episodes far divergent from "Coffin" and "Shootout" (as, I suppose. the actors and producers didn't want to repeat themselves) fan fiction still had an element missing, at least for this editor. So, in 1986. I decided the time had come for another SH hurt/comfort zine. It didn't take all these years for the stories to come together. believe me. They came in at a steady pace. But since Amapola Press has been busy publishing a couple of other zines in the meantime. it did take this long for TLC to be ready.
First, a word about the contents. Some of these stories are pure h/c, with the relationship depicted as strictly between two friends, i.e. they are non- (or pre) slash. Those stories include: First Jeopardy, Of the Fittest. Survival, Two of a Kind, White Night, Birds of a Feather-Prey Together, and Breath of Life. The remaining ones add slash to the hurt/comfort mix: Simone's Dream. Blondie's Bad Back, Rx, Black and Bruised, and My Dream is Your Fantasy. That's not to say that a continuing slash relationship is depicted by all of the above stories, just that the theme is present or shown explicitly. I've tried to select a stories that portray all types of h/c: wounds. illness. psychological, the whole gamut.
You've noticed the cover depicts a famous scene from Bloodbath. In keeping with that theme, two stories, the first and the last in the zine, are based on that episode. Some of the h/c ideas are tried and true, some a little different, some stories don't even have the h/c solve all the problems; there is definitely something here for everyone.
[...]
Hurt/comfort, whether slash or straight, is a beautiful theme. In Starsky & Hutch, when one partner hurts, the other feels the same anguish. When one is in need, the other is there. With that in mind, enjoy TLC.
Contents
- Simone’s Dream by Ellen Morris (slash) (Takes place immediately after "Bloodbath." Starsky and Hutch finally act on their feelings.) (1)
- First Jeopardy by April Valentine (gen) (While escorting a prisoner, Starsky and Hutch are in a small-plane crash.) (8)
- Blondie’s Bad Back by Belle Eyre (slash) (Hutch's back goes out.) (28)
- Of the Fittest by MRK (gen) (a "Survival" vignette) (35)
- Survival by Rachel Burns (gen) (a "Survival vignette written in an experimental style) (37)
- Two of a Kind by Theresa Kyle (illustrated by SVE) (gen) (an AU, Starsky and Hutch meet during the American Civil War) (50)
- Rx by MRK (slash) (a scene from "The Plague") (71)
- White Knight by Terri Beckett (gen) (73)
- Birds of a Feather Prey Together by Rachel Burns (gen) (After Doris commits suicide, Luke Huntley kidnaps Starsky for revenge.) (80)
- Black and Bruised by Rosemary C. (illustrated by J. Jones) (slash) (They do some evaluation after the episode, "Black and Blue.") (97)
- Breath of Life by April Valentine (illustrated by J. Jones) (gen) (Starsky is pinned under a slab of concrete during an earthquake, and there is some buddy breathing.) (129)
- My Dream is Your Fantasy by MRK (slash) (Hutch and Starsky are kidnapped by a motorcycle gang and have to fuck or die.) (143)
- Blood on the Badge, poem by Emily Elizabeth Rochon (gen) (172)
Sample Interior
Judy Jones
art for "Two of a Kind," artist is SVE
By 1992, desk-top publishing had made hand-drawn zine art increasingly very rare. This piece is by J. Jones for "Black and Bruised," an angsty tale taking place after the episode "Black and Blue": "Unconsciously, Starsky had been blaming his partner for the distance between them, noting only Hutch's withdrawal. Now Starsky found himself wondering what he might have done, or failed to do to initiate such a retreat. What act of his would have been bad enough to merit that amnesia stunt or any of the more bizarre games of recent memory?" [1]
Reactions and Reviews
See reactions and reviews for Black and Bruised.
[My Dream is Your Fantasy]: This story uses my favorite kink: the fuck-or-die scenario. Written well, it can be a hot premise. Poorly written, it is dreck and unrealistic. [MRK] has written the former with My Dream is Your Fantasy. The premise behind this story is that goons from Simon Marcus' cult (from the episode Satan's Witches) kidnap Hutch, later Starsky is caught also and the pair are forced into the fuck or die situation in retribution for the demise of their leader, Simon -- a Manson-like figure. [MRK] deals with the trauma and aftermath of this act in an emotional manner and it is not dismissed, as other fuck-or-die stories do. The only drawback is I felt the story ended too soon, I was expecting more of a resolution. But then, that could just be me. Otherwise, this story hits all my hot buttons. [2]
[zine]: TLC was a delight. A couple stories seemed quite familiar to me — were they possibly published somewhere else before? Or perhaps my imagination just ran away with me. Either way, it's a joy to read... [3]