Thief Takers
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Thief Takers |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Ted Childs |
| Date(s): | 1995–1997 |
| Medium: | Television |
| Country of Origin: | UK |
| External Links: | Wikipedia:Thief Takers |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Thief Takers was a UK police drama that aired for 3 series in the mid-nineties. It featured a large and changing ensemble cast of officers in the Flying Squad, the division of the Metropolitan Police who investigate armed robbery. The show centred on Bob "Bingo" Tate (played by Brendan Coyle), a Jack the Lad type, a bit of a womanizer and risk-taker who had a problem with alcohol and couldn't keep a relationship together—in other words, a typical cop show protagonist.
Fannish Interest
In 1996, the second series episode "Nasty Boys" aired and a show that had some viewers but no noticeable fandom became an instant, if small, slash fandom for the pairing of Bob Tate/Paul Valera. In the episode Douglas Henshall guest starred as Paul Valera, a gay getaway driver for a gang of thieves who becomes a police informant. The police decided to infiltrate this gang by having Bob Tate pose as Valera's boyfriend, both to keep an eye on him as an informant and to protect him from the gang leader who has a kind of Svengali-like hold over Valera.
The episode portrays Valera with a great deal of respect and doesn't fall back on too many gay stereotypes, marking it out as a rarity on television at the time. The episode reads like any Undercover in a Gay Bar fanfic. There's the scene in a gay bar, where Bob Tate decides his machismo can best be served by not showing any discomfort. There's scenes of Tate and Valera growing closer as Valera reveals his past with the gang leader and as an RAF officer, which leads inevitably to a shot of Paul in uniform.[1] There's also the Hurt/Comfort aspects to the story, where Tate has to protect Valera from the gang leader, and help him deal with his fear of getting caught and with his own feelings that start to conflict with his job.
Fanworks
A smattering of fanfic has been written for the show. Some focused on filling in the missing scene where Tate stays in Valera's apartment (which of course only has one bed and a very small sofa), or the scene where Valera shows up at Tate's apartment afraid for his life. Others picked up at the end of the episode and imagined Tate and Valera in a longer term relationship. Valera is wounded at the end of the episode, so the potential is there for lots of h/c mixed in with the happily ever after. Some of the fanworks were hosted on the Britslash archive and on WWOMB, although the new WWOMB page for the fandom is empty.[2]
Example Fanworks
- K9's series, A Debt to be Paid is probably the best known work for the pairing that is still around.
- Stacy LA Stronach wrote Don't Make Me Dream which is now at the AO3.
- Grey wrote Plan B
The Britslash archive hosted those three stories as well as one other.
- Thief Takers Index (via Wayback archive)
- Confusion by Elanor (via wayback archive)
References
- ^ Douglas Henshall's website page devoted to the episode, accessed April 23, 2011
- ^ Thief Takers page on WWOMB, accessed April 23, 2011