Tunneltalk/Issue v.2 n.6
Tunneltalk is a Beauty and the Beast (TV) letterzine edited by Barbara Storey, Victoria Clark and Sharon Himmanen.
There were 17 issues.
This zine began after the letterzine Passages ended.
From the August 1991 issue: "This publication is intended as an outlet for fans; it will not be sent to either Witt-Thomas or Republic, or anyone else connected with the show, so don't be afraid to say your piece."
v.2 n.6
Tunneltalk v.2 n.6 was published in August 1991 and contains 44 pages; one fan's letter took up about a third of the space. This very subdued issue was the last one.
- the editor apologizes for the lateness of the issue and cites a broken copier and difficult challenges in real life, and suggests the possibility of this letterzine going bi-monthly
- there are many comments about the Terminator movies
v.2 n.6: Excerpts from the Letters
[Barbara S]: To all those who have expressed concern and support, my special friends — and you know who you are — I want to say thank you... but the words seem so inadequate. I am, well, growing stronger every day, and the light at the end of my own personal tunnel is all of you out there, and the "journey we create for each other" within B&TB fandom. Vincent and Catherine's dream survives because of that journey, and I'm glad and proud that TT has become a companion on the road for so many. Your caring and support ensure its survival as much as anything we do, and I look forward to continuing together.
[Sue K]:After a month of turmoil, fandom seems almost "hushed" now — everyone is waiting, regrouping, considering what they want for the present and future of B&TB. And, as with everything else in this fandom, we are all reaching very different conclusions. Is that surprising? Not to me, it isn't. One thing I am sure of: this fandom will never be united in its goals. Well, that's not quite true -- I think everyone wants "a movie." What fans won't unite on is what each person is willing to "give up" to get that hypothetical movie; what each fan requires to support an effort for such a movie; WHY each fan wants or "needs" such a movie. And it all goes back to what each of us loved about B&TB in the first place.
I loved Catherine Chandler. I loved Vincent, too, and above all, I loved their love for each other. In the role of Catherine, I love (and still love) Linda Hamilton. The inescapable "requirements" for "my" version of that hypothetical movie are these: Linda Hamilton as Catherine, and Catherine and Vincent reunited. Put simply, nothing else interests me. I don't, however, have the slightest expectation that everyone, or even MOST fans, will agree with me. I only ask that they respect and not belittle my choice, and understand why I won't fight to get "any movie."
[Sue K]:I do think it's true she doesn't understand fandom. I think she really CAN'T understand how people could be so attached to fictional characters. From her point of view, it's unhealthy to rely so heavily on the return of those characters. I can understand all that. I may wish she'd been a bit more diplomatic, but no, I wasn't offended by anything she said once I had a chance to think about it. Even there I can find reasons for her behavior — she's probably highly annoyed at the constant harping on B&TB when she's trying to promote her new movie; she views B&TB as the past, and wants to get on with her life; perhaps there's been some behind-the-scenes pressure we know NOTHING about, etc., etc. One friend even proposed a theory (and I think it has a lot behind it), that Linda, who throws herself into her roles, was still in her "Sarah Connor" mode! And on TV shows ifs so easy to make off-the-cuff remarks. But she's right in one sense—there are some truly obsessed people in this fandom who live for B&TB alone, to the point of becoming hostile and off balance if they see "their show" threatened, and I can see how it would be very hard for her to understand such people.
The thing is people have a hard time remembering is that for her, it was a SHOW, a JOB, not her entire life. She made the magic, but didn't experience it the way we did. How could she, after doing take after take of the same scenes, long grueling days, fights with Koslow? She KNEW it was "only acting." We can't hold her to the same standards. She could never regard it the way the fans do, even if she hadn't had bad experiences. I think people become far too proprietary of the actors, as if they BELONGED to us, and we expect them to return our devotion. That is such a mistaken attitude. These actors are ACTORS, not the characters they portray. They have other lives and things far more important to them than B&TB. I'm sure Ron Perlman would love to move on to some other big project and put Vincent behind him. Not that he didn't love the show — just that it was JUST A SHOW to him. A job. One he loved, but a job. Not his reason for being.
[snipped]
One or two of my friends take her words to fandom very personally. I don't. Linda doesn't know me — I'm part of a faceless mass. I'm realistic enough to know I would never be anything else. If my liking her depends on her doing what I want her to do, or acknowledging me personally, then I am being every unrealistic I'm living in a fantasy world. Unfortunately, many fans will take that attitude. Even many classic fans feel Linda "owes" us the movie. Why? She never signed a contract with fandom. It was she who fought for what WE (or most of us) wanted to see on the show. SHE wanted what WE wanted. She did her best. That's all we can ask of her. We have no right to expect anything else, as individual fans or as a group. That is my very strong belief.
Anyway, that brings us to the repercussions Linda's remarks will have on fandom, and on her fans. I am definitely a Linda Hamilton fan apart from B&TB. Frankly, I've been afraid of the backlash we'll (Linda's fans) be getting. Linda's career certainly won't suffer if a few hundred B&TB fans resent her, but I could see the attacks coming thick and fast from those angry with Linda and consequently with those who support her. Fortunately, so far it hasn't been as bad as I'd feared.
[Sue K]:One final word on recasting, from the point of view of an artist. While I know Linda isn't Catherine, Catherine MUST BE Linda for me, for one very simple reason. As an artist, I focus strongly on the visual aspects — I have to, in order to draw the character. Linda's face and mannerisms are literally BURNED into my internal vision of Catherine and cannot be separated. Ifs not a matter of confusing the two; ifs that Catherine has completely adopted Linda's persona, appearance and mannerisms in my mind. I do not think it would be possible to accept anyone else with one exception) in the role. I can't even begin to conceive of trying to draw Catherine any other way but by drawing Linda. Then there's also the fact that Linda made Catherine too much her own, in my opinion, to make recasting desirable or believable FORME. I know it's not so with others. And finally, being a Linda fan, I don't want to see anyone else in that. Catherine, as played uniquely by Linda, was always one of my major reasons for watching the show.
I'll admit one thing — IF they got Beth Toussaint (guess star on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION) for the role of Catherine (given that Linda would never do it), I might be able to deal with that — for the simple reason that I find her uncannily like Linda in mannerisms and appearance—even little habits. It would be a very poor second for me, but there's a tiny possibility it might work — for me. I just see the chances as being very, very small.
[Sue K]:Finally, in answer to general accusations appearing in various B&TB forums, let me state once and for all that the opinions above are my own; I do not pretend they are fandom's in general -- I do not try to browbeat or manipulate others into sharing my views. Nor do I allow others to do that to me. As a very good writer and friend, [Anita H], recently wrote in a LOC, "I have a mind of my own and am entirely capable of thinking for myself" — and I believe most fans are equally capable. I don't think they need to be continually told publicly in open letters who the "good" and "bad" guys are in fandom. It gets just a little boring, don't you think? By all means, let "the silent majority" make up their own minds!
[Sue K]:[Inez B], thank you for expressing your concerns about the incident at MediaWestCon. This incident is made doubly disturbing because the person, responsible for it has recently suggested that those who chose not to attend "South of Oz" were the ones most apt to cause trouble at conventions, and were thus better absent! That's a bit mind-boggling As one of those who chose not to attend SOZ because of my own personal convictions, I know that I have not been involved at any past con I have attended, in any of the types of "incidents" people such as myself might "supposedly' have perpetrated there — including one such as occurred at MediaWestCon. *sigh*
[Sue K]:[Gloria D], as we've recently said in personal letters, there was obviously a misunderstanding on my part in interpreting some of your statements, and I apologize for any pain this may have caused you. The subject at hand was one that I felt strongly about, but I obviously did not think clearly about the direction my words had taken.
[Sue K]]:I totally agree with Sharon Wells "Open letter" about recent efforts in a periodic B&TB publication to list what fans should and should not buy, read, or enjoy, and further tiresome pronouncements about how we, the lowly fans, have no right to criticize a product put out for our consumption. As I've said in an earlier issue of TT, the editorial and letters to which Sharon refers offended me equally.
[John William L]:Greetings everyone. I've enjoyed reading over the last few months the many well-thought-out and excellently written discussions of the various characters in Beauty and the Beast and their many human virtues and frailties. More and more it seems we are discovering that, for all its wonder and uniqueness, the Tunnel World is not as perfect as we once thought! This observation is not meant in a negative way, but a realisticone, which in my opinion only enhances and strengthens our show and its characters. We see that Vincent has deep emotional problems, Catherine is torn between two worlds,. Father is not the perfect parent, and evil exists in the form of Paracelsus, yet they each strive to cope and live each day the best way they know how. Sound familiar? The Tunnel World is indeed a haven from the world above, yet as long as it is peopled by human beings it will necessarily be reflective of human emotions and behavior, positive and negative.
[Sue R]:A movie may not be forthcoming this year or even next year. But that doesn't mean it won't eventually arrive and be everything we all hope it would be. But, if the movie doesn't come, that doesn't negate all of the wonderful things we've gotten from B&TB the series. The reasons we watched and the friends we've made as a result will not go away. And that's more than some people ever get out of life. I will not be devastated if there is no movie, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to it. And if it doesn't come, I still have zines, those that exist and those yet to come. And I will have my friends that this fandom has given me, and the possible new ones I could make as this fandom grows. And I hope it will grow. As syndication grows this year, I anticipate that fandom can too.
[Carol R]:When Linda Hamilton made her comments about not returning to Beauty and the Beast, it didn't surprise me, but it hurt, the way it was said. If you read between the lines, she might as well have said she doesn't need Beauty and the Beast anymore. She is a big star from being in Terminator 2. Does she remember what show made her a star? I've always liked Linda Hamilton, and this has hurt me deeply that she would make these statements. During the past three years so many negative things have happened to our show. How can this happen to something so beautiful? Did they have all these problems with Star Trek? If so, I have a lot of sympathy for the fans.
[Theresa P]:Though I'm not "in" the Star Trek fandom network, even I'm aware that William Shatner has always seemed to view that fandom with some degree of derision and/or humor; at best he seems to find it inexplicable. Still, it would be hard for me to imagine someone else playing Captain Kirk.
The point to that "story"? My view is — Don't confuse the actor with the role. There's no doubt about it, Ron Perlman's acceptance and involvement in the B&TB fan network has added a wonderful element to it, but would the character of Vincent be viewed differently by the fans if he, as an actor, had chosen not to involve himself in fandom? Perhaps fandom would be different, but the effect of the show? — No.
I know there are a lot of people who feel differently, but I personally don't care too much about the actors' lives off the set. To me, it's the skill and talent they bring to a role made wonderful by the creator and writers (and after that awful third season, you don't know how hard it is for me to say a kind, albeit fair, word about R. Koslow!).
[snipped]
Sarah Connor was a progression. In my mind, I could be wrong, there is so much more you can do in a movie than you can do in a TV series. I will not go in to too much detail with this. I know for a fact there will be a few comments made about this. Even though I felt my heart break at the comments made by Linda Hamilton, I will always have a love for her and will continue to see her in anything I can if it is possible. I will not think ill of her, even though her name is now being thrown around in the dirt and is being called a home-wrecker. I guess now Linda is in the big league. It will always take two to tango. Is anyone putting a label on James Cameron? Are they saying how horrible he is? Linda is a free agent, and nobody twisted his arm. (Even though she looks like she can.) I hope Linda will be in the B&TB movie if it is ever out. In my juvenile mind I hope it is the TV series Linda will have nothing to do with. There will only be one way to find out. When we get our movie.