V-Con 2014 Interview with galadriel13
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | V-Con 2014 Interview with galadriel13 |
| Interviewer: | list of questions for V-Con 2014 |
| Interviewee: | galadriel13 |
| Date(s): | October 17, 2014 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Starsky & Hutch |
| External Links: | V-con Early Bird Panel "Past of our Fandom", Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
In 2014, galadriel13 answered a series of questions for V-Con 2014. "V-Con" was a virtual con for fans who were unable to attend SHareCon in person.
Interviews in the Series
Several other fans also answered the questions for this virtual con. Some of their replies were very short. The fans with more lengthy comments are below:
- V-Con 2014 Interview with galadriel13 (the longest one)
- V-Con 2014 Interview with wightfaerie
- V-Con 2014 Interview with taass64
- V-Con 2014 Interview with nancys_soul
- V-Con 2014 Interview with samudee
The Questions
- When did you enter our fandom?
- What was remarkable about that time?
- Who was there to greet you?
- What is still there of those times today?
- Who is still there of those times today?
- Is there a better or worse about this?
Excerpts
When did you enter our fandom?I entered S&H fandom in 1986. I was 14 years old and I found the zine The Goliath.
The reason I was exposed to the fanzine world, was that my mother was/is a big Star Trek fan, and she'd discovered fanzines about 4 years prior to this. She handed me an ad-zine, which listed a proposed S&H fanzine novel, by a lady called Suzan Lovett. So I sent my American Dollars (after purchasing them from the post office for guilders) and some months later, the zine arrived.
Needless to say Suzan Lovett became one of my great heroes instantly. To this day, I consider her to be my most favorite fan-writer and artist. She is one of a kind. And we are lucky to have more one of a kinds in our fandom. Such talent, such diversity of thoughts and people. And such great spirit.
Who was there to greet you?Tabby, whom I already mentioned, was very welcoming and actively helped me out. She compiled a list of S/H zines in existence for me, which she wrote by hand on a small piece of paper. The late '80s was really a different day and age. I proceeded to contact other fans who were selling them and met a lot of fans that way.
A German lady helped me out by copying videotapes of the Sky airings of S&H for me. I treasured and played those tapes for half a decade, until it was re-aired on Dutch television in the early 1990s.
I heard about ZebraCon and put that on my list of to-dos sometime, for when I become really rich. But then a study opportunity took me to the US in 1995, so I added in an extra flight to Chicago so I could attend the Starsky and Hutch Mecca convention. It was fantastic. I met Suzan, my great hero, and talked to her a bit. I met fantastic other writers whose work I loved, and publishers whose work I admired and gratefully enjoyed, and lots of fans I'd been corresponding with for many years now.
Meeting the Big Name Fans that had previously only been names on a page followed by their fantastic work, was wonderful. And sharing the space with so many like minded people who loved the same guys I loved, is one of the things that only conventions can do for a fan. I shall never forget the S&H trivia Twister game. It ruled!
Who is still there of those times today?Over the decades it's been great to see the torch being passed on, regarding the prolific publishers, passing on to another group in the '90s, when SH was aired again on American television. Just as you think the fandom is truly dying (they always tell you it is, but it never really is), exposure will draw new people in.
When the DVDs came out in 2004, there was absolute turn-around, a revival, if you will.
A new generation took hold of our guys and they tell their own stories with new gusto and enthusiasm. There are are few great essays out there on how the newer generations make it their own (also check out K/S fandom, which is thriving in the digital world) and how they are different from the old guard of fans (and that that's okay).
My stance is, it isn't new. There always was an incredible diversity within our fandom. Our expressions of fanfic, art and vids, holding conventions. No two writers or vidders were ever alike. There was no 'right way to do it'. There were constantly surprises. Everything was always whatever the people who put their backs into it, made it to be. And some weird and wonderful things came out. Making this fandom very blessed with such love and talent!
The old zines (let's say from 1976-1986) were just as varied as the fanfiction that's posted online or printed in zines today. That's my view of it. We always were diverse. We were never boring.
Is there a better or worse about this?There is a GOOD about all this. All of it.
WE ARE STILL HERE.
That's a major, major achievement.
We never left. We are holding conventions. We are writing zines. We have competitions. We have a dedicated archive and good social media hubs. We even have an article in a newspaper every now and again. We have artwork as good as it ever was made by any of our best, and we have freedom to play and create and be silly.
I can't think of any part of our fandom that is worse than ever before. We are probably not as numerous as we were in 1980. Such numbers are fly-by-night fans anyway. You see them in any fandom when it's first on-air. It's the core of dedication and love that remains after the hype is over, those are the true fans. Some fandoms completely collapse and wither away.
I think the better-part of our modern fandom is, that we are less restricted to reach each other now. A letter across the Atlantic took 2 weeks when I started. And then the fan on the other side had to write back.
I joined the S&H APA at some point around 1990-ish. I think it came out 4 times a year and gosh that was laborious! And expensive. Hooray for LJ forums and other social media. I Internet!
Ordering a zine could take 6 months easily. Now our dear Flamingo is creating this community effort to put all old zine fanfiction on the archive. One press of the button, and it's on my e-reader. Can it get any better than this?
And no, in all those years I still haven't read all fanfiction out there. So that's great too – there's always a S/H story to read.
And last but not least: some of us even got to meet the guys over the years. I know it's total fan-pandering, but how awesome is that? Even though David was quite accessible in the UK to those who traveled to see his plays, Paul was hard to catch a real life glimpse of.
So we are still varied, we are still breathing, kicking and we still love the guys.