A Hello Tinged With Rabid Curiosity :-)
Jul. 14th, 2007 07:23 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
ex-darklock507.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ci5hqHey, all! How are you?
I am new to the list and just having a chance to look around. I come to Pros by way of The Circuit Archive, and I think I discovered the archive one day, a few years ago, while looking for new and interesting slash to read. *fans self* Found it in a big way! I spent *days* there. My involvement, so far, in The Professionals fandom has been soley through reading Pros slash at The Circuit Archive. (I've only seen a couple of actual episodes of The Professionals.)
So, I am very interested in what everyone is reading, as well as what you would recommend. And, overall, how did you find yourselves here and interested in The Professionals?
What do members consider Pros staples and must reads? What are your Pros experiences?
Oh! And, this one. Do you find a difference in writing styles due to different eras of writing in the fandom? (I'm not certain I know how to elaborate on that idea.) The Professionals is a fandom with some history, and I'm interested. I'm *really* interested in how your participation in this fandom has changed or developed over the years. :-D
(I've reposted some of this from a comment I made in the previous post by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
byslantedlight.)
I am new to the list and just having a chance to look around. I come to Pros by way of The Circuit Archive, and I think I discovered the archive one day, a few years ago, while looking for new and interesting slash to read. *fans self* Found it in a big way! I spent *days* there. My involvement, so far, in The Professionals fandom has been soley through reading Pros slash at The Circuit Archive. (I've only seen a couple of actual episodes of The Professionals.)
So, I am very interested in what everyone is reading, as well as what you would recommend. And, overall, how did you find yourselves here and interested in The Professionals?
What do members consider Pros staples and must reads? What are your Pros experiences?
Oh! And, this one. Do you find a difference in writing styles due to different eras of writing in the fandom? (I'm not certain I know how to elaborate on that idea.) The Professionals is a fandom with some history, and I'm interested. I'm *really* interested in how your participation in this fandom has changed or developed over the years. :-D
(I've reposted some of this from a comment I made in the previous post by
byslantedlight.)
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Date: 2007-07-15 02:43 am (UTC)Check the Files and Links area for a variety of background information, including zine publisher contacts and flyers, anthology zine contents, lists of stories by themes and pairings, episode transcripts, etc, and the current selection of long stories.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proslib/files/
Major fiction archives:
Circuit Archive
http://www.thecircuitarchive.com/
Hatstand
http://hatstand.slashcity.net/
Oblique
http://www.oblique-publications.net/
Home of Sebastian Slash
http://www.zeropanic.net/
Recommendations:
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=crack_van&keyword=The+Professionals+Fanfic+Recs&filter=all
or
http://tinyurl.com/y8o865
http://nell.ckrweb.net/#prosrecs
http://www.alijot.net/The_Professionals_Recs.htm
Discussion:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pros-Lit/
(Slash, emphasis on uninhibited story discussion)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProsStoryfinders/
When you can't remember where you read a story (slash and gen)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProsLanguage/
(A resource for fans of The Professionals who are interested in discussing
authentic language use and other background information in the context of
the show, late 70s to early 80s.)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheProfessionals_AngelFishFanFiction/
Emphasis on Doyle
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProsSlash/
(slash only, no gen or het)
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Date: 2007-07-15 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 03:02 am (UTC)Change in writing styles? Oh yes, definitely. I don't have the past in this fandom to witness it first-hand, but it's certainly there. There's a certain...looseness to some more recent works. Not bad, just different. More use of stream-of-consciousness. Pickier about contemporary language in older ones. Changes in views. A different feel.
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Date: 2007-07-15 05:43 am (UTC)I was asking because I've noticed the different writing/presentation - I don't know if 'styles' if even a term I should be using - over time. It's the same with mainstream fiction. Language has changed so much over such a short amount of time.
*g* Thank-you. It helps to get to know the fans of a certain fandom.
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Date: 2007-07-15 07:28 am (UTC)Aah, I think I get what you're saying. I'm a bit of a closet anthropologist/sociologist so I tend to look at things that way.
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Date: 2007-07-15 07:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 04:23 am (UTC)http://community.livejournal.com/newbieguide/20498.html#cutid1
and Palely Loitering and Hatstand both have 'zine listings:
http://www.palelyloitering.com/index.html
http://hatstand.slashcity.net/zineinfo/fanzines.html
Whoops - your questions!!!
I've been in Pros for about 3 years, although I watched some of the series in the 80's. The
slashfan writing hooked me *g*.Difference in writing styles? There's probably a whole discussion topic in that alone!
I was in a conversation about Pros fandom and writers a little while back and someone commented that current writers were in the 3rd wave of Pros - the first two being those who wrote while the series was still on air or shortly thereafter, and a whole bunch of folk who wrote some very good stories in the 90's. I think there is a difference between the 'waves', but it's hard to pinpoint, and there's always been good and not-so-good which kinda transcends the when! If I said that a lot of early circuit stories seemed to take their structure & style from romance novels, for example, it would also be possible to find plenty of writing that didn't. Also, perhaps in some people's writing from earlier (some of Jane's stories, for example) there's a lot of work that goes into justifying why/how these guys develop a sexual relationship that doesn't seem to receive the same emphasis now. There's a neat summary of that trend in a post here:
http://the-shoshanna.livejournal.com/131207.html
What else? Much less overt infantilising of Doyle, in particular, thankfully. There's still stuff that's unbearably soppy, IMHO, but that's just folks *g*.
I saw the "stream of consciousness" comment down the page, & I think I agree. Don't know if it's a fandom-wide trend, or just a few authors? Tied to the way we communicate now, lj, email, vs. typing, handwriting? Not sure.
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Date: 2007-07-15 05:55 am (UTC)This is what I've been looking for - the information about the different waves and the differences in writing between those waves. (I just didn't have the words to ask for it. Thank-you.) I've seen this in a couple of other fandoms. It's interesting to see how an authors writing changes between the waves, also.
I've just seen a new wave emerge in another fandom - not writing, but actual fandom, and it's startling at times to see the way those of us who have been around, and the new ones, act and react to one another.
I have seen, just recently, a steady trend toward stream of consciousness pieces, which... lol... I have my own streaming conscious, thanks. *ducks*
I'm very excited by all this, thanks. :-)
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Date: 2007-07-15 07:03 am (UTC)I probably should have been clearer that it was one person's interpretation of the fandom history - more a discussion point than anything. And as a relative newbie I don't know enough about who, and when, especially the middle years. It would be lovely to hear from older fen on this.
a steady trend toward stream of consciousness pieces
What would you consider an example? Because what I'm thinking of is maybe a less conventional structuring of dialogue and action. More mixing of what's happening (external/action/speech) with character reactions (thoughts/feelings).
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Date: 2007-07-15 07:49 pm (UTC)I couldn't give you a specific example, however, when I read something, I can note it. *g* I haven't read anything recently that would fit what I'm thinking, and I have a mind like a sieve. However, I agree regarding the less conventional structuring of dialog and action. I, personally, like action without a mixing of the characters thoughts and feelings. I like my thoughts and feelings as an interlude. Does that makes sense? I've noticed a blending of points of views, and more first person, or present tense. It's all interesting because it challenges what I was 'taught' to read. I have to throw out preconceived ideas, and change, to enjoy what *is* actually enjoyable. *snort* Sorry. I'm creating my own stream of consciousness. :-)
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Date: 2007-07-15 07:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 07:53 pm (UTC)Had you been involved in fandom before? Or is this your first 'obsession'? Do you have a fave story? Or, omg, episode! I should be finding recs' for episodes. I'll want to watch all of them, but I like to know about them first. Being spoiled 'helps' my viewing pleasure. :-D
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Date: 2007-07-15 08:35 pm (UTC)Hunter Hunted
Purging of CI5
Hiding to Nothing
Weekend in the Country
Discovered in a Graveyard
And don't forget to check the fan vids a the circuit archive.
Oh, and don't forget to go here:
http://richlabonte.net/tvvote/nominations.html
and vote for the lads every hour.
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Date: 2007-07-15 09:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 07:48 am (UTC)So, I am very interested in what everyone is reading, as well as what you would recommend. And, overall, how did you find yourselves here and interested in The Professionals?
My route to Pros is that I watched and loved it back in the 70s /80s, but was more a Starsky and Hutch gal at the time. Forgot about them, then fell into the Starsky and Hutch fandom online a couple of years ago, and got pimped here by my S/H beta Izzie, who was a godsend and gave me lots of recs, opinions to get me started. Got the DVDs last year and never looked back!
As for staples: HG (Cd/zines), Kate McLean (Zines), Ellis Ward, Pamela Rose, Sebastian, Alexandra, Angelfish, Slantedlight, PRZed and PFL immediately come to my mind.
As for individual fic recs, scroll thru here,
Happy reading..!!
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Date: 2007-07-15 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 12:16 pm (UTC)I hope you get a chance to see more eps, the fanfic is great, but you can get a very skewed impression of the lads if you don't have canon-them to remind you that (for example) Doyle is not a fainting flower!
Fic to read... the recs here at
I adore alot of the Prosfic that was published by Oblique (http://www.oblique-publications.net/oblique.html), especially M.Fae Glasgow. Lots of people say she's dark, but she's written alot that isn't dark, and I also think that dark and gritty is what Pros is in fact, so I like almost everything she's written...
Apart from many of the authors already mentioned, I especially like Helen Raven (lots of AUs), Courtney Grey, Kitty Fisher, Castalia, Elizabeth O'Shea (Voice-Over is still my favourite Prosfic of all time), Ellis Ward, Rhiannon, Elizabeth Holden, Tallis, The Hag... Oh, Miriam Heddy's The Joy of Camping... It's no good, I have to stop here. Made the mistake of looking down a list of authors so I didn't forget anyone, and that made me go "Oh, but what about..." over and over again!
Oh, and a couple of people have recced Pros at
And I'm definitely finding it interesting seeing the way stories have developed over the years, there seem to be definite "phases" (for want of a better word) when authors were more likely to highlight the fact of coming out, or the fear of being discovered, or to use the idea of rape in a positive fantasy-type manner - "ripe for rape" being a compliment in some stories, for example. And there are definitely loads of "modernisms" in some more recent fic, not just in the language used, but in the lads' attitudes to things... "runs like a girl" was not something the lads would have thought back then! And then you get all tangled in making it historically accurate, and making the story accessible to current readers, so...
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Date: 2007-07-15 08:18 pm (UTC)Phases! That's a good word, too. I find the way 'current' history and social norms affect, or are infused, in our writing. When one in the 2000's tries to write as if they were in the 70's, can they make it work? Everything about that piece would have to be researched. The sentence structure, grammar, construction, not to mention society as it was then, words that were in vogue, attitudes that were in vogue, in that particular era *and* area.
Thank-you for all the lovely author recs, and links. I can see that I am going to be living Pros for 'at least' a couple of months.
I, seriously, had I known of fandom, would have been involved in Starsky & Hutch slash from the get go. Not to mention Kirk/Spock. I just had no names for what I was feeling/wanting. I feel a bit cheated that I missed out on Pros when it was new. I'll make up for it. :-P
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Date: 2007-07-15 01:26 pm (UTC)Met some wonderful folks in Pros so far. Most people are kind of new blood. +g+
I am not an adventurous reader (way too squicky), so I mainly read on recs from other people who know my tastes. I will tentatively try a new story but only after reading the end. Dislike darkfic immensely. Ruins my day. Enough of that in RL for me. If I want the death and destruction, I'll watch the nightly news. I love mushy stuff, i.e., a good romance, but only behind closed doors. Can't take the lads being all unprofessional whilst working.
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Date: 2007-07-15 08:30 pm (UTC)I can't do darkfic either, though that's what I call my own work. Heeheh. I like long plot driven first times full of a bit of angst and a lot of love... action/adventure is a plus, too. If there is going to be some hurt there should be a lot of comfort. *g* I keep saying what I like and won't read, but really, I do read a lot of fic for the quality of the writing. And, I am with you on 'recs'. I adore people who make recommendations.
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Date: 2007-07-15 02:27 pm (UTC)My introduction to slash took place in the mid 1970s, so I guess that makes me a bit of a dinosaur. My best friends back then were an old Smith-Corona typewriter and a bottle of liquid paper. The stories I submitted passed back and forth though the very aptly named snail mail, each revision gathering more and more scotch-taped and stapled bits of paper – till the original page scarcely showed though at all. :)
I started out as a Kirk/Spock fan, and I quickly found a home with a group of like-minded people at Canadian Contingent Press. After producing 4-5 Star Trek zines, our fandom interests broadened and the zines became multi-fandom in nature. I drifted into writing Starsky & Hutch. One of the editors at CCP was a British girl and she talked non-stop about these two wonderful guys named Bodie and Doyle. A friend in Britain recorded tapes of the show and sent them to her (it wasn't available in Canada). She copied the copies and sent them on to me. It was love at first sight. In spite of the static. In spite of the zigzag lines.
My first B/D story, "Tricks of the Trade" (http://melanieathene.livejournal.com/135881.html#cutid1), appeared in Poems, Prayers & Promises in January 1986. "Render unto Caesar" followed in Mobile Ghettos II, Feb. 1987. After a parting of the ways with my British friend at CCP, a final story "Survival" (http://melanieathene.livejournal.com/34430.html#cutid1) appeared in an American zine, No Holds Barred 6, in 1994. And then I quietly faded away.
Enter the internet era. Much to my surprise I learned that The Professionals were still very much alive in the hearts of their old fans – and, what's more, a whole new generation of fans was carrying on the tradition. I found the Circuit Archive and lost myself to it's wealth of stories, some very familiar to me, others exciting and new. What can I say? I fell in love with Bodie and Doyle all over again. To the point where I have once again discovered that there is a story in me that I must write. (ie, a WIP called "My Favourite Work of Art" (http://melanieathene.livejournal.com/161739.html#cutid1)) It will be interesting to see if anyone notices a difference in my writing style after all these years. Assuming anyone remembers the old and reads the new, that is. :)
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Date: 2007-07-15 08:38 pm (UTC)Thank-you for the links to your stories. I am definitely going to have a read. I'd like to see the differences, if any, in writing styles.
So much treasure. I'm boggling. :-) And, lining things up for a good long read this evening. Whoo!
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Date: 2007-07-16 12:49 am (UTC)LOL! Good old Kirk and Spock. They sure opened a lot of eyes to the possibility of slash, didn't they?
Hope you enjoy my stories. I've been following up some of the links other people have given you, so we both should have a good evening of reading.
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Date: 2007-07-16 12:57 am (UTC)LOL... I am heaped in Bodie/Doyle wealth. What a great snuggle!
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Date: 2007-07-15 03:50 pm (UTC)I feel quite envious of you being new to Pros! There's so much wonderful fic out there that you're going to be spoilt for choice!
I know you've had lots of recs, but I don't think anyone's mentioned the Proslib CD (apologies if I've missed it). Definitely the best fiver I've ever spent! Oh, and I have to put a quick plug in here for the_safehouse too
http://community.livejournal.com/the_safehouse/profile
Above all, watch as many of the eps as you can lay your hands on! Wonderful fic notwithstanding, there's nothing like seeing the lads in the flesh... and what flesh...
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Date: 2007-07-15 08:46 pm (UTC)Oh, wait... this sounds familiar. The Proslib CD. Now where have I heard of that before - um, aside from this thread? *g* I have this sense of deja-vu. This is a definite must.
Thanks for the community rec. I've got it bookmarked to take a closer look.
After chatting here, owning the DVDs has definitely moved up on my list of must haves. Oy... my must have list is growing! :-)
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Date: 2007-07-15 04:15 pm (UTC)http://www.mediamax.com/ancasta/Hosted
While you're there, watch all of hers. They're wonderful. There are also wonderful songvids on the circuit. I love songvids.
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Date: 2007-07-15 08:53 pm (UTC)Pros vids
Date: 2007-07-16 11:07 am (UTC)Circuit Archive - Vid page:
http://www.thecircuitarchive.com/tca/vids.php
Perhaps my favorite Pros vid of all time is "A Fire is Burning" by the Media Cannibals. Love Oysterband, the lyrics are meant for Pros, and the editing is great, especially when you realize it was first vidded using VCRs. I'm so delighted that
Not all Pros vidders who are online have their vids hosted at the Circuit Archive (e.g. Morgan Dawn, Rhianne, Nell Howell), so be sure to check out the Hatstand Archive's Pros links to Pros vidders and the vid list. The vid list is an amazing resource, listing all known Pros vids by title and vidder. Pen does a great job keeping it updated, as she does with all her lists.
The Hatstand Archive - links to Pros vidders on front page
http://hatstand.slashcity.net/
Hatstand Archive - Pros Vid list
http://hatstand.slashcity.net//vids.html
Mary Van Deusen, an early and prolific VCR vidder, is engaged in an ongoing project of remastering and revising her early vids. She's also creating new vids at an amazing rate. Only 16 of her 28 Pros vids are up at the Circuit Archive, so do check out Mary's vid website. She's also been putting up some super-high quality versions (sizes are huge, ranging 100-300 MB) of vids that have been available for a while. Her site can be overwhelming, as she's made over 400 vids in the last twenty odd years, but it's a treasure trove if you like vids. Not all vids are online at one time, but a large percentage are - and Mary is very, very responsive to requests to put specific vids online.
Many other older Pros vids are not available online, never having been digitized or remastered. It can be quite frustrating trying to track down old vid tapes, but there are some great early vids. Definitely snap up any Media Cannibals' tapes, DJ Driscoll's tapes, or Cybel Harper's tapes. DJ Driscoll is working to remaster her vids, so I've high hopes that they will eventually be available in digital format.
Deb Ramsey has been known to make copies of her four Pros vids available on disk if you ask nicely, as has Zoe Rayne AKA Dyevka. *g* TD's vids are available on the Proslib CD, as are some others.
Regarding Ancasta's vid "Reasons" - sorry to ask the obvious, but did you left click on the green arrow to the immediate left of the vid name? That should bring up a query box from your own system asking if you want to open, save, or cancel the download. Just save it to your computer and then you can rewatch it as often as you like - and it's a vid that you'll want to rewatch. *g* Clicking on the vid name itself will stream the vid, but streaming is going to be problematic if you have a slow or unstable connection. I'm on dial-up so didn't want to spend an hour downloading the vid again as I've downloaded it successfully in the past. However, I did test download a smaller file and had no problems.
If you still can't get it to download, email Ancasta. She's very good about working things to get her vids to interested viewers.
Enjoy the vids! Pros has some fantastic vids and vidders.
Re: Pros vids
Date: 2007-07-22 05:03 am (UTC)Thank you *so* much for all the in depth information and history, and all the links. It's amazing! I am having a ball. :-D
I'm still trying to access Ancasta's vids. She mentioned working on them, but I was just over there and I still can't accomplish anything. I'm going back over to double check that I've tried what you've mentioned, then I'll touch bases with her.
First, I'm going to watch 'A Fire Is Burning'. :-)
Y'all are awesome.
Re: Pros vids
Date: 2007-07-22 08:30 am (UTC)I just realized that I hadn't given the link to Mary Van Deusen's website, as I thought it was linked from the Circuit Archive page. But the archive link only goes to the main public site. MVD has two site: a public site that is indexable by search engines, but has only a few vids and then her fan site which isn't linked to search engines and has all her vids in all the fandoms and a ton of other fannish links.
MVD's fan site URL - page listing any new vids and the most recently available older vids for download, and links to all downloadable vids in the various fandom pages are near the bottom of the page. This page changes often - sometimes as frequently as every day, so keep checking back.
http://www.iment.com/maida/keepthissecret/songvids/index.htm
MVD's Pros Vid page:
http://www.iment.com/maida/keepthissecret/songvids/prosong.htm
MVD's fan site main page - lots of info re fannish vidding in general and Mary's work in particular:
http://www.iment.com/maida/keepthissecret/songvids/songvids.htm
And if you like Mary's vids, I'd strongly suggest that you send off for the DVD versions as there's nothing better than seeing the vids on a larger screen.
Tricia's very good about getting the vids to folks quickly, and the DVDs are available at cost.
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Date: 2007-07-16 11:45 pm (UTC)No, you're not doing anything wrong. It's Mediamax, which I hate with the white hot passion of a thousand suns.
Hello. :-) Welcome to Pros fandom.
I'm very happy you'd like to check out my vid. May I suggest this link:
http://profile.imeem.com/h9_Tga/video/gamiRBAE/reasons/
Imeem does odd things to vids. It sometimes seems to drop frames and has completely mucked up the intro to Under Pressure, which I also have stored on the site. However, you should at least be able to get the gist this way. As soon as I move (in less than two weeks!), I'll be putting up a website and pulling all my stuff from Mediamax. So sorry for the inconvenience.
Please know we're happy to have you. :-D
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Date: 2007-07-17 12:04 am (UTC)Thank-you for the welcome, and very much for the links. My day just got shinier. ;-)
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Date: 2007-07-17 12:34 am (UTC)You should know--if I can get Mediamax to get their act together--I have uploaded about five or six episodes that you are welcome to download and either watch on your computer or burn to DVD. I did this for another newbie about six months ago and never took down the episodes from my online space. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll give you a heads-up when they're available.
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Date: 2007-07-17 12:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 01:09 am (UTC)I have uploaded the following episodes. They're a mix--some are ones I thought were a good introduction to the fandom; a few the newbie requested:
Discovered in a Graveyard (arguably the most famous H/C ep of the series), Blind Run (I love this one because it's Bodie and Doyle against the world), Hunter Hunted (See Ray in peril. See Bodie be the protective partner), Man Without a Past (If you're wondering why so much fic features Doyle suffering, this ep is probably the answer. Overall, =this= is my favorite Ray Doyle--and not just for the way he handles pain. *g*), Old Dog With New Tricks (the first ep filmed), Private Madness Public Danger (first ep aired).
Other than these, I would recommend tracking down The Purging of CI5, First Night, and Stakeout. All are a lot of fun.
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Date: 2007-07-17 01:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 01:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 01:24 am (UTC)http://www.mediamax.com/ancasta/Hosted
and was able to right click and download a small graphics file without any problem.
Please know that not all the video files are Pros. I used to vid in Enterprise, so Superman, Human, I'll Find a Way and Driving with the Brakes on are all Tucker vids (w/some T'Pol thrown in for good measure). They're also the vids I cut my teeth on and are not as polished as I would like. Caveat aside, you're welcome to whatever is there. The episode files are large, even with broadband access, so they'll take awhile. Good luck!
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Date: 2007-07-17 01:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 01:34 am (UTC)Sorry.
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Date: 2007-07-17 01:37 am (UTC)I am all that is patient. *fidgets* ;-P
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Date: 2007-07-17 01:46 am (UTC)And to think...I pay these people...