To Tube or not to Bus... A Question for Monday

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

The lads live and work in London, and that's where almost all CI5 action takes place in the eps, right? So in that case, is it unrealistic to think that they might occasionally have to use the tube or bus to get back from an op?

I keep thinking of the end of Old Dog New Tricks, where Cowley apparently left the lads with no independent transport to get anywhere after the op - even if Bodie did have to take that suit back, and presumably re-claim his own clothes! - but I'm sure there are other eps where either the lads or other CI5 agents seem to be left standing somewhere in the city, when Cowley zooms off alone in the car that originally brought them all. Of course I can't quite think which eps just now... *g*

So... what do you think? Any ideas? Would it be a daft thing to put in a Prosfic, to have agents trying to figure out how they're getting home after an op because they've lost their original transport?

Comments

[squeeful.livejournal.com]

Would it be a daft thing to put in a Prosfic, to have agents trying to figure out how they're getting home after an op because they've lost their original transport?

I think it would be a brilliant thing, add a touch of realism, a bit of connection with the outside universe. So very mundane yet oh so necessary, like going shopping and doing chores. And if they can go to shops and dust, they can have to figure out how to get back from an op!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeah... well, I thought it'd be realistic (and I must have done so subconsciously, cos I realise now that I've written it in a few stories!) but the people who questioned it felt that Cowley wouldn't abandon valuable agents like that... I dunno though...

And I like stories where they have to do normal stuff too! I can never quite buy that they'd be provided with cleaners, or whatever!

[squeeful.livejournal.com]

the people who questioned it felt that Cowley wouldn't abandon valuable agents like that... I dunno though...

Pff, whyever not? They're big boys, they can handle the London Tube. It isn't going to eat them and Cowley doesn't coddle.

Normal stuff makes things better!

Omg sexy Capri icon!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

*g* Well, that's what I think... I think they have to deal with the normal stuff too - cos it's normal, and they're not superheroes, and that's what I like about them! (Although there's also "normal stuff" I can imagine them not bothering with - every now and then I read a fic where Doyle takes time to perm his hair, and I've got to admit, I really don't see it, not matter how pose-y he is!)

Isn't the icon fab! Courtesy of probodie, many moons ago... *g*

[crimson-37.livejournal.com]

Haahaa... presumably re-claim his own clothes!

I do hope they were left at the shop, or do I...
But somehow I would have thought that they were more than likely left in the back of the Cow's Rover. No wonder we see that suit again. ;)

Hmm... good question though. I do recall Bodie on numerous occasions grabbing for the old RT and getting someone to come and pick him up. Do you think they did it this time, or do you reckon after a few times of being dumped miles from home all the agents learnt to rely on each other in case it was them next to be stuck stranded?
I mean we see their reactions to being stuck on a bus in First Night, they're not very impressed, are they?
We see them jumping on Buses and tubes while trailing 'baddies' (for want of a better word, but I can't think of one.) But actually choosing those modes of transport, I'm really not sure. I mean they are very practical men... maybe they would.
And no, it would not be daft to see it in fic. If they're dumped somewhere they'll need to get home.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - I figured the shop, as collateral for getting the suit back! *g*

Yeah, Bodie has called for someone to pick him up, that's true - but that's when they're in the middle of an op really. I keep seeing them riding out to places in one car, especially when Cowley's involved, and then suddenly magically having to get somewhere else when Cowley's sped off again to a more important meeting. I mean surely they'd just get on the tube! And what about traffic? Surely sometimes it'd be easier to use public transport!

The First Night thing I always think is a bit different too - I mean they've been sent there are part of an op, and they don't really seem to see it as a useful thing to do - and I've gotta admit to a wtf? moment whenever I see it too! "Pouring agents onto buses"! In the hopes of recognising a house that's somewhere in London! Heee!

I guess the person who questioned it felt more that they wouldn't be dumped in the first place, and I was so sure that I'd actually seen it in canon (like in ODWNT), but more than just the once...

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

Would it be a daft thing to put in a Prosfic

No, I think it would be a perfectly reasonable thing to put in a fic. They might not like having to take the bus or tube, but sometimes needs must...

Of course, I suppose they could always hail a cab, but I could just imagine Cowley's face when he saw the expense chit! *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Needs definitely must... I guess it's a question of whether they'd ever need to. But they did in ODWNT! And Bodie's called for collection a few times, as crimson_37 said, but there must be times when no one's available, or when it'd just be quicker to get on the tube or whatever...

[rosie55.livejournal.com]

Sneaking in just for a mo!
I have read one fic quite recently which starts from just this point, where Cowley has abandoned them, though I honestly can't remember whether it was this ep or one of the others where Cowley does something similar. And they end up taking the tube, (which of course, Doyle is familiar with, having lived and worked in London for years) - much to Bodie's disgust at having to use public transport because they work out what Cowley would say if they tried to claim for a cab.
Can I remember which fic it was? Nah, 'course not! Hope somebody does.
Right, coffee finished, back to work!

[rosie55.livejournal.com]

Still can't remember the name of that other fic!
But isn't there also a scene in Jigsaw Puzzle, where Cowley has apparently abandoned B & D after the successful conclusion of events at the Chemist's hostage scene somewhere in deepest Surrey, (and after Doyle has punched Bodie's lights out, too!). Bodie's car had been impounded by the fuzz, I think and Doyle had driven there in Cowley's car which he had been driving Cowley in.
And then, just as they are wondering how they can get home, they find he has arranged a hire car, a Jag, I seem to remember, and an agent to chauffeur them home, which offer they decline and drive themselves. Amid dire warnings about not damaging the hire car!
So the abandoned agents scenario is definitely recognised and used! But don't let that stop you!

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

And Jackie Thomas in her excellent fic Keeper of Secrets at the Archive, has the thread of Doyle forgetting where he's parked his car.
"You haven't seen my car, have you?" He asked. "I had to get the tube."
"Not again, mate. I'm going to tie it to your wrist."
And then the observation at the end, Cowley POV, of Bodie intoning a list of place names the next morning at HQ and Doyle solemnly shaking his head!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I think that's something that the person who I was speaking with could go along with actually - the idea that Cowley would make the extra effort to send cars to fetch them, or hire them cars etc to make sure they get home. And in canon Bodie calls for someone to fetch him a couple of times. I guess I just can't see Cowley doing this routinely. I mean, after a big operation, when the squad is stretched a bit thin and he's rushing off to whatever emergency next takes his attention, surely he'd trust these competent, grown-up men and women to get themselves safely home by whatever means is most convenient?!

And actually I was asking because I realised that I'd had the agents abandoned and dealing with it a few times in my stories - clearly something subconscious going on there, but I can't for the life of me think what! - so I was wondering what canon there was for that, because I didn't think I was making it up as I went along... I don't think I am... *g*

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

Not daft at all. Even heroes have to use buses and trains now and then. Which reminds me of course of the bus scene in First Night - always cracks me up whenever I see it.

And as far as I know Doyle, Bodie will have to provide the small money for the tickets. Or will they get a free ride when they flash their IDs? Hmmm.... I see many possibilities here *EG*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I think... and they're not superheroes... and come to think of it, how would it look if the villains were more familiar with the underground and buses than they were - there'd be an easy way to lose a CI5 tail, just jump on the tube and confuse them!

Oooh - interesting question about their tickets! I wonder what actual police etc on a case do... presumably they have to pay - if nothing else they'd draw attention to themselves and/or blow their cover otherwise... Excellent question!

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

You do realise that you've got me chuckling now cos all I can think of is Bonehead and Foyle tearing around London by bus, clad only in their thongs and leather jackets...

*g*

[probodie.livejournal.com]

THE BENT COPPER'S BLACK WANGER!!! lOL

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Still not seen it properly, although I'm pretty sure it's sitting in my pile somewhere! Must watch it one of these days... If only to get probodie's jokes! *g*

[probodie.livejournal.com]

I think it would make a fic realistic because surely there *have* to have been times when they left their cars at HQ (or home), when Cowley picked them up and just dumped them at the end of the day/event/whatever.

I cant see the lads being dead chuffed about it - cue lots of moaning and groaning (no, not *that* kind of M&G, lol).

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

See, that's what I thought! I'm sure I've seen it in the eps, but can I think of when? Oh no... *headdesk* If only we'd had more Pros in the triv quiz this year, I might have been more geared up for this sort of question! *g*

[magenta-blue.livejournal.com]

Sneaking in also... I think it is totally plausible that they may have had to get a tube or bus back from an op, or even hailed a black cab, depending on where they are (central London mainly - you are very unlikely to get one/see one from zone 3 outwards!) and whether Cowley would have allowed the expense of course. Or if it is still work time, would it have been unreasonable to call in and ask for a lift from another agent? Perhaps if they are way out, but then again CI5 isn't huge and you'd imagine most agents are too busy to bus stranded colleagues... *g*

Also, being proxy Londoners, they may have hated public transport but would have def known their way about, it is just natural, and if you think of all the places they had lived, and Doyle's experience as a copper, they would have known their way about a lot! I bet they could have done the Knowledge with their eyes shut!!

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

I bet they could have done the Knowledge with their eyes shut!!

Hmmm, interesting thought...CI5 agents moonlighting as black cab drivers because of the piddling wages that Cowley pays them...

*g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Love it! *g*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

But they still had to rely on the London A-Z at times.

Many fics have then taking cabs home (at their own expense) after getting to drunk to drive somewhere, which seems plausible to me. So they probably wouldn't look at cabs with as much disdain as the Tube or a bus.

[magenta-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, so they do rely on the A-Z! Heh... although Cowley does seem to think that if he barks out 'Bagley Street, SW6' they'll know where he means :) I've lived in London all my life yet would be like ?? just with SW6, let alone finding Bagley Street!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Okay, my replies are not only very late, they're all tangled-up-looking now! I love that they use the A-Z to get around too! I think someone once said that bit (where the A-Z slides off, and Bodie picks it up and says "Do you know where you're going?") was them ad libbing. I have visions of whoever drove the Capri to set that morning using it, and forgetting to take it off the dashboard when they got out, cos they were late, cos they got lost, and there was everyone waiting for them, and the lads just slid in to do their shot, and... *g*

I must find out more about this Knowledge thing - how much detail it goes into and all... I've often been impressed by the way the lads can respond to 'Bagley Street, SW6' so quickly - especially when the SW6 is left off, as it sometimes is!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I think it was (is!) pretty standard over here to get a taxi home if you've been out drinking for the night - kind of an automatic thing, unless you just collapse in a corner somewhere! Very different to where I was in the US, where people had to take their own car if they were going out cos of the distances, and didn't think twice before driving home after five or six beers... a couple of friends and I took turns being designated driver on nights out at one point, and to D and my horror we realised that A counted this simply as driving us home afterwards - not limiting her drinking before she did it! We wangled another solution after that..!)

I guess I'd assume that the lads, living in the city, would look on the tube and buses as just another tool for them to use when necessary. It's just something that's there, and even if you don't like it (I mean, who wouldn't rather be driving around London in a Capri!) then it's there. And I wouldn't assume that Cowley thought they were too good for it, which was sort of the unspoken implication when this all came up originally...

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

At first I was thinking that Cowley would object to the time wasted in waiting for and riding on a bus or tube, but then I remembered what London traffic can be at times. Now when I watch episodes I'm going to pay attention to when/if they are stranded somewhere.

Your comments about cab taking in the US are very true. It can get quite expensive because of the distances. Leniency in the drink-driving laws may have been a factor in people like your friend's attitudes, i.e. so what if they get caught, at least in the past. Hopefully that is changing.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Not a daft thing at all. Be quite fun, actually, to have them stuck out in the wilds somewhere, scrambling for the right change, Doyle in the know about it all and enjoying Bodie's disdain for it, maybe.*g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - this is interesting too. Why do we assume that Bodie'd be all baffled by things like the tube, when he's been a city boy all his life (except for when he was abroad, presumably!)? Doyle's almost always the one who knows London (fair enough, cos he walked beats all over) but in fic Bodie's all disdainful, and a bit unknowledgable about it...

And ooh yeah, a fic not long after they've been partnered, maybe... *g*

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Not at all - I think it would be quite humorous.

I'm trying to remember stories where they use the Tube - there's one with an old lady, schoolkids and apples...

In 'First Night' I think their whingeing has more to do with the tedium of the situation than being on PT. And in a stranded scenario it's probably easier to see if someone can pick them up if they're way out in the sticks, but in the City????

Hmmm... would they have had passes?

This site (and associated links pages) tells you more than you're ever likely to want to know about the Tube, history, rolling stock and stations.
http://www.trainweb.org/tubeprune/

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

there's one with an old lady, schoolkids and apples

Oh, that sounds like an M Fae Glasgow story........

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Could be oranges instead of apples - I don't remember. It's not the Tallis one anyway...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes, I totally agree with you about the difference between being stranded out of town - no convenient and quick local transport - and being stranded in town, when I think even back then it was quicker to walk sometimes than to drive! And that it's the op rather than the buses that are getting to them in First Night... I just reckon they have somewhere much better that they should be... *g*

And thanks for the link, that is a useful one... There should be a transport-in-London-links page, come to think of it, for Hatstand's useful info section... *g*

And I'm all fascinated by the sound of this story now! Maybe it's time for an M.Fae Glasgow search... I'm looking forward to getting her all listed up in pl as well - ooh, maybe after work tonight, some pl-ing while it's all blustery outside... lovely! *g*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

Recently in RL my hubby thwarted a pickpocket on a crowded subway (not in London). The man actually had his hand in Mr. M's pocket, but Mr. M grabbed his wrist and wouldn't let go. I just had the mental image of one of the Lads doing the same! Hee!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh you'd have to be a bit brave to choose their pockets to pick, I reckon!

And well done Mr Metabolick! What did he do with him in the end? Give him a sound bollocking? Turn him over to the Subway cops? Set the crowd on him? ...*imagination runs riot*... although if it involves a new concrete patio at your place, I don't want to know... *g*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

He confessed a momentary urge to inflicting bodily harm but soon gave that up. He let the would-be thief go, and the man made a quick getaway off the train. The guy had 2 friends (all younger than Mr. M), and the crowd would have done nothing anyway. There were no Subway cops around either. Mind, this all happened in a couple of seconds' time. But it makes a good story!

Doyle wouldn't be a target because he can hardly get his own hands in his pockets, let alone a thief!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Now there's a coincidence, if you want to remind yourself of the atmosphere and flavour of the tube I've just reread an old favourite, End of the Line by Tallis.

http://www.oblique-publications.net/archives/bdictumii/end.pdf

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh I adore Tallis, I wish she'd written more! *puts on list for printing and reading tonight* Thank you!