#starsky and hutch

[foolishmortal]

there were two fantastic fan vids from Man from Uncle that I remember back when I was in the fandom (and yes I was in the fandom like 40 years later and it was still really fun!). both of them were Illya centered. One was set two Back in the USSR, and the other I believe was set to Illya Kuryakin Looked At Me covered by The Jennifers. (link)

Ok. Dumb question incoming, but I'd much have a 'conversation' than try to read fanlore or watch video essays or something because I want to hear individual people's contributions.

Why Star Trek?

Don't get me wrong - I like the franchise! I'm not super duper familiar with it, but I do enjoy the bits and pieces that I do know. But I am wondering why that in particular is hailed as the grandmother of all fandoms? Obviously people were fannish before Trek, but I don't think anyone can deny the impact that OG Trekkies had on fic, zines, and eventually on the internet.

I know that it's always been popular and well-liked, but it's not as if there was NO SUCH THING as popular culture/fan culture before that (I mean, come on, the term "parasocial" predates the first Star Trek episode by 10 years!) . Was it just a perfect mix of timing + popularity + etc? Is there something in particular about ST that "hit different" than other series at the time? Or is the fandom really really just that mighty and it's almost "luck" in a way? I guess I'm wondering what particular dominoes cascaded in a line in order for Star Trek to have the impact on fandom that it does today.

or am I wrong? were there just-as-big fandoms before and I simply overhype Trekkie power in my head / happen to see more talk of that than I do of other fandoms? It could definitely be a social circle bias thing.

Ugh. Asking OTNF why Star Trek is so important to fandom history feels very much like asking a Russian History major why War & Peace is so important to literature - hence why I warned you that it'd be a dumb question! But I am just so damn curious what sort of crack was in early ST fandom that made it SO widespread and SO strong.

Like, I guess the TLDR is: what was particularly 'different' about Star Trek, either as a fandom or as a franchise or both, that made it Theeeeee OG fandom, rather than something, like, i dunno, LOTR or the earliest versions of Marvel/DC comics or General Hospital or something else like that?

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I await the hordes of angry Man from U.N.C.L.E. fans eager to prove that they were first.

And, no, it wasn't that popular. Hence the aggressive Save Our Show campaign and explosion of fan culture when it ended after three seasons.

Part of the answer to your question is that there were like three things on TV at the time. What big fandoms? 'Parasocial' was about non-subculture people feeling warmly towards news anchors or hosts of variety shows or something, wasn't it?

LOTR got rediscovered in the 60s or 70s from what I hear, but science fiction and fantasy books were for fringe weirdoes. SFF was not mainstream for the most part. There are a bunch of History of Book SF Fandom things on Youtube, and you should consult them on the complex role of LOTR in that space. LOTR wasn't a mainstream thing until there were live action movies a billion years later.

The key about Star Trek is that it was a hit with the pre-existing book SF crowd. They were an organized subculture. Some of their favorite writers wrote episodes. Other shit on TV was for people who did not form subcultures in that way. Other shit for SF fans had an audience 1/10,00th the size.

MFU was insanely popular. Illya Kuryakin was the heartthrob of a certain era of girl and inspired many a Russian major. (Seriously, there are soooo many Russia-boos of a certain age who probably still have a poster of him somewhere.) The actor set a record for fanmail. The show may have more influence on fandom history than we think now, but it also didn't rerun the way Trek did, at least in some eras, and it didn't have sequel series in a franchise. I'm always finding 2015 movie fans shocked that there's a still extant and semi-active fandom—or even shocked that the movie is based on something.

Starsky & Hutch was also hugely important and is the moment slash fandom and "Media Fandom" really split from book SF fandom. As Trek fans moved on to buddy cops, they were into a completely mainstream show but in a non-mainstream way. Trek was an awkward bedfellow at SF cons, but S&H just didn't fit at all.

Of course, while Trek is the grandma of AO3 type fandom, don't forget that a shitton of modern fans who are doing "research" just look at the same few sources. Enterprising Women is great and all, but even other fans of the same stuff are like "Oh, that was just X's friends. Where's [thing] and [thing] and [thing]?" Ditto Textual Poachers and the other scant early sources that people think have academic weight.

While Trek would still be central, the picture of what was going on in the late 60s-early 80s would look a bit different if you just found a bunch of 70-something nerds and asked them than if you regurgitate other people's research, you know?

If you want an idea of what else was going on in SF fandom back in the day, check out Galactic Journey, where they roleplay that it's 55 years ago and review SF things "as they come out".

If you want to understand MFU, here's a vid of Illya:

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What say you, readers?

What has acafandom and fandom history and meta left out?

[mobius-m-mobius]

Happy Birthday Owen Wilson! ♡ (November 18th, 1968)

[coolthingsguyslike]

[theloopus]

gay 70s copaganda thesis is actually about the inherent homoeroticism of the western genre and the cultural image of the male cowboy it borrows from. or as Susan Sarandon once put it, "They got their guns out because they couldn't get their dicks out"

[starskytohutch]

I think what makes Starsky & Hutch so special is not only how they were able to tell the two’s story in the 70’s and still make it irrevocably queer, but also, that as young men of the time, both David and Paul were advocating for these characters and on a lowkey note becoming them at the same time. I mean these two took every single chance, as characters, to touch each other, deliver lines with double meaning, and even create what would’ve typically been and can be seen as boring textbook heterosexual plot lines and turn them into something with nuance. (Starsky VS Hutch to name a SINGLE example). There are certain episodes you watch or BTS stories you hear about, where it’s common for Paul and David to be incredibly angry and even uncooperative on set, and it always came down to directors and writers not taking their characters seriously enough. David and Paul were constantly pushing for the two to have a continuous, honest, and emotional story (wether that be platonic or romantic) their was an inssne push from the two to give these two male characters the intimacy men can be and should be allowed to show and have! I mean they even defy the creator who says their straight and denied their chemistry. I think some of it comes from the genuine love the two have for each other shinning through, I mean I really don’t think there was a day on set that either one of em went without a kiss. The Blooper reel is half made up of David and Paul smooching, very silly.

Once again, rambling over my bisexual cops. Very sorry yall 🥲

Rest in peace David “my opinion of the show is that it’s a love story between two men” Soul. You would have loved the scenes of male tenderness that play out in my head between you and your best friend. By the way thanks for taking literally every single available opportunity to gently stroke his face and/or look fondly annoyed by him. King.

[martitheevans]

Shows from the 60s/70s will always consist of the main characters going through the most insane, life-changing, traumatising experience and then having a shot of them all laughing together at the end and proceeding to never speak of it ever again

[wurtz-okurok]

*throws them like eminem in that one pic* starsky and hutch fandom, text posts be upon ye

[chemsexholmes]

[doesnotloveyou]

i love fandoms that are old/dead because then you have years to decades of dormant accounts and official promos to pore through looking for priceless artifacts and relics to take back to your trove, leaving your respects for creators and usernames long since forgotten

i love fandoms that are tiny and you and the twelve other ppl enjoying it with you are mostly on the same wavelength, or trying to be so no one gets pushed out of the group bc you need each other to keep the joy alive

i love fandoms that are too big for everyone to be familiar with the same things. the fictional universe is so expansive that you can wave at another fan online, but have no clue who their blorbo is or what part of the franchise they're from

[exuberantocean]

Shows I don't watch but vaguely follow via mutuals

Fireman 911 - I think there's two shows? Both very gay? And about 5 times a season someone is v. hurt, oh no!

The Man From Uncle - there's actually two men who are hot for each other but must do spy stuff. Does it count if it's been off the air for 50 years?

Untamed - ...I'm at a complete fucking loss here. It seems like the more gifs I see, the less I understand.

Starsky and Hutch - much like The Man from Uncle you got dark haired and blond partners that wanna shag only in the 70s now.

[leonardcohenofficial]

someday i will track actor crossover between all five of these shows

[postmodern-blues]

The casual intimacy of Starsk leaning on Hutch’s leg like this is staggering. PMG and David Soul thank you for your service. Receiving minimal direction and deciding to go LGBT with it,,, hell yeah

[mobius-m-mobius]

Happy Birthday Owen Wilson! ♡ (November 18th, 1968)

[coolthingsguyslike]

[meep-meep-richie]

Owen Wilson + headphones