Beyond the Roundels

Skipping about a bit - I've been so tired over the last week or so and where I've had any energy I've tried to put it into my chocolateboxcomm assignment.

Challenge #10: In your own space, talk About A Creator/Someone Who Inspired You.

I rarely know what to say for this one - because it's fannish I think of fanwork creators, and that always seems too difficult. We are many and so many different interactions have inspired me over the years. But auroracloud talked about some of the pro SFF authors who have meant so much to her in being ill. And I thought, there is one creator who's helped me through my illness and inspired me to write quite a few things in the way I have, when I've been able to, but he's an invisible person I know very little about. (I might not like him at all, who knows? Maybe it's better this way.)

Anyway, as plenty of you will know, I have ME/CFS and am home chronically ill and wound up watching a lot of very old TV and among it, the work of writer, script-editor and producer Michael Chapman. I first came across him in Special Branch (1968). (His episode wasn't a standout, but he had written a housewife character with an unexpected side-stepping of stereotyping and sexism in context, and so, I took note of his name, but I didn't know it'd ever be of any more significance.)

However, he also created and script-edited Enemy at the Door, was responsible for the last three seasons of Public Eye, and Mr Palfrey of Westminster. The things that he produced rather than script-edited also show his influence - the importance of small things, quiet continuity and character growth, a sense of compassion and the complexity of humanity in a very understated way, plus impressive historical accuracy in EatD. I've loved a lot of things, but those three touched me probably more than all the rest, and the common link is Michael Chapman. Sometimes you find the right story or creator for the right time, and that was mine.

His individual episodes aren't always my favourites (although some are, especially his S1-2 bridging episodes in EatD, and in Mr Palfrey, where two in particular are just really beautiful), some are a bit dull, even, but while there are lots of things I'd like to see released or found from old TV, Michael Chapman's other TV series that he produced and/or scripted-edited are at the top of my list. I can't imagine I'd be disappointed, because he hasn't let me down yet, from 1960s The Protectors and Undermind to Mr Palfrey. I suppose I'll have to watch his work on The Bill eventually instead (look, there's a lot of The Bill, not much of it edited by him, and I'm dangerously completist, so...), as I'm assured it's also good and he won a much-deserved BAFTA for it.

He's probably therefore entirely to blame for weird origfic canon I use for Runaway Tales & now rainbowfic, because it started out as a Fake 1970s TV show (that was totally script-edited by Michael Chapman in my head). (The Edward/Julia AUs aren't his fault, though. Those are definitely mine. ;-p)

Some quotes, although, as I've said, it's often his overarching influence that's his main strength.

From Mr Palfrey:

On spying: "Our country right or wrong. We leave small matters such as crises of conscience, fastidiousness over the truth to traitors." And: "Who will remember us in a hundred years' time?"

"... a man who restores violins is arguably of more use to mankind than an Air Vice Marshall."


From Public Eye:

Frank: "You can't erase someone on a technicality."
Lawyer: "You're a humanist, Mr Marker."


From Enemy at the Door:

Major Richter: "Would you be happier with a more conventional attitude of hostility, then?"
Olive Martel: "In a way, yes. It would be less confusing. Small kindnesses tend to cloud the issue."
Richter: "Which is what?"
Olive: "That we are at war, and you and I are enemies."
Richter: "And ordinary humanity has no place in it?"
Olive: "As I say, it confuses."

"War must be fought, even if it's only in the mind. You cannot win if you do not fight... but you cannot fight if you do not survive."


Also, his description, in an interview, of The Protectors* as being "about three level-headed people who try to prevent crime from happening." (♥)


* Not that Protectors. Or the other one. The one I'm the only one who's heard of, except liadt because I lent her the disc with John Carson and his hat. Because it's about three level-headed people trying to prevent crime.

1. The Obscure & British Commentfest continues! \o/ It is my birthday weekend now, so I shall be pimping again, at least a little, to see if I can poke it into some further weekend action (and then I promise I shall at least stop pimping). It's going nicely and we have a whole bunch of fills (including Spike from Buffy paying a visit to Nouvion and Steel getting sold suits from Mr Humphreys, just for starters).

Thanks to everyone who has helped promote it! It really does make a difference. I also have some rebloggable Tumblr posts, if anyone wants to give it a shout over there. (Most of the time when I complain about Tumblr, that's just me, because I was clearly a person made for LJ and therefore not Tumblr material, but you do realise when trying to promote something multi-fandom like this where the tag-tracking just isn't going to help much, that you have nowhere to go and are totally reliant on reblogs. If I'm missing some major fandom newsletter-type submission blog, let me know.) Anyway, please don't feel obliged, despite my over-thinking stuff, but if you are willing and able, the posts are here, here, here and here. Thank you!


1a. A side-effect of the Commentfest and LJ's relative quietness is that I get temporarily shunted to top of the day's LJs. (And, yes, such power! It puts me up above the gods...! etc. etc. And then I crash straight back into my usual obscurity.)

Anyway, the point of this is that LJ has a button you can press to automatically friend the top 15 journals, so I get random friending during the fest. If you have friended me over the last week and you did it on purpose and aren't a bot, please do comment to this post and wave at me, and I'll friend you back. (I just don't want to friend people who wanted someone popular and interesting! It would be embarrasing all round.)


2. Not entirely about the fest, but definitely Obscure & British - I have been writing some things! Here is an NYR fic, two fills for the fest, and a belated Trope Bingo effort, which can all be found over at AO3 (and the fills via the Masterpost, too, of course):


For the commentfest, for Liadt:

Congratulations & Celebrations (298 words) by lost_spook
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Adam Adamant Lives!
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Adam Adamant/Georgina Jones
Characters: Adam Llewellyn De Vere Adamant, Georgina Jones
Additional Tags: Ficlet, Humor, Obscure and British Commentfest
Summary: Adam and Georgie celebrate their anniversary in a way that's sure to become an annual tradition for them...

For the commentfest, for Van:

Rumours of Blake (947 words) by lost_spook
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Blake's 7
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Vila Restal, Orac (Blake's 7), Kerr Avon, Dayna Mellanby, Cally (Blake's 7), Del Tarrant
Additional Tags: Mentions of Blake, mentions of various relationships, Ficlet, Humor, Work Contains Fan(s) or Fandom(s), Season/Series 03, Obscure and British Commentfest
Summary: The Liberator Crew discovers that some people have been writing fiction about their favourites rebels, and that rumours of Blake seem to have been greatly exaggerated. (S3)


A Sandbaggers/Mr Palfrey crossover for Trope Bingo square "Trust and Vows":

One Good Turn (1212 words) by lost_spook
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Sandbaggers, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Willie Caine, Neil Burnside, Mr. Palfrey (Mr. Palfrey of Westminster)
Additional Tags: Crossover, Spies & Secret Agents, Trope Bingo Amnesty, Trust Issues, 1980s, Season/Series 03 Spoilers
Summary: One bad apple and you’ve got to check the whole barrel hasn’t gone rotten, that’s the problem…


And for NYR, for paperclipbitch:

Four Plied (1359 words) by lost_spook
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Poldark - All Media Types, Poldark (TV 1975)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Demelza Carne/Dwight Enys/Caroline Penvenen/Ross Poldark, Dwight Enys/Caroline Penvenen, Demelza Carne/Caroline Penvenen, Demelza Carne/Ross Poldark, Caroline Penvenen/Ross Poldark
Characters: Caroline Penvenen, Demelza Carne, Dwight Enys, Ross Poldark
Additional Tags: Yuletide, OT4, Book 07: The Angry Tide, Post-The Angry Tide
Summary: It's chiefly Caroline's doing, of course.