"...Tell us how you first came across The Professionals. In fact I meant to put that question up earlier to all the younger members on the list." (Question from Sue, egroups-list "Prosfanfic" 27. April 2000)...

...Which led to the following interview with Linda B.

Could this mean me too! Please! I don't know if I fit the description of "younger", I just turned 34, and I think I may have already told how my obsession came about - but I can't remember if it was this list or another..... I came to love, and then obsess about, The Professionals in a very roundabout way. It all started because I'm a fan of The Equalizer and Edward Woodward. When I found out that he was in The New Professionals I started surfing for information about the show - it doesn't appear on tv here in the U.S. - and that started me wondering about the original The Professionals. So I went looking again and I found several websites that gave the background of the show, story lines and, most importantly, photos of the lads (Bodie!). I started to read the fanfic long before I actually saw any of the episodes (thanks to the wonderful DanaJeanne nad Pam R.!) and then I went from plain old love to obsession. I'm a Bodie Babe and my husband indulges my preference in different, always humorous ways. One of them is to run around the house shouting "BODIE" in a very thick, very British accent whenever he sees the wallpaper on the internet computer. To shut him up for a little while I replaced Bodie's pic with Doyle's chest shot and now he leaves me alone - Doyle's hair frightens my husband, who is a very 90's kind of man. <veg>). The funny thing is that while I started looking for information about The New Professionals, my one true love is The Professionals. I've never actually seen The New Professionals and while I was all set to get some copies of the first season through a contact on The Equalizer list, I haven't bothered yet. Not until I've watched every The Professionals episode several times. While I'm interested in The New Professionals, and I enjoy the fanfic, I'm not needy about it - not while I have The Professionals! --- Linda B. 27. April 2000

After that fascinating report I wondered, if Linda would answer a few more questions? I fired them away:

This is a series of the 70s - a lot changed since then, especially the way to dress. Are the clothes funny today?

Not in New York, flairs are back and so are cords. Leather jackets never went out and jeans are still everywhere. Btw, I love Bodie's style! I'm a loafer and blazer type myself on the weekends. Linda B. 29. April 2000

Are the plots old-fashioned?

I don't think so.....crime never goes out of style and terrorism is so much more a concern today then it was back then, excluding The Troubles and the airline hijackings of course. I think that in so many ways the show and CI5 were ahead of their time. But it was very interesting in one ep (I don't remember the name but don't shoot me!) when the lads went on and on about laser sights on rifles and their deadly potential. The panic that ensued when it was stolen from Doyle's flat. Very commonplace now, even on hand guns! Technology changes but people stay the same. Linda B. 29. April 2000

Is the series simply nostalgic?

Not for me, I don't remember much of the 70's. Sounds weird I know but I was sheltered when young and things were different back then. I played with stuffed animals in the 70's (I hated dolls). Going to a Catholic grammar school, I didn't think much about boys or fashion until high school and then my crushes were limited to U.S. tv stars (Dirk Benedick from the A-Team). I didn't know that tv was different in different countries - cable didn't exist! Since I grew up in the States it's both interesting and exciting to watch the show, especially since I'm old enough to really understand and enjoy it, but still young enough to really understand and enjoy it. Linda B. 29. April 2000

What is it now? A rememberance of the 70s?

For me, it's so different from what little I remember of the 70's, especially the earlier 70's. Back then, crime to me was shoplifting nail polish. But I find the show exciting! To me it's really a sneak peak at the beginning of what I now know was to come in regard to crime and terrorism and the decisions we face when trying to fight them. I'm not saying that it was reality based (was it?!) but it really had some impressive insights. Linda B. 29. April 2000

What has it still to say?

Some things never change. Having an agency devoted solely to terrorism must have seemed revolutionary then but now it's so common place that it would seem strange not to. The problems are also the same really, civil rights versus the need to fight crime and, especially, terrorism. Where do the rights of the general public to be protected from terrorism begin and where do the rights of the general public to be protected from unwarranted government intrusion begin. Now, crime and terrorism are extending to the internet and it's both global *and* multinational. There will be so many changes in the next three to five years just in regard to cyberterrorism that it is mind boggling! Yet it all goes back to the basics, undercover work, informants/assets (grass, <eg>) love that phrase) and alot more luck than anyone would care to admit since it's really a matter of trying to discern what is valid and actionable and what isn't... Linda B. 29. April 2000

How do the British see it? How the "foreigners"?

As an American, I love it! Much more interesting and exciting than US 70's tv. Linda B. 29. April 2000

Bodie-Fans versus Doyle-Fans?

Bo-die, Bo-die, Bo-die! All a matter of personal taste. Linda B. 29. April 2000

Professionals-Fans versus NewProf-Fans?...

IMO, the original can never be equaled - only copied. Linda B. 29. April 2000

Vielen Dank, Linda!

Renates e-mail ein Link zu Doyle mehr Bodie zurück zur Bodie Fan Page zurück zu den CI5-Files

rg 2001-01-22