>So, officially, I was 22 when I became a fan! <Yikes... where have all the >years gone?> I was 31, and am 33 now. Can anyone top either of those? >Even though it hasn't received much exposure in the US outside the TV >convention circuit, there is still a relatively large fan following (Hi >Chris!) which shows how powerful the programme's appeal really is! Hello! In case anyone's wondering how an American fossil came to be such a big fan of Press Gang: I discovered AbFab and loved it instantly three years ago when it made its US debut. My favourite character was Saffy. I was quite taken with the talent, and I'll admit, physical charms of Julia Sawalha. I'd never heard of her, and started trying to find out more about her. I kept hearing about a British children's show, Press Gang, in which she had starred. I also noticed it had quite a devoted fan following, and had been critically acclaimed. I've always had a bit of an obsessive-compulsive personality. I'm the type of person who, if I'm interested in something, I have to see ALL the episodes, read ALL the books, etc. (I suppose a lot of people in fandom of Press Gang, or anything else, for that matter, are like that, too.) Anyway, it bugged me that Julia was in this show that was supposed to be so good, but which had never aired in the States. I was determined to see it! I posted some messages on a few newsgroups, asking if anyone had any tapes of the show for trade, etc. I got a response from someone in Brighton who said he had all 43 Press Gang episodes on tape, and would trade me for Star Trek episodes taped off US TV, so he wouldn't have to wait the year or two delay for them to make it to the BBC. We agreed on a one tape for one tape trial exchange. The arrangement was rather an expensive one for me, as this person in Brighton had access to a VCR which could play, but not record, in NTSC (US television format.) So while I could send him NTSC tapes he could use, I had to pay about 40 USD to have each tape I received converted from PAL to NTSC. When the first tape arrived, I felt some regret because of this, thinking that maybe I'd let my obsessive compulsive personality get the better of me. I wondered if any "children's show" could really have been worth all my trouble and expense to acquire the tape. Those wonders were quickly forgotten as I watched the first tape with the first six episodes. I was hooked! I traded for all the rest of the episodes, eagerly awaiting the arrival of each subsequent tape. The continuity, characterization, and combination of humour and drama are much better than in almost any "adult" show I can think of. I have shown episodes to several friends my age here in the States, and almost all of them appreciated the brilliance of the show. A few have demanded to see all the rest of the episodes! I've also made copies of my tapes available, at cost, for several different Americans who have inquired about how they could get tapes of the series. So I guess I've done my part to spread PG fandom in the States. -Chris - * THE PRESS GANG MAILING LIST * * To unsubscribe from this list, send mail containing the * word "unsubscribe" to "pressgang-request@yoyo.org". * * By default, replies are directed back to this list, * not to the author of the message you're replying to. |