Pros Everyday for a Week - Day 4/7 - Missing scenes...

[byslantedlight]

It has been a long time since I missed commenting on lj for a day, and then had to scroll back three whole lj pages (of twenty posts each!) to catch up! How bloody brilliant is everyone just now? *vbg* Thank you and thank you and thank you for all your gorgeously Pros-y posts!

My post today is prompted by pics I seem to have seen a few times recently, from Need to Know - you know the one, where Cowley's giving Bodie oxygen after gassing his top team, and strokes his face? ali15son posted a nice version today too. And it got me thinking about the pics that people don't post - all part of the same scene in the ep, but somehow a missing scene as far as pics being posted anywhere go!

The ones where Cowley helps Doyle as well!

And when Doyle pushes away the oxygen, Cowley gently strokes his chin with a finger, and then he lays a comforting hand on his neck, holds him for a moment... *g* Cowley looks after both his lads, and although it's a bit difficult to reconcile these tender moments from him with the way he later shoots Manton cold-bloodedly in the back because he's "no use" to them, it's nice to see that he's got a softer side for our Bodie and Doyle... *g*

Comments

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

I do like how Cowley takes care of his lads, and his concern. He is a man of many facets.

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

he (Cowley) later shoots Manton cold-bloodedly in the back because he's "no use" to them

Yeah, I've always wonder why they never pondered what he would do to them if they should be no use

[paris7am.livejournal.com]

That image of his hand on Doyle's neck is beautiful...

[loxleyprince.livejournal.com]

Cowley seems most humane when one of his people has been injured or incapacitated in the line of duty. His concern when he knows that Doyle has been shot at the end of 'The Female Factor' and when he's with his injured agent in 'No Stone' are other noteworthy examples of this.

The enduring impression I have of Ray Doyle from this scene is how adorable he looks trying to stand up. Bless! *g*

[freetraveller15.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with your comment!
(including about the adorable-ness of Ray trying to stand up 😆)

[loxleyprince.livejournal.com]

It's a joy to watch :-)

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

I'm all for the Doyle pics, whichever ep. But this is particularly nice, seeing Cowley's tender side - or the side of him that is worried about a rather valuable asset coming to harm!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

There's also the time he seems more than willing to shoot Bodie in Wild Justice, or when he basically threw them to the dogs in Operation Susie. The man was certainly a contradiction.

[macklingirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is really funny what person don't post. I seems as if most of the people are transfixed at Bodie. ;-)

So it is wonderful to see some Doyle/Cowley pictures. Thank you!

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, people have--and should have!--their preferences, which is fair enough, but I do get annoyed when they dismiss or ignore canon as if it doesn't exist. Cowley is affectionate towards both lads, in multiple episodes, despite also knowing he may be required to send them to their deaths.

It's been great seeing all these Pros photos/stories/references/etc. on my f'list! Thanks for inspiring it!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It's not pointed at anyone in particular, and certainly not you ("ali15son posted a nice version today too" was supposed to be a compliment!). Its something I've noticed - and occasionally commented on - over the years, and I think even all ten years I've been on livejournal! There've been discussions about it in different places over the years too, mostly concluding that at first Doyle seemed to be the more "popular" (for want of a better word) character, but that there was then a swing towards more people "preferring" Bodie, and posting about him. The latter coincides with the rise of forums like livejournal, where ordinary people can post pictures to the internet, and that presumably plays into things too, making it look like there are more pictures of Bodie around. It's purely an observation that there are more images of Bodie posted to lj/the internet in general, and in this case an explanation for me focussing on Cowley looking after Doyle in that scene, when I do usually focus on them both together.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I would never make an lj post that was pointed at someone else on the internet. If I want to complain about you, I'll do it to your face. If I don't like your posts, I'll de-friend you so that I don't see them. I'm afraid I'm pretty straight up about that sort of thing.

I know there are alot of people who aren't honest about things on the internet/on lj/even in Pros (and I've been the subject of some of them myself, such as the person who trolled me to a nasty forum to try and get complete strangers to pile into my lj and have a go at me), but I would never do anything like that. I haven't got any right to complain about what other people choose to post in their own ljs (presuming that it's not hateful or cruel), and no one has a right to complain about what I post. That's just how it works.

So - short answer: no my post wasn't about you, except for the compliment about your pic. I know you worry about that sort of thing, but you really don't need to worry about it from me - I can't stand people being intolerant and/or unkind to each other. When I talk about things, I'm just talking about them.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm really sorry you think so. I'd've hoped my complimenting your picture on my own lj (above and on other occasions), and the complimentary comments I make to your pictures in your own lj was evidence that I enjoyed them.

It holds for both of us though - we're both free to post what we choose to our ljs, and if I want to post about what I see as a general gap in Pros on lj, then that should be okay too - especially when my post actually said something nice about you, rather than complained about you! I don't like to feel attacked either, and this does a bit, now.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

For the record, Ali15son decided to delete her comments here, said that she still wants to be friends but understands if I don't, and that she'd leave me to get on with my challenge. Because she deleted that last comment, I wasn't able to respond to it - rather like having your own front door slammed in your face. Now I'm a bit cross, whereas before I was just confused. I don't like it when people delete their comments in my lj, especially when it leaves only the replies. Half a discussion gives people who may read it later a different impression than a whole one, and yet deleting my own comments would give people who did briefly see the discussion the impression that something was going on without giving them any information about it. Not fair at all - to anyone. And it bugs me years later when I happen upon the half-conversations and can't remember the outcome, which is why I'm replying to myself here.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I am way past knowing what's going on here. Your comment, as quoted from the lj notification:

i do want to remain friends but i understand if you don't . i willl delete my comments and let you get on with your challenge. I hope you get plenty of pleasure out of the remaing posts that will be heading your way over the next few days

I feel like you're picking a fight now, when there's just no fight to be had. Deleting comments and saying you're not going to play in the challenge any more doesn't resolve anything. You want to interpret my post as being pointed at you. It's not. I've tried to explain that. You (again in your words) "beg to differ". Okay that's fine, but that doesn't resolve anything, because you won't accept what I say, you're continuing to claim my post was pointed at you, and despite deleting your comments you've come back to pick up the "matter" again!

Help me out here - what's really the matter? Maybe we can actually resolve it. If you don't want to though, then please do drop it, because I don't enjoy having people try to fight with me! My Sunday's already been somewhat headache-y and stressful, and was just turning into something nicer when this cropped up.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

And again, comments deleted, including a reply to this.

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

consider it dropped .

[freetraveller15.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to thank you for posting these screencaps of Cowley and Doyle, and pointing out the chin-touching bit I'd totally missed every time I watched this episode! I'll pay more attention on my next viewing!

Yes, I agree. I find it difficult to reconcile Cowley's most humane side (not just towards our lads, but also other agents, esp when they are in danger, and the sense of responsibility he feels towards them when they're injured or killed in action... see how genuinely upset and guilty he felt after Tony Miller was killed in Everest), with his ruthless side, especially in his gratuitous (IMO) killing of Manton in this episode, with the justification that he'd been responsible for the death of other agents... Well, since when is Cowley judge & jury? And from someone who'd made a big stink in In the Public Interest about those in charge exerting "unbridled power", and the like. If Manton was indeed suspected of getting people killed, shouldn't he have been put on trial/court martialled etc. and left to courts to decide? It's clear Cowley didn't just want him to stop fleeing (otherwise he'd have shot him in the legs), but intended to kill him. And that left a very sour taste in my mouth, exactly because I'd never expect that from a man who is shrewd enough but had seemed to abide by the rule of law. It makes me think his judgement might have been clouded in Manton's case because Manton's betrayal had had a direct effect on him personally, endangered his reputation and loyalty to Queen & Country; in other words, a sort of personal vendetta taking over a more legitimate way of dealing with traitors like Manton.
I also thought for a while Cowley's un-Cowleylike behaviour at the end of Need to Know could simply be the effect of poor scriptwriting/editing, considering Pros eps were written by very different writers during the series' run, and some odd/inconsistent bit of characterisation was bound to happen that way. But this ep was scripted by B. Clemens himself (though based on an idea by someone else) and I'd always considered his episodes among the best in the series for plot execution and scrip. So I was kind of surprised he'd had Cowley behave that way at the end...

But, on the plus side, I'll still watch it again and again, if anything for the glorious scenes with the lads (being gassed/revived, dressed as coppers, arresting the boss, and the marvellous double act at Bodie's flat with the tulip etc 😊).
Thank you