I can't recall if I've mentioned this on here before or not, but I thought I'd point it out in any case.
I was looking through my collection of The Hardy Boys Digests series the other day and got reminded of something I'd noticed when I first read the last few Digests. Starting somewhere around #152 (Danger in the Extreme) or so, I pretty much just started getting every book as it first came out and that's primarily when I read those later titles. So it's been a while on some of these.
But somewhere after the last cover redesign the books had gotten (probably from #161 Training for Trouble onward, but definitely by the point of #171 The Test Case)- I've noticed that certain elements from The Hardy Boys Casefiles series slipped into the series.
Now, I know that folks have speculated that some of the books in the Digests may be reused Casefiles plotlines and I can see that- particularly with #150 The Crisscross Crime, as has been noted before. (And this makes sense as the book was released in mid-1998 or so, right after the Casefiles series was ended.) But I'm talking beyond even just similarities in danger, action and violence levels. Did anyone notice that Tony Prito is mentioned as working at Mr. Pizza in #171 The Test Case? And Liz Webling, who is mentioned as a reporter for The Beacon, The Bayport High School newspaper and the daughter of the owner of The Bayport Times, shows up in that book as well. I'm pretty sure she made a few other appearances in some of the Digests books too. I just thought it was neat that a Casefiles character was incorporated into the mainstream continuity as it were. And in The Test Case we also have a cameo (or at least I consider it to be) from Jerry Gilroy, who hadn't been seen since the original 58 books- so I like that the Original continuity blends in there as well (though technically that is the same continuity as the Digests.)
Of course, the writers still had to maintain the Digests continuity going and so we still have Iola around and Callie and Chet make more appearances in these later books. And I also noticed that a good few of the later Digests took place in and around Bayport and some specifically at Bayport High School- and I thought that was a nice break from all the far-travelling stories (although I enjoy those too.) It's good to have a mix. And Hidden Mountain was a pretty cool one- I liked the concept- and that one kinda reminded me some of The Network and those secret agent type cases of The Casefiles.
And of course, at least one aspect worked the other way too- The Hardy Boys originally got their police van in Revenge of the Desert Phantom and then it was later introduced in The Hardy Boys Casefiles at the end of Dead on Target. (Though I think it's a black van in the Casefiles and a blue van in the Digests. There are also two different accounts of how Frank and Joe got the van in both continuities.)
Anyway- just wanted to point those things out and hear any other thoughts on this.
Yeah, if it was for Iola and the lack of the Network and the Assassins in the Digests from the late 90s you'd think they were part of the Casefiles continuity. And having some of the Casefiles' plotlines recycled for the Digests isn't the only reason for these similarities - I'm sure some ghostwriters worked on both series.
Probably so. Just interesting to note. If Vanessa Bender had ever showed up in the Digests, that would have been really interesting.
By the way, I don't suppose anyone's noticed any similar scenarios with the Undercover Brothers series? (i.e. No Casefiles or other series connections or anything?) I still have a collection of those books and still have yet to read them - it's kinda sad but perhaps not considering all that I've heard about them. I will get around to some of them eventually. It would be neat if some of the classic characters were utilized again- Jack Wayne, Sam Radley, maybe even Oscar Smuff just for fun. Do Chief Collig and Con Riley even show up anymore?
That might be an interesting topic- how best would some of those older characters fit into the UB continuity?
Chief Collig and Riley do show-up in the UB. Chet has made a few appearances. Iola's been in a few but Callie's only shown-up in one novel and in two graphic novels.
For the most part the Original continuity and the Casefiles continuity work fairly well together. But the Undercover Brothers doesn't mesh as well.
Nice to know at least a few classic characters still show up sometimes. I suppose it's too much to hope for to see Tony, Phil and Biff, huh?
Well, early on the Digests had WBPT appear in Danger On The Air, Spark of Suspicion & The Prime Time Crime and then the Casefiles Flesh and Blood had WBPT crossover into the Casefiles continuity, so I think that on some of those aspects S&S was okay with allowing the different companies to cross into the two stories to try and keep the universes close enough, just like in the Spider-Man comics you've got the Daily Bugle, but in each universe the logo might be different or it might be in a different building, etc.
That's true- some establishments like that should certainly be the same.
Quote from: MacGyver on January 27, 2011, 03:17:49 PM
Nice to know at least a few classic characters still show up sometimes. I suppose it's too much to hope for to see Tony, Phil and Biff, huh?
Not in the novels. Scott Lobdell said once that he was planning to have the chums show-up in the graphic novels but he left the series before that ever happened. Maybe Conway will write them into a story, though...
I would love to see that happen.
We should write to Conway.
Quote from: SDLagent on January 26, 2011, 03:17:52 PM
Yeah, if it was for Iola and the lack of the Network and the Assassins in the Digests from the late 90s you'd think they were part of the Casefiles continuity. And having some of the Casefiles' plotlines recycled for the Digests isn't the only reason for these similarities - I'm sure some ghostwriters worked on both series.
Here's something interesting:
http://www.nancybush.net/books.cfm
At the bottom of the page, you will see that the author has written several books in the Nancy Drew Files series, however, she has also written one book in the Nancy Drew Digest series, "The Search for Cindy Austin". I read the "The Search for Cindy Austin" a few years ago, and one of the things I remember is that it was a lot like a Nancy Drew File.
Also, according to the book "Rediscovering Nancy Drew", one of the two ghostwriters for "Evil in Amsterdam" and one other SuperMystery also wrote the Nancy Drew Digest "The Secret At Seven Rocks" and 4 other digests. The other ghostwriter wrote several other Hardy Boys books.
Well, there we have it. Thanks for the confirmation, Dan.
I forget to mention that Stephen D. Sullivan, who wrote The Viking's Revenge, also wrote Digests #160, 163, 165, 172, 173, 175, 176, 180, 183, 185, 188, and 190
Interesting to know- I particularly enjoy Digests #165, #175, #180, and #188 pretty well as well as The Viking's Revenge- I'd say he was one of the better ghostwriters. (Though as I've said before, I enjoy all the books to some degree.)
Here's something else that is interesting. Brenda Carlton, who normally only appeared in the Nancy Drew Files, the SuperMysteries, and the Nancy Drew Notebooks, appeared in "The Case Of The Captured Queen", which was a Nancy Drew Digest.
Cool- well, there's a Nancy Drew equivalent of what I was talking about that was happening with The Hardy Boys Casefiles and Digests series.
Quote from: MacGyver on February 27, 2011, 04:19:59 PM
Cool- well, there's a Nancy Drew equivalent of what I was talking about that was happening with The Hardy Boys Casefiles and Digests series.
Speaking of Nancy Drew, according to http://www.mysterypartners.com/ , Hardy Boys Casefiles #21, and 32 were written by Susan and Bill Albert, who also wrote Nancy Drew Files #6, 11, 15, 22, 29. It appears they were better at writing Nancy Drew books then Hardy Boys as they wrote several very good Nancy Drew Files books, yet their two Hardy Boys Casefiles books were not as good. "Street Spies" was boring and "Without a Trace" was better, but still not as good as Bill and Susan's Nancy Drew Books.
Nice find! Now we know a little bit more of the ghostwriters for The Hardy Boys Casefiles and Nancy Drew Files series.
But I personally liked both Street Spies and Without a Trace. Street Spies introduced MUX! And it also had Frank breaking the law (technically) in order to get a police rescue- I think it was pretty exciting in that scene.
Anyway- just my opinion on it.
Quote from: MacGyver on April 28, 2011, 03:23:24 PM
Nice find! Now we know a little bit more of the ghostwriters for The Hardy Boys Casefiles and Nancy Drew Files series.
But I personally liked both Street Spies and Without a Trace. Street Spies introduced MUX! And it also had Frank breaking the law (technically) in order to get a police rescue- I think it was pretty exciting in that scene.
Anyway- just my opinion on it.
Street Spies for me was a huge disappointment as I read "Danger Zone" (the second and final book to have MUX in it) first, and that was 10 times better then Street Spies. Now I know that's because both books were written by different authors.
Too bad MUX never showed up more than that. I enjoyed Danger Zone too- it's been a while since I've read either one though.
There was a computer hacker that was in both series, wasn't there? :-\
There was Larry Biester that showed up in the Casefiles- I don't know if he was in the Digests too... I don't think so, but could be I guess
Quote from: MacGyver on April 28, 2011, 07:17:11 PM
There was Larry Biester that showed up in the Casefiles- I don't know if he was in the Digests too... I don't think so, but could be I guess
I liked that guy! ;D
He didn't like you.
Quote from: SDLagent on June 08, 2011, 01:40:34 AM
He didn't like you.
Oh really? I thought he was the one who hacked into DMV for Frank and Joe once. :-\
Yeah, I think that's right. Can't recall the books he appeared in right now though...
Quote from: MacGyver on November 03, 2011, 01:30:17 PM
Yeah, I think that's right. Can't recall the books he appeared in right now though...
I know he was in the Casefile.
Danger Zone.
That sounds right- I'm pretty sure he showed up at least one other time- I'd have to look it up...
Quote from: MacGyver on November 03, 2011, 01:39:17 PM
That sounds right- I'm pretty sure he showed up at least one other time- I'd have to look it up...
Was the other time in
The Genius Thieves?
That may well be it- when I get a chance, I'll have to look through those books to confirm it...
Quote from: MacGyver on November 03, 2011, 01:48:05 PM
That may well be it- when I get a chance, I'll have to look through those books to confirm it...
I'm thinking that's it too, but I might be wrong.
The other time was in Double Exposure.
Quote from: tomswift2002 on November 04, 2011, 05:27:40 PM
The other time was in Double Exposure.
What did he do in that one? ???
Larry helped Chris make that fake Soviet assination tape, got the Hardy's fake entrance passes to that foreign nations convention, and agreed to teach classes with Chris.
Quote from: tomswift2002 on November 05, 2011, 12:10:08 PM
Larry helped Chris make that fake Soviet assination tape, go the Hardy's fake entrance passes to that foreign nations convention, and agreed to teach classes with Chris.
Oh yeah. Now I remember.
QuoteBy the way, I don't suppose anyone's noticed any similar scenarios with the Undercover Brothers series? (i.e. No Casefiles or other series connections or anything?) I still have a collection of those books and still have yet to read them - it's kinda sad but perhaps not considering all that I've heard about them. I will get around to some of them eventually. It would be neat if some of the classic characters were utilized again- Jack Wayne, Sam Radley, maybe even Oscar Smuff just for fun. Do Chief Collig and Con Riley even show up anymore?
That might be an interesting topic- how best would some of those older characters fit into the UB continuity?
Going back to this question some, I sort of had an idea on how it might be possible to kinda tie in all the continuities together. The original series of The Hardy Boys is already established as being continued by the Digests. The Casefiles is generally considered to be an offshoot and its own thing, as the death of Iola would set it in an alternate universe. It's possible those books could be set after the Digests series. It would make sense for the Undercover Brothers series to follow after that one in the continuity, but what if it is actually more of a prequel? This would actually help explain some of the differences in the maturity level and characterizations of Frank and Joe in the UB vs. Casefiles universes.
What if the continuity ran like this?
- The original 58 (revised 38), which is followed by the Digests. Toward the end of the Digests, we've already noted how much some of them start to read like Casefiles, particularly obviously
Revenge of the Desert Phantom. What if when the Digests ended, it led into the Undercover Brothers series? ATAC already sounds so much like a junior version of The Network anyway- just that it's obviously more of a private organization that works with the police and FBI and CIA, etc. (similar to The Phoenix Foundation in
MacGyver or FLAG in
Knight Rider, etc.) We know that Fenton Hardy founded ATAC- Eventually QT is appointed as head of the group. Is he ever seen though? Are there any details known about him? From what I've heard of him, he seems to be like Charlie on
Charlie's Angels- heard in order to give out new missions, but never seen. (I could be wrong on that- that's just my impression.) Anyway, what if QT was really the Gray Man? Maybe he got together with Fenton Hardy to establish ATAC as sort of an experiment- a trial run to see how adopting younger agents in the field would work out- essentially like a
21 Jump Street program. Younger, high school kids can get into places older agents can't, so it makes sense.
Remember that throughout the Casefiles series, the Gray Man had a grudging respect for Frank and Joe and still generally thought of them as kids who should leave things to the professionals, but nonetheless kids who are honest and do a good job and can be useful at times. Also, remember how they met in the Casefiles- The Gray Man introduced himself as Arthur E. Gray, a client of their father's. This would be technically true (sort of) if he had recruited Fenton's help in establishing ATAC. Anyway, the point is that immediately a link was made between Fenton Hardy and the Gray Man, and thus the Network- more than likely suggesting that Fenton had done some "hush hush" work (that is, undercover) for the Network in the past. Perhaps by the end of the Undercover Brothers series, the Gray Man and the Network at large, along with Fenton Hardy's wishes, have decided to disband the UB program, having already selected their top choices for young field agents- Frank and Joe Hardy being the top ones of course. (Perhaps Lindsay Rider from the graphic novels could be another one.) So basically ATAC would have served as a training ground for the Network though none of the agents of that group would have been aware of it. The Network was content to let it operate as such on the level it was on until reaching the point where they were ready to take on some part time and/or full time younger agents.
Obviously the Gray Man never really fully agreed with The Network's decision on this- perhaps he was comfortable with the position he had as ATAC head (i.e. QT) and thought the Hardys did better there under closer supervision. But then the Network decided to move forward and give the Hardys' and others a chance and let them in on much more serious and dangerous cases, including matters of national security, that the Network is involved in.
And then, in
Dead on Target, while the Hardys were secretly on their last ATAC mission to help provide security for the presidential candidate Philip Walker- the Assasins got in there and not only performed their dry run at the mall, but also aimed to take out the Hardy Boys, who had proven to be formidable adversaries. But sadly, Iola got caught in the crossfire and was killed.
And then the Hardy Boys did meet up with the Gray Man, as he had to make his presence known at this point, though still in a shroud of secrecy, with a new code name (from QT to The Gray Man), and reluctantly forged a partnership with them to help protect them during this case. The Hardy Boys helped solve the case and this gave them the impetus to pursue the more important cases of the world like this- and of course, also served as their iniation into The Network by passing this final test and impressing the Network by actually coming to them and asking for tougher assignments.
And thus The Hardy Boys Casefiles universe is born! :) 8)
(As to whether or not Iola is still alive- if we want to take into account
The Lazarus Plot and
Dead of Night, we can still postulate that there is still a chance, albeit pretty incredibly slim, that Iola is still alive and could still be rescued and return to the land of the living, as it were.)
MacGyver, your explanation's as good as any. I've tried to fit the continuities before too. Either I fit the UB in before the Casefiles, like you, or before the Digests.
It could possibly work going before the Digests too, if only to help explain Frank and Joe's lesser maturity level due to them just plain being younger and more immature...(which could work if we assume that from #39-58 of the Originals, Frank and Joe actually stayed at 16 and 15, rather than 18 and 17 and that they kept their more rambunctious natures of the Original Text- which was a good bit more restrained in the Revised Text.)
Frank and Joe were 18 and 17 by bothe versions of The Shore Road Mystery, and in the first UB Chet mentions that Frank and Joe have solved a number of cases (and by "a number", I don't think Chet was referring to just six cases or even their kiddie cases). With Extreme Danger it seemed like the UB's were too take place after the Original series, but then the UB's continuity just went out the window to where the UB's seemed to be rebooting or where in another dimension. Plus the UB's just offered up too many contradictions to the other series to even make sense with them. At least with the Casefiles, while there were contradictions on minor things (such as how the boys got their van), the series seemed to support the fact that it took place after the Original series.
Quote from: MacGyver on January 09, 2012, 02:52:33 PM
Going back to this question some, I sort of had an idea on how it might be possible to kinda tie in all the continuities together. The original series of The Hardy Boys is already established as being continued by the Digests. The Casefiles is generally considered to be an offshoot and its own thing, as the death of Iola would set it in an alternate universe. It's possible those books could be set after the Digests series. It would make sense for the Undercover Brothers series to follow after that one in the continuity, but what if it is actually more of a prequel? This would actually help explain some of the differences in the maturity level and characterizations of Frank and Joe in the UB vs. Casefiles universes.
What if the continuity ran like this?
- The original 58 (revised 38), which is followed by the Digests. Toward the end of the Digests, we've already noted how much some of them start to read like Casefiles, particularly obviously Revenge of the Desert Phantom. What if when the Digests ended, it led into the Undercover Brothers series? ATAC already sounds so much like a junior version of The Network anyway- just that it's obviously more of a private organization that works with the police and FBI and CIA, etc. (similar to The Phoenix Foundation in MacGyver or FLAG in Knight Rider, etc.) We know that Fenton Hardy founded ATAC- Eventually QT is appointed as head of the group. Is he ever seen though? Are there any details known about him? From what I've heard of him, he seems to be like Charlie on Charlie's Angels- heard in order to give out new missions, but never seen. (I could be wrong on that- that's just my impression.) Anyway, what if QT was really the Gray Man? Maybe he got together with Fenton Hardy to establish ATAC as sort of an experiment- a trial run to see how adopting younger agents in the field would work out- essentially like a 21 Jump Street program. Younger, high school kids can get into places older agents can't, so it makes sense.
Remember that throughout the Casefiles series, the Gray Man had a grudging respect for Frank and Joe and still generally thought of them as kids who should leave things to the professionals, but nonetheless kids who are honest and do a good job and can be useful at times. Also, remember how they met in the Casefiles- The Gray Man introduced himself as Arthur E. Gray, a client of their father's. This would be technically true (sort of) if he had recruited Fenton's help in establishing ATAC. Anyway, the point is that immediately a link was made between Fenton Hardy and the Gray Man, and thus the Network- more than likely suggesting that Fenton had done some "hush hush" work (that is, undercover) for the Network in the past. Perhaps by the end of the Undercover Brothers series, the Gray Man and the Network at large, along with Fenton Hardy's wishes, have decided to disband the UB program, having already selected their top choices for young field agents- Frank and Joe Hardy being the top ones of course. (Perhaps Lindsay Rider from the graphic novels could be another one.) So basically ATAC would have served as a training ground for the Network though none of the agents of that group would have been aware of it. The Network was content to let it operate as such on the level it was on until reaching the point where they were ready to take on some part time and/or full time younger agents.
Obviously the Gray Man never really fully agreed with The Network's decision on this- perhaps he was comfortable with the position he had as ATAC head (i.e. QT) and thought the Hardys did better there under closer supervision. But then the Network decided to move forward and give the Hardys' and others a chance and let them in on much more serious and dangerous cases, including matters of national security, that the Network is involved in.
And then, in Dead on Target, while the Hardys were secretly on their last ATAC mission to help provide security for the presidential candidate Philip Walker- the Assasins got in there and not only performed their dry run at the mall, but also aimed to take out the Hardy Boys, who had proven to be formidable adversaries. But sadly, Iola got caught in the crossfire and was killed.
And then the Hardy Boys did meet up with the Gray Man, as he had to make his presence known at this point, though still in a shroud of secrecy, with a new code name (from QT to The Gray Man), and reluctantly forged a partnership with them to help protect them during this case. The Hardy Boys helped solve the case and this gave them the impetus to pursue the more important cases of the world like this- and of course, also served as their iniation into The Network by passing this final test and impressing the Network by actually coming to them and asking for tougher assignments.
And thus The Hardy Boys Casefiles universe is born! :) 8)
(As to whether or not Iola is still alive- if we want to take into account The Lazarus Plot and Dead of Night, we can still postulate that there is still a chance, albeit pretty incredibly slim, that Iola is still alive and could still be rescued and return to the land of the living, as it were.)
While this is a good theory, I see a major problem:
In order for this theory to work, the Nancy Drew series would have to have a simular timeline. But this is impossible for several reasons:
1) Brenda Carlton started being Nancy Drew's rival during the Nancy Drew Notebooks. She also made at least one appearence in a Digest, during which she was already working with the "Today's Times". If the GDs take place between the Digests and Files, where was Brenda during the GDs? Ned was working for a newspaper during the GDs, if I recall correctly, yet Brenda never got one mention. And what happened to Deirdre Shannon during the Nancy Drew Files?
2) During the GDs, Bess has some auto machanic skills, but this is never shown during the Digests, nor during the Files (Altough her car was stolen in "Hot Tracks")
3) A simular problem is that George was more of a computer nerd in the GDs then in the Files and Digests.
4) Nancy's car in the GDs was a hybrid, yet in "Secrets Can Kill", she's driving a Mustang, which then blows up. What happpened to the hybrid?
5) Nancy was very forgetfull in the GD series, even forgetting to get gas. This never happened during the Digests and Files.
Well, thanks- but yeah, it can't account for all discrepancies of course. And I haven't read enough of the Nancy Drew books to address all the issues presented there. But yes- these are all good points. The best I can think of is perhaps Brenda Carlton moved away for a time during the Girl Detective books- went away to a private school somewhere or something. As to Deidre Shannon, presumably she moved away during the Nancy Drew Files or just ceased being a large part of Nancy's life anymore for whatever reason. For Bess and George's auto mechanics/computer skills (respectively)- I guess we can say maybe their interests faded over time. Presumably Nancy traded in her hybrid car for the Mustang. As to Nancy being forgetful, maybe she developed that trait after the stress and weight of all her cases in the Digests started getting to her. By the time of The Nancy Drew Files, she had matured even more and learned how to handle it better and got better organized.
I know ultimately the real answer to it all is that we just don't have a very good continuity in the GD or UB series- but then, I don't think either one was intended to be totally in sync with their predecessors. So this is just an attempt on my part to give some sort of explanations and connection and maintain some semblance of continuity that may or may not make a little bit more sense.
Quote from: MacGyver on January 13, 2012, 03:47:42 PMI know ultimately the real answer to it all is that we just don't have a very good continuity in the GD or UB series- but then, I don't think either one was intended to be totally in sync with their predecessors. So this is just an attempt on my part to give some sort of explanations and connection and maintain some semblance of continuity that may or may not make a little bit more sense.
It's fun to try to fit the continuities together but, like you say, I don't think the UB were intended to match-up with the past series. It was a reboot.
Sort of off-topic but just thought of it...It may be hard to fit all the Hardy continuities together but try doing it with Tom Swift!
It's just like with the Tom Swift Young Inventor series, the series took a little bit from the TSSR & TSJR series and basically mixed it up in a giant pot and then gave claim for some inventions to the wrong Swift, and, unlike the Wanderer and Archway series where you could see them taking place years after the first two series, with YI there was just so many contradictions that the only continuities that YI worked with we're the GD & UB continuities.
I did like the Young Inventor series though. And even if they were inaccurate, I liked the references to the past series. It's still better than the UB which completely ignored Hardy history.
There's also Tom Swift III but that takes place in the far future so doesn't contradict much.
Hmm- well, I don't know enough on Tom Swift to know about continuity issues but I imagine there must be some, considering that the series' shift has jumped from father to son and then to a younger version of one of them and so forth... Yeah- this is about like trying to explain the continuity for the Saved By the Bell franchise. :D
Quote from: MacGyver on January 13, 2012, 03:47:42 PM
The best I can think of is perhaps Brenda Carlton moved away for a time during the Girl Detective books- went away to a private school somewhere or something. As to Deidre Shannon, presumably she moved away during the Nancy Drew Files or just ceased being a large part of Nancy's life anymore for whatever reason.
I highly doubt that Brenda Carlton moved away. Even during the Digests, she had a full time job with the "Today's Times" (if only due to the fact that her father owned the newspaper) and she seemed very dedicated to her job. She also appears to have finished school before her appearance in the digests.
As for Deidre, it is very possible that she moved away, or another darker possibility is that she was murdered. Deidre was never the most popular person in River Heights. It's possible that someone killed her in between the GD books and the Files.
Also, while it is possible that Nancy traded in the Hybrid for a Mustang, I'm baffled as to why she would. In the GDs, she cared about the environment, so it would make sense that she's driving a Hybrid, but then all of sudden she decides she's getting a Mustang. Why? And it isn't even one of the new ones, it's a old one! The only problem she ever had with the Hybrid was that she forgot to put gas in it, the Hybrid never had any other problems from what I remember.
One other problem I forgot about in my first post is that the fashion in the Nancy Drew Files is outdated. Just look at the covers! This one for example:
http://images.ola.com/auctions/24234/dafp-545818-1.jpg
Why did everyone in River Heights suddenly decide to go retro?
"It could possibly work going before the Digests too, if only to help explain Frank and Joe's lesser maturity level due to them just plain being younger and more immature...(which could work if we assume that from #39-58 of the Originals, Frank and Joe actually stayed at 16 and 15, rather than 18 and 17 and that they kept their more rambunctious natures of the Original Text- which was a good bit more restrained in the Revised Text.)"
Also, as for the UBs taking place before the Digests, that's also impossible. Why? Some editions of "Sting of the Scorpion" mentioned "Night of the Werewolf" at the end. And the earlier digests strongly resemble the Bluespines, meaning that they took place right after the Bluespines.
QuoteI highly doubt that Brenda Carlton moved away. Even during the Digests, she had a full time job with the "Today's Times" (if only due to the fact that her father owned the newspaper) and she seemed very dedicated to her job. She also appears to have finished school before her appearance in the digests.
Okay- well, there's always the awkward explanation of Brenda was there but just not mentioned.
Boy Meets World did a joke with this when a 1st. Season character, Minkus, showed up again in the 5th. Season for graduation from high school with Cory and Shawn and Topanga. When asked about why they haven't seen him in all these years, he just tells them that he's been on the other side of the school, which Cory and Shawn kind of shudder about and say, "Oh- we don't go over there." And then Minkus heads off there, calling to Mr. Turner to wait up- another character who had been written off the show. ;D
QuoteAlso, while it is possible that Nancy traded in the Hybrid for a Mustang, I'm baffled as to why she would. In the GDs, she cared about the environment, so it would make sense that she's driving a Hybrid, but then all of sudden she decides she's getting a Mustang. Why? And it isn't even one of the new ones, it's a old one! The only problem she ever had with the Hybrid was that she forgot to put gas in it, the Hybrid never had any other problems from what I remember.
What can I say? Nancy became a slacker and didn't care about the environment anymore. She let her passion for older cars get the best of her and made a purchase for a car that was not really sound for the environment- but oh well. ;)
QuoteOne other problem I forgot about in my first post is that the fashion in the Nancy Drew Files is outdated. Just look at the covers! This one for example:
http://images.ola.com/auctions/24234/dafp-545818-1.jpg
Why did everyone in River Heights suddenly decide to go retro?
Didn't you hear, man? The '80s are back in style- WAY back in style. :)
Quote"It could possibly work going before the Digests too, if only to help explain Frank and Joe's lesser maturity level due to them just plain being younger and more immature...(which could work if we assume that from #39-58 of the Originals, Frank and Joe actually stayed at 16 and 15, rather than 18 and 17 and that they kept their more rambunctious natures of the Original Text- which was a good bit more restrained in the Revised Text.)"
Also, as for the UBs taking place before the Digests, that's also impossible. Why? Some editions of "Sting of the Scorpion" mentioned "Night of the Werewolf" at the end. And the earlier digests strongly resemble the Bluespines, meaning that they took place right after the Bluespines.
Okay- so it'd be better to keep the Undercover Brothers books taking place after the Digests. And yeah- I've actually got a copy of
The Sting of the Scorpion that mentions
Night of the Werewolf as the Hardys' next case.
The Digests definitely are meant to continue on from the Original 58 books, so I would agree that it would be very hard to suddenly shift into the UB world from the Original books and then back to the Digests and then Casefiles- but not necessarily impossible.
But I agree that it doesn't make as much sense.
What about the original Original books? (i.e. the 38 pre-1959 revisions books)- What if those were the original first 38 books- and then the Undercover Brothers books took place- before jumping back to #39
The Mystery of the Chinese Junk and onward?
(That would really be a stretch.)
As I said before- ultimately, it just doesn't work all that well at all to try to force the Undercover Brothers books into the regular continuity when obviously they weren't written to conform to that. But as SDLAgent said, it's fun to try. :)
If we want to fit the continuities together, we have to just ignore the fashions of the times because they'll never match-up. Even within individual series times passes, technology advances but the boys don't age.
Here's a (strange) theory of my own:
The "Fear Street" series by R.L Stine takes place in the same continuity as the Hardy Boys series. We know that Aliens and Time Travel exist in the Hardy Boys continuity due to the "Ultra Thrillers", and "Ghost Stories" shows that ghosts exist in the Hardy Boys continuity as well. So it's not impossible that Shadyside, a town with several ghosts, exists in the Hardy Boys continuity. I'll admit there's not much evidence for the theory, but there's no evidence disproving it either.
Is the Fear Street series also published by Simon & Schuster?
Quote from: MacGyver on January 15, 2012, 04:05:14 PM
Is the Fear Street series also published by Simon & Schuster?
Yes, it is. It was also published under the "Archway Paperbacks" imprint of Simon & Schuster, the same imprint used to publish the Casefiles and Nancy Drew Files.
Hmmm- okay. That helps give your theory some credence then. However, the books aren't one of the Stratemeyer Syndicate series of course- but there's still plenty of room to do a fanfiction crossover if you're interested in that.
Quote from: MacGyver on January 15, 2012, 06:46:19 PM
Hmmm- okay. That helps give your theory some credence then. However, the books aren't one of the Stratemeyer Syndicate series of course- but there's still plenty of room to do a fanfiction crossover if you're interested in that.
No thanks. ::)
Now the question will be- where does The Hardy Boys Adventure series fit into the continuity? Of course, we won't know that until the actual series is released. However, in the meantime, the completely unfounded and groundless speculation can begin! ;D
Quote from: MacGyver on February 06, 2012, 02:50:46 PM
Now the question will be- where does The Hardy Boys Adventure series fit into the continuity? Of course, we won't know that until the actual series is released. However, in the meantime, the completely unfounded and groundless speculation can begin! ;D
I hope it's something along the same lines as the Casefiles. ;D 8)
That would probably be good- but I don't want it to be a complete facsimile of The Casefiles either- unless they were actually going to resuscitate the Casefiles and continue the series- but I don't see that happening. It sounds more like an amalgamation of past series, which could be pretty good. I'm just wondering how it might fit in the continuity timeline though- presumably after the Undercover Brothers series, I guess.
The Undercover Brothers fit better outside the continuity timeline since it has so many restarts and problems with the other series.
Ah- so The Undercover Brothers series is now like the Superman Returns of The Hardy Boys franchise- the failed reboot that will now be replaced with another reboot- Superman: Man of Steel. Hopefully both that movie and The Hardy Boys: Adventure series will be successful. (Although for the record, I liked Superman Returns for the most part- though there were some elements I could have done without. I don't think I can say that as much for The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series though.... More like there are some good things and some good elements, but too many detractors....)
It would be nice if the new Hardy Boys series was like #'s 84 & 85 in the original continuity.
Revenge of the Desert Phantom and The Skyfire Puzzle were definitely good ones. Sort of an amalgamation of the Original Series (albeit Digests era) continuity, mixed with a pre-Casefiles type setting. That would certainly be a good mix for The Hardy Boys, I think.
Quote from: Tomswift2002 on February 08, 2012, 07:36:31 PM
It would be nice if the new Hardy Boys series was like #'s 84 & 85 in the original continuity.
Yeah, something along those lines would be good. An Original/Casefiles cross, if you will.
Well I was just reading the Secret Files #7 and I noticed that S&S introduced Vanessa Bender in that book, but way earlier than she had been introduced into the series in the Casefiles. So S&S is incorporating some aspects of the Casefiles into the modern series, and they'll possible do this with the new series.
Whoa- seriously? I'll have to check out that Secret Files book now. That's cool! I'm pretty sure this is the first time Vanessa Bender has showed up in any continuity outside of the Casefiles, so that is pretty neat if Simon & Schuster is incorporating some of the Casefiles elements into the Original continuity. As we've mentioned earlier in this thread, they have had previous examples of that as well, with Tony's Mr. Pizza job showing up in the Digests along with Liz Webling, etc.
That's cool. But also kinda weird considering Joe didn't meet Vanessa until he was in his late teens in the Casefiles.
True- it doesn't make sense in the continuity- but still cool.
Well Belinda Conrad fom th UB's also made an appearance in the book, so I don't know if the Secret Files are part of the UB's continuity or if S&S has been using them to setup the new Hardy Boys books?
Okay, that's interesting too. Belinda Conrad in there with Vanessa Bender? Funny to see Undercover Brothers characters interacting with Casefiles characters... good luck to S & S if they're trying to wrap all those continuities together though...