*This section is strictly dedicated to the things, big or small, that you think should occur in the UB series before it is killed off*
I don't know, probably something that makes you think they're going to die or something because it's the last book....
Personally, I think that the boys should get girlfriends like in previous series'. The creators said that they left out girlfriends because they wanted the boys to be free to see other women, but, frankly, that's just not a possibility in the UBs. Aside from the fact that the Hardys (especially Frank) are quite bad at flirting with any type of pretty girl, they are secret agents. They often use different names and would have to lie all of the time to maintain the relationship. Besides, who wants a long-distance relationship? So, why not just resolve themselves to just date a nice girl in Bayport? ???
But if they got girlfriends and it was the end, nobody would be able to see it play out.
I'm just speculating...
Nothing will happen. The series will just end and the last book will be like another book in the series. That's how it's been with all The Hardy Boys series, and there's no reason to believe it will be any different with the Undercover Brothers. There isn't any plot lines to wrap-up, anyway.
But asks "what do you think should happen?" This is what I think should happen:
The Hardys' and ATAC's fight against WARD escalates into an all-out war. Frank and Joe almost die, Laura discovers the truth - and not in a nice way, and in the end neither agency is left standing.
I'm partly with you on that one. I think that there should be a fight with WARD and that their mom andd aunt should discover that they are secret agents. But I think that ATAC should close down willingly after shutting down WARD and that Joe and Frank should consider dating Callie and Iola- perhaps creating a starting point for the digests, casefiles, or original serries and introducing a believable story for how the boys have the billions of skills that seem to be deux ex machina in the original series'.
Quote from: Frank rules on July 25, 2009, 12:27:45 AMBut I think that ATAC should close down willingly after shutting down WARD and that Joe and Frank should consider dating Callie and Iola- perhaps creating a starting point for the digests, casefiles, or original serries and introducing a believable story for how the boys have the billions of skills that seem to be deux ex machina in the original series'.
That might've worked---had the beginning of the series not stated that the Hardy Boys were already well known amateur detectives.
Quote from: tomswift2002 on July 25, 2009, 07:22:04 AM
That might've worked---had the beginning of the series not stated that the Hardy Boys were already well known amateur detectives.
So. Maybe they became well known due to one of the cases that they solve in that pathetic Clues Brothers series. ;)
And didn't the blue spines say they worked with their father before The Tower Treasure?
Quote from: 003Robin457 on July 26, 2009, 02:24:58 PM
And didn't the blue spines say they worked with their father before The Tower Treasure?
Both versions of
The Tower Treasure did mention that Frank and Joe had run errands for their father before, and while they had investigated certain aspects of Fenton's case, they had not been involved in the entire case. Mostly Fenton would ask them to go to a coffee shop he was suspicious of and just stake-out the place to see if they could pick up any clues while he handled the major parts of the case. So that's why
The Tower Treasure had lines in it that indicated that it was the first actual case of the boys and not just an assignment from their father.
Now then
Dead On Target didn't say one way or the other whether that was the Hardy's first case or if it was continuing on from the Grosset & Dunlap/Wanderer/Minstrel/Aladdin series.
Quote from: Buttercup on July 23, 2009, 02:17:17 PM
I don't know, probably something that makes you think they're going to die or something because it's the last book....
That?d actually be a good sequence if they can write it well and even semi-shock us (although we know they?ll never die - well, never say never but whatev).
*
The more I think about it, the more I think they should somehow bring ATAC to a close (several compelling ways they can do this) and then start a new series as a continuation. I think it could be interesting, and it would mature Frank and Joe a bit more. It's do-able for $&$ because it's a good compromise. And they could still have bits of their ATAC past come up (but not too much).
I don?t see a revival of the Casefiles anytime (soon).
About the girlfriend thing: I always thought they don?t have the time for girls, or a decent explanation to give them because Frank and Joe are not always in town & have to keep their undercover status a secret, anyways.
Quote from: Bubbles on July 26, 2009, 07:47:09 PM
About the girlfriend thing: I always thought they don?t have the time for girls, or a decent explanation to give them because Frank and Joe are not always in town & have to keep their undercover status a secret, anyways.
The Hardy boys of old were able to balance relationships with outstanding schoolwork, home life, sports, and solving mysteries (that kicked the crud out of the UBs), so why can't these Hardys do the same thing. And on the issue of secret identities, why do the Hardys need to lie to their parents and friends to protect the location of where they are going and what they do, when 50 odd years of experience tells us that they never died or sustained any life-threatening injuries (and neither did their friends or parents (though their mom was captured in
The Danger Zone, but it was related to
Fentons' case)) while they
weren't making constant use of disguises, hiding behind a secret agency (they did work for the Network, but as
free agents), or lying to their parents or friends about their
extracuricular activities?
All valid points, and I agree.
However, I am only looking at the context of the UBs. It seems like they barely have time to do their homework, let alone have a social life. Thank $&$ and ATAC for that.
Quote from: Bubbles on July 27, 2009, 06:52:17 PM
All valid points, and I agree.
However, I am only looking at the context of the UBs. It seems like they barely have time to do their homework, let alone have a social life. Thank $&$ and ATAC for that.
Maybe, that could be why they quit ATAC and go solo at the end of the series.
I don't think they should quit ATAC, it should close if ATAC is ending. But I would still like ATAC. And whoever said something about the WARD/ATAC showdown, that would be great!!! :D
Quote from: Buttercup on July 29, 2009, 06:20:21 PM
And whoever said something about the WARD/ATAC showdown, that would be great!!! :D
That would be me.
I still think that S&S should end the series with laying a background to begin another, more well-known series, like the Casefiles or Digests. It would be believable transition. I mean, in the UBs, the Hardys are, if I may say so, pretty awful and unfocused detectives. They are not yet with their known girlfriends, and they are quite terrible at lying. They are inexperienced. Most importantly, they are approximately 16 and 15 (In Martial Law, Chet is mentioned as being 16. Chet has always been the same age as Frank according to the orriginal Hardy Boys series. Joe is a year younger, so he would be 15.). If the UBs were cited as purely origin stories, a solid case could be made for the descision. A background could be laid for Frank and Joe meeting Callie and Iola and dating their long-time friends (Also, the original series says that the girls were Frank and Joe's favorite dates, meaning that in the UBs, Frank and Joe could have been with the several other women that they are seen flirting with (poorly) but decided that they liked Callie and Iola better). This decision would also explain where the boys got the several million skills that they use in the other series, and how they have so much experience solving cases.
Well, they would also have to explain how Fenton Hardy is still a Professional Detective and is still working on cases, whereas in the UB's Fenton is retired and is ready for the "empty nest" syndrome.
If they closed down ATAC before the end of the series, a case could be made for Fenton deciding to put all of his time and training on the force to good use by becoming a PI.
Frank rules, I generally agree with what you are saying about another series (and I've said something similar).
$&$ would be smart to do something like that.
Quote from: Frank rules on July 30, 2009, 09:43:16 AM
I still think that S&S should end the series with laying a background to begin another, more well-known series, like the Casefiles or Digests. It would be believable transition. I mean, in the UBs, the Hardys are, if I may say so, pretty awful and unfocused detectives. They are not yet with their known girlfriends, and they are quite terrible at lying. They are inexperienced. Most importantly, they are approximately 16 and 15 (In Martial Law, Chet is mentioned as being 16. Chet has always been the same age as Frank according to the orriginal Hardy Boys series. Joe is a year younger, so he would be 15.). If the UBs were cited as purely origin stories, a solid case could be made for the descision. A background could be laid for Frank and Joe meeting Callie and Iola and dating their long-time friends (Also, the original series says that the girls were Frank and Joe's favorite dates, meaning that in the UBs, Frank and Joe could have been with the several other women that they are seen flirting with (poorly) but decided that they liked Callie and Iola better). This decision would also explain where the boys got the several million skills that they use in the other series, and how they have so much experience solving cases.
I agree. I've thought-up similar concepts in an attempt to fit the UB in with the rest of the Hardy Boys continuity. I'd say stories like
The Tower Treasure and
The House on the Cliff do take place before the UB, though. I've always thought of something like this:
The Hardy Boys #1-38 (original text)
Undercver Brothers
The Hardy Boys #1-38 (revised text)
The Hardy Boys #39-190
Casefiles
Of course, this is far from perfect. I'm sure you can think of many problems, the main ones coming from the Undercover Brothers, but some from the Casefiles, and even the Originals.
Quote from: tomswift2002 on July 30, 2009, 10:00:06 AM
Well, they would also have to explain how Fenton Hardy is still a Professional Detective and is still working on cases, whereas in the UB's Fenton is retired and is ready for the "empty nest" syndrome.
In the UB, Fenton is only semi-retired. If you remember, Fenton worked on a case in
Running on Fumes. Some of the books may say Fenton is retired, but you have to take is as a grain of salt, since, with the UB series, most statements are contradicted by the next book, or even within the same book.
Quote from: SDLagent on July 30, 2009, 09:25:18 PM
I agree. I've thought-up similar concepts in an attempt to fit the UB in with the rest of the Hardy Boys continuity. I'd say stories like The Tower Treasure and The House on the Cliff do take place before the UB, though. I've always thought of something like this:
The Hardy Boys #1-38 (original text)
Undercver Brothers
The Hardy Boys #1-38 (revised text)
The Hardy Boys #39-190
Casefiles
Of course, this is far from perfect. I'm sure you can think of many problems, the main ones coming from the Undercover Brothers, but some from the Casefiles, and even the Originals.
I agree and I think that your list is nearing perfection. One major problem is the age discrepancy brought up in martial law but hinted at in other parts of the series. Chet (and by extension, Frank) is 16. Joe is (presumably) 15. So, Tower treasue couldn't happen before the UBs, because in it, Frank is 18 and Joe is 17.
Quote from: Frank rules on July 31, 2009, 05:44:28 PM
I agree and I think that your list is nearing perfection. One major problem is the age discrepancy brought up in martial law but hinted at in other parts of the series. Chet (and by extension, Frank) is 16. Joe is (presumably) 15. So, Tower treasue couldn't happen before the UBs, because in it, Frank is 18 and Joe is 17.
In the original version of
The Tower Treasure, Frank is actually 16, and Joe is 15. A few books later it says Chet it is about 16. It's not until the later books and the revised ones that Frank and Joe are 18 and 17, respectively.
Wow. So, I guess that means that the UBs really could fit into things like you said that they could, or they could come right before the UBs. But if that was what S&S had in mind, it is really rude of them to leave everyone wondering without making an official statement as to the position of the UBs in the Hardy Boys mysteries universe.
I don't think it's what they had in mind, considering it doesn't really fit that well. To me, it seems like S&S is totally ignoring all non-UB stories. At first it seemed like they were trying to connect the UB to the Digests, but not anymore...
Quote from: Bunny on August 01, 2009, 05:16:13 PM
I don't think it's what they had in mind, considering it doesn't really fit that well. To me, it seems like S&S is totally ignoring all non-UB stories. At first it seemed like they were trying to connect the UB to the Digests, but not anymore...
Yeah, I guess. I just don't know where they expect the UBs to fit in anymore.