Jeff at The Rap Sheet mentioned (yesterday) his fondness for certain detective shows of the eighties and nineties. In a ruthless effort to make me feel even older than I already do, he talked about seeing George Peppard's "Banacek" when he, Jeff, was but a lad. I won't mention how old I was when "Banacek" came and went.
I started thinking about TV series I'd actually pay to see again and I could only come up with two--Tenspeed and Brownshoes and Naked City in the hour long format. I know Tenspeed will hold up. I hope Naked City will, too.
The local community college station runs a lot of fifties series. None hold up so far. My favorite is Ramar of The Jungle because it was all shot one the same standing set and interspersed with stock footage. I thought the George Reeves Superman was dorky even when I was nine. And Mr and Mrs North (which I liked because I had a crush on Barbara Brittain) is ridiculous in every way. Wm Lundigan (Mr North) has to be the single most passive actor I've ever seen. He belongs as a foil in a Monty Python Sketch.
The Lone Wolf is hilarious because the producers figured out a way to save money on live sound--star Louis Hayward basically narrates voice over the entire twenty-seven minutes with only a few scenes containing actual dialogue.
It's a terrible thing to lose your nostalgic feeling for your lost tv youth.
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Carolyn Hart is one of the writers who made the cozy grow up. Real people confronting real problems aside from the mystery itself. Here's a promo for her next book. EG
Dear Ed,
I’m excited to announce the launch of SET SAIL FOR MURDER. Retired newspaper reporter Henrietta (Henrie O) O’Dwyer Collins responds to a former lover’s call for help and discovers that love, once kindled, never burns to ashes.
Henrie O turned down Jimmy Lennox’s marriage proposal. He later married Sophia Montgomery, world famous documentary film maker and step-mother to the now-grown heirs of a fortune. If Sophia approves, the heirs can receive control of their trust funds. Sophia decides to take the entire family on a Baltic cruise and then she will make her decision. Jimmy persuades Henrie O to join them on the luxury cruise. Jimmy hopes Henrie O will defuse the tension, but one of their fellow travelers has murder in mind.
All best wishes - Carolyn Hart
Set Sail for Murder, Morrow Dead Days of Summer, Avon
Available in bookstores and on line April 10.
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Out There in The Darkness & The Moving Coffin
As some of you know, PS Publishing in London is publshing seven volumes of my short fiction in uniform hardback editions. Probably the easiest way for you to get them is to order them through Shocklines http://shocklines.stores.yahoo.net/ The first two volumes will be available soon.
Here's an excerpt from the Booklist review, the only review I've seen:
"Over the years Gorman's novels and stories have won the Shamus and Spur Awards as well as the International Fiction Writer's award and the Ellery Queen award. The 19 stories here range from the existential angst of `Different Kinds of Dead' to the the triple-cross blackmail of "Our Kind of Guy"...A collection to treasure by a modern master."
(I knew I'd get better reviews once I got my mom a staff position at Booklist.)
I loved Tenspeed and Brownshoe. I hope Jeff Goldblum can bring a little of that Brownshoe spirit to Raines.
ReplyDeleteDo you think there's a staff position for one of my relatives at Boolist?
Hart's description of her plot resonated with me. My first novel concerns a former fiancee who ran off with a rich man but who is now back to ask the protagonist to help her family of in-laws with a sticky problem. Not that I think there are any parallels beyond that, but it's eerie how two people working miles and years apart can invent similar concepts.
ReplyDeleteMy book, LOVE, DEATH AND THE TOYMAN, has gotten a preponderance of positive reviews and I'll be signing copies at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop on March 17th. That's St. Paddy's Day, and the shop promises green cupcakes for all.
Keep up the great blog, Ed.
At Booklist, those are savvy librarians reviewing, and if they like a book, it's gospel. Good for you, Ed.
ReplyDeleteRichard Wheeler