Career Cases

Some actors' whole careers are defined by one role. Peter Falk has played other parts, but he is Columbo. Richard Belzer is John Munch, in a record breaking number of programmes. Others are celebrated for two roles; John Thaw was Jack Regan in The Sweeney then Morse and Raymond Burr was just as much Perry Mason as he was Ironside.

As I've mentioned before I love it when someone famous from one show turns up in another. But then there are those minor players who have appeared in a staggering number shows.

Take Richard Anderson, who appear as the father of drug-using niece in today's Ironside. He may have found success in the Bionic Woman and Six Million Dollar Man series, but his crime show CV comprises:

• Columbo
• Hawaii 5-0
• The Streets of San Francisco
• Perry Mason
• Barnaby Jones
• Charlie's Angels
• Nero Wolfe
• Knight Rider
• A Team
• Hardcastle and McCormick
• Simon & Simon
• Murder She Wrote
• and five episodes of Ironside, each time as a different character.

Then there is Robert Lipton, who played the would-be murderer in the episode "One Hour to Kill". He has appeared in the following:

• The D.A.
• The Mod Squad
• Police Story
• 21 Jump Street
• Murder She Wrote (in three episodes as different characters)
• LA Law
• The District
• Without a Trace
• and two episodes of Ironside (again as different characters)

Just by following the careers of these minor characters, I could fill up my schedule for months (if only I had access to all those old shows).

Christmas Viewing

As predicted, the festive period has not produced a great deal of detectiving. I didn't get the Morse boxset, but I did get the first series of Remington Steele, which I've just taken a break from watching to write this post.

So what else did I watch?

The Fall Guy - an episode featuring Richard Kiel, best known as Jaws in a couple of James Bond movies. Colt and Howie go undercover in prison where they need to gain the confidence of Animal (Kiel). Unfortunately, the only person in authority who knows they are undercover, the prison warden falls into a coma while they are in there, cue an elaborate escape plan. It was pretty good actually and I remembered why I liked it so much as a child.

Rosemary and Thyme - ahh yes the gardening detectives! An episode about a restaurant critic murdered in a hotel he is about to give a 5 star review to, and a weed attacking a grape crop. It also had a slight Christmas theme in that Thyme's children were both spending Christmas out of the country.

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates - I can't believed I stooped so low as to watch this. Possibly the least convincing detective ever, that old woman from 'Keeping Up Appearances' aided by the hobbit who want onto Lost. The crime - an Ecstasy tablet was planted on Hetty's nephew, so she investigated and uncovered a case of bullying and drug dealing. This involved going undercover as a dinner lady and then asking her nephew what happened - not exactly requiring the most detectiving skills ever.


Not really detectiving, but I did also received from my beloved a book by Richard Belzer about the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK, UFOs and aliens.

Canine Crime Fighters

If there is one thing I love more than detectives, its dogs.

Watching an episode of The District on Saturday, I saw Jack Mannion’s dog for the first time. It wasn’t on screen long enough for me to work out what breed it was but it was an adorable bundle of fluff. And it got me thinking about dogs in detective shows.

The Red Hand Gang had a dog, Boomer and Columbo sometimes hooks up with a Basset Hound in some episodes, but I’ve also been noticing a few other canines recently.

In an episode of Law & Order Special Victims Unit we watched recently, a woman is murdered in Central Park while walking her dog. Munch picks up the dog and takes it back to the station until they can identify the woman. I was rather disappointed when the dog was returned to its master quickly as I had hoped for a whole episode of Munch carrying a dog about – two of my absolute favourite things together!

Then in Homicide Life on the Street (we are working our way through Season 3) there was an episode featuring an illegal immigrant family who had eight children and four dogs and were all leaving in one motel room. Then last night, I was watched the episode Justice Pt 1 and again the murder victim was accompanied by his dog. I feel asleep before the second part, so I don’t know what happened yet but I’m convinced the dog knew something...

But the undisputed king of the dog detectives has to be Freeway from Hart to Hart, an unclipped Lowchen. For all Jonathan Hart might be a self-made millionaire and part-time sleuth, Freeway is probably brighter and cuter too. On Sunday, I watched an episode on the Screen Gems on demand channel where Freeway took centre stage – ‘Which Way, Freeway?’. In this episode, Freeway pairs up with Susie (possibly a Setter), solves a murder and foils a diamond heist. Not bad going for a small fluffy thing.

Happy Birthday, Mr Belzer

Today is Richard Belzer's birthday. He is 63.

Is that too old for me? Because I think I love him. Or at least the character John Munch, but I'm convinced he's just the same in real life and writes his own part. He's like a prophet in Homicide Life on the Street - he's already predicted the rise of the internet (this was made before it really took off) and the dangers of driving 4x4.

Alright, so I know he isn't good looking but he's got character. And he's been on Seasame Street.

Law & Order: Sport Utility Vehicle

The only other detective programme that I managed to watch an entire episode of this week was Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

This isn't my favourite Law & Order show because it doesn't usually involve murders. As I said in my first post, I prefer a murder and I think this is because there tends to be more variety in the motive of murders than other crimes. However, the episode on Saturday night was interesting because the rape was of a police officer, which then twisted into a storyline involving police corruption, which I do find fascinating.

It was a good episode - not quite as gripping as the regular Law & Order episode where Cregan is under suspicion and his own officers have to investigate him.

There wasn't much of my favourite Richard Belzer in it, although episode with him do tend to be ruined by my on-going suspicion that it will one day be revealed that he is in fact guilty of all the crimes. If ever a man that a look of guilt, it is him. And he is called Munch, which is fantastic because he does look just like the figure in 'The Scream' by Edward Munch.

Things did get a bit confusing in the middle of the programme, when my OH flicked channels in the ad break onto another episode of SVU (or SUV as I keep calling it) and it took us a few minutes to realise it was the wrong episode.