Our French Connection
A two-week journey across the US—specifically towns named Paris, with a clipboard and a hundred questionnaires—to uncover what Americans think about the French.
Rosecrans Baldwin
Stay Frosty
And so here we are at the end. I don’t know how many episodes of contemporary British detective television I’ve watched. Hundreds. A thousand. Of those, maybe three or four of them I regret—but the other nine-hundred and whatever were great time-wasters when I needed
The Adventure of the Detective’s Dressing Gown
Here is the robe I want. Minute three, second 15, Jeremy Brett playing Sherlock Holmes. Smoking at the table, he wears a coat of taupe draping that looks heavy enough to be worn outdoors in the snow, but so soft (is it merino? Boiled wool?) it’s appropriate at 4
Who Loves You, Lynley?
To try and demonstrate why Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is the third best detective in contemporary British television, as viewed by me, I bottomed out in YouTube and woke up in a dumpster of mush clips, or mash videos, or something—I have no idea what they’re called, but
Inspector, Find Thyself
Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whately) isn’t what you’d call lucky. As the sidekick in Inspector Morse, Lewis was a beat-up, working-class dad/husband/copper with baggy cheeks who, for 13 seasons, played straight man to Morse’s older, wiser, eccentric genius. Then Morse died and Lewis got
DCI HBIC
I only hear bad things about the new American take on Prime Suspect. Too bad, because I only say good things about the original series. Prime Suspect defined the contemporary police procedural. It had two runs, first during the ’90s, then beginning again in 2004. Its star was Helen Mirren,
For the Love of Cumberbatch
I’m not the only one who enjoys getting lost in the Cumberbatch. Legions of Cumberbatch fans roam the internet like Medieval highwaymen, hijacking comment threads and shooting them up with Sherlock mania. Benedict Cumberbatch—the man sounds like his own classification of mania. “But I can’t go outside,
…And Live by the Sidekick’s Law
Your typical genius-detective’s sidekick isn’t a trouble-free job. The application form reads like the Boy Scout Law: “Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” Point by point, then. Trustworthy: The genius detective must have faith in your silence, your belief
Quick and Energetic, but Conventional
Unless my team is playing, I’m on the underdog’s side. According to the latest Radiolab episode, so are most people—90 percent in some studies. That means when I’m watching detective programs, I have a soft spot for the police inspectors, particularly those who have to work
Morse Mode
From episode one, I wanted to love Morse. I’m sure loads adored him. Morse had so much going for him—intuition, a temper, a love for beer to duel with his upper-middle-class condescension—I’m sure John Thaw, who played Morse for 13 years, had to shoo