All Mystery. All the Time.

(Editor’s note: Rap Sheet contributor Linda L. Richards has asked that I post this item on her behalf. She’s currently hold up as an evacuee, having been forced from her British Columbia island home as a result of a raging wildfire. To learn more about her plight, see here and here.)

It’s astonishing how prescient Bruce Springsteen has turned out to be. Remember “57 Channels (And Nothing On)” from way back in 1992? Now, a lot of us actually have hundreds of channels available via cable and satellite, not just a piddling 57. And lots of the time? Still nothing on.

But mystery enthusiasts found their selection improved earlier this year with the launch of NBC Universal’s new crime and mystery cable channel, Sleuth.

The Sleuth Channel brings viewers a blend of classic mystery and crime programming--The A-Team, Knight Rider, Simon & Simon, The Equalizer, and Miami Vice among them--as well as movies such as Casino and The Take, and original programming.

A 90-minute show called America’s Top Sleuths is currently in development and will premiere on the Sleuth Channel this coming fall. You can help with the selection process by throwing your two cents into the mix. The Sleuth Web site is currently hosting an online poll that allows visitors to choose their five favorite sleuths from television and film, out of a shortlist of 25. (Though, inexplicably, options like “Sabrina, Jill, & Kelly” and “Mulder & Scully” only count as one sleuth apiece. So, feasibly, your five choices could buy you nine favorite sleuths, if you chose right. Also, I’m sorry: it’s very difficult for me to think of Crockett and Tubbs as sleuths. But that’s likely a personal thing.)--L.L.R.