Monday, July 02, 2012

Starter Set

This is the sort of list that newspapers, magazines, and Web sites offer when they have to fill copy holes on a slow news day.

The Los Angeles Times has assembled a catalogue of what its editors think are the 20 “best fictional detectives” from television and the movies. Their inventory starts out strong with a nomination of Lieutenant Columbo (about whom we wrote not long ago here), but then they try to please every taste, roping in characters from Inspector Jacques Clouseau and Angel to Batman and Scooby-Do. Not surprisingly, many more-deserving sleuths are absent from the Times’ roster, including Jim Rockford, Thomas Banacek, Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle, Harry Orwell, Honey West, Lew Harper, Sam Tyler, Peter Gunn, and ... well, this list could go on and on if I give it more than a moment’s thought.

After you’ve had a chance to click through the Times’ rundown yourself, let us know in the Comments section of this post which other crime-solvers you think deserved to be on that list.

6 comments:

Ronald Tierney said...

What a screwy list. Once you discover that Magnum P.I. is on it and Rockford isn't, all credibility is lost.

michael said...

I lost interest in the list when it named Steve Martin's Insp. Clouseau over Peter Sellers.

J. Kingston Pierce said...

Some other names I think should have been considered for this list:

-- Detective Robert Goren (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
-- Joe Mannix (Mannix)
-- Adrian Monk (Monk)
-- Karen Sisco (Karen Sisco)
-- Emma Peel (The Avengers)
-- Sherlock Holmes

Cheers,
Jeff

Jerry House said...

I'll take Charlie Chan over Scoobie-Doo any day.

And where's Morse?

Given the amount of thought put into this list, I'm surprised it omitted Richie Brockleman.

Randal Brandt said...

I agree that this list is pretty lame. However, at least it finishes strong. It's pretty hard to quibble about Jake Gittes (Nicholson), Jane Tennison (Mirren), Sam Spade (Bogart), Philip Marlowe (Bogart again), or Easy Rawlins (Washington).

Winifred said...

Pathetic list!