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[MarkWarner]

I love Columbo! At the moment I am getting an episode a week on satellite and it is eagerly awaited Sunday evening viewing ... but keeping an eye out for a big discount on the complete box set.

The roll call of murderers is quite summat ... Johnny Cash to Donald Pleasence, Robert Vaughn (ah .. but did he), and Patrick McGoohan twice!

By far the best TV detective

[paw broon]

This is good and so subjective.  We've always loved Columbo, especially the early series but, whether he's the best tv 'tec?   Over the years, I was a fan of Chief Supt. Lockhart in No Hiding Place, (admittedly nowadays a bit obscure and ancient) But can you really beat Jeremy Brett as Holmes?  Up there also has to be Broderick Crawford in Highway Patrol.  Johnny Staccato was moody and dark.  But, and I hope the non-British viewers will excuse my presumption, Frank Marker in Public Eye just about takes the buscuit.  And there is a box set available but not of the first series, I think. Check out the intro. on you tube. 

[MarkWarner]

Paw,

I would go further and say that Columbo and Miss Marple are by far the best fictional detectives ever created.

[misappear]

I also went to see the Dark Shadows movie, just this past Friday.  My wife is a huge Johnny Depp fan (big surprise there)  We both agreed that the film was one of the worst movies we had ever seen.  It was just moribund. 

There was no plot to speak of, and certainly nothing even remotely funny happened.

The ending?  Quite literally everyone ended up worse off, making the film a tragedy (in more ways than one)

--David

[paw broon]

David, never having been interested in Dark Shadows, I can't comment on it, apart from saying that I read some poor reviews in the papers.
My wife is also a big J.D. fan but not even that would get her watching it.

Mark, gauntlets having been flung, I have to ask, which version of Miss Marple?  For me it has to be Joan Hickson and that's despite being a Margaret Rutherford fan(excellent in The Runaway Bus, with Frankie Howerd).

Fast moving up my list is Beckett in Castle but that's probably the same for most guys on this site.

I think a list of favourite t.v.  'tecs  from members would be interesting.  I'll work on one.

[profh0011]

WHY is this board going all goofy (s t r e t c h e d  out all over the place) the last few days? It can't just be my browser... no other site I go to regularly is doing this.

I took Steve Bissette's advice and went to see DARK SHADOWS. He compared it to BEETLEGUISE and MARS ATTACKS.  He was right. When I thought about it, I realized Tim Burton "did" to DARK SHADOWS what Dan Curtis and Terrence Fisher "did" to DRACULA. In each case, the film reflects the director more than the source material. Sometimes, that's not a bad thing.


On COLUMBO...

Robert Culp -- 3 times
Jack Cassidy -- 3 times (plus a 4th on MRS. COLUMBO)
Patrick McGoohan -- 4 times!!! (plus he directed the one after that)

McGoohan's 3rd time as murderer became my FAVORITE episode in the whole series!


I like Margaret Rutherford (her cameo is the best thing about THE ABC MURDERS), and I love Angela Landsbury.  Joan Hickson is okay, but they're a little dull for my tastes.

[paw broon]

Not at all sure about Angela Lansbury, probably because I can't stand Murder, She Wrote.  Could it be the sheer Englishness of the Hickson adaptations?  Because the standard of acting is very high and Hickson was a very accomplished actress. 
I'm obviously on plums here with my shout for Frank Marker 'cos, I bet none of you even know what I'm talking about.  Recently, I bought a box set of 77 Sunset Strip and am working my way through them.  I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it all those years ago. 
As for the board, I'm seeing it as "normal", in fact it's tight and neat. 

[MarkWarner]

Paw I agree

I was going to say  ... "and the worst ever TV detective series was Murder, She Wrote" ... but I thought it best not to. But whoops I have now

Also, Jean Hickson is by far the best Miss Marple. Just like Columbo she is well off the radar and playing mind games.

As a parting shot, in my opinion Sherlock Holmes is a braggart with an inferiority complex.

[bowers]

Put me down for "Columbo" as well, but definitely not for Hickson. I always felt she played the role with a touch of malice and nastiness and was not near as fun to watch as Margaret Rutherford. Also agree on "Murder She Wrote". The only really good thing about this series was it gave a LOT of actors who hadn't worked in years an occasional job. No doubt Lansbury had something to do with this. Cheers, Bowers

[paw broon]

OOOERRRR!  Sherlock?  That's controversial.  But I agree he's like spoiled wee boy at times - depends who's playing him.  Jeremy Brett gives a good performance in Girl in the Headlines which stars Ian Hendry.  A good murder/police procedural.  Available on dvd.
You can watch an episode of No Hiding Place here:-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_rXXSp5N-c
Public Eye extract here:-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX-14TnrXA0
Highway Patrol here:-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ90YcbggRo
Girl in the Headlines and other extracts here:-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL_sX3J4b0A

[boox909]

I also went to see the Dark Shadows movie, just this past Friday.  My wife is a huge Johnny Depp fan (big surprise there)  We both agreed that the film was one of the worst movies we had ever seen.  It was just moribund. 

There was no plot to speak of, and certainly nothing even remotely funny happened.

The ending?  Quite literally everyone ended up worse off, making the film a tragedy (in more ways than one)

--David

I'm avoiding the film because it was made clear in its promotion that it was not true to the original series. Dark Shadows is hardly my idea of a comedy ... the film will recoup via dvd and foreign markets, but it will always be thought of as a flop by us middle aged nerds that watched the show in its heyday.

[narfstar]

Thanks for the warning my wife wanted to see it. We both watched the original

[bowers]

PBS aired a new Brit mystery last Sunday, "Vera". Really didn't care for this one. I found the title character , DCI Vera Stanhope, to be equally obnoxious to the suspects, victim's family, fellow officers, and me! Also, not terribly bright. Sure hope they don't show all eight episodes. History Channel showed a three-part  historical drama  "The Hatfields and McCoys", giving us another take on this famous feud. Very well done with a great cast, including Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Mare Winningham, Powers Boothe and even Joe Absalom (Al Large from "Doc Martin"). Don't know if it was completely historically accurate, but a very fine piece of work. Speaking of "Doc Martin", one of the PBS channels showed both of the Doc Martin movies, "Doc Martin" and "Legend of Cloutie", based on the character in the film "Saving Grace". These were made before the TV series was filmed and Clunes plays a very different "Doc", Dr. Martin Bamford. Pretty funny, especially the scenes concerning the local Jello vigilante. Up soon from TNT- a new "Leverage" season. Cheers, Bowers

[paw broon]

We watched Vera from the start, having read the books, which are a bit different from the tv show.  But as the series wore on, it all became too hard and depressing to watch and we gave the last one a miss.  A new season of Leverage is what we need, I hope.
Watch out for the new season of Lewis, there are a couple of excellent storylines in there.  Some good points being made in the guise of a detective show.

[Yoc]

I watched "The Hatfields and McCoys" and was very surprised to see Joe Absalom pop up!  Big fan of him on "Doc Martin".  Still haven't seen the "Saving Grace" movie but have really enjoyed "Doc Martin" series.  See Hugh Laurie, you don't have to be a complete dick to play a 'crusty' doctor.  (not a fan of House.)
Haven't seen "Vera" but can recommend an older one called "Wire In The Blood" and my all time favourite of the genre - "Cracker".

[narfstar]

My wife and I have watched half of H and H probably watch the rest tomorrow. The love of Doc. Martin has spread around the world.

[bowers]

I remember "Cracker" very well- Robbie Coltraine was great! Also not a "House" fan, but I am a big Hugh Laurie fan, both as a musician and an actor. His earlier work , such as "Jeeves and Wooster" is side-splitting. I didn't like "House" because I hated the character. Laurie has to be a good actor to pull off such a nasty, arrogant, and mean-spirited role, and keep it on TV for so long. And he's one of the few Brit actors who can actually sound American! Keep looking for "Saving Grace" and the "Doc Martin" movies to see a totally different take on the character. Cheers, Bowers

[narfstar]

EPIXDR with the DR for Drive-In has a lot of the cheesy movies that seem popular here. I just watched Requiem for a Vampire in French with subtitles. Very little talk so it did not much matter. Cheesy 70's fun

[paw broon]

Yes Bowers, Saving Grace, especially, is worth looking out for and see what you think about Bill Bailey, who's also in a comedy series titled Black Books, with Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig.  All very strange, rude, a bit surreal at times and funny. I wonder if the humour will translate.
There's some info. here:- http://www.channel4.com/programmes/black-books
I couldn't get into House either, like you because of the character not Hugh Laurie.

[bowers]

Thanks for the link, Paw. "Black Books" looks pretty good, so I'll keep an eye out for it. unfortunately, the link wouldn't let me view an episode. Your comments and info regarding Brit TV are always welcome! Cheers, Bowers

[Yoc]

Oh I absolutely agree Hugh Laurie is a great actor - he can really pull off the American accent can't he?  I've been a fan since I first saw him in Black Adder which I'm surprised nobody has mentioned yet.
Black Books is on VisionTV up in Canada which is kinda funny as it's a religious network and Black Books is far from that!  You'd expect Bless Me Father or something safer like that.  Vision shows several Brit shows which is where I first saw Doc Martin.  PBS also shows it now.  History Detectives is one of the few 'reality shows' I can stand if it even qualifies as one.

[narfstar]

I so loved Black Adder when it took me by surprise on PBS many many years ago. I have not seen it in many years and that long before I had ever heard of Hough L or House, which I did not watch.

[bowers]

Indeed, Yoc, how could we possibly have forgotten "Black Adder"? One of the greatest casts and some of the most hilarious writing I've ever enjoyed. I believe the WW1 series was my favorite, although all were excellent. Cheers, Bowers

[josemas]

Absolutely agree with you all that the Black Adder shows were tops for laughs.  I originally caught them on A & E back in the late 80s and early 90s and I rewatched them again on video over the last couple of years and found them just as funny as I remembered them

Best

Joe

[josemas]

A quick heads up to those in the U.S. and who may be interested that the season premiere of Falling Skies is tonight on TNT.  They'll be showing the first two episodes of season two.

Best

Joe