9/15/2011

Cat's favorite TV Detectives

I love mysteries.  Books, Movies, TV.  Give me a murder or a crime and bring on the detective.  To celebrate Donnell's debut, I thought I'd talk about some of the TV detectives, from sexy to quirky, that have inspired my heroes. 





I met my best friend in grade school.  We were crazy about Starsky and Hutch.  Well, really Starsky.  The crooked smile.  The crazy hot car.  The leather bomber jacket he always wore.  Every episode they got into trouble, but always in the end, they got their man.  I loved their cocky confidence.






















Jim Rockford.  Lived in a trailer by the beach.  Trouble always managed to find him.  No matter how bad things got, he never stopped until he helped his clients.  He had heart.







From Life, Detective Charlie Crews.  The layers to this guy went on and on.  Framed and sent to jail for ten years, when he's exonerated and returns to the force, there's no question that he's got issues.  His brilliant mind is too often hidden beneath his odd behavior which leaves his co-workers puzzled and frustrated.  But he's driven to figure out who was responsible for sending him to prison.  And heaven help them when he does.  A man who has gone through hell and survived.  Complex and secretive, what's not to love?

Special Agent LeRoy Gibbs.  An enigmatic leader who has trouble with authority figures, he lives by a strict code all his own.  When he's not busting bad guys, he's building a boat in his basement.  (How the hell did he get it out of there?)  The strong silent man all the ladies want, but can never have.

And how could I not include Monk.  Talk about a man with issues.  But a genius.  Tortured by the loss of the love of his life and trapped by his OCD, he braves his worst fears to solve crimes. 

Who are some of your favorite TV detectives?



14 comments:

  1. Oh, wow, Cat. You have some great hero material there. Well since Joe is a police lieutenant, he's technically a detective's boss. But... he does do some detective work... er... hunting in THE PAST CAME HUNTING.

    In respect to the late, great Peter Falk, I'll go with LIEUTENANT COLUMBO :)

    And Law and Order's lovely and brilliant Lt. Anita Van Buren played by Emmy winner, S. Epatha Merkerson. :) Fun post!

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  2. I'm all about Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I also adore someone who solves crimes but *isn't* a detective. He writes about them. Rick Castle.

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  3. Ah, good one's Abigail. Gibbs reminds me of an old boss I had LOL. I love Tony D :)

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  4. Donnell, I love Columbo. Forgot about him until you mentioned it. Talk about quirky and brilliant.

    Abigail, I also love Castle. I thought about including him, but since he's technically a "writer", I didn't.

    I'm such a TVaholic, I could probably write about a detective a week for a year and never run out.

    Congrats on your debut, Donnell. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy!!

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  5. It would have to be Gibbs, and Castle are my favorite.

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  6. Thanks, Cat! My understanding is The Past Came Hunting goes live September 19th! So check back then, please :) Love this detective post!

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  7. Love all of them, Cat.

    I also love people thrown into situations that have no training and are forced to solve the mystery to save themselves. (Of course I do. Duh. it's exactly the type of story I write in Intrigue. LOL)

    Great release week Donnell. And Cat's 2nd book is only three weeks away. What fun!

    ~Angi

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  8. Yes, this is the bestest debut team ever :) We have lots of excitement in store, and as always bring you the best debut stories out there!

    Okay.... since we're slightly breaking rules here, and we mentioned Castle.... are you ready for this... wait for it? Patrick Jane & THE MENTALIST!

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  9. I can't wait to find out how Patrick gets out of his season finale...Premiere's next Thursday and I might just have to stay at the hotel to watch.

    Thursday 9/15
    Go behind the scenes of Thursday nights' line-up including The Big Bang Theory, How to Be a Gentleman, Person of Interest, and The Mentalist! Then, CHAT LIVE with The Mentalist Executive Producers Bruno Heller and Chris Long beginning at 10p ET/7pm PT.

    ~Angi

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  10. Hi Ladies!
    I was out of town for Donnell's launch week start and missed her interview with Angi yesterday, but I just read it and it's great. I'm excited for THE PAST CAME HUNTING to come out -- it sounds like a wonderful read. I'm actually a fan of multiple POVs -- I love getting into everyone's heads!

    As for TV detectives -- you couldn't pick a more fun subject, Cat. Who doesn't have a fave somewhere. I started loving TV sleuths back with Pete Cochrane on THE MOD SQUAD. I'm a Leroy Jethro Gibbs fan too (whether he's in character or just plain ol' Mark Harmon). My newest crime-solver hero is Neal Caffrey on WHITE COLLAR. And his partner Peter Burke ain't so bad either -- just sayin'!

    Fun post -- good luck with your release, Donnell!

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  11. TV Detectives. Rockford files. I love James Garner. For current shows I also like Castle, Memphis Beat, and Hawaii 5=0,

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  12. Liz, welcome back! And thanks for the support on multiple POVs. Oh, Pete Cochrane, he was hot! Loved him. Haven't watched too much of White Collar, will have to check it out!

    Tammy, James Garner and Rockford is a classic. I've really got into Memphis Beat, but never really understood all the Castle hype, and sorry I'm a huge fan of the old Hawaii Five Oh with Jack Lord and James MacArthur. Subjective, isn't it ;)

    Tune in tomorrow, I think we're going to have more fantastic detective talk!

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  13. My favorite right now are Kate Beckett and Rick Castle on ABC and I really enjoy Jane Rizzoli and Moira Isles on TNT. I can't believe you didn't mention either one. The chemistry between Beckett and Castle is the best I've seen on TV in years!

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  14. Kojack is my choice bald head and lollypop

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