![]() ![]() People outside of his immediate circle (and, in fairness, those closest to him at the coroner’s office) understand that this is a wise man more than capable of solving the mystery at hand. In Quincy”s case he is thwarted, as we all know, by the internal authority figures of the LAPD and the Coroner’s Office. Interestingly, though, these hexed states led to different trajectories–and, as all of us have a little Cassandra in them, interesting takes on how this archtypical human condition of knowing-but-ignored might play out. Cassandra, of course, was a figure from greek mythology: Apollo granted her the gift of prophecy, but cursed her so no one would believe her (in another version of the myth snakes licked her ears clean so she could hear the truth)–just as, apparantly, Quincy and Columbo were cursed. What Quincy and Columbo have in common is this: they always know the solution to the mystery, and no one ever believes them. Oh, Quincy, the Cassandra of TV! And Columbo, his darker twin, sans houseboat. And while all police work is interesting, we are about to enter the most fascinating sphere of police work– the world of forensic medicine. So I’m going to focus on just a few here today. The world of TV detectives is too huge and wonderful to cover in a blog post or two, or even a lifetime. The Mystery Bookstore (Los Angeles, CA).Seattle Mystery Bookstore (Seattle, WA).Mysteries to Die For (Thousand Oaks, CA).Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.Andrews William Harrington YA Young-adult fiction zodiac killer alan rudolph Alfred Hitchcock Annie Rogers art black dahlia Bob Hope books brian de palma Brian DePalma Carl Jung Claire DeWitt columbo conspiracy crime fiction David Lynch Down a Dark HAll Fatal vision Film Film Noir Freud glenn ford Grant Morrison Grosse Pointe guests Hester Prynne Jacques Lacan Judy Blume Jules Dassin kris kristofferson lois duncan Los Angeles made for tv movies mad men megan abbott Michael Powell miniatures movies mug shots Muse New York New York City noir noir podcast oddities out of the past patty hearst Peeping Tom photography Publishing queenpin Raising Cain Rip Torn Sara Gran Scale model Shadow Sigmund Freud Stranger with My Face Suburbia Summer of Fear symbols TCM The End of Everything The Long Goodbye Times Square Touch of Evil trouble in mind true crime Turner Classic Movies twin peaks V.C.By the way, the advocate in the wheelchair was using a desk which did NOT fit her chair and some of her file cabinets were inaccessible to her in her own office! Odd they didn't notice this.Art Books Brian DePalma Claire DeWitt Conspiracy crime fiction Detectives End of Everything film Film Noir FREUD GRAN-ABBOTT guests Housekeeping Jung Magic miniatures missing children mysteries New York oddities Photography Religion Sara Gran true crime TV Uncategorized Unknown V.C. But, instead it's like two episodes-and the one where Quincy was on a crusade to increase penalties for drunk drivers ended up instantly vanishing late in the episode! Weird but still watchable. ![]() It's all a shame, as without the preachy bits, the idea of a man pretending to be drunk to hide a murder is great. What victory? The drunk driving laws and precedent were unchanged. And, in an uncomfortable ending at Danny's, Quincy and his friends (including the anti-drunk driving advocate in her wheelchair) are all toasting their victory. As a result, all the grandstanding and preaching about the ills of drinking and driving are forgotten. While all this was very true back in 1981 and it makes a great case for strengthening the laws, SUDDENLY midway through the show Quincy realizes that this is NOT a case of vehicular manslaughter as a result of drunk driving but premeditated murder. ![]() Soon the story becomes a preachy social commentary show about the evils of drunk driving and the weakness of the laws punishing these folks. Here is where it's odd-AFTER he runs over the man, instead of hiding the booze, he begins drinking more! Then, he freely admits he was drinking but fights hard against receiving any sort of substantial penalty for the crime. ![]() He then plows into a man on the sidewalk-killing him. The show begins with a guy in a Rolls Royce driving about town erratically. While it has a wonderful twist, it also presents a very strange and confusing message about drunk driving. ![]()
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