It all started with PBS. I was a public TV brat. Even liberal parents use the TV to babysit. They made their excuses of course: it's educational, it's Sesame Street, it doesn't have(too many) commercials. Then one day I tuned in to Inspector Morse when the Rents weren't around, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Yes, I became a Mystery Junkie at 12. And I blame them completely. It didn't hurt that John Thaw, who plays Morse, is a bit like Dad. Not as traditional but he's got that gentle matureness about him that was reassuring. Reassuring, but not "hot". That came later.
Then I saw Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes. I'd never been into Sherlock Homes before that. Other interpretations were low on detecting and high on womanizing, or suggested womanizing. As it turns out the books have no womanizing, suggested or otherwise
and Brett's interpretation was the most faithful to the character
as written that I have yet seen.
Years later came Second Sight staring Clive Owen. Finally "hot" had arrived. Who says contemporary gumshoes can't be stylish? Or brooding. Creegan in "Touching Evil" owned brooding.(This is the BBC original. Don't waste your time with the American knockoff)
Needless to say my detective obsession spilled over into books, and lighthearted interpretations like the character "Judy Drood". And we can't forget our classics: Sam Spade.
And it all began with the PBS babysitter.
You know at first they were happy their not so little girl(tall for my age) had taken a precocious interest in adult programs. Then they hid the "I, Claudius" tapes. Happy, but still clamping down on the sex and violence. (Years later I can't see what the hang up was with" I, Claudius". Like Shakespeare, most of the bad stuff happened off screen) They didn't really start to worry until high school when I'd got it
into my head that I was going to be a private eye.
"Is that very practical?" they asked. "Don't you have to be a
cop first?"
I found out no, it's not very practical. You don't have to be a cop first, but it helps. Many PI's are lawyers or have a law degree. But it's not romantic like Bogart, or genteel, like Holmes, or even cool, like Veronica Mars. It's a lot of hard work and a lot of waiting in parked cars, with no
guarantees and the threat of bullets and shady characters.
So I decided to study journalism instead, which was a great relief to Mom and Dad. But you know what? There's just as many bullets and shady characters in journalism. Who knows, maybe I'll come full circle after all. And it'll all thanks to the Rents and the PBS babysitter.
Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad! To badly mangle a Sam quote, "Here's your kid looking at you!"
