TV Detectives

[Drago]

TV detectives. Its easy really. All you need is...

A. A quirky and memorable surname.

B. A mysterious backstory that emerges over serval episodes or, even better, over several series.

C. A unusual and totally unsuitable car.

D. A title for the show that is either just the detectives surname, or a pun, etc, based on the surname.

So what TV detectives can you come up with?

 

[Saluki]

Cormoran Strike. (The books are better by far). Quirky surname, definitely an unusual backstory, his car is a BMW, but his detective partner drives a proper old Landy, does that count?
The TV show is just called Strike.
That ticks all your boxes @Drago

 

[Drago]

A. Mustard.

B. Dave "Colonel" Mustard is a hard boiled detective of the old school who breaks all the rules but gets the job done. Twenty years ago he was arrested for beating up a Jehova's Witness who he mistakenly thought was pinching his milk from the doorstep. The magistrate took pity and offered him one last chance - prison, or join the Flying Squad. To this day the tinkle of milk bottles brings alarming flashbacks at critical moments in the action which viewers see played out in black and white. Terence Stamp played the original, while Roy Schieder played the lead in the US remake.

C. An Escort Mk1 that's always on the verge of breaking down but which he is busy restoring. The running gag at the end of each episode is that within seconds of getting the car back from the nodyshop, having a new engine, etc, some harm befalls it including, but not limited to, pianos dropping on it, meteor strikes, being blown up by the bomb squad, etc.

D. Cut The Mustard.

 

[Gunk]

I used to like Dan Tanner, he parked his 1957 Thunderbird in his office, what’s not to like!

 

[Drago]

I used to like Dan Tanner

A detective who used his knowledge of leather goods to solve crime!

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Winston O'Callaghan, mixed race Irish born Oxford educated man with a Desmond in economic science who turned down a mega salary job with a merchant bank to join the police. Plays strictly by the rules, is respectful to his superiors and drives a Citroen 2CV.

Has a flirtacious relationship with a female traffic warden who once booked him, leaving viewers to speculate on "Will they, won't they." This results in a cliffhanger at the end of the penultimate episode of the last series when he pops the question and she reveals she was actually born a man.

 

[lenfield]

Inspector Lynley driving a Bristol 410 was a bit far fetched. Would a 5.2 litre car be suitable for everyday use? It was hardly inconspicuous either.

 

[Dogtrousers]

A detective who used his knowledge of leather goods to solve crime!

This reminds me of a 50s or 60s era paperback that I once read. It was called "The Deadly Reaper" (Another tale of Nicky Mahoun, accountant-detective)

It was obviously written by a chartered accountant who had read some Dashiel Hammett and fancied giving this hard-boiled fiction a go. As well as the dames and the fisticuffs the hero would occasionally put his accountancy skills to work in solving the crime.

The Reaper was the name of a bar or cafe where the baddies hung out and made fatal errors when completing their tax returns

It was truly bad. I'm not making this up.

 

[Mike Ayling]

Morse
Can't remember a back story other than his give name was Eandeavour which he disliked using..
Car was a red jaguar

 

[tyred]

Morse drove a Lancia in the original books.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Inspector Lynley driving a Bristol 410 was a bit far fetched. Would a 5.2 litre car be suitable for everyday use? It was hardly inconspicuous either.

View attachment 823076

Rather like Starsky & Hutch standing out like a bright red thing in that Torino?

The writers of The Dukes Of Hazzard intentionally used bright orange, so they had to solve all their problems/help Roscoe/etc… on their wits, not by being stealthy
(according to the book about the series)

 

[Mike Ayling]

Morse drove a Lancia in the original books.

But this thread is about TV detectives.

 

[Drago]

I think Immight have stumbled on so,ething here, @Accy cyclist

A. Accrington.

B. Lord Accrington IV, a posh playboy dandy who when hes not smooching with supermodels, walking the catwalk, or writing tweed reviews for Country Life, spends his time solving murders. He covers up his crime fighting activities by pretending to volunteer at a charity shop, and thismis where he meets clients with mysteries or murders to solve. Think of him as like an upper crust British version of the Equalizer.

C. Vauxhall Adam, but modified by his ex SAS footman with an array of crime busting gadgets such as smoke stceen, M134 gatling gun, oil slick, cigar humidor, trouser press and fedora warmer.

D. ACCY!

 

[steveindenmark]

You also need to know absolutely nothing about the law or legal procedure.

Being ex military and ex police, I am not quite sure which type of programme is worse to watch.

I enjoy them. But the errors are glaring.

I can watch The honourable Phyrne Fisher if I turn the sound off and just look at the picture. 😁😁

 

[stephec]

I used to like Dan Tanner, he parked his 1957 Thunderbird in his office, what’s not to like!

And had a bike hanging on his wall.