RARA-AVIS: I'd Rather Prather

Kevin Smith (kvnsmith@colba.net)
Thu, 14 May 1998 08:56:18 -0500 To tell the truth, I think the Shell Scott everyone always raves about
really only hit his stride a few more books into the series (maybe around
Way of a Wanton?), but once he found the formula, Prather milked that
sucker for all its worth. As I remember it, Vanishing Beauty was only sorta
so-so. The plots get, well, not simpler, but more focussed and logical, in
their own unfocussed and illogical way, and the silliness increases. A fun
series, totally without redeeming social value or great literary merit, and
I've managed to hunt 'em all down, I think. I tend to eagerly save 'em for
those little binges during those backyard-hammock-with-beer-on-the-side
reads in the lazy, hazy days of summer, and then read 'em in blocks (July
is Cheese Month, you know). There's something rather innocent and wide-eyed
about them, set at about the level of a randy sixteen year old, and I find
'em a whole hell of a lot funnier than some of the oh-so worldly and adult
post-ironic pastiches/parodies that pass for humourous writing in the genre
these days.

In fact, I think the books are naturals for a television series. A frothy,
tongue-in-cheek half hour show or a gleefully politically-incorrect summer
flick. I envision a sort of Get Smart, P.I. type thing. Years ago, I think
Bill Murray would have been great as Shell. Now, I guess, they'd have to go
with Jim Carrey, but it would still be a hoot. Also a pipedream, though,
since most folks wouldn't have a clue that it was a spoof, since there's
nothing much on television or in the theatres anymore it could be
considered a spoof of....

Which is a shame. It's disheartening to see the slim pickings television
offers us in the way of P.I. shows. Once the only thing more common than TV
private eyes was TV cowboys, and now they both seem to have almost totally
vanished. Even the slightest shows of the sixties and seventies would stand
tall among such froth as Dellaventura or Charlie Grace. (A glance at the
results of the poll on my site so far tell the story...I mean, Magnum P.I.?
I realize not everyone is an old fart like me, but...Magnum P.I.?)

At least there's the always-challenging, literate Homicide, which recently
wrapped up for the season, possibly the only hardboiled crime show left,
now that NYPD Blues has become a sort of Days of Our Lives with badges,
bullets, pot bellies, the emotional crisis-of-the-week and the
seemingly-obligatory, gratuitous shot of a hairy butt in the last five
minutes.

But I digress....

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Kevin Smith
The Thrilling Detective Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
Vote for The Best and the Worst of the TV Eyes-in this month's P.I. Poll!

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