John, Bill, thanks for the comments.
> Even given that it's a TV/movie list, how the *heck*
did Philip
> Marlowe not make the list?
>
> -- John Woolley
>
It's a good question, how Marlowe didn't make the list. I
agree with the points made by both of you. Let me try to
explain some of the reasoning that went into the decision
(and, it was a difficult one).
Instead of picking sleuths who were part of many movies or tv
shows, we decided to pick the iconic appearance of a sleuth
in a film or tv series.
So, for example, we chose Basil Rathbone as our "Sherlock
Holmes," even though many actors have depicted him over the
years. My good friend, Jack LesCamela, a member on this list,
was very bothered that we didn't choose Jeremy Brett's Holmes
since he feels that's the greatest depiction of the legendary
detective. I think we got that one right.
For Marlowe, we felt that the iconic version of him was
Bogart's depiction in Howard Hawks's "The Big Sleep." However
we felt that since there was already a Bogart entry, we
shouldn't include him twice.
I don't offer this as a rebuttal or excuse - just to explain
the reasoning behind the decision. I voted to include Bogart
twice, but was outnumbered. I think we got that wrong, but
this is my job and sometimes I'm forced to live with
decisions I don't necessarily agree with.
There's a few other sleuths who didn't make the list that I'm
surprised no one has mentioned yet. For me, the most painful
ommission is Jake Gittes from "Chinatown." Unfortunately, we
could not get clip consent from Jack Nicholson - and rather
than try to depict that sleuth with still photos, we opted to
drop him. Another unfortunate omission, in my opinion, is
Popeye Doyle from "The French Connection." Again, no clip
consent from the actor makes it very difficult to demonstrate
why that sleuth is so worthy of inclusion.
Obviously, this is not a perfect list. While we will strive
to do our best, I can guarantee it won't be a perfect show.
Few are. But we'll do the best we can and I'm hopeful we'll
come out with a show that's interesting, informative, and
entertaining.
I do appreciate you guys taking a moment to look at the list,
perhaps vote for your favorites there, and raise discussion
about it.
Mark
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