Fictional Amateur detectives represent the ultimate in tooling. you solve a case in an hour (or as long as your book or tv show lasts) and take a break for the rest of the week. Sherlock Holmes had no other work. He played the violin badly and morphine had little effect on his deductive powers. Mrs. Hudson does the cooking, cleaning, washing, and Dr. Watson is there to lend a ear and keep a watch on his health and boost his ego. And when the right case comes, you turn on your industrial strength detective-lights and save the day and have an immediate impact on ground reality. No nagging women at home. The rest of the time, you polish your skills by publishing 'monographs' on bees, cigar ash, and other important stuff. You have just enough clients to keep this tool-cycle going.
Sounds like a nice job description.
Showing posts with label worlds best detectives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worlds best detectives. Show all posts
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Top-10 detectives in fiction - updated
This tab returns to what it does best. tool. In the spirit, we see some seismic shifts in our old top-10 detectives list that was released a few months ago.
Firstly, reviewing some of the old episodes of Sherlock Holmes boringly confirms his position at the top. He's good enough to publish analytic monographs on bees and cigar ash. no contest.
Ok, we add to our list, the brilliant native Tamizh-speaking detective from Kerala, Mr. Sethurama Iyer (or SRI). Sri comes to us from a cool sequence of plot-driven movies in Malayalam, brought to life by the eminent Indian actor Mammootty. Or ma2m2o2ty if u are into alphanumerics. In a judicial system dominated by self-servers, stupidity, and sloth, SRI brings scientific temper, vigor, and a devotion to the truth. He can also debate Vedanta and Hindu philosophy with the best.
Next, we go all the way to Sweden to meet Mr. Wallander. This TV series (check out pbs.org) is so dark, and the character so bleak and driven, the economic recession is a relative piece of cake for that one hour.
Our updated list with geographical locations looks like this now. We have booted out the Law-Order duo of Brisco and Green, and Indian favorite Karamchand, who were tied at 10, as well as the sole female representative, Miss Marple.
10.Goren (USA, NY city)
9. Cadfael (England, Shrewsbury)
8. Monk (USA, Frisco)
7. Wallander (Sweden)
6. Der Alte, The Old Fox (Germany)
5. Sethurama Iyer, (India, Kerala)
4. Byomkesh Bakshi, (India, Bengal)
3. Hercule Poirot (Belgium)
2. Columbo (USA, Los Angeles)
1. Sherlock Holmes (UK, London)
Firstly, reviewing some of the old episodes of Sherlock Holmes boringly confirms his position at the top. He's good enough to publish analytic monographs on bees and cigar ash. no contest.
Ok, we add to our list, the brilliant native Tamizh-speaking detective from Kerala, Mr. Sethurama Iyer (or SRI). Sri comes to us from a cool sequence of plot-driven movies in Malayalam, brought to life by the eminent Indian actor Mammootty. Or ma2m2o2ty if u are into alphanumerics. In a judicial system dominated by self-servers, stupidity, and sloth, SRI brings scientific temper, vigor, and a devotion to the truth. He can also debate Vedanta and Hindu philosophy with the best.
Next, we go all the way to Sweden to meet Mr. Wallander. This TV series (check out pbs.org) is so dark, and the character so bleak and driven, the economic recession is a relative piece of cake for that one hour.
Our updated list with geographical locations looks like this now. We have booted out the Law-Order duo of Brisco and Green, and Indian favorite Karamchand, who were tied at 10, as well as the sole female representative, Miss Marple.
10.Goren (USA, NY city)
9. Cadfael (England, Shrewsbury)
8. Monk (USA, Frisco)
7. Wallander (Sweden)
6. Der Alte, The Old Fox (Germany)
5. Sethurama Iyer, (India, Kerala)
4. Byomkesh Bakshi, (India, Bengal)
3. Hercule Poirot (Belgium)
2. Columbo (USA, Los Angeles)
1. Sherlock Holmes (UK, London)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Worlds best detectives in book and TV fiction
Here's a list in ascending order. It's pretty subjective, and one can imagine hugely different rankings by others. I'm from India, so a couple of great indian characters who i believe have a wonderful universal appeal. A key requirement is that the story be enjoyable (its fiction!), plot-driven, with a focus on solving a really serious crime (so that leaves all pesky teen investigators out). lawyers are not allowed in this list. But this much I can say - if u have watched or read each of these characters, you are certainly a fellow tooler!
Feel free to enter your own personal ranking and i will update the blog with a "most popular list" soon.
10. We start with a tie.
a. Det.Brisco and Green. The best team which formed the "law" in "law and order". The have 30 minutes to properly investigate and make a realistic case on tv before the lawyers screw it up.
b. Karamchand. A popular Indian Favorite, was inspired by Columbo. This carrot-nibbling investigator was innovatively interpreted by ace actor Pankaj Kapur, solved many tv crimes in 1980-90s India.
9. Det. Goren, NYPD. From 'Law and Order - Criminal Intent'. Still going strong. Along with partner Detective Eames who keeps him sane, they track down a variety of killers and Goren uses his brilliant (if sometimes disturbing) psycho-analytical skills to get the perps to confess. His nemesis, Nicole Wallace is long dead... or is she?
8. Miss Marple. Agatha Christie gets her first of two bites of the apple for creating another unforgettable character. The old lady solves crimes in quiet English villages ....
7. Cadfael, the Benedictine monk is also an unlikely detective who solves crimes while faithfully serving his lord, played well by Derek Jacobi.
6. Monk. It's his name. The last season remains. Adrian's powers of observation and pattern recognition is a blessing but it comes along with the curse of an obsessive compulsive disorder and a plethora of phobias. he's still searching for his wife's killers...
5. Der Alte (The Old Fox), original series. The German detective along with his youthful sidekick started solving TV crimes in 70s displaying both cunning and courage.
4. Byomkesh Bakshi. The quintessential Bengali intellectual of old India created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Compassionate and brilliant. I wonder if they'll dub the tv version in English, played by Rajit Kapoor. India's best by far. Highly recommended. It's inspired by Poirot and Holmes, but is utterly Indian in the end.
3. Hercule Poirot. The egg-headed master of the grey cells from Belgium created by Agatha Christie. A touch of vanity, but always fair, and way too clever for killers. and every case is a challenge.
2. Columbo. A personal favorite, along with his crumpled coat, a crumpled tie, an equally crumpled looking hound, an even more crumpled old car (hilarious when asks it to be valet-parked), and his loving wife who never makes it to screen, and an un-used gun that he's never fired in a while. Peter Falk's victims always underestimated him and relaxed their guard when he just has that one last question ...
1. Sherlock Holmes - Probably the most reprised character in dramatic history, along with the gutsy Dr. Watson at 221B baker street, is still the best by far, and inspired many of those characters below in his list. Even the 'young Sherlock Holmes' prequel imagined by Spielberg was pretty good. Although Holmes never said 'elementary, my dear Watson', Arthur Conan Doyle gave his character some brilliant deductive powers, an encyclopedic knowledge, lots of courage, a spirit of adventure, but also a weakness for the occasional shot of morphine when unemployed. The world's greatest fictional research scientist as well as the world's greatest criminal mind in the form of his nemesis, Dr. Moriarty clash in an epic manner.
Update: My sister recommends: "Thomas Lynley from Scotland Yard in crime fiction by Elizabeth George (read her books - they are superbly written). Eliz George is an American who writes in the style of a British crime writer - am a huge fan of hers".
Feel free to enter your own personal ranking and i will update the blog with a "most popular list" soon.
10. We start with a tie.
a. Det.Brisco and Green. The best team which formed the "law" in "law and order". The have 30 minutes to properly investigate and make a realistic case on tv before the lawyers screw it up.
b. Karamchand. A popular Indian Favorite, was inspired by Columbo. This carrot-nibbling investigator was innovatively interpreted by ace actor Pankaj Kapur, solved many tv crimes in 1980-90s India.
9. Det. Goren, NYPD. From 'Law and Order - Criminal Intent'. Still going strong. Along with partner Detective Eames who keeps him sane, they track down a variety of killers and Goren uses his brilliant (if sometimes disturbing) psycho-analytical skills to get the perps to confess. His nemesis, Nicole Wallace is long dead... or is she?
8. Miss Marple. Agatha Christie gets her first of two bites of the apple for creating another unforgettable character. The old lady solves crimes in quiet English villages ....
7. Cadfael, the Benedictine monk is also an unlikely detective who solves crimes while faithfully serving his lord, played well by Derek Jacobi.
6. Monk. It's his name. The last season remains. Adrian's powers of observation and pattern recognition is a blessing but it comes along with the curse of an obsessive compulsive disorder and a plethora of phobias. he's still searching for his wife's killers...
5. Der Alte (The Old Fox), original series. The German detective along with his youthful sidekick started solving TV crimes in 70s displaying both cunning and courage.
4. Byomkesh Bakshi. The quintessential Bengali intellectual of old India created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Compassionate and brilliant. I wonder if they'll dub the tv version in English, played by Rajit Kapoor. India's best by far. Highly recommended. It's inspired by Poirot and Holmes, but is utterly Indian in the end.
3. Hercule Poirot. The egg-headed master of the grey cells from Belgium created by Agatha Christie. A touch of vanity, but always fair, and way too clever for killers. and every case is a challenge.
2. Columbo. A personal favorite, along with his crumpled coat, a crumpled tie, an equally crumpled looking hound, an even more crumpled old car (hilarious when asks it to be valet-parked), and his loving wife who never makes it to screen, and an un-used gun that he's never fired in a while. Peter Falk's victims always underestimated him and relaxed their guard when he just has that one last question ...
1. Sherlock Holmes - Probably the most reprised character in dramatic history, along with the gutsy Dr. Watson at 221B baker street, is still the best by far, and inspired many of those characters below in his list. Even the 'young Sherlock Holmes' prequel imagined by Spielberg was pretty good. Although Holmes never said 'elementary, my dear Watson', Arthur Conan Doyle gave his character some brilliant deductive powers, an encyclopedic knowledge, lots of courage, a spirit of adventure, but also a weakness for the occasional shot of morphine when unemployed. The world's greatest fictional research scientist as well as the world's greatest criminal mind in the form of his nemesis, Dr. Moriarty clash in an epic manner.
Update: My sister recommends: "Thomas Lynley from Scotland Yard in crime fiction by Elizabeth George (read her books - they are superbly written). Eliz George is an American who writes in the style of a British crime writer - am a huge fan of hers".
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