Detective fiction shows have developed greatly since the first broadcasted detective shows,
Man Against Crime and
Martin Kane, Private Eye, first aired on television in 1949. From these examples of classic detective sleuths, the detective genre of television shows was born, and has since blossomed into one of the main genres we see today. Cop dramas have become great examples of the detective shows of today, but in recent years, there has also been a shift toward variations of the typical cop drama. Whether audiences yearned for something a bit more exciting and different, or if writers felt the cop drama had gone stale, there has been a fresh take on the detective in recent years. But how has this transition, and all of the developments since the first detective shows, affected the detective fiction genre on television?
The earliest examples of TV detective shows were classic Private Eyes, but over the past sixty years many new subgenres have made themselves clearly felt. From light-hearted comedy-based shows such as Scooby Doo or the Pink Panther series to legal thrillers such as Law and Order, this genre has grown to encapsulate a wide range of programs since the days of
Man Against Crime. This development has led to the creation of more elaborate, complex detective shows with overall plots that vary greatly.
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| The cast of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit |
Among these subgenres, one of the most prevalent example in today's age is the cop drama. Over the years, the cop drama has grown to encompass more than simply the investigative nature of solving crimes.
Law and Order and its branches focuses on not only solving the crimes committed and catching the bad guy, a mainstay of what we have seen in this course, but also getting the criminals convicted. Another expansion of the genre has seen science-based crime solving, such as in
CSI, become more widely seen in the detective fiction genre on television. These types of shows vary little from S.S. Van Dine's "Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories" as they stick to very realistic plot lines and believable circumstances.
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| The cast of CSI |
From the cop drama, a number of interesting shows began to dive deeper and become a bit more creative in attacking the detective show on TV. While the aforementioned shows focused on your typical cop just doing his job, shows such as
Monk and
Grimm have made various changes that have progressed the genre. These shows both focus on a main character who possesses a special characteristic which aids how the program is perceived and viewed.
Monk focuses on a former police officer who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and uses his supreme attention to detail, despite his numerous phobias, to solve crimes the police cannot solve themselves. This show dives more into the inner workings of the detective's life than in other examples of the detective on screen, and is as much a story about his life as it is about crime. Another example of a variation of the detective comes in
Grimm, which focuses on a detective who discovers he can see creatures called "wessen" and through his crime investigation keeps them under control. This show clearly fails Van Dine's rule stating that "crime must be solved by strictly naturalistic means," but puts a fresh spin on the detective and creates an intriguing overall plot regarding his realization. Both of these shows have detectives largely different from the sleuths of yesteryear, diving far deeper into characters than Harlan Halsey's Spencer Vance in
The Dock Rats of New York, or many of the other detectives we've looked at so far.
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| Adrian Monk showcasing his quirky methods for crime solving |
The real question here is whether deviations from the detective genre on television still represent the sleuth well in the modern era. Is there any place in true detective fiction for supernatural shows or character based shows, or should the detective on TV being focused more on the crime?
Works Cited
"Detective Programs." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2012. <http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=detectivepro>.
Halsey, Harlan. The Dock Rats of New York. 10. 2004. Web. <http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/dckrt10.txt>.
Van Dine, S.S. "Twenty Rules for Detective Writing."
American Magazine. 1928: n. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/vandine.htm>.
Patrick,
ReplyDeleteI like the questions you are asking about what role fantasy can play in the detective genre. Van Dine states in his rules for detective fiction that there involving fantasy is a slap in the face to the reader because it gives the detective an unfair advantage. The detective genre revolves around the competition between the reader and detective, so involving magic is unfair since the reader could not have deduced the answer to the mystery with the clues provided. However, in a television series with numerous episodes it is possible for the rules of the supernatural to be clearly explained, which would put the reader on a level playing field with the detective.
Shows like Law and Order and cop dramas are an interesting addition to the genre as well since they put the reader in a competition with an entire department rather than a single detective. Van Dine says this is an unfair disadvantage to the reader, but in these shows we are generally given ample time and evidence to solve the crime before the characters in the show do.
Interestingly enough, this post poses another difficult question regarding the supernatural. And, after actively studying the genre for the past eight weeks, I’ve come to find that the answer is extremely subjective and nearly impossible to consider without bias. Though we frequently compare modern works to the standards of S.S. Van Dine, there is no true definition of detective literature. I personally believe the desire to utilize a standard of comparison stems from the psyche of the stereotypical detective literature guru. Essentially, those who find satisfaction in hardboiled detective literature possess a yearning for the logical. A need for logic in the stories themselves presents a need for a basis of definition. Without guidelines, a quintessential form of the genre fails to exist, correct? I think the answer to first question regarding whether or not the modern representation of detective literature justly captures its origin is obvious. With newer psychological, medical, and supernatural elements, not to mention the differences in medium (film, technology, etcetera), Poe’s first works have been greatly skewed. Whether or not these new detective adaptation “should” be based more nearly on earlier works is not for us to say. However, I will say that keeping fantasy entirely separate from any classic genre will be grossly difficult given the current generation’s fascination with the supernatural.
ReplyDeletePatrick, I really enjoyed your post. In response to your first question, I believe that all of the developments since the first detective television shows have, for the most part, improved the genre on television. Although the first television shows were interesting and more focused on the detective, they are dated. Television show creators must keep up with the times. The old plots and means by which detectives solved crimes are not relevant today. With new technology and film producing capabilities, television and filmmakers have a whole new realm of crimes that can be solved. An example that sticks in my mind is on the remake of the series of Hawaii 5-0. This show first aired in 1968 as a cop drama, but has been remade in the last few years to reflect the “new” crimes Hawaii is facing and the advanced ways to solve the crimes. The actors use both new and futuristic technology that keeps the viewer entertained and gives them equal opportunities to solve the crimes presented. This show was successful when it began in 1968, but CBS new that in order to attract a new, younger audience, they would have to make serious changes to the previous series.
ReplyDeletePatrick,
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post, especially because I am severely addicted to Law and Order: SVU. As much as I love it, I am aware that the classic “cop drama” has been done and overdone, and that television producers must create some new twist, which accounts for the numerous variations of the typical detective in recent television. In my opinion, the supernatural element is just a way to freshen up the centuries old detective story for modern audiences who, as Andrew pointed out, have some fascination with the supernatural. What intrigues me about the plethora of cop dramas that have been created over the years is that in every detective story we have read this semester, the detective has possessed some minor—or in Sam Spade’s case, great—disdain for police enforcement. When did the role of a detective and a cop become merged together? Obviously we would no longer think of hiring a private eye for $50 a day plus whiskey expenses when we need a crime solved; instead we would look to our local law enforcement. What do you think this says about the state of our society when hard-boiled private eye stories were popular versus society today?
Those were definitely things I was considering adding into this as I worked on this, but I felt as if that could be a blog in and of itself. Forensics, technology, modern advancements really have added a great deal to the detective on TV. I think the cop drama has really come to define the genre in the modern era, which makes your question really intriguing, Sarah. I think that as the country started to see all the corruption in the legal system with crime bosses ruling cities and controlling entire police departments, the people began to ask for justice. Audiences were certainly used to the bad guy being caught in stories, but maybe the image of the bad guy being behind bars finally started to make an impact. It is odd to think about how many of the early stories we read in this course focused more on the actual detection as to what happened, rather than putting a criminal behind bars. In fact, many seemed to be simply trying to show off their superior intellect than catching a crook. I think that shift is really interesting, but has really redefined the genre as a whole.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Patrick. I believe one of the key reasons that the detective genre has developed into what we see today is primarily because of the crimes most common to society. During the hard-boiled era, bootleggers, mob bosses, and mass corruption were the real world norm, not just a fictional exaggeration. Nowadays, we see shows such as SVU combating the very real and all to common heinous crimes such as rape and molestation. The genre has developed with the times. if we look at the ever famous Van Dine rule as to murder being the only case worth the ink, I think we can see why that is no longer true. Crimes such as rape and child molestation are viewed as even more heinous than murder in today's society, so heinous that frequently convicts of those crimes are housed away from other criminals, for fear that those convicted of theft, embezzlement and drug charges will kill them. we also have today the very real threat of terrorism to consider. this has been the subject of many episodes of detective dramas, including the entire series "24". The crimes fit the times with detective fiction, and that's the way it needs to be sometimes. Murder is still a solid old standby, but sometimes the circumstances make other crimes even more unacceptable to our society, and therefore, even more appealing to the viewers as a crime they can participate in solving.
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