Finding TV fame: Father Brown, Sherlock Holmes, and why some fictional detectives fare better than others...

I was browsing the Internet this weekend, reading several crime fiction-related news stories and articles, when I cam across an interesting piece by Guy Somerset, Arts & Books Editor at the New Zealand Listener. As part of a review of two now-available DVD box sets of British TV series based on famous fictional detectives, Somerset raised an interesting question; why are some detectives more adapted than others? In his article he focuses on GK Chesterton's Father Brown and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (the stars of the respective DVD releases, the 1974 Father Brown series starring Kenneth More, and the modern Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch), noting the differing treatment of the two famous (at least in a literary sense) characters throughout TV/film history.

Somerset begins his article with: "Poor Father Brown. How it must rankle. It’s a good thing he’s a man of the cloth or who knows what evil might worm its way into his heart were he to dwell on all those classic detectives who have fared better than him when it comes to film and television adaptations. Dare one even whisper the words Sherlock Holmes?"

It's a topic which has intrigued me for a while - how some detectives, and therefore their books and writers, become more famous due to numerous adaptations, how some terrific characters aren't adapted for film and TV, or aren't repeatedly adapted, etc? Of course, when it comes to the film business (and probably TV too, by extrapolation), William Goldman's famous quote: "Nobody knows anything" is very appropriate.

Somerset mentions the likes of the much-adapted Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, as well. Sherlock Holmes has of course been adapted many times over. Could it just be that those characters have been around for so long? Well, no - because as Somerset points out, Father Brown hasn't fared so well. Dame Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Roderick Alleyn has been adapted for both British and New Zealand television, but I'm not sure how Wimsey and other Golden Age characters have fared. They're certainly not being regularly remade for modern films or TV shows like the drug-taking, violin-playing resident of 221B.

You can read Somerset's article in full here.

Why do you think some crime fiction characters have been remade more than others? Is it just that the most popular characters or authors have been most remade? Or does that become self-fulfilling (ie remakes generate more popularity)? What about modern detectives? Which more recent characters would you most like to see adapted for the big or small screen? Which older characters would you like to see given a modern twist in an updated film or TV series, ala Sherlock?

Reminder: Luther starts on Kiwi TV screens tonight

I was browsing through the Sunday papers this grey Auckland afternoon (I enjoy reading both the Sunday Star-Times and the Herald on Sunday - there are others, but those are my go-to Sunday papers), when I glanced at the television section of the Herald on Sunday and saw that Neil Cross's acclaimed/criticised new cop show, Luther, was highlighted as the "Pick of the Day" from everything on TV on all channels, free-to-air and pay-TV, today and tonight. I have heard some very, very good things about this show, along with plenty of criticism and dislike as well. It seems to be a television show that is quite polarising; viewers and critics seem to either love it, or hate it. There doesn't seem much of a middle ground.

That can sometimes (but not always) be the sign of a good show - something that isn't middling and pandering to the widest audience - so I am very interested to see what my own response will be. Will I be a viewer who loves it, or one that doesn't? Will it resonate with me, or not? Will I care about the exceedingly-troubled cop played by the often-brilliant Idris Elba, or not?

Unfortunately, as I don't have the UKTV channel (part of the Sky pay-TV package) at home, I won't be finding out tonight. But for all of you Kiwi television watchers who do, go and check out Luther at 8:30pm tonight, and make up your own minds.

Comments welcome.

Great news: Neil Cross's acclaimed TV series LUTHER is coming to New Zealand TV screens

Last week I shared the news that Wellington-based novelist and TV screenwriter Neil Cross, whose novel BURIAL was one of the three finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, had received two Edgar Award nominations this year - for the writing in his acclaimed six-part BBC TV detective show Luther (see a trailer for the series above).

The show stars Idris Elba (of The Wire fame) as John Luther, a very unorthodox and troubled British cop. Elba received a Golden Globe nomination for his compelling performances in the role.
You can read more about the show (which has been picked up for a second season in the UK, and has also inspired a series of spin-off books, to be written by Cross), at Neil Cross's website here.

Now I can confirm that Luther is finally coming to New Zealand television screens, next month. The series will be shown on the UKTV channel, beginning on Sunday 6 February at 8:30pm.

You can read more about Luther in an article from yesterday's New Zealand Herald, here.

Have you seen Luther, in the US or UK? If so, what do you think? Have you read or watched any of Cross's other storytelling (the TV show Spooks, or books like BURIAL, CAPTURED, the Booker-longlisted ALWAYS THE SUN, and HOLLOWAY FALLS)?

Ngaio Marsh documentary to hit TV screens?

In preparation for the upcoming inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, I've been talking to various people about various things - and yesterday I came across some interesting information.

Apparently there is a new TV documentary in the works on Dame Ngaio Marsh, which may be screened on New Zealand TV screens in the coming months. This is fantastic news, as for a long time Dame Ngaio has been rather horrendously overlooked here in New Zealand, in a literary sense.

With Dr Joanne Drayton's excellent recent biography, Ngaio Marsh: Her Life in Crime, the upcoming Ngaio Marsh Award, and now the noises about this TV documentary (which I understand is being produced and/or directed by a person or persons who is/are very experienced and acclaimed in the local television industry), perhaps our own Queen of Crime will start getting some wider public recognition in her home country.

Have you read any Ngaio Marsh novels? What do you think? Have you read Dr Drayton's biography on Marsh? Would you be interested in watching a TV documentary? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor on TV screens

A few days ago “The Guards” - the pilot TV movie for a prime time series based on the Jack Taylor novels by acclaimed Irish crime writer Ken Bruen - was aired on TV3 in Ireland.

According to JackTaylorFilms.com, "Bruen is a prolific writer with many fans around the World and 28 novels behind him already" and "Galway based Magma Productions have signed a deal on the rights for the full series of Jack Taylor novels, more of which [are]to be shot in Galway in late 2010 and 2011".

So good news for Ken Bruen fans, and crime fiction fans in general, it seems.

In the pilot, "The Guards", former Irish cop turned finder Jack Taylor is played by Scottish character actor Iain Glen (pictured above on the left, with Ken Bruen), who has been in many productions over the years, eg playing Richard the Lionheart in Kingdom of Heaven, and Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank.

You can watch a trailer for "The Guards" below:



According to JackTaylorFilms.com, upcoming further episodes in the series include:

THE KILLING OF THE TINKERS
Jack Taylor has slid further down the slope of despair. Someone is systematically slaughtering young travellers and dumping their bodies in the city centre. Even in the state he‘s in, Jack Taylor has an uncanny ability to know where to look, what questions to ask, and apparently solves the case.

MAGDALEN MARTYRS
Jack Taylor has sunk to all new lows with his drinking. But when he gets a tip-off about a missing woman named Rita Monroe, his ex-cop brain pulls his body into action. Rita had been one of the Magdalene girls, a group of unmarried mothers who had been consigned into slavery in a laundry run by the nuns. Jack sets out on Rita‘s trail, uncovering religious hypocrisy and abuse.

THE DRAMATIST
The impossible has happened: Jack Taylor is living clean and dating a mature woman. Rumour suggests he is even attending mass… The accidental deaths of two students appear random, tragic events, except that in each case a copy of a book by John Millington Synge is found beneath the body. Jack begins to believe that „The Dramatist,“ a calculating killer, is out there, enticing him to play.

PRIEST
The decapitation of Father Joyce in a Galway church horrifies even the most jaded citizen. Jack Taylor, devastated by the recent trauma of personal loss, has always believed himself to be beyond salvation. An eerie mix of exorcism, a predatory stalker, and an unlikely attraction conspires to lure him into a murderous web of dark conspiracies.

CROSS
Jack Taylor brings death and pain to everyone he loves. His only hope of redemption – his surrogate son, Cody – is lying in hospital in a coma. His insider Ridge tells him that a boy has been crucified in Galway city. Then the sister of the murdered boy is burned to death, and Jack decides he must hunt down the killer, if only to administer his own brand of rough justice.

SANCTUARY
A guard and then a judge die in mysterious circumstances. But it is not until a child is added to the list that Taylor determines to find the identity of the killer. What he doesn‘t know is that his relationship with the killer is far closer than he thinks – and that it‘s about to become deeply personal.

Hat Tip to J. Kingston Pierce at the always-excellent The Rap Sheet for the heads-up about the TV screening and the trailer.

So, did anyone watch "The Guards" on Monday night in Ireland? If so, what did you think? Are you a Ken Bruen/Jack Taylor fan? What do you think of the trailer? Thoughts and comments welcome.