Here's a roundup of crime and mystery-related stories in the world of broadcasting and other interactive genres, including a new spinoff of NCIS and a French noir film festival in Seatlle.
TV
The Chicago Tribune reviews the new season of Damages, adding that few things are more fun than a page-turning mystery novel full of people doing bad things to each other and lying to themselves and everyone else. It's even better if they're rich, "which are the pleasures this show provides."
A&E is combining law enforcement and paranormal investigation in a new unscripted series called Paranormal Cops about a group of Chicago police officers who moonlight as ghost chasers in their spare time.
The Writers Guild of America announced their screenwriting award nominations which include Dexter and The Wire in the television category.
David Suchet says he wants to continue playing Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot until he has filmed the novelist's complete works.
CBS' decision to make its Fall schedule crime-drama heavy seemed to have worked. CBS Entertainment Pres Nina Tassler said she hoped to finally put to rest the conventional wisdom that CBS was crippled by its over-reliance on crime dramas.
Speaking of CBS crime dramas, the network announced it was spinning off its successful NCIS program.
The series based on Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency debuts on HBO in March. Grammy Award-winning singer Jill Scott stars as series heroine Precious Ramotswe.
It's hard to say whether the late Patrick McGooohan would have watched the remake of The Prisoner. But the new series' stars, Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen, are happy to be a part of the show, which airs on AMC later this year. McKellan said of the original, "I'd seen it and admired it. But this, what we've done, is its own thing."
The new CBS murder mystery set to air this Spring, Harper's island, is going to be interactive, with portions of the show being aired online and on mobile devices. The show debuts April 9, but the interactive mobile part starts earlier, on March 18.
Lee Goldberg takes the DVD industry to task for releasing "dud" TV crime thrillers like My Own Worst Enemy, while neglecting such series as It Takes a Thief, Maverick, Harry O, Police Story, and others.
The new shows on Investigation Discovery include Undercover, which profiles undercover officers who crossed over to the other side and came back, and all-new episodes of 48 Hours.
FILM
Seattle is in the midst of a French Noir Film Festival, tracing the history of French noir from 1937 through 1981.
The Hollywood thrillers keep coming. Push is slated for release on February, featuring psychic espionage and starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning.
The LA Times doesn't think Hollywood did Donald Westlake justice (do they ever do justice to good crime fiction? well, that's for another blog), although they did find that two -- 1967's Point Blank, based on the first novel he wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark, and Westlake's adaptation of Jim Thompson's The Grifters from 1990 -- are clear standouts, both by British directors.
Josh Bazell was a medical intern in his hospital scrubs on the night shift as publishers waged a seven-figure fight for his first novel, a thriller titled Beat the Reaper. Now, New Regency is acquiring screen rights as a star vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Pakistani paper Faris Hussain reviewed the upcoming movie Killshot, scheduled for release this Friday. Based on the thriller by Elmore Leonard, it was originally designed for Robert DeNiro and Quentin Tarantino, but instead wound up with Mickey Rourke and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the leads. The review ultimately concludes that John Madden’s direction elevates the drama of this piece, but the thriller aspects of this film don’t seem to live up to the strong title.
THEATER
Continuing Obamamania, crime writer and filmmaker Teddy Hayes is creating a new musical, Obama On My Mind, to premiere in London in March. It "takes a humorous look at the weird and wonderful world behind the scenes of a small Obama campaign office and the larger than life characters who make the wheels turn, the cogs whirr and bring in the votes."
WEBCASTS
Media Bistro offers up an exclusive video interview with Edgar-award winning novelist Thomas Perry.
GAMES
Gamers, rejoice. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir for NintendoDS was just released, described as a "simple yet addictive observation game"
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