It seems like we’ve always had crime drama and cop shows. FBI, CIA and local law enforcement. The crime scene-forensics shows and the profilers. The buddy cops, two guys, two gals, guy-and-gal shows. Cagney and Lacey? Remington Steele? Detectives, sheriffs, beach patrols and beat cops. Cowboys, space cops, long hairs and bald, Glock-carrying detectives. You know their names, ranging from Starsky & Hutch, McCloud, and Jim Rockford to Longworth, Blue Bloods and Jethro Leroy Gibbs. Who could forget (for those of you a little youth-challenged,) Officers Toody and Muldoon of Car 54 Where Are You? Pete Malloy and Jim Reed of Adam-12? The grand-daddy of all copy shows, Dragnet?
Always fans of the crime drama, my husband and I watch several current shows every week. And lately, we’ve recognized a new trend: the cop-helpers. As if our law enforcement heroes just aren’t capable of solving crimes on their own, these police buddies appear on the small screen weekly to assist with getting the bad guys. Topping this list is the venerable Richard Castle, novelist-turned-cop sidekick to the brilliant but obviously short-sighted NYPD Homocide detective Kate Beckett. Castle, being an amateur criminologist, comes up with wild theories and helpful clue-busters. Everyone loves “Cas-kett” and their humorous, romantic thread.
Other entries into the buddy-cop field include Elementary, Person of Interest, Perception, The Mentalist, Numb3rs and The Blacklist. In Elementary, modern-day Sherlock Holmes along with pal Joan Watson also shore up the NYPD homocide division. In Person of Interest, the NYPD gets a boost (and vice versa) from Mr. Finch and Mr. Reese, who use a high-tech “entity” to help them stop crimes before they happen. I often wonder why Detective Bell (Elementary) and Detective Fusco (POI) never meet up with Detective Beckett in Midtown?) In Chicago, Perception’s Dr. Daniel Pierce is a schizophrenic neuropsychiatrist and university professor who helps the FBI solve problems with mentally or emotionally impaired suspects, a talent they can use in just about any case.
In The Mentalist, pseudo-psychic Patrick Jane assists the California Bureau of Investigation and the FBI while working on his own agenda: to kill the man who murdered Jane’s wife and daughter. While not a true psychic, Jane is über perceptive and intuitive about people and details as a result of his upbringing among scam-artists and carnies. The now-defunct Numb3rs featured FBI special agent Don Eppes, who relied on his mathematical genius brother Charlie to sort out the probabilities of criminal actions.
Last on my short list is… The Blacklist. This show is, by far, one of the darker entries, as Red Reddington–the ultimate bad guy’s bad guy–supplies the FBI with the names of the world’s most devious villains. Red doesn’t rat out the underworld’s finest out of the goodness of his heart; he has his own dark agenda.
While I enjoy the cop-buddy angle, I think it’s about reached its peak. These particular shows are creative, thought provoking and entertaining, but it’s only a matter of time before TV crime writers create new scenarios to stimulate our imaginations. Let’s see… How about android cop? Oh, wait. Almost Human has that covered. Computer-enhanced Fed-operative? Ah. Intelligence. A small town sheriff who manifests a supernatural “trouble?” Yep, Haven. Can you come up with something new?
And yes, I know I’ve left out hundreds of great crime episodics. Feel free to comment with your favorite!