JOUST: The Unconventional Crime Solver on TV

This genre definitely is gaining some ground with The Mentalist (CBS), yet as the unfortunate cancellations of both Veronica Mars (CW) and Pushing Daisies (ABC) have shown, maybe this "genre" has its limits. Along the same lines of The Mentalist, Psych (USA) also deals with a highly observant Shawn Spencer that has to pretend to be psychic in order to make his deductions viable to the Santa Barbara Police Department. He then not only becomes the police's psychic consultant, but along with his best friend Burton "Gus" Guster, starts a psychically informed private investigation practice. 

If Simon Baker is a "hunk" in the "unconventional crime solver" world, let us not forget the formidable Tony Shalhoub as Monk. Though technically Monk was originally a member of the police force, his OCD brought on the by the traumatic murder of his wife, slowly led him to the position of a private investigator. Now here, the big difference between USA's Psych and Monk and CBS's The Mentalist, is comedy as opposed to drama. Though I have not fully gotten into The Mentalist, I love Psych, not as much for the crazy ways the mysteries are solved but for the 1980s and 1990s pop culture-filled banter of Shawn and Gus. Monk, on the other hand, though funny, is particularly brilliant in how he solves the crime. 

Among the cancelled shows, though Pushing Daisies features the unconventional crime solving team of Emerson Cod, Ned, Chuck, and Olive, the real pleasure in watching the show, especially in the latest episodes has been learning more about the characters' pasts, families, and romantic relationships.  Even though Veronica Mars is a teen-centered, surprisingly, as opposed to Pushing Daisies, the romantic entanglements, though definitely producing some girlish screams at the sight of Veronica and Logan (Again?! OMG!), really managed to make the cases interesting. Even the cases that were solved in one episode, proved to have enough twists and turns in the narrative to make her "unconventional crime solver" status prominent. Still, ultimately, the most interesting cases, which were usually carried through each season's arc, were the ones that led back to Veronica's past.

I think the emphasis on slowly revealing more about the investigator throughout a series is an interesting narrative trope to take note of. This trope is not exclusive to the purview of the "unconventional crime solver," as even the most generic police procedural shows, such as the CSI and Law & Order franchises, have over the years devoted more episodes that reveal the investigators' personal histories. At the heart of this preoccupation is a desire to dismantle or slowly reveal what is behind the facade of professionalism and objectivism, to find where someone's humanity rests. This is made strongly evident in Bones (FOX) and Life (NBC), which are both investigative procedural programs that are strongly invested in discovering more about their respective leading partners' pasts.

Though this narrative concern is by no means a genre, I think the concern with a humanity and a personal history behind one's training, efficiency, and knowledge, demonstrate why the "unconventional crime solver," is a popular character. Though I don't think this character can necessarily constitute a genre just yet, since the livelihood of some of the shows is questionable, I think ultimately what many crime shows seek to show is that we all have the potential to be brilliant and that behind every objective scientist or detective usually lies a rough love life and a damaged childhood.

Still, I have to give it up to Charley for noting a significant trend that might show more promise. After all, though Chuck (NBC) is more of a spy than a private investigator, he plays an unconventional James Bond, with his dorky good looks and his mind that now stores all the government's secrets. The show definitely shows promise as it has some great Unresolved Sexual Tension, which totally keeps me watching. 

In 2009, also look out for Castle (ABC), about Rick Castle, a crime writer like Temperance Brennan from Bones, who helps the NYPD. Tim Roth will also be on television as Dr. Cal Lightman in Lie to Me (FOX), who studies people's body languages and voices to solve crimes. NBC will also give the unconventional crime solver a go with The Listener about a young paramedic who tries to solve crimes using his secret ability to read people's minds. Maybe ABC, FOX, and NBC will have as good of luck with the genre as CBS and USA have, in any case I think William McLean is on to something that could very well be a genre with some sustenance.

-Linde