Robert Isenberg writes a piece called Private Eyes Exposed wherein he looks at some of the plucky and adorable gumshoes of television private eyes. Here’s his list:
- Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote)
- Columbo (Columbo)
- Monk (Monk
- [Hercule] Poirot (Poirot)
- Cagney and Lacey (Cagney and Lacey)
- Matlock (Matlock)
- Dr. Mark Sloan (Diagnosis Murder)
- Perry Mason (Perry Mason)
Come on, doesn’t everyone see the problem here? A list of private eyes from television, and we’ve got:
- Author
- Police detective
- Police consultant
- Detective
- Police detectives
- Attorney
- Medical doctor
- Attorney
Even at our most giving, only two of these characters can be considered true private detectives.
What about:
- Cody Allen, Nick Ryder, and the Boz (Riptide)
- Spenser (Spenser: For Hire)
- Sonny Spoon (Sonny Spoon)
- James Rockford (The Rockford Files)
- Thomas Magnum (Magnum, P.I.)
- Rick and A.J. Simon (Simon and Simon)
- Laura Holt and Remington Steele (Remington Steele)
- Maddie Hayes and David Addison (Moonlighting)
- Mike Hammer (Mike Hammer)
Now those were some television private eyes. I guess it’s also apparent the decade in which I did most of my television watching.
What about you? What are your favorite television private eyes that were actual, you know, private invesigators?
