Freeze! Police!

Who out there watches all those detective and police shows on TV? There are thousands of them, and I'm probably not exaggerating when I say that.

Here in Switzerland it seems that every channel has at least one cop show per day, from the various CSI programs to Law & Order to Cold Case. I'm pretty sure that you could slump in front of the TV and watch nothing but police dramas constantly for a full 24 hours.

It's not that I'm necessarily against police dramas; some of them can be quite entertaining. I saw an episode of Criminal Minds last night that actually kept me interested until the credits rolled. Unfortunately, the majority of detective dramas tend to be fairly forgettable, especially the one with the over-dramatic ginger man who pauses for an eterntiy before saying something in a forced, gravelly voice, usually after slowly removing his sunglasses and doing a pose that an aftershave model would be proud of.

What is missing for me in this world of monotonous sleuthing is comedy. I know that the producers of these programs want to make sure the harsh reality of policing comes across in their gritty dramas, but the actors should be able to crack a joke every now and then, even if it's just a quick bit of toilet humour.

What we need is more shows like The Thin Blue Line. Ah, now that was a classic show. It only ran for two series back in the 1990s, with a total of 14 episodes, but it was a welcome injection of laughter in the fight against crime. Of course, the main reason why it was so funny was because it featured the irreplacable Rowan Atkinson, a true comedy genius. Every episode had at least one laugh-out-loud moment, and I think this could be ported over to a show like Criminal Minds:

Hotch is hot on the trail of a brutal serial killer. He is standing in front of a white board with various files and photos pinned up, interconnected with lines and scribbles showing the links between victims. Concentrating hard on tracking down the madman, he turns to Rossi for advice. Rossi sympathises with Hotch and attempts to help him find the killer, drawing on his wealth of experience in the Behavioural Analysis Unit. He tells Hotch in his hushed, gravelly voice that the situation reminds him of a case he had a few years back when a man complained that his neighbour had purposely trimmed his garden hedge to look like a bottom.

I would certainly watch that show.