Brains making gains on TV crime dramas
By Frazier Moore
Associated Press
Who'd a thunk it? The "idiot box" is celebrating brains!
Sure, TV drama is largely the province of pugilists, enforcers and Romeos.
But step aside, boys; make room for TV's nerd herd! This new breed gets the job done by using their bean. They save the day, then go home alone.
A trend in the making began two years ago with the CBS whodunit "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Las Vegas forensic sleuth Gil Grissom approached each case with clinical dispassion. The clues (fiber, dirt, a decomposing corpse) held the answer to each puzzle, as he was forever preaching to his staff: Just open your eyes and receive them.
As played by series star William Petersen, Grissom is engaging but, at heart, a misanthrope. His preferred companions aren't people but facts, and his command of them is encyclopedic.
A wonkfest led by an antisocial know-it-all? "CSI" was the 2000-01 season's unexpected new hit.
Then, last fall, Grissom was joined in prime time by Detective Robert Goren of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (seen on NBC, with repeats on cable's USA).
As a member of the NYPD Major Case Squad, he, unlike Grissom, has plenty of contact with living, breathing suspects.
Even so, Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) isn't what you'd call a people person. Living in his head, he takes psychological aim at wrongdoers while he keeps a lid on his emotional response to wrongdoing.
For instance, while questioning one murder suspect, Goren brazenly slices his own hand with a pocketknife, flaunting his wound as the suspect passes out.
"An involuntary reflex, common in 10 percent of the population," Goren matter-of-factly explains to superiors. Which clears this suspect: The killer likes cutting up his victims.
The success of these two dramas was, well, a no-brainer.
"CSI" and "Criminal Intent" were a breath of fresh air as they championed unconditional truth.
How nice that now "CSI" is spinning off another weekly hour of relief, "CSI: Miami," which will star David Caruso as Detective Horatio Caine. It premieres on CBS Sept. 23.
And look for "John Doe," which premieres on Fox Sept. 20. Its title character (played by Dominic Purcell) recovers from a near drowning to realize he knows just about everything — "from the exact ingredients in a box of Apple Jacks to the mating rituals of a Quagga zebra," he marvels.
The one thing he doesn't know: Who he is. But the quest to find himself doesn't preclude helping others.
In the series pilot, he tracks down an abducted child thanks to a token left behind by the kidnapper, which he recognizes despite there being "more than 1,300 variations of coin tokens in the U.S. alone."
Clearly, being smart can come in handy. But it isn't always easy. As he discovers the extent of what he knows, John Doe feels possessed by his knowledge, rather than the other way around.
Same for the hero of the recently arrived "Monk" (USA, with repeats on ABC).
San Francisco detective Adrian Monk wrestles with heightened awareness of all kinds. Afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder, he is hyperconscious of germs, clutter — and the rightness of his vast store of knowledge.
Here is a guy who, by deductive reasoning, can tell you how many jellybeans are in a jar at the carnival — without seeing the jar. He can crack any mystery. But he must shower three times a day with a particular star-shaped nozzle. A pillow askew on the couch gives him the willies.
While the "CSI" duo are crime deconstructions, "Criminal Intent" a mind game, and "John Doe" something bordering on sci-fi, "Monk" is a character probe: How will someone as gifted yet screwed up as Monk navigate this dirty, unruly world?
The answer is logical (and highly entertaining): Brains reign!
