books
How to Bring Back Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen is the American mystery.Who?, you ask.Ellery Queen.Still doesn't ring a bell?...

commerce
Vote for Banacek!

One of the best television programs ever was actually three or four programs in one. The N...

books
“Transcending the Genre”

 The one thing most certain to destroy a work of genre fiction is for the author to t...

mysteries
Dick Van Dyke, Master Detective

 Season one of one of the most appealing and enjoyable TV mystery series goes on sale...

books
Perry Mason Season 1, Volume 2 DVD Announced

CBS Home Video has announced that volume two of season one of Perry Mason, the popular 195...

books
“Golden Age” Detection Fiction

Looking for something to read over the three-day weekend? I have some writers for you to i...

comic-books-graphic-novels
Psych Finale—Finally Satisfying

Finally, the USA Network comedy-mystery Psych came up with a fully satisfying episode, las...

mysteries
Fox’s “Vanished”—A Good Start on a Fiendishly Complex Story

 The only reviews I've seen of the new Fox TV series Vanished have been negative, alt...

movies
Buster Keaton, Detective

On his Classic Images website, Charles Mitchell offers this fascinating little morsel of i...

commerce
Mr. Moto Returns

Although 20th Century Fox is not exactly shouting it from the housetops, The Mr. Moto Coll...

mysteries
The Fine Art of Thievery

The season-ending episode of Hustle, one of the very best programs currently on television...

books
The Case of Perry Mason—and an Important Addition

Speaking of Perry Mason as we were yesterday, you might be interested to know that the fir...

books
From “The Case of the Bestselling Author”

Here are some extracts from my article on Erle Stanley Gardner, "The Case of the Best...

mysteries
Perry Mason Returns . . . Again

Starting tonight the Hallmark Channel is presenting a week of Perry Mason movies, each wee...

movies
William Powell on TCM

OK, forgive me for being a little late with this, but Turner Classic Movies is showing fil...

books
Charlie Chan, Bourgeois Detective

Those who have an interest in the meanings behind the Charlie Chan films are cordially inv...

movies
The Politics of Charlie Chan

My current piece on National Review Online is about "The Business End of Ethnic Polit...

books
The Puzzles of The Closer

The Closer, on TNT Monday nights at 9 EDT, is an unacknowledged Americanization of the lon...

mysteries
Psych Up

The new USA Network mystery-comedy series Psych, which runs Friday nights at 10 EDT, is st...

mysteries
Monk and Religion

In my view, Monk is one of the best programs on television: it's funny, always has strong ...

mysteries
Touching Evil USA

Although the USA Network program Psych has its faults at present, it at least has a good c...

books
The Case for Mickey Spillane

Mickey Spillane, who died earlier this week, was a much better writer than the mainstream ...