A Life of Crime! - Anna Campbell

by Anna Campbell

Hey, have you guys noticed the explosion of criminal activity lately?

Well, on TV at least!

I must say my addiction to American cop shows is a fairly recent phenomenon.

Here in Australia we get a mixture of telvision, local, UK, American. I was brought up in a family that mainly watched British imports on our government channel, the ABC. I still love a good British crime show like MIDSOMER MURDERS or POIROT (love David Suchet in that role - he's amazing!).

Before I became a full-time writer, I spent many years working as a captioner for the Deaf and hearing impaired. Suddenly I was exposed to a whole range of American television I'd never watched before. I became a LAW AND ORDER franchise fan and gradually that seems to have seeped over into other shows.

These days, I watch a lot of American crime shows! I get them out on DVD so there's no ads and I don't have to stew on the cliffhangers (apart from the ones at the end of the series!).

There are four of my favorites!

I love BONES for a stack of reasons and not all to do with David Boreanaz! I love the sly humor and the dark irony. I love the geeky stuff! I love that the heroine in many ways takes the role the hero often does - you know, the clever, solitary, focused one who is out of touch with her emotions. I LOVE that she's so clever.

BURN NOTICE isn't so much a police procedural but it definitely revolves around burned spy Michael Westen operating outside the law. Hmm, having mentioned David B, I must say I find Jeffrey Donovan who plays Michael very easy on the eye. Love the way he wears Armani on that long lean body. Love the way he takes his shirt off too.

Who, me? Shallow? NEVAH!

THE MENTALIST is a fairly new one to me. Again a handsome hero! Nothing wrong with that. Again, I love that the main character is always the cleverest person in the room.

CRIMINAL MINDS is full of people who would be the cleverest people in the room if, um, they weren't all in a room together! Again, I love the geekiness of a lot of these characters. And while I mourn the departure of wonderful Mandy Patinkin, there's some nice looking boys left, all the same (Shemar Moore, anyone?). Oh, and the stories are pretty good too!

Hmm, perhaps I should admit to being shallow!

Actually there's a few things these shows have in common. BURN NOTICE, BONES and THE MENTALIST exploit ongoing sexual tension to keep you tuning in. Will they, won't they is a great way to keep a story ticking over. Any romance writer can tell you that!

BURN NOTICE, BONES and CRIMINAL MINDS feature a team of people who are specialists in their own fields and pool their skills to create a whole greater than their parts. And all of these shows portray strong loyalty bonds between the ongoing characters. I love that aspect!

So what about you? Are you, like me, pursuing a life of crime? Do you have any favorite crime shows? What makes one show stand out from another for you (because after all, there's a million of these out there!)? Let's STEAL a few moments and KILL some time talking about TV!