Created by Ann Diamond "No Hair Too Thin, No Case Too Smal"l -- The Ariadine Agency's mottoIs that a styling comb in your pocket, or are you glad to see me? DAVID DENNINGS is a former hairdresser turned Montreal private eye who escapes the bone-chilling winter of his hometown by taking a case that eventually … Continue reading David Dennings
Tag: Canada
Sam Klein
Created by Allan Levine "Tolerance and equality were only words social gospellers ... spoke about. Such acceptance, Klein and every other Jew in Winnipeg knew, was often cheap talk. Neighbourhoods, clubs and summer resorts were all restricted. And yet, in the chaos and turmoil of the strike, something had changed." --The Bolshevik's Revenge The Jets, … Continue reading Sam Klein
John Kenneth Galbraith Jantarro
Created by Simon Ritchie Pseudonym of Simon Fodden ''And then I saw, nursing at her breast, the Magnum. Squat and ugly...it offered its black mouth to her, hungry beyond all possibility of feeding." -- Yikes! (The Hollow Woman) Toronto insurance investigator JOHN KENNETH GALBRATH JANTARRO (now there's a world-class monicker!) lost a hand and part … Continue reading John Kenneth Galbraith Jantarro
Luke Fischer
Created by Craig Terlson "I ran into Franko Toledo three weeks ago while searching for a delinquent husband in Santa Fe. Truth was, his last name wasn’t Toledo. That’s just where he came from: Toledo, Spain... I never got Franko’s real last name until I saw it on his hospital bracelet." -- the first lines … Continue reading Luke Fischer
“Give the Woman Credit”
By John Swan Featuring John Swan Fall 2001 "Jezus H. How can she do that?" "Practice," Meg says matter-of-factly, watching the video monitor parked in a cracked bookshelf across from my desk. I'm warming the squeaky-wheeled chair behind the desk, my head cranked sidewise for the action on screen. "Yeah but still..." Meg's barely listening. She's … Continue reading “Give the Woman Credit”
The Mystery Project
CBC Radio Anthology Series (1992-2002) "Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills!" Evidently, radio drama is harder to kill than anyone suspected. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, last I heard, still to this day cranks out more than 150 hours of original radio drama every year, produced in regional centres across the country and in the network studios … Continue reading The Mystery Project
Jake & Malachy Doyle (The Republic of Doyle)
Created by Allan Hawco, Perry Chafe & Malcolm MacRury "Why are you such an arse, Jake Doyle?" -- the eternal question At last! The Rock gets some P.I. love! MALACHY and JAKE DOYLE are a father-and-son team of P.I.s working St. John's, Newfoundland in Republic of Doyle, an endearingly quirky television show that consistently delivered … Continue reading Jake & Malachy Doyle (The Republic of Doyle)
John Collins (Skip Tracer)
Created by Zale R. Dalen "He'll be sure you pay--one way or another!" -- tagline on the VHS edition Hey! Did I just dream this? JOHN COLLINS is the low-key, taciturn debt collector "hero" of Skip Tracer, a bleak, decidedly non-glamourous, low-budget Canadian character study released in 1977. Make no mistake--Collins is no goody two-shoes. … Continue reading John Collins (Skip Tracer)
Abe Applebaum (The Kid Detective)
Created by Evan Morgan "It's difficult to accept the difference between who you are in your head and who you are in the world." Most coming-of-age films don't follow a man in his thirties, but the quirky, creepy indie The Kid Detective sure does. ABE APPLEBAUM became the pride and joy of his small hometown … Continue reading Abe Applebaum (The Kid Detective)
Jack Carter (Les aventures tumultueuses de Jack Carter)
Created by Sylvie Lussier and Pierre Poirier Non-Montrealers may think the lead character in the Radio-Canada private eye TV show Les aventures tumultueuses de Jack Carter is some sort of hands-across-the-water homage to Michael Caine's character in the iconic 1971 Brit noir Get Carter. But they'd be wrong. It's all given away by numerous publicity stills which … Continue reading Jack Carter (Les aventures tumultueuses de Jack Carter)