Pop Culture Roundup for August 5-24: Carnivals, Theme Songs, Pretty People, and More

by Karen A. Romanko

This installment of PCR features lots of pretty people and fun topics like TV theme songs and carnivals. The Ferris wheel of doom is the trope of choice in TV shows, but here the Roundup is our catalyst, and so it begins to spin...

August 5: Doris Day and Rock Hudson, both 1960 Golden Globe Award winners as World Film Favorites, and both beautiful in every way.

August 8: Female TV crimefighter of the day! Joan Watson of Elementary (2012–2019, 154 episodes, USA). Lucy Liu stars as Dr. Joan Watson, initially a “sober companion” for Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller), but eventually his crime-solving partner and friend. Watson is every bit the famous detective’s match in intellect and analytical skills in this reimagining of Conan Doyle‘s classic characters. Available on Hulu and Paramount+, others for a fee.

August 10: Sometimes historical figures show up as characters on scripted television series. The topic is so fascinating to me that I am writing a book called Historical Women on Scripted Television, but I like to keep an eye out for male historical figures as well. Last night I was watching “A Caribbean Mystery,” a 2014 episode of Marple, and Jeremy Crutchley made a brief appearance as Ian Fleming, who takes the name for his spy hero James Bond from an ornithologist at a Caribbean resort. Fleming (Sean Maguire) has a bigger role in a 2016 episode of the wonderful series Timeless, “Party at Castle Varlar.” Here he helps an intrepid time travel team who is trying to save history during a stop in World War II. Top: Miss Marple (Julia McKenzie) with Crutchley as Fleming (right). Bottom: historian Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer) with Maguire as Fleming.

August 13: Carnivals and circuses, with their colorful visuals and offbeat characters, are great settings for mystery and crime episodes. I was reminded of that fact last night while watching “The Man Without a Face,” a 1974 episode of McMillan & Wife, which included a scary “ferris wheel of doom“ sequence featuring Commissioner McMillan (Rock Hudson). Other carnival/circus eps of mystery series sprung to mind, including “High Flying Steele” on Remington Steele, “Identity Crisis” on Columbo, “Big Topped” on New Tricks, and “Mr. Monk Goes to the Circus” on Monk. Which mystery show episodes with carnival/circus settings stand out for you? Below: Handsome Mac visits a carnival in search of a deadly spy. Stay away from the ferris wheel, Mac!

August 16: Remembering Elvis on the anniversary of his passing, forever the King.

August 18: Has anyone seen the second series of Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries? I will be waiting until October for the DVD. Hubby and I just loved the first. Peregrine (I even love her name), portrayed by Geraldine Hakewill, is such a winning, spunky heroine, and the 60s style, from clothing to architecture, always blows me away. If you saw series 2, what did you think?

August 18: What are some of your favorite theme songs from mystery, crime, and spy TV series, British, American, Australian, etc.? Some of mine in chronological order are Danger Man (half-hour version), Honey West, McMillan & Wife, Harry O (first version), Scarecrow and Mrs. King (just brilliant), and New Tricks aka “It's Alright,” sung by Dennis Waterman. There are SO MANY more. Share some of your favorites below. Here’s the full version of “It's Alright.”

August 20: The Fugitive (1963–1967), one of the finest series ever produced by American television, falls more into the drama than crime category, but a crime is fundamental to its essence. Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) is falsely convicted of the murder of his wife, escapes en route to the death house, and spends four years on the run. During his travels he has two goals: to stay one step ahead of Lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) and to find the man he saw leaving his house on the night of the murder, the “one–armed man” (Bill Raisch). David Janssen is mesmerizing as the haunted Kimble, with an agile face that conveys emotions without words, and Barry Morse, who appeared intermittently, is pitch-perfect as the man obsessed with his capture. The series finale, part two of “The Judgment,” was seen by a then-record audience of 78 million viewers on August 29, 1967. Available on DVD. (I actually have two different sets.) Below: David Janssen as The Fugitive. Who’s a fan?

August 24: Here are a couple of TV Guides I have saved throughout the decades. Left, June 2, 1979, James Garner of The Rockford Files. The cover is by Bernard Fuchs, and I think that’s a pretty nice rendering of James Garner. Right, January 11, 1986, Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. This cover is by John Solie, and, to me, it doesn’t capture Bruce at all. A little more Kate, but too much of a caricature. I’m not an art critic—I don’t even play one on TV. Just sharing my thoughts.

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Last, but not least, please check out my books about women and television from McFarland Publishers, available in trade paperback and Kindle editions at Amazon:

Television's Female Spies and Crimefighters and Women of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television
 On sale now!