Sidepod: Fuzz (1972) - Nourish A Vagrant

Hark! It's an 87th Precinct Sidepod!

In this episode, Paul is joined by fan-of-Burt-Reynolds and podcaster (in that order?), John Rain. You can find info about John's fantastic James Bond and Michael Caine podcast, SMERSHPOD through the Twitter page and keep an eye open for John's new podcast, All Rather Mysterious, which aims to solve the mysteries of the past, in the presence of comedians Eleanor Morton and David Reed.

John and Paul got together to chat through the 1972 film version of Ed McBain's 1968 book, Fuzz (find that podcast using this link!) which finds the 87th Precinct now mysteriously in the real world, in Boston and features Burt Reynolds as Steve Carella, Raquel Welch as Eileen McHenry (think Eileen Burke, eight-seven fans!), Tom Skerritt as Bert Kling and many more of the squad - not to mention Yul Brynner as The Deaf Man. We contemplate why the film never got a sequel, harassment in the workplace, whether McBain wrote mucky books and whether Dom DeLuise should have been in the film. Warning: Contains a couple of rude bits (the podcast, not the film). 

The film was adapted by Evan Hunter himself and was directed by Richard A. Colla (Battlestar Galactica, Ironside).

If you've seen the film, let us know what you think at our Twitter or FB page and if you fancy dropping us the price of a digital coffee, pop to KOFI and drop some coins in the jar. Anything we get will go back into the podcast.

Ed McBain's Fuzz - Episode 22, Bonus: A Ginger Sniff

Hark! It's an 87th Precinct Bonus Episode!

Welcome back to 1968 and Ed McBain's "FUZZ". In this episode we, of course, take our traditional look at the original covers of the UK and US editions, as well as the film tie-in cover, and discuss/huff our own rather battered copies of the book. Visit our Instagram for photos and more McBain content as well.

We get stuck into our delayed-from-the-main-episode Quiz of 1968, during which we're driven mad by the notion of the most exciting cross-over event in movie history! Be prepared for some of the finest celebrity impersonations you've ever heard. 

We also chat about taking the "Who Would You Cast In The 87th Precinct TV Series" questions to the next level, so get your thinking caps on and start to think about when you would want to set the show, before we start to look at each character and who we could pick to play them.

Remember, a bonus side-pod will be coming soon looking at the movie of FUZZ from 1972. Keep your eyes peeled and until then, Fare Thee Well.

Ed McBain's Fuzz - Episode 22: Chewing A Donkey

Hark! It's an 87th Precinct Podcast!

Even the most prolific writers need a year off, and so we've skipped past 1967 in our wait for the next 87th Precinct novel, and arrived in 1968 with "Fuzz". This book, one of the better known of the series, sees the return of the squad's nemesis, The Deaf Man!

In this episode we explore how McBain uses the real world of politics to inform the 87th Precinct, find out all about decoy cops and consider the weird decisions made when publishing American books in the U.K.. We skip the majority of the 'quiz of the year' this episode as there's so much to pack in, but fret not - we still manage to get caught up in the world of 'Carry On...' (the quiz will be in the bonus episode!)

Special mention must be made of Betamax Video Club and Paul's appearance talking about his favourite film, The Transformers: The Movie! Please do check it out. And on the subject of movies, Paul and a special guest will be bringing you a Side-pod all about the Burt Reynold's feature from 1972, Fuzz! Keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Thanks for joining us and we'll see you soon for the bonus episode, then book 23 - "Shotgun". Fare Thee Well!

* N.B.: some sound quality issues plague this episode. Our microphones were being naughty. Hopefully it won't affect your enjoyment too much.