Side-Pod - 87th Precinct, Line Of Duty: Good Hat Acting

Hark! It's an 87th Precinct side-pod!

We jump time-streams from the 87th Precinct of the written-word to the 87th Precinct of the acted-world, as we explore the fifth episode of the NBC TV series (1961-62) based on Ed McBain's stories. McBain/Hunter himself only wrote three teleplays for the series. Two were based on books but this one, Line Of Duty, was an original story.

Paul shares what he's found out about the story and we speculate on how it relates to the broader concept and series of the 87th Precinct and we also say the word "Haberdashery" several times. You have been warned.

This december bonus episode has been enhanced by the amazing generosity of one of our listeners, thus providing us with ample book-huffing opportunities. Should you wish to gift us anything, then our hearts would be gladdened by a review or rating on whatever podcast platform you use - a share and a recommendation to others goes a long way too!

There's more extra pods coming soon, but we'll be back before too long with our main podcast and 1966's "EIGHTY MILLION EYES". See you soon, Merry Christmas and Fare Thee Well!

On-Screen Carellas (and Carella substitutes!)

Here, for your delight and wonder, is a selection of the actors who have played our favourite Detective (2nd Grade) from the 87th Precinct, Steve Carella. Remember that Carella is described as:

"[giving] the impression of great power...

a fine-honed muscular power. He wore his brown hair short.

His eyes were brown, with a peculiar downward slant that

gave him a clean-shaved oriental appearance. He had wide

shoulders and narrow hips." (Cop Hater, 1956)

It's clear that McBain had a vision for his leading-man and, as with the other cops in the squad, his description is oft-repeated through the years. One of the questions that crops up a lot when discussing the 87th Precinct is "Who would you cast to play....?" - so here are some of the answers given by various producers and casting directors over the years.

click to enlarge

Not all of these actors played an exact Steve Carella, though - Tatsuya Nakadai plays Chief Detective Tokura in Kurosawa's High & Low (1963). His character is the closest the film has to Carella, but also combines aspects of Lt. Pete Byrnes. Also, Vinod Khanna, is based on the character in High and Low, rather than Carella in the book King's Ransom, but he's our only Bollywood Cop (Chief Inspector Gill), so he counts!

There are (probably) some missing Carellas. Some of the Japanese TV productions are hard to trace and sites such as IMDB rarely have character names and when they do they're often renamed to make them realistic for the setting. Without seeing these films and TV plays, it's hard to tell who is who. 

Another interesting point is that Robert Loggia, in the 1958 film version of Cop Hater, is playing a character called "Carelli" - quite why the name is changed by one vowel it's hard to tell, although I suspect that Carelli sounds even more Italian than Carella, thus reinforcing the character's ethnic background. 

Let us know who's your favourite out of the image above and if you've any suggestions who you'd like to see (or have seen) in the role.

Ed McBain's See Them Die - Episode 13: To The Cafeterium!

Hark! It's the 87th Precinct Podcast!

We're coming to the end of 1960 when Ed McBain releases the thirteenth 87th Precinct novel, See Them Die. A tale of gangs, sieges, unrequited love, heat, tear gas and a big fat man. This is West Side Story as you've never experienced it before.

On our travel to Isola's very own Spanish Harlem, we've discuss a whole load of stuff, including a pertinent listener question about the writing and release order of the books, the Ed McBain Mystery Book magazine series, Manhunt and the Puerto Rican diaspora. Stevo is possessed by the ghost of gravel-voiced DJ Tommy Vance, due to his cough, and we also take our usual look at what was going on in music, TV and film of the time as well.

Please retweet, share, review, 'like' - everything like that helps us to reach more listeners and keep bringing all our McBain fan-family together. We'll be back soon with the bonus episode and after that - 1961's "Lady, Lady I Did It". Bye!

Solo-Pod - Ed McBain Books in the 1950s: DYNAMIC K.E.N.N.E.T.H.

Hark! It's an 87th Precinct Podcast Solo Episode!

Whilst we get organised for our next podcast proper (Ed McBain's "The Heckler") we've provided this little stopgap, with a look back over the books we've covered that were released in the 1950s. 

During this solo excursion, Paul recaps the books, the adaptations, who's who in the squadroom and tells you all about K.E.N.N.E.T.H., our scoring computer, via some newly discovered archive evidence. Detective Steve Carella pops by as well.

Please continue to get involved via Twitter (@Hark87Podcast), email (Hark87Podcast@gmail.com) and via the comments and reviews on the podcast platforms. We really appreciate your listening to our podcast and look forward to a great 2018 sharing our Ed McBain love with you all. 

(Additional script by Robert Charnock. Additional music provided under Creative Commons from freesfx.com)

Side-Pod - Star Trek Assignment Earth: DISCO BEAR

Hark! It’s an 87^th Precinct Podcast Sidepod!

We slip time-streams today and end up in the 23^rd Century before being whizzed straight back to the 20^th Century, 1968 to be precise, as we look at what could have been Star Trek’s swan-song. The episode “Assignment: Earth” was the final episode of season two of Star Trek at a time when the show was threatened with cancellation. This episode was intended as a back-door pilot for a new spin-off.

So how does this relate to the gritty and down to earth world of Ed McBain and the 87^th Precinct? Well, it’s linked by two very thin strands. The main star of the episode is the best on-screen version of Detective (2^nd Grade) Steve Carella, Robert Lansing as Gary Seven and also Leonard Nimoy who starred as a skinny-tie wearing, car-hiring, drug-running baddy in the 87^th Precinct TV series in 1961.

Joining Paul for the chat is illustrator, educator and all-round sci-fi nerd, Adam Paxman. Search for his various art outputs online: Mister Paxman’s Glorious Bastards, The Museum of Fragmented Shadows and BurningZebra: The Abandoned Storybook – a treasure trove of grotesques, horrors, intrigue, sci-fi, adventure and philosophy in various forms.