TV Detective or Police Procedural dramas where the main character ISN'T a "Defective Detective" trope

[tim]

so your actual point is that drinking at all hours of the day not in fact a defect in a french detective

You need to overcome your Anglo-Saxon hang-ups about the role of alcohol as a workplace social lubricant. You'd find yourself working in a happier library and beset by far fewer scolding emails if you did.

My lessons would be far grimmer without my break time snifters

 

[Pickman's model]

You need to overcome your Anglo-Saxon hang-ups about the role of alcohol as a workplace social lubricant. You'd find yourself working in a happier library and beset by far fewer scolding emails if you did.

My lessons would be far grimmer without my break time snifters

So you think I should drink more

 

[tim]

So you think I should drink more

Encourage your colleagues to drink more and then let them lead you astray.

 

[Pickman's model]

Encourage your colleagues to drink more and then let them lead you astray.

 

[T & P]

Columbo is a pretty ordinary and conventional type of bloke isn’t it? Boring, even.

 

[Reno]

Kenzo and Sarah, the two detectives in Giri/Haji have a ton of personal problems, but they aren't more fucked up than most people would be under the circumstances. They don't suffer mental health or major substance abuse problems. Even if they don't apply, I will shoehorn Giri/Haji into any discussion about tv detective series, as it was one of my favourite tv shows in recent years.

 

[Reno]

Columbo is a pretty ordinary and conventional type of bloke isn’t it? Boring, even.

He may have been mentioned.

 

[T & P]

He may have been mentioned.

Fuck, I did read the thread earlier, but my short term memory has hit rock bottom. FWIW I searched for the word Columbo before posting, which of course wouldn’t pick up image suggestions.

I guess they’re more police officers than detectives (though still showing great detecting skills), but a few of the main lead coppers in the various Fargo series, as well as Frances McDormand in the film, are not only pretty balanced and wholesome, but just about the only sane characters in the show.

 

[tim]

Columbo is a pretty ordinary and conventional type of bloke isn’t it? Boring, even.

He stalks people until they reach the point where they're willing to confess to anything and he never goes to the the dry cleaners

 

[A380]

Kenzo and Sarah, the two detectives in Giri/Haji have a ton of personal problems, but they aren't more fucked up than most people would be under the circumstances. They don't suffer mental health or major substance abuse problems. Even if they don't apply, I will shoehorn Giri/Haji into any discussion about tv detective series, as it was one of my favourite tv shows in recent years.

Spoiler

not fucked up? who did they think they were at the end? Mary Popins and Burt the Chimne Sweep. ( ok that was brilliant- but you know what I mean.) [spolier]

 

[Reno]

I guess they’re more police officers than detectives (though still showing great detecting skills), but a few of the main lead coppers in the various Fargo series, as well as Frances McDormand in the film, are not only pretty balanced and wholesome, but just about the only sane characters in the show.

It may have been mentioned.

 

[T & P]

It may have been mentioned.

Sorry everyone, will leave this thread alone now.

 

[Reno]

Spoiler

not fucked up? who did they think they were at the end? Mary Popins and Burt the Chimne Sweep. ( ok that was brilliant- but you know what I mean.) [spolier]

I'm not sure that was to be taken as something which really happened.

 

[Struwwelpeter]

Again, not at all recent - Cagney and Lacey had their domestic problems but they dealt with them in fairly normal ways IIRC. Sort of soap with crime fighting to keep the meta plot from dragging I guess.

 

[Epona]

Again, not at all recent - Cagney and Lacey had their domestic problems but they dealt with them in fairly normal ways IIRC. Sort of soap with crime fighting to keep the meta plot from dragging I guess.

Yeah I used to love that, it was great (especially at that time) to have a cop show with 2 strong female leads

 

[danny la rouge]

Again, not at all recent - Cagney and Lacey had their domestic problems but they dealt with them in fairly normal ways IIRC. Sort of soap with crime fighting to keep the meta plot from dragging I guess.

I was a fan at the time. I always wondered what she said to the flasher in the opening credits.

 

[skyscraper101]

Hetty Wainthrop

 

[marty21]

I always thought that either Barnaby's wife (Joyce) or daughter (Cully) were responsible for all the murders in Midsomer too

My money is on Joyce .

 

[marty21]

Hart to Hart , they were in a stable relationship and solved crimes!

 

[Sue]

Again, not at all recent - Cagney and Lacey had their domestic problems but they dealt with them in fairly normal ways IIRC. Sort of soap with crime fighting to keep the meta plot from dragging I guess.

Yeah, although I always wondered why she didn't dump Harvey. Harvey was such hard work all the time.

 

[Sue]

Hart to Hart , they were in a stable relationship and solved crimes!

Charlie's Angels, Remington Steel....

 

[Epona]

I was looking for more recent suggestions - I have seen most of the older series mentioned so far. Thanks though

 

[Reno]

Again, not at all recent - Cagney and Lacey had their domestic problems but they dealt with them in fairly normal ways IIRC. Sort of soap with crime fighting to keep the meta plot from dragging I guess.

Was a huge fan, but Cagney struggles with alcoholism for part of the series.

 

[Epona]

It's the modern stuff in the last few years that seems to have gone down this route of having main characters with a lot of issues, so it is modern ones that dodge that particular bullet that I might not have realised existed...

 

[marty21]

Charlie's Angels, Remington Steel....

Were they together in Rimington Steel , I thought she was some sort of clairvoyant who helped the other one solve crimes, did they get it on ?

 

[Sue]

Were they together in Rimington Steel , I thought she was some sort of clairvoyant who helped the other one solve crimes, did they get it on ?

What? Miss Marple...?

 

[Reno]

I was looking for more recent suggestions - I have seen most of the older series mentioned so far. Thanks though

Until the 80s/90s characters in detective and cop shows were less complicated. The format was that they would deal with a case every week and the plot resets after after every episode. More continuous plotlines with large character arcs started in the 80s. I think Hill Street Blues was the first US cop series which really did that and then other TV genres copied that (St. Elsewhere, LA Law). Now tv seasons and entire series tell one continuous story and the way to keep characters interesting is to give them flaws and quirks and throw major personal problems in their way. It's hard to make characters interesting if they don't have problems. Even with a non-defective detective like in Happy Valley, the sister is the character who has all the problems.

 

[A380]

George Dixon was a zombie for the 21 odd years Dixon of Dock Green was on. A character doesn’t get much more fucked up than that.

 

[Epona]

Until the 80s/90s characters in detective and cop shows were less complicated. The format was that they would deal with a case every week and the plot resets after after every episode. More continuous plotlines with large character arcs started in the 80s, I think Hill Street Blues was the first US cop series which really did that and then other TV genres copied that (St. Elsewhere, LA Law). Now tv seasons and entire series tell one continuous story and the way to make characters interesting is to give them flaws and throw major personal problems in their way. It's hard to make characters interesting if they don't have problems. Even with a non-defective detective like in Happy Valley, the sister is the character who has all the problems.

Aye, it is more just me having had my fill of the "detection savant" types - I mean I do love a lot of modern crime drama but that particular variant of the "defective detective" is one I am just finding a bit over-used right now (possibly just watching the entire of Bordertown - which I thought was great btw - back to back over a few nights has not helped this feeling ).

As in, I don't expect characters to be entirely without personal flaws, just would like a bit of a change

 

[Reno]

Aye, it is more just me having had my fill of the "detection savant" types - I mean I do love a lot of modern crime drama but that particular variant of the "defective detective" is one I am just finding a bit over-used right now (possibly just watching the entire of Bordertown - which I thought was great btw - back to back over a few nights has not helped this feeling ).

As in, I don't expect characters to be without personal flaws, just would like a bit of a change

If it's just non-savants, there are loads. I think Scandi-crime shows have gotten quite fond of that trope. I saw Caliphate not too long ago, that's a Scandi crime show/political thriller which features a non-savant agent.