That juxtaposition was one that I at first didn’t think would work, but oh man does it ever. And all these aforementioned elements, juxtaposed against 1970’s San Diego and Los Angeles, work to Noir perfection. Janssen’s voice-over is right out of a Chandler novel. “A world weary, loner private eye? A friend on the police force? Walking not only the mean streets, but also the rarified halls of the upper classes?” Trench of the Santa Monica PD, played to perfection by Anthony Zerbe (who won an Emmy for his role). After the show moved to Los Angeles, Darrow’s character was replaced by Lt. I would like to add here one totally bad-ass bit of awesomeness in the Captain Quinlan character: his ties rival Michael Douglas’s in The Streets of San Francisco. One moment he’s a source of information, then in another he’s the cop who threatens to yank Harry’s private eye license. He was given a difficult role, was Henry, having to play the foil for Harry’s character. Captain Manny Quinlan, played by Henry Darrow. Harry of course has a cop friend on the force (which private detective doesn’t?). Can you get any more symbolic, right? And of course, he’s always working on The Answer. In an even more powerful bit of symbolism, he owns a derelict boat named The Answer. What I love about that bullet is that it serves as a powerful symbol for the wounding that Harry’s view of the world took. However, getting shot in the back didn’t kill him it killed his career as a policeman instead. Harry Orwell had been a cop but was wounded in the line of duty. Harry, played to the hilt by David Janssen, was the penultimate private eye. Some sort of money thing, as shooting in San Diego quickly became too costly. I only vaguely remember the second half of the first season, when the show was moved from San Diego to Los Angeles. And that is that I was only nine or so when this very incredible, very thoughtful TV show first came on the scene. I need to come clean on something before I get going.
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