Then there are two which feature extremely depressed
detectives who
become far too close to their work, taking the killing as
personal
affronts. Both work within organizations but have managed to
become so
marginalized that they obtain an outsider status. The first
is Derek
Raymond's detective in the Bureau of Unexplained Deaths who
gets all of
the cases no one else cares about (ie., ones that will never
lead to
promotion). He cares more for these victims in death than
anyone cared
for them in life, especialy in I Was Dora Suarez, where,
Laura-like, he
falls in love with the title character whom he never met in
life,
knowing her only through her journals. Plus a truly horrific
killer,
all told in a matter of fact style that makes it all even
more terrible.
The second is Frank Black on the TV series Millenium. Now I
usually
don't like anything bordering on the occult or psychic or
whatever, but
this series manages to keep its feet firmly mired in the mud.
And
Frank, played by the great Lance Henricksen in a role finally
worthy of
this king of the straight-to-cable movie, is a double
outsider. He left
the FBI profiling program with a nervous breakdown (he felt
too much for
his victims, literally, having empathic visions). He was then
recruited
by a shadow organization called the Millenium Group. But he
is even an
outsider to them, constantly questioning their goals. Very
hardboiled;
very good.
Mark
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