Background
Information: It is my
intention to post this both on my usual TS venue and to attempt
to get posting on--or at least a link to--a MSW fanfiction site. Accordingly, I cannot assume that all readers
will be familiar with both shows. If
you are familiar with either or both show(s), skip the background material.
The
Sentinel, which was never
widely popular, although it attracted a cadre of fiercely loyal and devoted
fans, aired on UPN in the late 1990s; set in the mythical city of Cascade, Washington
(which we are to imagine is on the east coast of the Puget Sound, north of
Seattle and south of Bellingham), it concerned a police detective gifted or
cursed with unusual abilities.
Perhaps
you have read about people working in the cosmetics industry who can take one
whiff of a perfume and tell you exactly what essences are in it, or people
working in the food and beverage industry who can take a sip of coffee or tea
or wine and tell you all about where the beans or leaves or grapes came from and
how they were processed. James
Joseph Ellison, commonly known as Jim, has all five senses similarly
enhanced; he had the enhancements as a child, repressed them, and then had them
re-emerge in his mid-thirties. As you
may imagine, he thought he was loosing his mind. Paprika tasted like habeñeros; the softest
cotton was like burlap--and all other senses were similarly out of control.
Blair
Jacob Sandburg[1][1],
a graduate student in
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Anthropology, minor in Psychology, strong
background in Archaeology and History) at the mythical Rainier University (the
University of British Columbia was used for the location shots) had read early
accounts of people with similarly enhanced senses; in ancient times, according
to his sources (especially Sir Richard Burton, more commonly known as the
translator of the Kama Sutra) they were called 'Sentinels' and acted as
protectors of their tribes, using their enhanced senses to track game, warn of
attacks by neighboring tribes, predict storms and earthquakes--whatever was
necessary. [2][2]
Reasoning
that, if there was a factual basis in these accounts, there was no reason why
those abilities should have died out and, accordingly, such people should
surely still exist, he set out to find one.
He had so far found people with one or two enhanced senses, and even a
few with three or four--but up to the beginning of the series, nobody with all
five.
Having
learned of Jim's problems through a nurse he'd been dating, he inveigles Jim to
visit his office at the University; Jim is skeptical at first, but realizes
that Blair knows what he is talking about.
They decide to reveal to Jim's boss, Capt. Simon Banks, what is
happening.
Together,
the three of them cook up a cover story that Blair wants to study the social
dynamics of a modern police force, doing a comparison with those of ancient
warrior brotherhoods; this gives Blair an excuse to ride along with Jim and
hang around the police station. Although
technically only an 'Observer', and
later a 'Consultant', he soon starts functioning as a full member of the Major
Crime Unit. He teaches Jim biofeedback
and self-hypnosis techniques to help him control his senses, keeping him from
being overwhelmed by the hubbub of modern urban life, while being able to use
them when needed to locate clues, track suspects, and otherwise help in his
work; he also learns enough about police work to suggest applications of Jim's
senses. Jim becomes, essentially, a live
forensics lab. Blair also learns that
Criminology is not that far from Anthropology, and that much of his theoretical
knowledge of the latter has applications to police work.
Although
very different from one another[3][3], and in spite of some frictions, Jim and
Blair become close friends. When Blair
is left homeless because of an explosion and fire, he comes to stay with Jim
'just for a week'--but for one reason or another he never leaves.
The
series ended when Blair's interfering yenta of a mother, Naomi, sends a
draft of his dissertation to a publisher--without telling Blair about it. Blair has not gotten around to removing Jim's
name from the document, and when the publisher--against Blair's specific
request--releases parts of it, the resulting publicity made it impossible for
Jim to do his work.
Not
knowing what else to do, but mindful of the ethical scientist's first
obligation when working with a human subject--that the subject's welfare is
paramount--Blair calls a press conference and claims that the document is a
fraud, that he made it all up, that James Ellison is not a Sentinel, and that
so far as he has been able to prove there are no Sentinels any more, if there
ever were. He is forced to leave the
University, but Simon pulls some strings and tells him that if he is willing to
go through the
The
show was basically a 'buddy-cop' action/adventure show--full of car chases,
explosions, gun battles, and beautiful women with mysterious and unsavory
pasts; however, it also had strong elements of science fiction/fantasy and even
some of comedy.
Garrett
Maggart played Blair Sandburg; Richard Burgi played Jim Ellison.
Murder, She Wrote was a very successful show, running from
1984 to 1996. Angela Lansbury, widely
acclaimed for her work on both the musical and straight stage, as well as
several well-regarded film roles (see http://members.aol.com/sherryberry88/angelabio.html),
played Jessica Fletcher, a retired English teacher enjoying a second career as
a mystery writer.
Although
living and working in the mythical
Whether
she stayed home or traveled, murder followed her. Cabot Cove seemed to have a higher murder
rate per capita than
The
show was fodder for jokes by comedians and jibes from critics, but it was very
popular, and remains so in reruns today.
It provided not only a chance for young actors to start their careers,
but also a venue for guest appearances by stars of earlier generations--many
who had appeared with Ms. Lansbury before, on stage or screen.
The
Sentinel, having aspects of
drama, action, comedy and science fiction, has strong crossover potential, and
has been crossed in fanfiction with many shows.
If you are interested in other TS fanfiction, I invite you to look on www.skeeter63.org/tslibrary.
Murder,
She Wrote, because Jessica
travels so much and because Cabot Cove seems to be such a popular tourist
destination, would also seem to have good crossover potential, but none of the
MSW fanfiction I have seen so far has been a crossover. (If you know of other crossovers, please tell
me!) So far as I know, nobody has
crossed these two before. For other MSW
fanfiction, please look on https://jesmaine.tripod.com/index.definitiveMSW.html.
The name ‘Jacob’ is fanon; I’m not sure who introduced it, but it has been so widely adoped in fanfiction that a story which uses another name seems decidedly odd.
[5][2] The
[6][3] Each of them is everything the other has been brought up to dislike and distrust.
[7][4] My fanfiction series ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, for those who haven’t read the others, takes up after the show ends; Blair has decided to join the police force, but to use his middle name ‘Jacob’ professionally—hence the title.
[1][1] The name ‘Jacob’ is fanon; I’m not sure who introduced it, but it has been so widely adoped in fanfiction that a story which uses another name seems decidedly odd.
[2][2] The
[3][3] Each of them is everything the other has been brought up to dislike and distrust.
[4][4] My fanfiction series ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, for those who haven’t read the others, takes up after the show ends; Blair has decided to join the police force, but to use his middle name ‘Jacob’ professionally—hence the title.