Deerstalkers and 9mms

Captain's blog, supplemental:

Hey readers (those who are left, anyway), it's time for one of my rare "let me tell you about my life" updates. Fortunately, this one also comes with some fun attached--in the form of a top-1o list. Exciting, right? Stay tuned.

Okay, so it's life/school/career update time. I'm a man of many interests, as I've written in the past. Because of that, it's been a struggle to settle on one field of study or career path. Since I've been home from my mission, I've drifted from major to major, unable to settle.

But I think I've finally found the answer. I'm not going to go into all the details about how and what led me to this decision, but I've decided to become a police officer. I'm applying soon to the police academy at UVU. I hope to enter in June. My goal is to one day be a detective, investigating crimes and arresting those who commit them.

Which leads me to my top-10 list for today. One of the reasons I've always been fascinated with police work and investigation is because of all the movies and TV shows I've seen about detectives. I know real police isn't like it's depicted on TV, but I don't know any real detectives, so I thought it'd be fun to list my Top 10 Fictional Detectives. So, here goes:

Honorable Mention: Inspector Gadget

I loved this cartoon as a child. He had an awesome car and a helicopter came out of his hat. Every boy's dream.

10. Encylopedia Brown

The adventures of Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown were my first experience with detective fiction as a kid. I wasn't able to solve many of the mysteries myself at that age, but I was always delighted to find the crucial details that Encyclopedia was able to spot that others (including his father, the chief of police) missed. Kid was good.

9. Dick Tracy

He wears a yellow fedora and trench-coat, which automatically merits inclusion in this list. But he was also a great cop who took down an entire mob virtually by himself.

8. Lenny Briscoe, Law & Order

The original Law & Order had many detectives over the years, but Briscoe (played by the late Jerry Orbach), was by far my favorite. I loved his sense of humor, which was often very dark and filled with sarcasm. Plus, he had a terrific singing voice and bore a striking resemblance to Joe DiMaggio.

7. Carlton Lassiter, Psych

The head detective of the Santa Barbara Police Department, Lassiter (or Lassie), played by Timothy Omundson, is a by-the-book officer so dedicated to his job, it's almost creepy.

6. Sherlock Holmes

Okay, confession time: I have never read the original Sherlock Holmes stories. I know, that's downright heresy for an aspiring detective like me. I plan to someday soon. I'm sure if I had read the stories, Holmes would probably be higher on the list. I have seen the recent movie, which I loved and it's why RDJ's Holmes appears here instead of the classic look.

5. Elliot Stabler, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

Law and Order: SVU has long been my favorite series in the franchise, and Detective Stabler (played by Christopher Meloni) is the main reason for that. A former marine, Stabler is in many ways a stereotypical tough cop, but one who also happens to be very religious and a father of several children.

4. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, The X-Files

Even a few months ago, Mulder and Scully (played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) wouldn't have been anywhere near this list. But I recently started watching The X-Files again, and I've recognized how great these two were, most notably when they were together (do you hear me, John Doggett?). Scully get special recognition for being the only woman to crack the Top 10.

3. Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster, Psych

I could easily write a blog post about these two alone (something I may do in the near future). Shawn and Gus (James Roday and Dulé Hill) are the reason that Psych is my favorite show on TV right now. To sum it up--while I admire Detective Lassiter's organization and commitment to his work as a police officer, in terms of personality I am Shawn all the way. And his heightened observational skills and photographic memory are awesome.

2. Basil of Baker Street, The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective

When I was probably 3 or 4 years old, I used to wear two baseball caps. I would put one on backwards, then put another one on forwards on top of the first one. Why did I do that? Because I wanted to be a detective like Basil of Baker Street in my then and current favorite Disney movie. And of course, because I didn't have a deerstalker. Basil is the first detective I can remember, and for that he has earned his spot in the Top 10.

And my #1 Fictional Detective of All-Time is....

BATMAN

You were expecting maybe, the Hardy Boys? Batman is known by many titles (The Dark Knight, Caped Crusader, etc). But one that has always been really cool to me is that of the World's Greatest Detective. This is something that isn't really brought out in the movies (which focus more on his martial arts abilities and scariness), but something that I've always loved about Batman. Truth be told, one of the reasons why I've always had a desire to become a cop is because I can't be Batman. He is the unquestioned number one of my list.

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So there you have it, my Top 10. I know I missed some of your favorites. Please, please post them in the comments. I really want and appreciate feedback and criticism of my writing. Until next time (which will hopefully be soon), good hunting!